The Reset

Chapter Twenty One: We Were Never Ready

AN: So yeah... I hope you guys weren't too mad at me in the last chapter. But we are getting close to the end of the first arc. And yes, there is going to be a second arc. Possibly a third. So just bear with me guys. Also, I want to take the time out to thank my friend and beta reader, Tomi, for putting up with all my shenanigans during this process. She's been my sounding board since the beginning and I couldn't have gotten this far alone. And she's also helping me with this chapter because I've been on the struggle bus as of late. But yes, thank you and on to the story!

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~ 2013 - Mystic Falls, Virginia - Bennett Home ~

Satisfaction.

It had been a long time since that word, that sensation, had been a constant in his life. Today was a good day if he had to balance them against the plethora of shit days he's suffered. He let Damon's words slide into the back of his mind while he was with Bonnie. Damon wasn't stupid - that was a fact. Still, the words Damon hadn't said? Bothered him.

He had stolen a glance at his phone while they were making their way back to the Bennett house. He couldn't help grinning again after rereading the text message that accompanied the photos (of which he might share with Bonnie later when she wasn't being such a pill). Lucy had gotten some solid shots in and he'd have to thank her properly when he got the chance.

Lucy: I wish you two could see what others see when they look at you both. But hopefully, this is a bit of an eye-opener for you. Again, just be patient with her. I know my cousin will come around. Patience and persistence. We Bennett women are a stubborn lot.

He chewed on the corner of his mouth and stashed his phone away. The rest of the groceries were balanced between his fingers.

Kai's steps immediately halted when a visual he hadn't expected was suddenly slammed into his line of sight.

Blood was in the air. So was pain. So was death.

The silence in that yard was deafening. Maybe it was the thundering pace of his heart filling his ears. It was like something straight out of a horror film. The slow-motion drag of time as he stepped closer to Bonnie. His nostrils flared as his emotions, his vitals, and his mind went in opposite directions. Kai's mouth fell open as the faintest sound left him. He couldn't register anything but the lifeless body of Lucy Bennett sprawled out on the front lawn.

The groceries were all over the ground now.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Bonnie felt the plastic handles from the grocery bags slipping from her fingers. Though the noise they made was loud enough to probably wake the dead, she heard nothing. The only sound that was the most prominent in her mind was the sound of her heartbeat. It drummed loudly against her chest - making it difficult to breathe. Her lips parted slowly as her legs seemed to have a mind of their own - carrying her forward as the image began burning itself into her brain and she dared not even acknowledge that it was real.

There Lucy was, lying in the grass of her grandmother's front yard - bled out and seemingly unconscious. Bonnie reached out with her magic, attempting to caress her cousin's aura to determine what her status was. But there was a part of her that already feared the worst - had predicted it. Because not even several hours prior to them separating, she had conveyed her greatest fears to Lucy. Things seemed to be going so well. Something bad always happened.

It always did.

But then her cousin's words slammed into her like a wrecking ball, breaking through her walls as if they never existed.