When she returned to the Salvatore house, she found Damon sitting in one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace, brandy in his hand.
"Waiting up for me, are we?" She said dryly, hanging her things on the coat rack. No sooner than the words came out of her mouth did he have her against the wall, hand crushing her windpipe.
"Damon what the hell are you-"
"I saw your little get together with Elijah Kaia." Oh bad, bad, bad, bad.
"Damon put me down-"
"You manipulative little bitch-" He snarled, and at that, she growled back, twisting his arm, and in turn shoving him against the wall. He groaned.
"If you touch me again, I will rip out your eyes and feed them to you, got it?" He didn't say anything, so she squeezed tighter, "Got it?" He groaned.
"Fine! Fine yes!" She let him go.
"I don't know what you think you saw, but I can tell you right now I never betrayed you." She crossed her arms.
"So you didn't convince me to free Elijah and then lie about knowing him?"
"I never lied." She snapped. "I just didn't tell you."
"Bullshit. I bet you've been running with him since the beginning-"
"No! Of course not!" Damon began pacing back and forth. "Why do you think I told you about Elijah-"
"Is this why you decided to magically show up after two years?" He interrupted.
"Will you just shut up for a goddamn second?" Kaia had to basically scream to get him to stop. He scoffed at her but did as she asked, ceasing his pacing around the room.
"It's more complicated than that." She swallowed, trying to figure out the right way to say it.
"I've ... known him for a very long time."
His eyes flashed, "known him? That didn't seem like an 'I know you' hug Kaia!"
She sighed, "Damon,"
"You see Kaia," He continued, "In all our years of friendship, I don't think you've ever mentioned you knew an original, much less the whole original family!" His voice rose to a shout, frustration radiating from him.
She threw her hands up in the air. "What the hell was I supposed to say?"
"Oh I don't know? 'Hey Damon, I know I haven't bothered to visit in two years, but knowing the batshit crazy original family trying to kill you and everyone you love, I should probably tell you everything I know!"
"It's not exactly going to be on my tinder profile will it Damon?" She said annoyed.
"Come on, that's bullshit. You should've told me the minute you knew they were involved." He turned, eyes piercing. "So why didn't you?"
"Because-" She didn't know how to answer.
"Because? Because?" Damon's voice rose
"Because-" She forced herself to breathe. "You were right. Me and the original family..." She swallowed, "It's more than as acquaintances. He's-, They're-" She couldn't get herself to say it.
"They're what." Damon growled.
"They're the closest thing I have to family, Damon." He froze, and at the look on his face, she went on, "I lived with them for a hundreds of years, until Klaus-" She lost her streak of courage, but breathed in and out, and continued. "Until he ruined everything."