(1) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Thirty-Three

Damon's eyes find Cassandra first when he leaves the school. Her back to him, she clutches her shawl around herself, protecting herself from something. As he moves closer, he sees the body at her feet. He is actually very surprised and kind of hoping she just found it. She turns hearing his footsteps behind her.

"What happened?" He asks her.

"I had to" She states. He raises an eyebrow down at Vicki and then looks at Cassandra. Whilst no mathematician, he can put two and two together and get four. He moves closer to Cassandra.

"You should go," Damon tells Cassandra who toys with the tassels on her shawl. "I got this" She nods a little but then shakes her head. She was to see this through. She did this. This is her mess, she needs to clean it up.

"No" She states, he looks at her. "I...should help" She moves closer to him. "Tell me what to do" He searches her eyes. Finds nothing but determination. He nods a little and then looks around, he points across the way a little.

"Grab that trap" She moves to the dirty black plastic that's resting under some broken wooden pallets before pulling it over to Vicki's body. Damon crouches next to Vicki and cocks his head.

"How did you even do this?" He asks as he picks up Vicki's heart. Cassandra sets the tarp down next to the body. She then holds up her hand and shows off her little red light show. He pulls a face and nods.

"Plus I was angry, that helped" She adds quietly, staring down at Vicki's body. Damon smooths out the tarp and then rolls Vicki's body onto it, setting her heart onto her chest before he wraps her all up, nice and neat.

"Did you bring your jeep?" He asks, Cassandra nods. "Bring it around..." She nods again and goes to walk away. "Hey" Damon stops her, she looks at him. "It's not your fault" He tries to reassure her, but how can he. She took a life. The life of someone she's known since they were children. Yeah, Vicki screwed her over. Was a bad person. But Cassandra didn't think she had it in her to kill. Her bottom lip quakes as she leaves. Damon's eyes watching her go. He is aware that this is his fault. And if he knew that she would be the one to suffer for it, he probably wouldn't have done it.

.....

Damon sets Vicki's wrapped body into the back of the jeep and then closes the trunk before turning to Cassandra who stands behind him waiting for instruction. She's never had to dispose of a body before, and he is sure that one day they will laugh about this. It will be a great bonding moment. He makes a reach for her jeep keys in her hand but she shakes her head.

"No" She stops him from taking her keys. "It's my jeep" She argues and moves to the driver's side. Damon lets out a breath and moves to climb into the passenger side. She starts the jeep and then glances at him. "Where am I going?"

"Just drive, I'll tell you when to stop" He answers, she hums and then nods before she pulls away from the school.

.............

Damon directs Cassandra deep into the woods to the banks of the river, or as close as she can get in her jeep. She cuts the engine and is met with nothing. No animals. No sounds. Just them. She goes to get out of the jeep but he shakes his head.

"Just stay in here," He tells her. "I can do this" She looks at him, her eyes all red and puffy and very much threatening to cry again. He reaches over and brushes her hair back from her face. She's freezing, but there is no much he can do about that out here. He nods and then climbs out of the jeep to deal with this. He doesn't need to subject her to any more of this. He'll bury Vicki and then make sure Cassandra gets home.

................

It takes some time before Damon returns to the jeep. Takes time for him to bury a body so that the animals can't get to it, drag it up again. He slows as he approaches the jeep, not wanting to scare Cassandra, not right now, not with how bad she is already feeling. She's just sitting there. Clutching the steering wheel and staring out the front window. Kind of proves that deep down she's a good human being. That this is how she reacts to doing something truly bad. She shouldn't have had to do it. He should never have turned Vicki to begin with. Damon climbs back into the jeep but she still just sits there. He spies a blanket on the back seats, reaches over and pulls it up and around her. She looks at him slightly alarmed before she realises what he is doing. Her eyes softening slightly as he tucks it in around her.

"If I go home..." She starts and looks away from him. "I don't have the answers to the questions Elena's going to ask me" She looks down at her hands in her lap, letting her energy wrap around her digits. Damon glances down and then sighs a little. He climbs back out of the jeep, moving around it to pull open the driver's side door. She frowns at him.

"Move over," He tells her, she sniffles and then shuffles across into the passenger seat with her blanket. He climbs into the driver's side, taking her place. He starts the engine and then pauses. "Look..." He starts and she glances at him. "Who cares" He offers, she frowns a little. "Yeah, she probably going to be pissed, but it's not like you were hurting anyone" She looks out the window. "You kept this a secret because it's private and no one else's business, even hers...." She hums a little. He has a point. She doesn't owe Elena an explanation. She wasn't hurting anyone keeping her powers a secret. She was just dealing with it herself. Without bothering anyone else.