The Balance

Chapter 17

"Love, it's going to be okay, I'm here. I'll always be here."

I jerk awake, laying in Tyler's bed. Damon and Stefan insisted I stayed at Carol's to avoid the council coming to get me from home. However, the council are gone due to a faulty gas line. Also Elena is in transition and they don't think it is safe for me to be in the same house as her until she learns to control her blood thirsts.

My hearts aches little, thinking back to the past few days and tears slowly roll down my face as I remember Niklaus is gone and I will never see his wicked smile or feel his touch. Then there is Tyler, who I have slowly fallen more and more in love with. A cry escapes me lips and I wipe my tears away before I can reach for a tissue I freeze I hear someone shifting in a chair that sits in the corner. Narrowing my eyes, I try to see who is hiding in the darkness of the night. "Hello?"

"Allison.." Tyler slowly emerges into the light.

"Tyler?" I cry out, jumping into his arms. He pulls me into a tight hug, "you're alive? How are you alive!!"

He pulls away, "Yeah, I'm not exactly sure what happened."

I smile at him, taking in his gorgeous eyes, he leans in to kiss me. Guiding me back towards the bed, he grabs a lock my hair and kisses me deeper, more passionate.

Guilt starts to flow into me as I think about the innocent people who died and not knowing if Damon was behind the revenge. I push Tyler off, "This is wrong. A bunch of people died and you're trying to have sex."

Tyler sighs, "Grief sex. It's healthy."

"It's selfish." I slap him.

"It's natural. Besides, if we stopped having sex every time somebody died in this town, we'd explode." Tyler begins kissing me again.

I push him away, "We need to be more sensitive." He keeps touching me, "Tyler."

"Oh, come on. You thought I was dead, why can't we have celebration sex for my resurrection from the grave?" He stares at me for a moment, "I love you. How's that for sensitive?"

"I love you too." I laugh, placing my forehead on his, I begin kissing him again but hear the doorbell ringing.

"Who the hell is that?" Tyler looks up, he listens for a moment and shifts off the bed. "Stay here." He orders me.

After a few moments of murmurs I don't understand, I hear Tyler growling in pain. I quickly grab my shirt and run towards the stairs. A man I've never seen before pulls out a pistol and shoots Tyler several times. Tyler falls on the floor and the man continues to shoot at him.

"Tyler! Oh my God! Tyler! Tyler! Run!!" Carol is frantically yelling while the man is reloading his weapon to fire more bullets at Tyler.

Tyler gets up from the floor, super speeds across the room and smashes through a window. The stranger runs out the door after him. I slowly come down the stairs, there is blood smeared on the floor. "Who the hell was that?" I ask Carol, as we are both in shock.

***
I'm at home with Stefan and Tyler is laying on the couch in the living room. Stefan is pulling the wooden bullets out of Tyler's torso with a pair of metal tongs.

"Please tell me that's the last one." I plead.

Stefan observes one of the bullets. "These were specially carved; the length, the width. If you were a normal vampire, you'd be dead."