Not About You

Chapter Thirteen

Her hand fell on his to stop the movement and he glanced up to meet her eye. She studied him for a moment before leaning into him and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "I'm fine now and this wasn't your fault, Salvatore. You saved me. You healed me. Don't let it haunt you, too."

He flinched at the words. At the reminder that this would trouble her for weeks to come. He clenched his teeth, working a muscle in his jaw. "Turn around," he instructed. He grasped her head and tipped it back gently. Once her hair was soaked, he shampooed it, massaging her scalp with his fingertips. He rinsed her hair then grabbed a washrag to scrub the remnants of dirt and blood from her back.

As he washed her skin, he curled around her, pressing his front to her back as he cleaned the front of her. He dropped a kiss onto the curve of her shoulder, his tongue darting out to lick the water from her skin. Lucy sucked in a breath and tilted her head to the side to offer him better access. He licked and nipped his way up the line of her throat until he reached the scar she still bore from his bite. As much as he hated that he hadn't been able to heal her, he had to admit that he liked her wearing his mark.

He pulled himself away from her and turned her to face him, kissing her forehead as he did so. As many times as he had thought about taking Lucy to bed, she was vulnerable right now and he wouldn't use her to comfort himself. She deserved better than that which is why all her visits between his sheets had been and would be purely platonic. He sighed as he took in the question in her eyes.

Ignoring it, he turned off the water and grabbed a towel for her. He wrapped it around her and she grabbed it to hold it closed. He grabbed another towel and wrapped it around his waist. "I'll go in the other room. Get dressed and come out when you're ready."

He disappeared behind the wall in the bedroom, grabbing a pair of pants out of his dresser and slipping them on once he'd ditched the wet boxers in the hamper. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his bare chest and waited for her.

She padded out of the bathroom in a pair of his pajama pants she'd rolled at the ankle and one of his old t-shirts. Ordinarily he'd feel a little guilty about dressing her in his clothes without asking what she wanted but not tonight. He needed to have that connection with her. She walked over to him and he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. He kissed the top of her head. "You scared the shit out of me today, kitten. Don't do it again."

"I'll do my best, Day."

***

Lucy spent the night in Damon's bed wrapped in his arms. And when nightmares woke her in the early morning hours, he'd made calming noises and kissed her head and face until he'd chased them away. When she woke for the day, she was alone in the bed much to her disappointment. She'd wanted to cuddle.

She called for the brothers. Stefan appeared in the doorway a moment later. He smiled at her though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "How are you?"

She gave her best comforting smile. "I'm okay, Stefan. Thanks to you guys. Thank you."

He shrugged one shoulder. "You're family, Luce. We do what we must for family."

That had her smile shifting to a grin. "Do you happen to know where my phone is?"

"Yeah, it's in the kitchen waiting for you to join us for pancakes," he answered with a lift of the chin.

Damon's pancakes were the absolute best. She tossed the covers back and stood. "I have to call my uncle as soon as possible."

"Why?"

"We have a strict 24-hour notification policy in regards to kidnappings or near-death experiences. The longer I wait to call, the more irritated he'll be."

Stefan blinked. "This is a common enough issue you had to make a rule for it?"

She shook her head. "He's just paranoid. I don't call one time when I go to the hospital and he never lets me forget it."

"To be fair, I think we'd be pretty upset if we found out something like that and you hadn't called us. Just saying." Stefan followed her down to the kitchen where Damon greeted her with a wide smile and a plate full of pancakes.

"You are my favorite Salvatore," she said as she took the plate and sat at the table.

"Hey," Stefan complained.

"Hush," Damon said. "You're her favorite when you make Italian. I get pancakes. Deal with it."

Once she was halfway through her plate, Lucy called her uncle.

"Hello, little one," his smooth voice answered. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She swallowed the bite that was in her mouth. "I got kidnapped."

There was a stretch of silence. "Pardon?"

The corner of her mouth kicked up. "Kidnapped. By some asshole vampires. My friends rescued me."

"I see. And what were the circumstances surrounding this kidnapping?" His clipped tone spoke to his anger.

"They wanted to use me to control my friends." Lucy tapped her foot as she ate. The brothers watched her with concerned gazes as they listened to the conversation. As they were the friends in question, they were concerned her uncle may blame them.

"And the details? Did they feed from you?" Oh, even the thought of that pissed him off. She sincerely hoped that tone was never directed at her.

"They tried. I started ingesting vervain instead of wearing it. They bled me with a knife instead." She pushed her plate away as she finished the last of her food.

"Anything else?"

"It was a good and proper kidnapping, 'Lijah. They hung me from the ceiling by my wrists, burned me with cigarettes and lighters, knocked me around, choked me. I'm okay now." She would have tried to be gentler, but Elijah didn't care for bullshit. Straight forward was how he wanted it so that's how she gave it to him.

Again, the silence stretched, though she thought she heard something breaking in the background. "And are these good and proper kidnappers dead?"

It only occurred to her then that she hadn't even asked. She glanced at the brothers. "Most of them," Damon answered.

"You heard?" she asked.

"I did. I'll be there by the end of the day."

And then he was gone. Well, Uncle Elijah was coming to visit.