~The sun was just starting to set on the town, but no one could really tell because the storm clouds overhead hadn't really cleared even for just a little bit. The snow was bound to fall at any given time, the frost covering every window of the shop, giving the world a foggy look.

Wrench hissed when the alcohol soaked cotton ball gingerly touched her busted knuckles.

Zane looked up at her and frowned. "I'm sorry, lovebug. I'd rather not have you get an infection," he said with a touch of sympathy in his smooth tone.

Wrench nodded slowly, not really hearing what he had to say since her whole throw down with Lucas downstairs. Her mind had turned off so it was nothing but static, like on an old television. She was automatic to respond to whatever was said to her.

Zane was bent over her hand in the halo of a lamp, his hands gentle and soft against her as he applied a soothing ointment to her open knuckles. His hair was loose today, the dark waves fanning over his broad forehead in whimsical locks. His brows were tight and low, though, as he focused on his handiwork.

"I don't know what happened…" she started, but shivered at the thought and wrapped herself tighter in the blanket that Zane had given her. The room was warm against the cold outside, but she still felt the chill of her rage trickling through her like a stream over stones.

Her friend sighed. "I don't know either, but something definitely set you off." He pressed a pad of cotton on her wounds, and reached for a bandage. "What happened, Tanya? I've never seen you that angry."

Wrench shook her curls and felt her mind recede into the way back of her subconscious. The boys at the shop had all assumed she was an only child because she never talked about family or her past, and not just because she was so old. She didn't want to open any old wounds, nor did she wish to burden her friends with her demons that constantly danced around in her head.

After the bandage was wrapped tightly around her knuckles, Zane stood and stretched his arms overhead. "Well, do you at least want to explain what happened to your room?" At her surprised look, he shrugged. "Conner went to get some fresh clothes for you and he said it looked like a tornado had been through it. I can only assume that you tore up the space for whatever reason you decided Lucas needed a facial reconstruction."

Wrench shrugged again, her brain still on autopilot. "I had a very bad day, and I took it out on Lucas. What will Dan think? He trusts me like a daughter, but Lucas is still his pride and joy."

"I know. But I'm sure you'll find something to tell him that will ensure your job is kept." He got up to wash his hands in the bathroom. The light clicked on, creating a lemon yellow glow on the faded gray carpet.

"I didn't expect you and Conner to come home so early. Is there another storm issued to sweep through soon?" she asked, watching him bend over the sink.

Zane replied, "Yeah. We waited until it became safe to at least drive down before the snow got too deep." He came out wiping his hands on a towel. "Plus we missed our favorite girl."

And that was when she finally realized what he was wearing; a tight blue tank top that hugged his broad chest and showed off those marvelous shoulders of his, with waist tight cotton pants that he wore low. His physique was near perfection, even for a human. His skin was tan no matter the time of year, and his hair was always on the longer side, something that she didn't really like before until she decided it looked so good on Zane.

Wrench tilted her head, watching his hips sway with his strides, and found herself biting her lower lip in appreciation of God's creation. Every single muscle he had was hard with years of lifting and hard labor, and she dimly heard a small voice in her head wonder if his blood would be as sweet as he smelled…

She realized that Zane was staring at her with an eyebrow raised, as if he was waiting for something. She shook her head. "I apologize, what did you just say to me?"

Zane chuckled. "I asked if you were hungry. There's still pizza and donuts downstairs," he said.

I am indeed hungry, but not for fried dough or poor man's marinara sauce… she thought absently. But, since he was expecting an answer, she mumbled something and he walked out; she guessed she said she was indeed hungry.

So while he was out, she took her time looking around his room. She had only seen the inside from outside the door since she herself didn't like her space invaded she applied the same rule to the boys unless they said otherwise. Zane's space was more comfy, she supposed, almost homey. The gray walls had posters and pictures of muscle cars and motorcycles, with magazines of the same subject on a small table near the door. He had a small lounge chair in the corner beneath a lamp bedside table, and the window overlooked the front parking lot onto the street. His bathroom was in better shape than hers; the mirror wasn't cracked and the tiles in the shower looked new, and the porcelain throne still shined and faintly smelled of lemon. She opened the medicine cabinet-how come she didn't have one?-and saw a small first aid kit, a shaving kit, and soap that was hand milled and smelled of earth and herbs.

Wrench hugged her arms and stared out the window.

She had dim memories of her rage letting loose. Every time she did unchain the emotions she carefully kept under lock and key, they exploded to such proportions that stunned even her. She could only assume her long train of insanity and mental torture made a deathly concoction of rage, resentment, and the want to feel blood on her lips and bones break under her hands.

But still…she had never seen her anger fly like that in centuries. Not even when she was a human, she always kept her emotions under a tight lid. But again, her mental turmoil added to the anger.

No…wait, that wasn't it, was it. No, it was her vampire side. It had to be. Vampires were nocturnal mammals…they were as animalistic as any creature born on this world. Her anger and shame toward her brothers was fueled by her vampire instincts; there was no other way to explain it. As she began to pace the room, hugging the blanket tighter around her shoulders, she thought of the whole process it took from her to trash her room to storm downstairs and attack Lucas. It was oddly satisfying that she finally got to lay some hard skin on the human, but of all the humans in the place, she chose him? Sure, he enabled her anger and poked and prodded her until she was ready to snap him in half, but if her anger was as crimson as she remembered, why hadn't she attacked anyone else; why just Lucas? She could have easily taken her rage out on her brothers or…maybe even Elena Gilbert.

So why a human?

Out of nowhere, something in her mind ticked.

She was a vampire; Lucas was human. And if she remembered correctly, she had sucker punched him straight into his heart with such force it should have dropped him to the ground, dead as a door nail. But he only walked away wheezing with a couple of scrapes.

Interesting…

The door behind her opened softly, and she looked over her shoulder. Zane came through with a pizza box and a six pack of Bud. "I know you don't like drinking, but I figured it would help us both relax a little," he said.

Wrench nodded slowly. Zane straightened from placing the pizza and Bud on the bed and stared at her. "Lovebug, it's okay to not tell me anything. But…I hate seeing you like this." He shuffled his feet, his hands tucked into the pockets of his sweat pants. "Is there anything I can do to help you out of this funk?"

Do I look as bad as he is hinting at? She thought. Wrench slowly cranked her head to the left, into the bathroom where the light had been left on.

Over the sink, in the illuminated reflection, the vampire saw a tired, bruised, emotionally unstable ghost staring back at her. The eyes were dead and old, her hair a windblown mess of tangles, her bandaged hand somehow clunky and uncoordinated. Her inner turmoil was clear in her eyes, and she felt the urge to start a fight again.

Or, at the very least, smash her forehead into the reflective surface.

In her mind's eye, her insanity was threatening to break free, the bubbling cauldron hot and ready to spill out. Every harsh memory was resurfacing, from her forced transition into a vampire to being a POW in Russia, to fighting and murdering half a thousand soldiers on the battlefield in the World Wars, to cloaking herself from the world in her own shell of hatred and guilt and shame…

Two strong arms came around her softly.

And all at once, the lid to her mind was slammed back into place. The voices that had been shouting in her head were quiet. The demons dancing around the flames of her emotions stopped.

Zane held her with the kind of gentleness one would do if they were holding the most precious thing in the world. His breath was steady, and so was his heartbeat, so she lost herself in the rhythm and let herself breathe. She tucked her face into his chest, inhaling his earthy scent. Every nerve in her body dimmed to a gentle hum, and she somehow felt safe and secure in his arms.

"It's going to be okay, Tanya. Whatever you're feeling…" his voice trailed. He pressed his cheek into her hair.

"I wish I could stop the voices in my head," she said softly into his chest.

"Don't listen to them, lovebug." He lifted his head, and she stared up at his smoky eyes, getting lost in the storm clouds once again. "They're lying to you. Just because the voices are there does not mean you have to abide by them, okay?"

She nodded, not trusting her voice because she was afraid she would crack and start to cry.

She lost count of the minutes that slowly ticked by as Zane held her. When he finally stepped back and gently but firmly gripped her shoulders, she suddenly felt cold and lonely again.

"I think we should go tell Dan what happened tomorrow, then fix up your room, yeah?" he softly said.

Wrench nodded and looked up at the storm clouds again. "There's so much I want to tell you, Zane. But I just cannot seem to find the right words." She hugged the blanket tighter to herself. "So much...not enough time to explain it all..."

"I understand." Zane squeezed her shoulders. "When you're ready, just come find me. You know I've always had your back, Wrench." He turned towards the bed grinning. "Now, let's eat and get buzzed."

Nothing sounded more appealing right then and there to her.