As everyone walked out, when everything was done and Bradley was buried, Willow could hear certain remarks.
"Poor girl, she looks awful"
"I so sorry for her, where does she go next?"
"Who's that man she's with? Seems like she's moved on quick"
She huffed, feeling like turning around and punch that sixty year old woman straight in the face. Linda doesn't know anything.
Willow reached into her pocket and took out the keys to her old apartment. "I just need to grab some stuff and decipher what I'm going to leave behind, for good"
"You don't have to leave everything behind for good, Willow, you can come back" Elijah re assured her.
"No, I can't. Not anymore. Not after what's happened" She shook her head "for all anyone will know here, when I get in the car to go back home, Ashley will die in a car accident"
"are you sure?" He asked "its permanent"
"Whats here for me now? Apart from painful memories of being abandoned and painful memories of the guy I literally just killed" Willow explained. Of course she never wanted to come back here, especially with everyone now looking at her so differently.
"If it's what you want" Elijah carried on, following Willow on her way to the apartment.
"Ashley" Willow half turned around and caught sight of Bradley's parents almost running after her, catching her up before she could start to run off. "Where are you going? We've planned a small get together in the café to celebrate his life"
"I'm not in the mood for any celebrations" she hugged her arms around herself "I'm just going to grab some things from the apartment and go"
"Can we tag along?" His father asked "I know Bradley had a lot of things around yours before you both left for New Orleans, if there's anything you don't want, we can pick it up"
No. Willow wanted to end this already and by inviting them along, it was prolonging it.
"Of course you can" Elijah already had agreed for them to come before Willow could even say no. He knew what she was thinking, and it probably wouldn't go down well if she had really said it.
Bradley's mother smiled "thanks" she nodded "forgive me, but you are?"
"Elijah, me and my sister Rebekah spoke with you over the phone when W- Ashley couldn't" he explained.
"Oh yes, I remember. How do you know each other?" She quizzed, she never got the opportunity to ask in detail but Ashley showing up with a very attractive male did not give the best of impressions.
"Cousins" Elijah spat out quickly "well, second cousins, our families were very distant" he tried not to make it weird, but if he didn't say they were related in anyway it would look suspicious.
"I'm glad you found some family Ashley, I know you've always wanted some; you deserve it with everything you've been through" she replied "and I'm glad you have family to support you"
"Thank you; I think it was lucky I found them" she nudged Elijah's arm and felt like just leaning over and kissing him, but she couldn't without a million more questions. Willow tugged slightly on his sleeve "we might need to hurry up, don't we have to get back for that thing"
Elijah know she didn't want to, but he also knew that she'd regret it saying a proper goodbye in a few months. Willow might be mad at him, but it'll only be for a few moments.
"I'm sure we'll make it back with plenty of time to spare" Elijah smirked, feeling her glare burn into his face. "Shall we?"
Willow jiggled the key in the lock as soon as she walked up to the door, she turned it and pushed it open to see the room just as she left it. Everything, even down to where she left her tv remote on the arm of the chair, and the empty coffee cup on the side table.
Willow stepped in and felt an overwhelming wave of nostalgia run over her, she could explain exactly what she was doing in the last moments of being here. She was at work from 12 mid day to close, so she got up and made herself a coffee; she sat down on the sofa and watched Tv for half an hour before getting ready.
This apartment held a lot of memories, her and Bradley's first argument, where they ran back to after a disastrous date, where Willow tried to cook for him the first time and ending in getting pizza. Even the smallest of things still brought a hell of a lot of pain.
Willow waltzed straight into her room and began to pack a bag with her things, Elijah followed after allowing Bradley's parents to roam and lift what they wanted. He wasn't too comfortable in this environment, he could only imagine what intimate things they engaged in right here; he couldn't bare to think of anyone else touching her that wasn't him.
So he helped her grab her things and put them in her bag. He lifted a plaid shirt and began to fold it neatly before Willow stopped him. "No, not that one" she took it from his hands and unfolded it, holding the shirt out in front of her and looking it up and down "it was his"
"It's not illegal to take something to remember him by" Elijah told her, obviously he didn't want anything belonging to him in his house, but Bradley meant a lot to Willow. "It's not going to hurt me either"
Willow bit her lip, thinking if she should or not. But what the hell, it was just the one shirt, his parents could take the rest.
She folded it up and placed it gently on top of everything else, Willow shut the suitcase and zipped it up. She was done with packing, she was done with this entire place, she just wanted out.
She dragged her case back through to the front room to check if there was anything else she had left behind, but all that there was were Bradley's parents looking sorrowfully at her. The parents she had adopted and acted as if they were her own, the parents who were nothing but nice to her.
"I'm sorry" she shook her head "I can't do this"
Willow walked over and gave both of them a hug "I have to go, I can't be here anymore"
The tone of her voice was enough to make the two break down into tears once more, they hugged her back but even tighter than they have ever done. Their son was dead and all they truly had left was Willow, who was like a daughter to them. "You're always welcome back here, Ashley, don't be a stranger" Brad's dad tried to make his cries a little more subtle, but it wasn't working.
Willow half smiled and said her goodbyes to them, knowing that it would be best to cut all ties rather than be reminded of what happened every time she spoke to them.
She ran out swiftly and left Elijah to awkwardly talk his way out instead of rudely leaving.
"Look after her" the woman walked up to him, Elijah knew this woman had suspicions of her own the way she was speaking to him "she deserves a good life"
Elijah nodded, as the woman forced a piece of paper into his hand "she has our number, but if anything ever goes wrong, don't hesitate to call us"
"I'll make sure she stays safe" Elijah said "you both have my word on that"
Holding on and letting go - Ross Copperman
YOU ARE READING
Willow ↠ Elijah Mikaelson
Fanfiction"And to give you the life you've always wanted, Willow, I'm going to have to let you go" Willow Matthews was a bright spark, she was well known and well looked after. That was until, she went missing. The Mikaelson's were in the midst of a battle w...
