SEMPITERNAL ━━ Damon Salvatore ²

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

"There is no way out of it. We all know the drill. You feed or you die. There is no door number three!" Damon shouted. He stood from the window seat, his blue eyes flashing with anger. "I was ready to die. I was supposed to die. I don't – I don't want to be – I can't be a vampire! If there's something that Bonnie can do we have to try," Elena cried. Her tears were now streaming down her face silently. Stefan gripped her hand in his own. "We will. We'll try everything," Stefan assured her. Damon scoffed from where he stood. Elena glanced at the raven haired vampire incredulously. "Why are you acting this way?" she asked him, loudly. The sanity within those sparkling blue eyes finally snapped. His whole body tensed as he stared at Elena with a rage that could put her six feet under. "I just lost the love of my life for the second time and you're sitting here crying because you told Stefan to save Matt!"

Elena frowned. Carter was dead. "Then, I guess that means you don't have to hover anymore. I don't need you," she whispered. Damon scoffed. He wanted to wrap his hands around her throat and squeeze. He wanted to find a spell and make Elena trade places with Carter. "Just because she's dead doesn't mean that she'd want you to die, too." Damon glared once more at the brunette before storming out of the room. Elena finally felt the grief swallow her up once her eyes glanced over the photograph of her and Carter. Her breaths became more rigid as she clutched her chest. "She's dead," she whimpered. Stefan embraced her. "My soulmate is dead.."

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

A young Carter sat between Margaret's legs. Her long, fiery hair was being pulled back, braided and taken apart as the family focused on the screen before them. The Lion King was nearing its end when her father's alarm went off. He was quick to silence it since Heather was asleep and dreaming. "Its eight o'clock, baby," Gregory Harmon hummed to his eldest daughter. Her full lip fell into a pout as she glanced toward her father. "Oh, no. Don't give me those eyes. Its a school night." Margaret pressed a soft kiss to her daughter's head. Gregory slowly stood with the youngest child in his arms. She barely stirred as he situated her into a more comfortable position. "Come on, short stack. Bedtime." Carter rose without a sound, but with an intense eye roll. Her father chuckled at her before he began to leave the living room.

"Goodnight, my wife," he whispered to Margaret before the two shared a sweet goodnight kiss that made Carter grimace. Her father lead her up the stairs. Picture frames hung on the walls. Carter ran her fingertips along the pink paint absentmindedly. The first room they came up on was Heather's. He pushed open the door. The only light illuminating the whole room was from her Care Bear nightlight. Carter stood at the door, watching as Gregory put down his second born and tucked her in nice and tight. He kissed her temple before saying a soft goodnight that he knew she didn't hear. Without another word, he turned on the baby monitor and turned to look at his beautiful little girl. "Lets get you in bed," he whispered. He lifted her from beneath her armpits, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as she held onto his shoulders.

Carter yawned. She felt her eyes drooping as she stared at the cracked door leading to her baby sister. Gregory held onto her tight as he traveled further down the hallway into Carter's room. The walls were a turquoise color with purple wooden letters spelling out her name above the cork board littered with photographs. A sheer, white canopy fluttered around her small bed. Gregory rested his daughter onto her mattress with a smile, covering her with her Barbie comforter. "Tell me a story, Daddy," the young girl asked, fearful of the dreams to come within her slumber. She clutched her comforter for dear life. Her father knelt onto the floor beside her bed and let out a small sigh. "Do you believe in love at first sight, Carter?" The young girl bobbed her head in a nod. "Like how Ariel fell in love with Eric!" Gregory nodded with a proud smile. "Exactly! This story is like theirs."