On My Own (TVD Series)

Lies and Secrets

Letting the warm water run through the open faucet, I dried the ceramic plate in my hand before placing it along with the others in the cabinet. Sebastian's heavy rainboots crush the sound of fresh grass as he ran into the kitchen with a large basket of vegetables and flowers.

"Where did you get those?" I asked as he sat them on the counter.

"Mom planted a garden near the old river."

"She took on another hobby?" I asked.

"Being annoying isn't all she's good at."

Placing the last ceramic plate in the cabinet, I quickly washed the sink and the counter before taking the vegetables to the mudroom.

"What are you doing?" Sebastian asked.

"Washing the vegetables?"

"By hand?"

"...well, how else are you supposed to do it?" I sighed.

"Magic? Don't let our death go to waste."

"Sebastian!" I heard my father yell as he watched us from the kitchen counter.

"Father, I'm sorry-"

"You know the rules...you do not speak to your sister like that."

"Yes, Father." Sebastian sighed, lowering his head.

Staring at the two of them, there was a look in my father's eye that brought tension into the small room. 

"I'm going to go help mom out with the flowers...I'm sorry, Lauren." He whispered to me.

"It's alright, go..." I added, placing my hand on his shoulder before he ran out.

"You didn't have to scare him like that, you know?" I told my father.

"He needs to learn boundaries, you're too easy on him."

"I've never had a brother my age...I've always been told what to do by my older ones," I added, scrubbing the dirt off the vegetables.

Continuing to wash the vegetables, I grabbed the thick green scrub bar and started soaking the vegetables in water as I felt my dad rest up against the door frame.

"He's right...you could just wash them with magic, give you more time on your hands. Visit that boyfriend of yours..."

Stopping unexpectedly, he made his way further into the mudroom, leaning against the sink as I tossed the vegetables into a clean sack.

"What?" He whispered, noticing the look I gave him.

"Were you like this with Elizabeth when she was my age?" I asked.

"...yes? I mean, I would rather know that you're with him, then find you asleep on the porch because you've locked yourself out the house."

"Woah?"

"Oh, yeah. James...longtime girlfriend, but he kept it a secret from your mother because...well, you know." He chuckled.

"Yeah...so he got locked out?"

"I found him trembling at the top step...forgot we had a spare key in the mailbox."

"Hmm...seems like he lived a normal life"

"We did, away from the magic powers we all possessed." He added.

Then suddenly, my dad takes the basket of dirty vegetables and sets them by his side.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Washing the vegetables..."

"But?"