It had been two very long hours since the Gilbert twins found out that Damon had been lying to them about their plan to bring Stefan back home. Currently, Emily and Elena were still waiting for the Salvatore vampire to come back home, so they could confront him about it.
The boarding house was thankfully quiet once Caroline dealt with the party and all of the tipsy human teenagers. The Forbes vampire made sure everyone left as she knew the Gilbert twins' birthday was officially over after they found out what was inside of Damon's closet.
However, the bedroom that belonged to the eldest Salvatore was far from silent. The Radkova witch had been pacing for the past hour while she mumbled curse words towards Damon while the human twin was trying to keep Emily calm from letting her anger getting the best of her.
Elena knew how her sister's emotions were connected to her magic and the Gilbert girl knew the last thing they needed right now was for Emily's magic to flair up.
Emily felt the same way. The Radkova witch knew she was letting her annoyance towards the Salvatore vampire get the better of her, especially when she could feel Scott's claw mark on her shoulder constantly burning but Emily forced herself to ignore it. The Radkova witch was more concerned with getting answers. Emily would worry about the pain later.
"Hey," Elena called out from her position on her knees in front of her boyfriend's bed. The Gilbert girl had thought Damon was hiding more clues about Stefan and she was right. "I found more articles," Elena mumbled as she stood up from the ground with a folder that was almost as thick as a book.
The Radkova witch walked over to Elena before she accepted the folder. Emily opened it up before she laid it out on the king sized bed. "Great," Emily sarcastically muttered as she stared at articles and articles from the past few months, "this is just great."
Elena picked up an article that grabbed her attention about an animal attack in Ohio before she informed her twin, "this is from a few weeks ago." The Gilbert girl did a quick scan of the article before Elena read off, "the Cleveland PD found bodies drained of their blood and scattered all across a local park."
Emily let out a humorless chuckle as she shook her head in disbelief. "There goes some more lies," the Radkova witch muttered. Emily felt even more frustrated after finding these articles. It just meant that Damon had been hiding so much from them.
The Radkova witch snatched up a stack of articles from the folder before she did a quick scan. "I count at least three more from the Ohio area," Emily told her twin as she flipped through the articles, "all of them mentioning broken bones and ripped limbs."
The Gilbert sisters were so focused on reading through the articles and trying to figure out where the younger Salvatore was that they didn't hear the bedroom door open. The twins didn't hear the sluggish and heavy footsteps enter the room until an exhausted voice asked, "what are you doing?"
The human and the witch quickly looked up and turned around at the voice before they noticed Damon standing at the edge of the room. The Radkova witch immediately glared at the blue eyed vampire before she muttered, "just looking through your lies."
Damon let out a heavy sigh as she ran his right hand down the side of his face. "Now is not a good time for this," the Salvatore vampire muttered before he let his head roughly clunk back against the wooden door.
Damon wasn't stupid. He knew what Emily and Elena found tonight. Damon knew it was a matter of time before they found out about what he's been hiding, especially when he's dating one of the girls. However, it just wasn't a good night for this to happen. This was the last thing Damon wanted to deal with right now.
Elena completely forgot about her disappointment in her boyfriend as she worriedly walked up to the Salvatore vampire. "What happened?" The Gilbert girl asked as she gently grasped Damon's hand between her own and gave it a comforting squeeze.
"Stefan happened," the Salvatore vampire mumbled after he silently let Elena lead him over to their bed before he sat down on the edge.
Emily furrowed her brows together as she stared down at the blue eyed vampire. "What do you mean?" The Radkova witch inquired. Emily had no idea what happened tonight that could somehow connect to her boyfriend when Damon only went to take her aunt to pick up Andie.
Damon released a heavy breath before he sarcastically recalled, "well, let's see, Jenna and I went to pick up Andie for some fun but instead, I had to watch Stefan dearest kill Andie right in front of us."
Emily's green eyes quickly widened at Damon's response. "Wait? What?" The Radkova witch asked in confusion as she took a few steps closer to the vampire on the bed. Emily shook her head in denial as she mumbled, "Stefan wouldn't do that."
"Well, he did," Damon muttered.
The Salvatore vampire knew where this conversation was going with Emily and he didn't want the human girl to have to witness the arguing that was obviously going to happen. Damon turned to his girlfriend before he gently grasped her hand. "You should go check on Jenna," the Salvatore vampire advised Elena before he muttered, "she's not exactly handling Andie's death well."
The human girl immediately grew worried for her aunt as she knew how close Jenna was with the news anchor. "Where is she?" Elena quickly asked.
Damon nodded his head in the direction of his bedroom door before the Salvatore vampire responded, "Ric is with her in the guest bedroom at the end of the hall."
"I'll go see her," Elena swiftly agreed before she turned to face her twin sister. The human girl stared across at Emily with her brows furrowed before she asked, "are you good?"
Elena knew how her sister was feeling towards Damon. She had practically watched Emily's anger build and build over the last hour. The Gilbert girl didn't exactly like the idea of leaving Emily and Damon alone together since they were both known to let their emotions control them.
However, Elena really needed to check up on her aunt. The human girl could only hope that her sister and boyfriend can keep a level head while she's away.
Emily quickly nodded her head as she lightly waved her hand to let Elena know that she was going to be fine. "Go make sure Jenna is okay," the Radkova witch requested.
Emily would rather have Elena out of the room for this conversation, anyway. The human girl didn't need to be involved since Elena was in the dark as well. Besides, one of them needed to check on Jenna after what happened tonight and since it involved Emily's boyfriend, she needed to be the one to stay and confront Damon.
"I will," Elena promised to her twin sister before the human girl turned around and quickly exited out of her boyfriend's bedroom to go find her aunt.
Elena could only imagine the hurt that her aunt was feeling right now after watching someone she really cares about die in front of her. If anyone knew what Jenna was going through, it was Emily but the Gilbert girl understood that she had to be the one to comfort her aunt while her sister dealt with the build up to Andie's death.
The Radkova witch kept her green eyes locked on the door until Elena closed it behind her before Emily turned her gaze onto the Salvatore vampire. "What happened tonight?" Emily quietly asked as she tried to keep a control of her anger. The Radkova witch shot Damon a glare as she warned him, "no lies this time."
Damon shook his head as he muttered, "I don't think you want to hear the truth." The Salvatore vampire silently stood up from his bed before he walked up over to his dresser. Damon uncapped a bottle of whiskey before he added, "you won't like it."
"I don't care if it's not good!" Emily exclaimed as she tossed her arms in the air in frustration.
The Radkova witch was getting really tired of being hidden in the dark just because she wouldn't like the news. Did people not realize what Emily's life was all about? She had more bad news than good news enter her life since her parents' death. Emily felt like she was immune to bad news these days.
Damon completely ignored the Radkova witch's command as he muttered, "you really don't."
Damon had seen a lot of death in his life but tonight just hit something inside of him. The blue eyed vampire figured it was because his usually kind and understanding brother was the cause of it.
"Dammit, Damon!" The Radkova witch shouted as she shoved Damon's back. "Just tell me! Tell me the truth for once! Stop keeping secrets from me!" Emily yelled as she let out all of her anger towards the vampire.
The Radkova witch was breathing heavy as she stared at the Damon's straight back with a deep frown on her face after she let out her frustration. "I thought we were friends," the Gilbert girl mumbled.
Emily honestly felt hurt from what the Salvatore vampire did to her by keeping all this a secret. The Gilbert girl did see Damon as one of her best friends, so it pained Emily to know that the vampire had been lying to her face for so long.
Those five words seemed to anger something inside of Damon as he swiftly turned around to face the young witch with a sense of fury in his blue gaze. "I'm doing this to protect you!" The Salvatore vampire shouted back as he angrily pointed his finger at Emily.
"I don't need your protection!" The Radkova witch snarled as Emily crossed her arms over her chest and glared her darkening green eyes at the vampire.
"Yes, you do," Damon insisted before he took a heavy gulp of whiskey. The Salvatore vampire stared down at Emily with a hint of sadness in his blue eyes before Damon added, "especially when Stefan is involved."
Emily shook her head as she barked out a sarcastic laugh. "Are you hearing yourself right now?" The Radkova witch asked as she stared at Damon in disgust. "This is Stefan we are talking about!" Emily exclaimed as she reminded the vampire.
"That's exactly my point," Damon muttered. The Salvatore vampire shook his head before he told Emily, "he isn't himself anymore."
Emily stared across at the Salvatore vampire with confusion all through her green eyes as she didn't understand what Damon was trying to say. "What does that even mean?" The Gilbert girl asked.
"He's gone, Emily! The Stefan you know is dead!" The Salvatore vampire exclaimed as he finally snapped. Damon felt like he was talking to a wall. It was like Emily wasn't hearing him. Damon absolutely hated having to be the one to tell the Gilbert girl about the downfall of Stefan but it had to be done.
The Radkova witch immediately shook her head in denial before she mumbled, "no, I don't believe that."
Emily refused to believe that her boyfriend was too far gone. The Gilbert girl knew she hadn't been able to reach Stefan's emotions through her spell recently but Emily couldn't imagine her boyfriend losing himself. She knew Stefan was fighter and it just didn't sound like her boyfriend.
Damon knew the Gilbert girl needed the hard truth for her to actually listen, so he tightly grasped Emily's wrist before Damon brought her over to his closet door with all of his tracking history. "See this?" The Salvatore vampire asked as he pointed his finger in front of the map.
Damon waited patiently for the Gilbert girl to slowly nod her head to show that Emily was paying attention before the Salvatore vampire informed her, "this is because of Stefan."
A deep frown immediately pulled on Emily's face out of confusion to what the vampire was telling her. "No, this is Klaus," the Radkova witch corrected Damon as she pointed her finger over to the sticky note that said the hybrid's name.
The Salvatore vampire heaved out a heavy sigh before he shook his head. "I wish it was," Damon mumbled as he walked out of his closet.
"I thought they were Klaus' kills in the beginning," the blue eyed vampire mentioned before Damon stated, "that was until I saw the bodies for myself."
Emily slowly walked out of the closet with that same frown displayed across her face. "No, that's not right," the Gilbert girl mumbled with warm tears beginning to cloud her vison of the Salvatore vampire. "It has to be Klaus," Emily insisted as she shook her head, "Stefan wouldn't do this to innocent people."
Damon felt a sense of pain around his dead heart as he watched the tears flow from the young witch's green eyes. It pained the vampire to see Emily this way, especially when his words were the cause for her distress.
"I'm so sorry, princess," Damon apologized as he walked up to the Radkova witch before he softly grasped ahold of Emily's lower arm. "I've seen it happen before," the Salvatore vampire gently informed Emily before he muttered, "Stefan's gone. He flipped the switch. The ripper's back."
"No, no, no," Emily hurriedly uttered as she took a step away from the vampire and his touch. "That can't be right," the Gilbert girl mumbled in complete denial, "he wouldn't turn it off."
Emily absolutely refused to believe that her loving boyfriend would turn off his emotions and let the dark side in. The Gilbert girl had heard stories about Stefan's ripper days from Lexie and how bad it was for him, so Emily just knew her boyfriend would never go back to that side.
Damon let out another heavy sigh before he muttered, "I'm not lying this time."
"I don't believe you," Emily instantly stated as she shook her head.
Emily refused to believe that Stefan would do that, so her thought process was that Damon was just trying to trick her. The Radkova witch glared at the Salvatore vampire before she exclaimed, "you just don't want to look for him! You gave up!"
Damon really did try to be gentle and understanding when it came to the Gilbert girl's feelings about his brother and what he did but Emily's statement was crossing the line.
A sense of anger took over the Salvatore vampire's body as he stomped over to his bed and picked up a hand full of articles. "I have been looking for him all summer!" Damon exclaimed, "I never gave up on him until I saw Stefan tonight and you should, too."
Emily let out a loud scoff before she shouted at the vampire, "I will never leave Stefan behind!"
The Gilbert girl couldn't even believe Damon would even suggest that. Stefan never gave up on her when Emily let her magic get the better of her, so why would she give up on Stefan when he was struggling?
"He's not Stefan anymore!" The Salvatore vampire shouted right back at the Radkova witch. "He's gone! The ripper took over his body and Stefan's not going to come back!" Damon insisted as he tried to get his brother's girlfriend to understand and to come to terms of what happened tonight.
Emily rolled her green eyes after having to listen to the same words over and over again from the Salvatore vampire. "Do whatever you want, Damon, but I'm not giving on up Stef," the Gilbert girl snapped. "I'll find him myself," Emily confidently exclaimed before she turned around to walk away from the Salvatore vampire.
However, before the Radkova witch could take more than three steps, Damon used his enhanced speed to tightly grasp Emily's wrist to stop her from leaving. "You aren't going to look for him," Damon snarled before he ordered the Gilbert girl, "you are going to forget about Stefan and move on!"
Emily was quickly growing frustrated with the vampire. She didn't like how Damon was telling her what to do and was controlling when she could leave. Emily knew there was no way that she could fight Damon's grasp, so she didn't even think twice before she zapped the vampire with her magic to make him release her.
The Radkova witch shot Damon an angry glare as she snapped, "I'm not giving up."
Damon let out a sarcastic chuckle as he roughly ran his fingers through his dark hair. The Salvatore vampire was tired of arguing with Emily, especially after a long night, so he decided to stop sugar coating what they were dealing with when it came to Ripper Stefan.
"You know what will happen?" Damon asked before he shouted without giving the young witch a chance to respond, "Stefan will kill you!" The Salvatore vampire glared right back at Emily as he told her, "he doesn't have a heart anymore. Stefan will kill you without a single ounce of remorse."
Emily couldn't even begin to control the hot tears rolling down her cheeks at the honest truth from the Salvatore vampire. The Gilbert girl was in denial at first but she was slowly believing Damon's words about what was happening with her boyfriend.
However, Emily refused to let that stop her. She knew Stefan was practically dangerous now but she didn't care. Emily had never loved anyone like she loved Stefan (other than Elena) in her entire life. Stefan meant the absolute world to the Gilbert girl, so she couldn't just forget about him like nothing happened.
Emily looked up at the Salvatore vampire with tears freely falling down her face before she whispered, "I can't let him go."
Damon let out a breath that was filled with sadness and helplessness as he stared down at the young witch. The Salvatore vampire wished there was something he could do to help but there wasn't. This was just something she needed to go through.
The Salvatore vampire reached over and placed a gentle palm on the Gilbert girl's shoulder. "It's over, princess," Damon whispered back.
The Radkova witch stared up into Damon's blue eyes for a few seconds before Emily shook her head as she took a step away from the vampire's touch. "No, I refuse to give up," Emily stated before she swiftly walked around the vampire's body and rushed out of the bedroom. The Gilbert girl felt a sense of relief when Damon didn't try to stop her this time around.
Damon's instincts were practically yelling at himself to tie the Radkova witch up in the basement to keep her safe. However, the other part of himself reminded the Salvatore vampire that he wholly trusted Emily and knew she wasn't stupid enough to try to find his brother tonight.
Damon knew how the Gilbert girl's mind worked just like her sister's. The Salvatore vampire knew Emily just needed some time to process everything that she learnt tonight.
Emily needed out of here. The boarding house was absolutely driving the Radkova witch insane at the moment. Emily felt like she drowning with being surrounded by the familiar smells and objects that reminded Emily so much of her boyfriend.
The Radkova witch had no clue where she would go as she rushed down the staircase barefoot in her birthday dress. Emily didn't really care at this point. She just needed to leave.
The Gilbert house should be empty, the Radkova witch told herself as she remembered that Jenna was currently in the guest bedroom with Alaric and Elena. The Gilbert girl only had to worry about her brother but that shouldn't be a problem. It was better than having to stay here.
Emily was so focused on finally leaving the Salvatore boarding house that she didn't even hear someone calling her name. It wasn't until Emily touched the door knob to the entrance that she finally realized that someone was calling out for her. The Radkova witch turned around before she found Tyler jogging towards her and out of the living room.
"Hey, hey, hey," the Lockwood werewolf cooed as he immediately grasped Emily's face between his warm palms when Tyler saw her crestfallen face. "What's wrong? Why are you trying?" Tyler worriedly asked.
The Radkova witch shook her head as she refused to talk about what was going on right now when the anger and sadness was still so fresh. Emily leaned her cheek into the werewolf's warm hand in exhaustion before she mumbled, "can we just leave?"
Tyler quickly nodded his head in agreement. Tyler didn't want to pressure the Gilbert girl. He knew Emily would tell him everything when she was ready.
"Of course," the Lockwood werewolf murmured before he asked, "where do you wanna go?"
Emily grasped the werewolf's hand from her cheek and tightly held it out of comfort. Tyler's warmness was always a sure way for the Gilbert girl to feel safe and calm -- after Stefan's arms, of course.
"Can we go to your house?" The Radkova witch timidly asked. Emily let out a heavy sigh before she mumbled, "I just need to get out of here."
"Yeah, sure," Tyler quickly agreed. The Lockwood werewolf would honestly do anything to help Emily feel better and smile again. Tyler would happily take the Gilbert girl home with him and comfort her in anyway he can.
Tyler opened up the front door before he wrapped his arm protectively around the Gilbert girl's waist. "Come on," the Lockwood werewolf softly murmured as he led Emily through the entrance.
"It's going to be okay," Tyler whispered as he held the Gilbert girl against his side. The Lockwood werewolf had no idea what happened tonight when Emily disappeared upstairs during the party but Tyler swore he was going to do whatever he had to to see that beautiful smile on Emily's face again.
The Radkova witch felt so exhausted as Tyler led her towards his truck that parked out in front of the Salvatore boarding house. Emily felt like she experienced every emotion known to man in these past twenty-four hours from finding a lead on Stefan's location to finding out that Damon has been lying to her for months.
Emily didn't even know what to think anymore after tonight. The Gilbert girl just felt so lost after learning the truth from Damon. She was still in shock to know that Stefan was the cause of all of these deaths and not Klaus.
Emily felt heartbroken for her boyfriend. The Gilbert girl knew Stefan must have felt so much pain and despair before he finally turned it off. Stefan would never purposely choose to kill innocent humans, so Emily just knew Klaus must of pushed her boyfriend too far.
The Radkova witch wished more than anything to help her boyfriend but Emily knew she had to be careful with her next couple of steps. If Damon was right and Stefan was in his ripper phase, then Emily had to be very cautious.
The Gilbert girl knew it was going to be very dangerous in her search for Stefan, not only because he's a ripper but also because the hybrid would be around as well. However, Emily didn't plan to give up like the eldest Salvatore was doing. Emily would rather die trying than just to just give up.
Stefan never gave up on her when she was in a bad headspace after the sacrifice, so Emily wasn't going to do that to him, either.