Bound By Fate

Chapter Twelve

It’s been a couple of hours since then, and I get a call from Caroline saying our Dad is in the hospital. I just arrived and walked into my Dad’s hospital room to find Tyler by his bedside.

Allison: “Dad, what happened?”

Bill: “It was just an accident, sweetheart. I’m fine. Much to my dismay.”

Allison: “Why would you say that?”

Bill: “Dr. Fell used vampire blood to heal me. Apparently, I would’ve died without it. I had no say in the matter since I was unconscious.”

Allison: “Well, I’m glad she did. You may have hurt Caroline, but you are still our father, and we don’t want to lose you.”

Tyler: “Allison, I’m sorry.”

I look over at him to see his face is full of regret.

Allison: “What are you sorry for?”

Tyler: “He’s in here because of me. When I turned, I lost control and hurt him.”

I give him a kind/sad smile.

Allison: “It’s okay, Tyler. Caroline told me what was going on today. I know it wasn’t your fault.”

Bill: “We are going to continue tomorrow.”

Allison: “Dad, what are you talking about? You almost died. Why would you continue this?”

Bill: “Because Caroline asked me to help him. I intend to see this through.”

By the look in his eyes, I can tell there’s nothing I say to change his mind. So I let out a sigh as I put my hand on his.

Allison: “Please be more careful this time.”

Bill: “I promise.”

I go home, and Sam comes over to spend the night. We use this night to catch up on the last four months of each other’s lives, and I help him plan his birthday party. We even started planning my birthday party, but I’m struggling between two themes.

Sam: “It shouldn’t be this hard to pick a theme.”

Allison: “I know, but it really is. How do you pick between a pantheon or masquerade theme? There’s just so much you can do with both ideas.”

Sam: “A very tough decision. The founders had that masquerade party last year. Maybe you should go with the pantheon.”

Allison: “I can’t believe I almost forgot about that. I even helped plan it. But because that was for the founders, I had to be very meticulous about how I planned it to be appropriate for all the parents there. I couldn’t go all out like I would for my birthday.”

We both groan in unison.

The following day, Caroline texts me that she’s getting our Dad from the hospital. Sam and I finish my morning routine before returning to planning his birthday party. Today, we decide on the location and the caterers. Nik wanted to join us, but he’s busy at the moment. While touring a few places, waiting for Sam to pick one, my phone starts ringing, and I look at the caller ID to see its Elena. I decided to answer it in case something happened again.

A - Hey, Elena. Is everything okay?

E - No. Allison, it’s your Dad. Someone murdered him with vampire blood in his system.

A - Oh my god. Where is he?

E - He’s still in the hospital, but we are taking him to your mom’s house. He refuses to complete the transition, and Caroline’s losing it.

A - I’ll be there as soon as I can.

I hang up and let Sam know what happened before I hurry off to my mom’s house. I find my sister and Elena on the front porch steps when I arrive.

Allison: “Caroline.”

She looks at me with tear-filled eyes, and I immediately pull her into a hug as we cry together.

Caroline: “I hated him so much for what he did to me.”

Allison: “I know, Care. It’s okay.”

Caroline: “All I want to do is save him, but he won’t let me. How can he hate me so much?”

I start to tear up with her at the thought of our Dad dying.

Allison: “He doesn’t hate you, Care. I’m sure of that. He wanted to help Tyler for you. Why would he do that if he hated you?”

She pulls back for a moment.

Caroline: “You’re right. I’m gonna force him to feed. If I do that, he won’t have to die, and we don’t have to be sad.”

Allison: “Caroline, you can’t force it. All he has is his choice right now. I want nothing more than for him to live and be there for us, but we can’t take away his choice.”

We cry together and just hold each other for a little bit. Matt stops by to comfort us and escorts Elena home while we go inside to say goodbye to our father. I’m just trying to hold it together for Caroline’s sake as much as possible, but it doesn’t seem to be working.

We find our Dad is in Caroline’s room, and I let her go in on her own to say her goodbyes. She comes out in tears and hugs me. I hug her back before she tells me to go in. I walk into the room and find my Dad sitting on the end of Caroline’s bed.

Allison: “Hey,”

Bill: “Hey, sweetheart.”

Allison: “Is this really it? There’s really nothing I can do to change your mind?”

I sit beside him, and he gives my hand a reassuring squeeze.

Bill: “It’s okay, sweetheart. This is my decision. I’ve told you in the past how I feel about vampires. I won’t become one now.”

I let a few tears slide down my cheeks.

Allison: “I had hoped you would be there to see me and/or Caroline be married and have kids. But now your beliefs won’t let you do that.”

He holds me to his chest.

Bill: “It’s okay, Allison. I will be there with you for those moments. It will be spiritual instead of physical. I wish I could be there to walk you down that aisle and give you away, but I can’t.”

Allison: “You could if you drank some blood. But I know you won’t. I will respect your decision. I’m going to miss you so much.”

Bill: “I’ll miss you too, sweetheart. No matter what, never forget how much I love you and your sister.”

Allison: “I love you too, dad.”

Caroline comes in, and we stay by our father’s side as he dies. Our mom comes in, and we help each other for the night.

Last night, we got a call from Elena. She told us Alaric was attacked and is in the hospital now. Caroline and I have been taking the day slow, but I knew I needed to get some stuff from my house before meeting Elena at the Grill. Caroline decides to meet me at the Grill, so we take separate cars. When I arrive at my home, I find Klaus on my porch.

Allison: “Klaus, what are you doing here?”

Klaus: “I just wanted to ask if you would attend my family’s ball with me tonight?”

He holds out the invitation to me. I try to reach for it to see what he’s talking about, but he moves it just out-of-reach while giving me one of his charming smiles.

Klaus: “Will you please go with me?”

Allison: “I don’t know if I have a dress for something like that.”

He pulls a box out from behind him.

Klaus: “I have that covered.”

He gives me what I believe to be his puppy-dog eyes. I bite my lip before sighing.

Allison: “Alright, I accept your request. I could use a distraction anyhow.”

He smiles before handing me my invitation and the box.

Klaus: “I will pick you up at 6:30 this evening.”

Allison: “I guess I’ll save you a dance.”

He chuckles before vamp-speeding away. I go inside, put the invitation and box on my bed, and prepare for the Grill. As I leave, I decide to look inside the box. I find a beautiful purple dress inside, and I can’t help but smile. I wish I could tell Caroline and Elena about this, but there’s no way they would like the idea at all.