Thank you for the reviews last chapter!

Elena stormed back into the house, letting the door slam behind her, making the glass shake in the panels. She stomped through to the parlour where Damon was apparently reading a book, lounging on the couch, one arm sticking out with the silver key to her room swinging from his little finger. Huffing, Elena reached over and snatched it from him, marching straight back into the hall to pick up both her suitcase and bag.

She heard his snort of laughter as she made her way past the parlour door, trying her best to look dignified despite her failed attempt at freedom. It also didn't help that her face was all sweaty and her hands all greasy. And she guessed she could expect a bruise on her forehead after all the frustrated head banging off the wheel. Well, she wryly thought to herself, it was worth a shot. At the very least she seemed to have provided the entertainment for the day. As if Damon needed another excuse to look down on her.

With a heavy heart she unpacked her belongings, putting her clothes away in the wardrobe and lining up her shoes by the window. She tossed her leather jacket over the ornate padded chair in the corner. A loud beep from her phone caught her attention and she felt her eyes roll skywards. Could this trip get any more disastrous? The red blinking battery in the display corner signalled its slow demise. "Great. Just great." She chucked the offending item onto the bed where it bounced happily as though mocking her.

After searching through all the secret pockets in her suitcase and rifling through her hold-all Elena was resigned to the fact that her phone charger was nowhere to be found. Once again she found herself trekking out to the car, hoping she would find it in the glove compartment. If not she was well and truly screwed. A quick frisk of the glove compartment yielded no results, other than the car manual which gave no helpful advice whatsoever. Peeling up the car mats only served to highlight it was time for her to hoover out her car. But just as she was returning them to their places a glint of silver caught her eye.

Reaching behind the brake her fingers touched what felt like cool metal. Sticking her tongue out in conversation, Elena wiggled her arm in further. Almost there... Her fingers scrabbled in thin air before closing around cold metal links. Withdrawing her hand she rocked back on her haunches. Tears pricked her eyes as she took in the sight of what to anyone else, would look like a simply grimy piece of jewellery. To Elena it was so much more than that. It was the last birthday present her parents had given to her. She had lost it soon after and had been too ashamed to confess to them that she had been so careless. Just seeing it there brought back memories of their smiling faces. Her dad's stern face coupled with his laughing his eyes and her mom's bubbly laugh.

Elena dusted off the charm bracelet with a watery smile, before slipping it into her pocket. She was going to take better care of it this time around. She needed all the luck she could get at the moment. It was times like these she missed her parents the most. If they'd have been there she could have called them and no matter what they would have been there to bail her out, true it might have been with a few harsh words, but they'd have been there. But then, that was what had eventually killed them wasn't it?

She pressed her hands to her head massaging her temple. Don't start this again she told herself firmly. What happened happened. There's nothing you can do to change that. All you can do is avoid making those stupid mistakes again.

She pulled herself back onto her feet and locked her car behind her. Even though she must have left her phone charger at home she was pleased with her find, even if the bracelet's clasp was broken, which was probably why she'd lost it in the first place. As soon as she reached a town she'd visit a jeweller's to get it fixed.

Until then she would just have to kill time at the boarding house. She couldn't find the landline telephone or a phonebook to look up a mechanic and of course, now that she needed to ask Damon a question he was nowhere to be found. She shot a glare at the building as though it was somehow responsible for the predicament she was in. The only obvious pastime she could think of at the moment was exploring. Especially since Damon had interrupted her earlier.

All the rooms on the first floor were locked, much to Elena's disappointment. It certainly made exploring dull. The long hallway was dark and as much as Elena hated to admit it, it sent chills up her back. Would it kill them to put a window in here? Resigned to searching the ground floor Elena turned to go downstairs. Just as she was making her way down a door opened behind her, for a moment her heart pounded in fear that it was Damon going to tell her off for abusing his warped sense of hospitality. Instead Caroline came out of what Elena guessed must be her room. Huh. She had just assumed that Caroline would leave since Damon had picked her up a bar. Not that she was complaining, she could certainly use the company. The stale silence was already beginning to get to her.

Caroline shot Elena a friendly smile as she joined her on the landing. "What have you been up to?" she asked.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Searching for a phone charger. My phone's on its last legs."

Caroline nodded sympathetically. It was only then that Elena noticed that the other girl had changed her clothes.

"Sorry, but are you going to be staying here?" Elena asked hopefully.

"Yes," Caroline beamed. "I'm so glad that there's another girl here. I don't think Damon could cope with my chatter all by himself." She gave a laugh and shake of her head that sent her freshly curled hair bouncing on her shoulders.

Elena could certainly understand why someone would get fed up with her gossiping. It was all she could do at some points not to cover her ears and yell ENOUGH ALREADY! and that was only day one of knowing Caroline. She wondered just what exactly Damon and Caroline's relationship was. No doubt Caroline would tell her soon enough.

"Where did you and Damon meet?" Elena asked, unable to fully contain her curiosity as the pair made their way downstairs. There wasn't exactly a local bar where they could have met, which also made this a rather strange place for a boarding house, she noted.

Caroline frowned for a moment, tilting her head. "You know, I can't quite remember. It was last night... we went back to my place... I picked up some clothes... well; I must have 'cos I have them. God, I must have been totally out of it!" She shook her head and let out a giggle before pouting. "I wish I could remember the finer details though."

Elena subtly pretended not to hear this last comment as she made her way into the kitchen, pulling up a stool. Subtlety, however, was lost on Caroline.

"I mean, come on, you can just tell he must be good. He ain't no choir boy," the blonde babbled, seemingly oblivious to Elena's apprehensive expression. She wasn't blind and there was no denying how attractive their host was, but she didn't want to discuss it in his own domain, where he could walk in at any moment. At least Caroline had an excuse to drool over him. Elena had to bite her tongue and nod and agree.

The whole time Caroline was talking she fingered the edges of the scarf she was wearing, despite the warm summer heat. The edges were becoming frayed from her incessant worrying of the fabric. Each time she gave a particularly vicious tug it rose slightly, before she quickly smoothed it back down, meticulously making sure it covered her neck in its entirety.

In a desperate bid to change the topic of conversation from how hot their suspiciously absent host with the uncanny ability to sneak up on people when they least wanted him to was, Elena commented "That's a really nice scarf but aren't you roasted?" punctuating her point by fanning herself with a tanned hand. There was also the slight concern that Caroline might get too carried away with what she was saying and cut off her own oxygen supply, both by talking too fast and by strangling herself. Every time she mentioned Damon's piercing blue eyes she had a tendency to yank on both ends of the scarf, tightening it around her throat.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Duh. Of course, I'm sweating like a pig!" Her nose scrunched in disgust. "A very stylish pig, though," she added as an afterthought.

Elena flicked the fringed end of the scarf with a confused smile. "Here's an idea, ditch the neck-warmer!"

Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Caroline raised her hands to her neck before freezing. "I can't," she whispered, her eyes blank. All previous animation fled, leaving her pale and frozen, her hands hovering an inch from her neck. She frantically searched her mind for a logical reason why she couldn't remove it, but came up with nothing. Yet just the idea of removing it sent chills through her, panic rising in her stomach.

Beside her Elena scrutinised her. The alarm was clear on Caroline's face and she couldn't understand it. It looked like her hands were coming up against an invisible wall, maybe she was a mime artist in a previous life. Truth be told, she a little unnerved by Caroline's behaviour. One minute she was bubbly, the next she was panicking about removing a scarf. And judging by the length of her dress, showing more skin wasn't the issue. "Do you want me to help you with it?" Elena offered, hoping this would get around whatever the problem seemed to be.

Caroline tilted her head, considering if that would work. The raging nerves in her stomach seemed to have paused so she nodded her head tightly. "Yes, please," she said weakly as she shuffled over to Elena.

Elena confidently grasped the scarf and carefully unwound it from Caroline's neck. What it revealed made her gasp out loud in horror.

"Care! What the hell happened to you?"

There were large furious bruises on either side of her neck, deep purple and red, punctuated by large scores ending in bloody scars that seemed ready to reopen at any minute. If it weren't for the marks (teeth imprints?) it might have passed for a huge hickey but they added a sinister meaning that sent Elena reeling backwards, colliding with the counter behind her, a shaking hand firmly pressed to her mouth.

Caroline twisted her head awkwardly trying to see what the fuss was about. "What? What? What is it? Do I have zits or something?"

The movement made Elena flinch as she saw the skin separating at the scars, fresh blood starting to glisten. "Stay still!" she ordered, scurrying around the breakfast bar to grab a spoon from the drawer, causing Caroline to raise a perfectly shaped eyebrow quizzically.

"Really, I don't know what to say, Elena. Our relationship is moving so fast, first stripping then the gift of cutlery," Caroline joked, putting a hand to her heart, batting her eyelashes.

Elena rolled her eyes and handed her the spoon. "Look, look at your neck. How can that not be hurting you right now?"

Confused, Caroline dropped her joke, and grabbed the spoon instead, tilting it to see her reflection. The silverware fell to the floor with a clatter as she jumped off of the stool, her hands winding the scarf back around her throat, eyes darting around the room searching for answers. Her bottom lip trembled as she stammered "I can't... I can't remember. I didn't even know that was there... But how couldn't I know that was there?"

In that instant Caroline looked so unlike the chatty, confident girl Elena had met that morning, instead reduced to near-tears and looking as vulnerable as a newborn bird that Elena felt determined to do something. There could only be one person that left those marks as it looked recent and she'd be damned if she let him get away with it.

For some reason this was a tough one to write... Please review and let me know what you thought.