The Augustine Society Recognizes Dr. Grayson H. Gilbert for his outstanding accomplishments in the medical research field.
As Damon read it he almost laughed at their play on words. Humph. Of course this was the reason. What scorned vampire there wouldn't want to exact revenge on their tormentor's family? Damon admittedly has. He was proud enough to boast that it was the Whitmore's themselves who he has spent decades tormenting. Kill them all off? No way. Leave one to procreate. Stretch out the lineage and kill them each off until there is just one standing again, then repeat. Oddly enough, this sounded like what was happening to Elena, so Damon pushed that thought far away for the time being. He had nothing to worry about though, nobody would hurt Elena that way, they would have to go through him first. He had spent way too long trying to be with Elena to just up and lose her now.
It was embarrassing, actually, how long he's had feelings for her. How many girls he had been with, but at the end of the day none compared to the girl he saw every night at Mystic Grill partying with her friends.
He was getting caught up in the moment. Focus, he told himself. He wanted to read through these Augustine papers. There were tons of them stapled together. It was like one big, typed research journal. Each page contained a new ID number, picture, experimental hypothesis, and outcome. Damon took out his phone and scribbled the numbers from the wall down on his hand. He had one of three of the ID's figured out already, him. He flipped through pages, and compared each ID number. He stopped. 20150. He scanned for a name. Of course, there was no name on the paper simply because that ID was their names. Damon stared intently at the picture in front of him. He knew this man. He'd spent several years lying side by side in a cell with him. He happened to be one of the comrades trying to escape with Damon, he had failed miserably, but there he was. Lorenzo Demoriti. That made two of three. It didn't take a genius to guess who the next number belonged to. The third wheel in their escape plan. She was a beauty. She was a small girl, tiny frame, curly brown hair. She had big brown doe eyes and a traumatizing smile. Damon had had a thing for her back in imprisonment, but never really got the chance to explore it. He could've went back to save her, but truthfully, she wasn't worth the risk of his own freedom. What was her name again? Katherine, Katherine Pierce. He finally found her page and gazed at the picture. She was so strikingly similar to Elena that it was scary. Still, as much as he could see the resemblance between them, he knew Katherine could never hold a candle to what Elena possessed, especially when it came down to their distinctly different personalities.
After studying the packet he decided to take it with him. Who would miss it anyways? He tucked everything else back into the file cabinet and shut it. The drawer stuck out a tiny bit where he had been too forceful with it, but it was hardly noticeable. He needed to get back to the girls, and Stefan.
Damon couldn't resist taking a quick peek into Elena's room before his departure. It was almost as he had imagined. Neat, but not compulsively organized. Pops of color here and there. Thankfully not drowning in pink. She had an abundance of pictures. Pictures of herself, friends, family, and pets were all plastered up on her walls, on her dresser, and above her bed. There was one in particular Damon couldn't help but notice. It couldn't have been too long ago when it was taken. She was in a long, blue, silky dress that hit the floor. Her hair was pinned up with a few stray cascading curls flowing around her face. She looked stunning. Damon wished he could've seen her on that day. Then again, that dress probably wouldn't have looked as elegant torn apart on the floor of his bedroom. Oh, too soon? He smirked at his own dirty thoughts. He took the picture from the wall and stuck it in his pocket. All he's ever gotten from her was stray looks from the Mystic Grill's bar, and recently, a night of dancing. Years spent there and he never managed to walk up and simply say hi to her before last Friday night. A woman has never intimidated him like that before in his long, long lifetime. He continued thinking of Elena. Maybe that's why she hadn't had such a hard life yet, because he wasn't in it. She wouldn't have to know about the reality of the creatures lurking in the night if it wasn't for him. She could rest soundly each night naively believing that she was completely and utterly safe. Damon could give that peace to her as well. He imagined holding her in his arms every night…nothing could ever hurt her there. Another thought came to mind. He was a monster, she just didn't know it yet. How would she react to that fact? He was sure that as long as he could hide it, she would keep adoring him the way she does now.
He had to tell her the truth, though, as much as he hated it. She needs to know what happened to her family. She needs to know who, actually what, is after her. Maybe this will help piece all of it together. There would be no secrets. This could be the best, or possibly the worst decision he's ever made. He would break the news to her tonight. Who's to say she will believe him anyhow?