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𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 - 𝐂𝐡. 07
"𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎"

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ᴛʀɪɢɢᴇʀ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs
𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵, 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩
𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬

— "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?"
Skyler muttered as she stepped into the Salvatore boarding house to find the living room full of Stefan's friends, and Damon sat at the bar with Alaric.

Upon hearing the front door open, they had all turned to see her, the talk of the town -- Skyler Salatore. Stefan approached from where he stood next to the doppelganger, and spoke, "I could ask you the same thing." He crossed his arms as he stood in front of her, "Where have you been?" Skyler gave an incredulous look and glanced back at Damon for help, but her eldest brother only watched from the bar with a drink in his hand.

Before she could attempt to form some sort of response, a blonde teenage girl chimed in awkwardly, "I think that's our cue to leave." The others seemed to agree, and the living room was cleared within a few minutes. Even the doppelganger had left though she had to be nudged out the door by her friends. She was too curious for her own good, and Skyler was sure that one day, it would get the doppelganger killed. Skyler could only hope she would be the one holding the gun.

"So?" Stefan pushed further once the front door closed, leaving the Salvatore siblings alone together, Skyler turned back to her twin as he gave her a stern questioning look.

"Didn't Damon tell you?" She asked, gesturing to Damon who gave a confused look, she nearly hissed at her eldest brother as she spoke, "I told you I went a few towns over, to get a bite." As her words sunk in, Damon's face filled with recognition and guilt. Satisfied for now, she turned back to Stefan, "Either way, what does it matter? I'm a big girl, not some little kid you need to babysit."

"You have a habit of leaving, Skyler. Am I not meant to worry when you disappear again after being gone for over a hundred years?"

"YES!" She snapped, "You're not supposed to worry, you're supposed to trust me or at least have the decency to respect me. I know you two may not believe it but I've gotten pretty damn good at taking care of myself."

Stefan scoffed, "How are we supposed to trust you when you don't talk to us and then just disappear?"

Skyler quirked a brow, daring him to continue that argument further, "Do you really want to play that game, Stefan?"

He threw his hands up in frustration, anger showing that could only be brought to the front by his ever-frustrating siblings, "You know what? Maybe I do! Maybe I want to know why — how you can just disappear for years without saying a word to either of us after everything, we're twins, Skyler, and you didn't even-" his voice cracked, he continued anyway, "You didn't even say goodbye before you disappeared. Neither of us knew if you were alive or if we would ever see you again."

"And you know what? All I could think was god, not again, don't let her be like Mom."

Skyler was familiar with her twin's anger, she had brought it in him countless times in the past, but she hadn't seen him this angry since their last fight, over Katherine. However, that was not what startled her so much, it was the casual mention of their mother, the comparison hit her like the bullet that killed her.

Even Damon, who had thus far stayed out of the argument altogether despite watching the entire thing go down, was shocked at the mention of their mother, the woman who left when the twins were young, disappeared without a trace, and left her children in their father's cruel hands. Their mother had always been a sensitive topic, even in the fiery arguments between the brothers, neither had ever crossed the line, even with Damon toeing the line between every boundary, doing almost anything to piss off Stefan.

Stefan himself seemed shocked by his own words as he took a step back, his eyes widening and filled with shock and regret, "Skyler-" He began to call, to apologize, however, Skyler was already shaking her head and making her way upstairs, away from her brothers as the hurt filled her chest.

She barely managed to close her bedroom door behind her before she fell to the ground and broke down as she leaned against her door. Her hands shook as she tried to calm herself to no avail, she took in deep breaths that turned to choked sobs, and with one shaking hand she covered her mouth as the sounds of her muffled sobs filled the room.

She shut her eyes tightly, Stefan's words played on repeat in her mind as she cried. Images of her mother filled her mind, memories too. It seemed after all these years, she still couldn't escape her memories of her mother.

Another sob wracked her body and she couldn't help but think, I wish Kol were here. More sobs broke through at the mere thought, the simple reminder that Kol was not by her side, and at this point, she was too buried, overwhelmed by her feelings to reach out through the bond, to feel him by her side despite the distance.

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Kol was having a normal day, or what was his new normal he supposed. It was boring, he hated it but at least in this new house, he was closer to Skyler. At the thought, he took a large sip of his glass of alcohol and blood cocktail when suddenly, he began to cough, choking on the large sip he had taken as a sharp and sudden feeling of complete pain and sadness hit him, blood splattered on the floor as he coughed, taking in gasping breaths. He couldn't breathe, oh gods he couldn't breathe.

"Skyler!" He gasped, lurching out of his seat. He slammed his glass onto the table, causing the liquid inside to nearly spill over. He grabbed his phone and quickly hit speed dial. After a moment, his worry turned to panic as the call went to voice mail.

Overwhelmed by panic and all the other feelings thrust upon him through the bond, Kol did not hesitate or even think properly before he grabbed his jacket and left the house with a mission led by his heart, his mind repeated two words as he ran. Find Skyler.

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The wind blowed through the open balcony doors that made Skyler shiver, she had curled herself into a ball almost - her arms wrapped around her knees as she held herself close, her head buried on the top of her knees. Her crying had calmed, however sobs still wracked her body and she was far too stuck in her own mind to think properly.

Still, Stefan's words echoed.

Don't let her be like mom.

Like mom.

And hadn't that been like a shot in the heart? She knew how it felt to be shot, and shockingly, looking back she couldn't quite decide what hurts worse.

Bang.

The shot that killed her rang in her ears, she flinched.

Like mom.

She was just like mom. Always leaving. A sob wracked her body. She didn't want to leave, it hasn't even been her choice, not really. For however much Stefan and Damon liked to bring up how she left, they never spoke of why.

"HADRIAN!" Blood on her hands as they shook. Tears ran down her face like the blood that ran down Stefan's lips.

She held herself closer and cried. A hand reached out to her, resting on her shoulder. She flinched, she couldn't tell what was real or not.

"Skyler." A voice called, her body shook. Was she shaking? Or was someone shaking her?

Was she alone? She didn't know anymore. She didn't know where she was or even what year it was.

The voice called out to her again, it seemed so familiar. Maybe Stefan, Damon. Hadrian.

Or was it mom?

No that wasn't right. It didn't sound like any of them. Who was it? The voice called out again, she tried to pinpoint who it was. She couldn't and then...

"Gem."

Her eyes fluttered open, and she felt the hand on her shoulder tighten, the weight more present than before, "there you are." The voice whispered.

"Kol." She called his name like a lifeline, she began to repeat it as he knelt beside her.

"You're okay." He whispered soothing words to her in an attempt to comfort. He didn't try to demand or even ask what had happened, he could find out later. All that mattered now was her. He reached out, and gently pulled her into his arms, settling down on the floor with her on his lap. "I've got you, you're okay." Sobs wracked her body and he held her just a bit closer, as if holding her would make all her problems go away, ensure her safety.

And for a moment, it did. Because despite the sobs that continued to wrack her body, and the tears that streamed down her face, in Kol's arms, Skyler knew she would always be safe. She held onto him just as tight as he held her, and let go.

Kol couldn't stay by her side forever, not in this town, or this house - truthfully, he shouldn't even be here now. But for now, he was here, and she was safe.

In the morning, Skyler would wake to a kiss on her lips before Kol slipped out of the room through the balcony.

But for now, she was not alone. For now, Kol could be here, and all that mattered was now.

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