Chapter Text
It wasn't raining that day.
Adrasteya Hartley was expecting a hell of a storm, but that didn't happen. The sun was high and she couldn't find a single cloud. While standing next to the tomb, she was sweating in her black dress and high boots, and all she could think of was how bad she didn't want to be there. She wished to be back in Denver, and just return to work when nobody knew what happened.
Adya honestly thought that she would cry. That she should cry, because it was a funeral after all. She was crying all the way from Denver to Mystic Falls, and even had to stop a few times to calm herself down. One may think that there were no more tears in her body after that, because when Elena cried into Stefan's jacket, Adrasteya was staring at Jenna's name on the grave, feeling nothing but grief and incomprehension.
Jenna Sommers was young – too young to die. She was only twenty nine years old and when Adya found out about her death, the mere thought sounded surreal. Did people actually die before their thirtieth birthday? Adya knew they did, but she couldn't believe that when it happened to Jenna. But the worst thing was, that she didn't know what really happened.
Was it cardiac arrest? Adya was sure that someone would save Jenna. They were both friends with Meredith Fell, physician at MF Hospital. Maybe her cousin had an aneurysm? Was she seeing a doctor? Adya knew she wasn't, because they were talking regularly - at least once a week - but maybe Jenna was lying to her. Did she die in a car accident? After Miranda's death she was careful, but it could not be her fault.
When Adrasteya arrived in Mystic Falls the day before the funeral, she met Alaric Saltzman, Jenna's boyfriend. "It was a tragic accident, very unexpected," he said, when she asked him about the cause of Jenna's death.
Adya wanted to talk with Elena about what actually happened, and discuss her and Jeremy's future. Somebody had to take care and look after them, because they couldn't live on their own. Somebody had to pay bills and work, so they could focus on school and feel safe. But Elena was not in the mood to talk, instead she locked herself in Jenna's bedroom. Adya understood that, because she wasn't the only one who lost someone that day, and if Elena wanted to be alone, Adya couldn't judge her.
So she spent all evening with Jeremy instead. They've sat on the floor in the living room, trying to take their minds off what was going on. They played UNO and talked for hours. He was drinking tea and Adya was drinking champagne, which she had bought on her way to Mystic Falls. And when Jeremy finally fell asleep on the couch, she cried once more, feeling heartbroken and lost.
Adrasteya loved Jenna and she loved her other cousin, Miranda. They were daughters of Adya's uncle, so they practically grew up together, until she moved with her parents to Texas. She couldn't understand why both of them left her so soon. Was Jenna so depressed after Miranda died? Was taking care of Elena and Jeremy so hard, that she decided to take her own life? Was she capable of that? No. Adya knew her cousin and she knew that Jenna was strong. Even stronger than Adya was. She was a fighter, not a quitter. She also wasn't afraid of asking for help.
"Adya?"
She turned around and looked at Alaric. He stood a few steps behind her, with hands in his pockets. Everybody else left already, but he stayed.
Everybody else , Adya mocked in her mind. Jenna didn't even get the funeral that she deserved. Except for her, Alaric, Jeremy and Elena, only Elena's friend came to say the last goodbye. It was just so heartbreaking, because Jenna was a wonderful person and she deserved to not have a secret funeral. Like if it was not enough they've buried John Gilbert next to Jenna, because apparently he was Elena's biological father. For Adrasteya, it all seemed crazy and complicated, like taken straight from a soap-opera, and nobody even thought about explaining this to her. Maybe that was the reason why she was suspicious. Adrasteya hasn't seen Johnathan since Elena was a little girl, and suddenly and conveniently, he died at the same time that Jenna died?
"I wanted to think for a moment," she explained herself. After a few seconds she put a single peony on Jenna's grave. "It all seems so-," she started, but cut herself off, looking for the right words.
"Weird?" Alaric suggested, but Adya shook her head. The woman frowned and looked at him confused, because that was definitely not what she meant. But that word caused some familiar pressure in her chest.
"Surreal," she corrected him listlessly.
"If you ever need to talk, I'm here."
Adrasteya nodded, feeling grateful for his words, and looked at her cousin's grave for one last time. Jenna's mysterious death brought back some memories, and Adya couldn't help it, when her mind drifted off.