𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄𝐓𝐘 𝐍𝐄𝐓, ᵗʰᵉ ᵛᵃᵐᵖⁱʳᵉ ᵈⁱᵃʳⁱᵉˢ

-𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯

𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

after a few days, phoebe and elena arrive at noon at trudie peterson's house.

she was a high school friend of elena's birth mother.

the teen was intrigued by the information she received from jenna and wanted to check it out.

not alone; she called phoebe, and because she didn't have anything better to do than sit by her phone hoping to hear from bonnie, she agreed.

as a result, here they are.

the two teens walked down the walkway and up the porch to the dark blue door.

elena raised her fist, ready to knock on the door, but paused.

phoebe noticed this and automatically placed a soothing hand on elena's shoulder, sensing the brunette's fear.

the girl calmed quickly, exhaling an anxious breath.

she sent phoebe a thankful smile before gathering the courage to knock on the door.

a few seconds later, elena began to panic, saying, ''maybe this is a bad idea''.

phoebe stopped her when she shook her head and turned to leave, ''nope. you're not going to back down. we're already here,'' the teen declared, linking her and elena's arms to prevent her from going, ''you can do this, lena,'' she adds, glancing at her.

elena looks phoebs in the eyes and begins to relax, pulling her lips together in a smile and nodding, ''okay, you're right. i can do this''.

''damn straight,'' the dawson girl replied, a little smirk on her lips.

the door then swings open to reveal a blond, middle-aged woman with a big smile.

something about the woman immediately struck phoebe as strange.

she merely had no idea what it was, though.

''trudie? trudie peterson?'' elena asked, her eyebrows rising.

''yes''.

''uh, my name is elena gilbert, and this is a friend of mine, phoebe dawson,'' she said after looking at phoebe and back at trudie, ''we wanted to speak with you about isobel flemming''.

''well, i haven't heard that name in a long time. how do you know her?'' trudie inquired, casting a glance between the two girls.

''i think that, um, well...'' elena's words trailed off, tinged with anxiousness.

phoebe gently gripped elena's arm, which was still laced with hers, causing the girl to look at her.

phoebe gives her a confident nod, which elena reciprocates before turning back to trudie, taking a deep breath, and asking, ''do you know if she had a baby that she gave up for adoption?''

trudie's smile vanishes as she observes elena, ''oh, my god. you're her daughter''.

''i was just gonna make tea,'' she said, grinning happily, ''would you two like some?''

both phoebe and elena smiled and nodded.

''sure. why not?" phoebe responded on their behalf.

''uh, the kitchen is this way,'' trudie says, motioning with her thumb behind her towards the kitchen.

''thank you,'' phoebe remarked as she and elena entered the house.

unbeknownst to them, trudie's smile fades into a frown as she shuts the door.

~~~~~~~~~~

''i wasn't gonna come. i didn't think i was,'' elena begins rambling to trudie as she an phoebe settle into their seats in the dining room, ''but i was driving; i hit a stoplight, and it reminded me of when i was learning to drive, and my mom would always warn me about this blind turn on the left side, and then i was thinking about my mom, and then i had your address, and the next thing i know, i'm asking phoebe to come with me. i apologize for interrupting''.

''it's no problem. um, just a surprise, though. i haven't thought about isobel in years,'' trudie admits as she sits down.

elena inquired, sitting forward in her seat, as phoebe sat beside her, listening carefully, ''when was the last time you saw her?''

''about 17 years old, when she left to have you. we stayed in touch for a while, but you know, people drift apart''.

''and you have no idea where she ended up?'' the brunette inquired optimistically.

''she spent some time in florida. she was all alone. i know it wasn't easy''.

the gilbert girl paused for one moment before saying, ''do you have any idea who my father is?''

trudie also paused for a time, which phoebe noticed and raised her eyebrows in suspicion.

''I could never get her to fuss up'' trudie replied, hastily, ''anway, she finally pulled it together and went into college on a scholarship''.

''where did she go?'' elena asked, smiling.

''somewhere in north carolina. duke, i believe'' trudie told her, "smart girl, smart school."

elena's smile widened as she heard trudie talk about her birth mother.

trudie's tea kettle began to whistle from the kitchen, prompting the woman to excuse herself to attend to it.

elena returned to phoebe with a bright smile, but when she saw phoebe's bewildered, skeptical expression, her smile faded somewhat, ''what's wrong?''

''oh, nothing'' phoebe looked back at elena, considering whether or not to tell her about her concerns about the one person they found who knew her birth mother, so she merely smiled and shook her head, ''so, what do you think about isobel?''

elena's smile brightened again, ''she sounded fantastic''.

''that's great. i'm happy for you, lena'' phoebe nodded with a modest smile, attempting to ignore her impulses to warn elena about her growing suspicions about this trudie peterson.