Thanks for the reviews! I do not own anything in this story, except for Becca, everything else belongs to their rightful owners.
Chapter 23
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'Dear diary,
Yesterday I learned that everything I believe in, everyone that I ever I believe in, was a lie. Monsters weren't just bad guys who robbed store and stole purses. No, the real monsters were the creatures who walked among the living as if they were one of them too. They were my friends, they were the people I trusted the most. How do you trust someone after they've all lied to you for so long? It's been almost a year since Stefan and Damon came to town. It's been almost a year since all of my friends have started lying to me.
Even Jeremy.'
Becca was pulled away from her diary by the sound of a car horn honking loudly outside of the house. She knew who it was. It was Damon, they were bringing her over to the boarding house before dropping her off at school. She couldn't even begin to think about school after what she went through the night before. She felt sick as she made her way down the stairs and out the door.
She said nothing to him as he opened the passenger door and let her inside of the car. He sighed and jogged around the car before getting inside of the driver's side of the car. He turned the engine on and took off back toward the boarding house. They road down the streets of Mystic Falls in silence. Becca glanced over at Damon to see that his glare was locked on the road ahead of them.
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Everyone present sat around the Salvatore living room, sad expressions on their faces as they looked anywhere but at the person they were avoiding. Becca sat curled up in one of the chairs, a glare in her eyes as she looked at the present four in front of her with pure disgust. How could they all lie to her day after day and still be able to call themselves her friends? Her family? Was she really that worthless that they didn't see telling her the truth important enough? She looked over at the two people who meant the most to her. How could they lie to her? She could understand Caroline on some leave, since she was a vampire after all. She couldn't really blame her that much, she was just trying to protect herself.
It had taken two hours to explain everything to Becca. Elena and Caroline had been waiting at the boarding house for them when they got there. Becca was silent through out everything, not asking a single question. She just let Stefan explain one thing after another to he was finally done, she was curled up on the couch. She didn't want any of them near her.
After a few minutes of just silence, she looked up at them all. Elena and Caroline winced when they saw the betrayal in her eyes. "Was anything any of you said to me true? Are any of you actually my friend at all?" She asked them, but her main focus was just on the two girls. Caroline opened her mouth to say something to her, but she wasn't done. "Was I just some joke to you guys? I trusted you guys with everything, but none of you trusted me back. Why?" She asked them.
Elena couldn't help but think of how Jeremy had taken everything when he found out the truth as well. He had felt so betrayed by everyone. He had come to terms with it though when he needed to. Becca would have to too. "Becca, you can't be upset with us. We were only trying to protect you from all of this by not involving you with any of it." Elena said out to her. The others immediately shot her a quick glare of their own. That was not the thing to say.
Becca finally felt her anger boil over. How dare she say that she didn't have a right to upset with any of them? What world did she live on that lying to someone you say you claim 'care' about was okay? Where was the Elena that would have died to protect her just yesterday, cause this certainly wasn't her. She got up from her curled position and shot the deadliest look at the older brunette. "I don't have a right to be mad, Elena? Are you completely mental? You all lied to me for almost a year! You all made me think that I was crazy whenever I saw something I shouldn't have! God, you even erased my memory when you, Elena, thought it fit!" She was not beyond upset, and they couldn't blame her.
"Becca, if you'd just . . ." Elena started to say, but she was cut off.
"That was my choice, Elena. Not any of yours. You should have just told me the truth about all of this!" She screamed out before running out of the boarding house.
Damon was the first to go after her. She wasn't safe alone. "I'll take her to the school. Elena, please just leave her alone today." He warned the others who had gone to follow him. They all stayed put as he went running after the girl. They watched as he picked her up over his shoulder and dropped her into his car. He hopped into the drivers seat and took off.
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Becca was out of Damon's car so far he wasn't even sure he had parked the car before she was opening the door to leave. She didn't want to spend another minute with any of them. She was so worked up that she dropped all her books on the ground when she stumbled over the curb. She fought back a scream as she shrugged off her bag from her shoulder and threw it at the lamp pole.
She took her anger out on her books as she kicked them angrily. She was about to hit the lamp pole herself when and arm suddenly wrapped around her waist and moved back a step or two. "Hey, calm down. Take a deep breath before you break your hand by hitting that thing." Jeremy said as he spun her around. The second her eyes landed on him, her dark eyes filled with betrayal.
Elena had said when he found out he hadn't taken it well either. So he had to know how it felt to be lied to so many times. He had his memory erased, just like she did, by Damon. How could he stand there and be her friend and still be able to look at her after every lie he told her? "How can you make jokes with me right now? After everything Elena and I went through yesterday?" She hissed at him as she looked around to make sure no one heard her.
Without warning, he pulled her into his arms and just held onto her. He buried his face in her brown curls and took a deep breath, taking in her sweet vanilla like scent. Like always, he could smell something mixed in with the vanilla, but like always, he can never figure out what it was. She felt so fragile and tiny in his bigger, more muscular, arms.
She went rigid in his arms. She wanted to melt into his arms so much, but at the same time, she wanted to push him off of her and hit him. He was suppose to be her best friend, but he lied to her day after day. "I'm so glad you're home and safe." He whispered to her. That was enough to make her snap. She squirmed in his arms and pushed him off of her.
It took a lot of strength to do that, but she had managed to do it some how. He didn't have any right to care about her. If he cared about her at all, he wouldn't have lied to her. He would have told her the truth, and kept trying until she finally believe what he was telling her. "You lied to my face for days, Jeremy. Maybe even longer than that. I know what everyone is, and I know what Damon did to me, to the both of us." She told him angrily.
He didn't know what to say to her because she was right. He did lie to her, even after knowing how he felt after he found out the truth. "I was going to tell you. I was going to get Tyler to drive me down to Florida and I was going to tell you everything, Becca, but then I really thought about it." He paused as he looked up at her with that 'please forgive me' expression. "I pictured you having fun with new friends, learning how to surf, and you know, having a life. The life you were suppose to have. Who was I to barge in and ruin that?" He asked her.
When he put it like that, some of her coldness disappeared, but she had to remain strong in front of him. She couldn't break down the second he opened his mouth and told her something sweet, something she had wanted to hear. "That doesn't excuse you not telling me when I came home, Jeremy. You've had weeks to tell me, but you still didn't. You didn't even try to. How am I suppose to trust anyone, especially you, Jeremy, when all you guys did was lie to me?" His pain showed clearly on his face as he saw her own betrayed expression.
He could have been okay if she was just upset with him, but he was finding it harder to know that she no longer trusted him. He opened his mouth to say something to her, but it was too late. She had picked up her things and was she already walking away from him. He watched as she got further and further away from him. He flinched when he saw her stumbled a step and stop. She seemed to shake for a moment. He was about to go over to her when Tyler beat him to her.
He watched as he checked her over and felt her forehead to see if she was sick or anything. She tried to tell him that she was fine, but he was happy to see Tyler not listen to her. He grabbed her books from her hands and dragged her off, to what he guessed, and hoped, was the nurse's office. After a minute, he took out his cell phone and walked away as he dialed a familiar number.
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Becca had managed to convince the nurse that she was alright to go to her classes for the day. She had just stumbled for a second. After school, she had gotten a ride from Matt to the Grill. She wanted to take a break from live and let loose a little, but it didn't seem like fate would let her even do that much. As she walked through the doors, she spotted Bonnie and some other guy talking. She would have been happy for her friend, if she wasn't mad at her too.
Bonnie was a witch, and not in the mean way. Everyone else from their group knew already, all except for her. She had wanted to be there for her friend when Caroline told her that her grams had died, but she couldn't. Bonnie didn't want her to come back just because she was hurt. She should have gone home anyways. Maybe things would have been different now?
She moved toward the pool tables before Bonnie looked over. She had sensed someone watching her. She found a free one and started to rack up the balls. She reached out of the last one, but it was just out of her reach. She froze when an arm reached past her's and grabbed the ball. She could feel their tall body behind her own small one. As they pulled back, she slowly turned around.
Her breathing hitched as she saw Jeremy hovering over her. He was looking down at her with a look that made her body tingle. A million emotions past through his eyes as he looked at her. A flash of a fantasy passed through his head. It was of him picking up her small frame and putting her on the pool table, only to attack her lips with his own. He wouldn't do that though, not outside of his head anyways.
She was worth more to him than that. She deserved better than some kiss on a pool table. He shouldn't even thinking about kissing her at all. For one thing she kind of hated him at the moment, and she had a boyfriend. He would never make Becca become unfaithful. "Can we talk?" He asked her, his voice pleading for her to listen to him.
She wanted to tell him 'of course they could talk', but she knew better than to do that now. He'd just tell her more lies. "We did talk, Jeremy. We've had plenty of other times to talk too, but you never took any of them." She told him as she slipped the ball from his hand and ducked under his arm to move away from him. He watched sadly as she went to start her game.
He was not about to give up on her just because she was mad at him though. Guess he got that trait from his sister. She didn't give up on him when he was mad at her for keeping this all a secret from him either. He grabbed another stick from the case and moved beside her. "Well, I'm not letting another slip by me." He told her. "Lets make a deal." Upon seeing her curiosity, he knew that he had peaked her interest. "If you win, I'll leave you alone and won't bug you to forgive me anymore. If I win, you stop being stubborn and let me back in." He told her as he took his first turn.
She seemed to actually think about the deal for a minute before nodding her head to him. She was in. "It's a deal. Prepare to loose, Gilbert." She told him as she took her next turn, sinking four of the striped balls. He gulped when he saw her preparing to take another shot. He had forgotten that underneath that cute little princess type skin, she was a pro at pool.
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Hours had gone by, but the two were still playing a game of pool. Jeremy had lost the first game, but they kept going. For some reason, neither wanted to stop. It was like Becca wanted Jeremy to win, but was too proud to let him win. Bonnie had caught wind of them not long ago, but she had decided to leave them alone. She would look over occasionally to check on them though.
Jeremy smiled as he watched Becca spin around with a cheer. She had sunk another two balls. She was winning this game hands down, once again. "Whoo hoo! Go me! Go Me! It's my birthday! It's my birthday! Who's the . . . whoa." She stumbled a bit as her hand went up to her hand suddenly. He flinched, ready to catch her. "Too much spinning. The room is . . . is spinning with me." She mumbled out.
He watched her carefully. He didn't want her to fall to the floor or something. She took a deep breath before looking back up at him. "You alright?" He asked her. He took a step toward her, but she took another one back. He looked back at her a bit hurt and a little confused. She mumbled something about her winning the bet as she picked up her discarded jacket and taking off out of the Grill.
Jeremy watched as she practically ran away from him. His shoulders fell as a look of pain crossed his face. She had ran away from him before. Just because they were best friends didn't mean that they didn't have their fights too. This was the first time he wanted to actually ran after her. He usually just figured that he'd see her the next day and try to make up with her then, but not this time. He had a gut feeling that if he didn't run after her now, that he wouldn't be able to tomorrow.
Bonnie stepped in front of his line of sight. She gave him an 'are you seriously still here?' look. He shook his head, snapping back from his thoughts. He grabbed his jacket and bag before hurrying after the direction Becca had gone. As he went by Bonnie, he gave her a small hug and a quick 'Thanks Bonnie' as he picked up his pace toward the door.
He slowed down as he got outside. He scanned the parking lot for her, he was really hoping that he didn't miss her. As he was looking around, he caught sight of a slump on the ground. He didn't even notice that he was edging closer to it. It was like his body was being called to it. As he crept closer to the slump, details started to form on it. It was no longer an 'it' any longer for one thing. It was now a girl as far as he could see.
He leaned in closer as he saw the pale skin of the girls legs. The dress she was wearing was starting to look familiar to him. His heart dropped as he saw the face that went with the legs attached to them. "Becca?" He was dreading being right as he got closer. Soon her angelic face came into full view. "Oh, god! Becca!" He dropped to her side and picked her up in his arms.
She was freezing cold already, but thankfully still perfectly fine. She had a bad gash on her head, but that was about it. He had started to shake her small form, trying to wake her up. He just wanted to see her eyes open for him. After a few painfully long moments, her eyes fluttered open. She looked around confused before looking up at him. A small smile formed on her lips for a moment. "Hey, Jere." She whispers out to him.
He can't help but laugh at that. Out of all the things she could say to him? She chooses to just say 'hi' to him. "I find you knocked out in the parking lot, you almost gave me a heart attack, and all you say is 'hi Jere'. You're certainly one of a kind, Becca." He told her as he helped her sit up. He shrugged off his jacket and placed it on her shoulder. "What happened? What happened to your head?" He asked her as he went to touch her bleeding head.
She winced as his fingers touched her head. She wobbly got up to her feet, with the help of Jeremy. She stumbled a little, but he caught her in his arms before she could fall on face again. "I, uh, I . . . I was running and slipped. No big deal, Jere. I'm gonna call Ty and get him to pick me up." She said out to him as she tried to move away from him, but he wouldn't hear of it.
He just shook his head and tightened his grip on her. He was so not letting her out of his sight, especially with that obvious lie as to why she fell. "No way, Becks. I'll drive you to the doctors first to get that gash checked out, and then I'm driving you back home. I don't care if you don't talk to me or you do, but I'm not letting you say no to me this time." He told her.
To further his point, before she could protest, he picked her up right off the ground and into his arms. She let out a scream of protest as he carried her off toward his car. He lifted her up higher before dropping her into his jeep. Before she had a chance to try to escape, he buckled her in and hopped into the driver's side. He started the jeep and took off.
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After getting her head checked out, he drove her home like he had said he would earlier back in the parking lot. He walked her all the way up to her door. She stopped before going inside and turned toward him. "Thanks for taking me, Jere." She told him with a weak smile. He smiled back at her, thinking that she was forgiving him. "But, this changes nothing. I still can't trust you, or anyone else." She told him, her smile completely disappearing.
His smile slowly fell as he watched her. He didn't want to give up, and she knew that he didn't. He took a step forward, trying to find something to say to her, but he couldn't think of anything. She took a step back from him, causing a hurt expression to cross his face. "If you really want me to forgive you, Jeremy, just give me time and do as you promised. I just need a little time to get use to all of this. You all lied to me for weeks, maybe even longer than that." She told him.
He stood there shocked, not knowing what to say to her. She opened her mouth to say that she was sorry, but she knew that she wasn't. She said nothing more to him as she turned and went into her house. She closed the door behind her as she slipped inside. A gasp left her lips as she looked up from the floor. She was about to scream out for help, but a hand covered her lips so quickly, it just wasn't possible.
In front of her was the man those two . . . vampires, had tried to give her and Elena to. It was Elijah. Damon had killed him though, hadn't he? Like really killed him. He was as dead as a vampire could be. Yet, here he was, right in front of her. She tried to scream out, but it only came out as muffles. "Don't scream. I assure you that the boy outside will die if he comes in here and tries to be a hero." Elijah threatened her.
She managed to nod her head fearfully. He slowly let go of her head, removing his hand from her face. She was trying so badly not to shake as he looked down at her with an admiring expression. She flinched as he reached out and caressed her cheek with his knuckle. "Such a beauty. I'm afraid that I forgot how beautiful you once were, Iliana." He said to her softly.
Her frightened expression turned to confusion. Who was this Iliana girl? Was she a vampire too? "I'm Becca, not Iliana." She told him. She watched as a heartbroken expression crossed his face in less time then it took her to blink once. She felt bad for him on some level. She could see it in his eyes, he had feeling for who ever this girl was.
He cleared his throat as he straightened up. He took a step away from her and fixed his tie as he kept his eyes away from her. "Right, of course. I'm sorry, Rebecca. My mistake, it won't happen again." He told her as he cleared his throat again to try to keep the tension away from them. Silence had fallen over them for a moment before he looked back up at her. "I just wanted to check in on you and the Petrova doppelganger. Staking me was very grave mistake your friend made." He told her, a hint of anger playing in his eyes.
She felt her heart race. He could very easily hurt Damon if he wanted to. As much as she wanted to hate him right now, she wouldn't live with herself if something happened to him because he was trying to protect her and Elena. "Please don't hurt Damon. He was just trying to help me and Elena. Please, don't . . ." She started to plead with him, but he cut her off.
He took a step forward, momentarily forgetting why he had backed up in the first place. He found his chest hurting at the sight of her frightened expression. This human was just like his, no, just like Iliana. She wasn't his Iliana, and she never had been. Titles meant nothing, not if there was no love behind it. He shook his head, he would not think of that woman. She was gone and forgotten, or at least she had been for centuries now. "Don't worry, my dear. Your friend is safe, as long as he doesn't cross me again that is." Elijah warned her.
She sighed in relief. He was about to say more when a new scent hit him from upstairs. He growled as he realized who it was. "It would seem your friend is here now to see you. I would gretly suggest you not mentioning my being here. It could change my mind on whether or not he survives another day." Elijah whispered to her. She nodded her head fearfully before going upstairs toward her room.
Before she went inside, she took a deep breath and went inside to find Damon sitting on her bed. She gasped, pretending to be surprised by his appearance. "Damon? I told you guys that I didn't want to talk to any of you." She told him as she moved around her room, picking up random things as she went as a way to try to clean up a little bit to distract herself.
She was never good at lying, especially to one of her friends. Though, none of them seemed to have that problem when it concerned her. Damon watched her curiously as she moved around the room. She refused to stay still and look at him longer than a minute. "Forgot to give you something this morning. You'll need it." He said out to her as he got up from her bed and stood in front of her.
She gasped out as he grabbed a hold of her arms to keep her still and in one place for longer than a minute. "Damon, don't make this harder. Like I told Jeremy, I'll talk to you guys when I'm ready." She told him as she went to move, but his grip kept her in place. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him to just let her go.
He couldn't do that though. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't until she was safer than she was right now. Without them, she was just another human waiting to be killed. She didn't have protection like Elena and the others because she wouldn't let any one of them near her. He respected her need to be alone for a while, but it was just stupid to leave yourself unprotected. "It doesn't matter if you're not talking to any of us, Becca, you need to wear this and never take it off." He told her.
She looked at him confused as he lifted up her bracelet. She had thought that she'd never see it again after Elijah ripped it off. It wasn't like Elena's necklace. It was smaller and probably harder to find. "My bracelet," She gasped out. "I didn't think that I'd ever see it again. You actually looked for it?" She asked him. Her eyes searched his, trying to figure something out.
Damon rolled his eyes at her. Of course he looked for it. It wasn't just Elena that he wanted to protect. She had been taken for a reason too. The Originals were after her as much, if not more, as they were Elena. "Of course I looked for it. Believe it or not, but on the list of people I care about, you are on it." He said as he took a step closer to her, lifting her chin up so she was looking at him.
She felt her breathing stop as she looked up at him. She felt tears rimming her eyes as she took in his words. If he cared so much about her, why had he lied to her like he had? "Then why didn't you trust me enough to tell me the truth? Did any of you think I was strong enough to handle it? Or was I just some baby doll you all thought you could lie to?" She asked him as she pushed his hand away from her face.
He looked almost hurt for a moment. The expression was gone a moment later though, and it was replaced with annoyance. He grabbed onto her wrist and pulled it closer to him. "If I didn't trust you and think you could handle it, I would have compelled you to forget all you've seen in the past few days the second I had the chance to. I don't trust easily, so don't make me regret it when I do." He told her as he slipped the bracelet onto her wrist.
She stared up at him in shock. She hadn't thought about that. She had forgotten that Damon could have just made her forget all of what had just happened to her. It was that thought that made her realize that she didn't want to forget. "I won't." She said out softly to him as he moved away from her. "Damon?" She called out to him as he moved toward the window. He paused and looked back at her. "I'm not ready to forgive them all, but I understand why you didn't tell me. You have to protect yourself and your brother. I get that, and even though I know what you are? I still trust you with my life. I think I always have, even when you weren't so nice." She confessed to him.
He in turn gave her a weak smile and a nod of his head before he took out into the night. She quickly hurried over to her window to see just a blur take off down the drive way. At the sound of the door closing down stairs, she knew that Elijah had left as well. At the reminder of him being in her house, a chill went down her spine. She suddenly wished that Damon had stayed for a little bit longer.