delicate

26

My head was pounding. The ringing in my ears was quiet, but it was there. I blinked my eyes open. My ceiling. I pushed the blanket off of my body as I sat up. I looked down at the clothes on my body. I couldn't remember what happened.

"You're awake." A soft voice pulled me from my confused mind.

I looked up to see Caroline sitting on the window seat. "What happened?"

She tilted her head, taking a short breath. She got up and walked over. She sat down next to me. I moved to lean back against the headboard. "Do you feel okay?"

"What happened?"

"Kai found Stefan at the party because he couldn't find me."

Everything came back to me. The drink. The guy. His hands. The way he- I felt nauseous. "Is he -"

"Dead. He was a vampire. We don't know him." She reached for my hand, and I pulled away.

"Who killed him?" Tears formed in my eyes.

She was hesitant to answer. "Stefan brought you home."

I shook my head. "Why did you let him kill him?"

She furrowed her brows, "We couldn't stop him, Evelyn. And if all of us would've done the exact same-"

The anger I didn't want was growing. "Where is he?"

She stared at me for a few seconds. "I-I don't know." She tilted her head. "It's okay to be upset, Evelyn. You didn't - "

I shook my head, "I appreciate what you're doing, Caroline, but I don't want to talk right now."

She sighed. "You shouldn't be alone."

I tilted my head. "Please, Care."

She stared at me, not wanting to go. "I'll be downstairs." She got up and left, shutting my door behind her. I was unsure of what to think. I don't want to think. Especially not about what happened.

I distracted myself by trying to wash the feeling of him off of me. It wasn't useful. I closed my eyes to try and stop tears from falling as I thought about it. The feeling became stronger. It felt like he was on me again. I could feel his breath against my skin. There were bruises on my wrist from how tight he was holding them. There were bruises on my hips and my stomach. I scratched at the bruises to try and take away the feeling. I opened my eyes to see that it was pointless.

The water from the shower splashed against the reddened skin. I could barely breathe from the humidity. It only made the feeling worse. I looked at the floor of the shower. There was a razor blade being splashed with water.

How did it get in here? Why is it so tempting?

A sob passed my lips as I used the blade. The water washed away the blood. Every cut I made healed. I remembered the link that Kai made. I don't know how I could've forgotten. I thought of how mad he would be, which only made me cry harder. I dropped the blade.

I turned off the water and got out. I dried off and got dressed. Before leaving the bathroom, I made sure my eyes weren't red. I swallowed the tears back. I walked out of the bathroom.

He's going to tell everyone, and then everyone will be upset. They won't speak to me anymore. They'll distance themselves from me. Kai will leave me again.

I pulled my shoes on before grabbing my coat and my phone. I rushed out of my room. I passed Caroline. She tried to get my attention, but I kept running. I drove as fast as I could to Kai's.

Tears streamed from my eyes as I knocked frantically on his door. I stepped back, balling my hands into fists and trying to take deep breaths.

The door opened, and he sighed. "Never mind. She's here." He sounded relieved. He ended the call he was on. Before he could say the words that were on his tongue, I spoke.