Chapter Twenty-Five: Eyes Wide Open

Well the signs were clear, they had no idea.
You just get used to living in fear,
Or give up when you can't even picture your future.
Some people offered up answers.
We made out like we heard, they were only words.
They didn't add up to a change in the way we were living,
And the saddest thing is all of it could have been avoided.
But it was like to stop consuming, to stop being human,
And why would I make a change if you won't?
We're all in the same boat, staying afloat for the moment.
~Gotye

Elena was sitting in Stefan's room, her hands clenching and unclenching with worry. Nilly had left an hour ago and never made it back to the house. Elena had called her cell phone five times now. It went straight to voice mail. Elena felt sick, sick with guilt, worry and anger.

She never meant for this to happen, she never meant to betray Nilly like that. Elena shook her head, trying to erase Nilly's stricken eyes from her head. Elena couldn't believe she did this. She had no clue where Nilin was and this was all Elena's fault.

She should have told Nilly a long time again about the vampire's in Mystic Falls. Elena herself had only recently found out of her cousins disturbing secrets. Maybe this was better for Nilly to get away for a little, maybe the anger she felt towards Elena was good. The thing that terrified Elena was that the guy, that vampire named Christian, Nilly had told them about. He was out there too.

And look what happened to Nilly the last time she left Mystic Falls… Only if Nilly would answer her phone.

Getting off of Stefan's bed Elena looked for something to busy herself with until Nilly cooled down enough to call back. She walked over to Stefan's shelves and shelves of books, running her finger over the spines. She loved his room, it had a warm feeling to it, books everywhere, all of it him. His desk pushed over to one of the windows was cluttered with journals, papers and candles. Elena wondered where Stefan was, he had gone downstairs to find Damon. She thought he'd be back by now, telling her everything was okay, that she should calm down. Then he'd distract her, keep her mind off the growing pain in her chest.

But he wasn't back yet, so instead she walked over to his desk. An old candle stick in a brass holder sat in the corner, dried wax running down it. She was looking at the clutter on his desk when something caught her eye. Elena pulled at the edge of an old looking picture. The paper around the photo was yellowing. She stared at it strangely. The girl in the picture looked like her, well actually more like Nilly, with the curlier hair. Elena squinted at the faded cursive writing in the corner.

She felt her stomach drop...

Katherine 1864...

This wasn't a picture of her or Nilly, it was a picture of Katherine. The girl who both Salvatore brothers fell in love with. The girl Elena thought was trapped in the Fell's Church tomb, the one Damon's been trying to get into. Stefan had told her about Katherine, but had left out one major detail.

Elena looked exactly like her... She felt tears sting her eyes as everything she ever felt about Stefan came crashing down. She stared at the picture, her sight blurring from the tears. She gripped it in her hands and left Stefan's room. She nearly slammed into him on the stairs as she hastily descended them.

"Hey," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I don't know where Damon took off- You okay?" he asked, reading the look on her face. She held up the picture in front of him. His face went blank.

"Elena," he spoke softly. "I can explain, please let me explain."

"Why do I look like her?" she asked in a strained voice. She shook her head as she bit her lip to stop the tears. "You could have told me." Elena said.

"I wanted too," he replied.

"I can handle the truth Stefan, as crazy as it is. I can handle the fact that you are a vampire. That you have a vampire brother, and that Nilly has been used by one. I can accept the fact that my best friend is a witch and that the world is a more mysterious place then I ever thought possible, but this." Elena held up the picture. "This lie, I cannot take."

She took a breath to steady herself. Stefan watched her with weary eyes. "What am I to you?" she asked. "Who am I to you?"

He looked at her. "You are not Katherine. You are the opposite of everything she was."

"And when you figure that out? Before you kissed me? Before I told you I loved you?"

Stefan was shaking his head, he looked down. There was a silence and then he looked back up at her, pain in his eyes. "Before I met you," he answered.

Elena started at him, confused. She shook her head slightly. "Wh-what?"

As Nilly slowly began to wake up she could hear her surroundings. A low hum of some sort, a tapping noise and the blur of a radio. Her hearing sharpened as she became more aware of what was going on around her. She recognized the song playing as she tried to open her eyes.

The world still moves on
I'm sorry I made you wait
I wish that I, I could stay
The world still moves on

I live for this but I'd die for you.

Nilly moved her head to the side, letting out a groan. The more she woke up, the more her body hurt. Her head was pounding as she squinted open her eyes. She was moving, or the ground outside was moving. Nilly picked her head off the window, heart starting to pound.

"Morning," Damon smirked at her, though his eyes were cautious.

Her eyes widened, as she put her hand on her forehead. "Wh-where are we?" she managed.

"Georgia." Damon answered. She turned towards him. There was no way she could be in Georgia, not with him. He was the last person she wanted to see and now she was in a car with him, in the middle of nowhere by the looks of it.

"Georgia..? No, no were not. Seriously, Damon where are we?" she asked, getting angrier.

"Seriously. We're in Georgia." Nilly shook her head.

This wasn't happening, she needed to get out of this car. "How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice softening. Her entire body was sore and her head was whirling. She was trying to control her breathing, unable to talk to him. "No broken bones," Damon said. "I checked."

She looked over at him, he had a smirk on his face. She needed to call someone, tell them where she was. Tell someone to get her the hell away from him. "Where's my phone? I can't be in Georgia. No on knows where I am." She looked around frantically. She turned back to Damon. "Pull over. Stop the car, Damon now." He just side looked her with a grin. "I mean it Damon, pull over." she said, her voice rising.

He looked over at her, huffing and rolling his eyes. "Ugh, you were so much more fun when you were asleep," he groaned, but the car slowly verged off on to the side of the road. When it stopped Nilly threw the door opened.

She tried to get out quickly, but a sore pain raided through out her entire body. She placed her feet on the ground, using the door to stand up. She leaned on the car, bending over as she struggled to deal with the wave of pain.

Suddenly Damon was next to her, his hand on her back and another on her arm. His concerned dark eyes grasped Nilly's. "Hey," he said cautiously.

She sucked up the pain enough to stand up straighter and push him away. "Don't touch me," she said coldly. He held up his hands, signaling surrender.

"No touching, got it," he said. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine," Nilin bit out. Truth was, she wasn't really. Her chest felt tight, one of the signs of a panic attack. She moved away Damon, walking to the back of the car. She leaned her back on it, eyes him. "I have to go back," she said in a breathless voice.

"Oh, come on," he said walking over to her. "We've come this far."

"Let me rephrase that, I want to go back." He just smiled at her. "Why are you doing this?" Nilly asked, pushing off the car. "I can't be in Georgia. I wrecked my car, no one knows what happened to me and there's no way in hell I'm getting back in that car with you." Nilly explained, her hands beginning to shake. A second sign of a panic attack.

Damon kept walking towards her, grinning, "I know you're upset, but don't you think you're being a little over dramatic."

She just stared at him. "You're not funny, not even close." His smile dropped. Nilly turned around, back towards him. She ran her fingers though her hair, her heart was raging. Sign number three of a panic attack. She squatted down slowly, her body protesting. Nilly bent her head down between her legs as she rested her arms on her knees. Taking in as deep as a breath she could and slowly exhaling it, a trick she learned a while ago. "Take me back, now Damon or I swear-"

"You swear you'll what?" he cut her off, suddenly standing in front of her.

"Stay away from me," Nilin hissed, staring up at him.

"There's no where to go Nilin. If you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of no where." Damon shouted, spreading out his arms and motioning to the fields around them. "I'm not the bad guy here," he told her.

Nilin, who was still crouching down, snickered. "You're a vampire, for God's sake Damon."

"And you're a scared little human, who do you think will win in this situation?" he pondered, crossing his hands over his chest.

Nilin shot up quickly, a big mistake. "Are you threatening me?"

"No," Damon squinted at her in absurdity. "I'm not threatening you, Nilin. I know you think I'm the big bad scary monster, but I'm not… at the moment, that is. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Now," Nilin mumbled, slowly squatting down again "I can't do this, I can't go to Georgia." she said, calming down.

"Well, you're in Georgia." Damon said, coming in front of her again.

"I know you're angry with me, I get it." he said.

"Then take me home." Nilly snapped. He reached his hand down to help her up but she ignored it, standing herself.

"Home?" he snorted, hand dropping. "Where? Back to Elena and Stefan? The ones who've lied right to your face. Or how about to the witch, Bonnie? She knew what we are too. Did she ever tell you? Or what if I drive you back to the vampire who's out to get you? Is that better?" he said getting closer to her. She backed up, to the car weary of him. Nilly swallowed hard, her jaw clenched.

"Anything would be better than being stuck with you," she said through clenched teeth.

"I know your angry with me, but realize something. I never lied to you about who I was, what I am. You never asked me and I never told." Damon said lowering his voice.

She stood up straighter. "But would you have told me the truth if I confronted you?" she asked. He hesitated for a moment, dropping his eyes. Nilly shook her head.

Just then she heard a phone ring, it sounded like hers. But hers was in her purse, which she thought she had left in the overturned Jeep. Nilly turned to Damon, who was leaning against the car, arms crossed over his chest. The ringing was coming from his pocket.

"That's my phone," she accused. He smirked and pulled Nilly's black cell out of his jacket pocket.

"Mm-hmm, and look it's your little cuz. I'll take it." Damon said, holding the phone to his ear. "Nilin's phone."

She watched as he answered it, smiling the entire time. Then he looked at her. "Nilin? She's right her. And, yes, she's fine." There was a pause as he listened into the earpiece, then he held the phone towards her.

"She wants to talk to you," he said, raising his eyebrow. Nilly shook her head, "Uh-uh." He shrugged his shoulders as he put the phone back to his ear. "Yeah, I don't think she really wants to talk to you right now."

Nilly put her head down. She knew she would have to face Elena eventually, but with her emotional stability teetering dangerously right now, it wasn't a good idea.

"You have a good day right now. Mm-hmm. Bye-now." Damon said as he hung the phone up, most likely disconnecting with a steaming Elena. She looked up at him, her expression still cold.

"Look," Nilly said, "No one knows where I am. Can we please just go back?"

Damon looked at her, standing in front of her. "We're almost there," he said.

She threw her hands up, her chest feeling sore again. "Where is there?!" she asked.

He smirked at her, stepping back from her. "A little place right outside of Atlanta." Damon explained.

She eyed him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh, come on, Nilly. You don't wanna go back right now. Do you? What's the rush?" She looked down at the ground. He was right, she didn't want to got back but did she want to be with him? "Time-out. Trust me. Your problems are still going to be there when you get home." Damon continued. He put his finger under Nilly's chin, lifting her eyes from the ground. "Look. Step away from your life for five minutes. Five minutes!"

Nilly stared at him for a second before pulling herself free from him. "I said no touching," she said, bitterly. "Am I going to be safe with you?" she asked slowly.

"Yes," he answered.

"Can I trust you, Damon?" she continued.

He stared at her, his wicked smile coming to his face as he began to walk around the car. "Get in the car Nilin."

She watched him as he opened to driver's door. Running her hands through her a hair a few times, she slowly made her way along the Camaro. Nilly stopped at the passenger seat door, hand on the handle. Suddenly the window rolled down and Damon's voice called, "Time out, remember?"

Nilly let out a sigh and opened the door.

Elena stared at the phone in her hand. She had used it as an excuse to step away from Stefan, but with that very short, annoying conversation with Damon over, Elena had no choice but to go back into the boarding house. With a deep breath she opened the heavy wooden front door. She stepped in the family room where Stefan was sitting, elbows on his knees, eyes to the floor. When he heard her he looked up, his green eyes stunning.

He stood up, as Elena approached him slowly. Her head was still swirling, questions bubbling behind her lips but she knew she had to hear the rest of the story. She nodded her head for him to continue talking. She watched as Stefan took a shaky breath as he looked at her.

"The first day of school, when we met. It wasn't for the first time, Elena" he said quietly. Her eyes narrowed at him, confusion creasing her forehead.

"Then when was it?" she asked. His voice dropped.

"May 23, 2009." Stefan answered. Elena knew that date, it was forever singed in her brain.

"But that was-"

"That was the day your parents's car went off the bridge," he finished her sentence. Elena sat down slowly, her legs feeling weak. "You were there?" she asked unbelievably. He sat down next to her, at a distance as if he was unsure of her response. She was unsure of her own response. Elena looked up at him, her clear blue eyes swimming in tears, confusion, pain.

"Every couple of years I come back her to see MysticFalls, to see my home." Stefan began to explain. "That spring, I was out in the woods, by old Wickery Bridge. And I heard the accident. All of it," he said slowly. Elena felt tears edging there way out, as the memory flew back. "I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged. Your dad was still- he was still conscious. I was able to get to him, but he wouldn't let me help him, until I helped you." Stefan finished. It all clicked in, snapping into place as the wetness on her cheeks dripped off her chin.

"Oh my god," she said with a horse voice. "When I woke up in the hospital, nobody could figure out how I got out of the car," Elena paused, looking up at Stefan. "They said it was a miracle."

She could see the pain in Stefan's eyes, reflecting her own. "I went back for them," he said. "But it was too late, I couldn't save them. When I pulled you out, I looked at your face. You looked like Katherine. I couldn't believe the resemblance. After that, I spent months making sure you weren't her. I watched you. I learned everything that I could about you. And I saw that you were nothing like Katherine."

She felt something well up in her chest, making her heart throb at his words. She couldn't untangle the emotions running through her, the shock, the love, the misery. Emotions that Elena couldn't place a name to. Stefan took another breath, reaching his hand towards her. She looked at it before wrapping her own around it.

"I wanted to leave town, but, Elena I couldn't. I couldn't leave without knowing you. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you. I wanted to. But you were so sad," he said, squeezing her hand. She starred at him for a little, waiting for the tears to dry. All that he had said ran through her head. Something inside was forcing her to accept it, to understand him and forgive him. The thing is, it was easy to forgive him, to understand his actions. But there was something still poking her.

"Why do I look like her?" Elena asked. He shook his head, "Elena, you've been through so much." She stood up quickly, pulling her hand from his.

"Why do I look like her, Stefan? What are you not telling me?"

He was standing too, looking at the floor again. "It didn't make any sense to me. You were a Gilbert. She was a Pierce. But the resemblance was too similar. And then I learned the truth."

He paused and looked up at her, the pain returning to his eyes.

"You were adopted, Elena."

Author's Notes:
Happy Monday, guys. Hope your weekend was wonderful. Here is Chapter 25 for you. Tell me what you think about it. Favorite, Follow & Review!
RLS

Featured Songs:

Gone So Long by Breathe Carolina