Bloom • Mikaelson

VII. He has no hold

I HAVEN'T LEFT THE COMFORT OF MY room for days. Memories of my parents flash through my head and I can't seem to get them off replay. However, that is not what consumes my thoughts and body like an incurable plague. My conversation with Damon did that just fine. Now, New Orleans is the only thing on my mind. I have downed everything I could find in the safety of these 4 walls to down and now I'm out of drinks and ways to pretend what happened never happened. After New Orleans happened, we never talked about it. Ivonna didn't force the words out of me. Instead, we went back to Rome and erased the memories from our mind. I wish my heart would forget Niklaus as easily as my mind can. If they both forgot him, it wouldn't matter if he showed up or not.

Ivonna hasn't bothered me once today and that's only because a certain Salvatore is taking up all of her attention. I'm actually happy for the peace and quiet, however. No annoying questions or prying Salvatore's. I peel myself out of bed and dispose of my oversized shirt like routine. Stripping my bra and panties, I step into the cold marble shower and let steaming hot water fry my skin clean. The water slithers down my skin like snakes and takes a hold of my body, claiming it as its own. I wash my hair and squeeze the remaining water out of it before stepping out of the shower. My phone rings just as I'm wrapping a towel tightly around my body. I think nothing of it as I press the cold screen to my ear.

"Nadia?" A voice calls from the other end.

I almost drop my phone, my breath catching in my throat.

"Helllooo, Nadia?"

"Sorry, Breanne. I thought you were someone else." I frown.

"Are you okay? You don't sound okay."

"A conversation I had the other day has me really thinking about New Orleans. Did you know Niklaus is coming here?"

"Hey, no need to think about what happened in New Orleans. You are strong and that only made you stronger. When Niklaus pops up, you show him he doesn't have a hold on you anymore."

"That's not going to be quite so easy, seeing it's not true."

"We only need him to think it is."

I hang up the phone and head down the stairs, counting the steps as I continue to descend. What happened in New Orleans and my conversation with Breanne doesn't leave my mind. I find Ivonna in the kitchen, searching for something she's misplaced and her thoughts don't let me in on what it is. Before I can question what she's looking for, the other Salvatore, Elena, and Bonnie comes into view. It seems I can't get rid of them no matter how hard I try.

"Nadia," Ivonna smiles brightly in my direction. "It's good to see you up and out that room."

"If I didn't come out any time soon, I know you were coming in there."

She laughs at my comment, shrugging because we both know it's true. She goes back to searching for whatever it is she's looking for. She pulls out my mother's grimore and it's not hard to notice the frown painted across my lips. My mother's grimore was not something to be handed over freely to anyone that asked to see it. While we're showing them something that once had the spell that created us in there, we might as well share every little secret. Secrets like what happened in New Orleans, how to kill us — which isn't white oak. How to kill the Mikaelson's, about Michael — the vampire that hunts vampires. About the amount of magic in my amulet, the blood moon. That we're witch, vampire hybrids with a hell of a lot of magic.

"We're good, Nadia." Ivonna seems to hear my thoughts.

Damon looks between the two of us, not happy with our coded conversation. Ivonna doesn't catch Damon's glares. She doesn't notice anything besides Stefan and the book in her hands. She places my mother's grimore in Bonnie's hands before heading off somewhere else. I follow behind her, wanting to know what the hell is going on in that head of hers. She's absolutely out her damn mind. We end up in the foyer and I wish I would of stayed in bed. I can't have a conversation with anyone if I never leave the comfort of my room.