You Lost Me

Chapter Three - Answers

After being with Stefan for a while, Elena decided to go back to her house. She felt like the air couldn't reach her lungs. She did her best to cover it from Stefan and she was positive he bought it. He blindly trusted her and never really doubted that she was telling him the truth. Her relationship with him was easy like that. They trusted each other and never questioned anything.

She didn't want to betray his trust and that was why she didn't say another word and settled for watching two movies. It was the perfect distraction for her mind in the moment. She didn't want to go on and on about what has happened in the living room earlier. She never expected Damon to leave her alone with Katherine. She didn't like it but she's finally stopped fighting against the fact that he wouldn't help Caroline or stop Katherine. He had a right to be remorseful about the she-vampire when she made it clear that she came back to Stefan. And he was also right about Caroline. The new vamp was keeping Stefan's hands full and no matter how much he tried eventually she'd do more damage than Stefan could fix. Some times she handled to let her victims go, compelled to forget what happened but other times it hasn't been so fortunate and they had to put the corpses away.

But she never truly imagined that Damon would leave her alone with Katherine. For all she knew the vampire came to kill her and finally claim Stefan as hers. She could kidnap her and threaten her boyfriend about whatever she wanted. They didn't know what Katherine's plans were because she kept walking around them but never really attacking though she did use Caroline to kill people. And still Damon left.

But it wasn't only that that hurt. Katherine was right. For almost five weeks she has met Damon many times and not in one of them he has said one word to her. She stopped 'talking' to him in the fifth or sixth but she has been really surprised by how it seemed like she didn't exist. For times she just wanted to slap him in the face and yell that he has actually killed her brother and she had the right to take as long as she wanted to forgive him while all she did in return was to trick him to give her some information about someone that could do be planning her death or her friends'. Katherine turned Caroline for a reason. She wanted them to know that she knew no boundaries and she'd do as she pleased and how she pleased whenever she wanted.

How could Damon even compare one thing to the other? It wasn't even possible. She was sure if she stopped people in the street and reported the facts as they were, no bias, one hundred percent of them would support her. She only did to him what he did to everyone all the time but still he completely ignored her. It may hurt but it also enraged her and loaded her loathe feelings for him. She hated him, she really did, with all her heart because not only he killed her brother but also totally cut her out of his life because of something as small as getting him to give her some information about a maniac vampire.

But no matter how much she hated him, she still cared. And that made she hate herself too! She's called herself the worst names in the dictionary and she felt like a fool for caring but she couldn't change who she was and she has already been convinced that neither could Damon. He was who he was and maybe her first assessment was closer to the truth then she had thought lately.

But tonight he has crossed the line. He really hurt her. In her best days she would admit that Katherine really had an edge over the brothers but especially over Damon. He's been in love or obsessed by the woman for almost a century and a half and surely being the manipulative bitch that she was it'd be very easy for to get under his skin. Especially after saying she came back to Stefan. He never said a word to anyone about what Katherine had said to him before he headed to Elena's house but sometimes she tried to imagine the list of things that the older vampire could do to hurt Damon and bring him to the edge and the list were just endless. She knew Damon was struggling a lot, especially with his feelings when he came to her. He even tried to force his way to kiss her twice before Jeremy interrupted them so it was clear for her that he wasn't in his best state of mind. In her more understanding days she almost forgave him because emotions weren't something easy for vampires, especially not ones like Damon who spent so long without having any. The pain was slowly wearing down and she knew deep inside that she'd come around. But today she's been truly hurt.

It didn't look like Katherine and Damon were together before she arrived although they both came from upstairs and could easily smell each other's presence in the house. Elena thought that Damon was in the house while Katherine was just following her and only went to the second floor to make it look like she was indeed with Damon. So as far as she knew Damon didn't have to face Katherine and she certainly didn't say anything to get under his skin. Damon was in his best mind when he stepped in that living room and still he left her alone with the devil. He abandoned her coldly. He let her to die there if that was the case and in that moment Elena finally realized that maybe he wasn't being dramatic or childish when he said she's lost him too.

Reality had finally hit her and now there wasn't any denying about it. No matter how much she wanted to think that maybe someday Damon and she would be able to repair their relationship and be friends, she now knew they wouldn't. And it surprised her how empty she felt after this observation.

What was wrong with him? Having sex with Carla has been easy. Pretty easy because she knew what she was doing. He even thought about keeping her the moment he found out she also lived in Mystic Falls as the scenario in the small tiny city was too obvious and boring. She'd make a perfect sex buddy. She didn't make questions, she didn't make any moves, nothing. She was there for a night of raw pleasure and that was what they both had.

But Damon was hungry, he was absolutely hungry. Carla has fulfilled his man needs but she was yet to fulfill the vampire's. And her blood smelled like roses to him. His compulsion worked. He tested it before feeding on her. Or expecting to feed on her. He didn't want the experience to be any harder to her than it should so he preferred to actually compel her first. That might be what went wrong. Damon never compelled first. Only after, if the victim made it afterward at all. But he couldn't for the life of him to feed in the naked human under his body.

Carla looked at him puzzled. She wasn't going to yell or to react at any sort to what he was going to do but all he did was look at her with confused eyes. She thought it was odd and after ten minutes she finally asked if everything was okay. Though she kept her voice pretty low afraid of it making it any reaction.

Damon released her from his compulsion but he was intrigued. The girl was a machine in bed and seemed to be even more careless about it than him but that was it. There was nothing special about her except for the fact that he couldn't feed on her.

He said her he's changed his mind, not even bothering to apologize as he moved from the bed and collected his clothes, dressing up quickly.

She reacted normally, as if nothing has happened. She also collected her clothes and didn't offer him a farewell greeting as he quietly and wordlessly left the room. Taking her time she only made it outside the motel fifteen minutes after him and found him leaning against his car.

Damon was thinking. Actually his brain was working nonstop since he left the room. He felt the bloodlust, he wanted to feed, he was thirsty but he couldn't. There was something about the girl he has just been with. He didn't know if it was the way she looked at him or how her voice was sweet despite her bold and upfront attitude, especially in bed. She was just the perfect happy meal and still he didn't have her. But what was it? Was she also any sort of supernatural creature? After finding out about werewolves he thought he should be open to any possibilities. But if she was any sort of creature what made him back away from her blood? Was it going to kill him? Or was it only her human charms?

He's been in so deep thoughts that he didn't notice her getting out or smiling at his odd position at nearly four in the morning. She ignored him as he seemed to be hypnotized or something and slowly made her way towards the city. She still needed to find a ride home as she didn't have her car. By ride she obviously meant a taxi, if the city had a taxi service at all but if it didn't it wouldn't take more than a couple of hours for the first bus to Mystic Falls to leave the station.

Damon finally saw her. Her blood smell got his attention and he decided to go further and figure out what this woman had as he was absolutely sure that there was nothing on her that could remotely cause him the same reaction Elena did. And the last time he remembered of not being able to drink from someone was from Elena. He'd never do that to her in the past and he was positive that it wouldn't change in the future no matter how he despised her now.

"Hey, are you going back to Mystic Falls?" Damon ran in human speed, quickly reaching her.

"Yeah, my car is in the dealership to be fixed but I'm waiting for the next bus" she nonchalantly answered. She knew guys like Damon too well and the last thing they wanted was to change numbers and promise to call the next day.

"Do you want a ride?" he offered as he appraised her one more time. Steady heartbeat, human blood running in the veins, erected hair all over her arms affected by the chilly breeze and pale lips because of the cold. She looked all human, too human for being a supernatural creature but he'd dig until he found an answer.

"That would be nice but it's nothing, really, I guess the first bus won't take longer and there's a lot of things we can do in the gas stations stores by this time" she coolly answered while Damon kept appraising her with such a gaze that was probably leading her to think he was a psycho.

"Let's go, any other day you tell about what's so cool about convenience stores in a city like Fells Church" he smirked and tilted his head towards his car while she shrugged, why not, the guy wasn't creepy at all and he was offering her a chance to do let her grandmother to lecture her once again.

They didn't do a lot of small talking in the brief car trip between the two cities. More like a few comments and remarks and long periods of silence. She didn't bother, first she was really sleepy and second he didn't seem a lot interested anyway. But truth was Damon couldn't be any more interested. There was something wrong with this girl and he'd find out.

Stefan said that Damon was looking for things to keep him busy and ignore both Katherine and Elena and much to his complete happiness none of the brunette women has crossed his mind while he's been with Carla. Again there was nothing special about the girl, but her sex skills would make any man incapable of forming any rational thoughts while she made her things in bed and after it all he could think was about why he hasn't been able to drink from her.

And Stefan was right. He was already obsessed about finding out what has stopped him. So blindly obsessed that it never crossed his mind that maybe it didn't have anything to do with the redhead he was just dropping in her house but with himself.

AN: Damon can't feed the human. Why do you think he can't? He's too deep in thoughts about the supernatural lately but even so he can almost assure she's human (and she is). But if she's just the girl next door why can't he feed on her? Give me your thoughts because this subject will drop for many, many chapters to come, so your best chance to find it out is taking guesses.

Elena is still on denial, no matter how many times it crosses her head that he really cut her off of his life. But as I wanted to show she's also making progress about forgiving him. Elena does care a lot about Damon, so it makes it all hard for her not to try to understand what happened to him that night. She just won't admit it to anyone as a rational said of her says it's unforgivable and that she's an idiot for even thinking about forgiving him. Let's see where it takes her.

Next: Katherine, Carla, Elena... I guess there are too many women for just one Damon :P

Thanks a lot to: Tasha, IanVampLover, EtherealDamon, Lily, niadk, blackArcher13, natitasha, blueyed18, Crimson-Kiss17 and shadylady21 for the reviews! I hope to read from you again :P

Talk to you soon

Babi