delicate

56

The hum of his voice filled my ears, waking me up. I felt his hand squeeze mine gently. He buried his face in my neck, kissing up to my ear. I hummed in response.

"Your phone keeps going off."

"Mhm."

He slid his hand in my shirt, letting the tips of his fingers skate across my skin as his hand traveled higher. "It's really annoying."

"So are you." I moved my hand to his, pulling it out of my shirt and resting it against my stomach again. "Be quiet."

He hummed as he kissed my cheek. My phone started ringing. "You should -"

I moved my hand to cover his mouth. "No. They can wait."

He wrapped his hand around my wrist, kissing my palm before pulling my hand away. I felt him pull his arm from under me slowly as he raised up. I groaned once the comfort of his body against mine was being pulled away. "They need you, baby. The Mikaelson's are still here, and Caroline is really worried about you. If I don't make you leave, she'll hunt you down and kill me."

I sighed as I opened my eyes. I turned to face him, laying on my back. I stared up at him. He let his hand slip to mine, holding it firmly in his. I moved my other hand to his face. The soft, caring look in his eyes was accompanied by a smile on his face.

My phone started ringing again. It seemed louder than normal. A sinking feeling washed over me. I looked over at my phone before reaching for it. I stared at Damon's name for a moment before answering his call and putting the phone to my ear.

"Hey."

"You need to get over here. Now."

I furrowed my brows. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Now, Evelyn." He hung up.

Kai sighed as he pulled away from me. I sat up as I looked at my phone. The messages were from Ryan, Caroline, Stefan, and Jo. I checked the message from Caroline first.

Care:

Get home now.

Care:

Answer the phone!!

Care:

We need you!

I checked the message from Jo next.

Jo:

Under the bed.

The ominous message made my skin crawl. The unease that washed over me made me nauseous. I called Jo. After she didn't answer, I texted and asked what was wrong before calling Caroline.

"Where are you? Did you get my message?"

"Yeah, I'll be there soon. Have you heard from Jo?" I pushed my hair back.

"She texted last night and said she was going on some trip or something, and the twins were with some aunt or something. Why?"

I furrowed my brows. "Nothing. I have to go, Care."

"Wait. Is something wrong?"

I looked at my hand as I thought. "What's so important?"

She was quiet for a minute. "Ric's alive. He wasn't actually ever dead. I'll explain when you get here."

I felt a weight lifted off my chest. "Is... Is he okay?"

She didn't answer immediately. "Yeah. I'll see you soon, Ev. Bye."

She ended the call before I could say anything else. I pulled my phone away and went back to the messages with Jo. Mine didn't ever deliver.

"What's happening?"