BORN TO DIE, stefan salvatore [1]

38 - THE LAST DAY

BORN TO DIE
THE LAST DAY

MADELEINE WAS KICKED AWAKE. She woke with a jolt, finding that Theo's leathered boot had kicked her chair. Beside him was his mother, looking as sour as ever. Helene nodded her head towards the blonde before departing the room. Theo raised his hand towards Madeleine. He muttered a spell and she finally felt like she could move her feet again. Theo grasped her arm and yanked her to her feet. "What's going on?"

"Your friends have found us. We need to leave." He answered as he dragged her up the stairs. Theo booted open the basement door with his foot. It was bright outside. Madeleine had no idea what time of day it was. She had lost all measurement of time after two days here. With Nate, she didn't know what day of the week it was, what time, if it had been seven days or four. It felt like an eternity. 

Theo stood with Madeleine in the hallway, seemingly anticipating his mother. A woman walked into the room, with her hands behind her back as she strolled. She wasn't the woman that Madeleine had met yesterday but there was a family resemblance. "So this is the new one. She looks like her father."

Madeleine stared at the woman, bewildered. Was this the grandmother that Theo had mentioned. Her grandmother. The woman slowly walked towards Madeleine and grabbed her face with her wrinkled hand. "Mother. You can inspect her later. We have to go."

The woman turned Madeleine's face in her hand. "All that work and you don't even look like her."

Madeleine knew she didn't look like her mom. Where Madeleine had blonde hair, her mother had black. She had her father's blue eyes rather than her mom's green ones. A pair of green eyes that Eva clearly got from her own mother. The woman left Madeleine a lingering stare before going outside. Theo followed behind with Madeleine in tow. Outside was a black van that definitely looked suspicious.

Theo opened the door to the van and pushed  Madeleine inside. They sat side by side with his hand firmly attached to her arm. Their grandmother climbed into the passenger seat. Helene filled the trunk with duffel bags that Madeleine wasn't sure she wanted to know the contents of. After she packed the van she slid into the driver's seat and zoomed down the street.

Helene was an aggressive driver. If she was smart, she'd slow down in order not to cause suspicion but she slammed that peddle to the floor.

"Your mother named you Tissaia, didn't she?" The old woman asked, looking at her through the passenger mirror.

"My name's Madeleine." The blonde corrected. Her grandmother scoffed.

"Trust your father to ruin our family traditions." The woman tsked. "The name Madeleine translates to 'From Magdala'. Useless name. The people in our family draw strength from their names. It reflects who they are. Who they should be. Trust your father to give you a name that means nothing."

"Mary Magdalene was known to have the seven devils cleansed out of her soul by Christ. Maybe he thought I could be saved despite the devil inside me." Madeleine suggested, not looking her grandmother in the eyes.