Connor Jordan walked deliberately through the front of the hospital, going through the plan in his head.
Get to his target's room. Distract and get rid of the guard that would most likely be there. And finally get what he came here for.
Connor flashed a smile to a nearby couple and continued walking, making sure that he didn't garner any extra attention. Before long, Connor approached a long empty hallway that led to the corner that he needed to go around to get to his intended target.
He pressed himself against the wall and peered around the corner. Sure enough, there was a police officer standing guard at the door. Connor pulled away and took deliberately loud footsteps, successfully drawing the officer's attention.
Connor dashed into an empty janitor's closet as the officer rounded the corner. He waited until he heard receding footsteps before he exited the room and walked up quickly behind the man. He wrapped his hands around the man's neck, applying a sleeper hold and putting the man asleep.
He dragged him towards the wall and propped him up before turning back to the door. The tag next to the door read Tyler Lockwood.
Connor couldn't help but sneer at the name. Tyler Lockwood was gone—dead—however long ago. He wasn't a person, it was a thing in that room. A vampire. There was a monster in that room, wearing the face of the innocent Tyler Lockwood.
Connor swallowed his hatred and disgust as he pushed the door open and entered the room. He closed the door quietly behind him and scanned the room.
His eyes went to the bed, the sheets rumpled but no Tyler Lockwood. He walked further into the room and turned in a circle before he caught sight of the boy hiding in a corner.
The boy pounced at him but the hunter just grabbed him and pulled the syringe out of his pocket, stabbing the Lockwood in the neck. He instantly felt the resistance leave the boy's body and moved him to the bed.
"Don't bother. It's a paralytic." He informed the boy before he pulled another syringe from his pocket and lifted Tyler's lips. He stuck the needle under his gums and carefully began extracting a few millimeters of his werewolf venom.
He watched Tyler try to move for a few minutes, a look of satisfaction on his face, before he took his leave.
A few minutes later he arrived at his trailer parked in the middle of the woods, checking his surroundings for any unwanted visitors. He was 99% sure that the monsters knew that he was in Mystic Falls, especially after that stunt he pulled at the funeral. Connor was sure of at least 3 people being vampires but he knew they couldn't be the only ones. Not with all the animal attacks that happened in this town.
Connor finally entered his trailer and carefully took the syringe with Tyler's werewolf venom from his jacket. He quickly set up his station with a Bunsen burner to distill the venom. If he was gonna fight vampires he was gonna need all the help he could get.
With the distillation set-up working, Connor grabbed an apple and walked over to a little table covered in newspaper clippings and files. His eyes scanned the clutter quickly before pausing on one.
Shooting at Pastor Young's Memorial.
He scanned the article before he tossed it back on the table and grabbed a small post it. He stuck it onto the article and grabbed a pen.
Tyler Lockwood. Vampire + Werewolf.
Connor moved the article and note to a different section of the table as his eyes caught to files sitting invitingly in front of him. Elena Gilbert. Jeremy Gilbert.
He considered for a few seconds before he finished his apple and grabbed the file on the young boy first.
~~~
Caroline looked around the large living room at her family, a small smile on her face. Currently, Niklaus was arguing loudly with Rebekah about whatever stupid little thing they decided that they disagreed about, Elijah was sitting in his arm chair, a book in hand, trying to ignore his younger siblings, and Kol was pacing the room with a glass of whiskey in his hand.
Caroline knew that the younger Mikaelson brother was worried about Erikah. She has yet to get back in touch with them since Elijah had told her about the hunter.
The blonde closed her eyes and sighed, a mix of feelings flowing through her. On one hand she was ecstatic to be reunited with her family—she had been without her memories for the better part of a century, something that made her angry at her husband. She knew of course that his goal was to protect her from Mikael but his execution left something to be desired.
She would have preferred it if she was by his side instead of pretending to be a shallow human that became best friends with the doppelgänger.
The front door slammed, causing all the vampires to pause and turn towards the entryway. Stefan, Bonnie, and Katherine walked in with Damon trailing behind them, a look of uncertainty in his eyes.
"Why's everyone staring at us?" Katherine asked immediately and looked around at the group.
"Thought you were someone else." Kol answered before he went back to pacing. Bonnie walked over to her boyfriend and placed her hand on his shoulder, effectively stopping his pacing.
"Where's Elena? I thought she never let you go anywhere without her." Rebekah sneered at Damon and Caroline refrained from chastising the Original. They were all having a hard time right now—with that new hunter in town and Erikah leaving suddenly in the night, her only explanation being the recent freedom of an old friend.
When Stefan had finally stopped avoiding them and explained the letter, Caroline had been a little perplexed. Erikah had said that they would know exactly who she was talking about but it could be a multitude of people—not that the Mikaelson family had a great amount of friends. The blonde had finally just settled with waiting until the youngest Mikaelson returned to question her.
"She doesn't want to be around you people. And she had to go to school." Damon sneered back as he stepped forward a step. Caroline saw Stefan step slightly in front of his brother, a barrier between his blood and his girlfriend—something that she was going to need to talk to him about because, really, Caroline had missed a lot. "Besides, where is little Erikah? Did she finally get tired of you?"
Kol flashed forward, grabbed Damon by his neck, and slammed him into a wall. Bonnie and Stefan immediately moved forward, in an attempt to get Kol to let go but he just ignored them.
Damon let out a gargled sound as Kol closed his fingers tighter around his neck and got closer to his face. "If she didn't love you so much you would be a dead man, Salvatore."
Before anyone else answered, the sound of clicking heels filled the house along with the sound of wheels rolling across the tile. Everyone tensed up marginally until Niklaus calmed and the person stepped into view.
Erikah stood in the entryway, hair and face covered in blood, and looked over the occupants of the room. Her eyes paused on Kol holding Damon to the wall.
She cleared her throat before resting her hand on the wooden coffin next to her. Caroline's eyes narrowed as she observed it. She knew it couldn't be Mikael because he was finally dead but it could be Esther—not that it explained why Erikah was wheeling it around.
"Let him go, please." Her voice came out soft and broken, as if she was crying. Now that Caroline looked closer she could see the tear streaks on her face.
Kol removed his hand from around Damon's throat as Rebekah stepped forward a few steps, her eyes glued to her little sister's face. "Eri, what happened?" The older blonde's eyes flickered to the coffin.
Erikah's hand clenched into a fist before she uncurled her fingers slowly and spread her hand out on the top of the wooden box. Her eyes moved to Damon's face, an unreadable expression in her eyes. "I'll explain later." She sighed out. "Right now we have to deal with the hunter."
~~~
The room was silent after Erikah's statement, her family's eyes occasionally flicking to the coffin and back to her. Eventually, Katerina sighed and began talking.
"Ok, but I need details after." She gave Erikah a pointed look and the blonde just nodded. "I don't think the hunter knows who exactly is a vampire here. He tried to set a trap at the pastor's funeral."
"Well, he knows I am and Klaus and Tyler." Damon said after he cleared his throat. "It wouldn't be hard to figure out the rest since we all kind of hang around each other."
"I believe we have a bigger problem." Erikah spoke and everyone's eyes turned to her. "Care said something about a tattoo." She reminded them and Caroline nodded.
"Yeah, I overheard Jeremy say something about a tattoo but I know for a fact that he didn't have one." Caroline confirmed. "At least not that I could see."
"Well, maybe you can't see that well." Damon quipped and was met with a glare from both Kol and Nik.
"Then explain why this Connor was surprised that Jeremy could see it." Care challenged and Damon raised his hands in surrender, backing up a little.
"Ok, ok then let's say you're right and there is some kind of tattoo that we can't see. Why does it matter?"
Erikah rolled her eyes and sighed slightly, her fingers beginning to tap a little rhythm onto the coffin.
It was Katerina that spoke up before Erikah could. "Clearly you don't know the legend." When Damon gave her a blank look she continued. "I vote that we kick him out and let him and Elena fend for themselves."
"Katherine, seriously." Stefan said somberly and Katerina's eyes immediately found Erikah's. The blonde broke her gaze after a few seconds.
Katerina sighed and crossed her arms. "Fine. He stays." She moved and stood behind Elijah's chair, running her fingers over his shoulders before stilling her hand and allowing Elijah to intertwine his fingers with hers.
Erikah looked away from the couple and towards Stefan, who was already looking at her with interest. She smiled lightly at him and gave him a nod before looking away. "This Connor could be one of the Five."
"The Five?" Damon asked immediately and Erikah glared at him. The older Salvatore looked away with a muttered "sorry."
"They are supernatural hunters that were blessed by a Bennett witch. If a vampire kills one then the hunter will haunt them until they kill themselves. Or until another of the Five is awakened."
"Let me guess: only potential members of the Five can see the tattoo." Damon stated, his eyes glued on Erikah. She nodded and he ran his hand through his hair with a sigh, realizing what that meant for this Jeremy—whoever that was. "Ok, so what do we do?"
"We gather intel and then do what we do best." Erikah said and turned to her sister and Caroline with a smile.
Rebekah's face lit up when she realized what her sister was implying. "We throw a party and distract everyone."
"And confuse and distract the hunter so we can find wherever he keeps his info." Damon quipped with a smirk and Rebekah looked at him with a surprised expression.
"Huh, you are smart sometimes." Damon's face grew angry as he glared at her and Stefan cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"I believe I can be of help with finding out what the hunter knows." Elijah finally spoke up without looking up from his book. "Katerina and I spent some time searching—"
"By that he means that we compelled people to do it for us." Katerina quipped and Erikah couldn't help the chuckle that left her lips.
"Yes." Elijah cleared his throat. "Well, we found out about a trailer in the middle of the woods." Elijah finally looked up from his book and around at his family, a small smile on his lips. "I possess the coordinates."
"Great, so text them to me and I'll go have a little looksie." Damon said and the smile on Erikah's lips grew.
"He's got my vote." Kol said as he raised his hand playfully.
"Yeah, who am I to stop you from going into the hunter's territory." Nik said, earning a playful slap on the shoulder from Care.
"Yeah, yeah I get it. It's dangerous. Blah, blah, blah." Damon said with a roll of his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Seriously Damon. Be careful." Bonnie spoke for the first time since Erikah stepped foot into the house. Damon looked at her with a surprised look before he nodded and smiled.
"Yeah and don't call any of us when you get into trouble." Rebekah said before she grabbed Stefan's hand and began dragging him toward the front door. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have a party to plan." And with that she flashed away.
Damon flashed out of the house a few seconds after them.
Erikah turned back to the occupants of the room before she sighed and ran her hand over the coffin. She turned her gaze to it and imagined the look of Gabe's face as he laid in there, lifeless. She squeezed her eyes shut before she opened them again. "I'll go put this in the basement and then I'll go help Bekah."
She left the room before anyone could respond.
~~~
Damon stopped walking in front of the large silver trailer that he knew to be the hunter's. He took a few seconds to survey the outside surroundings of the trailer, making sure that he wouldn't set off any booby traps.
When he realized there were none, he stood on the steps and pushed one foot through the open doorway, checking to see if he needed an invitation to get in. A smile lit up his face when his foot passed through with no obstructions.
Damon stepped through the doors and narrowed his eyes as he took in everything in the trailer. On a table in the almost center was an old fashioned distillation set up. Next to that was a pile of newspaper clippings and what looked like files. He could see the last two letters—RT—on one of the buried files.
The older Salvatore moved farther into the trailer and began rifling through the papers. He was only two headlines in when he heard a fast whirring sound and felt two arrows pierce his body. One went into his leg and the other went into his chest and through his back.
Damon yelped out in pain and grabbed at the arrow in his chest. He breathed out before going to pull the arrow out of his chest. However, before he could, he saw that there was a wire attaching the arrow to a claymore explosive device.
He groaned out before moving slightly, reaching his hand down to pull the arrow out of his leg. He was about to rip it out when he felt a similar wire brush against his hand. Damon turned slowly to see that this arrow was also attached to an explosive but in the opposite direction.
The Salvatore hastily removed his hand and sighed out in exasperation. "Perfect."
~~~
Katherine walked carefully down the stairs and into the basement. It would be more appropriate to call it a dungeon—except that the Mikaelsons had a dungeon, located just around the corner.
This room seemed to be solely reserved for the many coffins that they owned, macabre as it sounded. They were empty right now except for one—the one that Erikah brought with her.
The one that she was currently leaning against as she sat on the ground, her head bowed.
Katherine looked over at Caroline, who was already there, standing over the girl, and scrunched her eyebrows up in question. When she just shrugged Katherine sighed and turned to her best friend.
"Eri?" She questioned and the Original looked up at her.
Her face was streaked with tears, the clear fluid mixing with the blood thy was already there and making it seem like she was crying blood. She looked up at Katherine and a broken sob left her lips.
"My friend—" She broke off sadly, her hands clenching into a fist and unclenching. "He's dead."
She paused and the room lapsed into a silence, no one speaking in case she was going to continue. It was minutes after that she did, though she shifted and her eyes remained focused on the coffin—as if she was staring right through the wood and at the person laying in there.
"Luci's back." Her voice came out soft and had a note of excitement—an almost regretful note, as if she regretted being excited for his presence but she couldn't help it. Katherine didn't know the name so she looked at Caroline and saw that the blonde was staring back in amazement.
"How—" She began but Erikah cut her off.
"I don't really know and I don't care. My friend is dead. Or at least dying." She looked up at them again. "He showed me this spell and I did it. I think it worked but it could just be wishful thinking on my part."
"You're a strong witch, Eri." Caroline finally stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on Erikah's shoulder. "If you say it worked then I believe you."
"Same here." Katherine spoke up. "Also, after everything is semi settled I'm gonna need to know who that is," she pointed at the coffin. "And who Luci is."
Erikah nodded and closed her eyes briefly, as if contemplating what to say. Whether she made her mind up or not, Katherine would never know because at that moment a phone rang.
Katherine pulled hers out at the same time that Caroline and Erikah did and saw that it wasn't hers. When she looked up she saw Erikah looking at her phone, a frown on her lips.
The blonde wiped at her bloody tears with the back of her hand before she took a deep breath and answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Erikah?" Came a voice that Katherine immediately recognized as Damon's.
"Damon? Why are you calling me?" Erikah immediately stood up and began pacing, her focus solely on the voice on the other end of the call.
"I found something. And since you're the only Mikaelson that doesn't want to kill me I decided to call you to come check it out." He said but Katherine could detect anxiety in his voice—like he was in trouble. "Alone." He added.
Erikah immediately looked up at that, her blue eyes wide with confusion and fear. Fear for Damon.
Caroline gave her a reassuring nod and Erikah looked away and continued pacing. "Ok. I'll be there in a few."
"Thanks." And then he hung up.
Katherine and Caroline shared a look with eachother before they turned their attention to the young Original.
"Be careful." Caroline breathed out after a few seconds and Erikah just nodded before she flashed out of the basement.
~~~
It was only a few minutes after he had called her that Erikah entered the trailer. Her hair was washed out, the blood gone from both her hair and face, and she wore a completely different outfit. Damon wasn't even quite sure why he called her and not Blondie or even Bonnie.
As the blonde stepped into the trailer, her eyes scanning the surroundings before settling on him, Damon felt a slight flutter in his heart. He just ignored it and smiled awkwardly at her.
She moved closer and walked carefully around him, making sure not to touch any of the wires. "Now I see why they were all fine with you coming here by yourself."
A slight chuckle left Damon's lips. "Well, this might come as a surprise but your whole family hates me."
Erikah stopped in front of him, a small smile playing on her lips, though Damon could still detect a sadness in her eyes—like she was just putting up a front so as not to break down. "Well not everyone." She gave him a knowing look before her eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you call Stef?"
"Because I'm proud and stubborn..." Damon trailed off. "And...oh look! You're already here."
Erikah rolled her eyes though her lips still held a smile. She focused on the explosives that trapped him. "Ok so definitely a bomb." She seemed like she was talking to herself rather than Damon but he couldn't help but reply.
"No." He said sarcastically. "It's a kitten. An adorable exploding kitten."
Erikah glared at him before she moved behind him to inspect the arrow. "I could just rip it out and flash you out of here." She reasoned before letting out a sigh. "But we would lose everything."
"Bingo." Damon responded, only to be met with silence.
A few seconds later she grabbed a knife from the table and placed the tip near the arrow's exit point in his back.
It was silent as she used the knife to cut into his flesh around the arrow—Damon flicking through the newspaper articles that the hunter kept on the table. Finally, he got tired of the silence and turned away from the newspapers.
"So, who was in the coffin?" Damon felt the knife still in his back for a second before Erikah began moving again.
"It was a friend. He..." She trailed off as if unable to continue before there was a sigh and then her voice again. "He's resting."
Her tone made it clear that she wasn't going to talk about it so Damon just turned back to the table instead. Among the stack of papers he saw a letter addressed to April Young and picked it up.
He was reading it when he felt Erikah move closer to his shoulder. "Who's April?"
"Daughter of the dead guy." Damon answered and Erikah hummed. "I'm guessing his death has something to do with this hunter being here."
"And how exactly did he die?" She asked and stabbed deeper into his back. Damon let out a pained groan and she immediately pulled the knife out. "Sorry."
Damon nodded and took a deep breath. "House blew up with him and his anti-vampire friends. Can't say I'm sad about it."
"Hmm." There was a final yank and Erikah stepped in front of him. "Ok stand still while I do your leg." She didn't wait for him to answer before she crouched down and stabbed his leg with the knife.
"I don't get what he means by 'a greater evil is coming'." Damon said without looking up from the letter. "I think we covered that with your brother." He looked down at her to see the slight roll of her eyes s she stayed concentrated on his leg.
"Believe it or not, Damon, there are more dangerous people in the world than Nik."
"I'll believe it when I see it." Was his reply. At that moment his phone began ringing, startling both him and Erikah. Damon looked down at the screen to see Elena's name flashing at him as the phone continued to ring.
He just sighed and ignored the call, instead placing the phone back into his pocket. Damon's eyes flickered down to Erikah to see that a newfound smirk was on her lips.
"Trouble in paradise?" She asked, the amusement evident in her tone.
Damon simply rolled his eyes and looked away from her. "Nope. Everything is perfect."
"Hmm." Was her response before she was getting up and placing the knife on the table. Damon barely had time to react before she grabbed both arrows and ripped them from his body, dropping them both carelessly onto the table. "All done."
~~~
Rebekah Mikaelson pulled slightly on Stefan's hand that was interlocked with hers as they walked into the history class. As always, Alaric Saltzman was standing in the front of the room, his back turned to the students as he wrote something from the past that Rebekah had already lived through.
A smile crossed Rebekah's face as her eyes landed on Elena Gilbert sitting in the front row, Matt Donovan sitting in the seat next to her.
Rebekah gently pulled her hand out of Stefan's and moved to the front of the room, a radiant smile on her face. "Morning, everyone."
The blonde Original could pinpoint the exact moment that the smile fell from Elena's lips and the color drained from her face. The girl looked up at Rebekah with a heated glare to which the blonde just gave her a sarcastic smile.
"So, I'm throwing a little party, sort of like a housewarming but more fun. Christening the new house and all that." She handed out a few flyers before returning to the front of the class. "Starts at fifth period and goes 'til whenever. Spread the word." Rebekah then turned to Elena, the smile on her face widening at the girl's obvious discomfort. "You're welcome to join, Elena."
"Bekah." She heard behind her as Stefan walked up and pulled her hand back into his. He pulled her slightly back so her back was resting on his chest and his face was nuzzled slightly in her neck.
The look on Elena's face was almost murderous at the sight and it seemed like the humans around them was sensing the tension in the air. Rebekah just held Elena's gaze, the smile never leaving her face.
The blonde Mikaelson was distracted momentarily by the sounds of heels click clacking into the classroom. She turned slightly to see Katherine smirking back at her and Elena.
"Oh, Bex how come I didn't get an invite but my dear sister did?" Katherine sauntered up to them and directly in front of Elena.
"You have an automatic invite. You're more fun than she could ever hope to be."
"What are you even doing here?" Elena finally hissed, directing her attention to Katherine. "Don't you think you've tormented me enough."
Stefan sighed helplessly and tightened his grip on Rebekah's hand. Katherine's smirk just widened. "Not everything is about you, Elena. I just came here to be with my dear friend Stefan." Stefan rolled his eyes at her and Katherine turned back to Elena. "Besides, even if I was here to torment you, what would you do? Cry me to death?"
Rebekah couldn't help the laugh that left her in that moment. Stefan just cleared his throat and began moving toward seats in the back of the classroom. "Let's just go, guys."
Just as Rebekah and Katherine turned to leave, Rebekah saw Elena raise her hand and throw something towards Katherine's face. She reacted quickly and reached her hand out, grabbing the object—a wooden pencil.
Rebekah flicked her hand back quickly and threw the pencil back, piercing Elena's shoulder. Elena's hand immediately went to her shoulder to hide the growing red stain and Matt quickly began fussing over her.
"Ladies." Alaric cleared his throat from behind them, causing Katherine, Rebekah, and Stefan to turn to him.
"Sorry, Ric." Stefan muttered before practically pulling Rebekah with him to the back of the class.
As she was walking away Rebekah looked over her shoulder at Elena and gave her a wink, the smile spreading wider on her face at the look of absolute rage that Elena threw back at her as she quickly walked out of the class before anyone noticed what had just really happened.
~~~
Jeremy Gilbert currently stood in an empty classroom at Mystic Falls High with Connor Jordan leaning against a desk across from him, a file in hand.
"Do you mind telling me who you are and why I'm here?" Jeremy finally asked after minutes of complete silence from the man. "I mean I'm happy to miss Bio but..."
Connor looked up wordlessly. "I looked into your family's history. You and your sister have been through quite a lot." He lifted the file that he was reading and handed it to the boy.
Jeremy looked down at it and saw his name written out in bold letters. He looked back up at the man in confusion, uneasiness spreading through him. "What are you, a social worker?" He eyed the man suspiciously. "Why do you care?"
"Because you saw this." Connor said and rolled his sleeve up as explanation. Jeremy looked at the man's hand and saw the same tattoo from earlier.
Jeremy looked back up at the man. "It's a tattoo. Big deal."
"I call this a Hunter's Mark." Connor explained and Jeremy sighed. "As in vampire hunter."
Jeremy made his face a mask of disbelief. "A-a vampire hunter?" He questioned, playing dumb. "Look, I'm sorry, man but..." He trailed off, a laugh on his lips. He gave the man one last look and moved towards the door.
"Jeremy." Connor called and the boy stopped without turning back around. "I know your family's history in this town, so you playing dumb just makes you look dumb."
Jeremy looked out the window and saw that Stefan was walking by the door, alone. They made eye contact briefly before Stefan continued walking down the hall—most likely to inform Rebekah about the hunter's whereabouts—and Jeremy turned to face Connor again.
"Why the show and tell? I don't even know you."
Connor removed himself from the desk and walked a little closer to Jeremy. "Because it's invisible to anyone but another hunter or potential hunter." Jeremy just continued to look at the man, his emotions barely concealed in his face. "Fine me a vampire. I'll train you, teach you how to do what I do. I'm on Hudson off Route 13. Don't show up unless you find one."
Connor began to walk towards the door but Jeremy stopped him. "How am I supposed to do that?"
The hunter looked at Jeremy with narrowed eyes, as if trying to figure something out. Jeremy was careful to keep his face impassive so as not to reveal anything that the hunter could use against him. Finally, Connor sighed frustratedly and walked around Jeremy, reaching for the door handle. "Why don't you start by asking friend with the bandage on his neck?"
~~~
Damon stepped into the Salvatore Boarding House apprehensively, dreading the conversation he was about to have. He could hear Elena loudly rummaging through something as soon as he stepped into the house. He followed the noise and saw her looking through a set of drawers in his room.
Damon leaned casually on the doorframe, waiting for the girl to notice him first. It never happened and that fact frustrated him to no end. How did she expect to protect herself if she didn't even know how to use her senses yet? "Hope you plan on cleaning this up." Damon finally said, drawing the attention of his girlfriend.
Elena's eyes were wide, as if she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar, her breathing also came out stuttered. She removed her hand from inside the drawer and wiped it over her face and through her hair. "I—I need bourbon to get through Rebekah's party."
Damon's eyes narrowed because he knew that's not what she was looking for. Stefan had called and told him all about the hunter being at the school and Ric had told him about the little interaction between Katherine, Rebekah, and Elena.
"You're not looking for alcohol, Elena." He stated and a look of guilt immediately crossed her features. Damon sighed and pulled a flask from his back pocket. "Do you think I'd actually leave the last remaining white oak stake where any vampire could just walk in and take it? Especially with that hunter running around?"
Damon didn't wait for Elena to say anything; he just began unbuttoning his shirt while walking over to his closet to grab a clean one, preferably one with no holes. Damon shivered involuntarily as he thought about the arrow piercing his chest and of getting it out. Of Erikah getting it out.
"What happened to you?" He heard behind him and turned to see Elena staring at the blood on his bare back. He sighed and grabbed a towel, wiping of the blood and replacing his shirt.
"Hunter mishap." He answered vaguely and Elena's expression turned into one of worry. Damon forced the annoyance he felt down, not wanting to blame her for being compassionate.
"Why didn't you call me? I could've helped you with whatever it was." She rushed over to him and tried to fuss but he just stepped slightly away.
"I'm fine, Elena. I wouldn't want you to get hurt. Besides, Erikah had it covered." The moment the blonde's name left his lips, Elena's face morphed into a look of confusion.
"Why did you call her? I didn't even know you had her number."
Damon sighed and took another sip from the flask in his hand. "Neither did I but I have a meddling baby brother." He opted to ignore the first question because he didn't think he could answer it—didn't have an answer. He couldn't even explain why he was here, doing what he was about to do. But he knew it was for the best. "Listen, Elena, we need to talk."
"Is this about Erikah? Is something going on between you two?" He voice was soft but had an accusatory tone, like she suspected that he would really cheat on her with someone. Damon clenched his jaw and looked away from her.
"I didn't do anything." He emphasized before he let out a long sigh and went to sit in his bed. "I just..." he trailed off and Elena just continued watching him. "I can't do this anymore, Elena."
Elena's eyes immediately teared up and Damon had to turn away from her. He loved her, he really did. But there was a part of his heart, he knew but wasn't sure how much, that belonged to Erikah. He knew that since the moment he saw her walking towards him, her hand in the crook of his brother's elbow.
From the moment Bonnie uttered, "you loved her, Damon."
"Damon, what are you talking about?" Elena finally asked, her voice watery and breaking. She sounded devastated, which brought tears to Damon's eyes.
He never wanted to hurt her but he knew that he would, eventually. Because eventually he would get those memories back. Eventually the feelings that he had for Erikah would come back to him in full force. Hell, they were already starting now.
He didn't want to trap Elena into a relationship with someone that loved her less than she loved them. That was falling out of love with her and was clearly in love with someone else. She deserved better than that.
Damon stood and walked over to the brunette, standing in front of her with his hands at his sides. "I can't be with you." She looked at him with confusion, tears running freely from her eyes now. Damon continued. "I haven't told you everything. At that ball Erikah told me something."
"What was it?" Elena demanded after he paused, anger becoming her predominant emotion.
"She's my wife, Elena." Damon revealed and Elena flinched back as if he had burned her. "I knew her in the '20s but she compelled my memories away. My mind—" He paused, trying to find the words. "She's a stranger to my memories—my mind—but my heart reacts to her."
Elena began full on crying as Damon spoke. She moved farther away from him, as if space would help heal whatever wounds he was inflicting on her heart at the moment. Damon didn't blame her.
He took a sip from his flask before he continued. "My heart—my soul—knows her and reacts whenever she's around. Whenever I hear her name. And that makes me feel so unbelievably guilty. Like my own being is betraying me. Betraying you. Elena, I love you."
"No, you don't." Elena rasped and Damon looked away sadly.
"I do and that's why I'm doing this. You need someone that can love you unconditionally and fully and, clearly, that someone is not me." Damon moved to stand opposite her, leaning down so that his lips were next to her ear.
She reached her hand out and grabbed onto his fingers, squeezing as if her life depended on it. Damon let her. She deserved some sort of comfort.
He squeezed her fingers back gently and heard the soft whimper that left her lips. "You deserve better than this, better than me, Elena."
As soon as those words left his lips Damon pried his fingers from her grasp and flashed out of the Boarding House, forcing himself not to look back when he heard her let out a pained sob.