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Bonnie enters the kitchen to the cozy smell of cinnamon rolls. "Hey." She greets Gwendolyn.

"Hey." Gwendolyn glances over her shoulder before reaching into the oven.

"Cinnamon rolls?" Bonnie asks curiously, her mouth already watering.

"Thought you could use a pick me up." Gwendolyn explains with a gentle smile. "We both can."

Bonnie raises her brows. "And here I was going to ask you for something empty handed." She coys.

Gwendolyn hums for her to continue as she pours the icing on top, curious as to what Bonnie's going to say.

"One of us needs to make Caroline a daylight ring and the other spend time with Bryce away from the house, to check on how she's doing and keep her out of all of this mess." Bonnie explains.

Gwendolyn nods understandingly. "We have to tell her, eventually." She bites the inside of her lip nervously. How on earth would Bryce take something like that? Bonnie and I are witches... oh, and by the way your sister is now a vampire... what would that do to her? How would she take that?

"I know." Bonnie sighs. "I just don't want to overwhelm her after just coming home." She says sincerely. Just as Gwendolyn thought, Bonnie has no idea how Bryce is going take that kind of news, and doesn't want to hurt her in any way.

"I'll see if she wants to go to the Grill." Gwendolyn nods. "Something to ease her back in to be home." Gwendolyn missed Bryce more than anything and not being able to stay in touch with her like she could with everyone else while she was away was hard. And Bryce is different now... but she's still Bryce, Gwendolyn reminds herself.

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Bryce wakes to knocking and when she realizes it's the front door and not hers, she reluctantly pushes herself out of bed. Her eyes remain focused on the wooden floor beneath her barefeet, avoiding her vanity mirror and the bathroom entirely as she emerges from her room to find Caroline leaning her head against the door of the foyer while Matt's truck pulls out of the driveway.

"Was that Matt?" Bryce asks quietly. Caroline nods gently, looking up at the ceiling. "Are we mad at him?"

Caroline lets out a soft chuckle. No matter how much time has passed, or what has happened along the way, Bryce was still her twin. And if someone was on one of their bad side, that person was on both of their bad side. And now guilt was chipping away at Caroline not only blowing Matt off, but for also not telling her sister that she's now a.... how could she not tell her? The one person she's told everything to her entirely life. When she had a crush on a boy, when she started her period for the first time, when she had to cry, when she peed her pants when they were four, everything.

But this was different. And she wasn't sure how Bryce would... take it. But what she did need to do was learn, because if she ever hurt Bryce... Caroline would never forgive herself.

"Gwendolyn was wondering if you wanted to go to The Grill today?" Caroline asks, turning her head to look at Bryce. She could see the faint purple under her eyes, but she can't imagine trying to sleep in a room, in a bed, she hasn't been in for months. She would have offered to sleep with her if.... "You don't have your phone back yet, and uh, Bonnie's coming over to study, so she thought you two could catch up." Caroline smiles smally, hating that she has to lie and find a way for her sister to get out of the house. Well, maybe it wasn't a total lie... she did have to study... or at least learn.

Bryce swallows. The Grill. Loud. Crowded.

Caroline notices the panic start to set in her sisters face. "Just a milkshake, or something. You guys could bring it back here. I think she just misses you. Everyone does." Caroline's throat felt tight. "She's been gone too, may help?" She offers.

Bryce glances down, playing with her fingers as her spine tenses. She didn't want to be here, but she also didn't want to leave. She did miss Gwendolyn though. And Bonnie. And... everyone. 

But how would they look at her now? Treat her?

"Okay." She nods slowly, chewing on the inside of her lip. Breathing suddenly felt harder for her than moments before. It's just The Grill. It's not school... she loved The Grill. She loved playing pool, going there after football games, ordering milkshakes...

"Matt and I are just..." Caroline looks down, trailing off she exhales. "Did you take your medicine? Mom said to remind you."

Right. The familiar voice replays in her head from last night. You can't shut me out, or medicate me away, Bryce.

"I'll go do that now." Bryce voice waivers before dragging her feet back down the hall.

"These are to help you get better, Bryce. That's why you're here."

"Get better."

"Yes. Precisely."

Better...

ཀ ཀ ཀ

Gwendolyn remembers the night it happened. She reminds herself to not act like Bryce is a glass toy that's going to break, and know she doesn't want to be treated as such. Gwendolyn knows she wouldn't if the roles were reversed.

She blames herself, just as Caroline does, often wondering if there was more she could've done, if she just would've... it wouldn't have happened.

"Hey." Gwendolyn greets as Bryce walks down the steps, leaving her house. Bonnie had already went inside, with one of her spell books that seemed a bit too large to be a textbook, but Bryce didn't notice.

Bryce feels a little pressure leave her chest as she sees her best friend. Gwendolyn always had a sense of calm about her that made Bryce feel better.

"Hey."

"We don't have to stay at The Grill. Or go there at all." Gwendolyn tells her. "Thought you might could use a milkshake though." She quips.

"I don't mind." Bryce answers. "Milkshake sounds great." Bryce craved something comforting- something normal. She hasn't had a milkshake months, not where she's been. They girls would usually be singing at the top of their lungs during a drive, but peaceful silence wasn't so bad, neither of them mind.

"I'm-" Bryce swallows. "I'm sorry about Grams." The blonde says after a few minutes. Caroline had told her and her heart dropped to her stomach. Grams was always so sweet to her and Care, and she knows how much she meant to Bonnie and Gwendolyn.

"Thank you." Gwendolyn says sincerely. That was probably one of the only genuine apologies she's received, rather than ones that seem like people feel obligated to give. "I've been going through some of her things." Gwendolyn tells her. "It's been helping."

Bryce wonders what would've happened to her things. Would they have been left alone just like all her stuff was while she was gone? Would Caroline have done it? Her mom? What if she would've lost Caroline? Her throat closes up and her knuckles whiten from gripping the door so hard.

Caroline's alive, she reminds herself. You just saw her this morning. She's okay.

"But do you know why?" The voice hisses in the back of her mind. She screws her eyes shut, no. No, no-

"We're here." Gwendolyn's voice causes Bryce to jolt and gasp slightly, popping her eyes open. "Sorry." Gwendolyn's eyes widen, Bryce's reaction startling her a bit.

Bryce quickly shakes her head. "It's okay, I just dozed off for a second." She blinks a few times, taking in her surroundings of the car and the parking lot.

Gwendolyn's arms break out into goosebumps as a cold chill runs through her body before she shakes it off, nodding towards the door. "Shall we?"

"I gotta run to the bathroom." Bryce tips her head to towards the back once inside.

"Strawberry creme still?" Gwendolyn checks with a grin.

"Of course." Bryce's mouth almost waters at the sound of her order.

"Got it." Gwendolyn rubs her hands together, excited for her chocolate peanut butter shake. "Be right back."

The lights flicker above Bryce as she heads to the bathroom, heart pounding in her chest as she tries to push what happened last time she was here out of her mind. The sink spraying, the shadowed-figure haunting her in the mirror... the blood dripping down, the power outage...

Cutting herself on the rough edge of the stall....

The yelling. The voice. The screams... her screams.

ཀ

A beautiful, fragile mind can only take so much before it...

breaks.

ཀ

ཀ ཀ ཀ

𝟶ʙᴜᴛᴛᴇʀʙɪsᴄᴜɪᴛ𝟽 sᴘᴇᴀᴋs!

Hellooo, welcome back to Cardiac Craving!!

Sorry it's been a minute... life has honestly just been so chaotic & busy lol (but in the best way) but I'm not in a writing slump swear haha. I just either only write a bit or don't have time, buttt here we areeee to kick off episode 3!!!

I'm very excited to get into Gwendolyn & Bryce's friendship, but I couldn't see their reunion any other way than slow. Also Caroline's guilt over not telling Bryce :(

I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!! And getting more lore about Bryce!! And happy 6 months to Cardiac Craving!! I can't believe it's been half a year already... WHAT?!!! Until next time, mwahhh <3333