Chapter 25. Missing

The thumping of the bass blowing out of the speakers made her body sway. With an ice cold drink in her hand and not caring for once in her life, she let her smile beam from ear to ear.

Never going back to that stuffy building and being reminded of all the awful memories of Klaus Mikaelsen, his sister, and being thrown into a job without warning made her feel free. The constant reminder of Damon lingered in the back of her mind, but she knew she could risk a few more hours before getting the wrath of him. He would surely be pissed by her decision and how sudden it was. His voice floated in her head already, as she knew how he would react and exactly what he would say.

"I think you've had enough." Matt shouted over the noise and discarded the beer from her hand.

"Hey!" She yelled. "I paid for that."

"And I'm cutting you off." He replied. "I'll call Caroline to come get you."

Pouting and glaring at the crowd that was now gathering inside the grill, she brushed her hair off her face. Her cheeks were warm and her eyes were fuzzy. The sensation that numbed her body was perfect and she didn't want to leave this state. Alcohol seemed like the solution to avoiding the dreaded conversation with Damon. Pulling out her phone from her purse, she checked it. Still nothing. Her inbox and voicemail were empty. She was sure he would have somehow got wind of her abrupt departure from the office earlier, but nothing indicated that he had. It was going close to over 36 hours since she had last seen or talked to him. Maybe he was being held up in his office or maybe he was avoiding their talk just as much as she was. Deep down she sensed Damon knew fully well that they had gone down the path too fast, too soon.

She loved him more than anything and that was the problem. She fell for the one man she could not have.

The action of slipping into a depressed state was nearing close and she snapped out of it quickly. The force of another body collided with her as she waited by the bar for Matt to return from calling Caroline. She stumbled back as tall, shorthaired brunette bumped into her and spilled her drink on her top.

"I'm so sorry." The girl's high-pitched and obnoxious drunk voice said.

Trying her best not to lose it, Elena shook her head and held out her hands. "It's fine." She said even though it wasn't. Her shirt was soaked and it was cold. Wiping her hand down the new stain, she looked for Matt again. He was nowhere to be seen. With no luck in his assistance, she dashed for the bathroom.

Inside it was clear, not a soul in sight. Elena leaned over the sink as she wetted a paper towel and dabbed the stain. It only seemed to spread as she continued to attempt to make it disappear. Maybe Matt calling Caroline to come get her wasn't such a bad idea after all. She couldn't stay looking like this. It was time to go home.

As Elena threw away the paper towel and examined the stain once more, the stall door to her left swung open. She froze, as she was well aware no one had been in the bathroom besides her. Hesitating before looking up and staring into the reflection of the mirror, she had a funny feeling she would be seeing double.

"What do you want?" She asked out loud still with her head bowed.

"Hello Elena," Her voice smoothly answered.

In the reflection of the mirror she stood. She leaned up against the wall with one of her legs propped up and her arms crossed. Her lips were puckered and her eyes were like staring into a darker version of herself. What did Katherine want now?

"What do you want? What are you doing here?" Elena asked again shifting her eyes around the bathroom.

"Ugh," Katherine sighed throwing her arms down. "Why do you people assume I always want something?"

Whether she had intentions or not, Katherine knew how to stir the pot without breaking a sweat. Elena was cautious as the sultry vampire closed in on her and she quickly turned around to face Katherine.

"Say what you need to say." Elena spat.

With an innocent smirk hiding so much more than innocence, Katherine bowed her head. "I came to say that I'm leaving. Mystic Falls isn't living up to the expectations I hoped for and I'm bored." She informed her.

"And you came to tell me that?" She asked.

"Yes," Katherine answered.

It couldn't be the only reason she came. She appreciated the heads up for her departure, but Katherine was more complex than that. Elena feared what would come out of her mouth next. However, her attempts to threaten her and Damon's relationship would fail. They were taking time apart, or she was. She still had not heard from him and knew her drunken state was not the right time to clarify the situation.

"Okay then." Elena responded hoping their conversation would be minimal, but when Katherine didn't bother to move she knew she wasn't done. Lifting her eyebrow, she asked, "Aren't you leaving?"

"Not just yet." She said with a twinkle in her eye.

Her back arched backwards as the sink counter dug into her flesh. Katherine had her bent and choking as her fingers curled around her throat holding her abnormally paralyzed. She should have seen this act of violence coming from a million miles away. It was long overdue.

"What are you going to kill me first?" Elena asked breathlessly.

With the danger and great possibility she could be dead in a matter of seconds, Elena did not fear Katherine like she once did. As she stared into her black soul through her bold brown eyes, she swore to not let any fear sink in.

"And have Damon come hunt me down, I don't think so." She replied. "I just have wanted to do this for so long and now I finally can."

"You've got me, Katherine. What do you want?" Elena growled.

"Being a vampire I think I make it pretty clear when I say your world and my world don't mix. Sure we intermingle, but nothing permanent." Katherine explained. "If you were smart you would end your precious play time with Damon before you go down a path you will never be cut out for. He is a part of my world and there is just no room for you in that."

"What Damon and I decide to do with our lives is none of your business." She tried to speak with little air.

"That's where you're wrong." Katherine uttered and applied more pressure around her neck. "It is my business. I made Damon into who he is. He is mine and always will be."

Spots were forming around the bathroom and Katherine was becoming a bit hazy to stare at. Her airflow was short and the previously consumed alcohol was now swarming her into a state of desperate confusion.

"I will never let you become one of us." She said in a guttural voice. "I rather watch you die and than live forever with him."

"Be…careful. You might…just…get that…now." Elena choked.

"I'm not going to kill you, Elena. In fact, I'm not going to even compel you to forget this conversation." Katherine's tone changed from hoarse to sweet. It still had a menacing sound to it though. "I want you to remember everything; all of it."

Squeezing one last time with all her might, Elena felt a soaring amount of pain on her throat before it was released. She held on to the counter with a bowed head as she tried to steady herself and not fall. Katherine hovered around her watching.

"Too bad Damon isn't here to save you." Katherine teased.

Elena rubbed her throat feeling the mark she left on her. A soft chuckle met her ears as she swayed back and forth. The dark figure of Katherine still stood before her, but her eyes were fluttering shut. It was all happening so fast. One moment she was standing and the next she was crashing to the ground. She wasn't as strong as she thought she was. It had worked. Katherine's plan had gone perfectly. Battered and bruised, Elena's body hit the floor.

Like times before when she was in distress he had come to her rescue, but she was alone. No one was coming to save her. Some drunken chick would soon stumble into the bathroom and find her on the floor not moving. She didn't want to go through this again. Where was Damon when she needed him?

The sounds of hushed voices and the bright light of morning were what awoke her. Elena squirmed uncomfortably to life as she found herself on the couch in her living room. She had not recalled coming home or even what happened next after she collapsed to bathroom floor of the Mystic Grill. All she could remember was Katherine threatening her and enjoying the pain she caused as Elena choked for more and more air. After that it all went blank.

As she tried to sit up and the blank covering her body fell down, the pounding headache crept its way into a full force. She grabbed her forehead feeling the heat radiating from her skin and squished her eyes close. It was awful. Part of it was from falling, but the other had to be from drinking. The two mixed together was a bad combination.

The voices floating around halted as she opened one of her eyes to find a worried Caroline rushing toward her with a glass of water and two aspirins. "Oh good, you're awake!" She sighed.

Caroline sat on the edge of the couch as she pushed herself up into a sitting position and gladly took the water and aspirin. She could feel Caroline's eyes glued to her as she looked up from the glass of water. Pure concern and maybe horror were bundled in her stare, as her eyes fell not on her face, but her neck. Elena raised her hand up to feel the marks of Katherine's fingers still present on her skin.

"How bad is it?" Elena asked.

"Bad." Caroline responded.

"Did you, did you see her?" She struggled to ask.

It wasn't long ago when she discovered Caroline wasn't completely clueless to what Damon and Stefan were, not to mention what their lifestyle brought along with it. This included the good and the bad.

"No." Her voice was low. "Elena, I found you on the bathroom floor. Matt called me to come get you. He said you were cut off. You quit your job?"

Glancing over at her, she knew the distress in Caroline's face at the last bit she had mentioned. She hadn't told anyone really besides Matt about her brash decision. Damon, whether he had found out through corporation or not, still had not heard it from her yet. She dreaded that conversation.

"Yes." Elena answered, but tried to direct the conversation back to what happened after Katherine nearly choked her to death. "How did I get home?"

"Stefan carried you back here. You were out of it when I found you." Caroline told her about the night before. "You weren't responding and I thought we were going to have to take you to the hospital, but Stefan advised not too."

"It was Katherine." Elena sighed. "She cornered me in the bathroom."

"Why did she do this?" Caroline asked.

"Cause she can, Care." She shook her head. "She said she was leaving."

"I just don't understand…" Her voice trailed off as Stefan stepped into the living room. His arms were crossed and he forced a small smile upon his face.

Falling silent, Elena looked over to Stefan. "Thank you." She said sincerely. Her gaze shifted between him and Caroline. It was strange knowing there were no more secrets anymore between all of them. Everyone was aware of what was going on and the truth of it all.

Her lips parted as if she was going to say something, but she pushed them together. Caroline bowed her head as Stefan stared at her from afar. She sensed something unsaid between them. Maybe it had to do with Katherine considering Stefan also had a past with her or maybe it was something entirely different. Whatever it was Elena didn't want to get involved. She already had enough to deal with in her life. The thought of Damon came to mind as she wondered about him.

"Katherine is the least of our worries now." Stefan spoke confidently.

"Right." Caroline added.

"Care, I'm sorry I've been a mess lately." Elena said softly. She reached for her friend's hand. "I know I haven't been the a good friend to you. I feel like the only time we've shared is at my expense of something stupid."

"It's okay." She smirked. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'll be once this hangover is gone." She joked.

"So, why did you quit?" Caroline asked suspiciously.

When Caroline was curious there was no escaping her questioning. Elena bit her lip and placed the glass on the table nearby. "It wasn't right. None of it was. I mean what Damon did was great I guess, but…" She explained, but was quickly cut off by Caroline's persistent manner again.

"Have you talked to him since…since the last time we talked?" She appeared subtle and inquiring information.

Elena shrugged her shoulders. "No."

Caroline looked over her shoulder at Stefan, who seemed deep in thought. Suddenly the atmosphere in the room changed. Something was off. The way they shared a quiet moment, a secret thought only they would know made her wary. It seemed the secrets weren't all out in the open after all.

"What's going on? Have you told Damon about what happened? Is he on his way?" Elena quickly probed.

It had been over two days since she had last seen or spoke to him. His absence from the situation did appear unusual considering in the past he was at her side without hesitation when something like this, Katherine attacking her had happened. But Damon was nowhere to be found inside the confines of her home. Should she be worried? Or maybe he was simply on his way.

Opening her mouth as if she were about to speak, Caroline halted as the pounding on the front door came abruptly. Stefan rushed over to it. With some relief, she knew it had to be Damon finally coming to comfort her. However, when the door swung open and a wild looking, slightly buzzed Alaric marched in she knew she was out of the loop. He stomped his way over to the kitchen followed by the sound of glasses clanking and returning with a bottle of bourbon. With a shaky hand he poured himself a drink making her nausea even thinking of alcohol.

"Please Alaric feel free to raid our liquor cabinet whenever you feel like it." Caroline said in sarcastic tone.

"I need this!" He barked. "I didn't see you out all last night bending over backwards to…"

"Okay!" Stefan shouted holding is hands up and preventing a quarrel between the two. "What did you find?"

Gulping down his glass, Alaric shook his head and leaned forward. His back was hunched and he looked her way. "Nothing. I found absolutely nothing." He sighed.

"How is this even possible?" Stefan groaned.

"What's going on?" Elena asked.

"Maybe you missed something." Caroline said. "Maybe you had one too many drinks and…"

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Alaric yelled setting down his glass.

Confused and thrown into a whirlwind of bickering, Elena began to panic. It was clear something was going on. Alaric didn't just show up to hang out especially in the early hours of the morning. He was here with a purpose and so was Stefan. Whatever it was she looked around and knew with Damon nowhere to be found it had to be about him. She felt the frustration building inside of her.

"What's going on?!" Elena screamed. Her headache pulsed as all eyes in the room were on her. "Where's Damon?"

Caroline's hand was quickly caressing hers as she looked at her with sincerity and worry. Elena shifted her gaze all over the room. Stefan remained quiet and still, while Alaric stared off into the distance shaking his head. They all knew. They knew the answer to her question, yet none of them would budge.

"Where's Damon?" She asked frantically.

"He's missing." Caroline finally answered her.

"Missing?"

How could Damon possibly be missing?

"No one has been able to get a hold of him for the past 36 hours." Stefan spoke up.

"And I've been trying to track him along with Stefan." Alaric chimed in. "I stayed up all night trying to find him or look for a trail, but I found nothing. And no I didn't have one too many. I was completely sober all night until about an hour ago."

His last part of directed toward Caroline. It was obvious she disapproved of his drinking habits. Even she was not fond of him always under the influence, but after living with him for some time Elena understood there was no changing Alaric. With his hobby of hunting vampires and all things that go bump in the night, she understood why he might have a drinking problem.

"Maybe he ran off somewhere to get away." Elena tried to reason his disappearance. "I know we have been going through a lot lately, I don't know, maybe he wanted to get away from all of this, me."

"No Elena." Caroline squeezed her hand.

"This isn't like him." Stefan said. "Damon does like to be adventurous, but he also likes to plan ahead and give his work prior knowledge to doing so. It's like he just up and left everything as it is. I've been looking over the paperwork and he wouldn't just leave everything unhandled like this."

"Well, then what do you think is going on?" Elena asked befuddled.

"Someone has him." Stefan replied.

Rolling her eyes, Elena couldn't believe that. "He's a vampire. How is that even possible that someone has him? Do you think its another vampire?" Elena asked quickly at the thought.

"No." Stefan stated. "I would have sensed if it was."

"What are suggesting then?" Her voice shook.

"He's suggesting whoever has him knows about him. They have weakened him." Alaric said clearly. "Or worse."

Her heart dropped into her stomach. The thought of Damon somewhere weak and unable to defend himself scared her, but that was just the icing on the cake considering the thought of something worse. She couldn't lose him, not like this. Regret started to settle in. So many things needed to be said and now she feared she never would be able to say them again. She looked to Stefan, who for the first time ever seemed equally as frightened by the whole situation as she was.

"We have to find him!" Elena uttered in a panicked voice.

"We will. We will." Caroline assured her.

AN: Sorry for the long delayed update. Summer is right around the corner and this time of year I tend to be working and traveling a lot. This is just a heads up for the future. Also, I think I'm going to post updates on Thursday from now on to keep it sort of on a schedule. Thank you for those of you who still read this story. I know I've probably lost quite a bit of readers since my updates have been slow and that's okay. I love all of you since you made this story into something bigger than I thought it ever would be. Anyways, what did you think of the chapter? Do you think that Katherine really is leaving for good and what about Damon missing? Leave me a review.