Something New (TVD)

A Few Good Men {17}

"Uh, my-- my name's Elena Gilbert." I smile awkwardly with a short wave. "You might have known a girl. . . her name was Isobel Flemming?" I prompt carefully.

"Well, I haven't heard that name in years." She smiles wistfully; though, there's also a slight strain to it. "How do you know her?"

"Well. . . Do you know if she had a baby that she gave up for adoption?" I question, causing her eyes to widen.

"My god. You're her daughter." She mutters, almost sounding horrified, before laughing softly. "I was just gonna make some tea. Would you like some?" She offers warmly.

"Sure." I nod, relieved.

"Uh, the kitchen's this way." Trudie says, being careful not to explicitly invite me in as she steps aside to allow me room to come inside.

Smiling, I step over the threshold, allowing her to release the breath she had been holding as she closes the door behind me after looking nervously around outside.

"I only found out about all this recently." I explain sheepishly to the woman. "And, curiosity, ya know?"

"It's no problem." She assures brightly. "Just a surprise, though." She says, leading me to a table and we sit down. "I haven't thought about Isobel in years."

"When was the last time you saw her?" I ask softly.

"About seventeen years ago, when she left to go have you." She says. "We stayed in touch for a while, but, well, you know, people drift apart."

"And, you don't know where she ended up?"

"She was in Florida for a while. She was on her own. I know it wasn't easy."

"Do you have any idea who my father is?" I ask after a moment.

"I could never get her to fess-up." She shakes her head. "Anyway, she finally pulled it together, got in to college on a scholarship."

"Where did she go?"

"Somewhere in North Carolina." She shrugs. "Duke, I think. Smart girl, smart school."

The kettle on the stove in the kitchen, which she must have put on before I arrived, begins to whistle, grabbing Trudie's attention.

"Let me just grab that." She excuses herself as she stands.

¤~☆~¤

      Trudie and I are looking through an old yearbook she had pulled out when she points to a picture of Isobel.

"Ah. They came to the games for us. The football team hadn't won in years. We were the stars. Well, Izzy was. But, I was a damn good backup." The blonde jests, making me chuckle.

"This is great, thank you." I say gratefully.

"You're welcome." She smiles before looking to my teacup. "You haven't touched your tea." She says.

"Oh, yeah." I acknowledge before looking to her with a smile of my own. "I'm not big on tea, but you don't have to worry, I have a tattoo laced with vervain." I tell her simply, causing her face to drop as she becomes stunned. "And, before you deny it, I just gotta tell you that you're not that great at being discreet. You didn't invite me in, and now with the vervain tea. That, with your nervous disposition, doesn't make it hard to put together."