ALMOST IS NEVER ENOUGH | TVD [3]

XXXVII • THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL

thirty-seven. the downward spiral

Salvatore Boarding House

Bonnie turns to Minerva, who is oddly sipping on a crystal glass of strong bourbon at the minibar, "Okay, what else happened while I was gone?"

Minerva takes a moment to respond with a sigh, "Kai merged with Luke, and Kai won. I asked their dad to merge Luke and Liv, but Luke took matters into his own hands, and now Liv hates me for it and Minerva is back to--"

"Wait. What? So does that mean..." The Bennett girl trailed off in disbelief.

"Luke's dead, yeah." The Devon girl nods a little, "But I'm getting through it, you know? I'm making sure grief can't have me, and it's working."

"What exactly is your method of doing that?"

The nineteen-year-old smiles at her, "It doesn't matter. So, to sum things up: Kai owns Luke's qualities now, and oh! Damon probably hasn't told you, but guess who saved you on the day you tried to commit suicide."

Her friend rolls her eyes playfully, "I'm trying not to be surprised, but--"

"Okay, I'll spill it. Kai performed a spell to send us there, but the first try didn't work. But then he figured he can focus his magic on one person-- that being Jeremy who is now deported to Santa Fe. So thanks to him, Jer was able to get that map to remind you of Nova Scotia. I watched the whole thing. Right in the middle of it, Liv came and, she tried to kill me. Well, Kai and me. So, there's that." Minerva explained and shrugs in the end.

"Wait. Kai saved me? Kai as in, sociopathic siphoner--"

"He's a witch now, leader of his coven, to be exact, and believe it or not, he has empathy now. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here, so--"

"That's crazy. You seriously believe he cares about me? Even though he does have some good qualities now, it doesn't matter. They were never his."

"Luke sacrificed himself to save the people he cares about, and so Kai knew what's coming to him, and he accepted it. He wanted to." The junior spoke.

Bonnie scoffs, "Why, so he could finally feel guilt? For what? Even though he tried to apologize, no one will forgive him after what he's done."

An effortlessly irritable Minerva pours herself another crystal glass of bourbon while Bonnie watches her and tries to study her facial expression.

"You still believe he can be redeemed." The older girl estimated.

The younger one takes a sip of the liquor, "I'm helping him to fit in, actually. Technically, he's not exactly in his right mind yet, so I'm encouraging him to take time to think, to calm down before making any decisions."

Elena comes back into the living room, watching Minerva, "It wouldn't be your first time. You did it with Klaus, so it shouldn't be too hard for you."