Twisted Bonds

Chapter 48: Healing Conversations

Emma's POV

I woke up to the blurry figure of Jenna kneeling over me. She was saying something but all I could hear was a ringing in my ears. As I tried to sit up, black dots entered my vision. I closed my eyes as one of my hands came up to clutch my head.

When I opened my eyes, I could see Jenna looking at me in worry trying to tell me something. Eventually, the ringing in my ears died down and I could hear what she was trying to say. "...you hear me? Emma, answer me, can you hear me?"

I nodded my head but immediately regretted it as my sight went blurry again. "Emma, are you okay? What happened?" Jenna continued to question me.

"Don't know. Just collapsed." I answered.

"Can you stand?" She asked. She offered me her hand.

"Let's find out." I said as I reached for her hand to help me up. The second I was on my feet, I swayed. I felt dizzy and my vision went black for a moment.

I completely froze as I waited for my vision to come back. "You okay?" Jenna asked.

"I'm fine. Just stood up too fast is all." I responded.

"I'm gonna make you something to eat. You need it." Jenna stated as she went into the kitchen.

I sighed and followed her into the kitchen. I sat down at the kitchen table while Jenna cooked. I hated the fact that I was making Jenna worry for me. I knew that she didn't know what to do about Elena and I, and to be honest, I don't think anybody would be able to give us the answer. There was nothing I could do to prove to Elena that she could trust me. She's clearly already made up her mind about me, along with the rest of the group.

Speaking of the devil, Elena made her way into the kitchen. She glared at me when she noticed I was there. Jenna turned around and noticed Elena's arrival. Jenna sighed. "Elena, you can't hate her forever." Jenna stated.

"I sure as hell can try." Elena snapped.

"Still can't see why you hate me when I did absolutely nothing wrong." I said. That was probably the first time I had talked to her in weeks.

"You're soulmates with two ruthless vampires." she spat at me.

"A bond of which I have no control over. So please, enlighten me, how is that my fault?" I questioned.

That seemed to shut her up. She just grumbled and grabbed something from the fridge before leaving.

"Well, that went well." Jenna said sarcastically. She set a plate of scrambled eggs down in front of me.

"Could have gone worse." I stated. I started to nibble at my food.

"Guess that's true. But you two could have at least tried to be friendly with each other." Jenna said.

"I just asked her a question. If she would have given me a good answer, then I would have thought about being nice to her. She ran away from the question because she knows I'm right. Besides, she made everyone in the group turn on me. She doesn't deserve my kindness." I replied.

"Well, maybe you have to be the bigger person to start healing your relationship." Jenna said.

"How am I supposed to approach her with kindness when all she does is glare at me and walk away? Besides, I'm not the one in the wrong." I said.

"I know. But, honestly, I don't see her approaching you with an apology anytime soon. She's afraid. In some twisted way, I think she's trying to protect herself and her friends from Klaus by staying away from you." Jenna said.

"She has no reason to be afraid of me, though. I wish that she could see that." I said, looking down.

"Maybe one day she will. But that will take time." Jenna started. "And until that happens, you have me in your corner. You're not alone. Never forget that."

"Thank you, Jenna." I said. I gave her a gentle smile.

"No problem, hun. Now finish your food." Jenna told me while she fixed herself up something to eat.

Jenna told me exactly what I needed to hear. That I wasn't alone. That I mattered to someone. That someone in this town gave a damn about me.

Things started looking up after that. Starting with that night. I finally got a call from Elijah. The second I saw that name pop up, I answered it. "Elijah, hey!" I said a little too excitedly.

"Hey Emma, sorry I haven't called. Klaus has kept me really busy for the past couple of months. How are you doing?" I heard Elijah say. I really missed that voice.

"A little better now that you're calling. It's been a rough summer." I admitted.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Why didn't you call?" Elijah asked.

"I didn't want to be a bother. I knew that you and Klaus were busy." I responded.

"Emma, you could never be a bother. I wish you would've called. I would've dropped everything and left if you needed me. I'm sure Klaus can handle things by himself from now on." Elijah said.

"Woah, you don't need to do that. I'll be fine, okay? I promise I'll call you if I need you." I replied.

"Alright. I'll be by to see you sometime soon, okay?" Elijah told me.

"I'll be looking forward to it. I'll see you then. Goodbye Elijah." I said.

"Goodbye Emma." Elijah said back before the call ended.

I sighed and smiled. I needed that. I really needed that.

Over the next two weeks, things were steadily getting better. I was starting to put on a little bit of weight. I'm nowhere near where I was before everything fell apart, but, slowly and steadily, I was getting there. I was sleeping a little better, too. Things with Elena hadn't changed much. She still refuses to talk to me, but she stopped sending me hateful glares each time she spotted me. So, maybe there's some progress there.

I was still going out to the clearing almost everyday, but I'm not there for hours on end. I knew that my body needed a break from the constant training. I started to spend more time taking care of my needs.

The last night of summer break came by. Elena left for senior prank night. I was at home making sure I had everything I needed for school. When I was putting everything back into my bag, I heard a knock on the door. "I got it!" I yelled out to Jenna as I walked up to the door and opened it. Standing before me was none other that Elijah himself. "Elijah!" I said as I beamed at him. Before I could stop myself, I hugged him. The contact made my whole body feel warm and tingly.

Elijah wasted no time in hugging me back. "I'm guessing you missed me." he said as we pulled apart. He was giving me a gentle smile.

I stepped aside to let him in. "Maybe a little..." I admitted with a slight blush. I closed the door behind him.

His smile faded as he took in the state of my body. My body hadn't had the time to fully recover. My eyes no longer held heavy bags under them, but I still looked really thin. Too thin to be considered healthy.

I noticed the change in his demeanor. "You okay?" I asked.

"I should be the one asking you that. I thought you said you'd be fine." he said. His eyes held genuine concern.

"I am fine. I'm doing better now." I told him.

"You're saying it was worse than this?" he asked.

Shit, I shouldn't have said that.