Desire Of The Dark
4
Caroline opened a drawer, closed it, then moved onto the next one, painfully aware of every noise that came from the chest of drawers. She had already wasted enough of her limited time alone trying to figure out where she was, and now that she knew she had little time to waste. He would be back at any moment, she knew that as well as she knew how this chapter in her life would haunt her forever, and so she needed to focus her attention on being fast rather than delicate. At last she found what she was looking for, and promptly slipped on the too-big trousers sans panties. She was willing to steal trousers from him, put them on, but she drew the line at his underwear. She had never in her life gone without underwear whilst in public, but she would risk it just this once...
Bonnie felt as though a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders once she was inside the Gilbert house, even though her shoulders sagged still. The things she knew still sat there, but it seemed as though the load of worries had been shared between them. The air was thick with all the things unsaid, and she knew that if they had the time the words she hated thinking wouldn't need to be said. "I think Damon's got Caroline."
Stefan seemed just as reluctant to consider it as she did. Shaking his head, he said, "No, it's not Damon..."
"How can you be so sure?" Bonnie asked, working hard to keep her temper in check and to not let it dictate her actions. She was so used to fighting the Witch inside her that it should have been easy, but instead it was taking all her concentration and zapping her energy. The scene spiraled around her and she almost collapsed against one wall of the entrance. "It's not as if he has a clean record, Stefan."
"No, no, no," Elena was shaking her head, but her eyes were not focused, as if she were not thinking about what she was saying. She was trying to deny this, but even as she said no the denial felt like hollow words. Her refusing to believe it did not make it any less true, she knew that and so did Stefan and Bonnie. It wasn't Caroline that Damon wanted, she was just a tool to him, she knew and so it rested on her shoulders to fix this. "You guys have to stay out of this. He wants me, Stefan, Bonnie. He wants me and he will do anything he can to make me come to him!"
Bonnie bristled a bit at her tone. "I think he wants all three of us, a manage a tois, if you like. We should be smart about this, since it is not just one of us he wants." She had more than once day-dreamed of a situation like this, but she would never admit that to anyone.
... Caroline crept down the stairs in the shirt and trousers she had taken from the bedroom and tried to make as little sound as she possibly could. There was no telling if he was here or not, and the thought that he could be directly behind her without her sensing his closeness made her turn periodically to check. This is far too easy, she managed to think as she instinctively stepped over squeaky floorboards, he wouldn't make it so easy for me to escape...
Damon heard the words manage a tois and stopped suddenly, just out of view of Elena's house. He should have known that it would be Bonnie to mention it out-loud first, though he doubted what she imagined matched what he had in his head. He had decided while still with Caroline what his role would be, and unfortunately for Elena he planned to be more of a voyer. He wanted to watch.
TBC