Empathy//D. Salvatore

1.5

Life in Mystic Falls was getting strange.

It was Friday and Avett was getting ready to head in for a long shift at work.

Alaric had called earlier, asking about Isobel of all people. He'd asked if any of her stuff was at the house, perhaps collecting dust in the attic or basement. Avett was pretty sure nothing of hers had ever been there, her parents never being close or even particularly fond of her, but just to humor him she checked. She found nothing and her uncle ended the call disappointed.

You didn't ask why he was looking as you were pretty sure you didn't want to know. But as you got dressed and ready for work your mind wandered. You had a fuzzy memory of Isobel gifting you something years ago....what was it?

You frowned, kneeling on the floor and reaching under your bed. You pulled out an old cardboard box, sending spirals of dust into the air and making you sneeze.

You popped the box open, instantly hit with nostalgia at the contents; old picture frames, little notes and cards, and some of your parents jewelry you hadn't the heart to go through yet. But at the very bottom of the box were a few books. And one of those books was a journal.

You were right-one year for your birthday Isobel had given you a journal. It had a velvet maroon cover with smooth cream pages. It was beautiful but you'd never got around to writing in it.

Guess this doesn't really count as her belongings though, you thought.

Still, as you boxed everything up and shoved it back under the bed you kept the journal out. As much as you despised Isobel, maybe it would be good to start journaling.

You glanced at the clock, cursing as you realized you would now be late for work.

A great start to the day.

░▒▓██▓▒░

Your day just kept getting better and better. You tried calling Alaric during one of your breaks to tell him about the journal you found, thinking that maybe he'd want it. But he didn't answer the phone. You called two more times before giving up and leaving a message.

Next you tried calling Elena, wanting to inquire about getting dinner and catching up this weekend. You hadn't seen her in a while after she canceled on painting your place last weekend. But she didn't answer either.

You were really popular today.

You checked your watch, hoping the day was close to being over. 7pm, you noted dryly. You were scheduled until 10.

You huffed to yourself as you leaned against the bar. You had yet to find yourself a new bartender so here you were (illegally) working the bar. It was incredibly busy Friday night and you'd already kicked several people out for stirring up trouble.

"Yo babe, gimme another round!"

You grit your teeth, holding in some choice words. Instead you forced a pleasant smile onto your face as you poured the man another whiskey.

"There you go sir."

He took it without a word of thanks and you rolled your eyes. Superb.