But I know I can’t. I can’t lead Kol on. I can’t stay. I can’t have a life.
Richard will always find me. Whether by accident or on purpose, I know he’ll never stop looking for me. I’m the one black stain on his existence that he simply can’t afford.
Walking up to my building, I can almost feel the change in the air. Something has happened, and I know it has to do with me. It always does. There’s just no ignoring the drastic changes in my life once again, and I don’t know where I’m going to relocate to this time.
Entering the building, I climb the stairs. All I’m grabbing is the cash I have hidden under my bed, and then I’ll be gone again. A shadow in the night on the run.
Except, as I reach my floor, I see the door open and light spilling out into the hallway as I step closer. I’m not sure if it’s stupidity or morbid curiosity that drags me along, but I can’t stop walking forwards.
I feel like I’ve been pulled out of my body as my hand moves forward to push the door open slowly, and I see inside is a mess. Cushions are torn apart. Lamps are in shambles across the room. Glass litters the floor in the kitchen. Small pictures I’d hung on the wall are now split in two and tossed like garbage.
“I don’t…” Understand.
Why me?
What’s the point?
I did all the right things when Richard assaulted me. I went to the police. I tried to become more than a victim. But this? This is too much.
“Thea?” I hear Kol’s voice as he walks down the small hallway with a bag in his hands. When he sees me, he drops it and rushes over to where I stand, half in the door, half out. “He’s gone.” His murmured words aren’t as comforting as he intends them to be as he pulls me into his embrace.
I’m so stunned by the carnage that I allow him to. I embrace his warmth because suddenly, I’m cold again. Frozen in a tundra of my mind where only the worst things happen.
“I did everything right,” I whisper into Kol’s chest. Soaking in his comfort as he rubs my back, whispering comforting words I don’t even hear.
I’m not sure how long we stand there for, but it’s imperative that I move. There’s no question as to my next step. I can’t stay any longer, and it’s beginning to break my heart.
Pushing away from Kol’s body, I wipe my eyes and tell him, “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
I stare up through my lashes and see him frowning as he watches me. “Crying all over you. This mess. I’ll be fine. You can go.”
His eyes narrow and a storm brews behind his green gaze. “Thea, you have to report this. I’m not going to leave you alone after someone ripped your home apart.” With each word, my mind crumbles just a little bit more, and I’m fraying at the edges, ready for a total breakdown.
“I’ll deal with it, Kol.” My words aren’t nearly as persuasive as I’d like them to be, but I also know he isn’t going to let this go. He’s not the type of man to walk away when someone’s in distress.
“Why do you keep pushing me away, Thea? What are you afraid of?” The feel of his warm hand gripping mine causes me to look down and realize how different we are.
He’s strong. I’m weak.
He’s big. I’m small.
He’s light. I’m dark. Like my life.
Kol Daniels doesn’t need my drama in his orderly world.
“I just…don’t want to be a burden.” I lie.
Kol
* * *
“A burden?” She’s kidding me, right? “You’d never be a burden, blue eyes.” I was only here a few minutes before Thea showed up, and while I didn’t call 911, I did notify Noah to bring a CSI team to dust for prints. “Don’t you get it yet?”
“Get what?” I see the tears hovering on her eyelashes, and I want nothing more than to keep her safe in my arms as I handle this for her. I get the feeling she won’t allow me to, though.