I moan a little at the realization that I am waking up from a deep slumber. I peek out of the slits that my eyes are protesting against. The clock on the bed side table glows 3:47 pm at me. I yawn and roll over not wanting to believe that what I just read is true. There is no way that I slept in that late in the afternoon. My hand lands on Damon's bare chest and my eyes shoot open, staring at his sleeping body wrapped around me.
So it was real then? I didn't just have a sex dream about Damon…it really happened…
I smile dreamily as the fog of my exhaustion begins to clear up. I slowly pull myself out of Damon's arms and get up from the bed. I look in the mirror across the room to see my body dressed in absolutely nothing. I rip my hand through my hair feeling a small smile push onto my face at the memory of last night. I walk into the bathroom and take a quick shower. When I hop out I smell something waft through the air and it smells delicious.
"Good morning." I say as I walk out of the bathroom in a towel. Damon looks up from the stove from which he's cooking eggs and bacon from. His eyes linger on my towel a little longer than need be. "I trust you slept well?"
"Very well." He says in a sly voice. "I worked very hard last night and my body needed recovery time." He jokes walking over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist and planting a gentle, lingering kiss on my lips. "How about you Emma?"
"So amazing. I don't know if I've ever slept that well in my life." I chuckle happily. "I need some real clothes Damon. I don't know how long I can stand wearing your underwear. No offense to it at all." I look up at Damon's loving gaze with a huge smile. Who would have thought that we'd be smiling so much considering the fact that we are being held captive by Damon's beautiful ex-girlfriend that is totally off her rocker. Damon nods down at me in understanding and he walks away from me, only to return with some clothes. "Wow, Katherine thinks of everything, doesn't she?"
"She's psychotic, who knows what her plans are for us." I say, dropping my towel right in front of Damon and pulling my clothes on right in the middle of the room. "You're beautiful Emma. Have I ever told you that?"
"I don't think so." I say blushing deeply from his comment.
"Well, I should have. You are the most beautiful girl in the world. The most beautiful I've ever seen in my entire life and after life." Damon says kissing me again ever so lightly. "You're beautiful." He repeats walking back over to the kitchen and pouring all the food he made into a plate. "Here's some food for you."
"What about you?" I ask taking the food and beginning to stuff my face.
"I'll be fine. I don't need human food."
"What you need is blood Damon." I say eyeing him cautiously, waiting for his response. "Why won't you just-"
"Don't finish that sentence Emma." Damon says turning his back on me and walking over to the bed, whose sheets are extremely mangled. "I can't do that to you."
"That's it; I'm going to give you my blood if I have to slice my hand open with a butcher's knife!" I jump up, abandoning my deliciously made breakfast. "Eventually you're going to mummify if you don't drink some blood. So, that's what you are going to do and you are going to do it right now!" I rush over to the utensil drawer and pull out the biggest, sharpest looking knife I can find. I pull the safety case off of it and place the blade over the palm of my hand. I'm about to press down but I feel a hand wrap protectively over my wrist. "Damon!"
"Stop it." He says in a calmer voice than I thought he'd use. "Put the knife down. You win."
"Really?" I ask looking up at him, my grip tight on the knife handle.
"I'd rather you not hurt yourself. You're right about me needing the blood too. I grow weaker every day and if Katherine tries to attack us I won't be able to fight back unless I feed." He sighs, sounding as though he's been mulling this over for a while. "Give me your hand." Damon holds his hand out, palm up waiting for me to place my hand into his. I do so, so that my palm is facing up as well. Damon looks at me deep the eyes, looking scared for me. "Let's do this on the couch so if or when you pass out you won't be in the kitchen." I follow Damon, our hands still together. We sit down on the couch and I offer him my hand upwards again. "I'm not going to lie to you Emma, this is going to hurt."
"I don't care. Just do it and get it over with already." I gulp, feeling my nerves set in. Damon nods and leans down towards my wrist.
"Are you sure about this?"
"I am, just bite me damn it!" I shout impatiently, I force myself to sound pissed so that I won't back out from this.
I feel Damon's teeth break the skin on my wrist and automatically, searing pain shoots up my arm. I'm about to scream when I feel Damon instinctively place a bracing hand over my mouth. I start to scream into his hand, barely any noise coming out at all. The feeling of blood rushing out of my wrist from the suction of his mouth starts making me feel drained of blood. My head begins to spin and I feel my eyes slowly flutter shut, unsure as to what is to come next. The last thing I feel is my head hitting a couch pillow and the feeling of Damon biting down only harder into me.
The darkness that engulfs me begins putting a good amount of pressure throughout my entire body. At first it's a nice comforting feeling and I sigh from the pain disappearing from me. The only problem is that the darkness keeps adding more and more pressure. I feel myself spinning and I can hear the sound of my own body clenching in the pain. My breathing picks up but this black abyss has no air to it. I gasp bigger and bigger gasps to receive nothing in return. Right when I feel as though my body is about to bust under the pressure my vision catches onto an annoyingly bright speck of light.
I know right away I have two choices. I can stay here and undergo this pressure until I've been flattened like a bug on a sidewalk or I can go into that light. I try to move my limps but they are heavy, like pounds of weight have been added to them. I ball my fists up and use all my strength to swing my hand up. I get my body moving barely, inching upwards to who knows what? I continue to feel more and more weight crushing my lungs like I'm a balloon. My limps fail around as I struggle to get myself up into the light. I reach out to the little ball of light and I wrap my fingers around it, gripping onto it for dear life.
The light shoots electric shocks through me that are much more painful than the force squashing me. I attempt to let go but I can't. It's like I've been fused to the burning light. I cry out in pain but no sound comes out, the only thing to be heard is the ringing silence. I feel a swish of wind around me, as if I'm being spun around and I close my eyes, no difference in setting coming at all. For a moment I know that I'm being torn inside out and I am going to die when the light evaporates from my palms, the pressure is released, and the ringing stops.
I sigh, and I can hear it. My eyes shoot open and I start gasping, trying to take away the burning in my lungs.
"Oh thank God it worked!" I hear Damon's voice and my body is suddenly surrounded by him. I don't speak, I only sit there and take in his warmth and existence. "I was so worried when I realized I'd killed you! I've been waiting hours for you to wake up!"
"Damon…" I let his name fall from my lips. "I love you." Damon kisses the top of my head and my body heats up like that ball of light that I hated so much. That ball of light was my life, my beating pulse. It hurt to take back but I took it.
"I'm sorry." Damon murmurs. "That was worse than I thought it was going to be. I was thirstier than I thought…"
"It's okay." I say smiling up at him. He just shakes his head and leans down to kiss me.
"You're too forgiving." He says in a sing song voice, with a voice that contradicts his words. He shoots me his famous smirk before inching in closer to my lips. I feel his top lip just barely graze my own when the door to our room in swung open. I gasp in shock and Damon as I freeze, our gaze on the wacko in our doorway. I almost forgot we were being held captive by her… "Katherine…why are you keeping us locked up in here?"
"That's for me to know for you to figure out." Katherine says in her smooth as silk voice that makes my skin crawl. "I'm actually here to talk to you Damon…" Katherine sneers, leaning up against the doorframe with a sickening smile. "You and I haven't really gotten to talk since 1864. How about we catch up? I've been waiting for you to find me for a while."
"Y-you wanted me to find you?" Damon asks, his eyes glazing over and a face full of pain returning to his face. "This entire time, it hasn't been just false hope? You really wanted to be with me?"
"Wanted? Damon, I still do!" Katherine says in a voice without any twist that makes it sound scary or untrue. She sounds completely sincere. She lifts her hand up to where the spell is separating herself from us. She looks as though she's debating whether or not to step through. "Damon, come out of there. Come with me, we can be together like I'd always planned."
"He would never go with you!" I yell at her full of anger and jealousy. She can't just come in here and expect Damon to up and leave me here! Damon loves ME now, she's just going to have to wrap her head around that. I look over at Damon when I don't hear him join in my back-talk. "Right Damon?" He looks from her, to me, and back to her again.
"Damon, she's just a puny little human. She just a fling that you'll have for a few weeks and then give up when things get complicated and dangerous. With me you have love, eternity, and no fear of me getting hurt." Katherine testifies with tears in her eyes. "Come with me and we can have that happily ever after that you've always dreamed of."
"I'm sorry." Damon says looking at Katherine with a shaky voice. I feel a wave of happiness wash over me. Damon chose me? My happiness is short lived because then Damon looks down at me, staring me deep in the eyes. "Emma, I'm so sorry." Damon unwraps himself from me and rushes over to Katherine like she just told him she's lathered in blood. Katherine smiles full of pride.
"Drop the spell. It worked!" Katherine cheers down the hall. Suddenly, Damon rushes across where the border just was a second ago. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this!" Katherine says with joy extruding from her every pore. "I love you."
"I love you too!" Damon says whirling her into a long passionate kiss that rips my heart out.
"Damon! What the fuck?" I scream, tears of betrayal and pain streaming down my face. "I gave you my virginity and my blood! I gave you everything!"
"It obviously wasn't enough human." Katherine laughs, shutting the door. Right before the door locks behind her, I see her place her lips back on top of Damon's
I curl in a ball on the bed where not that long ago Damon told me he loved me. Now he just flung it around back to Katherine. I'm alone, in danger, and heartbroken. The devil has NOTHING on Katherine Peirce.
This is officially Hell.