Bloom • Mikaelson

XXIV. To forget our love

FOR OVER A THOUSAND YEARS, I HAVE stared at myself without having to look in any reflection. I have seen every emotion, every smile and every tear streaked mess. It is the face that sometimes haunts me in my sleep and creeps into my mind at my darkest moments. Not only is it mine, but it is also hers.

I don't need to look in the mirror to know that our emotions match, down to the salty tears that sting our eyes. Ivonna clenches her jaw a little harder than she should. I clutch my chest to gain the least bit of control. Like any siblings, Ivonna and I have had our fair share of fights and disagreements. However, Niklaus Mikaelson was one we could never get over. Before coming back to Mystic falls he was a subject we avoided all together. Now, she wants to kill him — she's always wanted to but now she's hell bent on doing so. This is something she will do whether it kills me or not. I take a deep breath in, being sure to shut my eyes as I hold it.

"I can't stop you from doing anything you want to do. Just remember, you have to live with the consequences of your actions no matter how hard." I admit.

"Like the risk if I do this, you'll hate me forever?" Ivonna says.

I refuse to open my eyes and instead turn on my heels.

"No, the risk that I just might die of heartbreak without him."

I can feel Ivonna's eyes bore into my back before she disappears. I wish there was more to be said, something that could change this all. However, I realized a long time ago Ivonna Petrovich is going to do what she wants to do no matter anyone else. It takes a second before I crash to my knees, hiding a sob behind my hand. A million years ago, I was ready to undo our mystical connection for the man she loved — regardless of what it meant had she chose him over me. Now, in the same situation, she has yet to extend me the same curtesy.

Hate is a strong emotion almost as strong as love, however it is a dark emotion that will consume you. It's clear it is consuming Ivonna. I'm not angry with her, we've both hated someone the other was dating — I'm more hurt than anything. Because in the end, it comes down to whether I'll ruin us to protect him. I take a deep breath to control the sobs racking through my body and meet Niklaus' eyes. Nik takes his thumb and wipes the tears from my cheeks.

"I need a favor." I whisper.

I already know the answer Nik will give me when I tell him exactly what the favor is.

"Anything." Nik answers.

"I need you to forget about me, unlove me. Stop caring."

Niklaus looks at me like I've grown a second head. The thought doing such a thing creates a stabbing in both our chests. But it is the only way I can protect him in all of this. His actions aren't the only reason Ivonna hates him so much, she also hates the fact that I am irrevocably in love with him. I'm not sure if it sprouted from jealousy or loneliness or just because, but it's definitely there.

"There's no way in bloody hell." Niklaus finally answers.

"Then I'm sorry for this, my love." A tear slips from my cheeks.

I lean back on my heels and focus on the green crystal of Niklaus' eyes. I can tell he's confused about what's going on but he holds my gaze anyway. I take a deep breath and choose my next words very carefully.

"I want you to forget me, unlove me, stop caring about me. I am only someone you grew up with. I am only your sister's best friend and nothing more." I compel.

Niklaus gazes off somewhere behind me. His pupils dilate, most likely rewriting a thousand years worth of memories in his head. When his eyes fall back on me, he unravels his arms from my body and stands up. He looks at my tear stained face with no emotion and just frowns at me. His slides into his pocket and pulls out his phone. I'm not sure who he's calling until her name falls from his lips.

"Rebekah, there's something wrong with your best friend. She seems to be crying." Nik says.

I stand from my almost crumpled position on the floor and wipe the tears away from my eyes. Nik takes another look at me and walks away. My throat and chest constricts, keeping in a strangled sob. And once again I'm left alone to pick up the broken pieces of my heart. I should be use to this by now, it's not like we haven't broken up a million times over a thousand years. Then again, walking away from someone is much different then them forgetting they even loved you in the first place.

I take a deep breath, pick up the pieces of a useless organ and wipe my eyes. This was my choice, so no need to cry over it. I take the stairs up to my bedroom two at a time and strip from my clothing. Steaming water hits my skin, turning it red with irritation. My mind tries to take me to my darkest places, but I won't let it and scrub any emotion from my body. When I step out of the shower, I have to take another deep breath. I lather my lips with red lipstick and have no modesty when I get dress. Heartache has a way of turning me into a bitch and/or slut. Running my tongue along my teeth, I make my way to Mystic grill. They say you come to regret choices made when irrational or emotional. I have no plans on regretting any of the choices made tonight.

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"What did you do?" They're the first words out of Ivonna's mouth the next morning.

I shield my eyes from the sun seeping into my bedroom window and look over at the half naked stranger in my bed.

"He's not dead, if that's what you're asking." I shrug.

Ivonna glares at me and I think she'd be more scary if we didn't share the same features. I peel myself from tangled sheets and limbs and stand.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"I'm not sure I do, enlighten me."

Ivonna reaches into her back pocket, pulling out her cellphone and dialing a number. It takes several rings to answer, so many I would have hung up by now. Then finally, his voice comes over the speaker and all the resolve I had built up last night dissipates.

"There's something wrong with Nadia. I need your help." Ivonna inserts fear and worry into her voice while keeping a straight face.

I must say she's a true actress.

"She's your sister." Niklaus answers.

Ivonna hangs up the phone, obviously proving a point. She easily slides her phone back into her pocket and repeats her earlier question.

"What. Did. You. Do?" She repeats.

"Made him forget our love. The sooner I get over the heartbreak, your soon to come betrayal will hurt a lot less or not at all." I answer.

My words catch my twin sister off guard and she just blinks at me.

"You always wanted me to walk away for good, so I made it where I had no choice but to. You win."

I thought that would be what scared Ivonna the most throughout the day. Knowing that Niklaus didn't care enough about me to protect me, to keep me from being a casualty on his way to world domination. But I was wrong, the feeling in the pit of my stomach proved that there would be something that we were a lot more afraid of. My phone only rings once on my bedside table before I answer it.

"Hello?"

"Nadia!" Rebekah's voice fills my ears.

"Rebekah, what's wrong?" I'm frowning.

"There's a rumor among the witches that a Petrovich descendant wears an amulet with a full coven of magic."

My phone slips from my hands and fear wracks itself around my heart. Few things terrified me, I can count them on one hand. However, I don't think anything terrified me as much as someone knowing the power of the amulet that lay against my skin.

"That's your amulet, Nadia. There's only two of you left. Nadia? Nadia?"

When I meet Ivonna's eyes, I can see the fear in them as clear as day. The color has left her face and our hearts race in sync. Rebekah keeps calling my name but I can't will myself to move. Ivonna finally says what we're both too afraid to say.

"For someone to utilize the magic in your amulet, you would have to die."