sad beautiful tragic ~ elena gilbert

iv. vicki donovan

"Hey, it's Elena. You're off to the fourth reason now. You're almost there. And it's almost time."

The last line caused chills among the group.

"My life changed at the party on the last day of summer, in the forest. It was a good thing you weren't drunk or was it?"

Matt was fidgeting. He remembered that night all too well. From the earliest hour of that day, he remembered every single detail of what went on.

Vicki, we started to be great friends again. I loved it because I missed the times me, you, Matt and Jeremy would bond. It was my childhood all over except the fact, you're dead now. I wish you were alive to hear this. Okay, I'll stop with the nostalgia. But that night started the chain reaction."

Matt was afraid of what Elena was about to say. That night still haunts him even if months had passed since the accident.

"That very moment I rode that car with you, it was the start of something I wish I hadn't. Something I wish I could take back. I should've asked you to drive me directly so that you didn't have to go through that road and hit the sign. I saw it unfold from Bonnie's new place. It scared me so much. I called 911. But I feel guilty for it. I could've been there to stop you. Then I heard a family was nearly caught in an accident. How could you have let that happen, Vicki? What if they skidded off the road and got in a real accident?"

"That trauma keeps haunting me. I keep trying to tell their family but I just couldn't. I was too scared that they'll hurt me for allowing it to happen. That night I came home and tried to forget about it but I couldn't because it frightened me. Like I said, it was just the beginning of a chain reaction. But, I knew you, Vicki. I knew you would stand up for the right thing."

The audio finished. And deep breaths were taken by many. The Mikaelsons were shocked at how selfless the doppelganger was, in comparison to the past doppelgangers. She blamed herself for something that was out of her control.

Jeremy, upon seeing their faces, took it to explain. "She blamed herself for the accident. She spoke little about the incident, actually, she never spoke about it. It was hard getting it out if her, it took her to speak about it through a tape. I just wish she could've told me about it, you know? So I could've helped her deal with it."

"I understand. I know that we all could've been there for her but it just wasn't enough, I guess," Bonnie explained, "Loving someone sometimes isn't enough to save them."

For Bonnie, this was her closure but deep inside she knew it wasn't working.

"What the hell was wrong with Vicki? She almost killed a family with her carelessness." Caroline blurted out.

"Look, she paid back for what she did. She used to tutor the kids 3 days a week for no pay, she helped Mrs. Sanchez with her house cleaning and ran errands for Mr. Sanchez. She would have become their housekeeper if they had wanted, she felt guilty. Now if you're done hating on my sister, it's time we played the next tape."