delicate

6

The three days that followed made me feel better. Ryan didn't find much of a problem with the Kai thing, considering I was drunk. Stefan and Caroline explained to him the glass thing. The last few years I spent in Mystic Falls were really hard on me. Even though I was fine, I needed a release. I didn't want to use substances or people. So I used myself. It helped me until it didn't. That was when Stefan found me in my bedroom. I had cut too deep. It was two weeks before graduation.

I wiped at the tear that rolled down my cheek.

"Hey."

I looked up from the floor to see Stefan. "Hey," I responded.

He walked over and sat next to me in the window seat. "How do you feel?"

I looked at the floor. "Fine. Better."

"Good."

"Yeah..." I looked at him. "How's Bonnie?"

He looked at the door. "She's okay. Since Kai's missing, though, she's paranoid." He looked at me. "Which is understandable."

"Does she know?"

He nodded hesitantly. "Caroline told her. She's not mad at you. She feels bad."

I turned toward him. "I don't want that. I don't want people to feel bad for me."

He put his hand on mine. "Okay. I'll let her know." He nodded.

I breathed out slowly. "I'm sorry."

He furrowed his brows. "Sorry?"

"For acting the way I do towards you. I've been intolerable, but somehow, you've managed to find a way to twist it into something good. For that, I'm sorry."

He tilted his head, "Don't apologize."

I nodded once. "Okay."

He stared into my eyes. He didn't speak for a minute. Neither did I. His hand covered mine completely. His gaze moved to my lips. "I should probably get going." He looked into my eyes again.

"Okay," I said softly.

"I'll see you later."

I nodded once. He stood up and walked out of my room. I sat alone for a few minutes before Ryan came in. He stopped in the middle of the room. I got up and walked to him. I wrapped my arms around his torso, resting my cheek against his chest. He hugged me back, his hands resting on my back.

-

I finished the last sentence of the chapter before glancing over at Ryan's phone that was vibrating on the nightstand. I closed the book and then sat it in front of me on the bed. I reached over and grabbed his phone. The name on the screen sparked my interest. Ana. She always tagged along when we went to parties. She always ended up having sex with him after we got back to the dorm.

I put the phone to my ear after answering. "Hello?"

There was silence for a moment, and then she hung up. I pulled the phone away from my face.

Ryan walked through the bedroom door. I looked up at him. "Ana called."

He took his phone from my hand quickly and looked at the screen. "And you answered?!"

I furrowed my brows. "Why is that a problem?"

He looked at me, "Because it's my phone, Evelyn!"

"It was just Ana."

"That's not the point!"

"What's your point then!?"

"That could've been an important call!"