friends till the very end

Parental Problems

Chapter 9 - Parental Problems

Damon needed some alcohol. Now.

He didn't know what in the living hell made him think that he could hide the fact that his dumbass father cheated on his mother from Stefan.

If he just told Stefan the truth, he wouldn't be in his current predicament - which was driving to the nearest bar with his jaw clenched and tears brimming his eyes.

It all started when Stefan sauntered smugly into the house earlier that day. He had gone to the movies with Bonnie and then spent the rest of the day with her, and he had clearly gotten laid... he had that famous sexually satisfied Salvatore smirk. Damon practically wore that smirk everywhere, so it wasn't hard to recognize.

Of course, the grin was wiped off of Stefan's face when Giuseppe stormed out of the house with a suitcase in his hand. Lily had just told the patriarch of the Salvatore family to take a long walk off a short pier, and he hadn't taken that very well.

"I'm sorry, Stefan." Giuseppe said gravely to his youngest son before marching out the door and slamming it loudly behind him.

Stefan came into the living room with a confused expression on his face.

That was when Damon made his first mistake.

Instead of sitting his baby brother down and calmly explaining what happened, he attempted to lie.

"What was that about?" Stefan questioned.

"Stefan, honey-" Lily started, but Damon interrupted her.

"It was nothing, Stefan. Mom and dad just got into a little fight and dad's being dramatic." Damon lied.

He didn't know why he lied, but at that moment, all he could think about was how Stefan would react once he found out. He had this gruesome image of his little brother going into a depressive spiral, crying day and night about how his family was falling apart.

In that moment, when Damon looked at Stefan, regrettably, he didn't see a senior in highschool who could drive and had a girlfriend - he saw a ten year old boy being yelled at by his father because he accidentally broke an expensive vase.

He was snapped out of that vision when he heard his mother's voice.

"Damon, what are you talking about?" Lily asked. She turned to her youngest son. "Stefan, there are some things we need to discuss with you."

"I'm confused." Stefan said, looking at his mother and brother with questioning eyes.

"I know, honey. Just let me explain what's going on." Lily said and sat on the couch, patting the spot next to her for Stefan to join.

He sat next to her tentatively. Damon scoffed, looking at his mother. Wasn't it her idea to keep this from Stefan in the first place? "Mom, what are you doing? He doesn't need to know!" Damon exclaimed.

"I don't need to know what?" Stefan inquired, looking back and forth between his family members.

"Damon, he didn't need to know when we weren't sure, but now that we are, Stefan has a right to know." Lily reasoned.

"That's BS." Damon hissed. He would not have his brother's life ruined. Not in the way HIS life was ruined.

"Can someone please explain to me what the hell is happening?" Stefan asked, his temper rising.

"No, Stefan. You don't need to know. Just go to your room." Damon tried to order. That was his next mistake.

"Why won't you just tell me what's happening? How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a child?"