AN: Alright, here's chapter 7. Just wanted to say this story had reached over 600 views. Exciting. I certainly hope you're all enjoying it. Please remember to review, they always motivate me to write more often and thus updating sooner.
Responses to reviews:
Polkadottedgiraffe11: Thank you. I hope you got a chance to read the other chapters as well. Also I did PM you about being a Beta for this story. :)
Alright, I'm done. I've said my two cents, now please enjoy chapter 7.
-LS
Chapter 7 – These Things Take Time
It was four-thirty in the morning and Damon, Elena, Caroline and Bonnie all sat around the kitchen table. After Damon had called Elena around two in the morning, she had woken the girls and they quickly packed up their things and checked out of the hotel room. Screw their girl's weekend, screw the story Elena had to cover for work. All hell had broken loose back home. Elena had driven well over the speed limit and made it back to Mystic Falls in record time. She had offered to take Caroline and Bonnie home, knowing that Sara was safe at home, but they had insisted on going straight to the house. When they got to the house the girls went inside, ignoring the luggage they had in the trunk. Damon met them in the foyer and Elena had ran straight into his arms shouting of question after question. Now after checking on Sara for herself, finding her asleep with Chief watching over her, they sat in the kitchen drinking.
"So what exactly happened at this party?" Caroline asked as she pulled a fresh bag of blood from the fridge and set it in front of Elena. She had a feelings she was going to need it.
"Thanks Care. What do you know Damon?" she asked as she turned to look at her husband, bringing the tube leading into the bag to her mouth.
"I don't know the whole story, it's been a crazy night." Damon said as he told the girls what he knew about the night.
Flashback
Damon sat out on the front porch with a glass of bourbon in his hand as he and Rick caught up. Stefan was inside checking on the sleeping children and Jeremy was playing a game on the Xbox with Nick and Alex. It was one in the morning and Stefan had told Darren and Callie it was time for them to go to bed. While Rick talked about Alex's behavior in class, Damon's phone started ringing. He answered it when he saw it was Sara. Knowing it was now the girl's curfew he figured she and Lizzy were on their home.
"Hey, princess. You and Lizzy on your way to the house?" he answered, the smile on his face quickly being replaced by a frown.
"What is it? Damon?" Rick asked.
"I'll be right there." Damon said as he stood up, hanging up the phone.
"Did something happen?" Rick asked as he stood.
"Lizzy was drugged at the party. Sara had to call an ambulance. She's waiting at the hospital." Damon informed as he patted his pockets before he dug out his car keys.
"Why didn't she just drive Lizzy there?" Rick asked.
"Someone fucked with her car." Damon growled. "Can you take the boys home?"
"Of course. Go." Rick nodded and as soon as the words left his lips Damon sped to the car and soon the engine roared to life and Damon pealed out of the driveway and was gone.
"Where is he going?" Stefan asked.
"Something happened at the party." Rick sighed.
"Is Sara okay?"
"I think so. Lizzy however…"
"Shit." Stefan said as he ran a hand threw his hair.
"Damon wanted me to take the boy's home."
"C'mon." Stefan said as they went inside to inform the boys that they were leaving.
"Sara called me around 1 am. I figured she was calling to say she was on her way home with Lizzy, but apparently she was calling from the hospital waiting room. Lizzy was drugged at the party and had had a seizure in the back seat of her car. She had to call an ambulance because someone not only siphoned the gas from her car, but also slashed her tires. According to the officer I talked with at the hospital several cars were in the same condition, all belonging to girls that were at the party." Damon explained.
"Wait, someone vandalized a bunch of girls' cars? Why?" Caroline screeched.
"Several girls were given the same thing as Lizzy and most of them were about to be rapped. Apparently if any girl a boy hadn't been able to get to drink a spiked cup were going to offer the girls a ride home and probably stop somewhere thinking they could get lucky." Damon growled.
"You have to be fucking kidding me!" Caroline exclaimed. These were her students. Never did she think something like this could be done by them or even in her town.
"So Sara saved all those girls by calling the cops?" Bonnie said. She was proud of her niece, but felt horrible for her at the loss of her best friend.
"Lizzy did not die in vain tonight, but she did die all the same. Sara blames herself." Damon spoke softly.
"Why does she blame herself? She got Lizzy out of there when she could. She called for help. What happened to the parents? Weren't they supposed to be there?" Caroline spouted of question after question as she paced the kitchen.
"Who the fuck knows where they were. They weren't at that party and they certainly weren't at the hospital where a bunch of kids were getting their stomachs pumped and parents were overflowing the halls! That fucking Martin kid's parents had the nerve to try and talk to me as I carried Sara out of there." Damon growled as he banged his fist against the table
"The kid who gave everyone the drugs?" Elena asked, finally getting over the shock of what she'd heard.
"The one in the same. I sped out of there before I lost it. Sara blames herself because apparently this Jerry kid only went after Lizzy to spite Sara when she rejected a drink from him earlier in the night." Damon nodded before downing his current glass of bourbon. If he gripped the glass and harder it would shatter.
"So Sara could've been…" Elena couldn't finished the sentence. Damon only nodded as he squeezed her hand in his free one.
"She's okay, Baby. She's safe." Damon whispered into her ear as he kissed her temple. The same thought had crossed his mind more than once in the last few hours.
"Lizzy's parents don't blame Sara, do they?" Bonnie asked.
"Of course not. In spite of what happened, they're grateful to Sara for getting Lizzy out of there and getting her help. At first they said Lizzy was going to be fine, but when they went to see her something happened and the doctors weren't able to get her back."
"Poor Sara. Poor Simon and Clare. All those kids." Caroline cried. Bonnie wrapped her arm around her friend.
"How'd Nick take it?" she asked.
"He doesn't know yet. I couldn't tell him. Thought it would be better to wait till morning. Lizzy's parents are coming by to check on Sara and hopefully Louie will have Sara's car ready so they can get Lizzy's things from it." Damon sighed. It'd been a long and stressful night. Hell it'd been a long two, three days.
"Damon, why don't you try to get a few hours of sleep." Elena suggested.
"I'm alright, Baby." Damon said as he leaned over and planted a kiss to her cheek. Elena gave him a weak smile. She could see he was tired, but didn't push. Silence filled the kitchen.
Around 5:30 Damon started pulling out the ingredients for breakfast. Caroline had made a fresh pot of coffee and was filling everyone's mugs when Chief trotted his way through the kitchen and out of his doggy door. If Chief was down here that meant Sara was too. The adults had been so distracted that they hadn't heard Sara's door open or as she and chief made their way down to the kitchen. Sara rounded the corner and appeared in the door way. She'd only been asleep for a few hours and she looked terrible. Wither her bloodshot eyes were from fresh tears or the ones from the hospital Damon was unsure of. If Sara was surprised to her mother and aunts in the kitchen when they were supposed to be in Richmond till tonight she didn't show it.
"Sara, you're dad's making breakfast." Caroline informed, being the first to say something.
"Oh." She said softly, shifting her gaze from her aunt to her father. "Thanks, Daddy, but I'm not really hungry." She said as she moved towards the back door to go see Chief. Her voice though quiet held no emotion in it what so ever. It was strange and no one liked it. When she was outside everyone released a breath they hadn't realized they were holding.
"What are we going to do?" Elena said.
"We'll figure it out." Damon said as he cracked a few eggs.
"We should probably get going. Damon, do you know if Jeremy took the kids home last night?" Bonnie asked.
"They stayed the night at Stefan's."
"Okay. I'm gonna call Jeremy to come get us. Elena, no you are not to offer us a ride." Bonnie said when she saw Elena about to speak. "You need to stay here." She said as she dialed Jeremy's cell number. "Hey, baby. Can you come pick me and Caroline up at Damon and Elena's? I'll explain later." Bonnie said before she hung up.
"Call if you need anything." Caroline said as she hugged Elena.
"Thanks for helping with the kids Damon." Bonnie said as she hugged him. "She'll be okay. These things take time, but she'll be okay in the end."
"Thanks Bonnie and it was my pleasure." Damon said giving his trademark smirk before Caroline came to get her hug and Bonnie could hug Elena.
"Yes, Damon. Thank you for helping Stefan with our brood of children. If you need to ship the boys off…"
"I'll dump them at your door. Thanks Blonde." Damon smirked as he hugged Caroline. She smiled, appreciative of the use of the old nickname he had for her.
"Don't forget your stuff in the car." Elena reminded them.
"We won't. Call us later." Bonnie said as she and Caroline left to meet Jeremy who was coming up the driveway.
Elena stood at the back door, watching Sara as she walked around the backyard with Chief. It was now 7:30 and she had yet to come back inside. Damon had finished preparing breakfast and the two vampires had eaten and were on who knows what number cup of coffee, bourbon, glass of wine, or bag of blood they were on. They felt numb, they couldn't imagine how Sara must've been feeling right now. Nick and Alex had yet to wake up, but there was plenty of food waiting for them for when they would eventually come down. Elena was sure there would be enough left over if and when the Belmont's arrived. Really what was there for them to do? The damage had been done, a girl was dead, a boy or more were going to jail, and a bunch of kids were going to need a lot of therapy because of this party.
"I feel so helpless." Elena sighed.
"I know what you mean. I just…I don't know what to say to her." Damon said as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as they watched Sara roam the yard.
"What are we going to tell Nick? Lizzy was his friend too."
"I don't know, but we should tell him before the Belmont's show up."
"When are they coming?"
"We never specified a time. More of a 'if you want to, come over' type thing."
"I see." Elena said as the house phone rang.
"I'll get it." Damon said. Elena looked back at him and tilted her head up. Damon kissed her chastely on the lips before grabbing the kitchen phone off the counter. "Hello?" he answered as movement could be heard from upstairs. The boys were up.
In a few minutes Alex came into the kitchen, dragging his feet on the floor, his hair a mess as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his fist. "Morning." He yawned before his eyes landed on his mother. "Mom? What are you doing here? I thought you weren't going to be here till tonight."
Elena gave him a weak smile as she moved from the door and grabbed some of the food that Damon had placed in the oven to keep warm. "Change in plans, sweetie. Where's your brother?"
"He went outside to talk to Sara. Guess something happened at the party last night." Alex said nonchalantly as he stacked French toast onto his plate. The look on his parent's faces didn't sit well with him. "Did something happen at the party?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer. When Alaric had brought them home last night, Alex had gone straight to bed.
"Yes, Alex. Something happened last night." Elena said as she moved to sit at the table. "Someone was handing out pills to a lot of the guys at the party to give to girls so they could…have sex with them and Lizzy happened to be one of those girls."
"Wait Lizzy was rapped? Is that why Dad had to go get Sara? Did someone try to do that to Sara?" Alex asked.
"We don't know everything that happened, the only one who truly knows what happened is Sara. However, from what we've been told Sara was offered a drink that was drugged but turned the guy down. Unfortunately, the guy she turned down went after Lizzy to get back at your sister."
"Is Lizzy okay?"
"No Alex, she's not." Damon said before Nick came rushing into the kitchen.
"It's not true! Tell me it's not true!" Nick yelled, unshed tears in his eyes.
"Nick…" Damon started, but was cut off.
"No! Lizzy can't be dead!" Nick cried.
"Lizzy died?!" Alex stood up so fast he knocked his chair over and it let out a loud bang.
This wasn't how they had wanted to tell the boys about Lizzy, but then again they weren't sure how they were going to tell them in the first place. Perhaps this was best. Sara told Nick, Nick told Alex. Now they could confirm and comfort them.
Alex looked from his brother to his parents, his gaze falling on his mother. "That's why your home early…because Lizzy died…at that party…last night." Alex went to sit in his chair forgetting he knocked it over and ended up on his ass and he stayed there. Elena rushed to his side while Damon looked to Nick.
"I'm so sorry boys, but yes. Lizzy is gone." He confirmed.
Nick looked like he was going to be sick. He quickly rushed to the sink and deposited whatever was in his stomach. Their friend was dead…well his friend was dead. His and Sara's friend was dead. Sara's best friend was dead. Lizzy was dead. It didn't seem possible to Nick. When he had gone out to see Sara, asking her what happened last night and where Lizzy was because it finally dawned on him that she hadn't been with his father and she was supposed to be staying the night, Sara broke down, started crying and said Lizzy was dead before she ran off into the trees with Chief following after her. Nick would've gone after her, but what she had told him left him in shock so he ran to the house to ask his father. However seeing Elena home early and the looks on their faces told him that what Sara had said was true.
"How…how did it happen?" Nick asked as he wiped his mouth clear of vomit.
"She was drugged. Sara got her out of there, but she had a seizure shortly after. Doctors think it was either due to an allergic reaction or she was given too much and overdosed. They weren't sure yet." Damon told him.
"Is that why you had to go get Sara last night?" Alex asked.
"Someone at the party last night decided to mess with a bunch of cars that belonged to the girls who were at the party, slashing their tires and siphoning out the gas from their tanks and Sara's car was one of them." Damon explained.
"And that's when she called you?" Nick asked.
"No, she called me when she was at the hospital. By then Lizzy had had the seizure and your sister called 911 to get Lizzy help. At first they though she was going to be okay, but something happened after Lizzy's parents got there and by the time I got there, they had received the news of Lizzy's passing."
"So you couldn't have done something?" Alex asked, knowing how their parent's blood had healing abilities. Whenever they had gotten a cut or scrap as kids their parents would rub the wound and it was disappear before their eyes. It wasn't till they were older that they realized what the purpose of their mom or dad biting their thumb was before they rubbed the wound that the only way the cut healed was because of their parent's blood.
"I'm afraid not, Son. If I had gotten there sooner, maybe." Damon shrugged. He still wished he could've done something to save the girl, to save his children from this sort of pain.
"Lizzy wasn't the only girl drugged last night. Because your sister called for help all the other girls were rescued before something could happen. So even though Lizzy died, she helped save all those other girls too." Elena said as she had her arms wrapped around Alex.
"Where's your sister?" Damon asked as he opened the back door, noticing Sara was no longer in the yard.
"She ran off." Nick muttered as he sat down. Damon swore under his breath before he looked to Elena. His first instinct was to run after Sara, but maybe she needed some time.
Elena nodded her head. "Go. I've got things here." She said as she turned her attention to her boys and Damon didn't need to be told twice. He was gone.
Sara ran. She ran as far and as fast as her legs would take her, Chief running along right beside her. She didn't know if she was running away, where she was going to, or if she was running just to do something. She didn't cry, she didn't scream, she just ran. When she finally came to a stop she honestly had no idea where she was or how long she'd been running for, but Chief was panting heavily beside her. Sara quickly located a small stream and Chief rushed to the water, putting his nose in it as his tongue lapped up the water. Sara was suddenly filled with guilt. She shouldn't have ran off, she shouldn't have run so far. Chief was old, despite his clean bill of health, if anything were to happen to him because of her she would never forgive herself. She sat down on the ground and leaned against a large tree, watching Chief as he drank before he rolled in the stream getting all wet and muddy. Now someone would need a bath when they got home. The corners of her mouth couldn't help the twitch upward, but the smile never fully formed. When he was done in the stream Chief bounded his way over to her and laid down beside her. Sara rested her head back against the tree, closed her eyes and just breathed. Breathed and listened.
Silence. It was quiet. Well other than the gurgling from the stream and the labored breathing coming from Chief it was quiet. No birds. No squirrels. No nothing. And then that nagging voice in her head started talking again.
Lizzy was dead.
Funny thing was, that voice in her head sounded an awful lot like her birth mother. Laura. She hated that woman. She hated herself.
Lizzy was dead. She wouldn't be in school on Monday. She wouldn't be sitting with them at lunch. She wouldn't be at soccer practice after school. She wouldn't be at the game next week. She wouldn't be going to the play offs when they won that game. She wouldn't be celebrating with them. She wouldn't be picking out prom dresses in the spring with her and Rachel. She wouldn't be going to prom. She wouldn't be celebrating the end of finals. She wouldn't be at graduation in June. She wouldn't be anything, but dead. Lizzy was dead. And it was all her fault.
Sara repeated it over and over in her mind. Lizzy was dead. Her fault. Lizzy was dead. Her fault. Lizzy was dead. It was her fault. Lizzy was dead and it was her fault. Sara thought she'd be crying by now, but it seemed her eyes had no more tears to shed. At least for the moment. Good. She didn't want to cry. She hated crying. Yet all she felt like doing was crying. Sara sighed before she opened her eyes. She had no idea how long she'd been sitting here, but she figured she's done it long enough so she stood up. Chief stood up beside her and looked up at her, waiting for her instructions.
"Let's go home boy." She said softly. Chief barked and turned around, leading the way. 'At someone knew the way home.' She thought as she followed him back the way they had come, this time walking.
When Damon returned to the house it was almost nine in the morning and he hadn't found Sara. He'd search the entire property then even went a bit further around to the neighbors. When he hadn't found her he searched places he thought she'd go to and she wasn't there either. She was fast and she'd gotten a head start. He only made the decision to return home because he knew Chief was with her and she'd come back eventually. As worried as he was, he knew Sara. She wouldn't do anything stupid. At least he hoped she wouldn't. He remembered all the stupid, impulsive things he had done in his lifetime because the emotion was too much to bare, it wasn't like Sara was a vampire who could turn off her emotions. She was human and forced to feel everything, that list now included the death of one of her best friends. With his current thoughts, Damon had decided to keep searching for her. He was going to check Wickery Bridge knowing her history with it, but he stopped when he heard barking coming from inside the house. Damon sped inside and stopped in the kitchen to see Chief at his bowls, eating. If Chief was home, then that meant Sara had to be too.
"Where is she?" Damon asked Elena as she poured herself another cup of coffee.
"Upstairs."
"How long have they been back? I've been looking everywhere!" Damon said as he collapsed into one of the chairs at the table.
"About five minutes. I was just going to call you." Elena said as she set the cup she had made for herself in front of her husband. He looked like he could use it more than she did.
"Mom, Sara's locked herself in her room!" Alex whined as he stomped into the kitchen with Nick following him at a more self-contained pace.
"We wanted to talk to her about what happened with Lizzy and she just slammed the door in my face and locked it. She won't open it." Nick informed his parents, though he was sure his mother had heard the door slam.
"Boys you're going to have to give your sister some space. She's in a great deal of pain…" Elena started before she was interrupted by Nick.
"I'm in pain too!" he shouted.
"Do not yell at your mother." Damon scolded as he sipped at the coffee.
"Lizzy wasn't just Sara's friend, she was mine too! And Rachel's, and Susan's, and Link's and Bobby's! God, do they know?" Nick asked.
"Link and Bobby were at the party I'm sure the news has reached them. However, we'll call their parents and see if they know. You are not to ask or tell them until we talk to you, do you understand Nicolaus? This is not the sort of news one wants to find out through a text message." Damon said as he pulled out his phone and dialed Matt's number.
"We understand that you boys are also dealing with the loss of a friend and we're very sorry and here if either of you want to talk." Elena said before she looked to Nick, knowing Lizzy only associated with Alex if he was around his siblings. "Nick, yes you and your friends have lost someone, but the type of pain your sister is in is different than the one you are feeling. She was there, she watched it all happen and feels responsible for what happened. You're going to have to give her some space." Elena said softly.
Seeing their mother was done talking Nick and Alex both stomped out of the kitchen, all the way up the stairs and into their rooms with Nick slamming his door. Alex had yet to get his door back so he couldn't slam it, but he did pick up a book and threw it at the wall. Damon and Elena were just glad nothing sounded like it had broke. Their children were dealing with the loss of a friend, they'd let the behavior slide … for now.
When Damon and Elena finished contacting the parents of the children's friends they had learned that while the news had reached the boys, Rachel and Susan did not know about Lizzy. Now that the news was confirmed, the girl's parents were going to sit them down and talk to them. When Elena hung up with Rachel's mother the sound of a car pulling up in their drive way could be heard and Chief started barking.
"That must be Clare and Simon. What do you think the odds are of getting Sara to come down?" Elena asked.
Damon grunted. "Not likely."
"We should try."
Damon sighed. "I'll give it a shot." He said though in all honestly both Damon and Elena knew it'd be pointless, but if anyone had a shot at getting Sara to come out it was Damon.
Elena moved to the front door and opened it to reveal Clare and Simon. Though she wouldn't mention it, they looked like they got very little sleep last night. Clare's eyes were pink and puffy.
"Clare. Simon. I'm so sorry to hear about Lizzy." Elena said as they walked in.
"Thank you Elena. Sara said you were out of town?" Simon asked when he released Elena from their hug.
Elena nodded. "Yes, I was in Richmond for work. When Damon called me last night, well technically early this morning, I came right home." She explained.
"It was very late then. I'm sorry you had to leave, it could've waited." Clare said, feeling guilty that Elena had left her work responsibilities behind because of what had happened to her daughter.
"It's just a story. I would much rather be here than there. The boys just found out this morning. They're not taking the news well." Elena said as they moved towards the living room. "Can I get you two anything? Coffee? Have you eaten this morning? Damon made enough to feed an army." Elena offered.
"Coffee would be lovely." Simon said as he looked to Clare.
"Tea dear if you have it, otherwise coffee is fine." Clare said with a weak smile.
"Coming right up." Elena smiled before she quickly moved about the kitchen, knowing how Simon and Clare took each drink made it easier for her. She may not know how to cook, but she could do this. The two couples had gotten together quite often since the Belmont's had moved here and the girls became friends, they even knew of Damon and Elena being vampires and had accepted the news rather well.
"Here we are." Elena said as she handed Simon his coffee and Clare her tea. "I hope it's alright." She said as she sat on the couch opposite of them.
"Perfect Elena, thank you." Clare said as she set the mug on the coffee table between them. "How's Sara doing? She was rather distraught last night. Understandably so."
"I'm afraid not much better. The poor thing was up at 5:30 this morning, wouldn't eat a thing, spent two hours just walking around outside with Chief and then ran off after telling Nick about Lizzy."
"Oh my. She didn't go far did she? Is she back?" Clare asked, rather surprised of Sara's action of running off.
"We're not sure where she went, but she was gone for nearly two hours. Came home and locked herself up in her room. Damon's trying to see if he can get her to come out, but I don't think you'll be seeing her today. I'm sorry."
"That's quite alright, Elena. Perhaps in a few days Sara will have accepted this and be ready to talk. We do not blame her for what happened." Simon said as he noticed Damon coming down the stairs. Alone.
"Certainly not. We very grateful for what Sara tried to do for Lizzy." Clare finished. "Hello Damon."
"Clare. Simon." Damon greeted with a nod of his head before joining his wife on the couch.
"No luck?" Elena asked, though the answer was obvious since Sara was not with him.
"Afraid not. I swear the only way I know she's actually in there is because I can hear her heart beat. I don't know how human parents do it." Damon huffed.
"Parenting is never easy, especially when a child is dealing with a crisis." Simon said. An awkward silence filled the room.
"Yes, well…" Damon cleared his throat. "Have you received the results from the doctors concerning Lizzy yet?"
"Yes, we did. Dr. Jennings called us this morning. They put a rush on all the tox screening ordered last night on all the girls from the party. Lizzy was overdosed. She had twice the amount compared to that of all the other girls in her system." Simon informed them.
"Do they know what caused the seizure?" Elena asked.
"They said it was a symptom of the overdose, but given the questionable stability of the drug there was nothing they could do. Even though she had vomited before the seizure enough had gotten into her system, to her brain, to the cause the damage. He told us that what they were doing for her last night just prolonged the inevitable." Simon finished sadly.
"It just slowed the process." Elena said and Clare nodded as she started to tear up. Elena quickly grabbed the box of tissues from the table beside her and held them out to Clare.
"Thank you." Clare whispered as she took the box and plucked a tissue from the box, dabbing at her eyes.
"If there's anything we can do, please let us know." Damon offered sincerely.
"Thank you Damon. We will keep you posted. Now, I believe you said something about Sara's car being ready for today?" Simon asked.
"Yes, um Louie called this morning. Lizzy's things have been taken into evidence. Because she was ill in sara's car we can't get it back till the investigation and possible trial is over with. But I can talk to Sheriff Forbes, see what she can do about Lizzy's things being returned to you." Damon offered as he pulled out his phone.
"That's quite alright, Damon." Clare said as she motioned for Damon to put up the phone.
"Just give us a call later and we'll deal with it then. I hope no other damage was done to the car. Lizzy said she'd been having issues with it lately." Simon said as he placed his empty mug on the table.
"There was an issue with one if the spark plugs, I replaced it. It's been fine since, then till those little…till they messed with car. I don't foresee any issues than just replacing the tires and filling the gas tank." Damon said as the boys came down the stairs. "Getting it back will be a little more difficult now though."
"Nick. Alex." Elena said as she nodded to her sons.
"Mr. and Mrs. Belmont." Alex said before he ducked his way into the kitchen.
"I'm very sorry about Lizzy." Nick offered his condolences with a sniffle. It was obvious he'd been crying recently.
"Thank you Nick. We're sorry too. We haven't just lost a daughter, but you've lost a friend. If there's anything you need that we can help you with, please let us know." Clare said as she got up and hugged Nick. Clare was the mom that always had a bunch of snacks ready if she knew the group was going to be at her house after school. While it didn't happen often during soccer season, it did have its moments in the off season. She realized that was never going to happen again and she forced herself to keep from crying again.
"Well there is one thing. Can you tell me what happened? Sara won't tell me…"
"Nick, we can talk about this later." Damon interrupted.
"Nick, Love. Let your parents inform you. They know how to word it in a way you can handle it better. They're up to date now on what happened." Clare said as she patted his shoulder. "We best be going. Thank you both for your hospitality. You will let us know when Sara is ready to talk to us, won't you?" Clare asked as everyone stood and gathered towards the front door.
"You're welcome Clare and of course we will. Call if you need anything." Elena said as she hugged Clare and everyone said their good byes.
Once Clare and Simon were gone Damon, Elena, and Nick sat down in the living room. The couple informed their son of everything that they knew about what had happened at the party and what the doctor had said about Lizzy. When they were finished Nick didn't say a word, he just stood up and walked up to his room. They expected the sound of his door slamming was coming, but were surprised when it only clicked shut. It was only 10 o'clock in the morning and it had already proved that it was going to be a very, very long day.
AN: And that's chapter 7. Not much going on here this time I'm afraid. Keep a look out for chapter 8. That's gonna be exciting. Please Review! :)
