Fall

Chapter 12: You're Undead To Me

I look up from the move I currently have Matt in at the sound of my phone buzzing from a few feet away. I share a look with Matt before untangling myself from him, our limbs in weird places after that takedown. I walk over to it and pick it up, sitting down on the mat. "Hello?" 

"Kara, hey, it's...um, Stefan." I hear Stefan's gruff voice through the phone, as if he had just woken up. Or maybe his voice is always just that gruff. I sigh and stand up, pacing the room as he talks to me. "I wanted to say that I'm, I'm sorry about what happened at the Founder's Party. I have this problem with blood, I couldn't...I was just trying to keep you safe. Are you ok?" 

I take a deep breath and rub at my neck where Damon had bitten me. "I'm rattled, angry at myself, but fine. I shouldn't have confronted him like that on my own. I'm just surprised he didn't kill me." I respond, watching as Matt stands up to go talk to Ms. Skuld. 

"Hey, what's done is done. You won't have to worry about it or him anymore." Stefan comforts me and I stop pacing for a moment. It has been three days since I've seen either Salvatore. Is it possible that he really got rid of Damon in that short of a time span? 

I look back to Ms. Skuld and Matt as they talk, probably discussing what other move I'm going to pull on him and try to master. "So Damon's really gone?" I ask, somehow feeling like this is all too good to be true. Damon clearly has an agenda outside of terrorizing Stefan, I'm sure of it. He doesn't seem like the type to just stick around to terrorize someone for that long. 

"Yes. You're safe, Kara. You and Elena and Caroline are safe. I'll see you at school, ok?" He hangs up on that note, clearly more optimistic than I am. I stare at the phone for a second as I try to think. If it's really safe, do I stop training? I plop the phone down onto the mat and walk over to my sparring partner. 

"Hey, are you ready to try out the next move? Ms. Skuld said you wanted to learn how to get out of someone choking you." Matt asks me, those blue eyes so sincere. I take a deep breath, looking around me and weighing whether I should keep training or not. After a second I nod, stretching a bit. 

"Oh and Matt, actually try and hurt me this time. It doesn't work if you're not even trying." I comment, waiting for Ms. Skuld to direct me and tell me the right moves to take. 

♢ — ♢— ♢ — ♢ — ♢ — ♢

I hang out by our lockers with Elena and Bonnie, watching as Caroline struts in and talks about the Sexy Suds event going on tomorrow. "Unbelievable. It's like nothing happened." Elena judges as Caroline hangs up posters for the event. I roll my eyes at her response. 

Bonnie shakes her head with a shrug. "She's in denial." 

I open the lock on my locker, not having the patience for the lack of empathy from the two of them. "Yeah, or this is how she copes. Everyone deals in their own way, guys. Let her be, don't judge." I grab some books for our first class this morning. 

"What's with you?" Bonnie asks, playing with the beaded necklace around her neck. Elena rolls her eyes and nudges me with her shoulder, trying to liven me up I guess. 

"She's just upset because Jenna is going on a date with Logan tonight. You know, after the whole abandonment thing." Elena teases me, and I freeze mid putting my books into my bag. I shoot her a cold smile, trying to act like this hasn't affected me at all. How could she just bring that up, like it's a joke? She knows what I went through with that but she's acting like it's no big deal? 

I sling my bag over my shoulder, the bad mood I was in this morning steadily getting worse. "Oh yeah, just abandonment issues. No big deal." I remark snidely, moving away from them and towards the entrance to the school. They call after me, but I don't listen or turn back. I rush outside, passing the students that are entering, because I don't really have anywhere else to go to cry right now. I don't want anyone else to see me cry. I unlock the car and hop in, pulling my knees up to my chest on the seat. It certainly makes less space on the seat, but I feel the need to be as close to myself as possible. A tiny ball, smaller and smaller, taking up less and less space.