♤ ı [3] An Everlasting Love

ı 33 ı Ultimatum

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"Nothing goes as planed, everything will break"

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TWELVE HOURS EARLIER

JAMES POV

"James, bring me back."

Blair's voice rings around my head, sending tingles of anxiety flowing down my spine every time I think about it.

I knew something was up the minute Blair walked out that restaurant with Caroline and Elena. I knew Caroline had been acting weird all day, but I had assumed it was because of the devastating loss of her mother. I was so caught up on giving her space that I was too blind to realize what she had been planning to do all along, and so was Blair, and I fear it's too late.

I have no idea of what Blair's words mean but I don't want to jump to conclusions until I figure out what's going on. She isn't answering my calls within my mind, so I decide to take matters into my own hands.

I drop Theo off at Matt's house as he's the only sober person right now. Stefan called me, insisting I meet up with him at Caroline's house, and judging by the sound of his voice I know nothing good has come up.

With a tux still on, I enter Caroline's house expecting to see Blair, when suddenly I see Stefan kneeling on the ground with a brunette laying unconscious by his side. "Bloody hell," I whisper, speeding over to the body and kneeling down, thinking it's Blair.

As I remove the hair from her face do I realize it's not Blair, but rather Elena. Despite the unconscious body in front of me, a small part of me is thankful it's not Blair. However, if Blair isn't here in Caroline's home where she said she'd be, then the question is- where the hell is she?

"What happened?" I ask, staying kneeled down as I look over to Stefan for answers.

"Caroline must've done it," Stefan says bluntly, no hint of reality in his voice as if he's in shock.

"Why would she do that? Elena is her friend..," I trial off when suddenly everything clicks in. "She turned it off, didn't she?" I say quietly, and Stefan nods.

"Yeah, and it's all my fault," Stefan whispers before standing up. I furrow my brows in confusion, perplexed as to how he could possibly believe Caroline turning off her humanity is his fault. "How the hell is this your fault?"

"Today before the funeral, Caroline asked me if I had feelings for her," he begins, pausing for a second.

"And?" I question anxiously, standing up along with him.

"I said I'd rather not talk about it now, not really giving her an answer. Maybe if I'd actually said something, told her the truth things would've turned out different," he murmurs, hating on himself. Although I know there is a chance things could've turned out different for Caroline, I know now that none of that matters. The decision has been made, Caroline is without humanity and Blair is still missing.

"None of that matters now, she made her choice. All we can do now is find her and make things right," I say gently, placing a hand on my long time friend. I know him well enough to know when he's in pain, and I can tell that he's hurting from this, that he truly cares about Caroline.

Stefan only nods, his jaw clenched as he keeps his head down. "Have you seen Blair? She uh.. won't answer my calls," I say, not really knowing how to explain the telepathic communication link we share. I know now is not the time to go into great detail of that particular element.