CHAPTER THREE:
dangerous liaisons pt.2

"Lovely isn't it?" the girl turned at the sudden voice entering her ears. She felt so lost inside this massive home, watching everyone speak to one another while she sat in the shadows alone. Her brother was standing beside the bar speaking so boldly with Caroline like they hadn't once dated before.

The man beside Zoey didn't look remotely familiar nor did the hand he reached towards her as if she'd take it. This family was odd, the way they held themselves was strange and they all looked so beautiful and imperfect. Not a single visible issue coated their faces or skin, every fabric they wore looked like it cost a fortune and they even smiled like they were richer than her.

Of course they were but that wasn't the point here, Zoey didn't trust them and she definitely didn't find any comfort in strangers. "What?" she likely sounded like an idiot as she puffed down her dress.

"Your dress, my sister doesn't dwell on such matters herself but she picked that for you. of course I took it upon myself to alter a few exchanges, color of course. I doubt red is your favorite, it's depressing".

Zoey chuckled weakly as she unlocked her wheels "red is my favorite color actually, reminds me of roses but I guess for some people it can be depressing". She moved back with such caution as the man smiled "red, of course you find it appealing. After all you've seen your fair share of it, given that dreaded place you were in made everything you owned red. As if one such color can make one even remotely happy".

She really felt herself on high alert, her life felt like it was written all over her sleeves as she tried to roll herself backward. She'd rather fall fast first on the ground than experience this conversation. He looked so proud of himself as he took a sip of the drink in his hand, she hated him deeply already.

His flashy eyes and perfect grin as he looked down at her like a madman. "Of course, you should be thanking me. I got you out of that place, after endless shouting and screaming from Rebekah. I got that wench you call a brother to get you out of there. My sister does throw tantrums a lot, half the time I ignore them but this time it was different".

Zoey felt like she was drunk or something and she's never drank a single sip of alcohol a day in her life. Maybe there was a chemical masking the air and it made her head ache and burn. She smiled weakly, kept her hands latched onto her wheels as she nodded and hoped this torment ended.

After everything weird that's happened these last few hours she didn't wanna experience it again. So for once she put her foot down, of course she didn't actually put her foot down. It was a figure of speech she would say whenever she was angry or uncomfortable. Matt was always on the other end of it half the time, his jokes were terrible and just awful.

At the sudden clack of someone hitting their glass she took the chance to roll herself away from the man in front of her. Her gaze looked at the steps, seeing a man standing with a smile on his lips, he adjusted his suit perfectly as he cleared his throat.

"Uh, if everyone could gather, please" it was like watching crazed people walk forward. They were all so eager to approach this man as he proudly held onto his glass. Behind him his family members stood up with such grace, Zoey found all of them odd.

The way they held themselves and looked so proud of the eyes on them, Zoey didn't find it entertaining. The man lowered himself down a step and Zoey held herself when her eyes locked with a woman's.

She looked far older than the others below her as she stood atop the steps high above everyone else. Her hands rested neatly in front of herself as she smiled, while no one else paid her any attention. She was for the most part looking right at Zoey, unless it was someone beside her or behind her.

"Welcome, thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance". Everyone was whispering among themselves and Zoey sighed in annoyance as he rolled herself towards a doorway that she hoped led away from everyone.

"Tonight's pick is a centuries-old waltz, so if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom". She could hear the soft hum of the music as she rolled herself towards a small garden near the back of the home. She wouldn't adore dancing alongside the others, feeling like a normal teenage girl as she smiled brightly.

Of course that wasn't part of her overall life, she'd never dance alongside someone. Not unless they wanted their toes run over by her wheels, what a shame. She knew that dance by heart, watched year after year on the television as she swung her arms about and pretended she was doing it.

She ignored the chill that ran along her body as she looked towards the sky. Being back in Mystic Falls felt far more weird if anything. Half of her friends didn't even notice her return and the other half were all surprised by the sight of her.

Strangers were showing her far more kindness than her own brother and he was likely gloating alone. She didn't care about the speeches or the loud claps behind her as she leaned along the balcony. She rolled herself carefully towards the steps, going home felt far more comfortable than being stuck alone.

The loneliness she was used to, spending night and day trapped behind thick walls and pretending everything was fine was her life. She lost track of the time she was stuck, watching the world around her turn and turn and she wasn't even a part of it. Day after day and she still felt that dread of loneliness.

Even with the suddenness of her being back home it all felt the same, no one paid her any attention or acknowledged how much they missed her. Her mind felt fuzzy all of a sudden and she groaned as she pressed her hand against her forehead.

Her vision began to blur and she could feel herself sinking into unconsciousness as she felt someone pick her up. She could hear soft murmurs of apologies as her eyes flickered shut with exhaustion.

—

Smoke, the stench of it filled her nostrils as her eyes flickered open weakly. "Quickly now, before she awakes" the girl let out a heavy breath as she began to stir along the chair she sat upon. "Do forgive me, I find no pleasure in doing this" her eyes had widened with such intensity when she felt the agony of teeth tearing apart her neck.

Her body felt like it was on fire as the burning sensation faded and she could feel blood slowly running down the side of her neck. She cried out when her head was pushed back "blood fresh from the source merged with your blood to heighten its human qualities, quickly place it along the parchment Finn".

Zoey's vision was fading in and out as she watched a man slice the palm of his hand with a knife. He didn't even look hurt by the action as the blood dripped on top of an old looking parchment paper.

When she blinked she was back outside, the cold air hitting her so harshly she shivered. Zoey pushed her hand against her neck, the warmth of the blood soaking her skin as tears ran down her cheeks.

She let out a whimper as she used her other hand to grab onto her wheel. She pushed herself forward in hopes of getting home but the train of thought faded away when someone landed straight in front of her like a madman. She gasped at the suddenness of it as the blood ran down her arm, she flinched when the person stood up quickly and grabbed hold of her.

"Zoey darling, you're not meant to be out here" the boy smiled weakly almost as if was being cautious as the girl cried. He touched her neck, the blood coating his fingers and he looked furious as his eyes locked with hers. They held such fear and sadness as she felt her hand latch onto his sleeve "Will you take me home".

He let out a heavy breath and he opened his mouth to speak but instead of words escaping the loud crack of his bones breaking entered the atmosphere. Zoey screamed when the boy fell towards the ground, his neck broken and his eyes lifeless.

She couldn't move, her body shaking as she looked toward the man who had killed the boy she remembered being named Kol. She hardly knew the boy but the entire sight of his death was haunting.

She felt frozen and her ears were ringing as she heard the doors behind her burst open. "Damon! Are you crazy?" The voices were so muffled and she couldn't even focus when someone gripped her face.

"Zoey...." such intensity and she felt like her skull was ripping out of her head as she let out heavy breaths. "Zoey look at me, you're alright" her hands were shaking and she could feel the blood on her skin mending into her dress as warm hands wiped the tears off her face. "She's going into shock, her heart is racing like crazy, who's harmed you Zoey?".

Her mind burned as she tried to picture herself safe and far away from this moment. She couldn't focus on the faces in front of her as she felt the cold air turn into warmth, the room was spinning as the loudness of water running echoed along her eardrums.

She flinched when a cloth was pressed against her neck, her eyes clashed with the soft hue of blue as the girl in front of her smiled softly. "I'm just gonna get this blood off of you, no need to worry about Kol. No amount of neck snapping will stop his presence".

Zoey blinked and looked around the massive bathroom with such confusion as the cloth ran along her arms. "I happened to like this dress, it's ruined now but I'm sure we'll find you a better one".

Zoey could feel her heart racing as the girl in front of her grabbed hold of her other arm and wiped the blood off. "I left you proper clothes in the bedroom, given the sound of your heart it's likely best you remain here for the night. My family might be rubbish but they know to leave you alone".

Zoey blinked, she felt like a little girl trapped beneath the surface of all her nightmares as the air in her lungs struggled to escape her lips. Everything was moving in slow motion as the cloth ran along her face, the warmth of it didn't help ease her anxiety.

Rebekah sighed softly as she threw the bloody cloth into the trash can. She stood up from where she was sitting as she washed her hands off in the sink, her gaze looked towards the doorway. "Come to torment the poor girl more? As if you haven't done enough by letting that Menace of a vampire harm her".

Kol rubbed at his neck as he leaned into the doorframe "oh please sister, like I'd let that man anywhere near the girl. She was harmed long before he snapped my neck, I tended to her".

Rebekah huffed in annoyance as she grabbed hold of Zoey's wheelchair and rolled it towards the doorway. "I'll figure out who it was and when I do, I'll murder them for even laying a hand on her. She's shaking like a wounded animal and she hasn't spoken once. At least she's finally passed out from exhaustion".

Kol moved back "that would likely be her catching sight of me, if you hadn't pulled that pathetic trick with the human boy perhaps she'd be fine. Then again weren't you meant to watch her for the night? Instead you were off playing the helpless human girl".

Rebekah rolled her eyes as she moved past Kol "I was gaining the trust of her idiot brother, he's on vervain which makes compulsion completely useless. You're the one who went and broke his hand, he'll never trust me because of your pettiness".

She pushed open the door of her bedroom before she rolled Zoey inside. The girl was letting out light breaths as Rebekah picked her up and placed her on the bed. Zoey folded into herself as her arms wrapped around herself almost protectively.

Rebekah looked down at the girl as she draped the blanket over her, Zoey looked so innocent and part of Rebekah felt awful as she turned off the light.

—
authors notes:
I missed writing my stories on here, of course I was writing for my apply fics but generally everything else was being ignored. I mean when you have like a bunch of tvd fics they all tend to get rather boring to write for, especially when they're in the same season and you have to write the same scene over and over but with different characters and different outcomes. Honestly my past self was obsessed with tvd hence all the fics for it but that phase of me as gone and I hate writing for the tvd sometimes. Of course by some miracle I managed to write this story, I was gonna delete it..... but then I realized Zoey deserves to be written about so here's an update! Anyways enjoy this chapter, this book is such a mess but I promise it'll get less messy as it goes along.