Not About You

Chapter Fourteen

Lucy felt like a little kid waiting for her dad to come home. She darted to the window at every little noise hoping it was Elijah. It had been far too long since she'd seen him. She missed her family. The boys simply watched with amusement not used to seeing her quite so hyper. When the knock finally came, Lucy hopped on her feet before hurrying to the door. Damon chuckled but remained in his spot as he wanted to give her some time alone to greet her uncle.

She swung the door open to find Elijah on the other side. As always, he was dressed impeccably in a tailored suit. He smiled when he saw her and ran his gaze over her taking in the changes since he saw her last. "Lucy," he said by way of greeting.

She launched herself at him and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He laughed as he returned the hug. "I missed you, 'Lijah."

"It is good to see you, little one." He stepped back and took one of her hands in his own. "Come. I wish to speak with you before I meet your friends."

A brief thought of protesting crossed her mind but she dismissed it. It didn't really matter when he met them and she wanted to spend time with Elijah without the boys around anyway. "We'll be back," she yelled as she walked out the door, not bothering to wait for a response.

Elijah drove them to a park and pulled into the spot furthest from the road. Dark was approaching and they were the only ones present.

He turned in his seat so he was angled toward her and licked his lips. "Now, Lucille, however did you end up in Mystic Falls of all places?"

She wrinkled her nose at the use of her full name. "I hate it when you call me that. And would you believe I threw a dart at a map?"

He laughed. "With you? Absolutely." He leaned against the door behind him. "I had considered asking you to accompany me when I left. It has been some time since we traveled together."

"I've expanded my family, Elijah. I don't want to leave them," she responded with a shake of her head. "To put it bluntly, I'm in love with the town and the people here. It's home."

His eyes narrowed and his lips twitched. "Any person in particular?"

"Perhaps. We're friends and we flirt. That's all. I don't think he's really the relationship type."

"Then he's a fool."

The way he said it so matter-of-factly made Lucy smile. Leave it to Elijah to think anyone that wasn't interested in her was an idiot.

"Fine. Tell me about the vampires you are residing with." He pursed his lips and it was easy to see he wasn't thrilled with her current living arrangements.

"The Salvatore brothers. Damon and Stefan. Turned toward the end of the Civil War. They're good people and they treat me like family. The feeling's mutual." She wanted Elijah to approve of her friends though she supposed it wouldn't change much if he didn't. The boys were already too tightly intwined with her life.

"And which one is the fool?"

She sighed. There was no way she could get out of answering. "Damon."

He nodded in thought. "And were these brothers the ones that saved you from your kidnappers?"

"Yep."

"And they failed to kill them all?" Anger threaded through his words.

"They were a little preoccupied with taking care of me, Elijah," she said. "You'd be furious if they hadn't."

The corner of his mouth kicked up in a smile. "Forgive me. I get a little blood thirsty when it comes to protecting you, little one."

"I remember."