Hopelessly Devoted | Hale- TO/TW [6]

29 | Hello, Little Sister

For three days, Lexi had not left her apartment. She had not gone to see her beloved siblings. She had not gone to check on Klaus, seeing as his sires are unlinked. No doubt he is crippling under the paranoia. But, Lexi refuses to see anyone but Derek and Cora.

Just when they thought she was getting better, Lexi almost stops speaking altogether. She doesn't sleep, only stares at the walls as if they could move. The Hales sometimes find her fiddling with her phone, an unknown number on the screen. She never actually calls. Instead, she turns off the phone and goes back to staring straight ahead.

Cora had had enough of it. Lexi was drowning and not even Derek could help her. It made sense— no one had noticed the shift in her behavior until it was too late. It makes sense Lexi wouldn't want to talk.

But, Cora is stubborn. She goes to the one person she thinks might be able to help. She and the little witch devise a plan with a familiar face— one Cora had never met. Apparently, Davina is more cunning than she lets on.

The beta promptly drags Derek out of the apartment so her plan can be put in motion.

Lexi does nothing for two hours after Derek and Cora leave on an 'errand.' She stares at her book, unable to bring herself to read about Mr. Rochester's creepy words to Jane as he dresses as a fortune teller.

After another hour of staring, a knock sounds at the door. She almost ignores it. When a second knock sounds, Lexi slowly stands, a familiar scent invading her senses. She can't tell what it is as she approaches the door.

Her breath catches in her throat as she turns the handle. The door creaks open and she gapes at the man before her.

"Hello, little sister," Kol greets, a soft smile on his lips. She stares at him, her lips moving but no sound coming out. "Surprised to see me?"

The look in Lexi's eyes makes Kol want to hug her and take her away from the world. If he thought the torture from Esther was bad, this was ten times worse. She looks like she had crawled through hell only to be reborn in the worst place possible. Dark circles surround her eyes and her normal complexion is replaced with pale skin.

"Kol?" She breathes, her eyes raking over his figure. "H-how?"

"Well, when Davina unsired Klaus, she took some of our dear brothers' blood for a spell." Kol shrugs. "I was in bed for the past three days, sleeping my ass off. Davina finally gave me a daylight ring." To show off his new accessory, he lifts his hand, singling out the ring. "I wanted to come see you first, seeing as how last time I came back from the dead you didn't talk to me when you found out—"

He stops when he notices the tears falling down Lexi's cheeks. Streaks of saltwater sting the sensitive skin, and she does nothing to wipe them away.

"You've been through quite a lot, I hear," Kol says softly. Lexi begins to shake, swallowing her sobs. "How about I come in and you tell me about it?"

Lexi nods, still shaking uncontrollably. "Oh, Lexi..." Kol pulls her into his arms. It only takes a second for Lexi to break, her sobs spilling out of her loud enough to wake anyone on the floor.

Kol quickly moves inside, his arms still around his sister. He closes the door with his foot before leading Lexi to the couch.

They stay cuddled next to each other for over an hour. It is only when Kol shifts, his leg having fallen asleep, that Lexi realizes how long it's been. She slows her cries, making herself move away from Kol. "Sorry," she whispers, sitting up and wiping her cheeks.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Kol says.

"It's just..." Lexi shakes her head. "It's too much. Everything feels like a weight on me and I'm not strong enough to push it away."

"What do you mean?"

Lexi turns back to face him, more tears gathering in her eyes. She looks into his brown eyes— they are unlike Elijah's. Elijah's hold an air of elegance to them. Kol's are filled with mischief and youth. And, unlike Elijah, Lexi trusts Kol to keep her secrets hidden. Too many times had Elijah used her secrets to his advantage or told Klaus.

"It got into my head, Kol," Lexi whimpers. The sound makes Kol want to bring the Nogitsune back just to make its death long and painful. "It made me hurt the people I care about.

"The worst part is that no one noticed. No one realized that I was stuck in my own mind, screaming for help." Her voice begins to crack. To avoid it, she lowers her tone. "No one noticed that I wasn't me."

"I would have noticed," Kol states. "I know you, Lex."

"But I don't know me anymore." A single tear falls down Lexi's cheek. "It told me stories. The same ones over and over and over again. And, I realized it was no worse than us."

"It fed off of pain and chaos." Kol is quick to correct her. "It made people do things they never wanted to do."

"We have used the pain and destruction of others to escape our own problems," Lexi says. "We make people do things they never wanted to do. It's called compulsion."

Kol opens his mouth, but words start to tumble of out Lexi's lips. "It was broken by Dahlia. It was abandoned to a life of loneliness. All it wanted was to belong until it went crazy. The only thing that stopped us from going insane was each other."

Kol stays silent as Lexi takes a deep breath, calming her racing heart. "You don't have to tell anyone anything, Lexi," Kol tells her earnestly. "For now, why don't we just lie here. No one has to talk. Let's just enjoy being together at last."

Lexi nods tiredly, her head leaning against Kol's shoulder. He smiles, kissing her forehead softly. And slowly but surely, after three days, Lexi finally lets herself fall asleep. 

KOL IS BACK! I was in some desperate need of some KolxLexi action because they are they best, right?