Author's notes: And here we are again :) This chap is not as long as I planned it would be, but… well, if I united it with the next one, it would take you a week to go through lol
Dig in!
Chapter 2
It was a matter of precaution to leave the car two blocks from the spot Damon told him to come to and make them by foot sticking to the shadows. Alaric covered them in quick brisk pace feeling somewhat exposed in the darkness that he knew was hiding evil. He listened intensely to the noises all around him, but in the back of his mind he knew better than that – had anyone out there wanted to stay hidden, they'd do it. Had anyone decided to attack him, he would never notice it before it would be too late. Not that the thoughts were consoling in any way…
It was a small park, or more of a green spot in the intersection of three streets that no one ever figured out how to use. Apparently, the founding fathers weren't all that good at arranging the town structure. Being a pretty place with kids on bikes and colorful flowerbeds at the daytime, it looked eerily creepy at night, what with not a single street-lamp on its territory, and silence, and the fog crawling along the ground.
Damon was standing under the tree, one shoulder leaned against its rough bark and arms folded on his chest. A dark spot against… well, overall darkness. Alaric couldn't see his face clearly. In fact, he couldn't see much at all, but he could feel the boredom emanating from the vampire as if he wasn't at all interested in being there at all, which, assuming his company, was totally understandable.
Beside him, on the ground, was lying a petite girl with long chestnut hair dressed in plain blur jeans and beige jacket, her skin look unnaturally white, even almost glowing in the moonlight. Bloody smudge on her neck – without the advantage of the vampire vision, Ric couldn't see the bite itself – was a pretty good reason for that. Or, at least, the back story of it was.
"Thank God you made it here before morning," Damon pushed himself off of the tree and came to stand beside Alaric as the later surveyed the body.
Ric didn't dignify his comment with an answer. "What happened?" He asked instead.
"That's an interesting story," Damon started. "I was in the bar having a drink with this girl…" Stacey, popped into his mind all of a sudden. Her name was Stacey, she did say it to him when he just joined her. Damon cringed. Why wouldn't it happen when it was of any use? Oh… whatever!
"With the girl?" Ric's brows shot up.
"Oh, please! I wouldn't feed from a human in a public place!" Damon snorted.
"Yeah, right," not without skepticism. "Go on."
Damon let out a heavy theatrical sigh. "I heard this one," he poked at the body, "scream outside. So, I sent my dinner back to… oh, I don't know, some motel, and come and check what the hell interrupted such a perfect night. And this is what I saw. She has a student ID of some Virginia College. No idea what was she doing here though."
"And you're bothered why, exactly?" Alaric asked. "Not that you never killed anyone yourself."
Damon regarded him darkly. "A-a-and here's time for the fun facts about the vampires," he drawled. "We don't have to kill people to feed, see."
"So, why do you do it at all?" Ric frowned.
Damon rolled his eyes. "For fun," he replied in a voice that implied that had there been any question more stupid than that, he had never heard it. "Why else?"
"You can't be serious."
"I remember giving you a lecture on humanity issues already. Take notes next time, would you please? Of course we kill for fun, or out of boredom, or revenge for not getting enough hugs from mommy when we were kids. Take your pick." He paused. "But we never do it where we live. Not like that at least. What do you think would be the first thing for people to find tomorrow? Yep, a girl with two very distinctive bite marks, drained of blood. Do you really think that Sherriff and her team can feed everyone that animal attacks story for long?" Now, Damon sounded really annoyed. "I have no wish to leave this town for the next 50 years… again."
"You suggest it was set up. Any idea why?" Ric paused. "You… you really think it could be Isobel?"
"Honestly? Not a clue. The vampires from the tomb were either killed, or fled when their little family fell apart. So, it's me, Stefan and her, as far as we're concerned, right?"
"She might not be alone," Alaric reminded him.
"It doesn't matter," Damon winced. "It's still us against her… and her gang. Sort of. So, if the two of you have unresolved issues, feel free to spill now."
Alaric considered his words for a moment, somewhat taken aback by his own reaction to them. It was weird but somehow not so horrible to talk about all of that as it used to be. They might have as well be talking about the weather or a soccer game and he would stay as calm and detached as now, he realized.
"I still can't see how killing a girl would do me any harm," Ric said at last when he finally saw the flaw in Damon's oh-so-perfect theory that bugged him from the start.
"What do you mean?"
"You asked if Isobel and I had unresolved issues. Let's imagine we do," because her taking off to become a vampire is sort of an issue, as well as me calling her a bitch, he added mentally. "She goes and kills a girl. So? I still have history test planned for tomorrow."
Damon frowned. "So?"
"Yeah – so? It's not like the city folk will come for me with the stakes." He shrugged. "I see your point here, Damon. Killing somebody and leaving the body in the middle of Mystic Falls is almost a dare, but why won't you try to look in another direction?"
Damon blinked when something clicked in his mind. "Who would want to set me up?"
Alaric scoffed. "Present company excluded?"
"You wouldn't."
"As much as I'd love to. So, I suggest you start digging. Maybe cross out those who don't want you dead – the list mustn't be long." On that, Damon gave him a pointed look. "And I…" Ric rubbed at his eyes, "I don't know if Isobel is still here, but if she is, I guess I'll try to find her." It was his turn to give Damon a glare then. "But if it is your fault, do me a favor – clean your mess yourself."
He let his eyes – now better adjusted to the lack of light – travel up and down the girl's body again, and an invisible hand clenched his heart. Playing a part in somebody's dirty game was probably the most terrible and unfair way to die. Whoever she was, she definitely deserved better than that. He almost hated himself for being able to just stand there and analyze her death as if she wasn't a human being who talked and laughed and dreamed of something only a few hours ago. It was like this whole situation with Isobel, and everything she said to him, killed a part of humanity in him as well.
"I so don't want to go into all this deep self-analysis," Damon flinched in disgust. "It is so Oprah. And Stefan. And I can't decide which one of them is more annoying."
Alaric crossed his arms on his chest noticing for the first time that his fingers were numb from cold.
"You really don't know what all of this could be about?"
"Please, don't tell me we're in the I-don't-trust-you mode again," Damon said flatly. "I wouldn't call you just for the company. In fact, I hoped you knew something. God knows what other dirty little secrets you're hiding."
Ric regarded him for a long moment, and then sighed. "Okay, whatever. There is one more thing…"
"Where to hide the body?" Damon suggested. "Don't worry about that, I know-"
"We are not going to hide it. And no, another thing."
"More exciting than hiding the body?"
"That's for you to decide. Tell me, Damon, why did you think that this was a move against you?"
"Actually, I thought that it was against you, which yeah, doesn't make much sense now that pointed it out."
"Yeah, thanks. I believe we all got that."
"My pleasure," Damon shrugged.
"Let me put it this way then – why would your second guess be that it was aimed at you? I mean I know that you never get over yourself-"
"Are you serious? Oh, please! Who else could it be? You can't really think that the bunnies would start a war against Stefan!" He sneered. "He hardly was his real-dark-self long enough to piss somebody off that much. Besides, you," he pointed at Ric's chest, "had killed enough of the vampires to have a couple of fangy enemies of your own." He paused then, thinking. "Of course they'd try to come and kill you in the old-fashioned way first. It's not like everyone knows about that awesome ring of yours. This whole act is a little too theatrical even for my taste. But still… keep it in mind."
He had a point, Ric had to admit. But there also was something that bothered him more than that, even though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. It kept slipping away from him every time he was coming too close.
"How about some non-human logic?" He offered.
"We're not exactly human, but we're not dumb. And thank you, by the way."
"Any time."
They both fell silent for a while.
It was getting colder, and Ric's breath was puffing out in small white clouds now
"Well, I guess we're done here then!" Damon announced after a while in a way too cheerful voice. "What would you say if we call it a night?"
"Wait," Ric whipped his head around. "We can't just leave her here. Wasn't it the whole point of this get-together anyway?"
"You really had to bring it up, didn't you?" Damon winced.
"I'm serious."
"Okay, okay! I'll take care of it! You can go work on your high school lectures or something," he shook his head. "Oh, Lord, have I ever said anything more depressing?"
"What are you going to do?" Alaric watched Damon make a circle around the body and then squat down to peer at the girl's face.
"Relax, Ric. I'm just going to move her to a place where she'd attract less audience than here. It's not like I have anything kinky planned for her. Anymore."
"I could have lived without this information."
"Yeah, I know. That's why I couldn't keep it to myself," Damon all but signsonged in response.
It was a small postcard, half-size of a regular one – the kind that people put in the flowers or attach to the gifts. Beige, with ivy ornament and delicate frame on the outside. Any stationery shop could offer plenty of them. And it was tucked under the windshield wiper when Elena came out of the house in the morning.
She paused for a moment, confused, then reached out and freed it carefully from under the wiper. Inside, written in red ink, was just one word – "Smile". No signature.
Frowning, Elena looked up and down the street wondering who could have left it, as if really expecting to see someone hiding behind the nearest tree but it was completely deserted at this early hour. She turned the card over then and examined the back side of it. To her disappointment, there was nothing in there except for the logo of the company that printed it. It was weird. Why would anyone leave her an anonymous message like that?
It could have been from Stefan, she decided in the end. Not that there was anyone else she could think of. And, with Stefan it was a little less creepy. He could have come by at night and left it for her. It definitely looked like his kind of thing, Elena thought as she got in the car and buckled the seatbelt. It was sweet. She looked at the postcard again and put it into her bag.
The first person she saw in the school parking lot was Damon. He stood leaning against the hood of his sleek black Mustang, arms crossed on the chest and eyes hidden behind the sunglasses, which looked a little odd assuming thick clouds in the sky. He stopped scanning the area when he spotted her car but he did not move as he watched her park and get out. Only then did he let his glasses slide down to the tip of his nose so that he could see her over the black rim.
"Damon," slinging the bag over her shoulder, Elena came up to him. "What are you doing here?"
"That's a nice form of a Good morning," he smirked, his eyebrows rising up.
"Sorry," Elena offered him a small smile. "Is everything okay?"
"Sure. Why wouldn't it be?"
"Maybe because you're not exactly a morning person, and it's only," she paused to look at her watch, "7.45 now?"
"Oh, that… well, yeah."
"What are you doing here so early?"
"Nothing," he shrugged. "Just making sure my little brother doesn't go on a killing spree all over again. It's a public place after all, with so much food walking around."
"He wouldn't." Elena gave him a reproachful look and it was only then that she realized… "Where's Stefan anyway?"
She looked around but his red sports car was nowhere to be seen.
"I am here to make sure he doesn't kill anyone but I can't drive him to school, Elena. What would other kids think? They would pick on him and it would be all my fault all over again." He gave her a meaningful look and then his eyes narrowed.
"What?" She asked suspiciously.
"Do you have a cut or something?" Damon asked, and it was probably the most unexpected question she ever heard in her entire life.
"I... yes." She looked down at her index finger. A long thin red line ran on the outer side of it – a paper cut. "Why would you ask that? Is that a big deal now?"
"You smell like blood," he scoffed. "I was curious."
"Gee, thanks." Elena made a face at him. "This is, like, the cutest thing I've ever heard."
"Anytime, Elena," he winked at her.
The bell rang and they turned to look at the crowed that started to squeeze through the doors hurrying to get to the classrooms.
"My class…" Elena observed the parking lot once last time. "I've gotta go." She made several steps and then turned back to Damon again. "You sure you don't want to tell me anything else?"
"Your boyfriend's late," he pointed out. "Maybe I should ground him for skipping classes."
On a small smile that she was unable to hold back, Elena shook her head.
He watched her go inside of the building feeling… well, weird. Something was bugging him but he couldn't figure out what it was. Something was wrong. Something felt different and he didn't like it. And what he liked even less was that he didn't know where to start.
His phone started to ring making Damon wince. He didn't need to look at the caller ID to know who was on the other end of the line.
Still, he fished it out of the pocket of his jacket and pushed the answer button.
"Sherriff?"
"Damon, I am sorry for calling you this early," she sounded more anxious than apologetic though, he could also hear other voices in the background and some noises, like the footsteps and rustle of the evidence plastic bags.
"I don't like your voice," he said hoping he managed to mimic it. If only because I know what you're going say, he added mentally.
"There was another attack." Bingo! "Stacey Williams, college student from New York."
What?
Damon froze. "What?"
"Her friend told us they were on the road trip of some sort," Sherriff went on oblivious to the nature of Damon's surprise. "When Stacey didn't come back to the motel they stopped at, she called the police." She paused then. "I believe I don't need to tell you it wasn't a… human attack."
Crap!
"I'll be right there," he told briskly and disconnected.
And what the hell was going on now?
He was about to get in the car when Stefan pulled up beside him. Damon paused waiting for him to get out.
"Damon."
"You're late."
"What are you doing here?"
Damon ignored his question, too distracted to come up with some quick and witty response. "We've got a problem," he said instead and looked around as if making sure no one could hear them.
Stefan frowned. "What is it?"
"Don't know yet." Which was annoying like hell. "Just keep your eyes open. And call me if you see something strange. Anything." He slipped into the car and slammed the door.
"What? Damon-"
But he was already revving back and out of the parking lot while scrolling down the contact list on his phone. Saw the name he was looking for and hit the dial button.
"Morning, Ric. Guess what?"
"Please, Jenna," the voice on the other end of the line was all but begging. "I am stuck here with this dress, which will be oh-so-ridiculously… something. It looks pretty, but there's no way I can get out of here any time soon and pick the schedule myself."
Jenna let out a desperate growl, more for the show than in actual frustration. "Fine, but you owe me for this," she agreed not really struggling. She knew she would eventually, so why waste their time?
"Thank you! You're a lifesaver," Elena sighed with relief. "I love you."
"Like I said, you owe me."
The school parking lot was empty for the most part. In the light of lonely streetlamps she made out five or six vehicles.
She pulled into it, found the closest to the entrance spot and killed the engine. Only a few windows were lit up but she knew that the seeming emptiness was an illusion. Now that the Founder's Day was creeping in on them, the committee responsible for the show was practically living at school arranging and re-arranging the stuff to make the celebration rock, which made her feel sorry for all of them.
Jenna hopped out and slammed the door cringing at the echo that scattered about the parking lot, and looked around.
The whole neighborhood seemed to be completely deserted and being all alone in the open space, surrounded by deep black shadows, sent shiver down her body.
The office next to the principal's was almost packed. People were drawing the banners, sorting out the decorations, chatting and arguing about the positions of the participants on the platforms. Some of them drank coffee from white foam cups, and the smell of it was as fresh and thick as in the coffee shop.
Jenna stopped in the doorway to observe the chaos, which to her surprise seemed to be having some weird order to it. It was past her how these people managed to spend here all the time and still stay in their right mind. She left Mystic Falls the year her class was supposed to organize the celebration thus losing her chance to be a part of the madness, and now she didn't know whether to regret it or to be relieved that she managed to avoid it.
It was almost a life and death task to wiggle through the constantly moving crowd to the far end of the room, and by the time Jenna reached it, her head was spinning from all the buzz around her. She collected a copy of preliminary parade schedule from a busy-looking girl in round glasses who seemed to be speaking much faster than it was natural for a human, which probably was a side-effect of the honor to be on the committee. The girl warned her that it might change and the final version would only be printed out and distributed a week before the celebration. Of course, all participants would be informed immediately.
Making her way to the exit, Jenna felt almost sorry for Elena who had to deal with that on the daily basis. But sorry or not, she preferred to get out of there before the hurricane swept her off her feet and swallowed her, too.
The corridors were mainly dark, except for the dim lamps that were left on in the hallways, their light crating pale pools in between the spots of the darkness. After the noise of the committee room the silence outside was almost deafening. Jenna reached the corner and turned to the right but instead of reaching the exit she found herself standing at the gym doors.
It should have been left then instead of right, she realized belatedly trying to figure out how to get out of the building without getting lost again. For some reason the place looked completely different at night. The echo of her footsteps was creepy and it also made an illusion of someone walking after her, which wasn't true of course but for some reason it was a little more than unnerving.
Not that she wasn't familiar with the place though. Next corridor to the right and then another turn to the left, and she'd get to the cafeteria, which was not more than half a minute walk from the exit. God, she hoped Jeremy called for pizza. She was starving…
She turned the corner and it was only then that she noticed that the lights were on in the history class. She stopped. So, it wasn't only the Founder's Day committee that worked late today. The corners of Jenna's lips tugged up slightly. Well, maybe this circle on the way home had its bright side after all.
She heard his voice when she was about ten feet from the door, and she thought he was talking on the phone first, until another voice – a female one – made her freeze in her track as her heart fell.
"You don't know, Ric? Really?" The woman asked curiously, if a little sarcastically.
"I loved you, Isobel." Alaric's voice was quiet and strained, but there was determination in it, too. "You have no idea how much I loved you. You were everything for me. I would do anything for you."
The silence fell then.
Jenna bit her lower lip feeling dizzy and sick, crashed by what she had just heard. Her head was spinning as the words replayed over and over in her mind. Carefully, she tiptoed back to where she came from trying to hold her breath lest they hear her. She needed to get out. Now! She didn't want to be there. She didn't want to hear any of that. And least of all she needed to be caught.
He was working late. There were several essays to check and it took him a while, which wasn't surprising considering how much time he was spending on his research and reading the records that went back to 1860s in between. The Founder's Day celebration and participation of his class added a fair share of work to his agenda.
Alaric pinched the bridge of his nose squeezing his eyes shut for a moment as his mind drifted between his students' works and the books he had piled up on his desk. Should have gone for some coffee, he thought but instead of actually doing so, he reached for the next paper. Hopefully, he'd be done before midnight. Good thing was that they at least left him out of the scenario whiting, which was totally okay with Ric as long as he knew he'd get his copy in time to get ready for the parade.
His hand froze half way through…
There was no sound, or movement, or the stir of the air, but something had changed, and he knew he wasn't alone in the poorly lit classroom anymore. He was getting used to that prickling feeling already, what with so many creatures lurking around in the shadows, which of course didn't exactly make it any more comfortable.
He looked up… and saw her standing in the doorway, her hands tucked casually into the pockets of her black raincoat.
"Isobel." Paper forgotten, he straightened up in the chair.
"Hello, Ric," she made her way in, calm and confident.
She looked classy, he decided ignoring that longing feeling that first settled inside of him when she went missing two years ago. He was still having it every time he thought about her. It faded a little over time, but it wasn't gone and some part of him knew it never would. Like, an aftermath of so many years of marriage, and the bond he thought they had, and shared dreams. Well, his dreams for the most part. The thought was sour and painful, and knowing that she wasn't feeling the same – probably never did – only made it worse.
Alaric kept his cool though, at least externally. Or so he hoped.
"What are you doing here?"
Isobel's brows shot up. "I heard you were looking for me." And maybe it was just his imagination, but her voice sounded slightly amused, too.
Her answer though made him snicker, and it came out bitter and humorless. "Seriously?" He shook his head and then locked his eyes on hers. "I've been looking for you for two years and it didn't seem to bother you much. So what do I owe the honor now?"
She didn't answer at once taking her time to study his face. "I didn't come only because of that," admitted then on a nonchalant shrug.
"My point exactly. Moreover, I'm sure you'd never do that out of… sorry, nearly said humanity. My mistake." Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to keep his voice even while talking to her. Almost at all. "Which makes me wonder, of course, what do you want?"
"I needed to talk to you."
"Business or a nice walk down the memory lane?" his brows quirked up as Ric got up to his feet, circled his desk and leaned against it, his arms folded on his chest. He hated having to look up at her, and this way they at least had their eyes on the same level.
"Why are you trying to make it hard?"
"Why is it hard for you? You don't care," he reminded her. "What is it, Isobel?"
"Elena."
The answer caught Alaric by surprise and he frowned in misunderstanding.
"Why would you want to talk about her to me?"
"Because I want you to talk to her."
Huh?
"Why? You two had a nice start so far. You blackmailed her threatening to kill her friends and family, forcing her to be a delivery girl for you when you decided that someone else should do your dirty work for you. Am I missing something?" He went on when she didn't express any reaction to his words. "Go and talk to her yourself, Isobel. And don't you dare use me as your messenger boy again."
"She won't listen to me," she said calmly.
"Well, it's not like you can blame her."
"You, on the other hand…" Isobel ignored his comment. "I want her to stay away from the Salvatore brothers. And don't tell me you have another opinion on this matter."
Ric considered her words. "You know you're, like, 17 years late with that, don't you?"
"Don't put sentimental context to my request," she told him, as if it was obvious.
"Sure. Another mistake of mine. I seem to do so many of them when it comes to you."
She didn't comment on that. "Why were you looking for me, Ric?" Isobel asked making it clear that the previous conversation was over.
Yeah, right. Over all this lost love and family talk he nearly forgot about their little dead problem.
"Two young girls were killed last night. Their bodies were drained of blood and left practically in the middle of the town, like some sort of a message."
"And?"
"Do you know anything about it?"
Isobel watched him somewhat apprehensively before speaking again. "Are you asking me if I killed them?"
"Did you?"
She let out a short laugh. "No."
"Do you know anyone who could have done it?"
"Let's start with the Salvatore brothers."
"Well, it's not like they search for publicity. Anyone else?"
"And how about not being anyone's messengers, Ric?"
On that, she turned on her heels and went to the door.
"Why didn't you tell me, Isobel?" He blurted out, and only realized that he said it out loud when she stopped and turned.
"What, exactly?"
He hesitated. "Everything." Because there was time he thought they were closer than that. That they were meant for each other. That she knew he would always be there for her even if he couldn't always understand her or share her passion for supernatural. Because he always believed in them.
He needed to know why.
"What would it change? What would you do if you knew all of that?"
"I don't know," he said honestly, feeling helpless.
"You don't know, Ric? Really?"
Suddenly he felt so endlessly tired under her expecting gaze. As if the weight of the whole world fell on his shoulders.
"I loved you, Isobel. You have no idea how much I loved you. You were everything to me. I would do anything for you." His voice dropped. The pause was long and the tension was so thick in the air that he could practically touch it. "And now you want me to believe that all these years mean nothing to you?" Ric broke the silence. "You want me to ignore the fact that we were happy once? Well, I can't. I can't just cross it out of my mind the way you did, and move on. I don't believe there was anything we couldn't fix together." And God help him, but he meant every single word.
"Are you saying you would do that for me?" She sounded incredulous and genuinely surprised.
"You never bothered to ask."
She considered his words.
"And what would you say if I asked it now?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Apparently, it was my mistake to leave you out of this back then. What if I offered it to you now, Ric? What would you say if … if there still was a chance for us to be together for eternity?"
She might have as well said she was from another planet and he wouldn't have been more shocked.
Alaric pushed himself off of the table and came up closer to her. So close that she could feel the sweet scent of her perfume. There was something… some part of him longed to hear these words so much – if only to know that not everything was lost for them – that he couldn't believe that it actually happened. Some part of him still wanted to know that there was something left in this creature from the woman that meant a whole world to him once. He wanted to close his eyes on all the lies, on all the issues. He wanted everything to be back the way it was. They could…
"Are you serious?" His voice was barely above whisper.
"If that's what you want."
"For two years I waited, and hoped, and prayed. I wanted nothing else but for you to come back. And I wanted it so bad that I was ready to sell my soul if only it meant getting you back, Isobel." His eyes never left hers. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to love someone so much? Do you know how much it hurts to know that you've lost that someone forever? It rips you apart. It drives you crazy and in the end you want nothing but to die." He stopped . "There is only one thing I can say now." He leaned in a little and lowered his voice. "Go to hell."
Her eyes turned ice-cold in a moment.
"Well, my best wishes to you, too, Ric."
Alaric didn't know for how long he simply stared at the door after Isobel was gone, numb, his head pretty empty. Then, as if snapping out of some trans, he let out a long sign and rubbed at his face feeling drained of any energy.
God, it hurt. It still hurt like hell. How was it even possible? It was supposed to fade after all the things she had said to him. Why would it happen to them? How was he supposed to accept the fact that so many years of his life were a one big fat lie? Why would she do it to both of them?
With the heart still pounding dully in his chest, restless, Ric got back to his desk. It didn't look like he could finish the essays today. There was too much on his mind to concentrate on his work. He picked up his mobile. Jenna's was the last number in the log of outgoing calls and for a moment he finger lingered on the dial button. But then he just put it away. He wanted to hear her voice – badly – if only to make sure there was something else to his life than this endless nightmare, but he didn't know what to say, and the knot of nerves that he was, he knew he'd end up with something that wouldn't do any good to both of them.
But the real thing that bothered Ric the most was that he told the truth. Had Isobel asked him to come with her, he didn't know what he'd say. The thought was crazy, almost insane, and going back to who he was two years ago, he's be shocked, struck with the offer. But… but there was a chance that it wouldn't be a No, and it frightened him.
To be continued…
Thanks for reading! Comments are always appreciated ;)
