AFTERMATH [ 2 ] | LEGACIES

N I N E

I stared at the chain in my hand. Lorelle had put it around my neck before I got into the car. It was the one with the ring that was Elijah's. I drove back to Mystic Falls with my emotions all over the place.

 I looked down while I grabbed the ring. I saw the engraving on the inside of the gold circle. The words "E. Mikaelson" was on it, and suddenly, I was crying. It was my dad's, and I missed him. Maybe I was so mad at Lorelle because she wasn't the parent I wanted to have magically reappear. She wasn't the one I was attached to, she wasn't my dad. 

But I wasn't mad at her anymore, just disappointed that she was here, and he wasn't.

-

By the time I got to Mystic Falls, my eyes hurt and I knew they were bloodshot from the constant crying I did. It was dark out, already passed dinner. I parked my car and made my way through the school, ending up in the Stefan Salvatore Memorial Library to go through the textbooks that told stories about my family. Sure, often times than others, they were the villains in these stories, but I was hounding Alaric to allow me to write about their good sides, because sometimes someone is only the villain depending on who wrote it. Depending on what side of the story you're looking at it from.

I'm still trying to win him over.

I found Roman by the turret, staring out of it. My heart went soft when I saw that he was standing by our place even when I wasn't there. I had called him the night before, when we first arrived in New Orleans. Sometimes, I don't think I deserve him. Despite all he's done, he's so pure for the world. He's so pure that it was easy for Greta to manipulate him, and that caused him to lose a lot, caused me and my family to lose a lot.

I was about to walk towards him when I was stopped by someone getting in my way. I looked up to see Rafael with an awkward smile on his face.

"Hey," he said, pulling me into a hug. 

"Hey, Raf," I said, hugging him back while keeping my eyes on my boyfriend. "You're back."

"As are you," he said, pulling away. "There's been talk about how you and Hope aren't getting along so you ran away. Are you okay? You're face is poofy."

I laughed, and the sound of my laugh made Roman's head snap in my direction. His eyes settled on me, and before he could smile, he saw that I was talking to Rafael instead of being with him, and he frowned. I gave him a look, and he stayed by the turret.

"What's wrong?" Rafael asked.

I looked at him, and shook my head. "Nothing..."

He followed my eyes, and turned around. He nodded when he saw my boyfriend.

"Oh, okay," he said, stepping out of the way. "I'm here if you ever wanna talk about the adventure you just had. You're kind of the only friend I got here other than Landon, so..."

I placed my hand on his face and smiled, before pinching his cheeks. I said, "Will do, wolfie."

I approached my boyfriend, who put his hand out when I got close enough. I placed mine in his, leaning against the turret with him.

"You okay?" he asked, and I reached up to play with his hair.

"Can we go to your room?" I asked. "I don't want to talk here, surprisingly enough."

-

When we got to his room, I went straight for his bed, sitting on the edge as tears started to spill.

Roman sat down next to me, wrapping his arms around me from behind and putting his head on my shoulder.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked.

 I wiped my face, facing him. He grabbed my face with both of his hands, pulling my hair out of the way. He brought me closer to kiss my forehead.

"I can't believe she's here, and I guess it just... it's a lot to take in."

He let go of me to go lay down, and left his arms open so I could lay with him. I crawled into the space between the edge of the bed and Roman, fitting my body perfectly into his. My head rested on his chest.

"Tell me the whole story," he said softly.

"I went to see Bonnie, and she was there, attacking her. But she stopped when Bonnie said my name, and hugged me. Damon, Elena, Bonnie, and I brought her to New Orleans so that Aunt Bex could identify and confirm her identity. She's a vampire now, and claims that she was awoken a year ago, and when trying to find Elijah in this new modern world, she ended up asking the wrong vampire because they turned her. She wasn't even alive in a world where vampires exist, and now she is one."

"Where is she now?" Roman asked.

"She tried coming back with me," I explained. "But Aunt Bex said it was best she stayed in New Orleans after seeing that I really don't want mother-daughter time with Lorelle. Freya and Bonnie are trying to figure out what's wrong, but all the spells and tests they performed confirmed she was my mother."

"Why didn't you want mother-daughter time with her?" Roman asked. "You used to always read your dad's journals about her, and ask him about her. You used to ask Rebekah and Kol and Klaus about her, and you like seeing Elena because she looks exactly like your mom's old best friend, who, if you had stayed with your mom, you were sure would've treated you like a niece. Babe, these are things you've been wanting, asking for, craving, and now she's here."

I started to cry again at his words because he was right, but it couldn't feel more wrong.

I wiped my eyes on my jacket, and held the ring up so he could see it.

"This was my dad's. He gave it to Lorelle," I said. "I guess, I did want to know her, want to feel close to her, but that was when my dad was still alive. I wanted to see a complete family, my dad in love with someone. That's why I was so taken with Hayley, because my dad loved her, because she treated me like her daughter."

"I understand," he said.

That was something I loved about Roman. Sometimes, the things I say are too much for either of us to be able to find a solution for, and sometimes, I say things not wanting a solution. He understands that, and just offers his ears, his shoulders, and his comfort, and makes sure I know he's listening. Sometimes, what I need isn't advice, but just to let it out.

"I just... if my dad was alive, then I'd love that Lorelle was back," I said, not being able to call her mom because that's not what she felt like to me. "And she doesn't understand why I'm mad at her, and I guess... she's just not the parent I was hoping to get back."