Second Chance 》 The Vampire Diaries

The Ties That Bind

I kept laughing as I ran after Stefan through the house. We've seen the Forbes kids running around and patting their shoulder. When Stefan and I asked what were they were doing, they said it's this new game they heard called tagged. So we've decided to give it a go.  Which was proven difficult for me because of my dress.

"I'm gonna get you, Stef," I chuckled as we ran up the stairs. Stefan laughed. We ran towards father's room. Stefan ran towards one of the corners and got stuck. Ha, he's gonna get it. I ran up and tapped his shoulder. "You're it."

Then I turned around to run. I continued laughing as we ran out the room.

"Get back here, Bels," Stefan said.

We ran down the stairs. I turned the corner of the room and kept running, until there was a loud crash. I stopped before looking, only to have my eyes widen. Stefan knelt down next to father's favorite vase, that was now shatter to pieces.

Stefan began looking up at me as he held two of the shards. "I - I didn't see it."

I ran over and helped him pick it up. "Stefan, we need to hide them before Father -"

"Before Father what?" A voice said behind us. I froze in place. I cast a worried glance towards Stefan as Father stepped closer to us. "Answer me."

Stefan and I slowly stood up. We turned to show him the broken vase in our hands.

"It was an accident," Stefan spoke.

I could see the fury in father's eyes. "Which one of you did this?"

I didn't want Stefan to face Father's punishments. He's the golden boy of the family, he can't get in trouble. I tried to calm my beating heart before lifting my head up high.

"I did," I said.

Stefan's eyes widen. "What?" He looked towards Father. "No, it was me."

I shook my head. "Stefan, you don't need to lie for me. I made this mess. I take full responsibility for it."

Father sighed before grabbing the shards from us. "Go to your room, Stefan. I would like to speak to your sister."

Stefan gave me a worried glance before obeying Father's command. Father placed most of the shards of the desk. My palms sweating, chest pounding. I'm just waiting. Which is what scares me.

"You know your mother got this for me, Bela," he started off.

My gaze went towards the ground. "I know. She gave it to you before her....passing." I clasped my hands in front of me. "I'm sorry, Father. Stefan and I were playing. I - I didn't see the vase there when -"

I felt this sharp pain go across my cheek. Then something warm started to cascade down my cheek. I brought my hand up to touch it, only to find blood on my finger tips. I looked up to see my father holding a shard in his hand. The pointed tip coated in blood.

"Go to your room," he sneered. "I don't want to see you for the rest of the evening."

I nodded before picking up my skirt and starting going up the stairs. When I was at the top, Stefan stood there. His mouth open at the mark Father left. I lowered my gaze to the ground before going to my room.

"I didn't know," I muttered for the third time today. My body was on fire. Sweat beading down my forehead. "I didn't know. I didn't know." My throat is dry. My craving for blood increasing by the minute.

"Hey. Hey. Shhh," I heard Damon. I slowly open my eyes to find him in my room. A chair next to my bed as he pushed my hair back. "What were you hallucinating about?"