Star Light

Chapter One: Welcome Home

Welcome to 
Mystic Falls
Virginia

I read the sign and felt a stone fall into the pit of my stomach. I was once again back because once again a member of my family had passed away. Only now I had more responsibility on my shoulders. Now I had to be a caregiver, protect my siblings. 

What the hell was I going to do? 

Mystic Falls is a small town that hasn't changed much since it was founded back in the 1860s; it was easy to fall into a rhythm and forget dreams. To just let the life of the small town drag you down. When I was a child I refused to let that be me; then I worked my ass off to make sure it wasn't me. That combined with a reasonably high IQ led to me graduating at barely sixteen years old and shipping off later that fall to Michigan to attend MIT. 

As I drove through the town now, I felt nothing but contempt for the place that kept dragging me home by killing those I held dear. 

Mystic Falls wasn't as warm and welcoming as it's inhabitants and the descendants of its founders led people to believe. Harsh rumors spread like wildfires, superstition took hold in some of the oldest families like her own, and people judged those who chose to look for something better. 

With that said, it was hard to not look at the square, where the sun shone brightly with the summer light and not be reminiscent of better times when my family was whole, and I was young. 

Well, younger. 

I pulled up in front of my house, the house I grew up in with my two siblings and sighed. For a moment, I just sat there and enjoyed the serenity of my car. Then I womaned up, straightened my back, fixed my hair, and got out of my car. I walked right up to my front door and stepped inside. After all, I did own the place. 

Jeremy, Elena, and a man I assume to be Alaric Saltzman looked over at me from where they stood in the living room. "Honey, I'm home." I joked with a small smile. 

Jeremy instantly ran to my arms, hugging me tightly. It was like he was afraid I would just disappear and my heart ached at the amount of pain and loss he had gone through. Over time, I found out about the towns new vampire problem and my sibling's relation to it. Ever since mom and dad died, it has been one thing after another for them, and I should have been there to help them through all of it. I should have comforted them with Vicky, Elena being adopted, her birth mom dying, Jeremy's girlfriend Anna, Bonnie's Grams, Uncle John, Jenna. I was there for none of it, and they needed me there. 

I had to be there for them now. 

"I'm not going anywhere Jer, I swear," I whispered to him as I hugged him tightly, assuring him of my presence. 

He pulled away, eyes glassy with unshed tears. "Sh, it's okay to be hurt. Sadness is no weakness." I told him, pulling him back into me. 

I made eye contact with Elena over Jeremy's shoulder and motioned her over. My little sister wasted no time in approaching me as fast as she could, joining in the hug with tears of her own. 

"I'm here; it's okay, I'm home." I murmured to them softly. 

Eventually, we all pulled back, tears staining our cheeks. I looked to Alaric then and walked over to him. "Thank you for being here for my siblings when I wasn't. I'm so sorry for your loss."

"It was no problem." He said, waving it off as though him putting his life on hold to stay with my siblings who just lost every bit of parental figure in their life was no big deal. 

I shook my head. "It's a big deal to me. I understand you've been staying here and I would like nothing more than for you to continue to do so if you would like. The Gilbert home has always been open to those who need it or want it."