Bound in the Shadows / TVD N.M

🦋~°30°~🦋

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Liora

Nik and I made our way to our room, the weight of the evening pressing down like a suffocating fog. The walls of this old mansion seemed to close in tighter tonight, each step echoing with memories of battles fought, trust betrayed, and fragile promises broken. I had clung to a slim hope that tonight might be different—that a shared meal and a few hard-won words could start mending what had been so violently torn. That we'd retrieve the coffin, and somehow, things might finally be okay. But Esther's arrival had cast a new darkness over everything, settling between us like a creeping, insidious shadow.

Once we were inside, I closed the door quietly behind us. Nik took a breath, running a hand through his hair, his face shadowed with unspoken thoughts. The silence stretched on, thick and heavy. I could feel the tension humming between us, a charge building just under the surface. My stomach twisted, knowing that neither of us could hold back for long.

Finally, he broke the silence, his voice taut. "You don't understand the half of it, Liora," he said, his eyes dark with a flicker of something almost feral. "You saw her in there, the way she looked at me, like I was... like I was nothing but a mistake."

His words struck a nerve. "Nik, I was there. I heard every word she said," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper, trying to keep my tone even. "But I also saw you. I saw how hard you're trying to keep this family together, how desperately you want to make things right with them."

He scoffed, stepping away from me, his shoulders tense. "You think I want this?" His laugh was bitter, sharp, slicing through the air like a knife. "All I want is for them to see me as something other than a monster. But it's useless. I was born into this family as an outsider, cursed before I ever took my first breath."

"You're not a monster, Nik," I said firmly, moving closer to him, reaching for his arm. But he pulled away, the hurt in his eyes flashing momentarily before it was replaced by something harder, colder.

"Then what am I, Liora?" he spat, his voice laced with frustration. "Because every time I try to change, every time I try to protect them, they remind me of who I am, what I am."

I felt a surge of frustration building within me, and I couldn't hold it back any longer. "And what about me, Nik? Do you think I'm blind to all of this? I see you. I know the parts of you that they refuse to see, that they can't see. But you have to let me in! You push me away every time things get hard, and I can't... I can't keep fighting for you alone."

He turned to me, his face twisted with a mix of anger and vulnerability. "I push you away to keep you safe, Liora. Don't you see? Every person I've ever cared for has either left or been torn from me. I can't lose you too."

I could feel my own anger flare, driven by the helplessness of watching him fight a battle against himself and everyone around him. "I'm not like everyone else, Nik. I'm here, standing right in front of you, and I'm not going anywhere." My voice shook, but I kept going, the words spilling out in a rush. "But you have to stop treating me like some fragile thing that will shatter under the weight of this. I'm stronger than you think, and I'm here because I choose to be."

He stared at me, his jaw clenched, and for a moment, I thought he might lash out. But then his shoulders sagged, and he closed his eyes, exhaling a shaky breath. "Liora... I don't know if I can keep doing this. It's like everything I touch turns to ashes. Even tonight—my mother, of all people, shows up and tells me she's here to forgive me, only to parade her disdain around like a badge of honor."

His voice broke, just for a second, and it was enough to crack through my own anger. I reached out, cupping his face, forcing him to look at me. "Then let me help carry this with you," I whispered, my thumb brushing his cheek. "I chose this, Nik. I chose you. And I'm not going to walk away just because things get dark."