Forever Original | Alaric Saltzman

Chapter 64

Hilda found that Kol had returned to the Compound.

"Hey," he told her, sitting on her bed and now holding Lizzie. He and Alaric seemed to have had a conversation of their own, and from the looks of it, it had gone well. "So... it seems I'm going to live with the four of you for a few months. Just until I feel well enough to be alone again and travel."

"That's wonderful, Kol," said Hilda, casting Alaric a grateful look as she sat beside her brother.

Kol held Lizzie up slightly to show that she'd fallen asleep in his arms. "They are alright, really, babies... when they're calm."

When the twins had been put in their crib, Alaric had bade the elder twins goodnight. Kol had remained curled up at Hilda's side, not wanting to be by himself. She stroked his hair for hours, since she was unable to sleep, and wanted to at least help him feel some sort of comfort. A few times when he started to have nightmares, she slipped into his mind to help make the dream more pleasant.

It was the early hours of the morning when Hilda got out of the bed, speeding into the next room to pick the twins up before they could start to cry. By then, Alaric knew the schedule well, and was already waking up to help prepare the bottles as she rocked the babies gently in her arms.

"Thank you," whispered Hilda as he took Josie to start feeding her. "Seriously... Kol needed kindness and you gave it to him without hesitation."

"Yeah, of course," he told her a bit sleepily. "It's really no trouble. I'm going to be at work for hours and at least you can keep each other company. I trust him around the twins."

They were silent for a moment, and then Alaric said, "We heard you mention Tristan."

Hilda's face felt hot. "Oh. Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? I should be the one saying 'sorry.' I haven't asked you at all how you've been feeling about that. After you got his letter, I never checked in. I haven't offered to listen if you needed to talk about it... I know you haven't forgiven him after what he did to Jackson. If you just need someone to vent to..."

"I'm alright, Alaric, I promise," she told him quietly. "Talking about it will make it a problem. I know I need to try and forget him."

"Why?"

"Well... look what he did. He deserved what he got. I can't think back on it. I won't allow myself to miss him. He wasn't the same man I initially fell in love with."

"Is it really so wrong of you to miss him? To miss the person he was? You lost him after Elijah butted in. When you got him back and found out the truth, I showed up and told you about the pregnancy. You got ripped away and you didn't get to speak to him often, and the next thing you knew, he was shoved in a container and into the sea for murdering someone close to you. It was sudden and you deserve to feel proper grief."

"I already did. If you recall, I was wallowing in sadness after Nik told me what happened, and it stopped soon after I got the letter. I'm fine, Ric."

She turned away to set Lizzie down, and he mimicked her with Josie. She tried not to look at him, but she gave a sniffle, and he turned her around himself, pulling her into a tight hug as she began to cry.

To her, it felt stupid to cry. She hated herself for missing Tristan. She wanted to hold onto who he had once been, but she knew that person was long gone. She felt sadness and regret. A part of her felt like it had been permanently carved away, and she hated that things had gone so astray. She would have rather never rekindled with Tristan. Hating him would be easier. But she could still remember every touch and every kind word. She remembered his letter, telling her that he believed she should be happy with Alaric. Him telling her that he thought Alaric was her soulmate.