SEMPITERNAL ━━ Damon Salvatore ²

CHAPTER FOUR

"I promise.. It's me. I– I don't know how I'm here, but I'm here.." She softly caressed his cheek with her palm, his eyes softening only slightly. "Is this real?" he whispered, snaking his arm around her waist. She nodded, her tears sticking to her long lashes before trickling down her cheeks. "It's real, babe. I'm really here." He looked deeper into her eyes. His palm smoothed down her hair, his eyes falling closed. Tears began to prick at the backs of his icy blue eyes, but he held them back. He wanted to believe her, but he just couldn't. Suddenly, he jerked her into his arms, his fingers wrapped tightly around her throat. She gasped for air, her eyes wide and full of fear. A fear that seemed all too familiar. His grip loosened as he stared back into her mossy green irises. Stefan was quick to step in. "Damon!" he growled, ripping his brother's hand from her neck. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked angrily, pulling Carter behind him.

She fought to hold back the sudden sobs that wanted so desperately to break out. She felt her knees grow weak beneath her, Damon's face hard. "How do you know she's actually Carter? She bled out in my arms, Stefan! I watched her die!" he shouted at his brother. Damon was clearly breaking apart. Seeing Carter there, whether it truly was her or not, was breaking him. "I listened to her heart stop beating..." His voice cracked as he muttered that last sentence. Carter's fingers wound around her own neck, her skin warm from his touch. Her bottom lip began to quiver as her emotions seemed to take over. "Stef," she croaked out, but she went ignored. Stefan stood firmly between the two lovers, his stance ready to attack if needed. "I just know! Look at her. Look at the pain you just caused. Only Carter would be so hurt because you just tried to kill her!"

She grabbed Stefan's elbow, pulling him away gently. "Let's just go.. Please," she spoke warily, refusing to look at the man she had once fallen in love with. "Carter, I–" She lifted her palm to stop the words coming from his mouth. She sucked in a breath, her eyes wandering toward Damon's shocked frame. "I love you, Damon, but I can't go through this again.. Not right now. I'm sorry." Fueling with anger and clear disappointment in himself, Damon turned on his heels, walking away from the clearing. As soon as he was out of sight, she fell to her knees, horrible sobs slamming out of her trembling body. Her eyes were red, tears tracking down her cheeks. Pain circulated through her heart, breaking it further. Stefan lifted the girl in his arms, dragging Ray's deceased body behind them. She felt everything. She felt pain; she felt anger; she felt heartbreak.

She wanted to scream out. She wanted to push herself from Stefan and throw a tantrum. She was tired. She was tired of following Klaus, of being away from her family, of being alive already. She settled against Stefan's shoulder, peering out into the distance. Even through the tears, she couldn't stop herself from watching the clearing Damon had exited from. And even though she was sure he had left, she couldn't let the image of him standing within the brush escape her mind. The walk back to the camp felt like it took forever. Her eyes were droopy from the weighing tears, her fingers tightly grasping Stefan's shirt. He rolled Ray's body toward Klaus, who's jaw was tense, staring down at the bodies surrounding them. "They went rabid. Some of them, I killed. The others just...Bled out. In the end...They're all dead." He stood there, his body tense.

All of a sudden, he let out a horrendous yell, throwing a glass bottle against a nearby trailer. "I did everything I was told!" he screamed toward the sky, cursing his existence. He looked like a mad man. Carter stared over Stefan's shoulder, still, praying silently in her head that Damon would come back for her. Klaus composed himself, smoothing down his hair. "I should be able to turn them. I broke the curse. I killed a werewolf. I killed a vampire. I killed the doppelgänger." Stefan shifted uncomfortably before Klaus turned around to face the two. His eyes crossed from Stefan to Carter's teary face. Her eyes were puffy now, nose and cheeks red. Was it from the cold or had their little banshee been crying? He didn't know.

"You look like hell. Both of you," he commented, causing Carter to roll her tired eyes. "Last time I checked, I'm dying.. and you don't want to heal me." Stefan slowly sat the girl down on a nearby log, smoothing back her hair, moving it out of her tear soaked face. Klaus' eyes were trained on Ray's body, shoulders slumped. "I had to take him out. I didn't have a choice. I failed you. I'm sorry. Do what you have to do." She glanced at her best friend, her heart racing against her chest. "It should have worked," Klaus said blandly, snatching an empty beer bottle from the ground. After biting down into his palm, he allowed his blood to fill part of the bottle and handed it to Stefan. "Bottoms up. We're leaving." His voice was harsh, yet so broken. He held his uninjured hand out to Carter, pulling her to her feet.

"Lets go, love." Stefan stared at the bottle with a confused expression. Her body was soon tucked beneath Klaus' arm, which held her tightly so she wouldn't fall apart. "It appears you're the only comrade I have left." He pulled her away from the homocide scene, her hands holding tightly to any part of him that could hold her upright. She could hear the bottle crash against a trailer, soon spotting Stefan speeding ahead of them. "Is he going to be okay?" she asked the hybrid helping her walk. He hummed a response, unsure himself if Stefan would ever be okay. Yet, she never truly knew if he cared enough to know. She glanced up at the blond hybrid, her stomach churning. She had lost Damon, she was not losing Stefan, too.

* * *

i know this chapter was kind of short,
but there wasn't much to be said.

big thanks to Stan_Fan_Eminem for helping me choose a big part of the chapter.

i hope you guys enjoyed it, don't forget to leave a comment and vote!