Saudade | D. SALVATORE

7 | i'm not legally required to do this

"What are you?" Elena demanded. "What are you?"

"You know," he concluded, letting his hands fall at his sides.

"No, I don't," she shook her head.

"Yes, you do, or you wouldn't be here."

"It's not possible," she replied. "It can't be."

"Everything you know and every belief that you have is about to change," he explained, "Are you ready for that?"

"What are you?" she repeated.

"I'm a vampire," he answered honestly and Evelyn rolled her eyes. Way to ease her into it.

"I shouldn't have come," she shook her head as she turned to leave.

"No. Please," he begged, going after her but leaving the door open.

"No. No. How did you do that?"

"Please don't be afraid of me."

"Let me go."

"No. Elena, there's things that you have to know and understand."

"Let me go!"

"Elena, please," he begged one last time before a car started and drove off.

He came back inside a moment later, shoulders slumped forward and defeat clear on his face. Evelyn frowned, "She'll come around."

"And if she doesn't?" he asked

"Then you'll know you did everything in your power to convince her you're the good guy," she answered.

"What?" he asked, obviously not understanding what she was talking about.

"You, sir, are going to get off your sorry behind and haul ass over to my house to beg Elena for a chance to explain," Evelyn informed him. "Ask her to give you a day, a day to explain and if she decides that at the end of that day she doesn't want anything to do with you, leave her alone. Also, don't tell her I know, it'll only make things worse."

"I don't know if that's such a-" he began but Evelyn cut him off.

"Don't make me drag you out by your ear."

"Okay, okay," he frowned. "Fine, I'll go."

"Good," she nodded. "I'm sleeping in your bed tonight, by the way. My back is starting to hurt from the couch." She had been sleeping on the couch because most of the rooms were filled with crap from over the years and Evelyn would not sleep in Zach's room even if he's dead. That's just too weird. And she wasn't going anywhere near Damon's room.

"You could just go home," he pointed out.

"Damon is still a problem," she countered. "I have his ring and he's bound to show up here at some point. We know he won't hurt me."

"Alright, fine," he nodded. "Call me if he shows up."

"Go," she ordered. "Don't leave Elena waiting."

As soon as the door shut, she grabbed the journal she had been reading in the other room and ran up to his room. She plopped down on the bed and flipped to the page she was on but as soon as she started reading, she was out.

Evelyn woke up to the sound of blasting music from downstairs and two familiar voices echoed through the house. She got up quietly and tip-toed down the stairs, hopeful that the loud music meant Damon couldn't hear her.

"I am so over Tyler, so over him," Vicki announced. "I knew from the beginning that I was only a piece of ass to him, but I thought maybe if he got to know me better, he might see something more. But no." She fell to the floor with a laugh, "Now, Jeremy, on the other hand, that's all he's ever seen in me is something more, and I like that."