Chapter 10
Damon Salvatore tossed aside the woman whose blood he had just drained and looked around. Something was off.
He had been wandering across the country for months, violently killing humans and drinking copious amounts of booze. Currently he was back in the west, sitting in a dusty cafe somewhere in Arizona.
He narrowed his eyes. Nothing could sneak up on him. He figured it was Enzo, finally crawling back like the sad sack of shit he was.
He was about to open his mouth to speak when he smelled it. Her. He could always smell her approaching before he saw her. If he actually gave a fuck, his stomach would have experienced the familiar swooping feeling that made him feel almost human when he inhaled the sweet mixture of flowers and whatever it was he couldn't put his finger on. He used to think it was magic but realized that was stupid. You can't smell things like that.
What bothered him most was that Bonnie fucking Bennett was back for more, as if she hadn't gotten the picture before. What a pain in the ass.
"I know you're here, Sabrina," he said in a fake cheery voice. He knew the nicknames got to her.
He slid out of the booth he had been sitting in, kicking the woman's body aside. She still had a faint look of surprise on her face.
"Come out and play, little witch. I ain't got all day."
He kicked another body, looking at the hot sun outside, not caring about anything in particular. And then she was there. Dark curls shining, green eyes blazing, looking as angry as ever. He remembered how much he liked this look. Pissed Bonnie. This meant something was going to happen. This was don't-mess-with-me-or-I'm-going-to-fry-your-brain Bonnie.
Then evil clicked on in his brain and he thought only of the sound of the blood rushing through her veins.
Bonnie knew she had been looking at Damon, their Damon, for at least a few moments before the bloodthirsty grimace returned. It consoled her.
Caroline and Stefan were at their car, parked a bit up the deserted road. Why he chose this place, she couldn't say. Then she stifled a shudder when she realized that it was probably devoid of any signs of human life because of him.
"It's time to let him go," she addressed the thing she knew was possessing him.
"I'm exactly where I need to be, Bonnie," he said, popping the "B" slightly in a horrible imitation of his usual self.
"Come back," she was addressing the real Damon now. His eyes flickered again. "I want you to come back because I miss you." She stared into his eyes. "I want you back. Just you."
She had finally realized what he had meant back in the '50s. He needed to be enough for someone. He needed to be valued for something deeper than what he represented. Something to be fixed. To Katherine, to Elena. It wasn't a deep enough need. So she continued, even though it scared her to death.
"I know you're not mine but I want you like you are. I couldn't have gotten through the prison world without you. And I don't mean if I had been alone," she quoted him. "Caroline, Stefan, not even Elena could have gotten me through it like you did. I know you care and I know you're afraid to. So I'm not going to lie to you and I'm not going to feed you that best friend bullshit we always give each other. If it means getting you back I have to tell you."
Her voice shook a little and she closed her eyes for a second to calm herself. When she opened them she saw the man who had been sitting in the road, waiting for someone to talk to, struggling with who he was. The man who had wished he could die with the impact of an unsuspecting car, who used the momentary pain of that impact to feel, just a little. She saw the man who spared the Kelly family even with his humanity off. The same man who had held her as she cried in the prison world when she had wanted to give up. This Damon was hers.
He studied her. She could tell he had forced his way back through, overpowering the evil that had taken up residence in his body, or in his soul, whatever it was. "Why are you here? Why are you telling me this, it doesn't–"
She talked over him. "You're mine," she said. She took a breath. "You're mine because I see you. You're mine because you don't have to hurt, you don't have to be this horrible person who I forgive out of the goodness of my heart. You're mine because I know why you hurt and how to make you own up to it and end it. So just stop. Come home."
His eyes were wide and he looked slightly confused. Then she saw it. Perfect timing.