The Vampire Diaries: Concrete Decisions

Complications

I'm almost out of Louisiana when Damon stirs.

He groans when he looks at me, "what the hell was that for?"

"You wouldn't listen, I did what I needed to do," I say, keeping my eyes on the road.

"Yeah, well I hope it was worth it," he says, "did you get what you came for?"

"Yes," I answer.

Damon stares at me, "and?"

"I'll tell you when we get back to Mystic Falls," I say.

"Why," Damon protests, "what are you hiding?" The second part of his question unsettles me. If I make one wrong move, it'll all be over. 

"I'm not hiding anything," I say with steadily, "it's insurance that you don't try to kill me."

He scuffs, "like that would actually happen, even if I could."

"Look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn't think twice about killing me if you had the chance," I say, tearing my eyes from the road to look at him. He looks me in the eye and surprisingly, says nothing. I laugh, "You can't possibly actually care if I live or die."

He shrugs his shoulders, "maybe I do, maybe I don't. Now it's my turn to ask the questions. Why the hell were you in New Orleans for 140 years?" I start to panic on the inside, hoping none of it spills into my face. I know I'm taking too long to answer and I know Damon will think that anything I say now will be a lie. 

I sigh, "would you believe me if I told you that I just wanted to live my life, enjoy the seafood and the hospitality of the southerners?"

Damon shakes his head, "not for a damn minute. If there was one thing I learned about you in 1864, it was the fact that you don't have a family, so you take it where you find it." I say nothing because in my heart, I know it is true. "Who was it this time? Ex-boyfriend's best-friend's cousin's sister," Damon asks.

I shake my head, "why do you care?"

"Because you're hiding something and lying about it and not just to me, but to yourself. So do yourself a favor and stop." Those were the last words spoken in that car until we arrived in Savannah to pick up my things. Damon follows me as I walk through the corridors of storage units until I find mine. "Really," he asks me, "unit number 666?"

I smile, "what, am I not allowed to have a little fun?" I pull the lock off and open it. Inside my unit, it was clean and organized, the way I liked it. My unit, at this moment, contained only suitcases of clothes, cases of shoes, my hair necessities, and antiques from 1864. Otherwise, it was quite empty.

"You have your own storage unit and this is how you fill it," Damon asks me.

"It's not like I have enough money to buy Persian rugs like some of us," I say.

"How do you even pay for this," he asks me as I start to gather my things.

"I don't," I answer, "I compelled the owner to give me a free pass." Damon smiles at this and helps me lug all of my things out to his car. We finish putting my things into his car when suddenly, Damon's cell phone rings.

He smiles as he answers it, "Ms. Lauderdale's slave." Through my vampire hearing, I can tell that it's Stefan on the other end.

"She's not actually making you work is she," Stefan asks.

"She's making lug her clothes into my car, I'd call that work," Damon says. I laugh at that.

"Did she get what she needed in New Orleans," Stefan asks.

"Yeah, she'll tell us all about it when we get back," Damon answers, "see you soon little brother." I smile as Damon hangs up. He notices, "What?"

"Nothing," I say.

"Can we just please get back to Mystic Falls," Damon says as we get back into the car.

"Why, eager to bust Katherine out," I tease.

"Actually," he says with a smile, "I am. I have lived without her for 150 years. I've suffered long enough." I start to feel guilty. Though, I haven't seen Damon for so long I still consider him my friend. I can't bear the thought of lying to my friends, but I have no choice. I drive through the night before I finally pull up to the Salvatore's. I pull out my phone to check the time and realize that we've been gone for three days. 

"Three days," I say to Damon as we walk into the house, leaving my things in the car, "that's how long we've been gone."

"A lot can happen in three days," Damon states and I know he's right. In three days, I went from a human to a blood-crazed monster. Damon and I walk into the house to find Stefan in the living room, sitting with a binder in his lap. "Homework, little brother," Damon asks when we walk in.

Stefan smiles as he sees us, "actually I was studying."

"For what," I ask.

"History, new history teacher is giving us a pop test tomorrow," Stefan says. I flinch; Marcel had been right, though there was hardly a time when he wasn't. Both of the brothers notice. "You all right," Stefan asks me.

"Yeah," I lie, shaking my head, "just hungry.

"You and me both, I'll be right back," Damon says, heading to the kitchen. Stefan closes his binder and smiles up to me. I take a seat next to him, returning his smile.

"You find what you were looking for in New Orleans," he asks me.

I nod, "yes, thankfully."

"You missed a comet that night you guys left," Stefan tells me.

"Damon was telling me about that, weren't you," I say, turning my head to Damon who was walking in. He smiles as he hands me a glass mixed with blood and bourbon. "Really," I say, making a face.

"What, it's just to take the edge off," Damon says. I take a sip of it. I swallow as I realize that Damon is watching me intently. Then I realize it just as my insides feel like they're on fire. I cough and gag, but it's too late. There was vervain in my system. I drop to the floor, my glass breaking just as Stefan rushes to my side.  

"Cecily, what's wrong," he asks me.

"Ver-vain," I manage to say through my closed throat. Stefan's face turns to Damon, who is smirking at me. I return it with a glare as best as I could.

"Why, Damon," Stefan demands.

"She's hiding something," Damon says.

"Like what," Stefan asks.

"Like what the hell she's been doing in New Orleans for the past 140 years," Damon says.

"Like...you're...not," I manage to say.

Stefan looks at me, "what?"

"Cecily, don't," Damon warns me.

"Katherine," I grit through my teeth. Stefan's face twists to Damon and suddenly, Stefan is pinning Damon to the wall. 

"You're not seriously thinking about her, are you," Stefan growls.

"What the hell do you care," Damon snaps, "you hate her."

"As well as you should," Stefan retorts, "Damon, she left us to die."

"I love her, Stefan," Damon admits, "and I'm going to let her out."

Stefan shakes his head, "I can't let you do that."

"I wasn't asking for your permission," Damon says, shoving Stefan back. Then, Damon kicks Stefan in his chest, sending him flying until he collides with the glass cabinet.

"Stop," I try to say, but it comes out as a gurgle. The glass breaks and falls onto Stefan as he tries to get up. He lifts his face to meet Damon's and rushes at him, pushing Damon through the glass windows behind him. I swear I heard the sound of a car pull up, but maybe it was my imagination. Stefan leaps onto Damon, his face turning into the face of a feeding vampire, just as I hear someone's voice say Stefan's name. Both of the Salvatores look up and I can see that it is the doppelganger. It is Elena Gilbert. And she gasps when she sees Stefan's face.