Carly pulled up in front of the Salvatore Boarding House and got out of her car. She was going to kill Elena for making Jenna worry so much. She knew that Elena wasn't with Bonnie, but she didn't want to throw her under the bus with Jenna either. She was trying to assert herself. She was trying to become the parental figure that Jeremy and Elena desperately needed. Especially Jeremy, but this was the perfect opportunity for Jenna to practice. She knocked as she slowly opened the door. "Elena?! She yelled? She stopped when Stefan walked down the stairs. "Where is she?" She demanded.
"She's not here." Carly shot him daggers.
"Do not lie to me."
"I'm not. She's with Damon."
"Where are they? Why is she with Damon?" Stefan sighed. He understood that she was feeling frantic."
"Here, sit down." He suggested and Carly nodded and sat down on the couch. "Carly I promise you that I'm not the person you think I am. I haven't been that way in a very long time." Carly's stare down was pretty fierce, Stefan had to admit, but he couldn't falter. "I don't drink human blood anymore. The blood lust is too strong for me. I can't control it. But I know I can't so I stick to animals. I will NEVER hurt Elena."
"You know Stefan. Looking at you, I believe that is your intention. I believe that you don't plan on ever hurting my baby sister. But I also know what you are and despite your best intentions I feel like you wont be able to keep that promise. So I'm going to tell you this. I can't stop Elena from being with you. I know her too well to know that no matter what I say she will do what she wants. But if you hurt her, I will make you pay in ways you wish you were dead."
"I don't doubt that. As for why Elena is with Damon, I'm not sure. But I can tell you what happened last night. Follow me, I have something to show you." Carly nodded and followed Stefan through the large boarding house and up the stairs. "Last night, Elena was here and she found this." Stefan handed Carly the photograph of Katherine. He watched her eyes go wide.
"What the hell is this?" It came out as a whisper. "How is this possible?"
"That is Katherine Pierce. She turned Damon and I." Stefan proceeded to tell Carly the history of The Salvatore Brothers and Katherine. Carly sat cross legged on Stefan's bed in disbelief.
"So...what? Elena is your Katherine substitute?"
"What? No! I wont lie, the fact that she's Katherine's Doppelganger is what sparked my interest. But Elena is everything Katherine is not and never could be. Loving, Loyal, Caring. I could go on for days." Carly nodded satisfied with his response.
"But how is this possible?"
"I have an idea, but I really want to talk with Elena about it first." Carly narrowed her eyes.
"No. You will tell me. Right now. And then we will tell Elena together." Stefan sighed. He could argue with her, but he didn't really feel like having his brain set ablaze by her.
"Your sister is adopted. She's a descendant of Katherine. I'm not sure how, but she is. I was under the impression that her bloodline ended when she turned but now we know that isn't true" Stefan saw a cloudiness form behind Carly's eyes. "Are you okay? I know it has to be a shock that Elena isn't your actual sister."
"I'm fine." Carly's head was swarming. All her life she was pushed to not be herself. Pushed to change who she was. Made to put herself into a box to appease her father to keep Elena safe. Her father always loved Elena more. Always wanted to make sure Elena was safe. She was his birth daughter and she meant nothing to him.
"You're not fine." Stefan saw the tears well up in her eyes a bit. She shook her head.
"Please let it go Stefan. I don't want to talk about it." He nodded. He seemed to be bonding with her. He didn't want to push her.
"After Elena found the photo, she left her really upset. I couldn't get in touch with her all night and when I finally did, Damon answered." Carly rolled her eyes.
"Well he better bring her back in one piece or I'm going to kill him." Stefan smiled.
"I have no doubt."
"Okay, I need to get to my house and calm Jenna down." Stefan nodded.
"Carly- Would you mind if I told her about the adoption myself? I don't want her to be upset that I told you first. She's going to be upset as it is" Carly nodded. She understood. She made Stefan tell her, and now she regretted knowing. "And I mean it Carly- She's everything to me."
"Stefan I know. And I want to believe that no harm will come to her because of you. But I know plenty about the supernatural world to know that it's highly unlikely."
She patted his shoulder as she walked out of the room.
She got into her car, a sob escaping her lips. Every hurt feeling she had ever felt over her Father's indifference to her bubbled to the surface. Her chest hurt from the emotional pain. She knew that Elena was a real daughter to Grayson, adopted or otherwise. But SHE was his flesh and blood. And he tossed her aside like she was absolutely nothing. Elena's safety came before Carly's everything. What made Elena so damn special that her father would send her away? Coming home had been a mistake. She couldn't stay in that house. That wasn't her home. It never truly was.
Jenna wasn't home when she got to the house. She headed upstairs and started packing all of her things. The things that really mattered to her. She took some mementos from her childhood, this associated with Miranda and Jenna, her clothing, books, all of the things she brought home with her. On her way home, she had stopped and made a copy of the letter Miranda had written to her. She put it in an envelope and wrote Elena a note. She hoped she understood, but it didn't matter if she didn't. Carly couldn't stay here anymore. She was going back to the lake house. It was the only place she had ever felt happy when she was home.
She quickly loaded her things into her car before anyone could stop her. She would let Elena explain the best she could to Jenna. She owed her that much. Carly hated resenting Elena. But she couldn't help it. She knew everything that happened wasn't Elena's fault. But she wasn't feeling rational at the moment. She hoped that the feelings would pass. She loved Elena so much but she was just so incredibly hurt.
Hot tears poured down her face as she drove back to the lake. She wished for so many things, but what she had wished for the most was that her mother never brought her to Grayson and that she had kept her and that she tired to protect her that way. Carly would rather be dead but had a childhood filled with happiness and love than the one of judgment and loneliness. She turned down the road and headed back towards the Lake House.
Carly felt like a coward. She had been hiding out at the Lake House for a few days. Stefan must have told Elena that she knew she was adopted. Elena had left her a message about how her birth mom was Alaric, Jenna's almost boyfriend's, wife. And that Damon has turned her mother, Isobel into a vampire at her request. She had begged her to call her back. She sent Elena a text telling her she just needed some time to process things. She stopped calling after that. She had no idea what to say to her, but Stefan's latest voicemail explaining what had been going on had her heading towards her home town.
Carly had been trying to avoid the drama of Mystic Falls but she knew that would only last so long. She was almost at the boarding house, a firey rage burning inside of her. Damon had tried to kill Bonnie because she destroyed the pendant that could release Katherine. She opened the door to the house. She found Damon sitting on the couch reading what appeared to be a diary of some sort. It looked the one of the diaries in the secret room at the cabin. Before he could greet you, the diary was floating towards the fire.
"Damnit Carly!! What are you doing?!"
"You tried to kill Bonnie. It wasn't her fault that Emily took over!" You screamed at him.
"I know. I know. I'm sorry okay? I was so angry I just snapped."
"Damon, against my better judgment I like you. I don't think you're as terrible as you pretend to be. But listen to me very carefully. The next time you lay a finger on someone I care about. I'll start laying mine on the one you care about the most. Pretty sure you'd hate to lose Katherine after just getting her back. I have zero problem ripping her heart out and making you watch." Damon was startled by how angry you were and he nodded.
"I promise. Unless I have to defend myself. Deal?" You threw the book at him and he grunted as it hit his stomach.
"So Elena and Stefan tried to screw you over? And you threatened to turn her into a vampire?" You questioned sitting down next to him.
"Why aren't you all worked up about that?"
"Because I'm about 99% sure you wouldn't have actually hurt her." He gave you a dirty look.
"I was surprised you didn't go back home after Elena was attacked at the Dance."
"Stefan said that you guys killed him. If you hadn't I would have. Damon I'm struggling with what my father did. I don't want to take that out on Elena. It's not her fault. I'm better off alone anyway." Damon felt a strange yearning as he stared at her sad face. He put his hand on her knee to try and comfort her. She gave him a weak smile and before she could say a word Stefan busted into the Library.
"Anna took Elena!" He was frantic.
"Wait- what?!" You jumped up.
"Yeah I got that from your 600 voicemails" Damon said dryly.
"You knew this entire time I was here and didn't tell me?!" Damon heard the wind outside pick up.
"I didn't mean to not tell you. The threatening distracted me and I honestly thought Stefan had it handled." Damon held his hands up.
"So you sat here doing nothing?!"
"I'm sorry Carly. I was angry with my brother."
"I'm trying very hard not to kill you right now." Stefan explained everything about Anna. "You go find Anna." She pointed at Damon. Damon rushed out of the house.
"He wouldn't have helped if it weren't for you." Carly didn't respond.
"I can do a locator spell." And then she stopped. "Shit shit shit. I can't. She's not really my sister. My blood isn't enough. I have to figure out how to get into my house, into Elena's room without Jeremy or Jenna seeing me. They're going to have questions that I can't answer right now. Let me think. She's using Elena for leverage. So she's okay for now. But she needs the Grimoire. She's going to try and bribe Damon." As Carly paced trying to think, Stefan's phone beeped.
"Anna has Bonnie too."
"Then lets go see Sheila and get them back." Stefan nodded and followed Carly out of the house.