Page 12 (1/2)
Chapter One
"Things can be just like they were before," said Caroline war out to squeeze Bonnie's hand
But it wasn't true Nothing could ever be the way it had been before Elena died Nothing And Bonnie had seriousto set up A vague nagging in the pit of her stomach told her that for some reason it was a very, very bad idea
"Meredith's birthday is already over," she pointed out "It was last Saturday"
"But she didn't have a party, not a real party like this one We've got all night;Come on, Bonnie-just think how surprised she'll be"
Oh, she'll be surprised, all right, thought Bonnie So surprised she just ht kill me afterward "Look, Caroline, the reason Meredith didn't have a big party is that she still doesn't feelIt seems-disrespectful, somehow-"
"But that's wrong Elena would want us to have a good time, you know she would She loved parties And she'd hate to see us sitting around and crying over her six one" Caroline leaned forward, her nor There was no artifice in them now, none of Caroline's usual nasty manipulation Bonnie could tell she really meant it
"I want us to be friends again the e used to be," Caroline said "We always used to celebrate our birthdays together, just the four of us, reuys would always try to crash our parties? I wonder if they'll try this year"
Bonnie felt control of the situation slipping away froht But Caroline was going on, looking dreaood old days Bonnie didn't have the heart to tell her that the good old days were as dead as disco
"But there aren't even four of us anymore Three doesn't et a word in
"I' with her, doesn't she?"
Bonnie had to ad with Sue But even so, Caroline had to understand that things couldn't be the way they had been before You couldn't just substitute Sue Carson for Elena and say, There, everything is fixed now
But how do I explain that to Caroline? Bonnie thought Suddenly she knew
"Let's invite Vickie Bennett," she said
Caroline stared "Vickie Bennett? YouInvite that bizarre little drip who undressed in front of half the school? After everything that happened?"
Caroline stared "Vickie Bennett? YouInvite that bizarre little drip who undressed in front of half the school? After everything that happened?"
For a moment Caroline looked helplessly frustrated Bonnie thrust her chin out, put her hands on her hips, and waited Finally Caroline sighed
"All right; you win I'll invite her But you have to take care of getting Meredith to ht And Bonnie- on I really want this to be a surprise"
"Oh, it will be," Bonnie said griht in Caroline's face or the i
"I's ood for us all to be together again"
She doesn't understand a thing, Bonnie realized, dazed, as Caroline walked off What do I have to do to explain to her? Sock her?
And then: Oh, God, now I have to tell Meredith
But by the end of the day she decided that maybe Meredith didn't need to be told Caroline wanted Meredith surprised; well, maybe Bonnie should deliver Meredith surprised That way at least Meredith wouldn't have to worry about it beforehand Yes, Bonnie concluded, it was probably kindest to not tell Meredith anything
And who knows, she wrote in her journal Friday night Maybe I' too hard on Caroline Maybe she's really sorry about all the things she did to us, like trying to huet Stefan put away for murder Maybe Caroline's matured since then and learned to think about soood time at her party
And maybe aliens will kidnap ht as she closed the diary She could only hope
The diary was an inexpensive drugstore blank book, with a pattern of tiny flowers on the cover She'd only started keeping it since Elena had died, but she'd already becohtly addicted to it It was the one place she could say anything she wanted without people looking shocked and saying, "Bonnie McCullough!" or "Oh, Bonnie"
She was still thinking about Elena as she turned off the light and crawled under the covers
She was sitting on lush, rass that spread as far as she could see in all directions The sky was a flawless blue, the air ar
"I'lad you could come," Elena said
"Oh-yes," said Bonnie "Well, naturally, so aain, then hastily back at Elena
"More tea?"
There was a teacup in Bonnie's hand, thin and fragile as eggshell "Oh-sure Thanks"