Chapter 23-Blood Brothers

A Few Days Later…

Damon and Elena, and I were talking to Stefan who was still in the basement.

"Stefan." Damon said, " Stefan."

"Stefan." Elena said, rubbing his shoulder

"What if I slapped him across the face?" I asked, earning a glare from Elena, " I mean he hasn't responded to anything else, it might work."

"No." Elena said, sternly

"Fine." I said walking out of the room and heading upstairs.

I walked into the front room and saw Damon holding the device Pearl had given him yesterday.

"Did you figure out what that is?" I asked walking over to my pile of clothes I left on the couch and I started folding them.

"Nope." he said, " Whatever it is, it doesn't work."

"Or you just don't know how to use it." I said putting the folded clothes in my bag

"Good point." Damon said, " That Johnahan Gilbert was a crazy scientist. Have you spoken to your uncle lately."

"I've been avoiding him." I said, " That and I've been here most nights."

"So you'll be here again tonight?" Damon asked

"Is that a problem?"

"Yes, Audrey." Damon said, " You're a complete nuisance."

I rolled my eyes and picked up my bag, " I'll see you later."

After I went to school I went back home to pick up some clothes. When I was in my room I called Damon.

"What?" Damon asked as he answered the phone

"Well, hello to you to." I said, " I just called to tell you that after I grab some clothes, I'll be right over. What's going on?"

"Just making plans for later." he said, " Hold on."

The line was quite for a minute

"Okay, you, me, and Alaric have things to do so hurry up and get over here."

"I'll be there in a few." I said before hanging up the phone.

I grabbed some clothes out of my closet and when I closed it John was standing there.

"Sorry." John said

"Uncle John." I said, " I didn't see you there."

" I thought we could talk." he said, " We haven't had a chance to catch up."

"Actually, I'm in a bit of a hurry." I said walking towards the door

"It won't take long." he said

"What do you wanna talk about?" I asked

"I just have one question for you." John said, " What would your mother say if she knew you were dating a vampire?"

"There are two things wrong with that John." I said, " One, I'm not dating a vampire. And second, my mom doesn't know anything about vampires."

Then I turned around and left, but not before hearing John say, " Are you sure about that?"

"He's being dramatic." Damon said, " He's not gonna starve himself."

Elena, Damon, and I were in the living room talking about what Stefan had said to Elena

"Why would he say that?" Elena asked

"He feels bad for hurting Audrey." Damon said, " It's typical Stefan martyr stuff. It will pass."

"Will it?" Elena asked, " Because he seemed to be in a lot of pain."

"That will pass to, once he eats." Damon said

"I don't think she was taking about physical pain." I said, turning around to look at Damon

" I know what she meant." he said, " Are you going to be okay if Audrey and I have to run out? We have an errand with the teacher."

"The teacher?" Elena asked, " Alaric?"

"That be the one." I said getting up and putting on my leather jacket

"Are you two friends now?" Elena asked Damon

"I don't have any friends, Elena." Damon said

"You know it really hurts my feeling when you say things like that." I said

"I'm sorry. I only have one friend." Damon said

"That's better." I said with a smile

"You should stay up here. You shouldn't be down there by yourself." Damon said putting on his jacket

"I'll be fine." Elena said

"You know you're very trusting of him, given the circumstances." he said

"So are you." Elena said, "Otherwise, you wouldn't be leaving."

"She's got you there." I said

"We won't be long." Damon said before putting his arm around my waist and leading me out of the boarding house.

"This is the one here." Alaric said as we approached a house, " The records show this was paid three months in advance."

"So, Isobel lives here?" I asked

"That's what were here to find out." Damon said, " This is where it gets tricky. I may or may not be able to get in."

I knocked on the door.

"How does that work?" Alaric asked, " Do you always have to be invited in?"

"By the owner or the person of entitlement." Damon responded, "Short-term rentals and hotels are a bit of a gray area. You kinda gotta play it by ear."

Alaric and I scoffed.

"Could we not kill anyone tonight?" Ric asked

"You just brought me along for my company." Damon said before breaking the handle on the door and opening it.

"Nope, he brought you for that." I said before walking into the house

"It doesn't look like anyone's home." Alaric said

"Yeah, I'm good." Damon said walking into the house, " No permanent resident, apparently."

We walked into the main part of the house. I was about to follow Damon into the kitchen when I had a vision.

Alaric was in the living room looking around when someone came out of nowhere and attacked his. I only saw his face for a second but I could tell it was a vampire.

"Uh, guys, we have company." I said when I came back to the present

"She's right." Damon said, pointing to the blood bags in the fridge

Then, just like in my vision Alaric was attacked. Ric punched the vampire in the chest and he fell to the ground. I was about to say something about Ric being really strong but I saw that he had wooden knuckles on. The vampire got back up and tried to go after Ric again but Damon stepped in front of me and pushed him down.

"Boys, boys, boys, that's enough." I said walking into the room

"I know you." Damon said

"Damon?" the vamp asked

"Your name is Henry." Damon said, " You we're in the tom."

"Yes, sir." Henry said, " What are you doing here?"

"So how do you guys know John Gilbert?" Henry asked us, pouring Damon a glass of blood

"He's my uncle." I said

"And, I've known him for years." Damon said, " He's a good friend. How do you know him?"

" I met him right after I go out of the tomb. He's been helping me out."

"Helping you out how?" Ric asked

"Adapting." Henry said, " It's a whole new world. Cars, computers, . There's so much to learn. He helped me get this place."

"So do you live here alone?" Ric asked, " Or is there someone else here?"

"That's my friend's very passive aggressive way of asking do you know a woman named Isobel?" Damon said

"Uh, no. No, I don't know an Isobel." Henry say, " I know John. He's my only real friend. He really showed me the ropes. How to use a microwave, separate my whites."

"What else do you do?" I asked

"Keep an eye on things. With the others." Henry said

"The others?" Damon asked

"From the tomb." he said, " There still mad at the founding families for trying to burn them alive. I'm cool, but those tomb boys, they want revenge."

"What does John want with them?" Ric asked

"He's just keeping an eye on them. Trying to make sure they stay out of trouble."

"Well, that's Uncle John." I said, " He's such a do-gooder."

Henry's phone started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and read the caller ID

"That's John now." he said

"Hey, let me talk to him." Damon said standing up

"All right." Henry said handing him the phone

Damon stared at the phone and let it ring.

"Are you going to answer that?" Henry asked

"Am I going to answer that?" Damon asked Ric and I

We shook are heads

"What's going on?" Henry asked

No one answered him. Then he bared his fangs and lunged at me but before he could hurt me Damon grabbed him and Ric staked him then Henry's lifeless form fell to the ground.

" ' Let's not kill anyone tonight'" Damon said, " Your words. Just pointing that out."

Then he turned to me, " You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Find anything yet?" Damon asked Ric when he came back from searching the house.

"No, I looked everywhere." Ric said taking a seat on the couch next to the chair I was sitting on, " The place is clean."

"We'll I found this behind the blood, in the fridge." Damon said, throwing a beer at Ric, " Sorry, there was nothing for you, Audrey."

"That's cool." I said, " I wasn't thirsty anyway."

"Oh, man, this was a real dead end." Ric said

"I wouldn't beat myself up over it, man." I said

"What'd you think you were going to find?" Damon asked, " Isobel with a cigar and slippers?"

"Personally if that's what we had walked into I would have been really creeped out."

Alaric laughed.

"Oh, man. I gotta stop this." he said, " I can't keep searching for her."

"Really? After only two years?" Damon asked sitting down, " That's actually moderately healthy."

"Compared to you." I said with a laugh

"Yeah, what are you going on? A 146." Ric said

"I figured the 200 mark is probably a good stopping point."

"I mean, no answer is enough." Ric said, " I keep thinking I wanna know why, when, you know, the precise moment when my wife decided life with me wasn't good enough."

"She charmed me, you wife, Isobel." Damon said, " She talked a good game. She was smart. She had this excitement in her eyes. I should have known there was something different about her, some tie to Katherine. There had to be some reason I didn't want to kill her."

"That's enough Damon." Ric said, " I don't wanna hear any more."

"Me neither."

"I just don't wanna waste anymore of my life searching for answers I don't want. I'm through with Isobel. I'm done with all of this." Ric said before heading out to the car.

When we got back to the house Damon and I found Elena sitting in one of the chairs writing in her diary.

"We're back." I said sitting on the couch and putting my feet up

"Ugh. God. You're still here?" Damon said

"Were you expecting anything else?" Elena asked while Damon came towards the couch I was sitting on

"Hey." I said when picked up my feet so he could sit down

"No." he said to Elena

"So how was the errand?" Elena asked us

"Futile." Damon said, " Although I think Audrey and I witnessed the teacher having an existential crisis."

"Total breakdown." I said

"Has Stefan eaten yet?" Damon asked

"I thought you didn't care." Elena said

"Chalk it up to morbid curiosity." he said

"I think he's getting there but he's got a lot of guilt he has to deal with." Elena said, " And it doesn't help that you've spent the last 145 years punishing him for Katherine getting caught."

"This is my fault now?" Damon asked

"No, it's no one's fault, Damon. I'm just saying that you're not exactly innocent." Elena said, " You've made it your life's mission to make to make him miserable."

"Let me ask you a question." Damon said getting up, " In all this important soul searching and cleansing of the demons of Stefan's past did you ever manage to get the rest of the story?"

"He said there was more." Elena said

"Yeah." Damon said, " That's and understatement."

Then he started to walk away. I got up and went after him.

"Damon." I said grabbing his arm, " Tell us."

He told us the story of how Stefan basically forced him to turn.

"From the moment Stefan had his first taste of human blood, he was a different person." Damon said, " I suppose I should thank him it's been a heck of a ride."

"Oh, my God." Elena said, " He said he wanted to die. That's why he wouldn't feed. Now I understand why."

"His choice." Damon said pouring himself a drink, " If he's stupid enough to make it, so be it."

"Don't do that. Don't pretend like you don't care." Elena said before storming off

"Where are you going?" Damon asked

" My guess, to go check on Stef."

"You know just because you keep shaking that thing doesn't mean anything about it is going to change." I said from my spot on the couch

Ever since Elena had left on the look out for Stefan Damon had been looking at the weird device pearl had given to him and I had just been lying on the couch.

"Well do you have any better ideas?" Damon asked me

I didn't answer

"Didn't think so." he said

Then Stefan and Elena came into the room

"Little boy lost." Damon said

"Little boy found."

"Really?" Damon asked me

"What, I couldn't help myself." I said, " Any way I'll be going upstairs now."

I got up and headed for the door.

"Audrey." Stefan said, stopping me

I turned around to look at him

"I'm sorry."

I smiled before saying, " It's okay Stef, I forgive you."

Then I went up stairs and went to sleep.