ACHILLES' HEEL ▷ KOL MIKAELSON [2] [COMPLETED]

𝟐𝟐. 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑

(CHAPTER TWENTY TWO :
DEATH IS AT YOUR DOOR)

✧࿐ ཾ✧

THE NEXT FLIGHT OUT to New Orleans wasn't for another two hours. In the back of my mind, I knew I could have fast tracked the process with a little compulsion, but I wanted to use my two hours to talk to my friends. Not as a goodbye, but as a 'just in case.' From what Kol had said, the black magic had reached my blood and I didn't know if that meant I had hours or days left. If I died before I met Davina Claire, I didn't want anything to be left unsaid between my friends and I back in Mystic Falls. I decided to start with Elena and Jeremy Gilbert because I knew that our encounter could be prompt. I reserved Damon for last, knowing I had the most to say and explain to him, given he didn't know about the curse.

Inhale, exhale. I coached myself on how to breathe and worked up the courage to knock on the door — twice, out of habit. Standing outside, I felt vulnerable, each second in the cold equating to a lifetime. After being a given second chance at life, I had hopelessly failed at being the strong, fearless woman I aspired to be when I was a little girl with milkmaid braids. All I had accomplished was running from both who I wanted to be and who I used to be. And — in those excruciating minutes whilst I waited for someone to answer the door — I wanted to right my wrongs with a countdown timer above my head. To be blunt, I wanted to lay everything out in front of my friends to ensure they got the most out of their life because I wasn't happy in my current state of mind. If — when — I survived, I'd work harder to find more self-love.

"Elena, hey." I greeted, the door opening after what I imagined to have been an eternity. "I'm sorry for arriving unannounced like this but my phone died on the way over here. I was hoping we could talk, maybe over coffee?" I proposed with my best fake smile, not wanting to sound too excited. "Scratch that, we'll definitely need wine for the conversation I want to have." I changed my mind, a forced laugh escaping the bottom of my throat.

She matched my fake smile, the grin not reaching her caramel eyes. "Now's not really a good time." Elena glanced over her shoulder nervously and my supernatural hearing detected someone entering through the back door, which was unusual in itself. "You should, um, go home, charge your phone and come back tomorrow. Definitely charge your phone, I left a message because Kol comp— — You missed a lot." The brunette cut herself off, causing me to frown. What could he have done in the time I had been gone?

I resisted. "No, I've got a flight to catch in a few hours, I won't be here tomorrow." I filled her in on my situation.

"Now is really not a good time." She emphasised, shooting me a sincere, apologetic look. "We can talk on the phone if it's that important, I promise." My friend amended, then proceeded to slam the door shut in my face.

Suspicious of her exaggerated and rude reaction, I didn't move. "You're hiding something." I shouted, hitting my hands against the door in hopes she would open it again. "What don't you want me to see? There's nothing you could do that will make more mad than not allowing me to say . . . Goodbye." I succumbed to the truth, my voice splintering like thin ice. No matter how much I wanted to gloss over it, the reality was that maybe I was making my goodbye rounds. Deep down, I had this sensation — a gut feeling — that told me someone was meant to die tonight. And it only made sense for it to be me, nobody else was cursed.