Letha's voice whispered in his ear, causing his eyes to open ... but he wasn't in his bedroom. He wasn't in the study. He wasn't even in Mystic Falls. No, Peter had awakened in the abandoned church near Hemlock Acres ... that quiet and peaceful place where he'd first ...
Instantly, he could feel the sting of tears rimming his eyes; his teeth clenched, he couldn't swallow, he didn't even want to move.
No no, please, don't do this. Don't make me say goodbye ...
He finally managed to push himself up to sit, looking at her through haze of tears. Seeing the peaceful smile upon Letha's face only made his heart sink more as he drew a labored, shaking breath.
"Please ..." he managed to scarcely say, nearly soundless as his lips parted on the exhale.
Her hand touched his cheek, fingers resting on the whiskered curve of his jaw as he looked into his eyes. "You knew this was coming. You knew this wouldn't last."
He chewed on his lip, lowering his head as he sniffed. Peter knew, he understood. "I was just hoping it wouldn't be so soon."
"I know. And I want you to know, it's okay. I'm okay. It's just time."
He swallowed again, offering a small nod.
"I know why I came back now. It was for her. If I hadn't been here, would you have stayed? I had to keep you here, so Shelley could find you. And Roman. And now, here you are, a family again."
Peter lowered himself down, wrapping his arms around her, resting his head upon her chest as a silent sob rocked his frame and he begged upon a whisper. "Please, don't go."
"It's okay, Peter," she insisted, gingerly stroking his back. "It's just my time. It was my time two years ago, and it's my time again."
"And I'm sorry for keeping you here. I know it's been slowly killing you, to be trapped here. It was never my intention to make you feel trapped because I was ... but I'm not anymore. It's time for me to move on. I'm free now, and so are you. So go into the woods. Go into the woods and be the happy and free spirit I fell in love with. Can you do that?"
With his lips pressed so tightly together, he had to exhale a quivering breath through his nostrils as he nodded once.
"Take care of them, okay? Roman and Shelley? Watch over them. Roman especially. He needs you."
Another slow and forced nod came from Peter as he managed to finally swallow and whisper. "I love you."
"I love you, too." She smiled serenely and kissed his hair.
"Catch ya on the flip side."
His eyes opened with the painful burn of tears, feeling the wetness upon his cheeks, finding it difficult to breathe through his nose, to swallow, to do anything, as he woke in that dark bedroom and turned his head, and in the blur of his vision, looked to her side of the bed ...
Letha was gone. Again. And Peter felt his heart shatter once more; just when he thought it wouldn't be possible, that his heart could not break any more ... there it was, surprising him by feeling even more pain.
Last time, he had wept with his mother in the living room of his old trailer, then completely lost his mind, cut off all his hair, and ran away. This time, he didn't want to move at all, embracing her pillow as he curled into fetal position as he lay there, crying through the night, the quiet sound drowned by the howling wind outside ...
