Secrets of a Salvatore Sister

Let Her Go

"Wait, what happened with Elena?" I ask.

Stefan shakes his head, looking to Damon. "You let her feed on you. I'm always gonna be mad at you but we're not in a fight." He raises his hands and makes air quotes as he says 'fight'. I turn to Damon, my eyes wide.

"You blood shared with Elena?" Damon rolls his eyes at my shocked tone. I can't believe he did that. Damn! Blood sharing is extremely intimate for vampires, its like giving away your virginity each time. "Wow," I whisper.

"Hey now, you heard Stefan. He's over it. So, if you want to hear what Liz said, then stop talking." I hold my hands up in surrender, amusement in my eyes. "Very well, then. You know how I told you that they didn't find any remains at the explosion site." Stefan and I nod. "While apparently, they haven't been able to find Connor anywhere else. Liz has had deputy's looking for him, but to no avail."

"So Connor's still out there," Stefan clarifies.

"Apparently so. I'm gonna need you two to get on this today. I have to take Elena to college."

Stefan freezes, looking at Damon with surprise. "I'm sorry, you have to do what, exactly?"

"I'm teaching her how to feed. She needs to learn snatch, eat, erase now more than ever." Stefan opens his mouth to protest, but Damon stops him. "Ah, ah, we're not in a fight, remember?" I laugh at Stefan's expression as Damon leaves the room.

He glares at me, making me laugh more. "Look, I'm going to put my stuff down. If you want to learn more about the Five, then meet me at my car in ten." I turn on my heel and head upstairs. No one had better been in my room while I was gone.

...

I drive, sitting in silence with Stefan. He taps his foot repeatedly against the floorboard. I know there's something he wants to say. I sigh, "What?" He turns to me, confusion on his face. "I know you want to say something, so just say it already."

He mulls over my words for a second, before shifting his body to face me better. "Where did you go?"

My brows pinch together. I didn't expect him to ask me that. I was waiting for some uncomfortable question that I wouldn't want to answer. "New York, why?"

He shrugs, "I don't know. I'm just curious. I mean, for so long you've had this whole other life that I know nothing about. I'm just curious is all."

I snort, finally understanding what he really wants to know. "You mean you're curious if I ever missed you? You're curious how I survived all those years? You're curious how I became this person and how I know so much?" There's a pause, like he doesn't want to admit that I'm right, but eventually he releases a sigh, nodding his head. I take a breath, thinking of where to start and how much I want to share. "Did I miss you? Yes, I mean for the first few years I thought both you and Damon were dead."

"And after you found out we were alive?"

I stare straight, refusing to meet his eyes. My grip on the steering wheel is tighter. I can tell Stefan notices as I feel the heat of his eyes on my hands. "Look," I breathe out. "Things at that time were difficult for me. The Katherine thing was still fresh and so was-" I cut myself off before I could say more. Stefan shifts in his seat. "Just...something happened too, okay. And it was a hard thing to go through and by this time I had been on my own for a little bit, so...it's not that I didn't miss you. I just didn't...have time to dwell on my feelings."

Silence follows my answer. I remain quite, not wanting to say anymore. Yet, out of the corner of my eye, I glance at him. He sits, staring forward. His forehead is wrinkled and I can tell he's thinking deeply about something. I know that he still has a lot of questions, but he doesn't ask them. Instead, he remains staring forward, quiet, as he's lost in his thoughts. I'm reminded of when he ambushed me in the basement, demanding answers as he tried to gain control. He had so many questions then. I'm sure they have only multiplied since.