Guys, starting in the next chapter, the story will depart a bit from what is presented in the show. Emma's presence in the story, her relationship with Damon and his conflicting feelings do not keep the narrative of the show exactly as it is.
Also, I think the series leaves something to be desired regarding the passage of time, things happen too fast and sometimes it is hard to keep up with it, so I also change the time of events.
I count on your understanding, and I am sure that the readers who are enjoying and getting attached to Emma will like the changes I have created. Please be kind in your comments, much love to you all. s2
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Jumpin' Jack Flash
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The next day, Damon was relieved to wake up and realize that the journalist was no longer in his bed. The vampire got up, completely naked, and walked to the bathroom to take a shower. He quickly washed himself and left the room still buttoning his black shirt. When he went downstairs, he found Andy holding a steaming cup of coffee. He would have rolled his eyes, but the smell of coffee pleased him and kept him from getting in a bad mood.
Stefan came up soon after, calling for Elena. Damon caught the cup from the journalist's hands, and his brother turned to him in irritation.
"Where's Elena?", Stefan asked, and Damon snorted.
"I don't know, Stefan. She's your girlfriend, mine is right here", Damon sneered. Andy was not, nor would she ever be, his girlfriend, but if that statement irritated Stefan, so be it. The older Salvatore smirked. Turning to the woman, he tried to convince her to let him drink some of her blood. Gods, he was starving.
"Can't you just use a blood bag today?", Andy asked the blue-eyed vampire, and Damon snorted. The journalist deposited a kiss on his lips.
"What are you doing?", Stefan's voice echoed down the hall. He was irritated. "She's not a wind-up toy".
"It's really none of your business, is it Stefan?", Andy asked rudely, and Stefan suppressed a mocking laugh and rolled his eyes.
The journalist gave Damon one last kiss and announced that she needed to leave for work. The vampire didn't regret for a second getting rid of her company. Andy was a good person, had good blood, and was good sex, but she simply smothered him. Every time he called her, he ended up regretting it. He watched as the woman left and slammed the door, and when he turned his face again, he found Stefan with his arms crossed.
"What?" the older vampire asked, dropping his coffee cup on a sideboard. Stefan didn't answer, he just huffed and turned away, ready to get out of there. Something caught his eye, however, and as the younger man ran out into the basement, Damon followed him.
Elijah was no longer there. Elena had made the stupid decision to take the dagger from the Original's chest. Damon was enraged. The girl was so insistent on doing things 'her way', and this was what they got for agreeing to this stupid idea. No decision should be left in Elena's hands, because she seemed to have a penchant for making bad decisions.
After a long discussion between the siblings and a few messages in Elena's voice mail, Stefan received a call from Jenna that left him alarmed. The younger Salvatore decided to go to the Gilbert house and alert the older Sommers about Alaric. Damon made himself comfortable on the couch and pulled his own cell phone from his pocket. He spun the device between his fingers and got to thinking. If until the night before Elijah had been pretty dead in the basement, how had Klaus managed to disguise himself so well? How had none of them been able to tell that the man was acting any different? It was as if Klaus had memorized all of Alaric's mannerisms to go unnoticed. It was just like Katherine when she pretended to be... Oh, of course. Katherine. Damon wanted to laugh. Everything always leads to the bitch.
He called Andy and asked her to come back, invited her to do a little investigating. He needed someone human to get into Alaric's apartment and gather some information about Klaus. And he wasn't the least bit surprised when he arrived on the scene and confirmed his suspicions and saw that Katherine was very much alive and well inside the apartment.
"What are you doing here?", Katherine asked, rolling her eyes.
"We are here to rescue you", Andy replied, entering the apartment. Damon smirked and braced himself against the doorframe.
"No, sweetie, we are here to investigate, and..." he seemed to consider something and smiled. "We can see if she deserves to be rescued".
Andy nodded positively and left the vampire behind, started walking around the apartment looking at everything intently, searching for anything that might indicate anything about Klaus. Katherine turned to Damon, who stood in the doorway.
"I figured you might still be kicking", Damon sneered, "AlariKlaus was blending way too easily. I figured he probably had some coaching".
Damon rattled off a small vial of Vervain, catching Katherine's eye. He explained to her that, although there was no way to undo Klaus' compulsion, the vervain would prevent her from future compulsions. And, well, the Original had not compelled Katherine to stay in that apartment until the end of time. It was what he liked to call a 'loophole'. The she-vampire cracked a smile and walked to the door, but Damon snatched the vial from her grasp.
"Give it to me!", Katherine complained.
"Answer me one question before I give you this", Damon closed his face in a scowl. "You double-crossed us with Isobel. Why?"
"I didn't think you could stand a chance against Klaus", Katherine shrugged. "I was just looking for myself".
"And where did that get you?", Damon debauched, and tossed the vial to Katherine as soon as he spotted Andy returning. "Here, be careful with that".
"You should be careful too", the older vampire replied, opening the flask and taking a generous swig of the vervain. She coughed, feeling the liquid burn her throat. Damon rolled his eyes and turned away, not going to take the bait she was trying to play. He had had enough of her little games. "The girl got his attention, you know".
And Damon froze in place. 'The girl'. Somehow, he knew she wasn't talking about Elena. He knew she was talking about Emma. Damon spun on his heels and tried to keep his expression impassive.
"I don't believe a word you say", he remarked.
"You should. He's up to something and involves her. Something about her being in doubt".
Damon frowned and waited for Andy to leave the apartment. He then brought his face closer to Katherine and spoke low, feeling his jaw lock, only for her to hear.
"You owe me, and I will collect".
"I've just paid you", Katherine replied, with a smirk. Damon punched the door frame before turning his back and walking out of that falling apart building.
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Emma walked to the door, grateful that Damon had decided to use the traditional, polite way to visit someone, instead of climbing through the window like a creep. As soon as she opened the door, however, she froze in place and slammed it shut again.
"I came to apologize", Elijah said from the other side. Emma felt her heart beating hard against her chest and positioned her hand over her heart and took a deep breath, eyes closed, trying to calm herself.
"Yo-you compelled me", she whispered, and she could hear the vampire's sigh from the other side of the door.
"I did, and for that I am truly sorry", he said. "I should never have done that. If you give me a chance, I can apologize properly".
"I'm not letting you in", she replied, her eyes still closed. "Why aren't you dead?"
"Elena pulled the dagger out", Elijah pointed out, and Emma frowned. "I'm actually going to meet her, if you'd like to join us".
Emma swallowed dryly and opened her eyes. She considered for long seconds what she would do and, gathering courage, opened the door. The Original was impeccably dressed. He was wearing a nice suit and his brown eyes showed sincerity. He did look sorry, but she didn't know to what extent the vervain inside her necklace worked on Originals, and she wasn't sure that he wouldn't kill her as soon as she stepped foot outside the apartment. She then remembered that he kept the promises he had made to Elena, and decided to ask for some assurances.
"You have to promise me that you will never, ever, try to compel me again" she said, filling her chest with air. "Or hurt me".
"You have my word", he said promptly. "I would never hurt you, your life was never at stake. I was a fool to compel you, it was... immature of me. I will never do that again".
Emma stared into his eyes, looking for any trace that he might be lying, but found nothing. He seemed sincere. The girl then nodded positively. The vampire extended his hand forward, like a gentleman, and she hesitantly stepped forward and accepted his hand. Elijah smiled faintly and beckoned for her to lead the way.
The young woman caught her purse on the hook next to the door, picked up her keys, and left in the company of the Original vampire. When she questioned him about where they were going, he suggested that the two of them walk to the Lockwood House, where they would meet Elena. Emma was surprised and, for safety's sake, said she would drive and meet him there. She didn't feel safe walking to the Lockwoods in the company of an Original who, the last time she saw him, had compelled her to become a puppet. Elijah laughed through his nose, but agreed. With a nod, he said goodbye and informed her that he would wait for her in front of the mansion. Emma, calmer, took her car keys from her purse and got into the vehicle, started it, and drove calmly to her destination.
As agreed, Elijah was waiting in front of the mansion, and greeted her with a smile, waving for her to enter the house first, like a complete gentleman. It bothered her all of Elijah's pompous politeness because, well, he was the oldest vampire alive, and he ripped an entire group of werewolves in front of her like an animal. Shaking her head to scare the thoughts away, the girl walked into the mansion and bumped into Elena in the living room. The younger girl looked surprised to see her cousin there.
"What are you doing here?", Elena asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Well, you've pulled the dagger out and you nice Original friend over here invited me for this meeting for some reason I'm not really sure I want to know", Emma replied, crossing her arms. Elena's cheeks turned red, as if she were a child caught doing something wrong. Which, in fact, was not far from reality. Bringing an Original to life was definitely wrong. And dumb.
"Welcome back, Elena", Elijah greeted the girl, and indicated the couches for the two to make themselves comfortable. Emma chose a side armchair, while Elena sat on Mrs. Lockwood's expensive couch. Elijah remained standing.
"Tell me what is Klaus' curse", Elena demanded, and the vampire smirked.
Elijah narrated a story worthy of a period novel. According to the Original, Klaus was not his father's biological son, and the information that Elijah and Klaus were brothers took Emma by surprise. The Original explained that Klaus was descended from a werewolf lineage, and that when they were all turned into vampires, the hybrid was cursed to have his werewolf side dormant. The ritual he intended to perform was nothing less than the breaking of this curse. Klaus wanted to create his own line of hybrids.
"Is it possible?", Emma asked. "That makes him stronger than both?"
"A hybrid would be deadlier than any werewolf or vampire. Nature would not stand for such an imbalance of power. That's why the witches cursed him", Elijah explained, and looked at Emma. "If Klaus succeed and create his own bloodline, that would be the end of vampires, werewolves...and humans. The hybrid's are stronger than both, and he's an Original, of course. It would be pretty impossible to kill him".
"Even with the dagger?", Elena asked.
"Damon told me once that the silver thing is bullshit. A werewolf can heal", Emma commented, and gained the attention of the two. "The dagger is a silver blade. It won't work, right?", the last part the girl questioned looking at Elijah. The Original nodded positively.
"Exactly".
"So what are you saying? Klaus can't be killed?", Elena questioned, getting up from the couch and starting to walk nervously around the room.
"There's one way to kill any supernatural species", Elijah replied. "At the hands of the servants of nature themselves".
Elena looked at Emma significantly, and the older girl understood what her cousin was trying to communicate. They needed a powerful enough witch, but she would have to die to be able to channel that much energy. Emma crossed her arms and looked away, focusing her attention on the fire poker in the fireplace. She didn't want to return to the intrusive thoughts that everyone would always sacrifice their lives.
"The curse must be broken during the full moon, when Klaus is in transition. That's when he'll be at his most vulnerable", Elijah went on to explain. "A witch with enough power can kill Klaus".
"What if I told you that I knew a witch that could channel that much power?", Elena asked, and Emma stood up from the armchair, facing the two.
"What?" the older woman questioned.
"Then I would tell you that, if you knew this powerful witch, we could kill Klaus and spare your life. I found a way to save the doppelganger's life".
"Of course you did", Emma couldn't restrain her acidic comment. Fortunately, Elena believed that her cousin was referring to the fact that Elijah had loved Katherine in the past and had therefore sought a way to save her life. The Original, however, knew that was not what Emma was referring to. He never told Emma about his love for Katherine.
"Shall we go?", Elijah asked the two, who arched their eyebrows. "To tell your dear vampires about the news".
"Do you have your car?", Emma asked Elena, who nodded positively. "Good, you give him a ride".
The golden-haired young woman then picked up her small purse from the armchair and left the room. Elijah smirked, looking at Elena.
"She doesn't trust me", he commented.
"She doesn't trust anyone," Elena retorted, picking up her coat. "Except for Damon, for some reason I don't understand".
The tone Elena used caught the attention of the Original, who cleared his throat uncomfortably and indicated for the girl to take the lead.
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Damon sat down on the living room couch with a generous glass of bourbon in hand. Andy, who by some unfortunate chance had remained there, approached him and began to massage his shoulders. The vampire closed his eyes and brought the glass to his lips.
"You don't have to be so mad at your brother. You know, he's worried about Elena and..."
Damon opened his eyes and threw his back behind him, disengaging himself from the journalist's hands.
"Just go, please", he ordered. He didn't have the head to deal with her, he didn't have the head to deal with anyone.
"I know you're worried about her too", Andy tried to continue, but Damon was annoyed. He hated the thing that people he even remotely hung out with thought they knew him well, thought they knew what was going on inside his head. No one had a fucking clue what was going on inside his head, the hell that was dealing with the conflict that only seemed to grow inside of him.
"Just fucking go", he repeated, his voice firm, and Andy, though upset, obeyed. Gods, he just wanted to release all his anger, just wanted to drink an obscene amount of blood, fight with someone, hurt someone, kill someone. He needed to find a way to release all his anger. His anger only grew as he watched Stefan enter the room with that disapproving, superior look on his face. As if Damon was always the wrong one, and he was the saint. Damon felt his blood boil and an almost uncontrollable urge to grab his brother by the scruff of the neck raged through him.
"Tired of your playing already?", Stefan sneered, and Damon nearly broke the glass between his fingers.
"Don't start with me, Stefan. She's just my distraction".
"She's a person, Damon. You're victimizing her", Stefan retorted, sighing as if he were bored, as if he were a tired father and Damon was the son who never learned. Damon threw the glass away.
"You should be thankful she's here", Damon replied in between. This was it, his chance to get all his anger out. He just needed to piss Stefan off enough. "She keeps me from going after what I really want".
Stefan took the bait and turned to him, and Damon smirked.
"You're right", Stefan replied very calmly, "Thank you so much for insisting that you're in love with my girlfriend", Damon cracked a smile and stood up from the couch. He walked over to his brother, staring at him in defiance.
"And there it is".
"Yeah, there it is", Stefan continued, standing his ground and trying his best not to get carried away into a fight that Damon seemed hell-bent on starting. "You can keep believing that you're in love with Elena if that makes you feel better. I know how hard it is for you to just move on. You're fooling yourself because you want to give me 'eternal misery' and because you just can't get over the fact that Katherine didn't want you".
And then Damon threw his fist forward and punched Stefan in the face, throwing him against a wall. He ran over to his brother and grabbed him by the neck. The younger Salvatore, however, laughed.
"Truth hurts, huh?", Stefan teased, and Damon punched his face once more. Stefan defended himself, and in a few seconds the two were black-eyed and fangs bared, bodily wrestling in the middle of the room. Furniture was flying everywhere, and Damon knew he wouldn't mind breaking the entire house if it meant putting out his anger.
"STOP!" the two of them heard Elena shout. As soon as Damon let go of Stefan and turned around, he found Elena accompanied by Elijah and Emma. The vampire gathered his fangs and stared at Emma, who looked worried. He shifted his eyes to Elijah and finally to Elena.
"You invited him in?", Damon questioned, incredulous.
"Elijah and I renewed the terms of our deal", Elena replied. Emma had her hands inside her jacket pockets and nervously tried to peel off with her thumb the sticker from the lighter she carried with her. She didn't trust Elijah, and she considered Elena's decision to bring the vampire back to life rather stupid. But at that moment, if she were honest with herself, she would know that the main reason she was nervous was to see Damon completely pissed off and out of control in the middle of a tattered living room.
"The two of you will come to no harm at my hands. I only ask for one thing in return" Elijah replied, and took three steps forward. Emma couldn't take her eyes off Damon, who still had his body completely tense.
"What?", Damon asked.
"An apology", Elijah replied, and Emma locked her breath. If things were bad enough before, now they were completely ruined.
Stefan seemed to consider for a few seconds, while Damon stood still, his face closed in a scowl, staring at the Original. Stefan took two steps forward and sighed.
"I'm sorry for the part that I played in your death. I was protecting Elena", Stefan said seriously. "I will always protect Elena".
"I understand", Elijah replied, and just then all attention turned to Damon.
Elena stared at him as if she hoped he would follow Stefan's example. Stefan looked at him pleadingly, as if asking him to please apologize at once to prevent the two of them from having not one, but two, Originals as enemies. Emma stared at him intently and with concern. She knew he would never apologize, and if she were honest, she wouldn't judge him for it. Damon was proud, and Elijah simply wanted to come out on top. He wanted to demean him and make him apologize. He wanted to make Damon recognize his place down the food chain. If she stopped to think about it, Emma would not apologize either and submit to that humiliation.
"The sacrifice is going to happen, Damon", Elena said, self-assured. "Bonnie will kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save my life. I told you I would find another way".
"Is that true?", Damon asked Emma, asking for confirmation.
"Kind of", she replied, and Damon frowned again. Would Bonnie be able to kill him without hurting herself? From what she remembered of the conversation, Elijah knew a way to spare Elena's life, not Bonnie's. Bonnie was, as always, just a means to an end.
"And you're trusting him?" the vampire asked, this time to Elena. The girl sighed.
"I am", Elena replied.
Damon walked over to the three with hatred in his gaze, he looked Elijah deep in the eyes.
"You can all go to hell", the black haired Salvatore said, feeling his jaw lock, and walked toward the hallway of the house. He started up the stairs tapping his feet hard, sliding his fingers along the banister and stopping at the exact spot where he had broken the banister the night before.
"Damon, wait" Emma called out to him, and ran to catch up to him on the stairs. Damon rolled his eyes and turned to her.
"I can't believe you're on this too", he complained.
"I'm not! I've just found out about Elena's plan", Emma defended herself. "But Elijah does know how to save her life, that part is true".
Damon walked down two steps until he was standing right in front of her. His body was stiff and his jaw was locked, and he was looking at her with a mixture of anger and indifference. Damon's gaze had none of the warmth in it that he normally displayed when he spoke to her, he was cold and intimidating.
"And you believe him?"
"That he knows how to save Elena's life? Yes", she replied, and Damon stared her up and down.
"Then you can go to hell too", the vampire replied and turned away, but the girl held his wrist, trying to keep him there so the two of them could talk. She wanted him to know that she was on his side. She didn't trust Elijah, and the fact that he knew how to save Elena's life wasn't enough. She wanted to tell him about everything, about Elijah being Klaus' brother, about the curse actually being a way to control Klaus' werewolf side. She wanted the two of them to find some alternative. But she couldn't even vocalize any words.
Damon was so angry, he was so on the edge, that before he could even think, he turned and pinned the girl against the wall, causing her to hit her head. He grunted at her with his fangs bared and his eyes completely black. The vampire could feel the thick black veins moving under his eyes and his throat itching. He could hear the sound of Emma's blood rushing through her veins, and it made him thirsty. For the first time since he had met her, Damon wanted to hurt her. However, when he found her amber eyes completely wide and watering, he let her go. Because, for the first time since Emma had met Damon, she was afraid of him. And Emma afraid was an image that tore at his chest. The only person who felt safe with him was afraid of him.
The girl was breathing heavily and her back was glued to the wall. Even when Damon pulled away, giving her space, she remained frozen in place for long seconds. The vampire opened his mouth to say that he would never hurt her, not really, that he shouldn't have done that, but Emma, as soon as she came out of her shock, ran down the stairs and slammed the door to the house. The girl quickly got into her car and reached into her pocket, reaching with trembling hands for the vehicle keys.
Emma was so nervous that when she heard two knocks on the car window her heart almost burst out of her mouth. Looking out the window, she saw Elijah. Swallowing dryly, she opened the window.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice shaky. The original frowned.
"I saw you leave a little..." he gestured to her, indicating that it was quite obvious that she was a complete mess. She didn't even need to look in the mirror. Her cheeks and neck felt hot, and her heart was racing. "If you allow me, I can escort you home".
"I'm not going to invite you into my car", Emma replied promptly, and Elijah let out a laugh.
"I don't need permission to enter vehicles, Emma", the vampire replied. "But I do have manners, so if you prefer, I'll say goodbye here and let you get back on your own".
Emma stared at her trembling hands on the steering wheel, and sighed. If he wanted to kill her, he would have done it already. And she really couldn't drive with her heart like that. The girl jumped to the side, releasing the driver's seat. Elijah smiled before getting into the car, which he surely should consider a piece of junk, and held out his hand for her to reach for the key. Emma took the key out of her pocket and put on her seat belt, her hands still shaking.
Elijah started the car, and the two of them drove halfway in silence. Emma's hands didn't stop shaking for a second, and the Original noticed this. He flattened his back against the seat when the two stopped at a red light.
"I'm sure he didn't mean to", the Original commented. He had heard Emma and Damon upstairs in the house. His hearing was absurdly powerful, much more so than that of an ordinary vampire. The girl stared straight ahead.
"He wanted to hurt me", she answered in a whisper.
"I can't imagine him hurting you, if I'm honest", Elijah pointed out and, curious, stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "How do you know, that he wanted to hurt you?"
"I just knew..." Emma replied. "It was in his eyes. I know when a man wants to hurt me".
Elijah did not fail to notice that Emma discreetly wiped away a tear with the tip of her index finger. The statement bothered him. She didn't use the word 'vampire', she used the word 'man'. Everyone, Elijah included, was so busy trying to stop Klaus from making the sacrifice and killing Elena that it hadn't even crossed his mind that Emma, a simple, ordinary human, also had her own demons. He hadn't stopped to think, until that moment, that Emma had been shaken by the fact that the elder Salvatore had frightened her just after arguing with his own brother over the doppelganger. The Original felt something that he had long thought had been dormant within himself: empathy. He could identify with both Damon and Emma, and for similar reasons. Something told him that the vampire was a hopeless case, but there was still hope for the young woman. Maybe she needed to stay away from it all for a while so she wouldn't get hurt.
"Do you know why they were fighting about?", Elijah questioned.
"About you I supposed", she replied, and the vampire laughed through his nose.
"You know, when I first met Katherine, I loved her", the Original said, speeding up as soon as the traffic light opened. "I really loved her, but the thing was... So did Klaus, in a way. She reminded him of someone he loved very much. When I saw Damon and Stefan fighting earlier, I saw myself fighting with Klaus".
Emma stared at the vampire with a frown.
"Why are you telling me this?" she asked.
"Because you can get hurt", Elijah sighed, "Because if it came between you and her, you might not like his choice". Emma stared at her own hands as soon as the words left the Original's lips.
"How do you know he would choose her?", Emma questioned him.
"Because that's what I did when I was in his shoes", he replied, and then parked the car in front of Emma's building. The girl got out of the car and waited for Elijah to hand her the keys to the vehicle. As soon as he did, Emma looked him in the eye.
"Thanks for the ride", she thanked him and walked towards the building. Her heart was still beating hard, but less fast than it had been earlier. The girl climbed the flights of stairs, holding onto the banister.
She was so lost in thought that it took longer than usual to finally reach the door to her apartment. She put the correct key in the lock and turned it. She entered the dark apartment and groped the wall for the light switch. When she found it, she turned on the lights and walked straight to her bed. She took off her coat, shoes, socks, and, finally, her pants. In the bathroom, she washed herself and walked back to the bed, pulling the covers up to her neck. Her cell phone vibrated on the bedside table and she reached out to pick it up.
'Can I come over?', was a message from Damon. She felt her heart beating painfully against her chest again, and she blocked the screen of the device. It vibrated again.
'Please'. Again she didn't answer, and it didn't take long before the phone vibrated a third time: 'Just tell me that you got home safe'.
She then typed a message: 'I'm home. Don't come over'.
Emma threw the cell phone aside and stared at the ceiling. Was she so blind? Everyone seemed to see that Damon had feelings for Elena. Everyone. Jenna, Elijah, Stefan. Everyone, at some point, had talked to her about it. Emma was apparently the only person who didn't see the obvious and, if she were honest with herself, she would have preferred to keep the veil over her eyes. Because, God, she felt annoyed, and sad, and angry. Angry at Damon, angry at Elena, and mostly angry at herself. Angry at herself because she was jealous of her 17-year-old cousin! How absurd was that? How ridiculous was that? Emma rolled over in her bed and stared at the window, which had the curtains open, but the glass was locked tightly.
Why was Elena's life more important? Why was everyone else expendable as long as Elena was safe? Why was her life, Emma's, expendable? The life she fought so hard to keep. Did having self-preservation make Emma a bad person? In other times, she would think it was natural to want to preserve her own life, to fight for survival. But in that town everyone seemed willing to sacrifice their own lives to keep a teenage girl alive. And, well... Emma was not. Did that make her bad?
And Damon... If he had to choose, as Elijah said, would he choose Elena? Even if the other option was her? If that was true, why did he spend so much time with her? Why did he care? Why did he always seek her company? But... If it wasn't true, why did he want to hurt her? He wanted to hurt her because he was angry that they disagreed on how to save Elena. Because that was always the reason. Emma rolled over on the bed again, lying on her stomach. She brought her hands to her face and forcefully dried, using the palms of her hands, some of the tears that were streaming from her face.
Damon slept eroded by guilt. He was no longer as angry as he had been earlier, he was sorry. He couldn't erase from his mind the image of Emma's whiskey eyes, staring at him in fear. He had ruined everything. Less than a week ago, he was sleeping with Emma glued to his body, searching for comfort. Now, she was ignoring him, afraid of him, and he was alone in that huge bed. Damon rolled over onto his side and hugged the pillow, smelling Andy's perfume. Disgusted, he got out of bed and ripped off all the sheets and pillowcases, throwing them on the floor. He walked to the bathroom to get a vanilla scented candle and lit it beside the bed. He lay down on the bare mattress and stared at the ceiling as he inhaled the scent of vanilla, which happened to be the smell of Emma's soap.