Chapter Twenty

When Caroline returned to Ella's house an hour after leaving she entered without knocking. Ella had sent her a message saying she was going to have a shower and might not here the door so just to come in. Upon entering the house however, Caroline could hear movement coming from the kitchen.

As she moved down the hall, soft singing reached Caroline's ears and she smiled. Ella was in the kitchen mixing a large bowl of what looked like cookie dough and was singing to herself as she worked. Caroline recognised the song as an old Whitney Houston one from the eighties and her smiled widened as she paused in the doorway.

Ella had a sweet singing voice and Caroline was happy to see her friend smiling as she sang. It was a few moments before Ella looked up and saw her friend watching her. She jumped when she realised she wasn't alone and the large spoon she had been using clattered to the floor.

"Caroline! You scared me!" Ella exclaimed, her hand flying to her chest where her heart pounded. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry," Caroline laughed. "I didn't mean to scare you, you told me to let myself in."

"Yeah, but announce yourself or make a noise, something to give a girl a bit of warning." Ella was laughing along with her friend, now that she knew she wasn't in any danger.

"I didn't want to interrupt your singing," Caroline explained. "You've got a really nice voice."

"Thanks," Ella smiled embarrassed and looked away. "It was one of my mom's favourites; she used to sing it in the car. It's one of the few things I can remember about her."

"You miss her?"

"Every day," Ella whispered sadly. She back at Caroline and noticed the bags that her friend carried for the first time. "Are you moving in?"

Caroline laughed. "No, these are essentials for any girl's night in. We have your usual chick flicks, everything we need for facials, doing our nails, and I also brought so snacks and an assortment of other things to do."

"Sounds good. Let me just put these cookie's in the oven. I've got some popcorn in the cupboard and there's ice cream in the freezer. My dad called while you were out, he's not going to be home until Monday so we have the house to ourselves."

Caroline nodded. "Where should I put my stuff? Then I can help with the cookies."

"In the living room is fine, that's where we'll watch the movies and stuff."

"Great."

Caroline exited the room then and returned a few minutes later. The girls had fun scooping up the dough and turning them into cookies. They laughed and talked about school, Caroline told Ella more about her relationship with Tyler and what being a Vampire was like. She explained how and why she'd been turned, never breaking their conversation while Ella slid the baking trays into the oven and they moved into the living room with glasses of iced tea.

"So she turned you as part of a game?" Ella asked as the settled onto the sofa.

"Basically," Caroline nodded. "She wanted to send a message to Elena and the Salvatore's. She also wanted someone she could control and use to spy. It worked for a while as well, but Elena understood and she forgave me. Katherine got what she deserved in the end though."

"Wow, and I thought I had it bad," Ella laughed humourlessly.

"You have every right to be upset and scared over what's happening to you Ella," Caroline told her, taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I told you that story so that you'd know that you're not alone in this. I know how it feels to be thrown into something you couldn't control. It isn't easy, but you'll learn to control it."

"I can't control everything," Ella responded. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Ella, what's the matter?" Caroline asked, alarmed at her friends sudden sadness.

"If I tell you something, you have to swear you won't tell anyone else. Not Elena or Bonnie, not even Tyler."

"I swear," Caroline nodded. "You can tell me anything Ella. I won't breathe a word to anyone."

Ella then told Caroline what Damon had told her earlier about what would happen if she fell in love. "He said that I needed to be careful and that I should distance myself from Jeremy, he said he could see the road we were headed down. His advice was too late; Caroline I think I'm in love with Jeremy."

"Wow," Caroline breathed.

"I'm scared Caroline," Ella admitted. "When I spoke with Jeremy earlier, when he said the things he said I felt it."

"Felt what?"

"I felt my heart go cold. I'm scared that it'll become cold permanently. I think that this is what Damon was trying to warn me about, the consequence of the one I love breaking my heart."

"What are you going to do?" Caroline asked.

"Nothing," Ella shook her head. "Maybe it's not too late; maybe if I distance myself from Jeremy it won't be as bad. I haven't known him that long so maybe it's possible that I'm not as connected to him as I think. I won't force Jeremy to be with me just for my own sake, he made his feelings perfectly clear earlier. All I can do is hope for the best."

"I won't let your heart grow cold Ella," Caroline assured her. "I promise we'll find a way to fix it if it starts to happen."

"Thank you."

"Now can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

Caroline bit her lip, she didn't want to fight with Ella, but she had to ask her question. "How can you be so sure that you can trust Damon? I know you said you know him better than I think, and you may be right with your empathy thing, but after what you saw in your vision and all the things he's done in the past, I have to know Ella. I don't want you to get hurt or caught up in one of his twisted schemes."

"Because I was wrong. Damon wasn't the one who was trying to kill me," Ella explained. "He was there to save me, the first night I had the dream or vision whatever it was I didn't see everything. Last night I saw more and Damon was saving my life. I think he was saving me from whoever is trying to torment me now."

"How can you be sure you have it right now?"

"I just do," Ella shrugged. "I can feel it. Damon isn't going to hurt me; he's going to save my life. The least I can do is give him the benefit of the doubt. I'd never ask you to trust Damon, I know what he did to you, but can you trust me?"

Caroline nodded. "I trust you."

"Thank you," Ella smiled, relieved to hear it. "Ok, I think that's enough of the drama talk. Let's watch one of these sappy chick flicks you brought over."

TBC…