Chapter Twenty-Four: The One That Got Away

I never meant to get us in this deep. I never meant for this to mean a thing
Oh, I wish you were the one, wish you were the one that got away
I got caught up by the chase and you got high on every little game
I wish you were the one, wish you were the one that got away
Oh, if I could go back in time when you only held me in my mind
Just a longing gone without a trace. Oh, I wish I'd never ever seen your face
I wish you were the one, wish you were the one that got away
~The Civil Wars

Her eyes burned and her heart was pounding as she tried to focus on the dark road. Nilly kept wiping her eyes, trying to get rid of the tears but they kept coming. Her headlights illuminated the night while she drove. As her Jeep went over WickeryBridge, she couldn't help the sob that escaped her mouth.

How can she be so stupid, so blind? They were vampires, cold undead bloodsucking vampires. Damon, who had made Nilly remember that it was okay to laugh again, was a vampire. God, the world felt like poison on her tongue. She could still feel his lips on hers but instead of making her feel tipsy it made her feel sick. She furiously rubbed her mouth, trying to erase the memory.

And Elena, the one person who had always been there for Nilly, had known. She goddamn knew! She kept it from Nilly. She kept a monster's secret. She's dating one of them, knowingly. Nilin felt nauseas. Elena even sat there as Nilly poured her heart out to her and Stefan about Christian. Nilly had trusted all of them, confided in them and each one of them lied to Nilly's face.

It was probably her own fault, it's always her fault. She's just a death magnet, it follows her around. Her luck she'd fall for another vampire. What were the chances? Nilly kept thinking to her first night here, the handsome mysterious guy who had bought her shots. He wasn't trying to have a conversation with her that night, he was looking for desert.

Was it Nilly's resemblance to Elena that made him pick her out? Was it all some scheme to get back at Stefan, his brother? Now she knew it was the only reason he even looked twice at her. Then she remembered the first time he kissed her, how she noticed something wrong with his face and then he disappeared. His midnight eyes, the ones Nilly had lost herself in countless times, the ones she dreamt about. He had turned away because they were contorting, the veins crawling out, pupil dilating, blood seeping into them. The way a vampire looks before their fangs extend and they attack. Shivers ran down her body, bile rising in her throat.

Her chest was so sore, as if someone had pulled her heart out of her [chest.] They might as well have, she had no one now. Not one single person to protect from Christian. All those promises were dead, everything was dead. Maybe that was a bit dramatic but she did tell them everything, and for what? They all lied to her.

Nilly wiped her eyes again, as she sat up in the seat. Her head was spinning. She needed to focus on the road. She didn't know where she was going, she had nowhere else to go. Maybe she'd just drive until her car ran out of gas, then she'd just walk until something caught up with her. God, the whiskey was making her stomach heave and her vision to blur. Or was that just the tears that started again? She loosened her grip on the steering wheel and used her knuckles to wipe her eyes.

It was already too late when she saw him, the dark silhouette of a man in the middle of the road. Nilly gasped, grasping the steering wheel and trying to turn it, but her reaction was dulled. Her Jeep skidded, hit the man with great force and started flipping. Nilly screamed as her world spun. The sound of bending and scraping metal filled her ears. She heard glass break as her body was thrown back and forth inside the car. Then everything stopped, the movement, the noise, nothing but Nilly's heavy breathing and whimpering filled the silence.

She was upside down, and though the car stopped turning, her vision hadn't. Air escaped her lungs in a cough, the seatbelt restricting her chest. She could see broken glass under her as she tried to unbuckle the seatbelt. She tried to release it but it wouldn't budge. Her hand felt its way down to the buckle, her heart dropped when she felt the bent mangled latch. She was stuck. Frantically Nilly tired pulling on the seatbelt. She began getting lightheaded, her vision graying out.

She looked out the smashed passenger seat window and almost let out a shriek. A few yards away was a dark mass laying in the road, the man she had hit. Her eyes widened in horror as the man began to move, no human could have survived that. Which only meant one thing… He moved slowly, Nilly could hear the popping and cracking of bones as the man began to stand. She braced her hands on the roof of her car, trying to get a deep breath. She fumbled with the door, pushing on it for her life as the hooded man got to his knees. Her heart was pounding, the adrenaline rushing through her veins. The door was stuck, the impact had crushed it inwards.

Tears spilled out her eyes as she urgently struggled to get free. Her breaths came in gasps when, with one final pop, the man stood up and began walking towards her. She pushed on the door desperately as the black boots closed in on her. He was at the door, he began to bend down. Even in her panicked state she knew who'd be under the black hood. She saw the man's hand reach in through the shattered window. Nilly let out a scream.

Suddenly he stopped, stood up and with inhumanly speed blurred away from her. Nilly breathed heavily, leaning towards the window. Confused and trembling she looked to where he had disappeared into the night. All of a sudden a shadowed face appeared in the window. Nilly screamed again, throwing her hands over her face.

"How you doing in there?" the man said. Nilly removed her hands from her eyes.

"Damon?" she sobbed. He was crouching on the ground looking at her.

"You look stuck," he said, pushing off the ground and standing up. Nilly was fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Damon," she cried. "It's-it's my seatbelt. I- can't…" she mumbled. Then suddenly she heard metal screech and the thud of something hitting the pavement. Damon had pulled her door off the car.

"Shh, shh, shh," he said. "I'm going to get you out of there." He was crouching down again, his eyes on her. She breathed heavily, the belt still squeezing her.

"I want you to put your hands on the roof," he instructed her calmly. She did what he said, pressing her palms onto the roof under her. "Just like that," he said. Nilly tried to focus on his voice. "You ready?" he asked. She nodded weakly, bracing her arms.

"One… two…three," Damon counted softly. On three she heard the moan of metal as he pulled something. Nilly could breathe again. She dropped out of her seat, her weak arms doing little to help her. "There we go," Damon said, reaching for her. She tried to help him pull her out, but her body wasn't working right. He got her out easily, he held her in his arms. Her head pounded as she tried to focus on her vision.

"You okay?" he asked, concern tainting his voice. "Can you stand? Is anything broken?" Nilly felt as he tried to place her feet on the ground, aware of the small groans coming from her mouth. She struggled to stable her feet but they felt like jello, she held on to him for support, almost standing.

"Don't move too fast, Nilin." Damon said. Her eyes were closing. "Nilin, Nilin look at me," his voice urged. She felt his cool hand go to her chin as she struggled to focus on him. His dark eyes looked her over, watching her eyes. "You're okay," he mumbled softly. She stared back at him, there was something she needed to tell him before the darkness closed around her. Her lips tried to form the words, her voice coming out like a croak.

"It was him." Then her knees buckled, he caught her instantly, lifting her back in his arms. Nilly's mind faded out.

Damon held Nilin in his arms, he watched as her eyes rolled back and her legs went weak. He caught her as she fell, her head going back. Damon cradled her in his arms, listening to her heartbeat. It was pumping evenly, no signs of struggle or slowing. He looked down the dark deserted road and, making a decision, he stood up with Nilin in his arms.

"Upsy daisy," he said as he began to walk. Nilin mumbled something, he felt her hand grip his leather jacket weakly. Damon carried her down the road, being careful not to jostle her around too much. He took her to his Camaro, laying her gently in the passenger seat before going around to the drivers.

He started the car and then looked over to Nilin. Her head lean against the window, her soft pale eyelids shut. Her brown hair fell to one side, exposing her neck. He could see the bite again, she hid it well. But after the struggle she just went threw he could see it easily on her creamy neck.

Damon had to tear his eyes away as he felt an ache in his jaw. His eyes found her lips, slightly parted. He felt that pain in his chest again as the memory of her scream echoed in his head. He had seen the wreck from far down the road with his sharpened sight. He wasn't going to do much about it, he could care less, until he recognized the green Jeep. Damon had stopped his car and gotten out when a scream pierced the night air. He took off immediately, recognizing her voice.

He had seen the hooded figure, but whoever it was took off before Damon reached the wreckage. When he bent down to find Nilin in the car, upside down, hair hanging everywhere and tears in her eyes, he felt something almost like panic in his chest. But vampires don't panic.

He was worried, that's what it was, worry. When he held her in his arms though, that feeling went away. That was, until she muttered those words before collapsing on him. It was him... Was she talking about the vampire who booked it out of there when he saw Damon coming? Was that the 'him' from her dreams, the one she had been telling him about before? Had Damon been that close to the bastard?

He glanced at her again, his thoughts fading back to earlier that evening, when he was actually enjoying himself, watching Nilin dance and smile. Listening to her heartbeat quicken at the slightest touch from him, and she wasn't a bad kisser. If Stefan and Elena hadn't walked in on them, if Nilin hadn't heard them talking, if she never found out what Damon was, she wouldn't have been on this road, she wouldn't have crashed. She would still be with him, safe and not pissed off. Oh, she'll be angry as hell when she woke up, he could handle that. He accepted peoples' rage before their compassion. He was just hoping she wouldn't try to kill him.

Her eyes flashed in his head, the way she had looked at him before she stormed out the door. They were piercing, like daggers, and cold. Her words running through his head, I was dumb enough to think you really gave a crap about me. Funny thing was, Damon didn't give a crap about anyone. But Nilin had unintentionally weaseled her way into his constant thoughts. He guessed he could learn to care for her. He already showed he did by pulling her out of the mangled Jeep.

He sighed as he drove through the night, he'll try to explain things to her when she woke up. She might not be happy with him, and her crystal eyes might still be cold, but she'd be alive.

Author's Notes:

Chapter Twenty Four up! Have an amazing weekend, guys. See you Monday :)
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