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My jaw dropped as we pulled up to Carol's family's house. It's about the same size as the Lockwood residence, newer, but just as nice.

"We have plenty of extra bedrooms. So, you can have your pick. I really do hope that you like it here, Bonnie. I don't see why this can't be a fresh start for both of us." Carol mused as she parked her car. I looked over at her and nodded.

"Thank you Ms. Lockwood. I really do appreciate everything you're doing for me." I told her. She smiled at me.

"Please, call me 'Carol.'" She requested. I nodded and she reached over and gave my hand a quick squeeze. I don't know everything that's going on between Carol and her old husband and I didn't ask. She seems happy and she wants to reconnect to her daughter. Who am I to judge her? If anything, I'm envious of her epiphany. That's something my own mother has never really bothered with. "Are you ready to go inside and meet your new surrogate family?" Carol asked me, as she clapped her hands together. I looked over at her and nodded, grateful that she pulled me from my thoughts.

"Let's go." I agreed. We got out of the car and I followed her inside. We stepped into the front room and I laid eyes on a gorgeous redheaded girl and a brunet man who must be her first husband.

"Bonnie, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Lydia and my ex-husband, Adam." Carol introduced us. As soon as she called Adam her ex, they both winced.

"Soon to be regular husband," Adam corrected her, smiling. He shook my hand. "Welcome to Beacon Hills, Bonnie. I remember Sheila. If you take after her at all, I'm sure you have a good head on your shoulders." He commended me. I smiled in thanks.

"Lydia, why don't you show Bonnie to her room?" Carol offered. Lydia smiled tightly and nodded curtly.

"Sure thing, mother," she agreed and grabbed my hand, before leading me upstairs. "I don't know why you're here, but trust me; there isn't that much appeal in living here. Mom tells me that your grandmother was a witch. Is that true? I've never visited her in Mystic Falls and Deaton, the friend who will be mentoring you, has told me the rumors about the Falls. I'm assuming that they're true. You should also know that Beacon Hills isn't short on the supernatural, either." I stared at Lydia as information fell from her lips.

"It's true." I told her, quietly. She nodded and kept pulling me to the room. We reached the end of the hallway and Lydia opened a door next to a posh looking bedroom. I looked inside and saw that it was similarly decorated. Instead of the soft purple, it was a warm, earthy green. I smiled and noticed the subtle nature-related accents. I feel at home here, already.

"This is perfect." I mused. She beamed at me and it looked like a genuine smile.

"I like you." She decided, aloud. "I lost my best friend a couple of months ago, but I think that she would have liked you, too." She added. I squeezed her hand.

"I know how that feels." I told her, but I didn't go into detail. She just nodded and closed the door behind us. She motioned for me to sit down on the bed. She followed suit.

"Okay, dish. If you're going to live here, you need to know what's going on. I also want to know what's going on outside of here." Lydia breathed, oozing pure unadulterated confidence.

"Fair enough, why don't I start?" I offered. She nodded and looked at me, patiently. I told her about the day that I found out that I was witch. I told her about my Grams and the kind of woman she was.

Lydia interrupted me to say that she had asked the Hales, whoever they are, about the Bennett witch line and apparently we have quite the reputation.

I explained about Elena and the doppelganger situation. I also told her about the Salvatores and the twisted love triangle that they always seem to have going on. After a while, the words wouldn't stop flowing. I told her everything from the Original vampires and their family, to losing my mom and Grams, to Elena turning into a vampire and shutting off her emotions, to Silas and what went down on the island. That was the hardest part. I couldn't stop myself from crying.

Lydia didn't say anything when I finished talking and struggled to compose myself. She just wrapped her arms around me and let me cry it out. I'm not sure how long we stayed that way. Eventually, I pulled away and mopped off my face with my sleeve. I took a few deep breaths and gave her a sad smile.

"Sorry – it's still so fresh. I never thought… It's hard knowing that he's really gone. When Elena turned her emotions off… it was like she was gone, too." I breathed.

"Bonnie, don't apologize. Never apologize for what you feel. You don't need to apologize for grieving. I won't have any of that." She scolded me. Her words didn't surprise me, her sincerity did. "Now that you've told me your story, it's time that I've told you mine. You might want to get comfortable. We're going to be here for a while."

And we were. We spent the rest of the night talking and listening. Lydia told me about the strange things that started happening in Beacon Hills a couple of years ago.

She told me about the werewolves and what their ranks meant. She told me about the Hale family and the Argents. I learned that Scott was a true alpha and his trusty best friend, Stiles, who is probably the only person in Beacon Hills who is as smart as Lydia. She told me about Jackson and their on-again, off-again romance. She also told me about the Alpha Pack and all of the other foes that have sauntered into town. She told me that Stiles was possessed and that the dark spirit had killed her best friend and her then-boyfriend.

I listened as she explained everything to me. By the time she was finished, it was my turn to comfortable. There was one thing that she hadn't told me, but I waited until she was calmed down to ask her.

"You're not human – are you?" I asked her. She shook her head. "I could feel your energy since I stepped into your house. You don't feel threatening and I've never encountered it before."

"I'm a banshee." She told me and suddenly her story made even more sense than it had before. I hugged her, again.

We got comfortable and decided to crash into my new bedroom since neither of us felt like being alone. Lydia promised to take me to meet her friends later after I met with Deaton. It's looking like Beacon Hills is going to be just the distraction that I need.