˖*°࿐chapter twenty seven.
xxvii. ALL IN THE FAMILY
———
janelle
"Well, I'll just leave you two to discuss this." Cameron smiled awkwardly, leaving through the front entrance of the warehouse.
I am so going to kill her for that later.
Damon stood there, only a few feet away, with a furious look. I don't think I've ever seen him this angry before.
"So..." I dragged out, trying to buy as much time as I could. "How you doing?"
"What the hell was she talking about, Janelle?" Damon demanded. "And I'm serious this time. No more secrets."
I sighed, grabbing Damon's hand and taking him out the same way Cameron left. When I found a quiet enough spot for us to talk, I took a few short breaths. I didn't know how this was going to play out, but I can't keep this in any longer.
"Before I explain myself, there are some things that I think you should be aware of first."
"Quit trying to change the subject, and just tell me what's going on."
"I know you're trying to bring your mother back, and I know that Kai has been helping you do it," I confessed, watching Damon's reaction. "And I'm not sure what he's been telling you, but I highly advise against it. The Geminis locked her in that prison world for a reason."
"What do you know about that?" Damon questioned, growing even more interested in the information that I had.
"I know that she's a Ripper," I announced. "That she's the reason our brother is the way that he is."
Damon shook his head, not believing me, "You're lying."
I could tell that this hurt him, but he deserved to know what kind of woman he would be bringing into this world if Lily were released.
"It's true, Damon," I told him. "I wouldn't lie to you about something like this. Lily turned in 1858 and faked her death. She never even thought to say goodbye to you before leaving either."
"Why are you telling me this?" he whispered, still stunned.
"Because you need to know what kind of monster she is," I replied. "The number of innocent people she's killed. She abandoned her family so that she could start her own. Without you, or Stefan. That woman doesn't deserve to call you two her sons, let alone herself a mother."
"I'm still bringing her back," Damon shook his head.
"Damon, did you not a hear a word I just said? She will tear this entire town apart."
"Aren't you the one always talking about second chances? She's our mother, Janelle."
"No, she's your mother. Not mine," I spat through gritted teeth.
Once again, I have left my brother, speechless. He tried to talk, but no words came out. I don't blame him. If he or Stefan would've dropped a bomb like that on me, there's no telling how I would react.
"I knew this conversation would come up eventually; I just didn't know how to tell you," I said quietly.
"Tell me what?" Damon asked as he tried to remain calm, but his emotions were already all over the place.
"We both know that our father was never exactly a faithful man. So after Lily had you, he had an affair with Sophia, and I was the result of his carelessness," I confessed.
"Sophia?" Damon questioned. "Our nanny?"
"That was the only way she could remain in my life. Giuseppe gave her an option, bind my magic, or she would never be allowed to see me again."
"Magic?" Damon paused. "Wait, you mean —"
"Sophia was a Phoenix. Which means I was born one," I explained. "You and I were just kids, when I first learned to use my powers — we didn't know any better. But Sophia had to bind my magic if she didn't want to risk exposure."
"Does that mean you knew what was gonna happen when they turned you?"
"I had no idea," I answered, truthfully. "It wasn't until after that they told me. I wasn't the one who found them; they found me. They said every spell has a loophole and the one Sophia cast to take away my powers, undid itself after she died."
My mother, my birth mother, died just before my seventh birthday. I was young, and my father lied to me. He said she found another family to look after when in reality he forced her to leave because Stefan had just been born. But that didn't stop me from finding out his twisted secret.
Even in death, my father's lies found its way to the surface.
But Sophia still found ways to see me throughout my childhood. Every year for Christmas, she would sneak me out of the house, and we'd watch the snow fall together. Those were the only memories I have of my mother.
This is why I never liked talking about my family. Partially because I didn't even know the whole story, and I wasn't even sure what parts of my life were even real anymore.
I've talked to Sophia. I conjured her spirit after the coven found me. We talked for hours, and I finally knew who my family was.
I broke out of my thoughts, remembering that Damon was still there. The expression on his face held a mix of hurt and disbelief.
"Damon," I tightly held his hand, "this doesn't change anything, I'm still your sister."
"How can you even say that? This changes everything," Damon emphasized, and I frowned. "How long have you known about the affair?"
"I found out just after we parted ways in New York."
"30 years? You've kept this hidden from me for over 30 years?!" Damon angrily shouted, making me flinch.
"I'm sorry," I apologized.
"How do you think Stefan's gonna feel when he hears about this?" he asked.
"He already knows," I nervously chewed on my bottom lip. "I told him before I left Mystic Falls with Klaus."
"So this whole time, neither of you decided to say anything to me? Were you even planning on telling me?" he asked.
"Of course I was, I just didn't know how," I admitted. "I should have told you sooner, but I was afraid of how you would take it. But I don't blame you, Damon. You have every right to be upset with me, but please don't be mad at Stefan. I'm the one who asked him not to tell you."
Damon remained silent for a few moments. I didn't know what was running through his head, but it might not have been good. It may take him a while to eventually get over it, and I understand.
I don't want my mistake to come between my brothers.
Damon ran a hand down his face before making eye contact with me. I was prepared for the worst.
"I'm not mad," he said, and I stared at Damon questionably. "Okay, I'm a little mad," he admitted, "but what does all of this have to do with Lily?"
"Remember when I told you the Geminis and Phoenixes were once at war with each other?" I reminded him.
"Yeah, some stupid feud for power, which ended because of some pact they made in 19 —" Damon paused, figuring it out for himself. "— 1903."
I nodded, confirming his thoughts. "Because of the feud, both covens were weakened. The Geminis couldn't create the prison world on their own, so they had to come together. My coven helped put your mother away."
"But —"
"I can't let you bring her back, Damon," I told him. "It's just not an option."
———
A knock sounded off on my bedroom door, and I groaned, hiding underneath my pillow. To say I woke up this morning with a hangover was an understatement. My head was pounding, and I felt like my insides were being ripped out piece by piece.
I heard footsteps coming closer to my bed, and I peeked out to see who it was.
"Morning, sunshine," Kai teased, holding a cup of coffee in his hand.
I glared at him, forcing myself to roll over and sit up. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and took the mug from Kai.
"Thanks," I muttered.
"Rough night?" he wondered, and I shook my head.
"Fun night," I said, "rough morning."
Kai hummed, nodding to himself, "Thanks, by the way, for talking to your brother."
"It's no big deal. I despise Lily Salvatore more than anything; the last thing we need is for her to be roaming the streets again. She was enough of a nightmare the first time around."
So, sometime after talking with Damon, and convincing him not to take his mother of that prison world, he finally listened to me.
Honestly, we're both doing the world a favor. No good can come from letting Lily and the rest of those crazies walk this earth. It's just not going to end well for anyone.
And even though Damon said he's not mad at me anymore, I know he still is. He's just trying to be a good brother by not making me feel like crap because of the whole baby thing. But I deserve it anyways. I've been lying to him for far too long.
He has every right to be upset with me. I openly admit that Stefan is my favorite, which is wrong because I love both of my brothers equally. I may let Stefan in more because I know how understanding and supportive he can be, but that doesn't justify how much Damon has done for me, too.
Hopefully, I can make this up to him one day.
I felt Kai's hand caress my cheek as he brought my attention back up to him. "Yes?" I smiled.
"Your phone's going off," he said, grabbing it from somewhere under the covers.
He handed it to me before dragging me over to him so that I would sit on his lap. He watched me unlock my phone as I checked my unread messages.
[cameron] have you talked to chris lately?
[janelle] no, why?
[cameron] he's been awol for the last two weeks
[janelle] not my problem
[cameron] janelle
[janelle] cameron
[cameron] you shouldn't just brush him off like that. something might've happened to him
[janelle] like i said it's not my problem. he came here for one purpose, and that was to save the future. he's done his task. now he can go home
[cameron] maybe there's more of a future to save
[janelle] and what's that supposed to mean?
[janelle] cameron??
Cameron wasn't going to answer me anytime soon, so I gave up trying to prod at her to give me one. She's so confusing; it irks me.
Kai placed a light kiss on my shoulder as I leaned back against him, "So what's this 'Chris' person's story?"
"Somebody's nosy," I giggled, plugging my almost dead phone into its charger. "Chris is... complicated. He's very secretive about the future. He came here to change it, and he did, but for some reason, he keeps sticking around. Makes me wonder what other things in my life could change."
"I can think of a few things," Kai whispered, hinting at our current predicament.
I know he wants to get back together because Klaus is out of the picture, but it's too soon. But still, it would hurt to crush his little dreams like that.
"Everything happens for a reason, right?" I reminded him.
"Do you still believe that?" he asked.
"I do," I nodded, turning to face Kai. There was a hopeful look in his eyes, and it made me smile. "I also believe that when one door closes, another one opens."
Since my headache was dialing down a bit, I decided it was time to get out bed. Except, now that Kai had gotten comfortable with me in his arms, he was preventing me from doing so.
"Kai, I have to get up," I told him after he pulled me back down when I tried to stand.
"You don't have to do anything," he pointed out, smoothing out some strands of hair that were sticking out from my braids. "Let's sleep in today."
"Kai, I would love that. But in case you haven't heard, one of my friends is blood-sucking lunatic, and she just made my little brother shut off his humanity. So now it's my job to fix it." I lightly pecked Kai's lips and got out of his arms to go into my closest.
Just when I thought things with me were already terrible, Caroline had to go an make it even worse. She figured out Stefan was her emotional trigger, so she stopped him from bringing her back.
One brother problem was enough, and now I've got two.