The Girl Who Restored My Humanity Book Three (A Vampire Diaries FanFiction)

Chapter 19 - Dark Passenger

~Ally's POV;~

Ric stands at the other end of the hallway, holding a knife down by his side. I know immediately that this isn't Ric, not the Ric that I know anyway. I try to move, but I am frozen still. He smirks, and as he turns to face me I see Jenna lying past him covered in blood. I feel myself begin to panic. He starts to charge towards me, his eyes vacant of emotion and his jaw clenched, and as he finally closes the space between us he slashes the knife towards me.

I gasp and open my eyes, finding myself still sitting at the dining table with my head resting on my folded arms. I must have fallen asleep whilst keeping an eye on Ric last night. I sit up straight and check my phone for the time, watching the screen light up to reveal it is 08:34am. Just perfect. I look underneath the time to see a message from Bonnie in my notifications. She replied. I hastily open the text message to read:

Hey. Abby completed the transition yesterday so things have been rough. We're at Abby's place with Jamie and Caroline now. It's just gonna take some time. Maybe speak soon.

I sigh and rest my phone down on the table, taking a moment to process her response. Although it saddens me that we can't talk as we normally do right now, I am grateful that Bonnie still has her mom and that Caroline, the literal queen of self-control, is there to help Abby through it all; she's in good hands.
As I look to my left, I see that Ric is still fast asleep on the couch with a blanket wrapped around him; he looks peaceful. I find myself frowning, in spite of how relaxed he looks, and I'm well aware that it boils down to what the ring has been forcing him to do to founders council members. He came to this town as a history nerd slash vampire hunter, and now has two kids and is fighting a cursed ring as it tries to make him kill members of the founders council. I feel a lot of emotions right now, from seeing him so helpless and defeated, but I mainly feel guilt. I can't help but think about what his life would have been like had he never moved to this town, or if he had avoided me and my friends at all costs. He'd still be wearing the ring though, surely? As I abandon my guilt-ridden thoughts and quietly stand, determined to drag myself into the shower, I feel waves of discomfort ripple through my neck from both my bruises and from sleeping at the table all night. Just what I need. I tread lightly until I am out of the kitchen, insistent on letting Ric rest as much humanly possible, and as I do I find my thoughts wandering to what Nathan and I would do if we lost Ric. Don't go there, Ally. Although Nathan and I would still have each other, we know that we need Ric more than we'd care to admit, more than he could possibly understand. Whilst I make my way upstairs to get ready for today, I try to push my doubts and anxieties to the back of my mind, especially when there's still time to fix things.
This family, albeit small and maybe slightly dysfunctional, is most important to me and I will do everything in my power to keep it safe. Through every relationship problem that I've experienced, and every argument between friends that I've had, Nathan and Ric have been at home waiting to reassure me that these things will sort themselves out every single time. Yet what I appreciate the most is that they see my side of things, and offer unconditional love and support regardless of if my side is wrong. If I lose this, I'll break. I'm sure of it.
Once again I am forcing myself to stay hopeful that this will be resolved, and as I head into the bathroom to shower I am thankful for the distraction. There's nothing like a hot shower to start the day.

***

The shower, like every day, has to end eventually and as always I dread stepping out into the cold air. I grab my towel and wrap it around my body, providing myself with some warmth, and as I do I am reminded of the feeling of Damon's arms wrapping around me again. As I sigh and wipe the condensation from the bathroom mirror I am immediately met with my reflection, right down to the bruises around my neck. The bruises, in hindsight, have brightened to a yellowish colour so I am at least thankful that they are fading quicker than expected. Abandoning looking at my reflection I grab my toothbrush and focus on getting myself ready for the day ahead, which is no doubt going to be hard to handle in places. Can't wait.
When my teeth are thoroughly brushed, and my hair combed back, I grab the clothes I was wearing overnight from the hook of the door and unlock the bathroom to head across the hall.
The image of Ric lying unconscious by the wall outside of my bedroom, with a knife lodged inside of his chest, flares up before my eyes as I pass Mark and Hollie's old room. I blink the unpleasant memory away, whilst clinging with newfound desperation to my clothes, and hastily enter my bedroom. As I close the door behind me and take my phone out of the pocket of yesterday's jeans, I go to the cabinet next to my bed and plug it in to charge. After discarding my clothes from yesterday into the laundry basket, I turn to face the wardrobe and take a deep breath. You've not crawled back into bed and you've already dragged yourself into the shower. You're doing better than you think. I nod in determination to keep going, as I always do.