Red Bird

VII: This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

VII: This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

"How long is this going to take?" Elena paced in her living room, one hand around her torso, the other rubbing her chin. Her face was knitted in, tense with worry. Anticipation. "It's been—"

"—five minutes." Reese waved her off. "Give him time. You know how dramatic vampires like to be. They probably inherited it from him."

Elijah's dead body was once again propped up on Reese's sofa, this time without the dagger stuck in his chest. The gray veins were slowly but steadily disappearing.

Elena let out a shaky breath, stopping in her tracks. "Tomorrow's the full moon."

"Mhm."

"Reese—"

"Ooh," Reese said, in a sing-song voice. "I sense a sentimental goodbye coming up."

Elena sat down next to Elijah's dead body. She spared him a wary glance and scooted toward the end of the sofa.

"I just wanted to say," she began, pinning her eyes on Reese. "Thank you. You're not exactly the easiest person to . . . get along with. But you are my friend, and even though you made it difficult, you did help me. And I will . . ."

"Miss me?" Reese offered. "Hm. I suppose you might go to the Other Side. Doppelganger is a supernatural entity, at the end of the day. It'll be lonely."

"Right." Elena had been given a crash course on the Other Side a few minutes earlier. "Stuck alone. For all eternity."

Reese nodded. "Yeah. Or you never know. You might find peace. Though I doubt it."

"Thanks for making me feel so much better," Elena said sardonically. She looked a bit green in the face.

"You're welcome."

They were waiting for Elijah to wake up. Reese had suspected Elena would want him back now that Nik was here. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't, yada, yada, yada. She'd knocked outside her door early this morning, and after a refreshing chat about death, Reese had called Sam and gotten him to haul Elijah out to the living room.