The Cousin

I walked with Elena and Jeremy through the crowds of people. Elena was dressed as a nurse with a hand around her neck while Jeremy just threw on a hoddie before we left. People were laughing and screaming all around us. I smiled as we entered the high school that was full of people and decorations.
Inside we saw Matt Donovan, Elena’s ex-boy friend and best friend. Yes, even though I’ve been gone for so long I am still updated on what happens around here. I smiled at Matt as he approached us he smiled at me and pulled me into a hug.
“Selene,” he said as we pulled away, “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. How are you feeling? Elena told me about what happened to your family. I’m so sorry.” I gave him a half-hearted smile and nodded a thank you. Matt nodded and turned to Elena.”You went with last year’ costume too,” he chuckled pulling a fake foot out of his pocket.
“Yeah, I didn’t know I was coming till an hour ago.” Smiled Elena.
“Me neither,” Matt smiled back. The slapped the bottom of the foot and hand together and laughed. Mat looked at Jeremy, “And you’re going as…you?”
Jeremy rolled his eyes and walked away. “He’s not talking to me right now,” sighed Elena. “We got into a fight.”
“Yeah, I got into it with Vicki when she got home.” Elena looked nervous. “I’m trying not to smother her, but part of me didn’t wanna let her out of my sight.”
“She’s here?” Elena asked looking panicked.
“Yeah. You can’t miss her. She’s a vampire.” Chuckled Matt.
Elena let out a desperate sigh, “Where did Jeremy go?” I started to look around with her knowing something was wrong.
“Elena, what’s the matter?” asked Matt.
Elena walked past him, “I gotta find him.” I quickly followed after her. I said nothing as Elena and I pushed our way through the crowd of students looking for Jeremy. We turned and saw a man walking towards us pulling Vicki by the arm with him.
“Thank God,” sighed Elena.
“What’s the matter?” asked the guy.
“I lost track of Jeremy. I was worried.”
“What’s going on?” Matt asked coming up behind Elena and I.
“Hey,” the man said quickly, “Everything’s fine.”
Vicki tore away from him, “I told you to quit bothering me.”
“No, Vicki, don’t do this,” Elena pleaded.
“Matt, he won’t leave me alone,” she whined to her younger brother.
Matt glowered at the guy, “You need to back off.”
“Matt, it’s okay,” Elena said stepping in.
“No, it’s not okay,” he looked to the guy, “What the hell is your problem?”
I looked around Matt and saw Vicki disappear. I nudged Elena and pointed to where Vicki use to be. “Stefan. She’s gone,” Elena said as we ran through the doorway. We went running through the crowd again searching for Jeremy. I could hear muffled yelling that sounded like Jeremy. I ran out the back door with Elena, hearing Jeremy’s yelling getting louder. Elena grabbed a piece of wood and ran around the buses.
“Vicki, no!” she yelled.
I gazed down the aisle at Jeremy and Vicki. Vicki turned towards us, her eyes were red with large black pupils and the veins under her eyes were popping out. I gasped and stepped back. Vicki threw Jeremy aside and Elena went after her with the piece of wood. It was so fast I didn’t know what was going on. But one moment Elena had the piece of wood and was standing in front of me and the next the piece of wood was thrown against the bus and Elena was thrown aside by Vicki.
“No!” cried Elena.
“Vicki,” I whispered. Vicki turned to me snarling. She grabbed me and threw me acrossed the parking lot as well. I fell against the ground, glass cutting through my arm. I watched as Stefan grabbed Vicki and pushed her up against the bus.
“Vicki,” cried Jeremy.
Vicki pushed Stefan off and disappeared. I quickly stood up watching was going on around me.
“Go!” Stefan said looking at the three of us, “Get inside. Go!”
Elena ran, holding her side, and grabbed Jeremy’s arm. I quickly ran after them. Elena opened the door and took one step inside when I felt someone push me and Jeremy down and pull Elena out of the school. Vicki took Elena and bit down on her neck. I jumped up picking up a piece of wood and stabbing it into Vicki, the same time Stefan did. I let go and stumbled backwards as Vicki began to whimper. Stefan took the wood out of her and she gasped falling to the ground.
“Vicki!” shouted Jeremy. “Vicki. Vicki!”
Vicki’s body began to decay, or so it looked like, with tear tracks still running down her cheeks. I placed my hands over my mouth and backed up to the wall of the school. Tears started to slip from my eyes.
“Vicki!” Jeremy began to cry. “Vicki. Vicki. Vicki!”
“Get him out of here,” demanded Elena.
Stefan pulled out his phone and pushed Jeremy away. He went to grab me but I moved my arm out of the way. I backed away from Stefan. Stefan gave me a sad look and looked back at Elena. She shook her head and Stefan left us alone. Slowly I walked over to Elena and knelt down next to her. Elena was crying for Vicki as well. I looked up and saw a guy with messy brown hair wearing all black. He walked over to us with a straight face, as if he’d seen this before. But when his eyes caught mine, they widened. I frowned at him unsure of what he was thinking. His face returned to its normal state as he reached us.
“You should go. I got this,” he sighed looking down at Vicki.
Elena quickly stood up and I stood up with her. She kept me behind her as she glared at the man. “You did this. This is your fault,” she growled.
“You confuse me for someone with remorse,” he said looking back at Vicki. Elena shoved him and then went to slap him. He grabbed her hand, “None of this matters to me. None of it.”
“People die around you. How could it not matter?” Elena hissed at him. “It matters, ad you know it.” Elena then slapped him across the face.
The look he gave Elena was scary. I grabbed her arm and took a step back. “Mmm.” He sighed. “You need to leave. Your wounds are bleeding, both of you, and you need to leave.”
Elena and I quickly turned and left, heading back to the car. Elena kept her head down avoiding my gaze and everyone else’s. We were almost to the car when we ran into Matt.
“Elena,” he called. “Hey, have you seen-?” he stopped short. “Whoa. What happened?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly. “Some idiot with some fake blood got me and Selene. We’re gonna go home and shower.”
“I can’t find Vicki. She totally bailed on me.”
I watched as Elena slowly shook he head, “I don’t know where she is.”
“Is this what I’m in for? A lifetime of worrying about her?” I felt tears come to my eyes. I hid my face with my hair.
“You’re a good brother, Matt,” whispered Elena.
“Yeah. Maybe she went home.”
“Maybe.”
He looked down, “Okay.” He then turned and walked away.
Elena and I rushed back to her car. I head tears streaming down my face. Matt had no idea what was going on. Elena got into the driver’s seat and began to bang on the steering wheel in frustration. She then started up the car and headed back to the house.
“Are you okay, Selene?” asked Elena. I shrugged. “Do you know what happened tonight?” I nodded. “Selene, I must ask you not to tell anyone about what you saw tonight.” I nodded again. We pulled into the drive way and I followed Elena up onto the porch. Leaning against the house was Stefan. “Where is he?” she asked him.
Stefan nodded to the house, “Inside.”
Elena nodded to him and then disappeared inside; letting the dogs out before she closed the door behind her. I bit my lip and patted Kota’s head.
“You’re Selene, Elena’s cousin, aren’t you?” asked Stefan. I nodded looking at him. I did not flinch from his curious eyes. Instinctively I pulled my necklace out from under my suit and began to twirl the pendent in my fingers. “Your necklace,” murmured Stefan. “May I see it?” he asked holding. I bit my lip again but nod taking off my necklace and handing it to him. He took it and sniffed it. I pulled my eyebrows together in a confused look. “You have vervain in your necklace.” He looked up at me, handing my necklace back. “Do you know what vervain is?” I shake my head, putting my necklace back on. “It’s an herb, deadly for vampires like my brother and I. Who gave you the necklace?” I frown wondering if Elena didn’t tell him about my accident. He frowns too. I pull out my cell phone, holding it up. He shakes his head confused. I huffed holding out my hand to him. “You want my phone?” He asks. I nod. He slowly pulls it out and places it in my hand. I quickly find his number and program it into my phone. I hand his back and then text him.
I cannot speak.
Stefan looks down at his phone and frowns. “What happened?”
I frown and begin to text. Sending him my horrifying story in many messages.
I was on my way home with my twin sisters Eos and Arethusa in the backseat. I had just picked them up from the babysitters. It was storming out so hard that I could barely see the road. A drunken truck driver came out of nowhere and slammed into the passenger side of the car. The doctors said Arethusa was killed instantly and felt no pain. Eos was pierced by a metal shard and died within a minute of the impact. I, though, was strangled by my seat belt. It cut deep into my throat, damaging my voice box. I can’t remember how, but I made it out of the car and was able to tie a scar tight enough around my neck to help stop the bleeding. The paramedics were surprised that I survived but I am now with almost no voice. I can whisper things now and again but I cannot speak loud or for any long amount of time. Because if I do I could lose my voice forever.
Stefan frowned at my texts. “Your throat…” I lifted my head up and showed him the large scar. “And your parents?”
They were killed that same night by wild animals breaking into our home. Though now I believe I was a vampire…
“What makes you think that?”
My parents’ bodies were drained of blood. Or at least that’s what the doctors said.
Stefan frowned even more. “When exactly did you get your necklace and from who?”
My parents gave me my necklace and it was the day before they died.
Stefan went to speak but Elena came back outside with a towel wrapped around her shoulders. Stefan stood up and walked over to her.
“Are you okay?” she asked us. We both nodded.
“I wanted to help her but instead, uh…” Stefan didn’t finish. “How’s he doing?”
Elena looked like she was on the verge of tears, “He’s a mess. I don’t want him going through this again. He’s just a kid.”
Stefan put his hands on her arms, “Elena, what can I do? I-What can I do to help? I’ll do anything.”
“Can you make him forget?”
Stefan shook his head, “Elena…”
“Stefan, please. I don’t know how he’ll ever get past this. I just want him to forget everything that happened.”
“If I did it, there’s no guarantee that it would work…because of who I am, because of how I live. I don’t have the ability to do it right.”
“I can do it.” We all turned and saw the guy that was dressed in all black that took care of Vicki’s body earlier. I frowned not knowing who he was. “If this is what you want…” He walked closer to us and stopped in front of Elena and Stefan. “I’ll do it.”
Elena looked over to Stefan, “It’s what I want.”
“What do you want him to know,” asked the man.
“I want you to tell him that Vicki left town and she’s not coming back. That he shouldn’t look for her or worry about her. He’s gonna miss her, but he knows it’s for the best.”
The man nodded and walked into the house. Stefan sat down on the patio couch and clasped his hands together. Elena walked over and sat down next to him. I remained perched on the end of the railing, staring at the ground in front of me.
“Part of me wishes that I could forget too. Forget meeting you…finding out what you are, and everything that’s happened since.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“Yes. It is. Because I don’t want it to be like this. I don’t want o feel like this. But I can’t. With everything that’s happened…I can’t lose the way I feel about you.” I smiled.
The man came walking back out of the house. “It’s done,” he whispered. Elena stood up and walked back into the house to Jeremy, closing the door behind her. I waited a moment before I stood too.
“Wait,” said Stefan. I paused and looked up at him. “Do you think you’re parents really knew about vampires?” I shrugged shaking my head unsure. “Because if they did…I don’t think your parents death was an accident. Neither was your car accident.” I looked up at him with tears forming in my eyes. “If none of this was an accident, the vampires that attacked won’t be happy you’re still alive. I think you were supposed to die that night, Selene…”
“Hey!” the guy shouted waving his hand, “May I please be informed on what’s going on here? Who are you,” he asked pointing to me.
“She’s Elena’s cousin, Selene,” said Stefan as he rolled his eyes. “Selene, this is my brother Damon.” I nodded to him biting my lip. “Selene’s parents were killed in an “animal attack” and her sisters and she were in a car accident that same night. Her sisters died but she lived.” Damon tensed slightly at the news like he was hiding something. “I don’t believe any of it was an accident though. Her necklace,” he said pointing to my pendent, “Is laced with vervain. Her parents gave it to her the day before they died. I think they knew that they were going to die and were trying to protect her. And if that’s true, she could still be in danger.”
Damon eyed me, “Give me your cell phone,” he said holding out his hand. I looked to Stefan who nodded. I handed him my cell phone and he quickly put his number in and then handed it back to me. “Call one of us if something doesn’t feel right,” he said nodding to me. I nodded and gave them a good night wave. I walked in the door and patted my leg for the dogs to follow. I gave Damon one last look. I could see the smile in his eyes. Smiling I bit my lip and closed the door behind me.
I walked up stairs and was about to head down to my bed room when Elena stopped me.
“Selene,” she whispered. I looked up at her and saw the tears in her eyes. “I never meant for you to get involved in this,” she paused. “If you wanted…Damon could make you forget also…” I shook my head. “Are you sure?” I nodded. She nodded and gave me a hug, “I am so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I whispered to her.
Elena stepped back nodding to me. She then closed her bedroom door. I turned and walked down to my bedroom. I closed the curtains and slowly peeled away my jumpsuit. I took a wet wash cloth and whipped away all the blood before pulling on my SpongeBob pajamas . I sighed and opened my curtains and window back up. I turned off the lights in my room and crawled into bed with the dogs curling up next to me. I was half asleep when I felt someone’s fingers gently brush my face. I didn’t panic feeling love come from the touch. It was actually soothing. I wanted to open my eyes and see who it was but I was already fast asleep before I could.