[ BOOK ONE ]
Erin Gilbert believed the worst thing that could ever happen to her was the death of her parents. But when the Salvatore brothers waltz into town, she finds herself longing for the sorrow-filled days of the past.
All too soon, Erin's n...
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WORDS FAILED TO describe the feeling that encompassed Erin as she left Grove Hill Cemetery. She couldn't place it, not really. Grief, she knew. She wasn't a stranger to it. After the death of parents, grief lingered and refused to release its grasp. It threatened to drag her down, suffocating her in a sea of despair.
But with Isobel, it felt different. Erin couldn't bring herself to mourn the woman she knew. How could she? Isobel had been nothing but awful every time that crossed paths. That was a terrible thought, to not mourn her biological mother, but she didn't.
Perhaps Erin mourned what could've been. Had Isobel not turned into a vampire, maybe she and Elena would've met her another way. Get to know the woman who wanted to meet her twin daughters.
Sadly, that would never happen, and Erin had to live with the what ifs.
When they returned to the Boarding House that night, Stefan and Damon dropped a large stack of papers in front of Erin and Elena. They came to the decision to sign over the massive home. With their names on the deed, Erin and Elena wiiod be the only ones able to invite anyone inside. Their own personal safe house.
That also meant they would have to live there until further notice, but Erin didn't mind. She had stayed there a few times in the past. And their beds were amazing.
"Please sign here and here," the lawyer, Mr. Henry, explained as he pointed to certain lines on the documents set before them.
Erin and Elena sat across from him at a table in the parlor, writing their names to make the ownership legal and binding.
"So, this place is all yours?" Bonnie questioned, glancing between them from her seat on one of the nearby couches. "They just gave it to you two?"
Mr. Henry flipped to more pages in the bundle of documents, and they signed each time.
"For now, as sole owners, we're the only ones who can invite a certain type of person in here," Elena stated, giving the lawyer a sideways glance. "If you know what I mean."
Bonnie grinned. "Your own personal safe house."
Erin scribbled her name in her messy handwriting and nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."
Bonnie pressed her lips together and took in the open room. "Wouldn't wanna clean it," she quipped.
Erin chuckled, as did Elena, while Mr. Henry flipped to the last page. The Boarding House was officially theirs.
