Chapter Twenty-Eight: Give Me A Reason
Give me a reason to turn and run
Give me a reason to burn this house down
Give me a reason I wish you would
I wish you would, wish you would
Give me a reason for disaster
And I'll be happy ever after
Give me a reason I wish you would
I wish you would, wish you would
So you've tried your best to get out of this mess
But that's just a joke, you've never awoke
~Three Days Grace
He looked around the parking lot, it was empty. No sign of Nilin. She couldn't possibly have gotten herself in trouble for the few minutes he wasn't watching her. But then something caught his attention, a slight shimmer in the light of the lamp post. Damon descended the cement stairs.
He picked up Nilin's phone from off the sidewalk and immediately he knew something was wrong.
Expanding his senses around him, he searched for any sign of her. The summer night held an eerie feeling, sending Damon's alertness on high. He felt something, a touch of his power brushing something off in the distance. Deciding to follow it, he made his way around Bree's Bar to what looked like an electrical building. There was a chain link fence around a metal platform that held some sort of conductor, storage tanks, and an old looking metal building, but nothing else.
"Damon, no!" Nilin cried. He whipped his head around to find her on the stairs of the platform. He went to go after her when suddenly he heard a sharp cracking noise and a fiery pain shot up his back. He was on the ground, a man hovering over him, baseball bat dangling in his hand.
"Damon!" he heard Nilin cry again. The man smirked, swinging the bat down and smashing Damon's leg. He heard the sound of bone crunching as the man did it again, stronger than any human. He did it a third time, causing Damon to yell out in pain.
"What the hell, man?!" he hissed through clenched teeth. All of a sudden Damon was being dosed with something, the smell filled his nose. Gasoline… The vampire turned back to Damon, bat in hand again.
"Christian stop!" Nilly yelled and the man froze, bat mid swing. Damon's eyes shot to Nilin, she had run down the platform, and was stumbling towards them. But she was frozen now as well, eyes locked on the vampire, Christian.
So this is the bastard, Damon thought.
The gasoline was overwhelming his senses as it seeped into his clothes, soaked in his hair and burned his eyes. A sharp scraping pain shot through his leg and back as he tried to figure a way to stand. He needed to somehow put himself between Nilin and Christian.
He looked back up at Nilly, she was ridged. Damon could hear her heartbeat raging from his place on the ground. Christian stopped, dropping the bat next to him and laughed.
"Stop, please." Nilly spoke up, her voice strong. It only caused Christian to laugh more.
"And why should I?" he asked her. "This asshole was playing with something that wasn't his."
Damon laughed. "Ha. Yeah, I'm the asshole," he said sarcastically, which earned him a rib cracking kick to the side. He heard Nilin yelling over his own groans of pain. He gasped as the air left his body, feeling as if his lungs were lined with shards of glass.
"Just leave him alone Christian! Don't hurt him, he didn't do anything," she said. Damon winced on the ground lifting his head to see Nilin, her cheeks wet with tears now. Christian had turned back to Nilly, and suddenly he was right in front of her.
"What, is he your boyfriend now? You think you could get rid of me that easily?" he laughed again. Nilly took a step back, Christian took a step forward. "Oh Nilly, Nilly," he shook his head. "Are you really going to try this again? You're mine, remember?"
Damon watched as she visibly shivered when Christian cupped her cheek with his hand. Nilin pushed his arm away, trying to get his hand off her cheek. She was suddenly on the ground, the sharp sound of skin on skin rung out. Damon gritted his teeth as he saw Nilly hold her hand to her cheek, hair falling over her shoulder.
If only his legs were working, that bastard would be dead. "Big strong vampire, right?" Damon chuckled breathlessly as he tried to sit up. "Picking on a poor defenseless human girl. I'm gonna take a shot at it and say you have some mommy issues. Am I right?"
Christian turned back to him, pulling something out of his pocket. "And who told you, you could talk?" he said, darkly. Damon heard a flicking noise and then he saw a flame in Christian's hand. He had pulled a lighter from his pocket.
Damon could see him now as he walked towards him, stepping under a lamp post. Christian had dusty blonde hair, slicked back away from his grey eyes. He was tall, around Damon's height but much taller than Nilly. He was wearing a dark green collared shirt, and dark jeans.
Honestly, Damon didn't understand what Nilin had seen in him.
Christian was looming over him now, lighter in hand. "Wait, wait!" Nilly said, she was standing again. Christian turned his head towards her, so did Damon.
"Just leave him alone, an-and I-I'll do whatever you want, anything," she called. Damon felt anger swell inside him along with that ache in his chest. He was supposed to be protecting Nilin, not the other way around. What she said worked, though. Christian flicked the lighter closed, snuffing the flame and walking towards her.
Damon shakily got to his knees, feeling the bones in his leg slide back together. "Why do you care about him so much?" Christian asked standing in front of Nilin again.
She shrugged. "I don't, I just don't like to see people die for no reason." Damon could see her hand balled up at her sides as Christian swiped his hand through her hair, pulling at the ends and making Nilly's head tilt to the side.
"Oh but he has a reason," he told her, leaning down to her ear. Damon was ready to snap up and rip his head off when Nilin's eyes flashed up to Damon's. They were wide, scared but focused. Her lips moved, but no sound came out. Christian was to busy murmuring something in Nilly's ear to notice. She said it again, this time Damon read her lips. Don't move, please. He rocked back on his heels, pain ripping through his leg in response. He eyed her but nodded.
Christian released Nilly's hair, just to grab her chin, jerking her eyes away from Damon. He felt as if she was just torn away from him, but he did what Nilin said. He didn't move, instead he posed himself, ready to strike.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill him right now." Christian spat through clenched teeth.
"Because he means nothing to me, and you'd look silly if you did. I'm yours remember?" Nilly said. Damon almost believed it, her voice was so convincing but he knew her eyes too well. Those blue eyes held no emotion. They detached from her words.
Christian chuckled, his fingers running down Nilly's neck, tracing the faded bite mark. A smile came to his face as his hand wrapped around Nilly's throat. She choked out a gasp. Damon didn't even remember telling his body to move, but it did. He hurled himself at Christian, grabbing his shirt and throwing him back.
Nilly stumbled backwards, coughing slightly her hand on her chest. Damon turned to face him again, but Christian was quicker than he expected.
By the time Damon saw him he was on the ground once more, an agonizing sound coming from his splintered leg. Christian had found his bat again. He kicked Damon once more, sending him flying back and slamming into the metal wall of the electric building. He slid to the ground on his side, groaning. The pain made him see spots in his vision, but that soon subsided as his head snapped up, focusing on Nilin.
She was shaking as she faced Christian again, but her eyes looked past him and were on Damon. "You sure you don't care about him? You might want to tell him that, I don't think he got the message." Christian said. Nilly shook her head, her watering eyes leaving Damon's and snapping up to Christian's.
"I already told you," she said, fighting the waver in her voice. "Now, if you're going to take me, then do it already." Her teeth were clenched, like Damon's hands. He'd be damned if he let this psycho take her. But all Christian did was laugh that annoying laugh again, making Damon want to reach down his throat and pull out his tongue.
"I don't want you, now," he said slowly. "I haven't had my fun yet. But trust me, when I'm ready I will have you." He smiled at her, Nilly's hands began to shake. Damon watched, pain still raking his body, as Christian slammed his lips into Nilin's, forcing her back. Damon struggled to get up, but something important seemed to be broken.
Nilin's eyes were squeezed shut, her body stiff, her hands balled in fist as Christian forced a kiss on her. Then suddenly she was standing alone, yards from Damon. She was frozen, her body not moving. Her eyes relaxed open slowly, focusing on him. Everything was still for a moment.
Then she was running, stumbling towards him. "Damon!" she cried. She skidded to a halt, nearly falling on top of him. Helping him sit up against the building, Damon was able to see her up close. Her lips were swollen, her upper lip bleeding slightly, and blood trickling out of her nose.
Nilin was frantically checking him over, oblivious of her own injuries. Tears were wetting her cheeks and dripping off her chin though. Nilin touched the blood that was trickling out her nose. She looked down at her red stained fingertips. Her chest began puffing in and out hysterically.
"Hey, hey. Shh. You're okay." Damon said, holding her to him. She leaned in to him, wrapping her arms around his chest. "Shh, you're okay." He stroked her hair as the crying turned to sobs. Damon noticed that her breathing was heavy and abnormally rapid.
He pulled her away from him to look at her face. Even in the dim light under the lamp post her skin was pale. Her chest was moving up and down even quicker now, almost gasping for a breath. Her hands, gripping his shirt, were shaking, as she struggled for a deep enough lungful of air.
"Nilin, what's wrong?" Damon asked. She shook her head back and forth. One of her hands loosened from his shirt and went to her chest. "Look at me," he said, holing her face gently between his hands.
"Breathe Nilin, calm down," he murmured softly. Her eyes were locked on him, but she was still struggling. He removed one of his hands from her cheeks and grabbed her trembling hand. He placed her hand flat on his chest as he breathed evenly.
"Match my breathing Nilin," he said, keeping his eyes on her. Sure enough the tremors through her body stopped and her breathing slowed. "Much better," he said, still holding her hand to his chest still. Nilin slowly lean her forehead on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry." Damon stroked her hair again, tucking it behind her ear. He held her like that, comforting her until he heard her heartbeats even out once more.
Damon had never seen that side of Nilin before. The sarcastic, twisted humored, captivating girl crumbled at the sight of this one vampire. What kinds of things must one go through for that to happen? He saw Nilin's crack in the surface of her façade she's been building up, but at the same time he witnessed her fire. Under that battered mess of a girl, burned a light that each one of Damon's senses could feel. He saw the strongest and weakest sides of her tonight, which left him more amazed by her than ever.
He stood up slowly, pulling her with him. They both stumbled, her more than him but they managed to get back to his Camaro. He helped her into the car, draping his leather jacket over her and then went around to the driver's side. Nilin's eyes were already closed by the time he started the engine.
Nilly didn't realize she had fallen asleep, until she woke up to her head hitting something hard. "Ow," she complained rubbing her forehead. She blinked her eyes a few times, realizing what she hit her head on, the car window. She was still in Damon's Camaro, slumping in the passenger seat. She sat up, pulling the jacket laid on her up so it covered the goose bumps prickling her arms.
She turned her head to a grinning Damon, clearly he had seen Nilly wham her head into the glass. "How long have I been asleep?" she asked quietly, embarrassment reddening her cheeks. He shrugged, looking at her.
"Not long, a few miles." Damon answered.
"Oh," she replied. Nilly didn't really know what to say. So instead she pulled her legs under her, wrapping herself in the jacket. It held a faint leather smell and something completely Damon. She breathed it in as she leaned her head back on the seat.
"How are you doing?" he asked quietly.
"I'll make it, if that's what you're asking," Nilly answered sarcastically with a grin on her face. She became more serious though. "Thank you for what you did tonight." She shook her head a little, feeling the build up of tear in her throat. She refused to let them out in from of Damon again. Nilly absolutely hated crying, especially in front of others. "I just wish you weren't thrown into this."
"You mean the metal wall?" Damon joked, trying to get her to smile.
She rolled her eyes, but it worked. "No, you know what I mean. I didn't want you, or anyone else, in this situation. The whole reason why I came back to MysticFalls was so something like that didn't happen," she explained.
"Yeah, but I heal extremely fast, so it's fine," he shrugged.
"You might, but Elena doesn't, Bonnie doesn't, Jeremy doesn't."
Damon took his eyes off the road, capturing her gaze. "You think he's really going to go after them?" he asked.
"He went after you, didn't he?"
"Yeah, but he thought I was your boyfriend or something."
"Pff, ha." Nilin laughed awkwardly at the mention of the b-word again. "Imagine what he'll do when he finds out I have cousins, friends." Nilly said, playing it off.
"Friends?" Damon gasped mockingly in pretend shock.
"Shut it," Nilly smiled at him.
"Here's a deal. You help me get Katherine, I'll help you kill him," he said causally.
Nilly's heart almost stopped. She shook her head furiously. "No. No, you can't do that. I don't want you near him, I can't see you or anyone else get hurt again," she said, hating the fact that her voice shook a little. "You don't need to do that, I can handle myself."
Damon laughed, "Yeah, you really handled it tonight."
"I saved your life, didn't I?" she shot back.
"I guess you did," he said slowly, keeping his eyes on the road.
"And don't you forget it." Nilly smiled as she rested her head back again. "I just need everyone to stop worrying about me," she sighed.
"You make that kind of hard, you know?" Damon smirked.
"Really?" she asked, lifting her head up to glare at him. "Elaborate?"
"If someone cares about you, you have to expect they'll worry," he said seriously.
Nilly just sighed, fooling with the chain on her wrist under the jacket. "It's easier not to care." Nilly confessed.
"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Damon smiled. Nilly returned the smile shyly again. "Can I ask you a question?" he continued.
"Sure," Nilly said cautiously.
"What happened back there?" Damon asked quietly, turning his gaze on Nilly again.
He didn't need to say anything else, Nilin knew what he was talking about. She didn't look at him, her eyes stayed on her lap as she sighed. His attention off the road, but Nilly wasn't really worried since her chauffeur was a vampire and all.
"It's like a panic attack, but it feels more like my body's going haywire," she explained. "I usually can control it, calm myself down. But, like tonight, some are just really bad."
"What triggers them?" Nilly shrugged and answered.
"Usually something traumatic, or if I get worked up over something. But, I've gotten them for no reason before, something's gets my heart racing, one thing leads to another and suddenly I can't breathe." Damon nodded, his eyes focused off in the distance.
"I'm used to them." Nilly said, trying to down play it, but she didn't have him fooled.
He just side looked her, eyebrows raised. "When did they start?" he asked again.
She sat up a little. She didn't mind telling Damon these things, it was almost the same feeling she got when she talked to Magnolia and Shellie. It kind of reminded her of when they used to sit together in the Common.
"When my mom passed away," she said softly. Damon's eyes were off the road, locked on hers. "Cancer," she explained. "She'd beat it before when I was younger and everyone thought she'd beat it again, but…" her voice trailed off. "That's when everything seemed to go downhill."
"I have a limited memory of my mother." Damon spoke up. Nilly shifted in her seat to look at him. His eyes were lost in the night sky, probably years away. "She died when Stefan was born," he explained. "We were raised by my ass of a father." Damon said, returning to the present with one of his smirks on his face.
"Don't fathers just suck?" Nilly joked, scrunching her nose. Damon laughed. "Can I ask you something?" Nilly said.
"Sure." Damon mimicked. Nilly bit her lip, not sure how to asked her question.
"When did you die, Damon?" she spoke slowly.
There was a pause before he answered. "1864," he said.
Nilly nodded, for some reason she felt like she should be more surprised or something about this. But the fact was that she was actually intrigued by it.
"That doesn't freak you out?" Damon asked, leering with an eyebrow raised.
Nilly smiled. "It takes a lot to freak me out these days." He laughed again, rolling his eyes. "You have to tell me about it one day," she said sitting back in the seat again.
"Tell you about what?" Damon asked, confused.
"Your life," she said simply.
A smile slowly came to his face, as if he was trying to hide it. "Maybe…" he joked as he turned back to the windshield. "So is it safe to say you don't hate me anymore?"
"Maybe…" Nilly just smiled, snuggling back on the chair, his jacket still wrapped around her.
It was early morning, Nilly had watched the sun rise over MysticFalls cemetery. She sat with Damon's jacket still draped over her shoulders, kneeling in the grass in front of her mother's grave. She wasn't ready to go back to Elena's house, and Damon offered to take her somewhere else. This is where they ended up.
He sat next to her, legs stretched in front of him, leaning his back on another headstone. She was quiet for a while as he twirled a blade of grass with his fingers. They did talk though eventually.
He told her about what Bree had said, how they needed the grimoire of the witch who cast the spell and find the reversal to it. He told her about the tomb, where it was, how he found it. Even about how he had seen Katherine being taken away to it on the last night of his mortal life.
Then he told her about the other vampires, how they had met the same fate as Katherine.
"What are you planning to do about them? You can't just let them go free." Nilly urged, resting back on her heels. Damon shrugged. "I could careless," he said.
Nilly glared at him. "Damon," she said.
"Alright, alright," he said, lifting his hand up. "We'll torch the others, get Katherine out and kill the rest. Everyone's happy."
Nilly just starred at him, "Fine, anything else you're not telling me?"
His lips pouted downward as he thought for a moment, then he looked at her and smiled. "Nope."
"Good, and it better stay that way." Nilly told him as she turned back to the headstone.
He began to tell her about Katherine, how they met and so on. And Nilly had reconfirmed her promise to help him. Still he looked at her with questioning eyes, but her reason stayed the same. Katherine seemed to make him happy, that's all Nilly wanted.
But she secretly hoped that once he'd find Katherine, he'd leave town and get far away from her and Christian. After what happen last night, Nilly realized she couldn't stand to see Damon get hurt again, especially by the psychopathic Christian. It was one less person she needed to worry about, even though the goodbye would be inevitably painful.
Nilly told him about Christian, the whole story. When she got choked up he'd place his hand on hers, or catch a tear that escaped with his knuckle. It helped a lot, enough for her to tell him even more. More than she told Elena and Stefan, but for some reason she couldn't get herself to show Damon the scars.
Nilly kept the leather jacket secured around her, letting it and the morning sun warm her up as she told him everything. He listened to her, sometimes his eyes off into the distance, other times his fist would clench or his eyes would glare. Most of the time he just watched her face as she pulled at the grass in front of her and talked.
After a while she started to yawn and her eyelids began to droop. Damon talked her into going home, finally facing Elena. Reluctantly she stood, placed a pebble on top of her mother's grave and made her way to Damon's car.
Author's Notes: So as you read at the top, this is Monday's chapter done on Sunday. The rest of the publishing schedule will be normal after this, so Chapter 29 will be coming this Wednesday. Tell me what you guys thoughts up this chapter. Big, bad, Christian's back. Uh-oh...
Well I hope you guys had a fantastic weekend, I'll be seeing you Wednesday!
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