Unstoppable | The Vampire Diaries

107. Dead Man Walking*

Three Years From Now*

"Just one more night, I promise," Seline said, holding up her hands. Riley rolled her eyes, joining her co-worker on the couch and pouring her a second glass of wine. Riley's apartment was reasonably sized, brightly lit and decorated to her liking. But even with her pictures up on the wall, her books on the shelves, and her weapons under the bed, it still didn't feel like home.

"I don't care how long you stay," she said honestly. "But if you do want to stay, just... get off my couch and rent the guest room. Seriously, apart from the occasional visit from my friend Enzo, no one ever uses it."

Seline took a sip of her wine. "It could be fun, I guess... like F.R.I.E.N.D.S – are you Monica or Rachel?"

"You've been sleeping on my couch for the last week," Riley reminded her. "I'm clearly Monica."

The girls broke into a fit of giggles as the sound of Riley's cell phone filled the air. Normally she'd ignore unknown numbers, but this time, she had a feeling it was important.

"Riley, it's Stefan," the voice on the other end said. Riley silently excused herself from the couch just as Seline put on an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

"Yes, I have spoken to Caroline lately. No, she doesn't want to talk to you, and no, she's not gonna change her mind."

"That's not it," Stefan insisted. "My scar opened up, I don't have much time. I need you to warn Caroline."

Riley's mouth fell open. She shut the bedroom door and hissed into the phone. "What do you mean it 'opened up'? That's impossible – we took care of her."

"Well, she's back," Stefan confirmed. "And if she wants to find me..."

"She might try to use Care as bait," Riley finished for him. Immediately, she started chucking things into the first suitcase she could find.

"I don't mean to drag you back into this," Stefan said sympathetically. "I just want to make sure that she's safe."

Riley didn't stop packing, reaching for her weapons and then throwing clothes on top of them. "You're not dragging me into anything," Riley told him honestly, thinking about what she'd been doing for the last three years. "I never left this. But enough about me, you should be running. Fast and far, don't stop."

"I won't," he promised, hanging up. Riley dragged the suitcase into the living room, throwing a few things in that she couldn't bring herself to leave behind.

"Good news, Seline, I'm going out of town for a bit. You can have the whole place to yourself – rent free, of course."

Seline's eyes widened in shock. "What? Where are you going?"

"Dallas," Riley answered immediately. "I need to see my sister."

Present Day

"Think it means anything?" Riley asked Bonnie and Caroline. They were all sitting in the dorm room on Caroline's bed, talking about the Phoenix Stone.

Bonnie shrugged. "It could just mean that you're seeing the dead people you loved because you know that the stone might be able to bring them back?" She thought about what Riley had told her, after she'd made her describe the visions in as much detail as possible. "Maybe you saw them somewhere good because they've found peace?"

Riley flopped back onto the bed and blew a piece of hair out her face. She knew that Bonnie's explanation wasn't all there was to it, but at that moment she wanted to think about something else... anything else. "So Care, how was your stay at the Salvatore Torture Chamber?"