Chapter Thirty-Three: Everybody's Fool

But now I know she never was and never will be.
You don't know how you've betrayed me.
And somehow you've got everybody fooled.
Without the mask, where will you hide?
Can't find yourself, lost in your lie
I know the truth now, I know who you are
And I don't love you anymore.
~Evanescence

Damon was a yard or two away from the three of them. Dressed in all black, like normal, he blended well into the dark forest. His jaw was clenched as his eyes dug into them, flashing on each one of their faces; Elena's, Stefan's and then finally Nilly's. Elena noticed Damon's rigidness and clasped fist as he stepped forward.

"This is an interesting turn of events." His voice was cold and venomous.

Stefan stepped forward too, as if to put distance between Damon and the girls. "I can't let you bring her back. I'm sorry." Stefan said. Elena saw Nilly's wide eyes flash to Stefan and then to Damon. They finally rested on Elena, shock and disbelief in her eyes. They were more passive emotions than the ones showing on Damon's face at the moment.

"So am I." Damon said back through tight lips. "For thinking for even one second I could trust you." His voice getting louder and angrier the closer he got.

"You're not capable of trust. The fact that you're here means that you read the journal and that you were planning on doing this yourself." Stefan shot back, his voice still calm. Elena inched closer to Nilly, but froze when Damon laughed.

"Your facts are wrong, brother. I didn't read the journal. It's seems we got our information from the same person." Elena's eyes glanced at Nilly, along with Stefan's. "And of course I was going to do this by myself," Damon continued. "Because the only one I can count on is me!" he yelled. Elena was still watching Nilly, whose head shot up and looked at Damon, her mouth opening slightly as to say something. "You made sure of that many years ago, Stefan. But you…" Damon said his voice softening to an astonished disbelief as his eyes went through Stefan and Elena to Nilly. "You had me fooled."

Nilly stepped forward, but Elena caught her arm holding her back from him."But-" she went to say except Damon had already torn his eyes from her.

"So what are you going to do now?" Damon asked, taking another step closer. "Because if you try and destroy that, I'll rip her heart out." He said, jerking his chin in Nilin's direction. Nilly cringed back into Elena, squeezing her arm slightly.

Stefan stepped to the side, putting himself in front of her and Nilly. "You won't kill her," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Damon smirked, "I can do one better." Suddenly Elena's arms were empty, and Damon was standing behind them now. Stefan and Elena whipped around, Stefan grabbing Elena and pulling her away, but she was frozen. Damon had Nilly, one arm around her upper chest and grasping her shoulder. Nilly's hands gripped Damon's arm as he held her to him. Panic shot threw her watering eyes as she clawed at his leather jacket in her failed attempt to get out of Damon's grasped.

Elena's arm was outstretched, but Stefan stood in front of her as she held onto his arm tight with her other hand. Both were frozen in shock as Damon lifted his wrist to his mouth and made a tearing motion. He held his arm up, Elena saw the blood began to drip down his wrist. Nilly was still struggling to get free, her eyes shocked open and fixed on his wrist. Then in one motion he put his wrist to Nilly's mouth as she gasped.

Elena heard Nilly's chokes and whimpers as Damon forced the blood down her throat. She knew as well as Nilly knew what vampire blood could do.

Damon pulled his wrist away from Nilly as she gasped and gagged. She fought harder to escape, thrashing her head around. But he still held her, locked against him. Elena saw the remnants of blood around Nilly's mouth, making her stomach turn.

Damon gave a dark grin. "Give me the book, Stefan or I'm snapping her neck. And then you and I will have another Katherine on our hands." Nilly made a gasping sound as Damon pulled her back.

Stefan held out his arm. "Let her go first," he said softly but panic was dripping into his voice.

"The book!" Damon yelled, grasping Nilly tighter to him. Tears were escaping her eyes, mixing with the blood on her chin.

"I'm not going to give this to you until she is standing next to me." Stefan said, holding his other hand with the book behind him trying to keep Elena back.

"Problem is, I no longer trust that you'll give it back!" Damon yelled, getting more irritated. Then Elena made her move. She grabbed the grimoire from Stefan's hand and stepped around him quickly.

"You just did the one thing that ensures that I will." Elena said in a strained voice, holding the book out and tossing it in front of her.

Damon stared at Elena for a moment, then at the book lying on the ground. Then he looked down at the cowering girl in his arms. Elena watched Damon press his face to the top of Nilly's head, holding her for a moment. He seemed to say something, mumbled against her hair, but Elena's ears didn't pick it up. He closed his eyes for a moment, his grasp relaxed on Nilly's shoulder and he pulled his arm away. Nilly was shaking as she slowly took a step away from him. Damon's hand smoothed the back of Nilly's hair, guiding her forward. His hand extended as if to make sure she could walk or didn't fall.

She took another shaken step towards Elena and than leaped over the grave into Elena arms. She wrapped her arms around her and Nilly buried her face in Elena's hair and shoulder letting out a sob. Stefan wrapped his arms around both the girls and started to back them away from Damon.

Nilly was shuddering in Elena's arms, making a heartbreaking sound. Tears began to escape her eyes, dampening the top of Nilly's head. Elena's eyes glared in hatred at Damon as his stare wandered from the grimoire to Nilly.

Elena held Nilly closer as they began to turn away, Stefan leading them back into the Old Wood. She felt Nilly shift her head up and Elena knew Nilly was staring at Damon and visa versa. She kept Nilly in her grasp the entire time as Stefan rushed them to the car.

Nilly stumbled up the stairs, tears stinging her eyes. She slammed the bedroom door behind her and ran to the bathroom. Collapsing on the ground, she flung the toilet lid open and puked. Wrenching everything in her stomach up, until she was painfully heaving. Sobs escaped her mouth, as she wiped it with a hand towel from the sink. Her stomach still turned and a pounding in her head made her ears ring.

She pressed her cheek on the cold tile floor, tears pooling on them. Her breath shuddered in her chest. Someone was knocking on the bathroom door, Nilly stayed in her place on the floor as her vision blurred in and out of focus. The door knob turned and the presence of Elena and Stefan filled the room. Elena came over lifting Nilly's head up and resting it on her shoulder while Stefan held Nilly's face. He stared at her for a moment, turning her head to see her eyes and then said something to Elena.

Nilly couldn't make the whole sentence out, she got "Okay," and "Shocked", but that was it. Were they shocked she was okay or was she okay just shocked? Either way Nilly knew nothing was okay. Nilly was in the air now, her arms going around Stefan's neck as he carried her to her bed. She felt the softness of the comforter as he laid her down. Elena's turn, she came over pulling Nilly's shoes and socks off. Somehow she managed to get the muddy jacket off of her as well, tucking Nilly under the covers.

Oh, here comes Stefan again. He did that weird thing where he held her face as he looked at her eyes once more. His lips were moving, but Nilly couldn't comprehend the words coming out of his mouth. It felt like she had cotton balls in her ears. Was he saying her name? His fiery green eyes were staring right at her. He was saying her name, over and over. He was saying something else. I'm okay? Why is he telling me I'm okay? This can't be what okay feels like.

She blinked a couple times, her mind creeping out of the corners of itself as the shock on her body wore off. Stefan and Elena were standing over by the bathroom door talking and throwing worried glances at her.

"It's too quiet in here," she said softly. Her voice sounding nothing like normal, it was rough and horsed. Both Stefan and Elena came over to her.

"What was that, Nil?" Elena asked, stroking the hair out of Nilly's face.

"It's too quiet in here," she repeated. "Could you turn my stereo on?" Elena nodded, tears coming to her eyes. Why was Elena crying? She didn't have a reason too. The only one who did was Nilly, but the tears were far too tired to come out anymore. Nilly wished she could be like her tears and retreat back into herself to hide, but she wasn't.

How did this all happen? How did this all turn on her? "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked Elena, who was kneeling by her bed and trying to figure out how to work her stereo. She turned towards Nilin slowly.

"Tell you what?" she asked quietly as music finally began to play.

"You were never going to help him," Nilin's horsed voice managed to say. "You two screwed up, and I had to pay for it," she indicted, but her voice never rose above a whisper.

"Nilin—" Stefan went to say.

"Get out," she told him quietly. Then she looked at Elena. "Both of you, get out."

Elena was lost for words, she let Stefan come over and lead her out of the room. Nilin heard the door close behind them. She reached a shaking hand out and turn the volume up. Process, Accept, Move on, right?

She was Nilin Gilbert, daughter of Rocklynn and Jack Gilbert. She was laying in the guest bedroom of her dead aunt and uncle's house. Her sister, not her cousin, was here with her and her vampire boyfriend too. He had a vampire brother whose eye's Nilly had found herself lost in, but he had his heart on another girl. Nilly had trusted him, but he had forced blood down her throat and held her as a ransom for that other girl.

The one she looked just like. She was in Mystic Falls, away from Christian. Her closet friend was a witch, her other friends were a seer and an empath. She was human. Jenna was down the hall, Jeremy's door was across from hers and so was Elena's.

She tried to move on… but, she couldn't.

Author's Notes:
Hey guys! So sorry about this incredibly late update. I've been running around like a mad woman lately and finally just got time to sit down and post this. Thank you all for waiting, again, sorry! Thanks to all the new Followers and Favorites, you readers are amazing. Tell me how I'm doing and how you guys are liking the story by reviewing! I will see you all tomorrow with another update!
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