DECEPTION

Chapter 31

For a moment it's as if time is still, and we just stand there, watching each other. Finally, Kol breaks away, looking down at the ground guiltily. Suddenly, I burst. Not being able to cope with any more news as such, I lunge towards Kol.

"What's wrong with you?" I scream. "Erik took you in! He trusted you! We trusted you! I trusted you!"

Before I can even lay a hand on him, Thorn has my hands wrapped tightly behind my back. I kick and squirm, wanting desperately to lash out at something. I know I must  look like a mess, but I don't care. This is wrong. This whole situation is just wrong.

Kol tenderly steps forward. "Audrey..."

"Don't touch me!" I yell, a sob escaping me. "You lied! You lied about everything!"

I know I must be acting melodramatically, but in this moment, I barely even hear the words escaping my mouth. They all just tumble out. Feeling light-headed and suddenly exhausted, my knees begin to buckle slightly, and all I want is to fall back onto the ground. Thorn's grip on my arms is probably the only thing keeping me up. Kol reaches out to support me, but I kick Thorn behind me, who lets go in surprise, and I swat Kol's hand away, refusing to let him get near me. Kol shakes his head at me, crossing his arms over his chest, frowning.

"Audrey, listen to me, it wasn't all a lie," Kol starts.

I watch my mother waving her mobile in the air. "Why can't I get any reception?" she walks further away towards the truck, holding her phone up in different directions.

"Look. Can I have a moment?" Kol glances at Thorn with his usual, bored expression. I look at the two of them in shock as Thorn reluctantly nods his head with a grunt, and I realise just how much power Kol must have over these people.

"You too," he glances at Spike, who shrugs and walks off, casting me a last glare before following his companion a little distance away.

"Tell me this is a joke," I spit out bluntly.

Kol raises an eyebrow, actually seeming confused. "A joke?"

"Why would you stay with these people Kol? What possible reason could you have? These people killed your parents!" I point out, flustered.

"No," Kol says bitterly. "Your dad killed them!"

I shake my head in bewilderment. "You are just as insane as the others! What are you saying?"

He glares at me. "Exactly what I said! It's because of your father that they got caught! It's because of him that they even joined this stupid organisation in the first place! They could have been doing some other mission! They could've still been alive!" A look of sadness crosses his face and I wonder if he's going to cry. I almost feel sorry for him. Almost. But anger soon takes over once more.

"So you join them?" I scoff.

"They offered me a place with them! You'd be stupid not to pick the winning side," Kol says darkly, a part I haven't seen him before.

"Erik offered you a place in his home! You manipulated him! You manipulated me." My voice dropped low on the last sentence, and I looked at him in disappointment.

"It wasn't fake. You and me," he says quietly, stepping towards me. "Everything I felt for you was real. You can't say you didn't feel the same." He lifts my chin up towards him and I find myself thinking back to the kiss. But this time, I don't feel confusion towards that memory. My stomach doesn't flutter. It's just a memory. A memory of betrayal.

"You and I aren't all that different from each other Audrey. When your mother sent me on this covert mission, I thought I'd have a hatred for you like I did your dad but... you're different. You were innocent in all this," he gently pushes a strand of loose hair behind my ear, waiting for my reply. When I finally respond, though, it's obviously not what he expected.