Chapter 8: The Cabin
When she got in the car, she looked blankly ahead. Damon was looking at her expectantly. "So, how did it go?"
She graced him with a smile. "It went okay...Alice said she couldn't get a hold of Rose, but we talked about Mia."
Damon turned his body towards her, giving his full attention. "Is she okay? Where is she?"
Placing her hand over his, she squeezed gently. "She's fine; happy...apparently last Alice heard she was in Europe."
A sigh was exhaled from his lips, a weight lifting off him knowing that his sister was okay. He turned back into his seat and pulled away.
When they walked through the door of the motel room, she immediately shrugged out of her jacket and sat on the edge of the bed. Damon followed suit and sat down beside her.
"You okay? You've been quite the whole way back." He questioned.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She forced out. "I just have a lot on my mind. Everything is still a bit hard to believe. Vampires are real...it's like living in an Anne Rice novel or something." She joked, throwing herself back to lay on the bed, her knees still hanging over the edge.
Damon looked down at her, her hair fanned around like waves of chocolate. He lowered himself on his side, facing her, using his arm to prop his head up. "Yeah..."
She stared at him for a long time, trying to read his face. "Do you miss her? Katherine, I mean. I know she hurt you by leaving."
He sighed. "Yeah I miss her. But she obviously made her choice...and it wasn't me. I have to live with that. Maybe our love wasn't meant to last like I thought." He shrugged, but the pain of that was evident in his eyes. "More than anything, I miss my sister. I just want to see her again." Tears collected in his blue eyes and it pulled at her heart.
"Maybe you can." The words were so soft, it was as if they floated on a cloud. "She misses you too..." She cupped his cheek, running the pad of her thumb over his bottom lip. "We both do."
It was that simple admission, and the mannerism she had done to him so often that gave her away. There was a sad longing in her eyes, and Damon reeled back. "Katherine?" He moved to get up, but she put a hand on his arm to stop him.
"Don't be afraid of me Damon." Her eyes pierced through his, her pupils contracting. When she saw him relax, she relaxed herself. She hated to have to compel him, but the last thing she needed was him freaking out.
Despite his unusual state of contentment, given the situation, there was worry that gripped him. "Where's Elena?"
"She's fine...she's in good hands. You don't need to worry. I will always make sure of that." He sat up and she followed, watching him process the new information. "I know this is a lot to take in."
He pinned his eyes on hers menacingly. "You have no idea what it's been like. What I've been through..." His jaw clenched in rage.
Katherine bit her bottom lip. "I know...I've seen you, you've seen me too." She smiled slightly nervous at her admission. "You just don't remember it."
"How could I not remember? I would think that's something I couldn't forget considering I thought you were dead!" he retorted with bitter sarcasm.
She stepped closer, and he stepped back to keep the distance between them. "I had to cover my tracks, Damon. I needed to make sure no one found me."
He shook his head as he tried to process the new information. "What so you erased my memories? You can do that?"
She shrugged. "It's a fancy perk that came with the package." She watched as he paced a hole in the floor briefly before speeding in front of him, resting both hands on his shoulders. "I need you to relax…it's okay." She felt his heat slow and his muscles loosen. "Good…" She patted his chest and effortlessly pushed him back on the bed.
"Why aren't I mad at you right now?" He stared at her in bewilderment. He felt like he should be furious and filled with emotions; every one of them screaming to throw something or punch someone, but oddly, this warm glow seemed to wash over him in a wave of comfort.
Katherine laughed to herself. "Because I didn't want you to be?" she countered cheekily. She sobered. "I know you have questions…and I want to answer them but we have to go." she gestured her head to the door suggestively.
"Why? What's going on?"
"More questions for later. Grab your stuff lets go. Don't leave anything of Elena's behind." She checked herself in the mirror and grabbed her jacket while Damon grabbed their bags.
Damon's eyes narrowed, his hands full and hers empty, both of them standing by the door, "You could help you know…vampire strength and all."
She looked him up and down shrugging nonchalantly. "Looks like you've got it." Katherine couldn't help but let an endearing giggle out as she swung open the door.
"I guess some things don't change." He mumbled.
Katherine kept her head on a swivel; subtly scanning the area around them as they left the motel and headed for Damon's car. "Mumble all you want Damon…" She canted her head to the side, smirking slightly at him. "but I can hear you now." She quickly darted her slim fingers into his back pocket. "and I'm driving."
She lovingly ran her hand over the hood of the car as she excitedly darted to the driver's side. Damon couldn't help but let himself smile. She loved this car.
Summer 2005:
He pulled up to the house slowly, watching her put the finishing touches of her makeup on through her bedroom window. A smile tore at his lips, and as if she felt him there, she looked down and waved with a big grin. He watched her skip out of her room to meet him, and like a magnet, jumped out of the car to meet her.
"I love this girl." He whispered to himself. The feeling was in between sheer panic and complete bliss.
He was knocked out of his gaze when the front door of her house swung open, illuminating her in a bright glow in contrast to the dark skies. She was dressed for the occasion; black jeans, converse and a grateful dead t-shirt. Her hair was in wild waves and crimps and her lips were dark red.
When Katherine saw Damon, leaning against the passenger side of his blue '69 Camero, her eyes darkened with lust. Head to toe, Damon oozed sex appeal. Doc Martin boots, ripped black jeans, a white beater and his leather jacket. She snaked her hands under his jacket and around his waist, her fingertips tracing patterns on the skin at the base of his spine.
"I'm not sure what's sexier, you or the car." She kissed him hard, sticking her fingers deftly into his back pocket, reaching for the keys. "Care if I drive?"
His fingers slipped round her wrist, stopping her from pulling her hand away. "Oh babe…you can't drive my car." Damon chuckled with teasing condescendence.
She reeled back with a pout. "Why not?"
"I don't think you can handle it." He had expected her to be offended or at least annoyed with him; she was used to getting what she wanted, but he was wasn't expecting her to respond the way she did.
Katherine's eyes darkened with lust. "I think you'd be surprised by what I can handle."
…
The drive was agonizing for Damon. Not only was he sitting next to Katherine, after years of thinking she was dead, but he was also forced to sit passenger in his own car. He let his eyes coast over her profile, trying to see if there was any part of her still in there.
A small smirk creased her lips. "You're staring…" her eyes shifted to him quickly for redirecting back to the road.
Damon looked straight ahead sharply, slightly ashamed of being caught. "You look the same. Guess I was hoping to find a grey hair of something."
"Ha! Even if I wasn't dead…" she glanced at him with her brow raised. "Do you honestly think I'd let that happen?" She focused back on the road with a sigh and a tight grip of he wheel. She felt his heart rate pick up, clearly uncomfortable with her flippant words. "I know this is weird for you."
He scoffed, watching the trees pass by beside him in a blur. "Weird isn't the word I'd use." The silence dragged on between them for what felt like too long. "Where are we going?" Damon realized that the road they were going was taking them further from civilization.
"Somewhere safe."
Damon rolled his eyes at her cryptic answer. "Funny…I felt perfectly safe back at the motel."
Katherine made a turn off the interstate, and they continued down a dirt road. "Well you weren't. Don't forget that it was you two that took the risk coming to find me. This isn't a game, Damon. There are a lot of people out there that would kill you in an instant to get to me."
"What the hell did you get yourself into, Kat? Why did you do this? Why did you leave me?" The car came to a stop outside a small cabin in the middle of a forest. There was already a car parked outside, causing Damon to frown suspiciously.
Katherine threw the car in park and turned slightly to face him. "I didn't leave you, Damon…not because I wanted to. I loved you…" They both felt that sinking feeling; her use of the past tense pulled on his heart more than he expected. "I got in too deep and if I didn't leave everyone I cared about would have been at risk."
Damon narrowed his eyes. "And what about my sister? You didn't have a problem pulling her into did you?"
Katherine rolled her eyes. "It was Mia's idea. She was in it just as much as I was, Damon." In a flash, she was out of the car and at the front door of the cabin. Damon blinked, before getting out and following her cautiously, taking in his surroundings.
He couldn't see any other cabins in the area, and barely hear a sound besides the melodic singing of the birds. Trees shrouded the view of the interstate and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of panic. What was awaiting him in there?
He snapped out of his revere when Katherine's hand slipped into his. "It's okay." She stated softly. "There's only one person that knows about the place." She smiled secretively as she turned the key in the lock.
The door creaked open and they walked in. It was a cozy little cabin; rugs covered the wooden floors, and there were books and nick-nacks on the shelves. It felt lived in, as if someone was here all year round, and the warm décor brought him comfort.
"Honey! I'm home!" Kat called out sarcastically.
Elena came running out from the kitchen. "Thank God!" she threw her arms around Damon, hugging him tightly. Just as she was about to pull away he squeezed her tighter. "I'm glad you're okay." She caught Katherine's dark glare from where she stood behind him, and her pursed lips and raised brow forced her to pull out of Damon's arms.
"How did you get here?" He asked reluctantly letting her go.
Elena smiled sweetly. "I caught a ride." She heard the heeled boots click behind her.
"Miss me, brother?"