The Original: Book 2

Chapter 13

Coming back from the Grill, I pulled up outside of my house, turning the car off. I sat there for a moment, thinking about what I had heard Damon and Alaric talking about earlier. There were ghosts in this town, visiting people. I thought about all the people I had killed or had known that were now dead. "I hope my mother doesn't come back to haunt me," I whispered to myself, getting out of my car. I unlocked the front door to my house, pushing the door open, the key getting stuck in the lock. Jimmying it, I managed to get it out, slamming the door shut and throwing the keys into the bowl I had sitting by the front door. I walked into the living room, stopping in my tracks at the figure by the fireplace. My eyes went wide as he turned and saw me, a smile on his face. "Henry?"

"Hello, my love," he greeted, slowly walking over to me. I met him half way, unable to believe he was here.

"This isn't real," I muttered, reaching a hand up and brushing my fingers lightly across his cheek. They seemed to tingle as I felt the softness of his skin underneath them.

"It is real. I'm here." He lifted his hand to mine, holding it as he kissed my palm.

"You're really here?" He nodded as my eyes filled with tears and I threw my arms around his neck, holding him close. "God, I've missed you so much," I muttered, pulling away. He cupped my face in his hands, resting his forehead against mine.

"I've missed you too. You've changed so much. You're still the beautiful girl I fell in love with all those years ago."

I chuckled, "You haven't changed at all. You still look the same way I remembered." I closed my eyes as we stood there, not saying anything, just enjoying each other's presence. "I'm so sorry, Henry. I should have stopped her, I should have done something." Tears started falling from my eyes as I looked up at him.

"It's okay, my love. There was nothing you could do," he said softly, wiping the tears.

"You didn't deserve to die that way. You didn't deserve what she did to you," I shook my head, still crying. "It's all my fault. I should have been more careful. I'm the reason she found out. I'm the reason she did what she did. I'm the reason you're dead."

"Do not blame yourself, my dear Elizabeth. She was a clever woman; she would have found out anyway."

"Forgive me," I whispered, looking into his blue eyes.

"All is forgiven," he whispered back, pressing his lips to mine gently. I kept my eyes closed, trying to treasure this moment with him. A moment I would never get back.

"I will always love you."

"And I, you. Forever." Opening my eyes, I looked around, seeing that the room was empty.

***

Sitting at the bar at the Grill, I waved the bartender over, ordering another drink. It had been a few days since I saw Henry and it was all I could think about. As I took a sip from my drink, the stool next to me was pulled out. Glancing over, I was surprised to see Caroline sitting there. "Are you okay? I couldn't help but notice that you were drinking at such an early time in the morning and I figured something was wrong, so I decided to see if you wanted to talk about it."

"Well, other than the fact that I saw the ghost of a man I fell in love with over a thousand years ago or that Nik left town without so much as an explanation and won't answer my calls, I'm doing just fine," I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

"Klaus didn't tell you anything?"

I shook my head, "Nope. And Stefan won't tell me where he is or why he left. Rebekah keeps dodging me, so I'm not getting anything out of her either."