Chapter Twenty-One: Made of Scars

This one had it coming. This one found a vein
This one was an accident, but never gave me pain
This one was my fathers and this one you can't see
This one had me scared to death,
But I guess I should be glad I'm not dead
This one was the first one. This one had a vice
This one here I like to rub on dark and stormy nights
This one was the last one, I don't remember how
But I remember blood and rain
And I never saw it coming again
~Stone Sour

Time seemed to freeze around them. Elena felt like she was about to faint as she stared at her cousin. Nilly's wrist, she had seen it. It couldn't be, but what other explanation was there for the bite marks on Nilin's inner arm? Elena knew enough that this wasn't done by an animal, she knew the answer to this. Deep down though, she needed to hear it from Nilin.

Nilly wouldn't look up at her.

"I said who did this to you, Nilly?" she repeated. Could Damon have done this? Elena hadn't seen him since the last time she was at the boarding house, but when was the last time Nilly saw Damon? Elena had a feeling that Nilly was keeping some things from her, but this. This was Elena's worst nightmare.

Did Damon actually do this? Elena felt ice running through her veins.

"Nilin!" Elena yelled. Nilly's eyes snapped up, she had tears in her eyes. "Who did this?"

Nilly shook her head, a tear escaping. "Elena…" her voice shook. "Please, not now."

Elena stood up, pushing the stool back. "Not now? Then when?"

Nilly kept shaking her head, she was standing too. "Never, it's better if-"

"Better? Somebody hurt you, you have bite marks on your arm!Why won't you talk to me?" Elena yelled, close to tears. Nilly looked up at her, clearly battling something inside.

"You wouldn't believe me!" Nilly yelled.

"Try me, then." Elena shot back. Nilly looked down again, her lips pressed in a tight line.

"What else do you know about the supernatural, Elena?" she asked her softly. Elena shut her mouth. What else did Nilly know about the supernatural? Elena didn't know anymore. Was Nilly aware of vampires? What could Elena tell her with Stefan in the other room? But if Damon had done this to her, did it really even matter anymore?

"I know about vampires, Nilly," she said hesitantly. Nilly face was blank, her eyes wide. There was a moment of absolute silence.

"Of course, you do." Elena stared at her, eyebrows knitting together. "I don't know whether to be surprised that you know or upset." Nilly said, rubbing her forehead.

"Why would you say that?" Elena asked, but Nilin ignored her.

"Just answer me this, how?" Nilly asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. Elena scrambled for an answer. She was panicking. What could she say?

"When Bonnie told me about her being a witch, I was curious-"

"Why?" Nilly pressed, cutting Elena off.

How did this end up as Nilly questioning her? Elena tried to come up with an answer.

"Because a vampire killed my best friend, Lexi."

Elena jumped and turned quickly. She didn't hear Stefan come in but now he stood in the door way, hands in his pockets. He nodded at Elena, indicating that he had heard everything.

She turned back around to Nilly who was staring at him. Elena played along with what Stefan said. It wasn't really a lie. A vampire did kill Lexi, who was Stefan's best friend. Only twist was that Lexi was a vampire herself and Damon was the one who killed her. That had happened before Nilin came back to town. Elena had known about vampires months before then and it was clearly not how she found out about them.

"How do you know a vampire killed your friend, Lexi?" Nilly asked, her voice shaking the littlest walked over to Elena, putting his hand on her back.

"Because we saw it," he said, again tellingthe truth. They had watched as Damon drove a stake through her heart outside The Grill back in the spring. Nilly sat down slowly, putting her head in her hands. She started crying again. Elena felt the burn of tears in her eyes.

"What happened, Nil?" she asked. Nilly's eyes went from Elena to Stefan and back. Then she slowly moved the hair off her shoulder and took a napkin to her neck. Elena watched her carefully unsure of what she was doing, until Elena saw it, the bite mark on the side of her neck. Her mouth dropped. Nilly gathered the now make-up stained napkin in her hand and took a deep breath.

"His name is Christian," she said. Elena stared at her with absolute shock. She couldn't take her eyes off the bite mark. It finally sunk in that a vampire did this. A vampire attacked her cousin.

Elena sat down on the stool, watching Nilly the entire time.

"Chr-Christian?" Elena asked. So Damon didn't do this, he didn't hurt her. Elena was confused at the flood of relief that washed over her. Nilly nodded, trying to wipe away the tears that were wetting her cheeks.

"I met him almost ten months ago." Nilly said, "Last August."

"Ten months ago? How long has-" Elena went to ask, but Nilly held up her hand. Elena noticed it was slightly shaking.

"Let me just get it all out there while I can. It should make sense then," she said. Elena closed her mouth and nodded for her to continue. "I met him last August, a few weeks before school started. He was a grade older than me and a major flirt. He was really sweet to me at first and I couldn't image why." Nilly said. Her head was down as she shook it, with a bitter laughter.

"We got more intense, more serious. Everyone thought we were the cutest couple. He'd take me out on dates, and bought me gifts. I fell hard, really hard. I thought that this was when my life would start to turn around," she continued. She looked up at Elena, tears starting again, her bottom lip shaking a little.

"That's when I started blacking out, I had holes in my memory. I would remember him picking me up for a date and then I'd wake up in bed or in my car, with no idea what happened. Then I started getting these weird puncture wounds, careful two holes on my neck or wrist. They'd be healing by the time I woke up, and I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out how I was getting them."

Elena watched her cousin talking, stunned and angry at what she was hearing. She couldn't say anything. She felt the shock and horror roll through her as Stefan squeezed her hand. Nilly kept on explaining. Knowing that if she stopped now, she'd never be able to get the rest out.

"I got suspicious and made a connection to the wounds and Christian, but nothing else. I never confronted him on it, I couldn't. I didn't want him to think I was a werido or something," she laughed again. "One day last winter, I was talking with Mildred when I told her about it. She went pale, like she was about to pass out. That's when she told me everything, about vampire, witches, all the supernatural stuff. All those storybook monsters that I used to tell you about to scare you when we were younger were suddenly true." Nilly said, and then she lifted her hand. "When she was finished explaining everything to me, Mil made me this." A silver chain hung around her wrist, it had an oval charm on it with the letter 'N' in the center.

"Vervain." Elena said softly. Nilly nodded her head. "I guess you know all about that," she said then she continued with her story.

"I thought she was crazy. I mean, how could I believe something like that? Christian was so nice to me, I was happy. But I wore it, just to calm Mildred down. Then that weekend, Christian asked me to go up to Ridge Hope with him. It's a mountain ridge in the forest a little outside our town. We…" Nilly stopped, shuttering. She took a deep breath and started again. "We were parked out on the ridge, in his car. He kissed me, then my neck. Christian, he-he looked at me and I noticed something wrong with his eyes. I remember gasping but he put his hand over my mouth." She stopped again, struggling to get the last words out.

"You're okay, Nilly. You're safe." Stefan said, calming her down and urging her to keep talking. Elena watched as she took a deep breath, steadying herself.

"He looked at me and said "Don't scream, you know I hate it when you scream." I was so confused, that's when everything Mil said came rushing back at me. I tried to get out of the car. I remember grabbing the door handle, but he was fast. Incredibly fast and he grabbed me, forcing me back around. That's when he bit my neck. The pain was terrible and I couldn't scream, I couldn't do anything. And then he was done. He pushed me back and I hit my head on the window and blacked out. When I came through I was on my couch in my living room." Nilly's voice cracked as she looked down at the counter. Elena felt something drip off her chin, she touched her cheek and realized she was crying. She wiped the tears away and cleared her throat.

"What happened next?" she asked. Elena realized she was squeezing Stefan's hand half to death. Nilly took a deep breath, rubbing her eyes. Elena noticed the look on Nilly's face, she was determined to get this out.

"Christian knocked on my door the next night, I didn't let him come in but he just laughed and stared at me weird. He told me to move out of the way. I told him no, and he got angry. He pushed me out of the doorway and came in. I was scared out of my mind, I didn't know what to do. Then, I confronted him. I told him we were over, that I didn't want to see him again. He went berserk, crazy. He started ranting about how I needed him and that without him I'm nothing. Then he grabbed me and slammed me against the wall. He did that eye thing. I didn't know it then, but he was trying to compel me. He said for me to forget trying to break up with him and that I loved him. I pushed him back and told him to get out. That's when he changed, hi-his eyes." Nilly shivered. She bit down on her lip.

Elena stared at her, frozen. It felt as if her heart was being ripped out. The pain she saw in Nilly's eyes brought tears to hers. Elena looked up at Stefan, his eyes were on Nilly. The look on his face mimicked Elena's. Nilly continued to speak, her voice sounding tired.

"He bit me again, but I fought back. I can't recall what I grabbed, but I grabbed something and stabbed him with it." She stopped short, her voice wavering again. She shook her head and looked up. "Anyway, I woke up a few hours later, bleeding still. He was done being careful, he nearly ripped my throat out. He came back around, acting as if nothing happened, but he began getting violent with me. I was scared, terrified. I tried to leave him, but he threatened my dad and Mildred. Christian said if I tried anything, blood would spill, including mine. So I kept quiet, I put up with it all to keep them safe. It became a game with him, one I was always losing. He'd feed and leave, almost every night."

She stopped and rolled her sleeve up. At first Elena couldn't see what she was trying to show her, she felt Stefan stiffen next to her. That's when Elena saw it. Light pale scars all over Nilly's arm.

"Oh Nilly." Elena gasped, putting her hands to her mouth. She got up and went over to her. Grabbing Nilin's arm, Elena stared at it, running her finger over the lightly raised scars. Elena looked up at Nilly, who was still staring down at her arm.

"It got worse, that's when Mildred made a plan for me to leave and that's how I ended up on your doorstep. I wasn't supposed to go back. But then the whole thing happened with my dad and I had to. I thought I could go back and then leave without him knowing. What ajoke that was." Nilly looked up, her eyes watering again. "I was leaving when he found me in the hospital parking garage. He did this to me," she finished. "Christian."

Elena grabbed Nilly's hands. "So you didn't fall off the bed?" she queried.

Nilly shook her head. "No."

"Why would you lie to us about this?" Elena asked.

Nilly started at her, her eyebrows pulled together. "I nearly died the other night, Elena. He threatened to kill my father. The only reason me and my dad are still alive is because of Mildred. How the hell was I supposed to tell you? You were never supposed to find out." Nilly said back, her voice growing louder.

"You weren't going to tell me that you were being stalked by a vampire? Was I supposed to find out at your funeral?" she said.

"I can't lose you, Elena! He can't know about you or Jenna or Jeremy! He would kill you, do you understand me? He's a vampire! They're heartless and cruel. Christian thinks he owns me, that I'm his and no one else's. The only thing I have left to lose is you guys! I didn't tell you to protect you." Nilly said, shaking Elena."I can't lose you too." Her voice dropped off on the last syllable.

Elena hugged Nilly, holding her tight. Nilly was shaking, holding on to Elena for dear life. They stood like that for what seemed like forever. Elena wasn't sure she had grasped everything Nilly had told them.

Her cousin, the one she vowed to protect, had gone through this and was able to smile. She was furious that Nilly had kept this from her this entire time, but she was grateful that she told her. Elena wiped her eyes, pulling away from Nilly. "We'll figure something out, Nilly. We always do," she said, trying to smile.

"No we won't. I'm going to figure something out. I don't want you involved." Nilly said. Elena just stared at her, surreal.

Stefan spoke up coming over to Nilly. "You just can't ignore this," he said. Nilly sighed.

"I know, but I've been dealing with this for a while now and I don't need anyone getting hurt. I just really want to deal with this by myself." Nilly said.

Elena could see Nilly was done, she was running on low and so was Elena. "Fine, you can deal with this alone until tomorrow," she said. Nilly grunted, closing her eyes.

"Elena's right," Stefan said. "You're not alone anymore. You can't be when we can help you."
"How? How can you honestly help me without dying? He's crazy Stefan! Insane and dangerous!" she yelled. Stefan put his hands on Nilly's shoulders.

He spoke calmly, "We're not going to let you get hurt and I'm defiantly not going to let Elena get hurt. Trust me, Nilly. If you let me, I can keep you safe," he said.

Nilly looked down, rubbing her nose. "Fine. I'll trust you, Salvatore." Nilly said.

"Thank you," he said. "Who else knows about this?"

Nilly looked up at him. "Only Mildred… and Bonnie," she answered.

Elena looked at her, confused. "Bonnie?" she said.

Nilly threw her hands up. "Mildred told her! What was I supposed to do? I was passed out upstairs," she mumbled. Elena shook her head, too tired to do anything else.

"Fine," she said. The tension in the room seemed to disappear, as if everyone took a long needed breath.

"Nilin," Stefan said, and Nilly looked at him. "What matters is that you're safe now. You are at home and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe here," he promised her. "You are one of the strongest people I have met, if I didn't see it before then I've seen it tonight. Everything's going to be okay."

Nilin gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Stefan."

"I think I should get going." Stefan said, returning her smile.

"I'll walk you out." Elena took his hand and walked him to the front door.

"You okay?" he asked.

Elena swallowed hard, holding back the tears. "No," she said losing it. Stefan held her face between his hands, stroking her cheek. Tears ran down her face, he wiped them away. "Oh god Stefan, what are we going to do?" she asked, leaning her head on his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her, feeling like he was holding her together. "We are going to help her, Elena. Nothing will happen to her," he said as rested his chin on her head.

"Thank you so much Stefan, I don't think I could have handled tonight if you weren't here," she said. Elena pulled back and reached up to kiss him. "I love you," she said.

"I love you, too." He kissed her again, making her heart flutter. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" She nodded. "Good night, Elena." Stefan said.

"Good night." Elena closed the door and went back into the kitchen. Nilly was sitting on the counter, looking down, playing with her bracelet.

"Nilly," she said quietly. Nilly looked up. Elena nodded her head to the stairs. "Come on," she said. Nilly hopped off the counter followed Elena upstairs.

A few minutes later they were both in Elena's bed, their heads on the same pillow, arms linked. They stared at the ceiling for a while silently.

Nilly turned her head, looking at Elena and whispered, "I'm scared." Elena almost broke down right there because of the look on Nilly's face. She hushed her, squeezing her hands. "No more secrets, okay?" Nilly said, drowsily.

Elena just leaned her forehead on Nilly's and hugged her. "Okay."

They laid like that until they both fell asleep.

Author's Notes:

So here it is, Chapter 21. A lot of new information and a new perspective on Elena and Nilin. Tell me what you guys think though! Thanks again for reading. Favorite, Follow & Review.

Have a lovely weekend, guys :)
RLS