My fave song from this episode: Cosmic Love by Florence + the Machine.
The low humming and light vibration of a car was the sound and feeling I woke up to. I groaned lightly, my eyes being slightly burned at the light seeping in to my eyes as my eyes fluttered open slowly.
The unfamiliar countryside surroundings woke me right up and I straightened up in the seat I was in.
"What the-" I began, confused.
"Morning sunshine."
I knew that chipper voice. I looked to my left and sure enough, there was Damon looking back at me with a smirk. He looked back to the road while I looked around.
"Where are we?" I asked. "Oh my- where's Elena?! Is she okay? What happened?"
"One question at a time, cute stuff," he said nonchalantly.
My cheeks warmed when he called me cute, but the thought of Elizabeth and Katherine did well to get rid of that blush. Wait…Elizabeth and…Katherine.
"To answer your first question, we're in Georgia," Damon said.
"Georgia?" I repeated in shock. "Damon, seriously. Where are we?"
"Seriously. We're- we're in Georgia."
I stared at his face, hoping to see a crack of a smile or some other sign to tell me he was joking.
"Why are we in Georgia?" I asked after getting no sign of kidding around.
"Thought it'd be fun," he said simply with a shrug. "Road trip and all. How are you feeling by the way?"
I could tell by his tone that he was trying not to seem too concerned, but his face gave him away. The side glances he had been sending my way were telling me he actually cared about whether I was okay or not. Then again, maybe it was wishful thinking that he'd care.
"I'm fine," I answered. "But…I have no idea what happened. Where is Elena? Is she okay?"
"Well, you really are fine for starters. No broken bones, I checked, and I gave you some blood to heal your head up. As for your sister, she's fine too. Stefan's taking care of her."
That fact calmed me down. Elena was safe with Stefan, I trusted him.
"What happened?"
He told me about finding Elena's car upside down in the middle of the road after she hit a man- who was able to get up and get away from the scene. I was unconscious but Elena wasn't, so he got her out first before he saved me from the wreckage. After that, Stefan came and took her back to the boarding house while Damon took me…to Georgia.
A sick feeling manifested in my stomach and I leaned my head back on the seat. Jenna and Jeremy had no idea what happened, Elena didn't know where I was, and apparently Stefan was expecting us back at the boarding house. On top of that, a man that my sister hit with her car was able to just get up and walk away- a clear sign that he was a vampire- and we had no clue who he was or what he wanted.
"Thank you for saving Elena. And me," I said gratefully after the feeling went away. "But…I can't be here. I have to get home. Elena will be worried and Jenna will be too-"
I cut myself when I felt a sudden wave of dizziness. Damon noticed and immediately pulled the car over to the side of the road, rushing over to my side of the car after he stopped.
"You alright?" he asked concerned after I pushed open my door.
I let out a sigh of relief at the feel of the fresh breeze on my face and nodded. I tried standing, but that only ended up in me stumbling right in to his expectant arms.
"Hey there," he said to me, all joking and teasing gone from his face. He looked so worried and it made me feel terrible for making him feel this way.
"I'm fine," I assured him. "Just a little nausea. I'll be okay."
He relaxed slightly, but I could tell he was still a bit concerned.
"Alright," he said. "Let's get back on the road."
"Damon, I can't," I told him. "I have to go back."
"Oh come on," he groaned. "We've already come this far."
"Elena and I were in a wreck," I reminded him. "I have to go home, she's gonna wonder where I am and she's going to know you kidnapped me."
"That's a little melodramatic, don't you think?"
I gave him a look, silently telling him he wasn't funny.
"I can't go to Georgia," I rephrased.
"Too late," he whispered.
"Damon-"
"You may have your little magical necklace, but I could take it and easily make you…agreeable," he interrupted with a smirk.
"You wouldn't," I said confidently. "You would never do that to me."
Before he could reply, a phone started ringing. My phone, to be exact. I gaped at Damon.
"You took my phone?" I questioned with disbelief as he took it out of his jacket pocket. His trademark smirk was his only reply before he glanced at the screen.
"It's your sister's boyfriend," he sang. "I'll take it."
All I could do was stare as he answered my phone.
Third POV
"Sam's phone," Damon answered pleasantly, while she continued to stare at him.
"Where is she?" Stefan immediately asked his brother while Elena stared at Stefan with wide eyes. Why hadn't her sister answered her phone? "Is she alright?"
"Sam? She's right here. And yes, she's fine," Damon replied, looking over at Sam as he emphasized "fine".
"Where are you? Let me speak to her," Stefan demanded, suspicious of his brother having Sam.
Elena sat on Stefan's bed, worry etched on her face. Damon may have said she was alright, but Elena didn't trust Damon at all. Especially not with her younger sister.
Damon held the cellphone out to Sam.
"He wants to speak to you," he told her.
She took the phone with no hesitation, holding it up to her ear.
"Stefan?" she said.
"Sam," he sighed with relief, immediately making Elena stand up and rush to his side.
"Sam!" she said. "Where are you? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Damon took care of me," Sam replied calmly, eyes sliding over to Damon who seemed surprised she gave him credit.
"Well where are you? Damon should have brought you back here last night," Elena said, caught up on the events from the night before thanks to Stefan.
"I-"
"Ah, ah, ah," Damon interrupted taking the phone from her hand. "Don't you worry, big sis, I'll bring her back in time for dinner, safe and sound."
"Damon, I swear to God if you touch her, I'll-"
"You have a good day now," Damon cut off his little brother's threat. "Mm-hmm. Bye now."
Damon hung up on Stefan and smirked at Sam before sliding her phone back in his jacket pocket.
Back in Mystic Falls, Stefan threw his phone against the wall, making Elena jump back from him. He looked at her with apologetic eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. She shook her head.
"We have to find them," she said. "I don't trust Damon with her."
Stefan didn't say anything, but silently agreed. He hated to think about the things Damon could do to Sam and the more scenarios that ran through his head, the more determined he became to find her.
Sam's POV
"You know even if I told them we were in Georgia, they still would have had trouble finding us," I pointed out to Damon. "I don't even know exactly where we are or where we're going"
"It's just a little place outside of Atlanta," he said.
"I have to go back," I said. "Elena, Jenna, and Jeremy-"
"Will be fine. Elena knows where you are. Kind of. As for your other problems, they'll still be there when you go home so what's the rush? Just take a time-out."
I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. I wanted to physically see that my sister was alright. I wanted her to see that I was alright. Besides that, I also wanted to know exactly what she was talking about when she said that we looked like Katherine and Elizabeth.
Then again…I didn't want to know.
So with great reluctance I looked back to Damon.
"I'm safe with you, right?" I asked.
"Yes," he answered sincerely.
"You won't compel me."
"I never would, you said so yourself."
"Let's go then."
"So the man Elena hit was a vampire, right?" I asked Damon a while later.
"From what I could tell, yeah," he replied unhappily as he drove.
"And he wasn't someone you met before?"
"Nope," Damon answered. "Someone entirely new to the Mystic Falls scene as far as I know."
I bit my lip. Great. Another vampire in Mystic Falls who could possibly be out to hurt the people I care about.
Not too long after, Damon pulled us in front of a beige brick building labeled "Bree's Bar".
"A bar?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
Damon got out of the car and I followed, running to his side.
"I'm not old enough. They're not going to let me in, you know," I pointed out to him.
"Sure they will," he winked.
I eyed him suspiciously for a moment. No way we drove all the way to Georgia just for him to bring me to a bar. There had to be another reason why we were here.
We entered the building, so far without a hitch. Behind the bar wiping down the counters was a beautiful woman in her late thirties with free, tight black curls and mocha skin. Her dark eyes lifted and widened when she saw Damon.
"No. No, it can't be," she said. "Damon."
She swung her legs over the bar excitedly and approached Damon, both had large smirks on their faces. When she stopped in front of him, I could clearly see that she towered over Damon.
"My honey pie," she sighed.
My eyes widened when she grabbed his face and placed a large showy kiss on his lips, which he returned. A feeling went through me when they kissed. A feeling I feared was jealousy.
"Listen up everybody!" Bree called out later after Damon and I got settled at the bar.
She began pouring shots of tequila. "Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness."
She placed a shot in front of Damon and I both, holding one for herself.
"Drink up!" she said, tossing hers back at the same time as Damon.
I…probably shouldn't do that. Damon took my shot and downed it, placing the glass back in front of me before Bree turned back to us.
"So, how'd he rope you in?" she asked me as she poured us more shots.
"I'm not roped in. My sister is dating his brother," I told her.
"Honey, if you're not roped, you're whipped. Either way, just enjoy the ride," she told me with knowing smile.
I cleared my throat awkwardly before changing the subject.
"So how did you two meet?" I asked her curiously.
The two shared a look and she laughed before answering.
"College."
I looked at Damon surprised.
"College?" I asked with a small smile. "You went to college?"
"I've been on a college campus, yes," he said before downing another shot.
"About twenty years ago when I was a sweet, young freshman, I met this beautiful man and I fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him even more."
So she knew Damon was a vampire. That would explain why she wasn't confused by his lack of aging considering they met twenty years ago…
"Because you see, I had a secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody," she continued.
Damon leaned over to me and whispered. "She's a witch."
I smiled. She was a witch like Bonnie and Chastity? Pretty amazing.
"Changed my world, you know," she said to him.
"I rocked your world," Damon stated.
She giggled, lifting another shot to her lips.
"He is good in the sack, isn't he?" she asked me.
I blushed a bit at her assumption that Damon and I have slept together.
"But mostly, he's just a walkaway-Joe," she said almost sadly before throwing back her shot.
I glanced over at Damon, who seemed to have some remorse though he was still smiling. At least I hoped it was remorse. Poor Bree didn't deserve to have her heart broken, no one did.
"So, what is it that you want?" she asked Damon.
Later, I stepped outside after Damon gave me back my phone to let me call Jenna to at least reassure her that I was alive still.
"Where are you? " she asked immediately. "Elena said that you slept over at Chastity's last night? Why didn't you call?"
So Elena lied to Jenna? I guess she didn't want her to know about the accident until she could think of exactly what to say.
"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I was just so tired last night that I fell asleep and her house and this morning we woke up late so we got to school right away."
"Are you okay?" she asked me. "Elena seemed like something was wrong with her this morning."
So Elena slept over at Stefan's and made it home this morning in time to tell Jenna something, but Jenna could tell something was bothering her. I bet I knew what it was.
"I'm okay. And Elena just has Stefan drama and stuff," I said.
"Still, huh?" she asked. "Well…both of you need to at least shoot me a text if you're going to spend the night somewhere else. I was really worried about you."
"I know, I really am sorry for worrying you," I said. "But we're both fine. I have to get back to class, but I'll talk to you later."
"Alright, sweetie. Bye."
"Bye."
I sighed after I hung up the phone. I hated lying. It made a sick feeling rise up in my stomach. That feeling intensified whenever I lied to a loved one. But Elena thought keeping Jenna and Jeremy out of vampire business would be for the best.
Why didn't I agree with her?
Just before I started to go back inside, my phone rang. I looked at caller ID. Stefan.
"Hello," I answered.
"Sam," he sighed. "Where are you?"
I glanced back at the building. I wanted to know why Damon brought us here. Plus I had a few questions I needed to ask that I wasn't sure Stefan could give me.
"I'm safe," I told him. "Just tell Elena that."
"It's not just Elena, Sam, I want to know where you are too," he said. "I don't trust Damon with you."
"You should give Damon more credit, Stefan. He would never hurt me," I said.
"Sam-"
"How are Elena and I connected to Katherine and Elizabeth?" I tested.
"I honestly don't know," he said.
I nodded, believing him.
"Okay," I said. "Look, I'm fine. I'll be fine. Damon hasn't compelled me, he can't. I'll be back soon, tell Elena not to worry."
"Sam-"
"Please Stefan."
He sighed and I could tell he was struggling with not tracking me down to come get me.
"Okay," he finally caved. "Just…please be careful. Stay safe."
"I will. Thank you, Stefan."
"I'll see you when you get back."
"Of course," I smiled. "Bye Stefan."
"Bye."
I hung up, sliding my phone back in my pocket before turning right in to Damon.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Fine," I nodded. "Calmed Stefan down a little."
"Well," he said. "You got him to back down, but he's not going to stop worrying until you're back and away from me, you know."
"I know," I said.
He looked at me with narrowed eyes.
"Why didn't you tell him where we were?" he asked.
"Because you have something you want from Bree," I said knowingly.
I had put two and two together. Bree was a witch, we drove all the way here to her bar. He wanted something from her.
He clapped twice.
"Smart," he said. "And why else?"
He had been listening. He heard the question I asked Stefan.
"Because I thought you'd know more than Stefan about why Elena and I look like Katherine and Elizabeth," I said.
He smiled.
"Maybe I'll share what I know. After I get what I want," he conditioned. "Shall we go back?"
"Let's go."
Damon and I sat at the bar eating the burgers and fries he ordered for us. I picked up one of my fries and spoke.
"Let's just say that my sister and I are descended from Katherine and Elizabeth," I started. "Does that make us…part vampire or something?"
Damon shook his head as he finished chewing.
"Vampires can't procreate," he answered. "But we love to try."
I rolled my eyes at his suggestive smirk and gave him a look.
"No," he said. "If you and Elena are related to them, it would mean that one or both of them had a child before they turned."
"Which one looks like which?" I asked then.
"Well, Elena looks exactly like Katherine. You are Elizabeth's copy."
My heart hammered when I thought back to the way Damon talked about Elizabeth before and how beautiful she was. Did he think I was beautiful too? Wait…Elizabeth was the one he wanted to get back. He was in love with someone who looked exactly like me…
I cleared my throat.
"That's not why Stefan is dating Elena, though," I said. "Right? He doesn't think he can replace Katherine with her."
"It's kind of creepy if you ask me," he said. "Especially considering he was head over heels for Elizabeth."
I shook my head.
"Come on, what? You don't like pickles? What's wrong with you?" he asked.
"I'm saving them for last, don't touch them," I said, stopping him from reaching for them. "But what you just said proves he can't be using Elena. If he was in love with Elizabeth and he wanted to replace her…then he'd be dating me, not Elena."
"Unless he settled for replacing Katherine since he saw her first and by then it was too late to go for you."
"We met on the same day. He has a connection with Elena," I insisted. "Look, I know my sister and I know she'll have trouble seeing it, but I believe Stefan truly loves her and not because she looks like Katherine."
He tossed a fry in his mouth.
"If you say so," he sang, munching on another fry.
I watched him.
"How can you eat?" I asked him. "Help me out here, all I have to go on is Twilight and those vampires can't digest food. In fact, it tastes like dirt to them."
"I wouldn't have taken you for a Twilight fan."
"Moment of weakness. If you're supposed to be…dead…how can you eat?"
"As long as I keep a healthy diet of-" he paused, obviously for dramatic effect. "-blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally."
I nodded before picking up my burger.
"You know when I tell Elena how nice you were to me today, she'll never believe it," I told him. "She never does."
He smirked and I took a bite out of my burger.
"Here you go, hun," Bree said setting another beer in front of Damon before taking away his empty bottle. "You sure you don't want one?"
"Oh no," I shook my head. "I don't drink."
"That's crazy," Damon said. "Who doesn't drink?"
"Tiny people with low tolerance," I said blankly. "One beer has the potential to knock me on my ass."
"I would actually like to see that," he smirked.
I pursed my lips at him before thinking. We did agree that I would take a time-out today. So far, I was stepping outside of my life spending time in Georgia- which I would never usually do, skipping school- also a thing I wouldn't do, and hanging out at a bar- another thing I would never usually do. So why not add one more thing I wouldn't usually do to the list of things I've done today?
"Okay," I said. "I'll have one."
Bree looked at me in surprise before smiling and handing me a beer of my own.
"Atta girl," Damon grinned, clinking his bottle with mine.
This won't end well, I know it. But I didn't exactly care at the moment.
I danced victoriously as I slammed my shot glass down after I finished my shot before everyone else at the bar- including Damon- yet again.
"That's 3!" I cheered, looking at Damon. "I'm a lot better at this whole drinking thing than I thought."
"Learn something new everyday," Damon smirked.
I giggled and looked around.
"All right, who's next?" I asked.
I knew it was probably a bad idea to continue down this path, but a more dominant part of me wanted to keep going.
"Honey, you should be on the floor," a blonde woman with pink cheeks next to me said.
"I am not even drunk. My tolerance is like way up here," I said jumping up to show her just how high up it was.
"You're so small though," she said.
"Tiny but mighty," I grinned.
The guy I was playing pool with- I know his name, trust me- swore loudly after his missed his shot. I laughed and leaned forward to take my shot when my phone rang, slightly bringing me out of my drunken high.
I jogged to my jacket, struggling to take my phone out of my pocket. When I finally got it out, I answered.
"Hello?" I said in to the receiver.
"Samantha?"
Crap, Aunt Jenna. She even used my full name? I'm in trouble.
I started yanking my jacket back on as I headed outside to hear her better.
"Jenna!" I greeted. "Hi!"
"Where are you? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured her, feeling guilty for making her worry. How long had it been since I last spoke to her? Or Elena and Stefan for that matter?
"It's not fine," she argued. "I got a call-"
I tripped over my own feet, dropping my phone in the process, and landed on my hands and knees. I groaned at myself and hurriedly picked my phone back up. Elena must have told her about the crash because she ran out of excuses for me. I felt terrible for putting her in a position like that. What kind of sister and niece was I?
I picked myself back up, ready to confess to Jenna where I really was, when an arm wrapped around me from behind and a hand covered my mouth and muffled my screams. More fear set in when I realized it was a vampire holding me after I was sped away at a speed no human would be able to move at.
Who was this person? Was I about to be dinner? And where is Damon?
Third POV
Damon returned to the bar with a sigh. It was dark out already and he knew that he needed to get Sam back to Mystic Falls before her sister and his brother had bigger hissy fits than they'd already been having.
"Hey, where's your girl?" Bree asked.
Damon frowned and looked around, not noticing the look on Bree's face as he did. His gorgeous companion was no where to be seen, not even by the pool table where he last saw her.
His eyes narrowed and he immediately got up from the bar without saying a word as a slight panic overtook him. Something wasn't right. Not even drunk Sam would take off on him like this.
He stepped outside, eyes searching wildly for her. Where was she?…
His eyes spotted her phone on the ground and a sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.
"No," he muttered to himself.
He snatched up her phone and glanced all around him. Sam…
He walked around the building quickly, determined to find her and possibly end the life of whoever took her. He came across an electrical building where he saw Sam on the ladder of a storage tank.
"Damon, no!" she warned him.
Before he could get a word out, he caught sight of a blur heading straight for him and a sudden pain in the back of his legs knocked him down.
Great, so his enemies were already starting to figure out they could use Sam for bait.
Sam POV
I climbed down the ladder, running toward Damon and the vampire attacking him with the metal bat.
The other vampire let up and went off somewhere, but I knew he'd be back. Damon glared in the direction he went in.
"What the hell?!" he spat. "Sam, get out of here!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
True there wasn't anything I could do, but I didn't want to leave Damon with this guy. Who knows what he would do?
The other vampire returned quickly with a container of gasoline. He wasted no time before he began dumping it on Damon.
"No!" I panicked, running toward them.
He glared back at me, fangs out and veins popped. I stopped in my tracks. He turned back to Damon.
"Who are you?" Damon demanded.
"That's perfect. You have no idea," the guy scoffed.
"What did he do?" I asked. "What could he have possibly done to you?"
"He killed my girlfriend," he spat.
My eyes widened as realization set in. Damon killed his girlfriend? Who was his girlfriend?
"What did she do to you, huh? What did she do to you?!" the vampire raged as he continued pouring gas on Damon.
"Nothing," Damon replied, a little guiltily.
That guilt was familiar…
"Lexi," I whispered. "Lexi was your girlfriend? She told me about you. You turned so you two could be together forever."
It was romantic. Very romantic, but short-lived.
He took out his lighter, his eyes glistening with tears that made my heart break.
"Wait," I begged. "Lexi- she loved you! I didn't know her long, but I know she was good. Which means that you must be good too, so you're better than this- better than him!"
"I'm doing you a favor," he hissed.
He lit the lighter, letting Damon watch the flame almost tauntingly.
"Please, don't hurt him," I begged softly. "Please, don't do this. Be better than this. Be better for her."
Lexi didn't deserve to die, but neither did Damon. He was good, I knew that. Beneath it all, there was good in him. Just like there was in this guy.
His hand shook, like he wanted to drop the lighter but was fighting with himself not to do it. He looked over his shoulder at me with his tortured eyes before he sighed and let the flame go out. I sighed in relief when his shoulders slumped, but tensed once more as he picked the weakened Damon up and threw him in to the building across from him.
I winced when Damon landed, but felt relief that he was alright. Alive, at least.
"She'd be proud of you," I said to Lexi's boyfriend. "She'd be proud of you for being strong."
He looked at me tearfully and nodded once before speeding away. I didn't waste any time before running to Damon's side to make sure he was alright.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Been through worse," he groaned. "Am I still pretty?"
I laughed in relief. At least he was still Damon.
Third POV
Lee ran to his car, tears still soaking in his eyes. He came here tonight with the purpose of killing his girlfriend's killer, but that girl got to him. He was annoyed when she stopped him, but she was right. Lexi wouldn't have wanted him to get lost in vengeance. She had a pure heart, just like that girl.
He leaned his head forward on his car and sighed. At least he got to kick the crap out of that guy first.
"You should consider yourself lucky," a voice behind him said.
He jumped, whirling around defensively with the metal bat in hand. Standing across from him was a calm looking man with his hands folded in front of him.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded. How did this guy sneak up on him?
"Although you did us the girl to lure Damon Salvatore out, you didn't harm her," the guy said, ignoring his demand. "Which warrants you a quick death, but a death nonetheless."
"What are you talking about?" Lee asked. "What does it matter to you?"
"My orders are clear," the guy replied. "There are no exceptions."
Without further explanation, he sped forward and ripped Lee's heart of his chest.
Sam POV
Shortly after Damon recovered from his attack and he said goodbye to Bree, we were on the road back to Mystic Falls. I asked Damon again why he brought me along with him and got an actual answer. Turns out, I'm fun to be with and he wanted to save me and piss Stefan and Elena off, which I'm sure he did.
When we got back to town, we went straight back to the boarding house where I knew Elena and Stefan would be. I found them upstairs, talking closely. As soon as she saw me, Elena stood up and pulled me in to her arms.
"Where have you been?" she asked. "Are you alright? Why haven't you called? I had to tell Jenna that I wasn't sure where you were because the school called and said you weren't there and-"
"Elena," I cut in. "I'm okay, it's okay. I don't blame you for telling Jenna, frankly I may have done the same thing. I know you were worried about me and I'm sorry, but-"
"Don't," she said. "It's okay, I know you didn't have much of a choice. I just need to keep in mind you were with Damon. Did he hurt you at all?"
"No," I instantly said. "No, he didn't hurt me."
She eyed me up and down. After she seemed to be assured that I wasn't hurt, she let out a small sigh and hugged me tightly again.
"Don't even disappear on us like that again."
"Sorry."
Stefan stepped over and I hugged him briefly.
"I'm glad to see you're alright," he said.
"You should really give your brother more credit," I said lightly. "He'd never hurt me."
Silence fell over and I knew it was because what I said. Though I trusted him, I knew Stefan and Elena didn't. That was alright. Over time they would see.
I cleared my throat and put thumbs in my pack pockets.
"So…you two seem to have worked things out," I noticed.
"Yeah, uh…we did a lot of talking while you were gone," Elena said. "Found some things out."
I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Like what?" I asked looking between the two.
They exchanged glances and Elena stepped forward slightly.
"Well…Stefan was the one who saved me from the accident," she began.
My heart stopped and I looked at Stefan.
"You were there?" I asked him.
"I was here to see Zach," he explained. "I was out in the woods when I heard the accident. I didn't get there fast enough- the car was already completely in the water by the time I got there. Your dad was still conscious. I could have saved him, but he refused to let me until I saved Elena."
I let out a shaky breath in shock as tears blurred my vision.
"You saved my sister's life?" I repeated. My father…sacrificed himself to save Elena. To let Stefan save Elena.
Silent tears slipped down Elena's face as Stefan nodded.
"I went back for your parents, but…it was already too late."
I stepped forward quickly and wrapped my arms around Stefan, crying harder than I had been a second ago.
"Thank you," I said thickly. "Thank you for saving my sister."
"I'm sorry for not telling you earlier," he said. "That was the first time I saw Elena- the first time I saw that she looked like Katherine. The first time I met you was at school on the first day, I had no idea who you were. I actually thought you were Elizabeth. I wanted to tell you both but…I didn't want to drop it on you. I'm so sorry, Sam."
I shook my head and pulled away from him.
"It's okay," I assured him. "It's okay. You have nothing to apologize for. I understand. But…I don't get it."
"Get what?" Elena asked.
There seemed to be a hint of dread in her voice, like she didn't want me asking whatever I knew she knew I was going to ask.
"Why the resemblance?" I asked. "How do we look exactly like them?"
"It's not important-"
"You've already been through so much."
"Please," I begged them both. "I want to- I have to know."
Stefan hesitated, looking at Elena. She shook her head at him and opened her mouth.
"We did some digging," she began. "It didn't make sense because our last name is Gilbert and theirs was Pierce. The resemblance was too strong for it to be coincidence. And then…we found the truth."
"Which is?" I pressed patiently.
Elena sighed.
"We were adopted, Sam."
Walking up to the house, my mind was in a haze. I was adopted. Elena was adopted. We were most likely descended from Katherine and Elizabeth somehow…
Stefan and Elena found our birth records. We had birth certificates with our names- Elena Gilbert and Samantha Gilbert- and birthdays on them from Mystic Falls General. However, they couldn't find any records of Miranda Gilbert ever being admitted for either of our births or even her being pregnant with us.
Elena wanted to look more, but as Stefan said it was too risky for him to go asking around about Katherine and the Pierce family.
"I don't set a lot of rules, girls. Not with you two. I trust you both to tell me the truth: where were you? Why would you lie to me about it? I thought we were closer than that?"
I blinked once and looked up, realizing now that we were inside the house. Jenna was standing in the living room, looking at us expectantly.
"Now is not the time to talk to us about lies," Elena countered.
"Don't do that, don't turn this back on me," Jenna said. "I didn't do anything."
"Okay question," Elena started.
"Are Elena and I adopted?" I asked before I could stop myself.
Jenna's face morphed from anger to shock and guilt.
"We trust you to tell us the truth too, Jenna," Elena said. "How could you not tell us? I thought we were closer than that."
Elena started up the stairs while I stayed where I was, watching Jenna and waiting for her explanation.
"Elena, Sam, I didn't- they asked me not to," she said regretfully.
"I don't want to hear it!" Elena said going straight to her room.
The door slammed and Jenna shut her eyes. She looked back at me desperately.
"I am so sorry, Sam," she said. "I didn't think I'd have to be the one- they asked me not to say anything to you before…"
I took a deep breath and swallowed my pain. As hard as it was for Elena and me to find out we were adopted, it must have been harder for Jenna to find a way to tell us. Especially when she didn't think she'd have to be the one to do it.
"It's okay," I whispered. "Jenna, it's…I just…I need time."
She nodded sadly as I made my way up the stairs to my own room. I shut the door behind me softly before walking over to my bed, where I sat down slowly. Some couple of days these have been.
So Sam has got herself a mysterious protector! Who is he and why is he protecting her?
All shall be revealed...eventually!
I want to thank you all for sticking around while I get my groove back. You are some awesome, devoted fans and you are the reason I come back. Thanks a bunch and I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you will enjoy the ones yet to come.
