lifeline ⇾ kai parker

18┃the wreck of our hearts

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

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THE WINDOW PANE THAT separated her from the unconscious brunette lying in a hospital bed was what she rested her forehead on. Peering in with red and swollen eyes, she couldn't believe how fast things spiraled out of control. The wedding had turned into a bloodbath, Elena wouldn't wake up, and she felt responsible for all of it.

She had suspected something was wrong inside the stables. It was where Caroline had instructed Tyler and Liv to put everyone's coats, but since she herself hadn't done it, preoccupied with everything else, the coats weren't exactly arranged tidily. By the time she found hers in the pile, the wedding had already started and music made its way to her ears. Although, when she went to leave, the door wouldn't open.

Since it was obvious the door didn't have a lock and it wasn't jammed, Mila began to panic almost immediately. She didn't want to assume the worst, but when screams hit her ears instead of the delicate sound of a melody, her fists pounded on the door and she called out for her friends, hoping one of them could hear her through the chaos.

She began looking for a different way out seconds later, too impatient to rely on anyone else to come to the rescue. Her eyes searched frantically around, only halting when she settled on a window up above on the second level. She threw her coat to the ground and gripped the ladder instead, trying not to cry at the possibility that the person everyone told her not to love had proven them right.

The window wouldn't budge when she had reached it; it had been painted shut but the red indents on the pads of her fingers showed how much she tried to open it regardless. She almost banged the window in frustration until she caught sight of a mallet left on a nearby stump. The glass shattered noisily when the blunt end of the tool collided with the window, but with all of the commotion coming from the other side of the barn, she doubt anyone heard.

That's how Mila had gotten the numerous cuts scattered all over her legs, from climbing out the window hastily instead of carefully. The only semblance of luck she had that night was the large pile of hay below that broke her fall when she jumped. Then, breathing heavily, she staggered around to the barn doors, where she hadn't been ready for what was on the other side.

A hand settling on shoulder startled her, and she peered up to see Damon standing beside her. Neither of them could manage even a partial smile. Their torn and bloodstained clothing spoke for itself whenever someone passed them by, but it only partially echoed how much of a mess they were. Mila was well aware her heart wasn't the only one broken, and through his own worry and distain, he realized that, too.

"I didn't know." She whispered, her voice hoarse. She really didn't want to cry again, but staring into Damon's pained eyes, she was on the verge to.

"I know." He nods.

"I thought he... I really thought – I'm so sorry." Her voice breaks at the end, her face twisting with agony. Damon shakes his head the other way, knowing what she was thinking.

"Mila, this isn't your fault. I know that if you really believed Kai was going to do that, you would have said something. You're one of the only people I can trust. I have and will never doubt you."

At his honest words, spoken with such convection, Mila unleashes the sob she had been withholding. Damon guides her into his arms, holding her while she cried into his chest. She felt as if she didn't deserve Damon's unconditional friendship. Or Elena's. Or anyone's really. Because she had been so foolish. She did something she knew she shouldn't have, and it was too late to fix it.