Splitting Our Odds Into Evens

Damon Logic

THREE DAYS LATER...MYSTIC FALLS...

Kol jolted awake in the night, breath shaky and his body sweaty. He had been tossing and turning for hours, haunted by the same nightmare he'd been having for a week now. It started with his first kill as a teenager—the terror on their face, the way the blood sprayed across the ground—and went all the way up to his last kill. His heart pounded, and an unbearable pain settled in his canines like someone was trying to pull them out of his skull. He sat up, wincing from the sharpness of the pain.

He looked at Bonnie, who was still fast asleep beside him. The rise and fall of her chest was the only thing keeping him grounded right now.

Kol rubbed his eyes and swung his legs over the side of the bed. His feet hit the cold floor, sending a shiver through his spine. It was dark, but the curtains were open, letting in light from outside.

He headed downstairs, the wooden steps creaking as he did. Kol got to the kitchen, grabbed a glass from the cabinet, and filled it with water from the tap, hoping it would calm him down. But as soon as the water touched his tongue, he realized something was off. He stopped mid-way, his stomach churning in disgust. It tasted metallic, like blood, but not in the way he used to enjoy. It was bitter like he was licking a rusty battery. He spat it out into the sink, grimacing. What the hell was going on?

Kol wiped his mouth, his thoughts racing. He couldn't ignore it anymore; the nightmares, the visions, the nosebleeds. All of it was getting worse, and he hadn't told Bonnie. He didn't want to worry her. But maybe he didn't have a choice.

Suddenly, he felt an itch in his throat. He coughed, but it felt different—thicker. He pulled his hand away from his mouth and looked down. Blood.

"What the..." His palm started to shake as fear enveloped him. This was bad—really bad. Without thinking, Kol ran back upstairs. "Bonnie?" he called, pushing the bedroom door open. But the bed was empty.

His heart dropped. "Bonnie!" he called again, louder this time.

Then, he heard it—a soft voice from down the hall.

"Kol?" Her voice was tired and a little groggy. "What's wrong?"

Kol froze for a second, the fear clawing at his insides. But he forced himself to stay calm. He couldn't let her see this. Not yet.

"Nothing," he said quickly, shaking his head. "It's nothing."

"You sure?" Bonnie asked as she came into the room, rubbing her eyes. "I woke up because I had to use the bathroom and realized you weren't in bed. Where'd you go?"

Kol gave a shrug. "Just downstairs for some water."

As she walked past him, he quickly wiped the blood from his hand with a tissue.

Bonnie squinted at him briefly as if she could tell something was off, but she didn't push. She was too tired. "Alright..."

As he watched her disappear into the bathroom, he let out a shaky breath. How much longer could he keep this from her?

***

Kol woke up the following morning with a massive headache. It felt like someone had taken a hammer and banged it on his head.

They were all seated at the dining table eating breakfast. Bonnie had asked Kol if he wanted to take an aspirin earlier, but he refused and claimed that "pills were a scam."

Before he could take another fork of his eggs, the pain hit him like a brick, and he dropped the fork onto the plate, the eggs scrambling onto the table. He gripped the sides of his head, wincing in pain.