Chapter 23: The Sound and the Fury
Standing on Caroline's porch waiting for her to answer the door, I'm not sure whether I am more nervous or angry. Caroline seemed relieved when I called to ask about stopping by. She tried to plead her case but I told her I wanted to wait to be face to face for that conversation, a conversation that I was dreading. Caroline was more than my sorority sister and best friend. She was family. Other than Jeremy, I had only had distant relatives who I never saw after the death of my parents. When we met, Caroline and I bonded immediately. There had been no question of who her big sister was going to be once she pledged, we just made sense. And she wasn't just a friend to me, she took Jeremy under her wing and treated him like he was her kid brother. When we all moved in together following my accident, she looked after him when I wasn't able to even look after myself. I didn't just love her like a sister. She was my sister. And that was why I didn't look forward to this confrontation. We would get through this, that wasn't negotiable. But it wouldn't be easy. Without much work, I could get over her revealing everything to Damon. It wasn't her place to do it but I could also understand that she had been going all mama bear and took it further that she had intended. It wasn't like it had been planned. And, in the end, it had given Damon and me the push we needed to move forward. What I was struggling with was the new found knowledge that she had lied to Damon and turned him away years ago. That was going to take some time and work to get past. So, that hurt and anger was what was feeding the dread building inside of me. If it weren't for the man beside me who was soothingly tracing patterns on the back on the hand he held, I might just turn and leave, putting the conversation off for another day. Just as I was thinking about tugging him back to the car, the door opened.
"Lena! I've been so worried!" Caroline pulled me in for a hug wrenching me away from Damon's calming touch. I halfheartedly patted her back before stepping away.
"Hi, Blondie," Damon spoke bringing Caroline's attention to the man standing on her front porch.
"Damon? Elena, why did you bring him? I thought just you and I were going to talk things out." Caroline looked at me with questions swimming in her eyes.
"Look, Care, I didn't bring him. Actually, he brought me." I corrected.
"Forced is more like it," Damon corrected under his breath before adding, "Ah, semantics. The important thing is that Elena is here and you two can sit down and talk. Just think of me as your friendly referee."
"Damon, we don't need a referee," answered Caroline.
"Well, just in case. Besides, you know me; I can't pass up a good girl fight!" Damon answered with his trademark smirk. Caroline stepped aside, ushering us into her home and offered us something to drink before we all sat down in the family room.
"Nice house, Blondie," Damon offered while glancing around the room and taking in the view out the French doors that led to the patio.
"Thanks. Klaus had it custom built as a wedding present." Caroline and I nervously sipped our drinks while Damon comfortably settled beside me on the couch and threw his arm over my shoulders.
"So, are you girls going to sit here sipping and staring or are you going to talk it out? The whole silence thing is just weird with you two." Damon asked leading to glares from Caroline and I both. "OK, so I guess I'm going to have to get the ball rolling. Elena, what did you want to say to Caroline?"
Through gritted teeth, I say, "That I'm pissed…"
"Ah, ah, ah! Temper, temper!" I turn to glare at Damon making him drop the snark and lower his voice. "Lena, please…"
"Don't 'Lena, please' me! I am pissed! Caroline, did you purposely come to my place last night to cause trouble? Did you think that if you blurted all of that out that you would push us apart? Do you need me to need you that badly that you can't allow me to be happy?"
Caroline is fuming. "No! I didn't plan it but I'm not sorry it happened. I mean, yeah, it shouldn't have all come out that way but somebody had to make the two of you see the truth. He started thanking me for coming over and giving him a chance because he claimed to really care about you and just wanted you to be happy and I snapped. I snapped because of all the bullshit that was coming out of his mouth! He really cares for you? Then why didn't he tell you the truth?" She looks expectantly from me to Damon and back again.
"Truth about what?" I yell back. "Truth about Rebecca? Truth about coming back to find me? Or is there another secret your hiding?"
"The truth about Rebecca!" she answers.
"You mean Rebecca, my sister-in-law who my brainless brother knocked up within months of meeting her? That Rebecca?" Damon calmly supplies.
"What?" Caroline gasps. "Your brother? Stefan?"
"Yes, Stefan who met Rebecca while visiting for my lacrosse game and proceeded to secretly hook up with her at every opportunity."
"What about the lacrosse jersey with 'Salvatore' on the back?" Caroline asks, all fight missing from her voice but still not fully trusting what she was hearing.
"It was Stefan's from high school." Damon answered. "I promise you, I never slept with Rebecca. Ugh, just the thought of it makes me queasy." He visibly shivers as if trying to erase the unwanted image from his mind.
"I'm so sorry, Damon. I shouldn't have…we just assumed…I'm sorry." Caroline whispers.
"It's OK. If you hadn't blown up and yelled at me, that might have never come out and Elena and I might have never gotten past it," Damon assured her.
Damon may be in an extra forgiving mood today but my fight is just beginning. I want answers and I want them now and all of this peace talk is not going to accomplish that. "Care," I start in an eerily calm voice, "I'm much more interested in hearing why you never told me that Damon came back for me and, even more importantly, why you bold face lied to him that I was in a relationship." My calm slipping, my voice is beginning to rise in both pitch and volume. "We both know that I wasn't seeing anybody. In ten years, I never let anyone get close enough for a relationship! I never went on more than a handful of dates with any one guy." Caroline opens her mouth to speak but I'm on a roll. "I mean, after all, aren't you the one that said I should just sleep with someone just to see if I even still knew what to do?"
"You do, baby, not a problem," Damon inserts to try to lighten the conversation but I'm not in the mood and shoot him a glare.
"For years you've told me I needed a relationship! You even pushed me to date Tyler! Hell, you told me if I wouldn't date him I should at least be fuck buddies with him just to let off a little steam!"
"Oh God, I do not want that visual!" groaned Damon. "I knew he wanted you!"
"Shut up, Damon." I bite then stop when I realize he's not the one that I'm made at. "I'm sorry," I say squeezing his hand in mine before turning back to Caroline who has tears streaming down her cheeks. "My point is: I want answers."
"Lena," Care sighs. "You told me to keep him away from you. You said you never wanted to see him again. I'm sorry, Damon, but she's like my sister. If Stefan told you he never wanted to see someone again, would you help him or help the other person? Lena, I thought I was doing what you wanted. I thought I was protecting you."
"Caroline, you saw what I was like! I wasn't capable of making decisions like that. I was in therapy to even be able to function. You ignored my choices and forced me to talk, to get out of bed in the morning, to shower, to eat, to go out in public. But him? You never once thought maybe my judgment was wrong there as well?"
"Lena, I love you. I'm sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing." We stare at each other as the minutes tick by.
Finally, I sigh, "I love you too, Care, but I still can't believe you kept this from me for so long. You are the person that I trusted above all others and you hid something from me. I'll get over it but I'll just need time. And I'll need your support. Because this" I jester back and forth between Damon and I, "isn't going away anytime soon. So you are going to have to work out your differences. Damon's already told me that he does not want to come between us. He made me come see you today because he felt that strongly about it. I will not lose the opportunity to explore this relationship because of catty differences between you and him."
Damon releases my hand only to wrap a protective arm around me. "Caroline, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. We used to get along pretty well. The reason you hated me doesn't exist and, honestly, I respect how protective you are of Elena. And, in answer to your question, I would help Stefan. Family is something that I don't take lightly and you are family to Elena. So, truce?"
"Truce," Caroline smiles, "as long as you don't stay all sappy like this. I don't know how to deal with that Damon. I'm used to snarky Damon and hearing 'Blondie this' and 'Blondie that' while you harass and nag me. If you don't give me hell then what excuse would I have to dish it right back?" Caroline pauses a moment before adding, "Why don't you two stay for dinner? We need to make up for a ruined evening last night."
"Oh, we made up for it," Damon grins.
"Eww, just eww!" Caroline exclaims.
"You wanted snarky Damon!" I laugh while swatting Damon's leg.
"True. At any rate, I meant the four of us need to hang out for the night. Besides, Klaus seems to have taken a liking to you, Damon."
"What's not to like? The man obviously has excellent taste!" Damon smirks.
"You can say that again. After all, he married me," Caroline grins.
AN: I had this ready last night but when I went on line to post it, I had problems getting on the site. I actually had more trouble with this chapter than with any others I have written. It's been a bit frustrating because I know where the story is going, have it planned, but I had to get through this meeting first. Part of me wants to smack Elena for being so angry at Caroline for following her own request. Part of me wants to smack Caroline for hiding something that important for so long. They are both at fault and that made it more of a challenge to work through. So, onward and upward. Thank you for continuing to read and don't forget to review! :)