AN: Hey, here I am again, sooner rather than later. I am excited to read your review (please write some) to this chapter, because it's been so hard to write from Damon's POV and I've erased this like three times and wrote it all over again. Plus, this is the chapter where you find out about Katherine and she'll play and important role in this fanfiction. We all have to thank my beta for helping me out with this, because this chapter, like I said, has been hell to write. All these being said, enjoy the chapter and review it!
So this is it? I sold my soul for this?
Washed my hands of that for this?
I miss my mom and dad for this?
"Have a goodnight, Damon," the red-haired, petite girl said when he passed her.
"You want to have a good one with me?" he winked.
"Damon..." the girl stopped from arranging files and looked up at him.
"Tanya..." he whispered in his velvety voice. "Have yourself a goodnight. I'll see you on Monday," he said, rolling his eyes and threw his jacket over his shoulder as he entered the elevator.
Like many other nights, Damon left the office later than his normal schedule required. He lazily walked to his car and unlocked it. His penthouse was close to the company, in the center of Manhattan. His eyes began to sting from the tiredness, his headache worsened with every minute that passed by.
Finally home, he got rid of his suit and walked to the mini-bar, immediately finding his favorite whiskey and pouring a glass. He sat on the big couch in the living room and turned on the TV only to see his father's face on the news: Giuseppe Salvatore, benefactor of the abandoned children.
Damon scoffed and swallowed his whiskey. His father was only doing these kinds of things to get attention and to win more clients. It was obvious every time he spoke with him that he had no interest whatsoever in helping the people. It was such a shame to have such a parent. Sometimes he thought he would be better off without him.
Damon's relationship with Giuseppe was never the best but there was a time when he respected his father and admired him for being a family man and at the same time a businessman. But all that changed the day Stefan was born and his mother died. Instead of trying to compensate their loss with his presence, his father stepped aside and took refuge in work, whilst his boys were raised by nannies. This kind of life was no good for anyone and the fact that he understood this at a young age, made it easier for him in the years to come.
As the moment of his 18th birthday came, his father decided it was time for him to start learning how a successful company was run. The only thing Giuseppe was interested in was preparing Damon to take over his company when he would retire.
The ringing of his phone startled him. He grabbed it and looked at the screen to see that it was an unknown caller. He pressed the button and brought the phone up to his ear hastily.
"How may I help you?" the velvet voice was now a little bit hoarse.
"Is that the way to treat a lady?" the feminine voice from the other line asked and Damon rolled his eyes, annoyed.
"Katherine...What do you want?" his voice was back but the shadow of a good mood he was in disappeared.
"Why would you think I want something? Maybe I missed you," the sweet voice responded but Damon seemed more and more ready to hang up.
"Because that's always the thing with you, Katherine. You always want something. I'm about to hang up, so be quick," he warned.
"I need money," she began.
"What on earth makes you think I'd give you money?" Damon scoffed into the phone.
"Otherwise I'll tell the press everything," Katherine threatened and Damon's eyes opened wide with shock.
"You wouldn't," he whispered into the phone, his face paled.
"Oh, you know I would. You'll hear from me on Monday," she announced and hung up before Damon could even react.
He angrily walked to the bedroom and laid down on the bed, succumbing to the warmth and softness. His thoughts wandered to the woman who pushed all the right buttons to mess with his head. Again.
There was a time he had thought she was the love of his life. When he first met her he was mesmerized by the way she looked. As time went on, he also noticed how smart she was. She loved the things he loved; they had so much in common. The minutes were ages with her and he would've given up on everything for her to be his forever. He had been a love-struck idiot. But he didn't think that three years ago when he met her. It was just a typical night. He had gone out to have some fun with a few friends and of course, his little brother whom he was dragging out because he was spending too much time in the library reading his books.
And there she was, sitting on a stool at the bar, one leg draped over the other, sipping from her cocktail and giggling with her friend. He stared at her like she was an angel fallen from heaven. When she finally lay her eyes on him, he made his way towards her and offered her a drink, seducing her the best he could. But he had been the one seduced, which he realized recently after he saw her true colors. The night ended up with the two of them, naked, limbs locked in his bed in the penthouse he had owned since he graduated at 22.
He was young and in love. He would've done anything she asked of him. And she had been the first girl his father approved of because she was from a good family and her parents were in his social circle. That made him even happier because for once he had thought that his relationship with his father would finally be restored to what it used to be, that they would finally bond and be a real father-son team, like Stefan was with him.
And when he asked her to move in with him she seemed to be the happiest woman in the world. They happily lived together for two years until one day, happiness was no longer a thing in their relationship. She had come to him, tears rolling on her cheeks and her face pale like paper, confessing to him that she was pregnant. His world crashed down around him at her words. He hadn't been ready to have a child back then. He was only 24 and she was 22 herself. What would he do with that child? He would grow up knowing that his dad didn't want him so how could he do right by a child of his own.
His biggest fear was that he would end up like his own father, hating his child because he couldn't be what he wanted him to be. That was the moment when he decided he would never be a parent. Katherine's decision was the same as his. She would go and have an abortion and no one would ever know about it. It would be their secret and they would they would be brought closer because of it.
Things took their own course but they went nothing like he had imagined they would go. Because he hadn't planned for her to come to him one day and tell him she didn't love him, that she had never loved him. That had been the real moment when his world fell apart. That was the worse pain he'd ever gone through. He would've made it through if his child hated him but he couldn't make it through this.
It's been months since then and he was still broken. The only difference was that now, he didn't care about it anymore. It was like his feeling had been frozen forever and all he could do for a woman was sleep with her and afterwards tell her it was the first and the last time that would happen. He had ended up breaking more hearts than he could ever count but he didn't care.
And now, Elena showed up only to torture him. Her resemblance to Katherine was uncanny and it took all his willpower to stay away from her, but somehow he managed to bump into her as she was his brother's girlfriend's best friend. She seemed innocent, too innocent for him to destroy. But he didn't want to do it, she wouldn't become one of his victims.
He was woken up by the sound of the doorbell. He lazily stood up and walked to the door. Who on Earth would pay him a visit at 3 in the morning? He groaned and opened the door, staring at an overly excited Stefan leaning against the doorframe. He walked inside, not even paying too much attention to Damon.
"Stef-" he mumbled, trying to clear his throat.
"Katherine called," Stefan blurted out and Damon took a few seconds to process the information.
"This better be a joke, Stefan, because, you see, although I'm not in the best mood for jokes at 3 in the morning, I'd prefer this over you being serious about it," he spoke, his voice hoarse.
"I'm not joking. She called me, earlier in the night. I didn't know if I should come to you but I just couldn't sleep" his brother shook his head nervously.
"Why?" Damon rolled his eyes, confusion taking over his face all at once.
"Why what, Damon?" Stefan snaped, like he didn't understand his question. Damon was starting to get angry. What the hell was wrong with his brother? Sometimes he seemed to be worse than Blondie.
"Why did she call you?" Damon sighed and pinched the tip of his nose with his fingers, a sign that he was stressed out and very tired.
"Money. She wants money from me". He walked to the couch and made himself comfortable, just so he could listen to his brother for as long as he was going to speak. Stefan's words kicked him hard. When Katherine had called him, hours ago, she asked for money. Because she was blackmailing him. Why did he want money from Stefan?
He seriously wasn't in the mood to think about Katherine right now. He just wanted to go to sleep and then, tomorrow he could think about it with a clear mind.
"We'll talk tomorrow. I'll have lunch with you at your place" Damon announced.
"But-" Stefan began but was stopped by Damon who raised a hand to silence him. That was an obvious sign that he didn't want to talk about it now and so his brother simple nodded.
"If I'm here already. I want to ask you to stop treating Caroline like crap. I really love her, Damon. We're probably moving in together soon and I want you to like her, Damon," Stefan practically begged his brother to treat his girlfriend nice.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he rolled his eyes, not listening to his brother declaring his undying love for that imature person.
"Come on Damon, you have it in you. You can be nice. Just leave her be" Stefan pleaded. Damon knew that he was torn between the girl and him. He grimaced and with an annoyed voice, he spoke.
"I'll see what I can do but I can't promise anything, she's too much for me to deal with."
"That's not enough, Damon. Make an effort!" Stefan was starting to really piss him off and if he wasn't going to stop talking about the troll of his girlfriend, he was going to leave mad.
That was the thing with them. No matter how much they bickered, they would never stay mad at each other for more than a few hours. Their bond was unshakable; no one would ever break them apart. Not even their father succeeded with his behavior. Although there was a time when Damon had been jealous of Stefan for receiving their father's love, he realized that he didn't need it. He didn't need his compassion or love or affection or anything else from him.
"Ugh, buzz off, Stefan. I'll do my best to avoid the blondie and that should do the job," Damon nodded his head.
"That's not what you should do. If you avoid her, you avoid me as well, since I'm with her pretty much all the time. Just, be nice to her," Stefan patted his brother's shoulder.
"Whatever," Damon yawned and that was the sign Stefan needed to get off the couch and walk to the door.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Damon," he said and opened the door.
"Night, Stef," he said and stood up, ready to return to his bedroom, "Oh and…stop thinking about Katherine now. We'll deal with this tomorrow," he watched his brother pull a small smile before he took off.
That had been one hell of a night. It was far more eventful than his nights home alone usually were. The only night with more events had been the night Katherine left him. Nothing will ever top that. Damon lay back on the bed and when sleep came again, it was probably after he stopped thinking about Katherine.
When the sun filled his bedroom, Damon decided it was time to get off the bed and get ready for his visit to Stefan's. He wondered if last night had really happened or it was just the result of his overtired mind. Did Katherine really call him to ask for money, blackmailing him if she didn't get it? And did Stefan really come to him at 3 in the morning to tell him that she had had the guts to call and ask him for money too?
An hour later, he was sitting on Stefan's couch, savoring his whiskey while waiting for him and Caroline to finish their talk in the bedroom. When they finally made their appearance, he smiled widely, putting on his better face to welcome the blonde.
"Brother. Blondie," he nodded his head.
"You said he's going to be nice to me," Caroline whined and squeezed Stefan's arm. She looked like a spoiled child whose parents didn't buy sweets when she wanted some.
"Excuse me," Damon raised his hand to make himself heard, "nice doesn't involve me not calling you Blondie. I'll call you Blondie until the very end so you better get used to it." He smiled and swallowed a mouthful of whiskey.
"Asshole," she rolled her eyes before her gaze wandered to Stefan. "Baby, Elena's coming over in a bit, would you mind setting up the table while me and Damon decide what he's going to cook? Oh, and you better be nice to her," she pointed her finger at him as a warning.
So Elena was coming over. Were they celebrating something or what? She seemed to be present most of the times. The brunette was Caroline's best friend, her sister better said and it didn't surprise him if he would see her pretty often around. Not that he was bothered by her presence. Contrariwise, he could have such a good time admiring her beauty.
Damon's eyes snapped up to the couple and he shook his head. "No, I'm not cooking for you. You should've ordered food or maybe even cook yourselves. Not your slave. And for the record, me and Elena get along very well," he smirked.
"I still don't get how the two of you know each other. Would you care to enlighten me?" Caroline smiled sweetly at Damon who was already rolling his eyes in annoyance.
"That's for me to know and for you to dot-dot-dot" he gesticulated with his hand and stood up. "All you get is chicken Parmesan," he announced while he made his way to the kitchen.
The cooking genes ran deep in the Salvatore family and somehow, Damon was the one between the brothers who cared to use his talent.
As Caroline and Stefan were struggling to move some things in Stefan's apartment, the doorbell rang. Damon lazily moved from the counter where he was chopping the ingredients and opened the door, welcoming Elena with a smile. He noticed that this time she was wearing casual clothes, jeans and a nice top, indicating the fact that he wasn't the only one who hated formal clothes.
"Damon, hi, I didn't expect you to be here," she pulled a tiny smile.
"Just decided to have a nice time with my brother and his adorable girlfriend. In fact, I didn't expect to see you here," he winked and let her inside, motioning to her to follow him into the kitchen.
"Right" Elena smiled awkwardly, taking a seat on the stool near the counter.
"Do you know if Caroline wants to move in with Stefan? He mentioned something about it. Can you imagine me having tea with them every morning? Gross," he stuck his tongue out disgusted.
"She's not that bad once you get know her. She's been my best friend since we were babies. And no, I don't know. She didn't mention anything to me yet" Elena chuckled and her eyes wandered to Damon's hands.
He caught her gaze and smirked. "You can help me cook if you want to," he offered, pushing a bowl towards her.
"No, it's okay. I like to watch," she smiled embarrassed, causing Damon to burst into laughter.
"Please don't tell me you don't know how to cook," his eyes and mouth opened wide in shock. He could tell by her now reddened face that she couldn't cook, but he could have a little fun with this.
"I'm a mess in the kitchen," she blushed and stood up. She made an attempt to walk past him but he turned around, stopping her body from moving with his own. Their chests collided for a moment and he smirked when she let out a stuffed breath.
"I-I'm sorry, I wanted to get a glass and some water," she said, stepping aside and her head leaned down.
Damon shook his head in amusement and turned his back on her, walking over to the cupboard and getting a glass. Then, with slow movements, he opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.
"Thanks," Elena said and poured some of the water into the glass. He watched how, with elegant moves, she lifted the glass to her lips and gracefully sipped.
He was staring. He knew he was but he just couldn't help himself. She looked so much like Katherine and now she was doing that thing Katherine did when he first saw her. And she was so different at the same time. She wasn't as cocky as Katherine, she seemed shy but he knew that she wasn't. He had talked to her that night at the bar and she had been more than willing to carry a conversation.
"So, how are things with your boyfriend?" Damon asked and sat on a stool, waiting for the food to be done. For once Caroline had been intelligent and dragged Stefan around the house, moving some things, while he had time to talk to Elena as much as he wanted.
"Well, we're-" Elena was interrupted by Caroline's squeak. The blonde was running towards them, jumping and singing at the same time. Scratch that, she wasn't intelligent anymore.
"Elena!" she ran to her best friend and hugged her, like she hadn't seen her in ages. "How is Jeremy?"
"He's fine," Elena nodded her head. "He's home with Jenna, I passed by before I came here."
"Good. So, what are you two talking about?" the blonde questioned, her gaze moving from Elena to Damon and back to her friend, before repeating the process again.
"We're trying to picture how you and Stefan have sex, Blondie," Damon threw her his big smirk.
"You know, Damon, for someone who graduated from Harvard, you have a thick skull and a tiny brain and I really think you should stop with snarky comments like these!" Caroline's finger pushed into Damon's chest with all her power.
"Make me stop," he provoked her and she just rolled her eyes before glancing back to her friend.
"How can you say he's not an asshole?" Caroline asked Elena but she just shrugged her shoulders. Right then, Stefan entered the kitchen and Damon breathed out, relieved that he didn't have to stay alone with his brother's crazy girlfriend.
"Finally!" he mumbled annoyed. "I have to talk to you."
"Sure" Stefan narrowed his eyes.
"Not here," his brother pointed to the living room and without any other word, they both left the girls alone in the kitchen and they walked to the living room and sat on the couch. "Katherine," Damon sighed and didn't say any other word. This wasn't going to be a constructive discussion at all. A tiring and messed up one, yes.
Stefan was the only person who knew everything about Katherine. He knew about the pregnancy and he didn't judge him. He was the only person who would never judge him, no matter what he did. Stefan would only be there for him and Damon was so grateful for this single good thing in his life that was his brother.
And there was this thing that bugged him. The fact that Katherine called his little brother to ask for money. What game was she playing with him? Or with them both? And most important, what was Stefan's business in this story?
"I can't figure why she asked you for money too. She asked money from me too. But she's blackmailing me", Damon's voice was worried and low as he tried not to be heard by the two feminine presences in the apartment.
"What?" Stefan's eyes opened wide and his mouth dropped, not saying a single word after.
"How is she blackmailing you?"
"You know how, Stefan" Damon's voice pointed out the obvious and his brother nodded.
"We all know Katherine. She's all talk, Damon" Stefan tried to warm the situation but Damon knew he wasn't right. If there was a person who truly knew Katherine's boundaries, that person was him.
"No, Stef. Not when she wants to tell the press everything. And I'm sure that she can persuade that doctor to be a witness. She has her ways," Damon shook his head, accepting the situation. He would give her the money and be done with everything once and for all. Then, he wouldn't hear from her ever again in his lifetime.
"But she can't do that. She'll destroy both our family and hers!" Stefan's voice was filled with worry now.
"Do you think she cares? She doesn't. She didn't go back home after leaving me. All she cares about is herself. I'll give her the money and be done with all this," Damon nodded his head, as if to agree with his words, to be sure he won't back down and let Katherine destroy all he had built.
"When?" Stefan's glance wandered to Caroline but his attention was still to his brother.
"On Monday. She said she'd call. I'm not giving her any money until she tells me what she wants from you." Damon's eyes narrowed, a thought haunting him all of a sudden. "Are you hiding something from me, Stefan? Something related to Katherine and you?"
"What? No, of course not. What would I have to hide from you? And why would I be related to Katherine in any way? Jeez, Damon!" Stefan's voice was burdened with anger and Damon knew that it was because he was questioning him. He shouldn't be doing that. Stefan was the only person that would never betray him.
"I'm sorry. That was a dick move. Forget it"
"Let's go. Caroline's going to suspect something's wrong and I don't want to worry her," Stefan stood up and walked into the kitchen, but Damon waited a few more minutes.
His eyes found Elena and he stared at her for a few moments. She was smiling but her face seemed emotionless as she watched the couple kissing. She was like him; alone. They both were outsiders in this place and Caroline and Stefan's every single kiss tortured them both.
That had been the most annoying lunch he had ever had. If it weren't for Elena who entertained him most of the time, he would've probably his napkin in Caroline's face and left. All she could talk about was how excited she was that Elena was starting to work, how she would advise her about the clothes she should wear and that in her free time she could model for her creations. Poor Elena just smiled and nodded her head in agreement with her best friend, not daring to confront her and say she didn't want any of those things Caroline was setting her up for.
When dessert came, he had already reached the highest degree of annoyance but he just bit his tongue for his brother's sake. They moved to the living room but his brother and Blondie were so preoccupied with their public displays of affection that they didn't even notice when he and Elena snuck away from them and hid in one of the bedrooms.
"Thank God. I couldn't stay in there for one more second," Damon propped himself up on the bed before Elena sat next to him, smiling.
"Caroline can be...annoying," Elena admitted and chuckled.
"Can? She is. All the time," Damon smirked. "You didn't get a chance to answer to my question. About your boyfriend," he reminded her when she seemed lost.
"Oh, about that," her face gave her up and he could see the pain and for a moment he was sorry he brought it up. "We broke up," she shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I heard some of what he said that night. He isn't right, you know. Everybody should be able to gain something on their own in life before making these hard decisions. If I were you, I would've made the same choice. If he can't understand that, he doesn't love you enough," Damon caught her gaze and looked into her eyes, where he saw tears glistening.
She simply nodded, not being able to say something else for a moment. "You're right. I do want to have something that's mine and my work will be mine, no one will be able to take it away from me. He loves me. No, he loved me. Now he hates me," Elena's tears rolled down her cheeks.
"He actually hates himself for being so stupid and letting you go. He hates that he's not with you," Damon shrugged. Since when did he become this good advisor? From what he remembered, he didn't know what to do when Katherine left him and now he was telling Elena all these things and it made him question his beliefs. He didn't know why but he felt close to this girl who was in pain over the loss of her boyfriend. He wanted to help her but he wasn't sure that he knew how.
"It's weird. Caroline said the same thing," Elena pointed out and tried to pull a small smile.
"Well, I guess me and Blondie are able to think alike. But just once every few years," Damon smiled and leaned closer to her. His thumb reached her face and he wiped away the tears from her cheeks. Her breathing accelerated and again, he could hear her try to catch air in her lungs. Her lips were slowly parted as the air filled her nostrils and exited her organism through the slight opening.
"Thank you, Damon. You just keep saving me these days. I actually think that you're the only person that's ever helped me so much," she breathed out before she reached him and slowly put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder for a few seconds before she pulled away. Her gesture surprised him and for a moment, he was stunned.
"You have a friend in me, Elena, okay?" he finally found his words and smiled kindly. What was he doing? He wasn't friends with women. He slept with them. He didn't know how to be friends with them. Though in that moment, he could use a friend who was in the same situation as him. They were both suffering from the same ailment; the loss of their love.
"What's going on here? Elena?" Caroline's voice crept inside the bedroom and she was now an intruder between the two of them. The blonde's eyes wandered to the two of them, sitting on the bed, very close to each other.
"Nothing's going on, Caroline," Elena assured her and stood up before Damon.
"Oh, is that so? Then why are you two alone in here?" her friend's judgmental tone could not be missed.
Damon just looked at them and didn't say anything. He knew that an intervention by him on this one would lead to him having a fight with Stefan and right now, that was the last thing he wanted to happen.
"I was looking for the bathroom and Damon led me to the one here. Then we just sat and talked. Okay?" she asked and watched how the frown from Caroline's face disappeared.
"We're not done with this. And you," she pointed to Damon who was chilling on the bed, "your brother said you should go to the living room. There's someone named Katherine here for you."
Damon jumped up from the bed immediately as he heard Katherine's name. Hearing it sent shivers down his spine and he wanted the ground to swallow him so he couldn't be tortured by her presence. What was she doing there? How did she find him? He froze on the spot with the two women staring blankly at him.
AN: Hmm, what's going to happen next? You'll have to stay tuned to find out! Tell me your opinions about what happened in this chapter.