Chapter 39:
Damon hands me a glass of scotch as we sink down onto an old, velvet couch. He's on his fifth drink, I'm on my second. Of course, we have a reason to be getting plastered out of our minds. Because according to Damon, when you kill someone, they're supposed to stay dead.
"I can't believe he has a fucking ring!" Damon snarls into his drink before downing it. Looks like he was moving toward his sixth drink of the night.
The Salvatores had explained to me already what the ring was. I guess it prevented you from dying if you were killed by the supernatural. I had laughed for three minutes when they told me, proclaiming that I was definitely in need of one of those. To which Damon had said:
"I'll always protect you, Bella. You don't need a stupid ring." I had been touched. But by now, I was getting used to Damon's sappy side and wasn't afraid to admit that I enjoyed it. Elena, however, was quite shocked at Damon's words.
This leads us to now. All four of us staring at each other blankly, not knowing what to say to the other. Damon keeps close but he hasn't touched me, and Stefan continues to stare at my wrist.
Won't let that go, will you Stefanie.
"So," I say breaking the tense silence, "We still don't know what he wants."
"Nope," Damon says, popping the 'p,' "You know everything, la mia bella. And everything is the fact that John Gilbert is here, he doesn't like vampires, and he interrupted a fight that I would have paid money to see."
Stefan rolls his eyes.
"I can try to get something out of him," Elena mumbles from her spot beside Stefan, "I mean, he is my uncle after all."
"Your crazy, psychopathic uncle," Damon points out. I would have to agree.
"For once I think Damon's right, Elena," Stefan wraps her in his arms holding her close, "I don't want you to get hurt."
They're sickening how adorable they are.
I wonder if that's what Edward and I had looked like. A pang goes rips through my heart at the thought, and suddenly, I don't want to be here anymore. I want to go home, be in my pajamas, wrapped in a warm blanket. I want to be safe. For the first time in my fucking life, I want the security of being safe.
"I need to get home," I say standing up abruptly. Damon stands with me.
"Why?" he asks softly.
"Charlie must be worried." It's an excuse. But it's a good excuse. Too bad Damon sees through it.
He stares at me for a long time. I refuse to make eye contact.
"I'll take you home then," Damon said, taking my hand into his, "I still need to have that chat with Charlie after all."
It's an excuse too. An excuse to stay close to me.
The difference between his and mine—
His is better.
We aren't in Damon's car for a minute before he asks the question.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I answer too quickly. It's obviously a lie. Too easy to spot, even for me.
"Please don't lie to me, Bella," Damon says softly, "Not after everything we've shared."
And he's right. I shouldn't lie to him. He's saved my life once already and will probably end up saving me many times over. I shouldn't be lying to my savior.
"I was just thinking about bad memories."
"Edward memories?"
I don't answer; I just stare out the window. It's dark and foggy. A perfect Mystic Falls night.
"I want to know more about him," Damon finally says.
"Why?"
"Because I want to know about you… every little detail. Bad or good."
There's a long pause; then—because I'm a sucker for punishment—I tell him everything.
"I moved to Forks when I was seventeen," I begin. I really don't know how to start this, but I guess that's the best place as any. "My mom had just gotten remarried and I wanted to give her some space." Pause. A long pause. Deep breath. Continue. "Anyways, I moved in with Charlie, and in the next couple of days, I was in Forks High. That's where I met him."
Pause.
"I thought he hated me," I laugh, "He used to make the weirdest faces. I was his lab partner…and he'd move as far away as possible. I know now that it was my blood. I was his singer." I expect Damon to say something, but he remains silent. I'm sort of shocked. "Edward and his family left for a while… hunting. Of course, I didn't know that; I thought he was trying to get away from me.
"Eventually they came back, and that's when everything started to change. Edward… he began paying more attention to me. Too much attention to just be friends. It's also when I started to notice the signs. How cold he was, how strong he was, how he could move so fast… did you know he saved my life?" It's a stupid question. Of course Damon didn't know that. Still, I felt compelled to answer it. "A van skidded on ice and was about to hit me, but he saved me, just put his hand out and stopped the van. He saved me."
Pause.
"Eventually I figured it out. Along with the help of a friend," I didn't want to talk about Jacob, not now. "A confrontation occurred. I told him I knew… that I didn't care. We fell in love… then the nomads came.
"Edward's family, the Cullens, they drink animal blood. But the nomads didn't, and one of them, James… he… he wanted me."
"Your scar," Damon whispered softly. His hands had tightened on the steering wheel, and his eyes looked straight ahead. I nodded.
"He tricked me away from the Cullens, using my mom as bait. He was going to kill me…" deep breath, "The Cullens saved me. Edward sucked the venom out of my system, and everything was looking up. We were in love, happy… then came my eighteenth birthday party."
"I take it didn't go well."
"No," My voice was dead. Flat and dead. "Jasper, the newest Cullen, smelt my blood when I got a paper cut. It didn't go well. Edward wasn't too happy… and well… you know how it ends." I couldn't tell him about the forest. Not yet. Maybe one day, but not yet.
"Thank you," Damon said after a long pause. "Thank you for telling me."
I looked at him then. Looked at his black hair and baby blue eyes. I looked at the way his muscles tensed as he gripped the steering wheel tight. He was beautiful—amazing. He had become my everything when I had nothing. My best friend—maybe even more.
I smiled.
"You're welcome, Damon."
He smiled back.