Warning: I don't condone hitting women, but I thought some readers might want a warning some hints of domestic violence in this chapter.
Jeremy stayed silent on the ride home. He volunteered to ride with Elena and Vanessa in his car. Unsure of what he might do if he took the car with Caroline and Stefan. Damon hunched over in the back. He might be tempted to pull out his silver daggers and cauterize the wound ensuring that it took even longer for him to heal.
"Did anyone call, Alaric?"
"Yeah I did. I thought he might want to check up on Damon." Elena replied staring at her brother through the rearview mirror.
"Good thinking." Jeremy replied rubbing his aching palms on his jeans. The roughness of the fabric was somehow soothing. He wanted Alaric to be there. He wanted him to finally see Damon for the selfish monster that Jeremy always knew he was. He wanted Bonnie. He wanted Bonnie to be out of danger. The physical and the emotional kind.
"I had to update him on the where abouts of our Angel. He actually seemed disappointed. Like maybe he wanted to grill him on the after life," Elena said the amusement in her eyes evident.
"I'm sure its very beautiful I would just prefer not to see it before I'm ready." Vanessa responded unconsciously clutching her seat belt as they passed the spot where Damon crashed the car. It was still stuck in the pole a glaring sign to the fact that she almost died and had someone else killed. Even though he was already dead.
Jeremy wanted to reply back that it wasn't up to her when she died. In fact the universe was telling her that now was the time by sending a hulking angel after her. If they had any real say in life or death. Bonnie never would have died in the first place. He would go back in time and tell her not to do it and insist on it. She would never fall in love with Damon or wind up back on earth carrying his love child. Jeremy was pulled from his thoughts as they parked the car in front of the Salvatore's home.
"Hey." Elena replied good naturedly upon seeing her friend Alaric exit the car next to hers.
"Hey. How's Damon doing?" Alaric asked pulling his messenger bag out of the back seat.
"Hopefully, in there sucking down 10 bags of bag."
The scene in the living room was a chaotic one. White towels covered in blood littered the floor next to the couch. Bonnie sat cradling Damon's head in her lap and Enzo stood in the corner observing the scene like some weird pervert.
"What can I do?" Elena asked throwing herself into the mix. Were Damon laid on the couch apparently unconscious.
"Grab more blood bags from the cellar," Stefan commanded ripping the dark grey polo shirt from off his brothers shoulders.
Jeremy covered his nose the stench of the blood activating his gag reflex.
Elena returned practically dumping the bags at Damon's feet. Stefan sat on the edge of the couch and grabbed bag after bag. Ripping it open and pouring it down his brothers throat one at a time. The gaping whole in his stomach slowly began to close.
"More." Damon mumbled the fog over his mind lifting as he took the bags from his brothers hands.
"That's the last one," Elena replied watching on hopelessly. Wishing she was the one holding Damon's hands right now instead of Bonnie.
Damon sat up and grabbed the bag at his feet. The pain from his back rearing its ugly head just as the wound on his stomach healed.
"Oh my God." Bonnie said getting up from the couch as she covered her mouth with her hand. A small amount of Damon's blood finding its way onto her nose. The gaping whole was healing, but it was being replaced by more scar tissue on his back. "His backs not healing."
Stefan moved his brother's shoulder to get a better look. And she was right. He had never seen anything quite like it before. Was the angel really capable of doing this kind of damage.
Enzo watched the scene nervously as his jaw began to clench. He looked up to see Jeremy's eyes on him as if he already knew.
In one smooth move Jeremy pulled out his crossbow strapped to his back and sent an arrow spiraling into Enzo's shoulder. As it wedged into the wall behind him.
"Going somewhere."
"Jeremy, what the hell are you doing?" Elena exclaimed jumping to Enzo's defense as she pushed Jeremy back.
"The angel didn't escape. I let him go. For a mutual exchange of information."
"What?" Stefan asked in disbelief the memory of the Angel dropping him from the sky fresh in his mind. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that if Damon was going to lie to us. I wanted to be the first in line to hear all about it. I just don't want his partner in crime over there making his great escape." Jeremy sneered.
Enzo cried out in pain as he tried fruitlessly to pull the arrow out of the wall and out of his shoulder.
"What did he say? That could possibly matter enough to put Vanessa's life in danger. The person that we all swore to protect. I mean come on Jer. You mean your unrequited love for Bonnie mattered more than bringing a child murderer to justice." Alaric said a little disgusted by the whole scene as he backed away from Jeremy.
"You all are eating dinner every night with the man that killed those babies." He turned his gaze to his sister who was still holding him back. "That's right the angel didn't kill those children. Damon and Enzo did."
"Why would Damon do something like that?" Bonnie asked her voice a quiver of its former self.
"That little gift on his back was courtesy of the hell dimension he was stuck in." Jeremy said adjusting his jacket as his sister let him go.
Elena used her vampire speed to cross the room and stand in front of Enzo. Her eyes shining from unshed tears. "Tell me you didn't kill children?"
"Oh and thanks a lot for keeping that little secret from us Bons. Maybe this all could have been avoided. If you hadn't have turned into a liar just like your husband." Jeremy spat fueled by his anger over the situation, but also pent up rage about their break up.
She crossed her arms over her chest as the sinking feeling in her stomach increased.
"That's what you were doing outside with Enzo the evening after Vanessa had arrived." Stefan asked looking down on his brother who hadn't moved a muscle from his seat on the couch. Hanging his head in his hands. No snarky reply of denial. No remorse. Stefan didn't know what was worse the fact that he killed these innocent children. Or that he didn't think his brother was worthy enough to share his pain. "You were telling Enzo what happened to you."
"Why? Why would you kill children! Why?" Bonnie demanded as she bent on her knees at his feet and pummeled his face and chest with her fists. His would completely closed by now.
Damon grabbed her fists pushing her back gently. Caroline was at her side pulling her up and away from the traitor.
"It was my idea," Enzo said through gritted teeth. "Now do me a solid love and pull the silver arrow out of my shoulder."
"That's right have each others back. Tell me Stefan where do you exactly fit in with this little trio?" Jeremy smirked.
"Enough." Alaric declared giving him a hard stare.
Elena turned her attention back to Enzo. Her voice somber. "What could you have possibly done to him to convince him to do such a thing?"
"Its nothing I did, love. I was simply trying to help a friend and cure that little problem he's havin' with his back."
"But as you can tell it only served in returning patches of my skin. So I knew it wouldn't be worth doing again." Damon supplied unable to look at the faces of disapproval he knew was surely staring back at him.
"Oh that's all." Caroline snorted. "You're a monster."
"Do you regret it?" Bonnie asked standing on her two feet where before she was leaning on Caroline for support.
Damon looked at Enzo who was still pinned to the wall and back to the face of his wife.
"No, I don't. I didn't kill them for sport. I did it to try to save my life. It worked, but the price was too high and I'd never do it again. But I cant say I completely regret it. It saddens me that it hurts you so much." He said leveling his blue eyes to her.
Enzo wasn't interested in what Damon had to say. He watched his girlfriend who couldn't seem to tear her eyes off her ex since they got here. "I suppose bad attention is better than no attention at all from the one you love."
She turned at him giving a hard stare as she wiped at her eyes. "Don't start."
"Maybe I'll level a whole city block the next time. Going after the women and children first and maybe you would be bothered to give me even an ounce of your time. The man you claim to love," He screamed furious now. "Now pull out the bloody arrow."
She yanked the arrow out of his shoulder and hit him in the face breaking his nose. He bawled up his fist and punched her in the face sending her careening to the ground.
Jeremy lifted his cross bow pulling out another arrow. Ready to send it flying into the ancient vampire's heart.
"Don't." Bonnie said placing a hand on Jeremy's shoulder.
"You cant be giving them a free pass, right now?" Jeremy exclaimed his arm trembling from the sheer force of holding the arrow back.
"Get out," she croaked looking at Enzo. She cleared her throat. "Both of you. And don't return."