Chapter 9
Five minutes passed before Dacia spoke again, breaking the silence between them.
"I just have one question."
"What is it?" Dahna couldn't believe how well her little sister took this news and breathed a huge sigh of silent relief. "Ask me anything, Dace."
Chewing her bottom lip, Dacia tried getting her thoughts in order because she wasn't sure how to word what she wanted to ask. "How come Damon Salvatore can't stay at our house and protect us that way?" They had a few extra rooms that were never used and were covered in dust. "I mean, wouldn't it be safer in a smaller place instead of one that has countless rooms and windows?"
Dacia definitely had a point, one that Dahna couldn't argue against. "I suppose it would…" Sighing, Dahna had no idea what to do and stood up from the ground, dusting herself off. "Would you mind having him stay with us until Dad's murderer is caught?"
"Of course not." Dacia stood up as well, smiling. "I wouldn't have suggested it if I had a problem with him staying at our house."
Another good point, Dahna thought grudgingly, and suddenly a light bulb flickered on in her mind. "He can't stay with us." She frowned at Dacia, knowing this was something she did not want to hear. "Think about it for just a second, Dace. Damon told me that Dad's murderer has been after the Fell's for a long time. So that means we've more than likely been watched and he's waited in the wings like a hawk ready to strike. It would look pretty suspicious if we suddenly had someone, especially a man like Damon Salvatore, staying with us, wouldn't it?"
This was going to put a damper on Dacia's dating life, especially when it came to Tyler Lockwood. "I guess." She mumbled, not happy with this arrangement and knew they would end up going to Damon Salvatore's mansion. "What about my schooling though? I can't miss school; this is my senior year, Dahna." Dacia was trying to think of something, anything, to prevent them from leaving their home to go under protective services and, so far, she was fighting a losing battle.
"I know that." Dahna assured her softly, reaching over to take her hand. "Dacia, I would never let you miss out on your education, not even with Dad's murderer potentially after us. Whoever this is won't attack you while on school grounds, especially in daylight and around other students." That much Dahna was sure of, at least she hoped anyway. "Just because we're going under Damon Salvatore's protection doesn't mean our lives stop. We'll continue as we have because any major changes will be noticed by others and we want to avoid that. I'll keep going to work and you'll continue with school. The only difference is, at the end of the day, instead of going to our home, we'll be going to the mansion instead. Oh and we'll have to discuss who will be picking you up from school and taking you to the mansion too."
This was going to majorly suck, Dacia thought, wishing there was some way out of this. "We have to do this don't we?" It was more of a statement than an actual question. "I know you won't let me stay at the house by myself and I understand that, but I am NOT comfortable with staying at a stranger's house for god knows how long, Dahna."
"And you think I am?" Dahna scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You have no idea how much I DON'T want to do this, but if it means protecting you and keeping you safe, I'm willing to do anything, Dace. This is all about you; I don't care what happens to me as long as you're safe and sound." Grabbing her shoulders, Dahna felt the tears sting her eyes and blinked them away, but knew they weren't missed by her little sister. "You are all I have left from our family, Dacia. If I lose you, then I'll completely fall apart like I nearly did when Mom and Dad died. I know Luke and Meredith are family, but nothing like we are. I'll do what I can to make you as comfortable as possible with this situation, but you can't fight me every step of the way either. We have to compromise and find a level we can both agree and live on."
That last statement would soon be tested because Tyler already informed Dacia he was planning on paying Dahna a visit tomorrow. He was going to do it today, but Dacia asked him to hold off when she received the text from Dahna about this talk. She couldn't believe Tyler was actually going to stand up to her big intimidating sister all so he could go on a date with her. It made Dacia wonder just how long Tyler wanted her and cursed the gods or whoever for sending Mike Epps into her life.
"Can I still hang out at Elena's whenever I want?" Dacia asked promptly, hoping her friendships didn't suffer all because of some murdering dick that the authorities couldn't find.
Given the amount of loss the Gilbert family recently went through, Dahna couldn't keep Dacia away even if she tried. "Of course, Elena needs as many friends in her life as possible right now. Besides, I know you'll be safe over there and I'll make sure Jenna keeps me posted." Winking, amusement shined in Dahna's emerald eyes as she nudged her little sister, letting her know that last bit was a joke.
"Hardy har-har." Dacia nudged her back and smiled as Dahna's arm wrapped around her, trying to comfort her the best way she could. "So, I take it when we go back home, we have to start packing?"
Dahna nodded sympathetically, not looking forward to it either. "I'll help you if you help me." If there was one thing on the planet Dahna couldn't stand doing, it was packing. "Just bring what you need for the time being and we can always go back to the house frequently to grab more things and do drop-offs." They'd have to in order to pass off that they hadn't abandoned the house.
"Right."
The sun began setting on the horizon as both girls fell into silence, swinging back and forth slowly, each in their own thoughts. A cold crisp wind flowed over both of them and both girls couldn't help feeling the same chill overwhelm their bodies. Something was in the air. Change was coming and they didn't know if it would be for the better or not.
"We should head home, it's getting late and I'm sure you have homework that needs to get done."
Not to mention Dahna had a load of laundry to get done and dinner to make before she headed back to the office to finish the rest of her work she promised to do. Hopping off the swing, Dahna draped an arm around Dacia's shoulders, trying to comfort her as much as possible. This wasn't easy for either of them, but hopefully Dahna made the right decision by taking Damon Salvatore on his offer to stay at the mansion.
"No homework tonight actually." Dacia informed her sister once they were in the car and reached over to flip the heat on.
Dahna eyeballed Dacia skeptically, contemplating if she should believe that or not. "None whatsoever?" She pressed, putting the car in reverse and pulled away from the park.
"No, I finished it in study hall." Dacia answered honestly and held her hand up, rolling her eyes. "Scout's honor."
Snorting, Dahna decided to drop the subject for now because Dacia had no reason to lie to her. "You were never a girl scout, but I believe you anyway." Giving a quick wink, Dahna looked down when her cell phone began vibrating against her hip and pulled it off of her holder. Seeing the name 'Elizabeth Forbes' on the screen Dahna immediately answered it, holding her finger up in a one second gesture to Dacia. "Hey sheriff."
Why was the sheriff calling her big sister, Dacia wondered, raising a brow and kept her mouth shut while trying to eavesdrop on the conversation.
"I know this may sound pushy, but have you made a decision yet regarding our problem?" Elizabeth asked, jotting a few notes down on her small notepad she carried with her. "Or do you need more time?"
"Actually, I just got done talking to Dacia about it and we've decided to do it." Dahna flashed Dacia a reassuring smile and continued driving, keeping her focus on the road so they didn't wreck. "We do have some stipulations though, which I'll talk to Mr. Salvatore about when I call him tonight to give him my answer."
Elizabeth breathed the biggest sigh of relief upon hearing that and knew Damon would take very good care of the Fell sisters. "You've made the right decision, Dahna. Your parents would be extremely proud of you." She sincerely meant that, thankful she'd be able to sleep tonight with a peace of mind. "And I'm sure Damon will agree to anything you want as long as it doesn't put your safety at risk."
"Right." Dahna could hope the sheriff was right and glanced over at Dacia, who was texting someone on her cell phone. "Believe me, I would never put my little sister's safety at risk and, if I thought for a second these stipulations would, I wouldn't bring them up." She informed Elizabeth, flipping her turn signal on and turned to drive down the street they lived on. "Are we telling the council about this?"
"For now, no. The less they know the better. That means Meredith and Luke don't know what's going on either. If you want to tell them, be my guest, but make sure they keep it quiet when it comes to the council." Elizabeth stated, not bothering to tell her that Damon insisted on it to make the search easier to execute.
"No, I'm leaving them out of this. It's for their own good and Meredith has such a big mouth. There's no way she'd be able to keep this quiet for long. But they do come over to the house frequently to check on us, so we'll need to make at least one stop a day there just to make it look like we still reside there." It would look very strange if it looked like the sisters didn't live in their own home, only appearing for work and school. "Maybe Damon will have some ideas about that…"
"I'm sure he will." Elizabeth said confidently, having every bit of faith and trust in Damon Salvatore. "Listen, I really need to go, but please make sure you call him as soon as you can to let him know your decision. You're doing the right thing, Dahna." She reiterated because it was the complete truth.
Nodding, Dahna tried not to let her emotions overwhelm her and cleared her throat. "I know, thank you for all your help, sheriff. We'll be in touch." Snapping her cell phone shut, Dahna clipped it back on her side and pulled into the driveway a few seconds later, cutting the ignition.
"Are we really doing the right thing?" Dacia had to ask, having heard only what her sister said and pieced everything together rather quickly, frowning thoughtfully. "We don't have to do this, Dahna…"
"Yes we do." Dahna pulled the key out and took a deep breath, looking over at her little sister with a soft smile. "I promised to do everything in my power to protect you and I'm not going back on my word. This is the right decision."
No matter what Dacia said, she knew she couldn't change Dahna's mind at this point and decided to drop the subject. The person she'd been texting while Dahna talked to the sheriff was Tyler, informing him on what was going on. She didn't go into details and only told him minimum information because she didn't fully trust him.
All she said was a problem had occurred and it would potentially interfere with their date. With how high strung and stressed Dahna was about this situation, Dacia didn't want anything else added to her plate, including Tyler Lockwood. Since Dacia would still be at school regularly and they would make daily stops at the house, she didn't have a reason to tell Tyler the truth.
Tyler didn't like the sound of this at all as he laid in his big king sized four poster bed, reading over Dacia's latest text message. What the hell did she mean a problem had occurred? What could possibly have happened in the span of twelve hours? If this was Dacia's way of trying to dissuade him from asking her sister's permission, she was in for a colossal disappointment.
What do you mean a problem has come up? What kind of problem? He texted back, hating how vague she was being and raked a hand through his short dark hair, dark eyes narrowed. "If I have to go over there and talk to her tonight, I'll do it." He vowed, talking to the silence of the room and began pacing, waiting for her to respond.
He was so damn persistent, Dacia thought, trying not to look annoyed as she headed to her room to start packing. I can't tell you what's going on, it's personal, Tyler. Just please don't confront my sister right now because she has a lot on her plate and I don't want to add to her stress. Can you do that for me? If he couldn't, then he obviously didn't care about her and Dacia would cut him off straightaway.
"Since when does she care so much about big sissy?" Tyler growled, not amused and felt hurt that Dacia was basically blowing him off, shaking his head. If you didn't want to go out with me, all you had to do was say so, Dacia. I'm not playing these games. I won't go near your sister or you again. Goodbye. Shutting his cell phone off, Tyler shoved in his pocket and stormed out of his bedroom, grabbing his keys on the way.
Dacia's heart shattered when she read Tyler's last text message and felt a tidal wave of different emotions crash over her. She did want to date him! She did want to be with him! This wasn't her way of getting out of it and she didn't play games like this! Had Tyler completely lost his mind?
Gritting her teeth, Dacia didn't bother responding to his asinine text and shut her phone off, tossing it on the bed. Instantly, tears slid down her face and all Dacia could do was sag on her bed until her head hit the pillow. Because of her father's murderer, Dacia now had to pay the price by losing out on dating Tyler Lockwood.
She didn't know if it was divine intervention or just an obstacle they had to get over, but whatever the reason, Dacia didn't know how to overcome it. 'It doesn't matter anyway, he doesn't want me anymore because he thinks I'm trying to make excuses to get out of dating him.' She thought bitterly, wiping her tears away and closed her eyes, letting her tears soak into the pillow.
This was the last time she let a man hurt her, Dacia vowed, especially when it came to stupid pigheaded football jocks.