What to do when your head and heart want different things? Which one do you follow and which one you betray? 'Cause you have to chose the one you trust the most, the one that has never let you down even if it wasn't the best decision ever, it was just another way to reach your goal of learning from your mistakes and stop doing them; but then I realized you can easily lose your mind yet never your heart, not without losing yourself with it…
Little did I know that when Damon walked out the door, he took away my heart, leaving me empty just like so many others before I had helped them over the years.
I woke up to the sound of voices downstairs, Stefan's and… oh my God, Damon…
Looking around I realized I wasn't in my room, in my bed…this can't be real…Shit! I slept with Stefan last night, didn't I? Taking a look under the covers and realizing I was wearing absofuckinglutely nothing brought all the memories from my 'quality moments' with the younger Salvatore and a sick smile made its way onto my face, the morning after kind of smile…
'Wipe that smug off your face, Khloe, and het the hell out of here until Damon finds you in his brother's bed!' I hurried into recovering my clothes from all around the room, some of them hadn't made it alive-instead had been torn off in the process by an overly anxious and excited vampire. I rushed to my bedroom and found a mirror as to smooth my sex hair that was sticking up in all the wrong places before somebody- as in Damon- knocked on the door.
'Shit! Quickly jump off the window and get the hell out of here.'
"Come in…" Fuck, what do I do now?
"Hey…just wanted to talk to you about something, if you're not busy that is."
Oh God, he was so handsome and sexy…
"Yes, of course. What about?" 'Act as if nothing happened and you'll be fine…' I told myself to calm the nerves and yet it was pretty much useless…'He's gonna know and he'll hate me forever…'
"I wanted to apologize for how I behaved the other night- you know- for freaking out like that. I had no right to snap at you the way I did…"
"Why did you?"
He looked stunned at my forwardness although he knew better that being blunt was one of my virtues…
"I…ah…because…" He took one step towards me and then another "Because I like you, Khloe, I like you a lot."
I should have run in the other direction but I felt pinned to the floor by the force of guilt and I did the only thing I could- I bowed my head in shame and also remorse for what was to come next…
Standing right in front of me was the man I loved and betrayed with one hand reaching for my cheek giving me a sense of déjà-vu, but this time the hand stopped mid-air and a loving expression was replaced by shock and hurt, treason evident in his amazing blue eyes…
"His smell is all over you…" He growled and pinned me to the nearest wall by the neck, all the while his vampire features coming out to show his anger and frustration. I did nothing to fight him off even though his hold was strong and it cut the air from my lungs- I deserved the pain; hell, I'd take all his pain if I could and transfer it to myself; I could take violent Damon, dangerous Damon and even monster Damon. But broken Damon because of me was something I had never wanted to see; something that hurt worst than loneliness…"You fucked my brother, didn't you?" His voice cracked at the end, betraying his feeling of control over his emotions and leaving him completely exposed…
I wanted to make him feel again and be happy but now he's miserable and it's all my fault…
"I…I…" I had no words to describe the situation because there was really no excuse for what I did but Stefan's words I hadn't expected and that was when the shit hit the fan…
"Actually, brother, I believe I was the one doing the fucking, wouldn't you agree?"
'Shit, Stefan! Now is not the time to be cocky and smug…' I threw him a deathly glare and hissed:
"Shut the fuck up, Stefan!" I returned to my dear Damon and put my hands on his- supplicating him to listen to me. "Damon, I'm sorry…please I can explain…" But there wasn't time apparently because he let me go, throwing me one last tormented glare and stormed out the door- leaving me clueless as to where or when he'll be back…
I fell on my knees and started crying because he took with him everything I had including my heart and there was a possibility I might never get it back…
"No, no, no…he didn't let me explain…he left without listening…" I felt Stefan's arms circle me in a warming embrace yet it did nothing to sooth my pain; neither did his next words because I knew they weren't true.
"He'll be back and you will tell him then what it is you wanted to…shh, it's okay, you'll see. My brother's a big boy and he can take care of himself- he just needs some time."
Only I knew he wouldn't come back and he would definitely not be okay with this…it must be killing him…'oh my God, what if he does something stupid or what if he gets himself into trouble? I would never forgive myself if something happened to Damon because of me…'
It's been now 2 days since I have last felt my heart and saw my love. The older Salvatore was God knows where, doing God knows what and I could no longer listen to the silence of the Boarding House and the emptiness of my chest. Something was definitely wrong and I needed to find him, bring him home where he belongs…is that incredibly selfish and greedy?- yes but vampires tend to be like that- especially after spending a thousand years searching for that one person, well in this case two persons, that can make you happier than you've ever been before.
I tried tracking him down, following his smell but I lost him at the bar he always went to when problems seemed to pile up and bring him down- he would come here and wallow in his bourbon until the morning came with a pleasurably buzz, enough to take his mind off of things. But what happened after, where did he go from there- those were the questions I most needed answers to, because I refuse to let him go; I refuse to let half of my heart walk away after searching the whole world for it. Because that would make me a quitter and Khloe Masters is no quitter, we all know that…
Walking the town's streets up and down for a clue as to where he was, something odd hit my senses. Another vampire was in town which was strange…the Salvatore brothers and I were the only ones currently in this time forsaken place. I chased him down and pinned him to a wall, demanding for answers and when they took their time to follow I had to use some compulsion in order to make the stranger talk.
"Who are you and why are you here?"
"My name is Evan and I'm here to stop the Salvatore brothers from exposing us to the humans."
My blood froze and my knees weakened. I knew the others weren't happy with Damon's and Stefan's behavior but I had hope for it not to come to this…'no, I need more time…you can't!' This was usually what happened when vampires threatened revealing their kin to the world because we supported our own.
"How many of you? Have you found them? Answer me, God damn it; or I'll rip your heart out!"
"There sent 7 of us to capture them. We only have one of them in our possession but his brother will join him soon." He looked bewildered because he had no idea why he was telling me this. The ability to compel vampires was one perk we Originals wanted to keep a secret because otherwise all the others would start using vervain and that would do no good to us…
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! You said 'we have'…that means he's still alive, right? Where are you keeping him?" If they touched one hair on his head I swear I'll kill them all…I'll rip all their hearts out which is something I don't usually do.
"He'll be dead by the time darkness sets in so don't try to save your friend. How are you doing this to me? Please, they will kill me if they find out I betrayed them… "
"This will be the last time I ask so if you want to live another sunrise you better answer me."
"There's an abandoned house near Wickery Bridge, just 2 miles north from it. That's where they are keeping him…now please, please don't kill me. I only did what the protocol asked of me."
"I know. You never saw me, we never had this conversation. Leave Mystic Falls and never return again…now." He was out of my sight faster than normal vampire speed, leaving me with only one problem to solve: get my Damon back safe and sound and kill 6 other vampires if they interfere.
Wickery Bridge, abandoned house, the place was easy to find...I could hear voices in the basement but none of them was my beloveds. I knocked at the front door after I decided to give the kidnappers a chance and not go straight for the kill- the fact that I hated taking lives did not mean I was not capable of it; in fact I craved revenge right now and that was a bad omen for 6 persons in this place.
To my surprise it was Kay who opened the door… he was my last project and I walked out on him 30 years ago after he told me he loved me. I freaked out, okay…falling in love with him was not possible- he was not the one…so leaving him was the only way.
He was even more shocked than I was to see me standing in front of him after so long.
"Khloe…what are you doing here? Did you realize you love me and came back?"
Oh God no…he wasn't over it yet?
"Hello Kay. I'm afraid that's not the case here…you have something that belongs to me and I want it back. So aren't you going to invite me in? Oh right, there's no barrier, I can manage that all on my own." I walked in and left him there, stunned and a little hurt so I could head downstairs and have my heart back…
"Wait, you can't go down there."
"And who's going to stop me? You? Have you forgotten who you're talking to, Kay?" He didn't say anything so I continued walking but added nonetheless…"Thought so…"
What I found in the basement scarred me to life…I saw Damon tied up to the ceiling, hanging in mid-air with his chest and back bleeding from all the torture he endured from this…this animals. I felt my face change instantly and I was about to drain them all for doing this to him…how dare they treat my boy like that?
They all stood there; prepared to attack because they had no idea who they were dealing with and I almost hoped they'll pounce on me so I wouldn't feel bad about killing them on the spot. Instead I recomposed myself and walked confidently in the room, throwing each of them a glare saying 'dare and die'.
I approached Damon and caressed his silky yet bleeding cheek, giving him a sad smile instead of an apology although he deserved it. He was still hurting but no longer from the cuts and burns he received but from the way I acted before and he silently mouthed one word to me: "don't!" what he meant by it was unknown to me but I guessed he did not want to hear how bad I felt or how sorry I was.
I turned back to Kay and the others and made a threatening step in front of them…
"Who did this?"
One stupid vampire misinterpreted my words and thought I had asked who caught the Salvatore and brought him here so he made one step forward…
"I did. I saw him leave the bar downtown this morning…he was so drunk he couldn't even walk straight, the bastard. The council sent us here to get rid of him and his brothers because of their foolishness…these two threaten to expose us to the humans because of their feeding habits. You're here to see the job done, aren't you?"
'Oh, you stupid, useless piece of shit.'
"Yes!" I moved at full speed and before everyone else could even comprehend what was happening, I had him pinned to the wall with a stake in his chest, 2 inches below his heart. He would not die for now…"I wouldn't try to save him if I were you…or you might be next and I will not miss in the future." They all retreated at the threat in my tone but still ready to fight me. "What I meant was who tortured the prisoner?" No one was brave enough to brag now, after seeing that bit of demonstration earlier and I was rapidly losing my patience. Finally Kay stepped forward and stood up for him and his friends.
"We all did. It's the protocol…teach them a lesson before killing them and making the world a better place. Why are you here Khloe? What is he to you?"
I hissed when hearing those words coming from my ex-lover and could no longer control myself…I pounced on him and hit his head hard on the bricked wall:"You, how dare you talk about him like that? If it weren't for me you'd be dead by now. You were also out of control when I first met you so don't pretend to be better…you asshole. If you want to make the world a better place you'll take a stake and drive it through your heart, saving me the time of doing it myself."
He was on the verge of crying because of my harsh words and even though I cared about him once, I no longer felt the need to protect him and save him…more like the other way around now.
"You don't really mean that, do you? You saved me and made me feel again…I love you and there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. I've been searching for you, Khloe; ever since you left there hasn't been a moment when I wasn't thinking about you so please, come back to me…we used to be good together." It pained me a little to see him like this and to hear he never let go of my memory so I gave him his freedom back…
"You don't love me anymore. I left you 30 years ago and you let me go but kept your promise…you're free, Kay." My pupils dilated and suddenly I could hear the sound of his heart being put together. He repeated my words and seemed happier than I ever saw him, oblivious to what had happened and surprised to see me.
"So, is he your next project?"
The others were whispering to themselves stuff like 'did she just compel him?' or 'how did she do that?', 'who is she?' I watched Damon's expression at the realization that I could compel vampires hit him but his face betrayed no emotions other than exhaustion and hunger.
"Something like that, Kay. You should know, better than all of them, that I can help him and his brother without bringing the council into this. They are no longer a threat to you so let him go…also tell the others to stay away from Stefan too."
"Who are you?" Asked one vampire from behind me…
"I'm an Original and a friend of the Salvatores. I'm going to take Damon home now without you making anymore problems, okay? I'd hate to kill you all…"
They all stepped back and raised their hands in surrender so I proceeded with my plans. The ropes were dipped in vervain but they hurt Damon more than me so I hurried to set him free…he could barely stand on his feet so I helped him up the stairs and out of that damned house.