Chapter 2

1 year later

M opened the door and walked into Damon's room, sitting down on his bed. She didn't live with Damon and Genevieve; she lived with other orphans that the vampires kidnapped. They only had one room, housing seven other children, aging from 2 to 8, which made her the oldest. M still got to see Damon, but they only ever hung out together in private, either in her room or Damon's. The other humans here were still suspicious of her, so Damon wasn't too keen on being seen with her. Although that hurt her a little, she was close to Damon, they were best friends.

She still had nightmares of the night her family died. Sometimes the pain and grief was so bad she didn't want to get up in the morning. But she did, no matter how much it hurt her to do so. Although life wasn't great, she could bear it, she had Damon to help her through it. They had each other.

"Are we friends now?" M asked, and looked over at Damon.

"I guess so."

"Okay." M said, and smiled at him. She raised her eyebrows, knowing full well that Damon knew what she was asking.

"Okay," Damon said, getting up and walked to his window. They were in his room, well what was considered his room. She didn't mind the size, big enough for a bed but that was pretty much it. "My father's name was Giuseppe." She looked back at him curiously.

"You have a father?" She asked incredulously.

"Duh. How else would I be here?" Damon said, and flashed M his crooked grin. No longer dazzled by his smile, she sneered at him,

"Keep going, now you got my interest." Damon smirked at her.

"Well anyways, I wasn't born here," Damon said, getting serious. "I was born into a different family then the one I grew up in. I was adopted by someone else when I was about 7 months. But I considered my adoptive parents my real parents, since I never knew my birth parents. I adored my mother, and my father, I idolized him. He was what I wanted to be. When I was 1, my brother, Stefan was born (I know that isn't right, but this way Stefan will be M's age). I loved him, we were really close. Out of my whole family, he was my favourite." Damon smiled nostalgically.

"But that all went to hell when my mother died." Damon bit his lip. "She died of cancer (A/N I changed TB, it's pretty uncommon now in North America) when I was 5. My father changed." Damon clenched his jaw. "That was when my dad became abusive, hitting me and my brother, Stefan. I tried to take most of the abuse, but my father still managed to hurt Stefan. When I was kidnapped, I'm pretty sure my father didn't care." He laughed a short, bitter laugh, unfitting for a child so young. M looked at him worriedly, but he didn't seem to notice, too caught up in his story. "I was taken when I was 6. They came in at night, taking me from my bed. Thankfully, they left Stefan unharmed. I know my father didn't care about it. I just hope Stefan had a good life. That he managed to move on. That he forgot about me."

"What makes you think that he doesn't remember you? That he still loves you?" M said fiercely.

"Because." Damon said. "I can't hold on to any hope. It's not worth the pain." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Damon smiled at her "Your turn."

She sighed dramatically before plopping down onto the bed.

"As you know, I wasn't born here." M said gravely, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I lived with my parents, my older brother and my little sister. One day, we went to the carnival and…" She swallowed thickly, grabbing her legs tighter. "…and they were there. They were too beautiful, not human. I noticed but my family did not. They followed us out to our car. I never saw them following, but I could feel it." She gulped, clutching her bracelet. Damon moved to touch her, but she flinched away.

"Our car broke down on a country road. It was dark and cold and my sister was crying." M said and began to shake, clenching and unclenching her fists. She backed up into the corner, eyes glazed with memories. "I remember looking at my brother, but he was staring at something in front of him. That was the last time I saw him." She started to cry, big, ugly wails. Damon grabbed her arms and pulled her towards him. He hugged her tightly.

"You don't have to continue." He whispered soothingly. M shook her head.

"No. No I have too." She said, and wiped away her tears. "We heard him scream. That was when my parents knew something was wrong. They attacked. Grabbed both my parents, killed them and my brother right in front of me and my sister. The-then they took me." She started to gasp; her breathing getting shallower and panicked.

"I remember seeing my sister as they ran with me. She was sitting in the dirt, bawling, crying for me to come back. I was crying too, telling her that it'll be okay. That I will come back for her." She cried, clutching her knees, and tears streamed down her face. "I don't remember much after that just… a lot of crying, and pain."

"It's okay. You're okay now." Damon said and hugged her even tighter. Tears continued to stream down her face.

"My name," She said hoarsely. "It's Mia."

"I like it." Damon replied and hugged her closer. They sat like that until her sobs died down, and they both fell asleep, the pain and sorrow washed away by dreams.


"Damon!" She cried out, reaching for him.

"It's okay, you'll be fine, they're just going to stick a needle in and take some blood."

"Why do they take more from me?"

"I don't know." Damon shrugged. He held her hand tightly, as the needle went in. He looked away as the blood went up the tube and into the bag, the red liquid swirling around. They took the needle out of her arm and walked out with the blood. M's head flopped to the side, the blood loss causing fatigue. Her eyelids fluttered and she looked at him.

"Why do they take so much Damon?" M whimpered.

"The leader likes the taste of your blood." Damon answered, and shrugged his shoulders. "You're his favourite." She knew who the leader was. His name was Klaus and was the most powerful vampire. He and his siblings couldn't be killed by any normal stakes, making them the most feared vamps out there.

"Why don't they take blood from you?" She asked, crossing her arms. Damon smirked at her.

"They don't like the taste of my blood."

"Lucky you."

"I guess so." Damon murmured, glancing down at her wrist where blood still leaked out. He gulped and looked away, he was squeamish around blood. "Are you okay?"

M nodded. This was her first time getting blood taken from her. They gave her a year to rest, let her grow healthier, which made her tastier. She screwed her eyes shut, nausea clouding her throat.

"Yeah. I'm Fine. I'm Fine." She said. Repulsion fogged her voice, leaking into her words. Damon frowned at her.

"it's okay if you aren't."

"Just promise you'll never leave me, that you'll always be there for me." She said, looking seriously at him.

"If you promise that you'll be there for me too. That you'll never leave." He answered.

"Of course. I promise." She said and grabbed his hand. He squeezed her hand back and smiled at her.

"Well, then I promise too."