Author's Note:
I left quite the cliffhanger at the end, so if you want the next chapter be sure to leave some reviews ;)
Enjoy!
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand.
When everything's meant to be broken,
I just want you to know who I am.
Chapter Eleven – Turning Tides
I fluttered my eyes open slowly, my head was leaning against the cool interior of the car. The sun was radiating into the car, covering my eyes. I didn't know where I was or how I got here. I turned around to look at who was driving, Damon.
I shook my head and wiped my eyes, I must be hallucinating.
He glanced over and had a grin on his face, "Welcome back to the world of consciousness."
"Damon?"
He smirked as his eyes flicked over to mine, but refocused on the road. I had no idea where he was driving, but it was definitely not Mystic Falls anymore. There was a vast field on my right and I stared over at it. "Surprise!" He chimed, "I didn't actually leave yet."
I snapped at him, "And you didn't think to tell me?"
He inspected my head, "How's your head?"
My head. That's right, I hit my head. "This is a dream. This isn't real. I'm gonna wake up and you will be gone." I tightened my eyes but when I reopened them he was still sitting beside me, speeding down the unknown road.
He ignored me, "How's your head, Malina?"
I touched my head, there was no more wound. I distinctly remembered hitting my head. There was so much blood, I passed out. There was dry blood staining my fingers and stuck in my hair, "Where are you taking me?" He stayed completely quiet and flicked the radio on, but I turned it off immediately. "Pull over, Damon. Let me out of the car."
He bulged his eyes at me, "No."
I grabbed the steering wheel with my hand and tried to pull over to the side of the road but he grabbed my hand in his. He squeezed my bones in my hand together and I gasped out before letting go. I yanked my hand back to my chest and frowned. "Great. I gave my blood to a suicidal lunatic."
I crossed my arms across my chest and leaned my head back against the headrest, "I'm not going to kill myself."
He placed his hand under my chin so I would look over at him, but he kept his eyes on the road. "Oh yeah? You want to become a vampire and now you have the correct tools to do it. How else did you think about going through with it?"
I turned away from him and stared at the window, "I want to go home."
"Why were you out driving by yourself, Malina?"
I dug my nails into my palm, "I didn't want to go home. I was pissed at Tyler and mad about your departure. I wanted to drive until my head was clear. But that man, he just showed up out of nowhere in front of me. He-he, he got up but I hit him. Was he a vampire?"
Damon tilted his head to the side, "Yeah. I guess he was. I don't know who he could have been, but he had to be. I was out by the Old Fell's Church when I heard the crash. I had to save you."
I touched my necklace around my neck, "Why did you leave, Damon? Or supposedly leave. Why couldn't you tell me that you didn't leave yet? You hid the truth from me." We passed a sign and my jaw dropped, "You are now entering Georgia". I sat up in my seat, "Where the hell are we going, Damon? Georgia?!"
He snickered, "Calm down, Malina. It's no big deal."
"No big deal? I need to go home, no one knows where I am!" I yelled frantically and he tightened his jaw. "Turn around, Damon. Take me home, right now." He turned the radio on and I threw myself back against the seat. I folded my arms and glared out the window for the rest of the ride. I knew he wouldn't listen to me.
He pulled into a parking lot where there was an isolated bar, typical. He opened his door and jumped out, I hesitated before following his lead. I folded my arms across my chest and looked up at the broken down sign. This place looked like it has been around for decades, but knowing Damon – it probably has.
I scurried behind him when I heard my phone begin to ring. I patted myself down but I couldn't find it anywhere. That's when I noticed where the sound was coming from. "That's my phone. Damon, why do you have my phone?" He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it momentarily. He went to turn it off when I grabbed his arm, "Let me at least talk to Elena. If you let me do that, I'll agree to whatever you brought me here for?"
He rolled his eyes before handing me the phone and walking towards the bar. I took a deep breath and pressed the answer button, "You have two minutes!" He called behind him as the door closed.
I held the phone to my ear, "Hey Elena."
"Malina, where the hell are you? You never came home last night," She sounded worried. But also more than that, afraid. "Listen, we need to talk about something."
I cleared my throat, "I'm in Georgia with Damon. He brought me with him. He didn't actually leave yet, but I'm thinking you already knew that." I sounded angry, I was. "Why didn't you tell me?" I interrogated my twin sister.
She avoided my question. "It's about Katherine."
"Why didn't you tell me that Damon and Stefan didn't leave yet, Lena? Don't ignore my questioned. I deserve some answers around here."
She snapped back, "You're not the only one who deserves answers. So would you please let me explain why I called you?" I stayed silent, allowing her to continue. "I was over Stefan's last night and I found something."
"Go on," I turned my back away from the bar.
I leaned the palm of my hand against Damon's car, "I don't know how it's possible. Katherine is-She look-" Before she could finish the statement, Damon snatched the phone out of my hand. I turned around to scold him, "Hey! What the hell was that for?"
He shrugged and placed the phone back into his pocket. "I told you two minutes. Your time was up. I'm sorry, was it something important?"
I glared at him, "Yeah. Actually it was. I was finally going to learn something about Katherine. Something that you are probably hiding from me. I'm going to find out sooner or later, care to enlighten me?" I folded my arms across my chest.
He shook his head and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the bar. "I think it's about time you meet some people I used to know." We walked into the bar and an older woman was serving drinks. She noticed us and smiled, clapping her hands together at the sight of Damon. He turned his head towards me, "Meet Bree."
She hopped over the bar counter and extended her arms in front of her. "Damon!" Damon smiled and she pulled him into her. She pressed her lips to his and I puckered my lips sourly. They pulled away after a few seconds and she turned towards me, "Hello, pretty doll."
Damon wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him, "This is Malina."
She pulled me into a hug and I reluctantly hugged her back. "Come on, sit down! Let me get you both some drinks."
She took a line of shot glasses and began to pour liquor in all of them. "Listen up, everybody! Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness. Drink up!" She toasted and we all picked up our shot glasses and they all threw them back. I looked over at Damon and he widened his eyes at me so I threw my shot back, as well. She turned towards me, "So how'd he rope you in?" I chuckled lightly and she poured another shot for me. "Come on. How long have you two been together?"
I shook my head and looked at Damon for a second, "Oh no. We're not, it's not l-"
"She wishes though," Damon intervened.
I darted a dirty look in his direction and he smiled triumphantly. He placed his arm on the back of my chair, but I leaned forward. "So how'd you two meet?" I asked.
She glanced at Damon, "About twenty years ago, when I was a freshman in college. I met a beautiful man and I fell in love. He told me about his little secret, made me love him even more. Cause you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody."
Damon leaned towards me and whispered in my ear, "She's a witch."
She smiled at him, "You changed my world, you know."
Damon smirked, "I rocked your world."
Bree turned back to me, "He is good in the sack, isn't he?" My eyes grew wide and I threw the next shot back. She laughed, "Ah, now I see. Unresolved feelings. Nothing a road trip can't fix." She turned around and placed the bottle back down before returning to look at us. "So what is it that you want?"
I strummed my fingers along the counter and let out a quick breath. "I'll let you two talk. I need to use the ladies' room anyway." They both nodded and I walked away towards the bathroom.
When I came back out, Damon had two plates of food for us. I grinned and made my way towards him, "You know the way to my heart. I'm starving!"
I sat down beside him and he took a swig of his beer, I picked up a fry and stuffed it in my mouth quickly. He watched me and I raised an eyebrow, "You weren't kidding. It's like you haven't eaten in days, like a wild animal." I rolled my eyes and kept eating my fries.
"Let's play a game. I ask you a question and you need to answer a hundred percent honest. Then so on, so forth." He nodded and Bree set down two beers in front of us. I smirked and opened my bottle before taking a sip, "Yes. Now this is what I'm talking about."
He ate a piece of his chicken tender, "You go first."
I turned in my seat to face him, inspecting him as he ate his chicken. "If you're supposed to be dead. How come you can eat and everything?'
He looked amused, "As long as we maintain a healthy diet of blood our body functions pretty normally. Now my question for you, Miss Gilbert. How come you actually seem to be enjoying yourself? I don't believe I've ever seen you quite this happy before."
I shrugged, "I don't know. I feel free when I'm around you. I was so used to being caged to what was normal to me, but now I can do anything I want. I want to do everything that I can imagine." He eyes locked on mine, "How come we're here, Damon?"
He looked away quickly, "I wanted to get away."
"I said I wanted the truth," I demanded. He didn't look up. "Why can't you tell me these things? It's like you put up all these walls but I can never break through them. I'm not going to judge you. I've accepted that you are a vampire. But you keep so much from me. First Katherine, now this. I feel like I won't be able to ever trust you. I don't just want to end up as one of the girl's whose lives you've destroyed."
He took a large gulp of his beer before answering. "Then you signed up for the wrong business."
"See! This is what I'm talking about. You answer vaguely. You can never look me in the eyes and tell me the truth. You can trust me!" I shouted and he kept staring at the table. "Damon," I pulled his chin so he would look at me. "Please, talk to me."
He licked his lips, "There's another way to bring Katherine back." I bulged my eyes out. "Well not definitely, but I'm working on it."
I placed my chin in my palm, "And you wanted Bree's help which explains why we're here. But why did you bring me?"
He pulled his eyebrows together, "Hey. Isn't it my turn?" I shot his a glare and he let out a breath, "A minor moment of weakness." I let a smile tug on the corners of my lips, "I needed to make sure you were okay. Also, didn't try anything stupid and try to kill yourself."
I shook my head, "I would never kill myself." He glanced over at me and gave me a serious look. As though he was staring straight through me. It was like he could see every single dark thought I've ever concocted in my mind. I sighed, "Fine. I've thought about it before, but I'm better now. At least, I'm trying to be."
He took my hand in his and squeezed it gently, "You are strong. I like that about you. When things get tough, you don't back down – you push harder. I'll tell you everything you want to know about Katherine. I want you to be able to trust me."
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. This was my time to ask him all the questions I've wanted answers to for weeks. But I couldn't think of a single one. "She was the love of your life," I breathed out. He nodded, "How did you get over her?"
He touched my necklace lightly, "I guess I never fully did. I buried her deep in my mind. For decades, I did horrible things. I'm not a good person."
"I don't expect you to be," I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his for a moment.
He smiled, "She was beautiful and full of light. She had this laugh, it was contagious. She was gentle, but cruel. I just got back from the war when I met her. She made all my time fighting for my life feel worthwhile." He paused for a moment and I fixed how I was sitting. "She meant the world to me."
I nodded, "A true devil in disguise."
He bit his bottom lip before pulling out my phone from his pocket. "Elena has been calling and texting nonstop. I want to show you something, but you might not react all that well."
I furrowed my eyebrows together, "What are you talking about?"
"She was going to tell you something earlier, but she never got to it because I stole the phone. I didn't think you were ready, but you are now." I looked down at the phone that was still locked. "She was going to tell you something about Katherine and I'm not sure how it's possible. It makes absolutely no sense to me." He held out the phone and I stared down at the picture.
There was a girl staring back at me, but I knew those features all too well. She looked exactly like me, identical. Her dark brown hair curled and her same high cheekbones. Katherine Pierce – 1864. I let my jaw fall open slowly, "H-how? Why do I look like her?"
He shrugged his shoulders, trying to remain as close as possible to me. "I wish I knew that answer. Katherine must have had a child before she was turned."
I looked up at him, "You knew this entire time that I looked like her. Is that why you went after me? So I could fill in for your Katherine addiction?"
I pushed myself out of my seat and stood up straight, "Malina. Do not freak out."
I laughed frantically, "Well it's too late for that! You knew I looked like Katherine the whole time. You were using me to get your weird, creepy fix!" I took a step backwards but he tried to reach for my arm, but he missed. "I need to get out of here."
I ran outside of the bar and placed my hands on my face. I started to rub my forehead with my fingers. I looked like Katherine. I tangled my fingers in my hair and took a deep breath. I couldn't freak out. I needed to remain calm. I shook my head and kicked a trash can.
I felt two hands wrap around me, one covering my mouth so I couldn't scream and one over my eyes. He dragged me away with him and I tried to kick free but it was useless. He pulled me on top of the bell towards and jumped down. He was a vampire. He didn't look up towards me, "What do you want from me?"
He crossed his arms and kept staring down the alleyway. He was waiting for Damon. I heard another trail of footsteps and Damon came into view, "Malina?"
I shouted his name, but before he could hear me, the vampire attacked him. He started to hit him repeatedly with a baseball bat then threw him on the ground. I started shaking and looked over to see a ladder. I started to climb down it as quickly as possible. The man started pouring gasoline all over him, "No!" He turned around to look at me, black veins under his eyes and flashing his fangs.
Damon choked out, his voice husky, "Who are you?"
The man laughed, "That's perfect. You have no idea."
"What are you talking about?" I questioned, "What did he do?"
The man looked down at him, "He killed my girlfriend." We were all silent for a few moments then he started to pour more gasoline on him. "What did she do to you, huh?" He asked calmly, but grew angrier. ""What did she do to you?!"
Damon leaned his head back against the pavement, "Nothing."
I took a step forward, "I don't understand."
He turned around to look at me and I halted in place. He looked upset. Distraught. "My girlfriend went to visit Stefan, and Damon killed her. Got it?"
He turned back around and hit Damon with the baseball bat one more time. I breathed out, "Lexi. Lexi was your girlfriend?"
He turned to look at me, "And he took her away from me."
He let a match and held it over Damon so I ran forward, pushing him out of the way. He got angry and grabbed me by the neck and pushed me against the closest wall. It was enough time to let Damon get up on his feet. The man squeezed my throat tighter and I choked out, "You are better than this. You don't have to do this. Lexi wouldn't want that."
He shook his head, "You don't know what Lexi would want. She wouldn't want to be dead. She loved her life, she loved me. But now I'll never see her again. Damon will only do the same thing to you. Use you until your time is up, then kill you. Maybe I should just speed up the process."
Damon stepped forward, "Don't do this."
"You took away my girl, it's my turn to take away yours." I tried to pull him off of me, but he wasn't budging. He leaned closer, I could smell the alcohol that was radiating off of his breath. His eyes looked crazed. He whispered in my ear, "Say goodbye."
I stared at Damon, terrified.
I opened my mouth to speak, "Day-" I was cut off my the sound of a snap as everything went black.
