Redamancy | Elena Gilbert

Chapter 11

Rosalind hated potlucks.

There was absolutely no variety in food. Every other family had brought some type of chili, and they all seemed to taste the same. The only other options were salad and some vegan dishes that weren't satisfying to her. She needed some meat. A good fucking burger. Not a zillion different types of chili with cornbread.

"There is nothing to eat here," she complained to Tyler when they arrived at the potluck. "Your mother is a liar, she told me that there would be good food here and that I didn't need to eat in the house!"

Tyler smirked. "Well, you have a whole lot of money from working all summer, you can go buy yourself a whole bunch of food if you want."

"I'm trying to save up. I already helped Caroline buy all that stuff for your senior prank thing tomorrow just so she could let me participate. We didn't have that at my school, and I want the experience."

He shrugged. "You have more than enough to buy yourself a steak. Don't complain."

Rosalind used her spoon to catapult some chili toward his face. Miraculously, he caught the wad in his mouth before it could splatter on his shirt.

"So, what's the deal with you and Elena?" said Tyler. "You've been having a lot of movie nights."

"Yeah," said Rosalind. "Cause there are a lot of movies in the world to be watched. I'd never seen half of the movies she's shown me so far. Never pegged her as someone who would enjoy horror so much. Maybe she's just desensitized to it now."

"And that's it?"

"Elena needs someone to be there for her right now. And I don't mention it, but I need someone, too. We help each other. Talk about our problems. Anything that is said in her room stays in her room. It's like we go in, we have an unofficial therapy session, and walk out feeling better about everything. We're allowed to say anything we want no matter how fucked up just so we can get it out of our systems. She's stressed about Stefan and Damon, I'm stressed about this fucking job nobody will tell me if I got or not. Like, seriously, why do these coaches tell me they need my help and encourage me to apply if they're not going to call me back to say if I got the job?"

Tyler shrugged. "Maybe they're playing hard to get."

"Well, that's just pathetic. They have a baby, they need the help!" She finished the last bit of chili on her plate. "And I need more than chili! Where are Elena and Caroline? They cook! I need to try what they are bringing! I trust Caroline would have something yummy."

"I think Bonnie came back today," said Tyler. "So they're probably going to get her."

Rosalind's phone started to ring. "Finally! They're here."

She went to meet Elena in the parking lot, helping her carry a giant pot of chili to the table. "No offense," said Rosalind, "but does nobody know how to make anything other than chili."

Elena smiled. "It's an old family recipe."

"Everyone and their mother's 'old family' seems to know how to make this one dish and nothing else. If I were part of an old family I'd have a variety of recipes. Do a service to the public."

"Well, you are a Lockwood. Maybe you should leave recipes behind so that one hundred years from now, the potlucks won't have just chili."

Rosalind noticed a mark on Elena's neck. And the fact she was wearing her butterfly necklace alone, instead of combined with the necklace Stefan had given her. "Is that a burn mark?"

"Oh, yeah," said Elena quietly. "Come with me."

Once they dropped the chili off, Rosalind followed Elena to some benches apart from the party, where Bonnie and Caroline were waiting. "What happened?" asked Rosalind. "Hi, Bonnie."