Chapter 13

Groaning in frustration, Gwen dropped to the kitchen chair. She'd been trying to levitate an empty soda can for the last hour and hadn't been able to even make it wobble. On top of that, she'd spent the morning hitting dead ends in her search for an explanation on Ric's ring. One of Shelia's old journals (loaned to her by Bonnie) had seemed promising, but it turned out to be about the daylight rings. Hoping to still be successful in something that day, Gwen had turned her attention to practicing her magic. Unfortunately, she was struggling with that, too.

Tired of failing, she decided it was time to go veg out in front of the TV. She pushed herself out of the chair and made the short trip to their small living room. She flopped down onto the couch and picked up the remote, figuring she might as well as use her day off for what Ric intended.

Ric, worried about Gwen's stability after seeing him dead and then mysteriously brought back to life, had called her in sick to school that morning. She'd woken up to find a note on her nightstand explaining that he though she could use the day to decompress and he'd be back later that night. He hadn't said where he was going, and Gwen was tryingcnot to dwell on it. She'd tried to call him once, but his phone sent her straight to voicemail. He texted her an "I'm fine" around noon. She supposed she had to take his word for it.

Her mindless channel flipping was interrupted by a knock at the door. Gwen glanced toward the front window, but the curtains were closed so she couldn't see who it was. Hoping whoever it was would go away, she ignored it. A few seconds later, they knocked again. Muttering to herself about annoying salesmen, she pushed herself from the comfy couch intent on sending them away. Her somewhat rude dismissal vanished when she opened the door to see Elena standing on her front porch with an armful of folders and a square plastic container full of soup.

"Uh, hi," Gwen said, crossing her arms in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"Ric asked Jenna to check in on you," Elena explained with a warm smile. Gwen, who was wearing navy leggings with gold stars printed on them and a loose grey sweater, tried to ignore how impeccably dressed Elena was in boots and skinny jeans and stylish cropped leather coat. Even her hair was perfectly straight despite the humidity and wind. "I offered to do it since I had your homework. Jenna sent soup."

"That was nice of her," Gwen said, taking the folders and container from her. "Do you, um, do you want to come in?"

"Sure."

Gwen stepped aside to let the still smiling Elena in and closed the door behind them. She motioned for the other girl to follow her to the kitchen.

"You look pretty good for being sick, by the way," Elena commented.

"Yeah, well, it was more of mental health kind of sick day," Gwen said, opening the fridge and setting the soup on the top shelf. Turning back to Elena, she said, "I'm not really sure how to say this without sounding rude, but we, uh, we don't so much as have ongoing text message. Did you come here for something else?"

Elena dropped her gaze, nervously tracing patterns on the table. "Yes, a few things, actually."

Gwen leaned against the kitchen island, her arms resting on the countertop. She waited silently for Elena to continue.

"So, uh," she paused, taking a steadying breath. "First, I'm sorry that my pushing spun everyone up. I didn't think that any of that would happen. I just … I just wanted to learn more about my birth mother. You understand that, don't you?"

Gwen bit her lip to trap a snarky retort. It was really more like Elena ignored all requests to stop and did what she wanted as opposed to not thinking, but she'd let it go for now. Elena was clearly working up the nerve to ask about something big.

"The difference is I stopped pushing when I found out my mystery birth parent was likely a homicidal maniac who might try to kill me or the people I care about," she quipped, failing miserably at total self control.

"Fair," Elena mumbled. Looking back up at Gwen, she added, "You're really not going to like the second reason I cam here."

"And that would be?"

"So, uh, Isobel sent this guy — compelled him — to scare us away. I got ahold of his phone and called the last number on his received call list. It was Isobel."

For a moment, Gwen could only stare at Elena, who at least had the decency to look slightly ashamed. Sighing, she pushed herself off of the counter and moved to sit in the empty chair at the table. She may not have always thought very highly of Elena, but she hadn't thought she was this stupid.

"Elena," Gwen said, unable to keep the frustration out of her voice, "trust me when I say you do not want to know Isobel. Be happy the Gilberts took you, and stop looking for her."

Elena was suddenly unnatural still, staring at Gwen with wide eyes. "Wait, you knew her?"

Gwen sighed again. Elena was like a dog with a bone. She wasn't going to let this go.

"She was married to my uncle, of course I knew her. Listen," she said, an idea forming, "I'll tell you about her if you promise not to ask Ric about her, or tell anyone else about this call."

Elena hesitated, but nodded. "All right."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

Gwen studied her for minute. She seemed sincere, but Gwen didn't know if what she had to say was enough to stop her from continuing her mission.

"Let's see," Gwen muttered, puzzling out where to start. "I think Ric met Isobel when I was twelve. I remember my mom being excited for him. He hadn't been in a real relationship in a long time, and was completely infatuated with Isobel. I later learned they didn't start dating right away. It was very causal for almost the first year. Anyway, I met her just before my mom was diagnosed. I loved her immediately."

"You did?" Elena asked, her disbelief clear.

"Oh, sure. She was young and cool. She knew all about the latest music and clothes. Isobel was more like a friend than another adult. Whenever my mom and uncle weren't in the room, she'd tell me all about her wild stories from high school and college — well minus one, I guess," Gwen amended, glancing at Elena. "She never mentioned getting pregnant or giving up the baby. I don't think she ever told that to anyone."

Elena looked disappointed. Gwen, unsure of how to comfort her, covered by getting them each a glass of water before she continued.

"Anyway, they got married after a couple of years of dating. The wedding was small but nice, and I had someone I could call whenever dealing with my mom's sickness got to be too much. Ric was probably the happiest I've ever seen him. Then, well …. At the time my mom said she was bored of being married. Now, I know she was obsessed with finding and becoming a vampire. Slowly, she stopped answering calls from me or coming to visit with Ric. He made excuses: she was busy, she was sick, whatever. When she did visit, there was always a lot tension between all of them. She didn't want to be there. She didn't want to be apart of our family or deal with what that meant. She just wanted to do her research."

Gwen paused, taking a sip of her water.

"Of course, I thought she just didn't like us anymore. My mom's the one that saw how self-absorbed she was, and how Ric was more invested in the relationship. She didn't say any of this to him, obviously. She knew it would have driven him away. So that went on for awhile, and then, suddenly everything was fine. For the first time in months, she flew out with Ric. My mom was going to have surgery. Ric wanted to be there to help us. I wasn't, I wasn't exactly making things easy on my mom. I had a lot of anger. When they got there, she was back to being the person we first met. It was like a switched had been flipped."

"What changed?" Elena asked.

Gwen shrugged. "Honestly, I didn't care enough to find out. There were other things going on. It was just nice to see Ric happy again, and Mom was too sick to start a fight with either of them." Gwen paused, shaking her head. "I should have known something was off. I was so stupid."

"What do you mean?"

"The night they got there, after everyone had gone to bed, Isobel came to my room and surprised me with tickets to see a band I liked. She said we could sneak out and be back by morning. Mom and Ric didn't have to know. I didn't care if they did find out. My life had been school and the hospital for months. I was thrilled to finally have some fun. I got dressed in seconds, and we left. Everything gets fuzzy after that. We went to the bar. She got me a drink …. Then I woke up in my bed the next morning, still fully dressed."

Elena's brow furrowed. "What? What happened?"

"I still don't know for sure," Gwen said, resting her chin on her palm. "Either she drugged me or let me be drugged or ….. I had a cut on my wrist the next morning. In her research I found out she had planned to meet someone about vampires that night. She doesn't mention taking me, but either she did something to me or let someone else. Even not knowing that at the time, I didn't trust her, again. I wouldn't speak to her for the rest of the time they were there. No one noticed my change toward her, they thought I was being a moody teen. I couldn't tell them the truth. I didn't even know what had happened; and then she disappeared a few months later."

Silence fell between them, and neither girl was able to make eye contact. Gwen had tried to stick to the facts as much as possible, or the facts as she knew them. She couldn't tell how Elena was feeling, she simply looked contemplative. Suddenly, Gwen worried Elena would find some way to excuse Isobel's decisions. She had to make her see it was better to leave Isobel alone.

"Look, here's what you need to know," Gwen said urgently. Elena's eyes snapped back to her, narrowed but interested. "Isobel was willing to use her fourteen-year-old niece to get information. She lied to her husband constantly. When she finally found someone to turn her, she slept with him in their home and let Ric see her being killed, or at least think that. She's ruthless, manipulative, and selfish. She only cares about herself. Get it?"

Elena nodded, looking shaken. She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms, crestfallen. Gwen understood. She missed her mom and had hoped to get that connection, or something like it, back by finding her birth mother. But Gwen knew she was better off not pursuing a relationship with her. They all were.

"She sounds like Katherine," Elena said, clearing her throat. "I guess it runs in the family."

"Let's hope not," Gwen said with a lightness in her voice she didn't feel.

Even as both girls laughed commiseratively, Gwen couldn't help but think how true her words were. Katherine and Isobel used people up and left destruction in their wake wherever they went. She sincerely hoped Elena wouldn't do the same.


Elena didn't stay long after Gwen's story. She excused herself by saying she had to get ready for a double date with Caroline and Matt. She'd awkwardly invited Gwen to go with them, but she declined. The last thing she wanted to do was be a fifth wheel on what was sure to be a tense evening. Instead, she worked through the assignments Elena had brought over while reruns of a crime procedural kept her company. While she appreciated Jenna's gesture, she used the money Ric had left her to order a pizza. Soup was something she tolerated when she was sick, but she wouldn't eat it otherwise.

Having grown bored of old shows, Gwen went up to bed around eleven. Ric had texted that he was on his way home a few hours earlier, but hadn't made it back yet. She wasn't worried; she'd spent nights alone in the house before and in their apartment back in Boston. Still, she couldn't help but wonder where'd he gone to that it was taking him so long to come home. She pushed away her worry as she brushed her teeth. She would see him in the morning. Then, Gwen could tell him about how she'd managed to levitate the soda can and fly it around the room.

She was plugging in her phone when the tapping started. She glanced toward the window as the sound continued at a steady pace. It had been weeks since she'd heard that sound. Gwen had hoped the bird had finally realized it was winter and flown south. It appeared she'd been wrong.

"Damn bird," she muttered, practically stomping over to the window. She was not dealing with this tonight. She threw the curtains aside, ready to shoo away the flying nuisance, and froze.

Damon was crouched on the roof outside her bedroom window. He was glancing over his should, as if on the lookout for something, so he didn't stop tapping right away. When he turned back and saw her, he stopped and motioned for her to open the window. She shook her head, reaching for the curtain.

"Open the window," Damon said, his voice clear, though, muted by the glass.

Gwen gritted her teeth and opened the window with a huff, telling herself it was only because she hadn't seen Damon look that serious since the night they got the Bennett Grimoire.

"What do you want?" she snapped, trying to hide her shiver from the freezing air that was now streaming into her bedroom. She knew he didn't feel the cold like she did, but she still found it hard to believe he was fine in only his leather jacket.

"You weren't answering your phone," he said, ignoring her tone.

She noticed his eyes sweep the room behind her. She couldn't even imagine what he was looking for, and didn't care. Ric could be home any minute and Damon couldn't be here.

"Some people would take that as a hint. Did you really expect I would willing talk to you again after what you did last night?"

Gwen paused, giving him a chance to say something, but he didn't. He couldn't even look at her. She shook head and lifted her arms to close the window.

"Good-bye, Damon."

"Wait," he said, sighing. "I came over here to make sure you were all right. Why are you alone?"

She folded her arms, looking at him skeptically. "Who says I am?"

He gave her look that said she was smarter than that. "The car's not in the driveway, and I can't hear anyone else in the house."

"Ric had an errand to run," she lied. "He'll be home soon, which is why you need to go."

"Stefan and I were attacked by a couple of tomb vampires," he continued, clearly not considered with her warning. "We got one, but the other got away. There are more. I want you to be wary of any new faces you see in town, got it?"

Gwen dropped her eyes from his intense gaze. She didn't want him to see her softening. He had attempted to kill her uncle only twenty-four hours ago; she couldn't forgive him just because he did the decent thing and warned her about potential danger. Collecting herself, she cleared her throat and returned her gaze to his.

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself."

His lips twisted into a half-amused smile before his attention was drawn to the front of the house.

"Looks like your uncle is home," he mumbled, smile fading. She was about to tell him to go again when he held up a hand to stop her. "I know. I can't be here. Just do something for me?"

"I don't owe you any favors, Damon."

He laughed hollowly. "No, no you don't. But do it anyway: Keep your phone on you and keep it charged. I know you can take care of yourself, but you never know when you might need help."

Gwen nodded. Hearing the front door open, she reached for the window again and said, "Good night, Damon."

He waited, watching her secure the window. It wasn't until Gwen had locked it that he waved good-bye, an odd look on his face, and disappeared into the night.

When Ric came in to check on her a few minutes later, she was the picture of normal: In bed and reading a book. They said good night with neither inquiring too much into the other's day. Each of them promising to catch the other up tomorrow. Gwen sighed sadly as Ric closed the door behind him: They were back to keeping secrets.


AN: I'm back! I finally finished the other fic so this one can now have my full writing attention. I know this chapter was more of a filler and heavy on the exposition, but I promise a lot more for the next update.