Well…it's been awhile, but I was on vacation for awhile and now I'm back. Thank you for your responses to the last chapter. I knew that when everything finally went down, it would be an inferno set where Bamon were concerned. Both of them made some HUGE mistakes, but Damon went Damon and had to burn it down and salt the earth. I genuinely think he was hurt and angry at what he perceived Bonnie did and he couldn't get over himself at that point. But now it's pretty much backfired on him, so we will see what happens. Thank you for your support, you will never know how much it helps!
Disclaimer: I don't own it.
Present Day
Bonnie stared down at the crime scene photos spread out on her kitchen counter. She'd seen grisly photos before, but just like being in Olivia's condo the other day, the photos were much worse. The pictures of Olivia with bruises all over her face, the stab wounds, the way she looked like a broken doll on the floor made Bonnie nauseous. The person who committed this heinous act was an animal. An enraged animal who attacked an innocent and weaker human being and stabbed the life out of her. There was no way that Damon had committed this crime. Despite what happened between them, Bonnie knew that Damon wasn't capable of something like this. Shaking her head in disgust, she stood up and walked over to the refrigerator, pouring a glass of water. She needed a strategy. Tyler Lockwood and Lucas Parker were definitely two potentials that she realized she should focus on. Tyler had lost big in that divorce settlement and in his eyes, Olivia had stolen part of his company from him. He was an obvious choice. Lucas was a little harder, he appeared to be the one person Olivia was closest to in her family; however, that would be a hard sell. In fact, Bonnie wasn't convinced that Lucas was the person she should be researching.
She moved towards her couch and leaned back. Here she was, being pulled in by Damon. She decided a couple of days before to leave him behind. Whatever feelings that built up between them, she wanted to work on pushing them away. It was the same reason why she had slept with Kol. That was the first step in proving to herself that she was over Damon Salvatore. It failed miserably because as soon as she slept with Kol, Damon called her and threw her world into a tizzy.
Ever since she walked away from Briddle, Asher and Fant, LLP, she had been coasting. She took on a few pro bono cases here and there. She had enough from her savings and severance package to live for awhile and she was determined to do that. There had been offers from the DA's office, but she rejected them. She wasn't quite ready for that life at the moment.
Bonnie stood up to head over to the kitchen to gather up the pictures again, when her doorbell rang. Walking over, she prayed that it was no one attached to this case…meaning Damon, Kol or Stefan. She opened the door to Elena, "Hey…I came over as soon as my shift was over," she hugged her, "I spoke to Stefan and I'm sorry its been a rough day, but are you ok?"
Bonnie sighed, "I'm not the one charged with murder."
"But the one you love is," Elena gave her a small smile.
"Elena, this is not about what personal relationship me and Damon used to have. This is about him being charged with a crime that he didn't commit and I am going to get him off."
"Hmm…I spoke with Stefan, he says that Damon is pretty torn up about everything."
"Well he had a relationship with Olivia, so the fact that she was murdered would tear anyone up," Bonnie shrugged.
"Uh, huh and this isn't weird for you?"
"You mean does it rip my heart out every time someone mentions that he and Olivia had a relationship or that they were sleeping together? Yes, it most certainly does. Every time someone says it, it's like a million little elves sticking daggers in my chest. I love him Elena and I know that despite everything went wrong between us, but I love him and I need to push that aside. I need to look at the facts and get him out of this."
"Well let's talk about you, how are you doing?"
Bonnie breathed out, "How am I doing?" she laughed humorlessly, "well the night that Damon called me about being arrested, I slept with Kol."
Elena hissed and grimaced, "Ooohhh…"
"Exactly. So I would say that I was in a steady freefall. No job, just existing. I haven't spoken to my father in a month and he hasn't even come to Mystic Falls to see why. He knows what happened at the firm, but he rather call continuously than come see me. Briddle, Asher and Fant, LLP gave me my severance, but I am sure they are just waiting to give me bad references. I don't know…I knew that taking Tyler's case was a mistake, but I couldn't walk away. I wanted to win. I wanted to become partner and it blew up in my face."
"Bonnie, you are a good attorney and they put you in a corner. Yes, you didn't make all the right decisions…who does," Elena wrapped her arm around Bonnie's shoulder.
"This is such a mess Elena."
"A mess that can only be fixed by you, I know you will win this one. That's why Damon called you."
Bonnie looked over at Elena, "And this is why I called you over, you know how to make me feel better."
BDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBD
Bonnie sat in the leather chairs outside of Tyler's office suite. She straightened her suit jacket and tapped her foot on the carpet. It had been ages since she was this nervous. She was surprised that Tyler agreed to see her, but it was worth a shot. This would probably be antagonistic, but Bonnie was prepared for the fight. She just needed to get some type of read on Tyler to see if he was the one behind Olivia's death.
"Ms. Bennett, Mr. Lockwood will see you now," Tyler's assistant, Rebekah stood up and lead Bonnie towards Tyler's spacious corner office. Bonnie took a deep breath as they walked towards his office.
"Mr. Lockwood, Ms. Bennett," Rebecca knocked on Tyler's door causing him to gaze up and meet Bonnie's eyes. Her blood immediately began to boil when she truly locked eyes on him.
"Bonnie…what a surprise to see you here," he smirked, "what can I help you with?"
"I want to know where you were two nights ago?" Bonnie stood over him.
Tyler leaned back in his chair, "Ahh, so it is true. You are Damon Salvatore's attorney. Defending him after he slaughtered Olivia after sleeping with her, never thought you would be the one to defend that monster."
"Damon didn't kill Olivia."
"Oh really? He was the only one there. His fingerprints were on the weapon; how do you figure that he's not the one who did it?"
"Because he says he didn't and he had absolutely no reason to," Bonnie stated, "he didn't have anything to gain by seeing Olivia did and like you said, he was sleeping with her…so he at the very least liked her."
Tyler gave Bonnie a chilling smile, "You're here because you think I did it or at the very least you think that I hired someone to do it."
"The percentage of the company that she got in the divorce would revert back to you. I would say that is a helluva reason to kill someone especially, when you were so angry that she got part of your company in the first place."
"Bonnie, you have a lot of nerve coming here and accusing me of killing Olivia."
"I think that's pretty much a given, I have a lot of nerve. Tyler, I know Damon didn't kill Olivia and someone else did and whomever that someone else is, won't get away with it. Tyler, I know that you don't think I did a good job representing you, but I was assigned to you because I'm a damn good attorney and I will make sure that Damon comes out of this innocent and no matter what—I will find out what happened here."
Tyler stood up from his chair staring Bonnie directly in the eyes, "I didn't kill Olivia. That attorney that represented her and then got in between her legs is the one who murdered her. You already made a mess of your career by mishandling my case, don't make a bigger mistake by defending the man who murdered an innocent woman."
"I'm not defending the man who murdered an innocent woman, I'm defending the man who didn't," Bonnie stood up from her seat.
"If only you were this passionate about representing me," Tyler smirked.
"I represented you the best that I could have, but you lied about something pretty big. Tyler, don't leave the country—the police may come knocking pretty soon," Bonnie winked before walking out of his office.
BDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBD
Damon's feet pounded on the pavement around the corner from his complex. As the tunes of Journey reverberated in his ears, he tried to for a few moments push everything going on around him out of his mind. The fact that Olivia was dead made him sick. Sick to the stomach. She was sweet, she was smart and she didn't deserve to meet the end that she did. Someone came into her apartment and brutally murdered her and left her there bleeding out on the floor and he couldn't remember anything about it. When he opened his eyes, he immediately felt the pain in his head and saw the blood on his hands. He frantically looked around the apartment from his place on the floor and then he saw her—lying behind the couch with eyes that had no light, no life in them. He rushed over to her, but he knew before he even approached her that she was gone. He was only able to utter her name before the apartment door came off the hinges and police entered with guns drawn.
Then he found himself in the police station, 'You have one call,' they said. He had options…Stefan…his mother…his father…but the only one he thought of…the only one he thought could help him was her. There was no guarantee that she would come after what happened between them, but she had. She had come because she believed in him.
Damon stopped running taking a couple of breaths and scratching the scruff of his week old beard before turning towards his pathway to see Bonnie standing near her car. As messed up as it sounds, the fact that she was here was the one bright spot in all of this. With Bonnie helping him, he truly believed that he would be cleared of murder charges.
"Hey," he stated removing his headphones from his eyes hesitating to give her a smile.
"Hi, you're out of the house and you haven't shaved," she observed following him towards the door.
"I was going crazy in there. Stefan went home, but he said he will be back if I need him. I just needed to get out of there, breathe some air…you know. As for the beard, well I'm not working so I guess this is as good as a time as any."
She nodded walking in the condo as Damon closed the door behind them.
"I went to see Tyler today," she sat down on the couch looking around.
"You went to see Ty…Bonnie, come on…why would you do that?"
"Because I want him to know that I am suspicious of him and I won't allow him to think he got away with killing Olivia—if he is the one who did it."
"And if he did, you just poked a dangerous animal."
Bonnie shrugged, "Tyler didn't do it. At least, I don't get the feeling he did."
"Oh really, did he suddenly begin to lay it on real thick about how much he loved Olivia and how he is devastated that she's dead?" Damon cracked.
"No, but I don't get the feeling that he's the one. However, I do believe that it narrows the suspect down to one person and I don't think you will agree."
Damon raised an eyebrow.
"Luke."
"Bonnie…come on. Luke loved Olivia. He was her cousin. Hell, he was obsessed with me making sure Tyler paid. He would never hurt her, let alone kill her."
"Then I guess we're back at square one," Bonnie sighed.
"Not exactly, hopefully the blood tests will come back and shed some light into what happened to me."
She nodded.
"Can we have a conversation about something?" Damon asked looking over at her.
"About?"
He studied her for a few moments and then stood up from his chair, "Let me get a shower and then we can talk."
"Ok," she replied watching him walk towards the bedroom. He heard her make an audible sigh before he closed the door.
Bonnie sat in Damon's living room reviewing emails on her iPad. She'd sent out some feelers around town to get some help with Damon's case. After working in the DA's office and working with people at Briddle, she had the ability to make some friends. They were helping her on a limited basis, but she wasn't sure how long they could help her without finding out any helpful leads. This wasn't an easy case. That was clear. Damon's memory was shoddy, there is virtually no other witness or suspects that the police are willing to look at. The only thing keeping Bonnie from believing that Damon could have committed this act is his word and the feeling in her heart when she looks at him. The feeling that tells her that the man that she fell in love with could not be a murderer and that just wasn't an argument that held up in court.
Ever since that day in court when Damon blew up about the report that Fred completed, Bonnie's felt as if she had been walking in a fog. It wasn't just because of what happened with her relationship with a Damon, it was because her career went up in flames. The career and reputation that she built up at Briddle disappeared. She was a respected domestic relations attorney and now it was all over. Her ambition or maybe it was plain ole misguidance destroyed everything she worked for. She spent weeks after that day in court going in between moments of anger and sadness. Seeing Damon with Olivia that night after she quit Briddle hurt and that was the day she started to fall down an abyss and that abyss led her to sleeping with Kol. "Bonnie, what are you doing?" she whispered to herself rubbing her face.
"Hey…you ok?" Damon asked standing in the archway of the living room dressed in a t-shirt and sweats. His hair was still slightly wet, but she admired the beard and the way the blue in his eyes shone brighter.
"I'm fine, just tired I guess," she shrugged.
"This hasn't been an easy time, I know," he moved into the living room and sitting down on the couch next to her, "and Bonnie, if this gets to be too much—let me know. I won't be upset if you need…if you want to walk away."
"I wouldn't do that," she looked over at him, "you deserve to be defended."
"I'm sorry for what I said to you that day in court," he spoke up watching as her eyes widened.
"Damon…we don't…"
"No, Bonnie. I said some things to you that day in anger and that's not an excuse. I let my anger and hurt feelings get the best of me. I knew deep down that you would never sleep with me because of a case. I knew that you would never tell me that you were falling in love with me because of a case and most of all, the things you told me about your family…your father…all of that? It was about so much more than a case. I'm sorry for ever saying that you used your body to snow me. I understand if we can never be the lovers that we were, but I want us to at least be friends because above all else—I still love you Bonnie," he stated gazing in her eyes searching for a hint of reaction. He saw her eyes tear up at his words and he reached over taking her hand kissing it softly, "I know that things are so fucked up right now, but when this is over and you get me out of this because you are one of the brightest, savviest and smartest attorneys I know, we will work on us."
The lump that formed in her throat stopped her from speaking, so all she could do was nod.
"Ok…are you hungry?" he asked standing from the couch taking a deep breath.
"Are you going to cook?" she raised an eyebrow.
He threw a look over her shoulder, "Is that a problem Counselor Bennett?"
"No, not at all, we need to talk about strategy anyway," she stood up from the couch following him in the kitchen. She sat up on the counter watching him remove vegetables from the refrigerator along with chicken breast, "so you've been perfecting your cooking abilities?"
"Well I mean, I've been in this house for days so what else can I do?" he poured a glass of wine and handed it to her. She hesitated for a moment staring down at the wine glass, it was almost like old times with them—but so much had changed.
"Not much, I guess," she took the glass and sipped, "so let's talk, have you remembered anything from the night?"
"Other than dinner and going to her place? Not much."
"So what did you two talk about at dinner?" Bonnie asked as a feeling of hurt entered her heart and clutched it tightly.
"Not much, the finalization of the divorce. What she planned to do now that she wasn't Mrs. Lockwood anymore. She was happy, you know. It was surprising because I know that she was a wreck during the divorce proceedings…"
"Well she got a pretty good settlement."
"That she did. She showed me this bracelet she bought that day, right before she met me at dinner. It was all diamonds with a charm hanging from it that read 'Rise Up', she said she paid a pretty penny for it because she wanted to buy something completely ridiculous with Tyler's money," Damon chuckled wistfully remembering Olivia's face as she said those words.
"A diamond bracelet, hmm…well that's one way to dry tears," Bonnie agreed.
"She seemed at peace though. I still remember when I woke up though, seeing her lying on that floor…" he trailed off.
"I know this is hard for you. She meant something to you. You two were together," Bonnie swallowed the lump in her throat, "and I know that with everything going on, your mind is probably all over the place. But I want you to know that I'm not just doing this to defend you, I'm also doing this to make sure we find out who killed her and make sure they pay for doing it."
Damon looked over at Bonnie and at that moment, he realized why he loved her so much and why he had completely flipped out when he thought that she used him. He loved this woman more than he thought was possible. She was the woman that he didn't know he was looking for, but he had found her—no matter how haphazardly, "Bonnie, how are you?"
"What?" she asked.
"How are you? Ever since you came into the police station, its been all about me. I know that things went to hell for you after the divorce proceeding and we didn't talk. I haven't asked you about how you are?"
She shrugged, "You mean, after I realized that something I worked for years to build was destroyed in one afternoon? How I basically told one of the partners of one of the biggest law firms to kiss my ass and pay me? And I've had some time to think about what I want to do with my life…my legal career and the fact that my father has called me, but hasn't bothered to come to town? All things considered, I'm better than someone should be after their career blows up in their face."
"I'm sorry," he truly felt a sense of guilt for the way he reacted after receiving the folder, but the emotions he felt that day led him down a road of revenge and he didn't care what the consequences would be.
"It's not your fault. I played a dangerous game and got burned. There was no reason for me not to have read that report other than I didn't want to know what it said. I guess deep down I knew that it was something in it that would destroy everything and I did want to win. I wanted to be partner."
"Ambition…a gift and a curse."
She sighed loudly, "But where did it get me?"
"Defending the number one suspect in a murder case," Damon supplied turning to the heated sauté pan and flipping the chicken over.
"Damon…" she began as he handed her a carrot and she nibbled on it.
"Yes?"
"I'm still angry at you," she confessed meeting his eyes that looked at her willing her to continue, "it's not because of you confronting me in the courtroom, even though that was…hurtful and sobering in a way and also because I deserved some of what you said there. I'm still angry with you because of how easy it was for you to start sleeping with Olivia," she closed her eyes for a second breathing deeply, "and although, I know I have no right to be angry because I think it was pretty clear that day in the courthouse that we were over—I still feel anger because you said you loved me…"
"And I did…" he walked over to her.
She shook her head, "It was only two days and you were sleeping with her. When did the first time happen?"
Damon closed his mouth and looked down.
"Was it that night? The night after everything happened at the hearing?"
"Bon, I…" Damon began, but was silenced by her holding up her hand.
"Did you do it to hurt me?" she asked, "you had to know I would find out."
Damon turned down the heat on the stove and covered the pan before walking over to her and standing in front of her, "I was an asshole for what I did. The things I said and about sleeping with Olivia. I have to be honest with you, laying it out there. You broke me Bonnie Bennett and I didn't realize how much until the seeds of doubt were placed in my head. I was angry at you and I was hurt, Olivia was there and she was feeling the same and things just happened. It's not an excuse, but just an explanation. I never stopped loving you and maybe that fueled my actions. I'm sorry. I understand if you hate me and if what I did Olivia sent the signal that I didn't want you…that I don't desire you with all of my being, but I made choices and those choices may have changed your feelings for me and I understand that."
Bonnie nodded, "Hurt people do some fucked up things."
"And unfortunately, when I'm hurt…I kinda turn into a bastard."
"No kidding," Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "but there's just one more thing."
"What?"
"Who sent you the report?" she asked. Admittedly, she hadn't thought about the 'who' in awhile, but for some reason, she was curious, "do you know who sent it to you?"
He shook his head, "No idea. I didn't recognize the number."
"The number?"
"Pictures. They took pictures and sent them over text. Funny enough, I had just sent you a text message a couple of minutes before. I was bored in court and asked you to send me a pic," he smirked, "seems like a lifetime ago."
"Hmm," she mumbled.
"You think you know who sent me the folder?"
Bonnie looked over at Damon who was staring back at her with a raised eyebrow and she shrugged, "Nope."
BDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBD
"Detective Mikaelson, that witness for the O'Reilly case will be here in 5 minutes. I will put them in Interrogation Room 2 when they get here," one of the sergeants informed him as Kol made his way to his desk.
"Thanks Sarge," he responded taking a seat at his desk and opening the O'Reilly case file.
"Should I snatch that folder out of your hand?" an angry and snippy voice hissed at him before a tawny bracelet laced hand slammed down on top of the papers. Kol looked up and his eyes met her emerald ones and he knew that look, he'd seen it before.
"Bonnie," he leaned back, "how can I help you?"
"I know it was you," she sniped, "and you are going to tell me exactly why you sent those pictures to Damon."
He smirked leaning back in his chair, "Really Bonnie."
"You asshole!" she seethed.
Kol stood up from his desk, "Would you like to yell out more accusations in the middle of the station or do you want to follow me to another room?"
Bonnie eyed Kol as he led her away from his desk and down the hallway towards one of the interrogation rooms. He closed the door behind her, "Now what are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about?" Bonnie moved closer, "Damon said that he received some photos through texts…someone took pictures of a file on my desk. At first, I thought it was my dumb ass temp, but no…Damon said that he sent me a text message and then the messages started to come in. Then I thought, who would be assholes enough to do something like leak important information? No one from the firm would do it, knowing that Tyler's case was important to the firm and anyways, no one in the firm was that close to me to even know how to get into my phone and then I thought of you and how Caroline let you know that I was in a relationship. So why Kol, why did you send those files to Damon? Why would you tell him that I was using him?"
Kol shook his head staring directly into her eyes, "I don't know what you are talking about."
"You don't?" she cocked her head to the side, "Damon still has that phone number. Should I call it?"
Kol watched as she removed her cell from her bag and unlocked it.
"Ok, I sent him the pictures…so what," Kol confessed shrugging.
Bonnie looked up. She figured it was him, but hearing him say it increased her anger, "How could you do that?" she whispered in disbelief.
"Because what were you doing with him Bonnie?" Kol threw up his arms, "he was the opposing attorney. He wasn't someone that you needed in your life. Hell, look at what he did in that courtroom after the divorce hearing, look what he did not even a couple weeks after you two ended your relationship? He was sleeping with Olivia. He didn't care, he was using you."
"I thought I was using him, at least that's what you told him…right?"
Kol shook his head and then met her eyes, "What does it matter, you realized that he wasn't who you needed and we connected again. That wasn't a mistake and it wasn't just because of what happened to you and Damon. You wanted me just as much as I wanted you."
"You're disgusting," Bonnie spat out as she turned towards the door.
"Not more disgusting than the man you are defending," Kol grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to him, "you still love him? You still want him? When you realize that he beat Olivia so badly her nose was broken, stabbed her over 15 times and then slashed her throat, let's see how much you love him when he's found guilty."
"Get off of me."
"You are ruining your life Bonnie."
"If anything, I ruined my life ever trusting you, sleeping with you—the first time and allowing you to even be a footnote in my love life. I hope it kills you to think about the fact that with everything that happened between me and Damon and even when you and your friends out there are barely doing your job finding another suspect, I still want and love Damon. He is still the man that I want to wake up next to and you will always be the man that I regret waking up next to," she snarled, "now get off of me." She wasn't sure if she meant everything that she said regarding Damon, but she knew it would push every button Kol had inside. He deserved the verbal jabs she threw at him and she wouldn't take any of it back.
Kol dropped his hand, "You're going to be sorry about this Bonnie, trusting Damon Salvatore lost your career…with him being a murderer and all, you may just lose your life next. You know your Daddy Issues may just get you into trouble."
She felt that last statement hit her in the chest and for a moment, Bonnie felt it hard to breathe—but she recovered, "I'll take my chances," she flung the door open and slammed it in his face.
BDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBD
After eating lunch, Bonnie rushed out of his condo telling him that she needed to check on something and it was so fast it almost made his head spin. He thought they were making progress, but her reaction after discussing the folder made him wonder. He finished loading the dishwasher and retrieved a beer from the refrigerator. He popped the cap off and chugged the liquid down.
"Beer? You know that's not my style," he shook his head with the brown bottle being held in front of his face.
She laughed shaking her blond locks, "Of course its not, but we're celebrating…my way."
"Your way huh? With beer?"
"I like beer. I know you're more of a bourbon type of guy," Olivia knocked her shoulder with his on the couch.
"I'll make an exception tonight. Your divorce is final and you got everything that you deserved from that bastard of an ex-husband."
"I'll drink to that," she clinked her bottle with his and then paused, looking around her apartment, "did you hear that?"
Damon gripped into his kitchen counter, "What was that?" he whispered as the sound of his doorbell ringing took him right out of the memory. He sat down the beer and headed towards his front door, looking through the peephole and seeing the familiar redhead. This visit was exactly what he needed, he thought opening the door, "Mother."
She immediately enveloped him into a hug, "I came as soon as I could. I couldn't stay away any longer. This is ridiculous, the police have to be idiots to believe that you would do anything like what they accuse you of. Not my son, not my baby," she hugged him tightly.
"Thanks," Damon held onto her.
"Your father will be here soon with Stefan," she let him go heading towards the living room.
Damon's heart leapt into his chest, "Wait…what? What do you mean?" he followed her. The last thing he expected to hear was that Giuseppe would be coming to Mystic Falls and damn sure not to support him.
"We are all going to be here supporting you. Giuseppe hired someone to help us deal with all of this…"
"I have a lawyer," Damon interrupted.
"Yes, we know and she's very good. Bonnie. Stefan told us that she decided to represent you, but Giuseppe hired someone to deal with the press and the like."
"No."
Lily's eyes fluttered, "What do you mean?"
"If you bring in a crisis manager, that's as good as admitting guilt. No. Absolutely not. I know that you and Father think that me practicing law is a hobby, but I know a thing or two and a crisis manager will only make things worse."
Lily frowned, "I'm sorry, I will talk to Giuseppe. I just want to help."
"You're helping by being here," Damon hugged his mother.
"And Bonnie is helping you, I hear."
Damon chuckled as he let her go and they moved over to sit on the couch, "Of course you would jump to that."
"Damon, you two were dating and suddenly you weren't and you were dating the woman who was killed. I'm sure you can understand why I am confused."
"Bonnie and I…things ended badly."
"Yes but despite that she decided to represent you."
"She did, because at the heart of all of this—Bonnie is a good person and she believes in me, even though she shouldn't."
"You Salvatore men are all so blessed," Lily placed her hand on Damon's shoulder.
BDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBD
Bonnie plopped in her driver's seat in the parking lot of the police station. She thought for a few moments and then she started her car. She pressed Elena's name on the touchscreen, "Hey Bon, what's going on?" Elena's voice filled her car.
"I just wanted to call someone, my mom and Grams are on vacation in Jamaica. I'm heading to DC for a couple of days."
"DC? Bonnie, is everything ok?" Elena lowered her voice.
Bonnie laughed without any actual happiness, "No…but at least I can take care of one thing. I will be back in a couple of days. I haven't talked to Damon, but just let him know I will be back if he asks."
"You know I'm not a fan of him at the moment."
"Yes I know and you are the besttest friend a girl could have, but if he asks—just tell him I will be back. I don't want him to think that I abandoned him."
"He doesn't deserve your loyalty Bon."
"Maybe not, but he has it…I will call when I get to DC."
"Ok."
"Talk to you later," Bonnie ended the call as she headed towards her apartment to pack a bag.
BDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBD
As Lily busied herself on the phone with some of her friends from home, Damon scanned through some of the newspaper articles. They made Olivia's murder salacious as possible. His face had been plastered across newspapers and websites all over the internet. Even if he managed to get out of this, people would remember that he was accused of this crime and he knew that even if someone is cleared, there's always an air of 'what if' that surrounds the accused until they died. He had faith in Bonnie, but he was realistic.
He continued to swipe while the front door opened and Stefan walked in with Elena and Giuseppe. Immediately, Damon felt like his somewhat crappy day was going to take a further turn. With everything going on in his life, he wasn't prepared or equipped to deal with Giuseppe.
"Hi…" he stood up plastering a smile on his face, "Stefan, I didn't think you were coming back so soon."
"Well, didn't want you to deal with this alone," Stefan smiled.
"And we need to have a united front if we plan to get you out of this," Giuseppe spoke up.
Damon gritted his teeth, "Thank you."
Giuseppe looked around, "Where's your attorney, I want to set up a meeting with her to discuss your defense."
"She's not here…Elena, can I speak with you for a moment?" Damon looked around Giuseppe to meet the brunette's eyes and he noticed her definitely grimace. Of course Bonnie's friend would rather be in another zip code than him, but he needed to talk to her.
"Umm…sure," she tucked a hair behind her ear as Stefan watched from the other side of the room and Giuseppe took a call.
Elena joined Damon in the kitchen area and gave him a small, guarded smile, "What's going on?"
"Bonnie, I called her a few times since earlier this afternoon and she hasn't returned my calls. Do you know where she is?"
"I'm she went to DC for a few days, she told me to tell you that she will be back soon."
"DC…is something wrong?" he moved closer.
Elena chuckled, "Damon, she will be back to help you…don't worry."
"I'm not asking because I need my lawyer, Elena. I'm asking because I'm concerned. Look, we had a conversation earlier and I don't think she was happy with what I had to say or rather…it stirred up old wounds…"
"You mean the wound that you embarrassed her in court and then starting sleeping with Olivia the same night you broke up with her? That wound? Look Damon, I'm here because Stefan asked me to come. I believe you are innocent, but I am not happy with you by a long shot."
"And I understand that. I fucked up, I know. I'm going to make things right, but did Bonnie tell you what was wrong, why she left?"
"No."
"Would you tell me if she did?" Damon challenged.
"If she wanted me to," Elena answered.
"Damon, can we talk for a few moments?" Giuseppe interrupted.
"You sure can," Elena quickly exited the kitchen leaving Damon with Giuseppe.
"Yes Father," he sighed.
"You know, I did not believe for one second that you murdered that woman," Giuseppe began.
"Wow, thanks for the confidence," Damon eyes widened.
"But, what possessed you to get involved with her? You had to know that she was trouble or at the very least trouble would follow her. She just received a hefty settlement from a powerful man, she had a target on her back."
"Olivia didn't do anything wrong and neither did I."
Giuseppe rolled his eyes, "And your attorney, the young lady who was your opposing counsel. The one you bested in court? That's the one that you are deciding to put all of your faith in?"
"Don't," Damon warned his father.
"Look, I can get Michael here within a couple hours and he can sit first chair. Ms. Bennett can sit second chair."
Damon placed his hand on the counter and closed his eyes breathing out slowly, "You know Father, I've had a really shitty week and I am hanging on by a thread. So I am only going to say this once, Bonnie is beyond qualified to represent me. Bonnie will be the only attorney on my case and no one and nobody will undermine her."
Giuseppe stared at him for a few moments, "If that's what you want, son."
"That's exactly what I want," Damon met Giuseppe's eyes without blinking.
"Then I guess Miss Bennett it is," Giuseppe walked away.
BDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBD
Bonnie stepped off of the elevator walking past the gold words on the wall, Hopkins, Martin & Associates, Attorneys at Law. Her father's law office was situated not far from Capital Hill in a high rise building. The medium sized law firm was a go to for many of the African American elite in DC, but also did legal work for some of the members of congress. Rudy Hopkins was well respected around DC and if he wasn't her father, Bonnie would be in awe of him.
She walked into the office space and paused at the front desk, where the pretty receptionist was wrapping up for the day, "Good Evening, can I help you?" she asked.
"I'm here to see Rudy Hopkins," Bonnie answered.
Bonnie knows what Kol did, wait until Damon finds out…
Well Kol's last statement must have hit Bonnie pretty hard. Along with her conversation with Damon. Bonnie needed to get away and work on herself, starting with the issues that she has with Rudy.
The Bamon was conversation was needed. Not sure if it will be enough to heal them any time soon, but it was a start. Also, during that conversation there was a crumb left that will help later on.
The mystery of who killed Olivia wages on.
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