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CHAPTER ONE | REBIRTH
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS WAS A CHANGE THAT NOT EVEN RILEY HERSELF KNEW THAT SHE WANTED, BUT IT WAS ONE SHE NEEDED. For as long as she could remember, the only place that Riley had ever considered home was Mystic Falls— with Damon. In the beginning of their relationship, Riley never pictured her life without Damon, that was until their relationship began to crumble beneath their feet. The two ended amicably under the undeniable reality that the Salvatore had developed feelings for Elena.
With their relationship firmly dead in the water, Riley packed a bag and high-tailed it straight out of Mystic Falls in an attempt to live her life to the fullest. She spent a while living with her grandmother, Gwen, before she then decided to spend time learning more about witches, her family history and the true extent of her powers. She was thriving.
New Orleans just so happened to be one of the cities that Riley found the most beautiful, and had always wanted to visit. The art and the jazz was something that enticed her, as well as the stories her grandmother used to tell her from when she lived in New Orleans herself. Before long, Riley had managed to find herself an apartment above a bar on Bourbon Street which was convenient, to say the least.
Caroline had been someone that Riley could not seem to shake from her past life, and she would never want to. The blonde vampire was one of the very few people that Riley regretted leaving behind, as well as Stefan, who neither of them had heard from in months. The Forbes girl had filled Riley in on everything. The Other Side had collapsed, taking Bonnie and Damon with it. Of course, the witch felt horrific that her friends had to go through something as traumatic as losing the people they loved, but as much as she cared about them, she needed to put herself first— something she never did before.
"Oh, my God! That apartment is stunning!" Caroline exclaimed loudly. Riley had video called her friend, who had constantly been asking to be shown around her new apartment. "And, is that—"
"Jazz. Yup. I don't think there's been a point in time since I've been here that I haven't heard someone playing on that damn street below." The strawberry-blonde with chuckled softly whilst she dropped herself down on the couch. "You'd think by now I'd be super annoyed with it. But, no. I actually kind of love it."
"You're a braver woman than me. The novelty will have worn off and I'd be pulling my hair out by now."
"Well, it beats being in Mystic Falls, that's for sure." Riley hummed softly. She remembered back to the time that she told Caroline she was leaving— the blonde was in denial until the moment she watched Riley dump her bags into the back of her car.
Caroline tilted her head with a look of sadness on her face. "I really miss you being here, you know, but I understand why you had to leave. And, I'm so proud of you."
