When I came to, I blinked his eyes open groggily and found myself laying on the bed in a short motel room. "Easy. Just take it easy, boy. You're still coming down from last night," came the gruff voice of Bobby Singer.
"Bobby?" I croaked. " Where am I? What am I doing here?"
"We're in a motel room in Coeburn, Virginia about 50 miles away from Mystic Falls. You called me last night saying you were out in the middle of the woods and that you needed my help, and when I found you, you were covered in vampire blood and the vampire's body was laying a few feet away from ya," Bobby responded in concern.
At the mention of vampires, I couldn't stop the sudden surge of panic from racing through my body, jolting me to full awareness. "Wait, what?"
"Don't worry, it was an Evarien Vampire. He was rogue, didn't have a best and if he did, odds are you killed them, too. Your boyfriend is still breathing wherever he is," Bobby retorted.
At the time, I was so relieved to know that Damon was still alive that I couldn't even be bothered to be annoyed at Bobby's slick remark. All I could say was, "Thank God!"
Bobby's bushy eyebrows furrowed and I could see the outline of his mouth turn downward into a frown letting me know that he was deeply concerned. And I knew then that he knew what had happened to me. "You completed your curse, didn't you?" he said knowingly.
I gulped thickly and clenched my jaw tight, which seemed to answer Bobby's question loud and clear.
"And I'm assuming it was another vampire that you killed to activate it?" Bobby persisted.
Letting my shoulders sag, I took a deep breath to steel my nerves before explaining what happened to Bobby. "You remember that girl, the one I told you about who was Matt's sister?" I started, earning a nod from the old man. "Well, Damon decided it was a good idea to turn her into a vampire and she went after Elena and Jeremy. I got to her before Stefan could and... well, you can probably guess what happened from there."
Bobby's wizened face softened sympathetically. "Aw, damn. I'm sorry, Dean," he consoled, before narrowing his eyes and scowling. "And damn that Salvatore boy to hell! What the hell was he thinking turnin' that girl?"
"He was thinking that Vicki would lose control and kill Elena so that he could have a clear shot at getting back together with me. Or he just made a dumb decision in the heat of the moment like he always does," I answered gruffly. "Either way, they both make sense where he's involved."
"Well, what's done is done," Bobby exhaled. "The question is where do we go from here?"
"Now, I need to find answers," I huffed, sitting up straight on the couch. "And I ain't gonna find 'em here. Where's Baby?"
"She's parked out front in the parking lot. She's in good shape, no dents or scratches. Seems like even in a supernatural trance, your natural instinct is to look after that damn Impala," Bobby japed.
I let out a small chuckle as he and I stood up. "Well, thank you for bringing me back here, Bobby. Sorry for worrying you," I thanked.
"Now wait a damn minute. I sure hope you don't think you're about to just drop a news bomb that you activated your curse on me and just up and leave. Now, last night, you kept muttering something in your sleep about unlocking your mind," Bobby cut off. "You mind shedding some light on that?"
Now it was my turn to furrow my brow, as I felt my face contorting into a confused puzzle. "I did?"
"Yeah. You said the key to your future was hidden in your past. And you just kept repeating it like it was your mantra," Bobby elaborated. "And each time you said it that amulet around your neck started sizzlin'. I'm surprised you didn't feel it."
Slowly, I looked down at the amulet that Sammy had given me when we were kids and studied it curiously. Then, I carefully reached out to touch the medallion. But when the tips of my fingers came into contact with the burnished metal, a fresh batch of memories, it seemed like, flooded my brain. I saw images of Stefan and Damon dressed in suits from the 1800s signing their names on a piece of parchment. Visuals of Elena, no, Katherine dancing with Stefan flashed through my mind which quickly morphed into a vision of Damon watching Katherine and Stefan dancing from a hidden corner of the ballroom with masked envy. Or was it something else?
Just then, a voice that sounded like—was that my voice?— spoke in a hushed tone to the older Salvatore brother. "Calm yourself, Damon, or else you'll give away your true feelings."
Damon scoffed and turned away from his brother and Katherine to stare at me, or whoever I was currently possessing, in frustration. "How can you pretend like this for so long? How can you lie and go about as though that demoness did not try to kill you?" the older Salvatore brother sneered. "You told me that you once had the opportunity to destroy her. Why didn't you?"
"Because that would have led to unnecessary suspicion falling upon my family, and it would have activated my Curse and damned me to a life walking this earth for eternity. A life walking this earth without you!" I hissed in response, the words flowing naturally from my mouth, as though I already knew what to say.
Damon's blue eyes glistened softly as he took in my words. "Forgive me, I lost myself in my anger," he sighed.
"You're forgiven," I replied softly.
"I'm just tired of pretending," Damon confessed.
Every bone in my body desired to reach out and pull Damon close and never let go. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that we were in a public setting around people who were not particularly keen on men who show intimate affection towards one another. "I know how you feel, Damon. But soon we won't have to hide anymore. We just need to follow through with the plan, and then, it'll be you and me," I soothed quietly. "Always and forever, remember?"
Damon nodded and smiled in return. "Always and forever."
"Good. Now, I do believe the night is beginning to reach its end," I smirked as I began to back away from the raven-haired Salvatore in the direction of the main entrance of the mayor's house.
Damon raised his eyebrow suspiciously, even as he followed after me. "The night has only just begun. The party has barely even started."
I shrugged. "It's a rather dull affair, in my eyes. I would much rather be entertained in your company... alone," I flirted.
He seemed to get my meaning then and I gleamed when I saw the faint trace of rose brighten his complexion. "Shall we have a nightcap back at my estate, Mr. Salvatore? Catch up on old times?"
"Y-yes," he cleared his throat awkwardly, which only made me want him more. "Of course, Mr. Campbell. I would enjoy that."
Campbell? My ancestor, Matthew Dean Campbell?
Damon was in love with my ancestor?
"Wonderful! I trust you know the way there," I responded, a seductive lilt that I barely recognized lacing my voice.
Then I, well, my ancestor, turned around and walked towards the entrance. However, as I, er, we were leaving, we walked past a full-length mirror, revealing our reflection. But what startled me the most was that my ancestor Matthew looked exactly like me.
And that's when I heard it. A voice, his voice speaking to me directly through the reflection of the mirror.
"Oh, Dean. Still so much to learn," he chuckled vaguely.
I paused and walked closer to the mirror as the world around me seemed to fade to black, leaving only the mirror behind.
"Who are you?" I questioned anxiously.
"I'm you," the reflection of my ancestor answered. "Or rather, you are me."
Now I knew I was hallucinating. There is no way in hell that this was actually happening.
"What are you talking about? What do you mean by that?" I balked.
"I mean exactly what I said," Matthew replied. "But if that's not clear enough for you, then find my grave. All the answers you seek will be revealed there."
"And where the hell is your grave exactly?" I yelled in exasperation.
He quirked his lips upward in a knowing smile. "Where do you think?"
All at once, opened my eyes to find that I was on the floor of the hotel, with Bobby hovering above me shouting, "Dean! Dean, come on!"
"I'm up," I groaned groggily. "I'm up, I'm okay."
He helped me sit, again, as he stared at me like I was about to explode. "Are you sure about that?"
"Truth? No," I admitted. "But I'm making due with what I got."
"Well, what happened to you? You were out for five hours," Bobby interrogated.
"Five hours?" I squawked.
He nodded gravely, causing me to curse. "I swear, I was only there for five minutes," I voiced.
"Only where?"
"I don't know. I think I was living in one of his memories. Or experiencing it in my head or something," I rambled.
"Whose memories, what are talkin' about?" Bobby asked.
"My ancestor, Bobby. The one from Mystic Falls who originally had the Campbell Curse," I declared. "Somehow I'm connected to his spirit and when I touched the amulet it sent into one of his memories. I wasn't able to find out much, but what I do know is that he and Damon used to be together."
"You mean like..." Bobby trailed off.
"Uh-huh. And the kicker is that from what I can tell, the son of a bitch looked exactly like me!" I snapped.
"Your ancestor?" my uncle balked in disbelief.
The anger and betrayal I felt burning inside me overwhelmed every part of me, preventing me from responding. At least verbally.
How could he?
All this time, I thought Damon loved me for me. But really he was just attracted to me because I looked like his ex-boyfriend from 1864. That bastard!
So entrapped was I in my own rage that I hadn't even noticed when the room fell into a tense silence. Until Bobby broke it.
"So what now?" Bobby queried.
"Now, we go back to Mystic Falls. We find my ancestor's grave and hopefully some answers," I gritted out through my teeth.
"And then?" Bobby continued, knowing there was more to it.
I narrowed my eyes fiercely. "And then I find Damon Salvatore and put a stake where his heart should be!"