Push
Chapter XII: The Message

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you, dear

-Leona Lewis, "Run"


"I'm sorry, Stefan," I murmured softly to my brother. We were sitting in my room, on my bed. Katherine had just left to go attend to some "unfinished business," as she had politely put it. But we knew better – someone was probably going to end up dead before the night was through.

Stefan didn't say anything. He had his head in both his hands, eyes closed. I could see the slight tremor going through his body. There were two puncture marks in his neck where Katherine had bit him. When she was finished, she held Stefan tightly and gestured me to come over. Carefully, she tore the tender skin wider and insisted that I drink, too.

The only person I had ever taken blood from up until that point was Katherine.

Stefan had been terrified when I set my mouth to his neck. His entire body had stiffened and he had tried to get away. But Katherine had not cared – she had held him there despite his soft protests. I only took a little bit – it's not like I could draw it out like Katherine could, anyway. But it was enough to set Katherine on edge.

And even though I was human, I completely understood what she meant when she said that Stefan's blood was 'pure.' There was the slightly rustic taste, but it had only taken seconds for something overpoweringly sweet to fill my senses.

When I had finally pulled away, Stefan's neck was bloody and bruised. I had turned away in guilt, knowing that I had probably helped accelerate the bleeding in his wound. Katherine said something in his ear and then very gently pressed some white material to his neck. That's when she announced that she was leaving for a while.

"Stefan," I tried again, reaching out and touching his shoulder. He flinched, and finally looked up. His eyes were dark as he regarded me.

"Why do you always hurt me for her?" he asked, his voice clouded with sadness.

"I..." I didn't have an acceptable answer. I let my hand fall away. I didn't think I was hurting him, and besides, I was only complying with Katherine's wishes. Isn't that what he wanted, too? To please Katherine?

"Damon...you drank my blood," he stated simply, his green eyes meeting mine sharply.

"Katherine wanted me to," I whispered, feeling guilty and ashamed that I had caused my brother so much pain.

Stefan stood up and I jumped to my feet, too. He regarded me for a moment, and then with his free arm, he pulled me into a crushing hug. "Sometimes, Damon, you need to think before you act," he said into my shirt. There was something off about his voice.

The hug may have seemed like a sweet gesture, but his grip was tight and with his free hand, he was digging his nails painfully into my back.

The message wasn't, 'I know you're sorry, I forgive you'; it was 'If you ever hurt or humiliate me again, you're going to regret it.'

I didn't want to cause Stefan pain.

But I knew that I would do anything Katherine asked, no matter how disturbing the request.

I stood up straighter and pulled his arm down to his side, gripping more than necessary. My love for Stefan would not come before my love for Katherine; that was one thing I knew for sure. And the more I thought about it, the bolder I became.

Stefan gasped in pain at my grip but I didn't let go. Instead, I leaned close to his ear, my lips almost touching it.

He gave an involuntary shiver and I smirked.

"You can challenge me all you want, Stefan, but you'll always be on the losing side," I murmured softly into his ear, before letting his wrist fall to his side.

Satisfied with the distraught expression on his face, I moved to walk away from him, but was promptly tackled to the hardwood floor. I gasped as I hit it. Stefan, with a surprising amount of strength, flipped me over and sat on my chest - and then proceeded to beat the hell out of me, pummelling me with both of his fists. Blows landed to my face, neck, and shoulders, and for the entire world, I couldn't get him off of me. His bout of anger and adrenaline gave him power that held me stationary.

I tried to raise my hands to at least protect myself, but it was impossible. He slammed them back down onto the floor. He didn't even seem to notice that he had reopened the wound on his neck.

He was crushing me with his weight and I felt trapped. I struggled to get out from under him, but all he said was, "I'm not done with you," and continued to hit me. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, but couldn't have been more than five minutes, Stefan released me. He got up and I thought he was going to leave, so I stood up, too, my legs shaking. My nose and lip were bleeding and I could feel my eye swelling.

But then I was slammed into the wall by Stefan, so hard that my original painting of James Whistler's 'Symphony in White, No.1' rattled and nearly came straight off the wall. A cry of pain escaped my lips, but Stefan just smirked as he leaned in real close and set his lips to my neck. "Believe me, Damon, if given the opportunity to tear you open..."

I closed my eyes, feeling his teeth nip at my skin.

"...I wouldn't. Because I'm not like you." I opened my eyes, and found myself looking back into his, the animal in his eyes gone. His expression had softened considerably but he was still breathing hard from the exertion of kicking my ass.

I trembled, thinking I was going to collapse, but he held me up.

"I love her, too, but please Damon...doesn't lose you." He let go of me and gave me one last lingering look before he turned around.

"You better fix yourself up before Father sees you."

And then he was gone and I was left to drown in misery.


It didn't take long for Elena and I to spot Damon's car, parked on the side of the road by the woods. The entire ride had been uncomfortably silent. I was still thinking about how she had betrayed me by sleeping with my brother.

But she did love him – that much was true. It still didn't make it right. Especially since I knew that she loved me, too.

I sighed and pulled my car over and parked behind his. Despite my anger, my worry was increasing. Elena and I got out of the vehicle and began to look around. She stopped suddenly, gazing into the trees. The sunlight of the day streaked through them, giving them an ethereal look.

"Stefan," she said softly, "Damon's in there. I can feel him."

I raised an eyebrow. If he was in fact in the woods, then I should have been able to at least sense his presence or smell him. I moved closer to Elena, and after some hesitation, took her hand in mine. "Then I guess we should go in."

We walked through the woods slowly and carefully, and we were really beginning to get in deep when I smelled it.

Blood - and lots of it.

I sucked in my breath and Elena looked at me worriedly. "What is it?"

"Blood," I whispered. "The scent is overpowering." We walked a few more paces until we came to a clearing.

Just as my eyes came to rest upon the heap, Elena let out a terrified scream.

My brother lay crumpled on his side, motionless in the dirt. He was soaked in his own blood, his clothes torn. Cuts marred his face and dirt streaked across his alabaster skin. The dark hair stuck to his forehead in a bloody mess.

Elena was choking back sobs before she even got to him. She dropped to her knees in the dirt on one side, while I did the same on the other. "Damon!" she whimpered.

I could smell the vervain radiating off of him, so I proceeded carefully as I pressed two fingers to the base of his throat. I was greeted with a murmur so soft that it could hardly be called a heartbeat.

"Damon," I said quietly, trying to reach his mind with mine. His eyebrow twitched slightly as I brushed my hand carefully over his cheek. Elena had taken one of his hands and was holding it tightly. At least the person who did this had been kind enough to leave his ring on.

This immediately clued me in that they did not want him dead – that perhaps they were only sending a message.

I felt my features harden. I may not be on the best of terms with Damon most of the time, especially right now, but whoever did this was going to pay dearly. And when I found them, I fully intended to send a message of my own.