‹ Prequel: A Heart Worth Loving
Status: Active ♥
The Raven
Death Omen
Layla hardly slept over the next few days and her nightmares seemed to intensify, leaving her feeling drained. The day of the fate soon arrived and she set up her stall, smiling as Matt approached her.
“These look really good.”
“Thanks,” Layla replied, “How’re things going with Caroline?”
“They’re going good, Caroline is... well, she’s Caroline,” Matt said, “How about things with Damon?”
“What thing?” Layla asked, “I freaked out, pushed him away, and ruined whatever it was we had.”
Matt opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by some customers and Layla couldn’t help feeling grateful. She had just started packing away a couple of hours later, when a raven landed on the table in front of her and stared for a few seconds before taking off again.
Without thinking, she set down the box she’d been holding and followed the bird until they reached the cemetery. A light fog blanketed the ground just like it had in her nightmare and the raven finally settled on a tombstone, seemingly watching her.
‘It’s just a bird’ she thought to herself as she walked towards it, looking around and pausing when she got within a short distance of it. On the surface, it looked like every other raven she’d seen, but in its eyes, there was something human-like and Layla knew that she was in danger.
“Layla,” came Damon’s voice from behind her, breaking whatever connection she’d linked into and causing the bird to take off, “What was that all about?”
“I think that was my death omen,” Layla told Damon quietly, swallowing past the lump that had formed in her throat and letting out a shaky breath.
“What do you mean?”
“There was something wrong about that bird... it was too human.”
Layla knew that she wasn’t making sense, but the feeling she got was cold and undeniable. Not wanting to talk about it anymore, she headed back to the fate with Damon in tow and tried to ignore the worried looks that Damon kept throwing her way.
By the time she arrived home, Layla’s head was pounding and she took a couple of painkillers before tackling her homework. An odd electric current hummed beneath her skin and she found it hard to concentrate, giving up on everything in favor of going for a walk.
“Want some company?” Damon inquired from where he was sitting on the porch.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m worried about you.”
“Join the club,” Layla stated as Damon fell into step with her, “I need to figure out what’s going on.”
“We will.”
Guilt stirred in her chest and she dropped her gaze to the ground, pausing when Damon caught her wrist. Unable to look at him, she tried to turn away again and found herself held fast in place.
“Damon...”
“Your coping mechanism is to push people away, but I’m not going anywhere and you do not have to face any of this alone,” Damon told her, “You know that I’m not the type for grand gestures... Stefan’s the hopeless romantic of the two of us, but I care and I guess what I’m trying to say is that I want to be the one by your side through everything.”
“These look really good.”
“Thanks,” Layla replied, “How’re things going with Caroline?”
“They’re going good, Caroline is... well, she’s Caroline,” Matt said, “How about things with Damon?”
“What thing?” Layla asked, “I freaked out, pushed him away, and ruined whatever it was we had.”
Matt opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by some customers and Layla couldn’t help feeling grateful. She had just started packing away a couple of hours later, when a raven landed on the table in front of her and stared for a few seconds before taking off again.
Without thinking, she set down the box she’d been holding and followed the bird until they reached the cemetery. A light fog blanketed the ground just like it had in her nightmare and the raven finally settled on a tombstone, seemingly watching her.
‘It’s just a bird’ she thought to herself as she walked towards it, looking around and pausing when she got within a short distance of it. On the surface, it looked like every other raven she’d seen, but in its eyes, there was something human-like and Layla knew that she was in danger.
“Layla,” came Damon’s voice from behind her, breaking whatever connection she’d linked into and causing the bird to take off, “What was that all about?”
“I think that was my death omen,” Layla told Damon quietly, swallowing past the lump that had formed in her throat and letting out a shaky breath.
“What do you mean?”
“There was something wrong about that bird... it was too human.”
Layla knew that she wasn’t making sense, but the feeling she got was cold and undeniable. Not wanting to talk about it anymore, she headed back to the fate with Damon in tow and tried to ignore the worried looks that Damon kept throwing her way.
By the time she arrived home, Layla’s head was pounding and she took a couple of painkillers before tackling her homework. An odd electric current hummed beneath her skin and she found it hard to concentrate, giving up on everything in favor of going for a walk.
“Want some company?” Damon inquired from where he was sitting on the porch.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m worried about you.”
“Join the club,” Layla stated as Damon fell into step with her, “I need to figure out what’s going on.”
“We will.”
Guilt stirred in her chest and she dropped her gaze to the ground, pausing when Damon caught her wrist. Unable to look at him, she tried to turn away again and found herself held fast in place.
“Damon...”
“Your coping mechanism is to push people away, but I’m not going anywhere and you do not have to face any of this alone,” Damon told her, “You know that I’m not the type for grand gestures... Stefan’s the hopeless romantic of the two of us, but I care and I guess what I’m trying to say is that I want to be the one by your side through everything.”
♠ ♠ ♠
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