Chapter 10
I'm frozen and I don't know what to say. Damon is still standing in the corner, away from the sunlight.
«Could you close the curtains now?» Damon says nonchalant. After a few seconds I manage to move my feet towards the window. I close the curtains and turn to face Damon that is visibly more relaxed now that the curtains are closed. I stare at him for a moment before I reach out my hand to offer him his ring. He looks at it and then at my face. He reaches out his hand and takes the ring and places it back on his finger. That's when I notice that his burns are gone. I gasp as I see it and I reach out my hands to grab his arm to look at the injuries that are no longer there.
«The burns.. They're gone» I say while looking at his hand.
«I heal quickly.» he says and steps out from the corner and walks away from me. I turn around to see that he is walking to the table behind the couch and is pouring himself another glass of bourbon.
«It helps the hunger» he says as he sees me staring at him.
«Hunger?» I whisper as a response. He just gives me a look that makes me feel stupid. Of course, his hunger for blood. He's a vampire, they drink blood. He drinks blood. Does that mean that he want to drink my blood? The thought is unsettling and I shift.
«Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you» he says like he just read my mind. Can he read my mind though? I decide to test the theory. «Damon, can you hear this?» I say over and over in my mind as I stare at him intently. He doesn't say anything, he just stares at me. Probably expecting me to ask more questions.
«Sorry, I was just.. Never mind.» I mumble and walk over to the couch and sit down. Damon finishes his drink and comes to sit down next to me. He clearly made me a drink too because he hands me a glass. I smile at him as a thanks and I shift in my seat.
«You're very calm to just have found out that you're in a house alone with a vampire» he says and takes a sip from his drink.
«Well, what can I do? If I run, you're gonna outrun me. If I fight, you're gonna kick my ass.» I say humorous. He chuckles.
«Besides, I'm full of vervain remember?» I say and smirk at him. I take a sip from the glass and bourbon fills my mouth.
«Now that we cleared the air about that, let's get down to business shall we?» he says and lays his arm across the back-pillows of the couch.
«What business is that exactly?» I ask curious.
«Well you remember Bonnie right?» he replies.
«Yeah?» I answer. Where is he going with this?
«The thing is that when she touched you, she kind of sensed that you were supernatural.» he continues in a calm voice. Like this is a sentence as common as «do you want bacon with your eggs?».
«What? Supernatural? No..» I ramble in disbelief. I stare at him, waiting for him to say that he was kidding, but he doesn't. He just stares at me with a serious face.
«That was why I gave you vervain. To see if you reacted to it, but you didn't.» he says.
«Does Caroline know about you?» I ask, remembering her reaction to Damon giving me vervain.
«Caroline is a vampire» he answers and chuckles.
«Stefan too» he continues.
«What? Caroline is a vampire?» I ask and kind of whisper the word vampire. Damon shrugs and takes another sip from his drink.
«How does someone become a vampire? Exactly?» I ask, afraid of the answer.
«It's a big mess to be honest. You have to die with vampire-blood in your system and then you have to feed to finish the transition.» Damon replies bored.
«What happens if you don't feed?» I ask half knowing the answer already.
«You die.» he answers looking right into my eyes. I inhale sharply.
«Do you mind me asking when you turned?» I ask with a weak voice. Do i really want to know this? He sighs and looks at me carefully.
«In 1864.» he answers short. I gasp and look away. 1864?! How old does that make him? I knew he was older but I didn't expect him to be older by one and a half century.
«Your brother. He turned with you?» I ask, still not looking at him.
«We both died with vampire-blood in us and we were planning not to feed. But Stefan fed and he didn't want to be alone, so I turned as well.» he replies. I can hear that he doesn't like to talk about this but I can't help it. It's not wrong of me to be curious.
«So you turned for your brother? So he wouldn't have to be alone?» I ask as I turn around to look at him. He looks at me with a vulnerable look. He nods as a response. I sigh and feel bad for him. I slide closer to him on the couch and he looks at me surprised. I grab his hand and hold it in mine. He looks down at our hands and back up at me. I smile at him and squeeze his hand.