The Perfect Mikaelson's

108|| Abbie 🧁

Abbie

I'm sitting in the breakfast nook, when Avery comes down the stairs, poking her head into the living room.

"I swear to God they're dead." I smile over the rim of my cup, watching her take in the state of her living room. I've seen blood binges that ended up looking better than that. "When I get my hands on them, they'll nev-.."

"Relax, Aves. They'll be back in an hour, tops." She spins around, just now realizing she wasn't alone. Glancing back at the living room, she shakes her head, coming into the kitchen. "Where are they?" I point to the coffee cup sitting across from me, made exactly how she likes it.

"With Stefan. I had him take them out to breakfast. Our way of apologizing for taking up the spare rooms." She slides in the seat, wrapping her hands around the mug and taking a deep inhale, before sipping it.

"I'm sure it didn't take much convincing from Stefan." I hum, a smile stretching across my face at the memory of mentioning breakfast to them. "One of the boys, had his nose buried in one of the textbooks, looked like he wanted to go ask you permission first, but I convinced them."

"Pope." She sets her cups down. "He tends to be the mother hen to all of them. Good head on his shoulders and can usually stop the others from being destructive." This time I hum, my smile widening.

"Sarah and the other girl, Kiara, I think I heard them say? They had no problem going with Stefan. I would definitely talk to them about falling to their knees for men they don't really know." Her eyebrows jerk up, before falling again. "I've tried since day one. Can't say I see it registering anytime soon."

We both sit there, sipping our coffee, trying to wipe away any residual sleep. We didn't go to bed till two this morning and now, it's barely past nine and I realize why I hate everything about mornings. But this needs to be done.

"It's not lost on me that you poked around for information last night." Her eyes meet mine, a mischievous glint in them. "I did no such thing." She feigns innocence, but the corner of her mouth twitches with a smile.

"Cute. It'd be believable if your heart didn't skip a beat when I said that." She rolls her eyes, resting her arms on the tabletop. "Well then, spit it out. You've never been one to beat around the bush."

I smile, taking another mouthful of my coffee, carefully choosing my words. "Not that you need mine or anyone else's approval, but I'm glad you're happy. Rafe seems like a great guy. His parents seem a bit.. materialistic." I say, keeping things civil for her sake. "But Rafe and Sarah seem well adjusted. I'm glad you have people who you care for, and they seem to care for you."

Her eyes narrow, like she sees through the facade. She probably can. I'm not jumping for joy that she's found someone to be close with, but I'm not lying when I say I'm happy for her. She deserves the world. So, if that means she finds friendship elsewhere and realizes ours wasn't enough, then so be it.

That's my grief to swallow and come to terms with.

"Anyways," I take a deep breath, refusing to give her any more reason to try and make me feel better. "I just wanted to say that even though we've put you through hell, if you're dead set on staying a part of this family, then I won't stand in your way. You've always been a Mikaelson in my eyes and I'm sure I can say the same for the rest of us. We'll be thrilled when and if you decide to bring Rafe home to meet us and I'll make sure everyone is on nothing but they're best behavior." I lean forward, mocking her relaxed position.

"I would love it if you were in Haidyn's life. You mean so much to me and I want my little girl to know who saved my life countless times without even knowing." I reach out and grab her hand. "You are the glue to this family, Aves. Nobody could ever do what you do and I'm sorry we took that for granted." Releasing her, I take a deep breath, my throat thick as the words leave my lips. "If you can find it in you to forgive us, I promise, I'll never let any of them hurt you again, me included. You don't deserve any of it and I know if you took us back as family, none of us would risk losing you again."

I finish up the last bit of my coffee, before sliding out and grabbing the cup up. "Stefan and I are leaving when he gets back. I've decided to go to California for a while, at least until things settle down with the divorce. I hope you'll come and visit or at least let me know if you're open to visitors. I love you, Aves." I bend down, pressing a kiss to her hair, hating this feels like a goodbye.

We finally talked last night. It felt like such an old memory. The last three years have been hell. We've fought as a family, we've fought individually.. but none of them hurt as much, as when Avery left us.

Now I feel like my heart is being ripped out all over again and this time, I'm not the one giving her the option to leave. I'm letting her make that decision on her own, no matter how loudly my heart and brain scream, begging her to just forgive me and never leave me again.

I all but ready myself to run out of here, going to go cry in the shower until Stefan gets back. I knew I couldn't have this conversation around everyone, but damn if I don't want Stefan here to make it all better.

I take a few shaky steps, when her hand wraps around my wrist, giving it a firm squeeze until I look at her. Tears line eyes and I know mine look the same. I didn't expect it to hurt this much, and I really didn't want to hurt her. She's had enough pain caused by Mikaelson's.

"I'm not the glue." She swallows hard, before closing her eyes and letting go of my wrist. I close my own, wishing she would say more, explain herself, but I know what this truly is. She's saying goodbye and I have no idea how to go on without my best friend.

"I'm not the glue that holds the family together. That's you." My eyes slowly peel open, my lips trembling. I can't cry. If I cry, she'll feel bad and not do what's best for her. "The family may have fallen apart when I left, but that's because you were hurt. My departure hurt you and you were mad that nobody seemed as affected by it. You carried that burden alone, making your anger and resentment towards them grow. You slowly withdrew from them and that's the reason the family broke. Not because of me, but because you no longer saw a reason to fight for it anymore. If you lose hope, then what more does anyone else have? You aren't just the baby of the family. You aren't just the original Tribrid or Klaus' pawn in a game of chess. You are Abigail Kate Mikaelson. You don't fit in a category with others, because you belong in your own. You aren't as evil as people think of you to be. You're not some sheltered princess or liability risk for the family. You are the most powerful creature and person to ever exist and I'm not even talking about your power. You have grace and elegance. You're level-headed but call people on the bullshit. You could be the monster people think you are, but you prove them wrong every single day, by simply being you. So no, I'm not the glue. You're the living, breathing, personification of Always & Forever. Anyone can say it, but only you have shown what it means to truly stand by your moral belief and protect what you love. Never change that. Never stop being you. If you do, then none of us have a reason to go on. If you can't find a reason to fight, then we're all fighting a losing battle at that point."

I'm not sure if she pulls me into her or if I lose my fight and crumble to her feet. Both are possible. She hugs me close to her body, stroking my hair, as my tears soak her shirt.

"I'm not leaving again, Abs. I think it's been proven how pointless that was. I was miserable and I miss having you guys around. I mean, who else will keep the boys in line? Yeah, you make a valiant effort, but their egos are far too great to handle alone." My shoulders shake as I laugh, more tears force from my eyes.

"Just promise me to keep fighting and I promise I'll be there to have your back and pick you up when needed." I look up at her, feeling a wave of comfort blanket over me, as I nod. I don't want Avery hurt, but I think being apart would do more damage than good.

"Okay." I breathe out, the weight on my chest lifting. It's not completely gone, and it may never go away, but I have my best friend back, and I never want to lose her again.

I sit my head up and look at her. "Can I ask about Sarah and Kiara now? Are they your best friends? Which one of them replaced me?" She throws her head back and laughs, pulling me back into her. "Hush now, baby. Don't worry your pretty little head with that."

I growl, ready to push her away, when she laughs harder, squeezing me tighter. "Relax, Abs. Nobody could ever replace you." She kisses my hair, slowly running her hands through it as she mumbles. "But I see a lot of similarities between you and Kie."

We struggle in her arms for a minute, before I give up and we settle on a quick catch up until I have to start packing. I still don't like the idea of leaving Avery again, but at least I know where we stand now. I know she's no more than a phone call or text away.

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