Author's Note: Because I'm sitting on five chapters and have an impulse control problem. I will hold on to release the rest of these slowly, but I'm going ahead and giving you chapter 2 tonight…
Chapter 2
I hadn't been home for more than five minutes when the first knock came at the door. I didn't have to look to know who it was.
"I said you weren't invited, Damon. Now go away!"
His voice dripped with arrogance as he replied and I could almost see the cocky look on his face as though the wooden door didn't separate us. "I told you we needed to have a little talk and I'm not leaving until we have it."
I sighed, moving to open a box by the front door, pulling out a stake, a bottle filled with vervain shoots, and a gun loaded with wooden bullets. I'd learned my lessons well and I always came prepared now. I never faced a vampire unprotected if I could help it. I slid the stake up the sleeve of my sweater and slid one thin vervain shoot into the pocket of my jeans before tucking the gun into my waistband at the small of my back. Adjusting my clothes to make sure I wasn't too obvious, I finally opened the door and leaned against it, knowing that the thin wooden sheath was never what had been holding Damon at bay and just made us speak louder to be heard through it. If I wanted to keep this conversation quiet, it needed to be open and the natural boundary of his lack of invitation would provide sufficient protection.
"There's not much to talk about, Damon. What do you want?"
He narrowed his eyes and flexed his jaw. "I want to know what you're doing here and how long you intend to stay."
I rolled my eyes and sighed. "I meant what I said in the bar. I'm here for good. What I'd really like to know is why half of the vampire race has converged around my niece? I left town to protect my family from all of this and now it seems like they are the engulfed in it."
"So you run like a coward and then wonder why things are the way they are? Maybe if you'd stayed and protected Elena like we're doing, we wouldn't be needed. Did you ever think of that? I wouldn't be stuck here playing knight if you'd stuck around and done your job."
I felt my anger growing as I stood straight and faced off toe to toe with the asshole vamp, only the thin air of the threshold space between us. "Listen here. I only just learned about myself the day of Grayson and Miranda's funeral. I didn't understand any of this and I thought I would be more dangerous than good. How was I supposed to know Elena was the key to all of this and under the gun of some major badass Originals? Heck, I didn't even know what an Original was until a few months ago, so get off my back. I thought I was doing the right thing by staying away."
He rolled his eyes and scoffed, folding his arms in front of him. "Well obviously that little plan failed. So what are you going to do now? Ride in on a white horse and play protector? You're a little late, sister."
My eyes narrowed and my body tensed before I sneered up at him. "You know what. I don't have to listen to this. You've gotten your answers, so leave because I'm going to close this door and get to work and I'm not letting you in so you're wasting your time."
He snarled at me before informing me that we weren't finished and turning to stalk off down the hallway. I closed the door and leaned against it, breathing heavily with my eyes closed. He was a dick, but he was right on so many counts. If I could do things differently, I would have. I'd probably have been better off staying ignorant as well, but when you find out that your father isn't really your father and your conception wasn't exactly consensual, or mortal, you tend to think that finding answers is important. Unfortunately, answers don't always bring peace.
I had only just stared unpacking another box when the loud knocking at the door pulled me up again. I stalked to the door and threw it open. "What do you want now…?" The eyes staring back at me weren't the icy blue ones I expected, but rather large brown ones, widened in surprise.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were Damon again. Come on in."
Elena entered, but Stefan paused at the doorway. I smiled, wondering if I was making the right choice, but something told me I was, especially after my conversation with Damon that intimated that he and Stefan were acting as protectors of my beloved niece. "You too, Stefan. I think I'll trust my instincts on this one."
He smiled and nodded deeply. Without words, I understood his sentiment. They moved into the apartment, taking in the small space filled with boxes before turning back to me.
"So you said Damon was here?" Elena asked, fingering the edge of a blanket I had just draped over my crappy futon. "What did he want?"
I rolled my eyes and crossed the room to put down the vase I had just unearthed on some shelves built into the wall next to the kitchen doorway.
"He was just checking me out and asking me why I haven't been around. Nothing big. I told him to buzz off because he wasn't getting in and he said he'd be back. That's why I thought you might be him."
Elena picked up a dusty candle that had been in storage for the past year while I was trekking through Eastern Europe. She appraised it absentmindedly as she let loose a quiet, "Hmmm, that's odd. Where did you get this candle Aunt Bekah?"
I glanced up again before moving to pick up the glass receptacle with the light green wax candle melted within. It had never even been lit. I sniffed it, noting it still smelled like lychee. I smiled sadly, dusting it with my fingers before placing it on the shelves next to the vase.
"Your Mom got it for me for my last birthday before the accident."
Elena returned my sad smile. "I thought so…I remember helping her pick it out."
The room fell quiet as we all stared at the small rectangular reminder of a woman we had both adored before I finally looked back at Elena.
"How are you doing, Elena? Honestly?"
She sighed, moving to lean beside me against the back of the futon. "I still miss them, but there's been so much that has happened. It's been confusing. My life has changed so much since they passed away, I feel like a completely different person. Did anyone tell you that I found out about being adopted?"
I snapped my eyes closed, feeling in the core of my chest as if I were falling, my breathing fighting to continue as the pain took over. Poor kid…too much had happened in too short of a time.
"They were going to tell you eventually; when they felt you were old enough to be ready. It's not exactly an easy conversation."
She turned to me with deadly serious eyes. "Did YOU know John is my biological father?"
I nibbled my lower lip and shook my head slowly. "I do know now, but I only learned that fact recently. When you were born, we didn't know anything about you except that your mother was a teenage girl named Isobel from a neighboring town."
Elena turned to me with a curious expression. "How did you find out recently when you haven't been around? Did you see John?"
I snorted, shaking my head as I pushed off the couch to go pick up another box from the floor looking for a diversion. I wasn't ready to share the entire story with Elena just yet. I would and soon, but I wanted a chance to settle in and get a little closer to her first. Considering her current companions, she was probably going to take it much better than I had originally anticipated, but it will still be another shock when I tell her.
"I haven't seen my brother since the funeral either. No, it was something I picked up in the pipeline."
Elena looked confused, but to my great relief, Stefan distracted her with an appointment they needed to get to. With a big hug, I bid them goodbye with open invitations for them to visit again.
When they left I leaned against the door, heels of my palms pressed into my eyes. A situation which was complicated to begin with seemed to be getting more and more complicated by the day. I was still leaning against the door when another knock landed without warning right behind my heart, making it flutter with adrenaline in response to the surprise. I should have felt him coming, but I had been too distracted. I really needed to get my act together!
"You have far too many secrets for any one person. Trust me when I tell you that they always come back to haunt you, usually sooner rather than later. Don't let her find out from someone else."
I spun and opened the door to see concerned blue eyes gazing down at me, no sign of arrogance to be seen in his plea. My mouth dropped and my heart went out to him in that moment which caught me off guard.
"Oh my…You love her, don't you?"
His face hardened, the muscles in his jaw flexing, but the truth of my words echoed in the vulnerable softness in his eyes. "That doesn't really matter. Just don't be someone else who hurts her or you'll have to deal with me."
I smirked up at him. "Seems I'm having to 'deal' with you anyway, but I see your point. I'm going to try to talk to her soon."
He nodded seriously. "Good idea."
When he turned to leave, I stepped into the hall past the threshold. "Hey, Damon?"
He turned back to me, eyebrows raised.
"Thanks for looking out for her. Knowing she's with Stefan has to be hard, but you're sticking around anyway to keep her safe. I appreciate that."
He nodded before disappearing down the hall and through the door at the end. I watched his black leather jacket disappear into the stairwell before turning back to enter my apartment, losing all ambition to unpack. I nibbled on a quick snack before doing my nightly routine and crawling onto my unfolded futon bed.
I lay there staring at my ceiling for a long time, mostly thinking about a face with sharp cheekbones, pained blue eyes, and honest words of warning from the least expected source.
