A/N: Here's Chapter 9 after a cliffhanger last week! I'll either update next Tuesday, or if I get seven new reviews or follows. Whichever comes first! Xo, Eden.

POSSIBLE TW: DEATH/DRUGS.

Song: All You Wanted

Artist: Sounds Under Radio

I am the fold, in the wake
Watch me push her back and break
I lose all my friends, and wash away
All the fractures Ive displayed

But we still, hold on

Cause it was
All you wanted
And all I needed
But all I gave up, now
Could you hold me tighter
When worlds collide
Just hold me down right now

I was sat on a bench in the Sheriff's station, wrapped in a blanket. My parents were behind a closed door, talking to Sheriff Forbes. Someone had been nice enough to give me a change of clothes. I didn't catch their name. It was all a blur.

I don't know how long I was there for. I know I screamed until I lost my voice. I know I was frozen there long after my voice was gone. I know I prayed the rain would press me into the earth and wash the vision of the rotting corpse out of my mind.

I know that someone finally drove down the same road I was on and saw my abandoned car. I know that they called the police. I know they found me lying on the ground, next to Vicki Donovan's body. I know that's who's body it was- Matt's Sister's. I just kept repeating what I knew, over and over in my mind.

They found me and dragged me up the hill. They put me in the back of a cop car. They got my car unstuck from the mud. I thought they were arresting me for murder. I thought they thought that I killed Vicki Donovan. It wasn't until we were at the station and they didn't lock me up that I realized that I wasn't in trouble.

No one talked to me at first. They said they couldn't without my parents there. I just sat there and waited for my parents, and listened to the bits and pieces that I could.

"Eighteen year old Vicki Donovan."

"Missing for weeks."

"Likely an overdose."

"Buried in the woods."

When my parents got there, they finally talked to me. Sheriff Forbes asked me where I was going. She asked me why I left my car. She asked how I found the body. I told her I was trying to go to Elena's but the tree in the road wouldn't let me. I fell because I wasn't paying attention, and I grabbed the arm because I thought it was a tree branch.

I asked Sheriff Forbes why Vicki would be buried in the woods if she died of an overdose. Sheriff Forbes pressed her lips into a line and said she didn't know. She then asked if she could speak to my parents alone. And that's how I ended up sat alone on the bench in the Sheriff station.

I stared at the door, watching people run in and out. Elena and Damon walked in. Elena. Oh my god. Stefan. If she was here . . . they must have still not heard from Stefan. They were here to file a police report. I didn't know how to be supportive of Elena right now. I couldn't tell her that everything would be okay. Everything was not okay.

Elena must have felt me staring at her, as her eyes met mine. She ran over to me. Damon trailed behind. I wished that they would just go file the police report and not talk to me. I wondered if Stefan was also lying on a hill next to a dead body.

"Lucy oh my god." Elena gasped and hugged me. When she pulled back, I saw that she had tears in her eyes.

"You still haven't found Stefan?" I asked. My voice was hoarse, barely louder than a whisper.

"What? No Stefan was . . ." Elena exchanged glances with Damon. " . . . at a friends. His phone died."

I didn't know Stefan had friends other than Elena. It seemed like he was too busy following Elena around everywhere to make friends.

"You're not here to file a missing persons report?" I croaked.

Elena shook her head. "No Lucy. I'm here for you. Caroline called me. God you must've been so scared."

She sat down next to me and pulled me into another hug. She was warm, and dry, and smelled like raspberry shampoo. I was cold, and probably still smelled like dirt, despite my best efforts to clean up in the station bathroom.

Damon eyed me. "I thought we had a talk about wandering through the forest by yourself, Rambo."

"Damon." Elena warned. "I told you if you if you came here you had to behave."

I wondered why he had come at all. Less than twelve hours ago, Elena was yelling at me for letting Damon come into my house. Now they were going on Stefan tracking duty together, and he was trailing her to the police station. Maybe they had actually worked their issues out.

"Lucy . . . did they tell you who it was?" Elena asked.

"Matt's s-sister." My voice cracked as I choked out a sob. "I heard someone say they think it was an overdose. But that doesn't make sense. Elena I saw her, someone buried her there."

"Probably one of her junky friends trying to cover up their tracks." Damon retorted. "Literally, and metaphorically."

"Damon." Elena glared at him. "Maybe you should go talk to Sheriff Forbes. Like you said you came here to do."

"Sh-she's talking to my parents." I sniffed.

"Not anymore." Damon said.

I followed his eyes to where my parents were emerging from Sheriff Forbes's office. The three of them walked over to us. My parents looked back and forth from Damon, to Elena, to me.

"Damon. Elena." Sheriff Forbes addressed them. "Is everything okay?"

"Caroline called me." Elena said. "I stopped here on the way to Matt's, I wanted to make sure Lucy was okay."

"I decided to tag along as chaperone because I have some things I wanted to discuss with you." Damon addressed the Sheriff.

The Sheriff nodded. "Right. We can go talk in my office. Lucy, you can go home. I gave your parents my number; if you remember anything at all that you think I should know, please don't hesitate to call. And Lucy, I'm so sorry."

I nodded at her, but didn't say a word. She and Damon retreated back into her office. An unlikely pair, I wondered what he could possibly have to talk to her about. Mom put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Adams." Elena turned to my parents. "We haven't actually met. I'm Elena Gilbert."

"Elena . . . Gilbert." My mom gave me a knowing look. I had never actually told her Elena's last name. "Well, it's lovely to finally meet you Elena. Though I do wish it could be under better circumstances."

"Elena, I really appreciate you stopping by to check on me. But you should go see Matt now. I'm sure he needs you more than I do." I said.

"Actually . . . I was thinking you should come with me." Elena looked at my mom and dad. "If that's okay with you."

"I'm not so sure that's such a good idea." I hesitated.

"It might be good for you. For both of you." Elena suggested. "You're the only person in his world who understands what he's going through right now."

I looked at my parents, mentally willing them to say no. My dad spoke up. "Someone from the department brought your car here. Maybe you should go see the family."

"I don't want to drive." I protested.

"I can drive." Elena offered.

My dad handed my keys to Elena. So that was it. I had to go face Matt knowing I was the reason his world just came crumbling down. If I hadn't gotten stuck, hadn't fallen, he would be living in bliss thinking that his sister was off on a bender somewhere and would come home when she felt like it. If she felt like it.

"What about Damon?" I gave one last weak excuse not to go with Elena.

"Damon's a big boy, he can find his own way home." Elena said.

My mom kissed my forehead. "Be safe honey. Please."

All these lines, in the air
I dont know if anyone would care
Im losing my friends, in the wave
Of all these fragments I cant fake

But we still, hold on

Cause it was
All you wanted
And all I needed
But all I gave up, now
Could you hold me tighter
When worlds collide
Just hold me down right now

Matt answered the door and immediately broke into tears when he saw Elena. She took him into her arms, stroking his hair while he cried. He buried his face into the sleeve of her sweater. Caroline came down the steps, looked at them, and then off to the side, clearly uncomfortable.

It wasn't even remotely the time for drama between the three of them, but I felt for Caroline. That must hurt; to see the person you love in pain and know that you aren't the one that they turn to for comfort. Matt pulled back from Elena's embrace, and looked at me.

"Lucy." He said. I immediately knew that he knew I was the one that found Vicki.

"Matt." I whispered. "Matt. I'm so sorry."

I couldn't help but to break down when my eyes met his. Looking at him felt like looking at a reflection of my former self. I knew his pain. I had lived his pain. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Much to my surprise, Matt hugged me. I thought he would tell me to leave. I would have deserved it. I ruined his life. But instead, he held me, and we cried together.

Matt cleared his throat. "You guys should come into the kitchen."

Elena, Caroline and I followed Matt into the kitchen. Sat at the table was Elena's little brother, Jeremy, and . . . Tyler Lockwood. Just what I needed to add to the most wonderful day ever. We all sat down, and I did my best to avoid eye contact with Tyler.

"Is that her?" I gestured to a picture that was laid flat on the table.

"Yeah. It is." Matt nodded.

"Wow. She's beautiful." I whispered. "She looks just like you."

I had never had the opportunity to actually meet Vicki Donovan while she was living. But she truly was beautiful. She had reddish brown hair that fell in waves just past her shoulders. Her eyes were green, but the same shape as Matt's. And they had the exact same radiant smile.

"Thanks." Matt forced a smile. Caroline put her hand over his.

"How are you holding up, bud?" Tyler asked.

"Really Tyler?" Matt snapped. "What type of a question is that?"

"I'm sorry man I didn't mean . . ." Tyler trailed off.

"No man, I know." Matt mumbled. "It's just, she's my sister. Or she was. She's been my best friend since the day I was born. And now she's just . . . gone. And not gone like when she'd run away for a few weeks at a time. It just doesn't make sense. How could she die so young? She was doing so well."

"Matt, I'm really sorry." Tyler said.

"I know." Matt sighed. "It's just . . . no one can even begin to understand how that feels."

The silence over the table was thick. Matt was experiencing a pain that couldn't be fixed. No one knew what to say to him to even begin to relieve some of that pain. To make him feel less alone. Except . . .

"I do." I blurted out.

"What?" Matt looked at me.

"Lucy . . ." Elena started as if she was going to try and keep me from talking, but then decided against it.

"I know how it feels." I said. "My brother died."

"Oh my god." Caroline whispered.

"And it was exactly like you said." I nodded. "He was my best friend. I knew him practically my whole life. And I wish I could tell you that one day it won't hurt anymore, but that's not true. It gets better, a little bit. But not a day goes by where I don't wish that he was here."

I closed my hand over my locket. Tyler's eyes followed my hand, and I watched his expression change as he put two and two together.

"Wow. I'm a dick." Tyler stated.

"Yeah." Matt chuckled. "Yeah. You are dude."

And just like that, we all burst into a fit of laughter. Even Jeremy, who hadn't said a single word since I got there, had a momentary look of happiness on his face. Tears were still on all of our faces, but we were laughing. It felt wildly inappropriate, yet it was exactly what we all needed; a reminder that none of us were alone. As long as we had each other, there was happiness to be had. There was the possibility of healing.

All these lines, in the air
I don't know if anyone would care
Im losing my friends, in the wave
Of all these fragments I cant fake

But we still, hold on

Cause it was
All you wanted
And all I needed
But all I gave up, now
Could you hold me tighter
When worlds collide
Just hold me down right now

We stayed at Matt's for so long, the six of us talking about everything and anything. I could tell Vicki was a great loss, not just for Matt, but for all of them. By the time Elena took me back to my house, it was so late that I offered for her to stay the night, which she happily accepted.

Elena was sound asleep next to me. Despite the troubles of the day, she had fallen asleep quickly. Maybe it was just due to exhaustion. I wished that I could fall asleep, but I knew that when I did I would be plagued with horrendous nightmares.

My mind just went back to Vicki's death, and the horror of finding her in the woods. Everyone's words kept replaying in my mind. How it didn't make sense that she died of an overdose. How she was doing well. I thought back again to my question- why was she buried in the woods if it was an overdose?

I thought back to Mr. Saltzman telling me about Mystic Falls being plagued with mysterious deaths from the beginning, how the townspeople thought it was something evil. My mind flashed back to the night I met Damon.

"Yes, attacks. Animal attacks. This town is absolutely riddled with them. Come on, do your research. You move somewhere and you don't even do one Google search?" His voice echoed in my mind.

I thought about the way Stefan stiffened when I mentioned the animal attacks. How Stefan, Damon, and Elena were always exchanging glances as if they were communicating something that couldn't be said out loud. This town had a secret. I didn't know Vicki Donovan, but I was almost certain she didn't die of an overdose.

Careful not to wake Elena, I walked over to my desk, picked up my laptop, and brought it back to bed. I opened it up, and typed "The History of Mystic Falls, Virginia" into the Google search bar. Clicking the first link that popped up, a Wikipedia article, I scanned the page for anything of interest.

It was a boring, textbook style article that reiterated everything I already knew about the town. Mystic Falls was founded in 1860, and nothing of interest really happened here until the end of the Civil War, when the Battle of Willow Creek took place. I clicked the link for the Battle of Willow Creek page.

As far as Civil Wars battles went, this one was rather un-noteworthy. Three hundred and forty six soldiers died during the battle. Confederate soldiers fired upon Fell's Church, believing it to be housing weapons, and killed twenty-seven civilians. Now we were getting somewhere. This must be the cover up Mr. Saltzman mentioned.

There was very little information on Fell's Church, which should have been expected as it was a small town structure that had been gone for over a century and a half. It was built shortly before the founding of Mystic Falls, and burnt down in 1864, allegedly due to a Pastor leaving a candle lit. I sighed. This was a dead end. Like Mr. Saltzman said, the things I was searching for weren't exactly academic material.

I pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to think of what to search for. I typed in "Mystic Falls Animal Attacks". Dozens of news articles popped up. I opened each of them in a new tab. It was horrific. One article was dated less than two months ago.

"18 year old Vicki Donovan was attacked by an animal late Friday night. Attending a back to school bonfire party, Donovan walked off into the woods. A fellow student found Donovan with a bite mark to the neck. While she lost a lot off blood, Donovan is currently stable and is expected to make a full recovery."

It sounded oddly familiar. The police said she must have overdosed. Even if she was high, why would she wander into the woods again if she had gotten attacked by an animal before and almost died? It didn't make any sense. I clicked through the next articles. They were different stories, different victims, but they all said the same thing.

Found last night.

Animal attack.

Severe blood loss.

Bite to the neck.

Lost a lot of blood.

Two puncture wounds to the neck.

Completely drained of blood.

What type of animal only attacks by biting the neck? It didn't make any sense. You would think an animal stalking it's prey would sneak up from behind. More importantly, what type of animal drinks it's victims' blood? It was almost like it was a . . . I shook my head, and opened a new tab, typing just one word into the search bar.

"Vampires."

Endless articles came up, ranging from well-respected history websites, to websites dedicated to studies of the occult. Each culture seemed to have it's own version of the Vampire, but the core idea of them remained.

"Vampires are evil mythological beings who roam the world at night searching for people whose blood they feed upon."

"The term Vampire was popularised in Western Europe after reports of an 18th-century mass hysteria of a pre-existing folk belief in the Balkans and Eastern Europe that in some cases resulted in corpses being staked and people being accused of vampirism." I thought back to Mr. Saltzman telling me how the twenty seven people were burnt alive in the church, and how much the mass hysteria reminded me of the Salem Witch Trials.

"Vampires have super strength and often have a hypnotic, sensual effect on their victims." Damon.

"Some traditions also hold that a vampire cannot enter a house unless invited by the owner; after the first invitation they can come and go as they please." Elena's shocked voice, saying, "He's been invited in." repeated over and over again in my mind.

I slammed my laptop shut. Elena stirred next to me, and for a moment I was worried I had woken her. She didn't open her eyes though, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I put my laptop on the floor, and shook my head. It was all nonsense. Vampires weren't real. They couldn't be real.

I had seen Damon outside in the daytime. He didn't burn up in the sun. While he may be troubled and mysterious and womanizing, he could also be caring. I'd been alone with him on numerous occasions and he didn't hurt me. There was no way Damon was a killer. And if Damon was a vampire, that would mean Stefan was a Vampire too.

Damon was just an insanely attractive man with a bit of a dark side. There had to be a logical explanation behind the animal attacks in town. Vampires were myths. The word myth literally means untrue stories. Yet . . . Mr. Saltzman seemed to hold these myths with some level of regard.

It was almost two am, and I was sitting in bed questioning if vampires were real. I had to stifle a laugh at the ridiculousness of it. I clearly needed sleep before I completely lost my mind. I curled up next to Elena, willing myself to get just a few hours of rest before school tomorrow.

Pull me in
Drown my fear
Could you wait another day,
knowing that Ill come back
I'll come back no fear

Cause it was
All you wanted
And all I needed
But all I gave up, now
Could you hold me tighter
When worlds collide
Just hold me down right now

Brandon was there. Brandon was always in my dreams. As haunting as the dreams were, it brought me some solace knowing that I could see his face again every night.

It was a scene I knew too well. We were driving out of Mystic Falls. The lines on the road were clouded, both from the fog and from the tears in my eyes. My knuckles were as white as my car from gripping the steering wheel.

"Lucy, are you sure you're okay?" Brandon asked. "We can pull over. Get food somewhere. Mom and dad will understand if we're late."

"I'm fine Brandon." I choked out. "I just want to get home."

"Are you sure? Because you shouldn't be driving if you're so-"

"I said I'm FINE Brandon." I snapped. I didn't mean for it to come out so harsh.

Brandon didn't say anything after that. I knew I should apologize. He was just trying to help. But I just wanted to get out of this stupid town. Mom and dad decide to raise me elsewhere and I should have never come back. We were coming up on the bridge that would take us away from Mystic Falls.

"Lucy look out!" Brandon yelled.

I snapped out of it. In the road was a person. I slammed the breaks, but not soon enough. The car got so close the figure was illuminated in the headlights. She had brown wavy hair, and green eyes. Vicki Donovan. I recognized her from the pictures. She wasn't supposed to be here. I swerved. Her eyes turned red, and she opened her mouth to reveal fangs.

I woke up in a sweat.

A/N: Ooh so Lucy's finally starting to realize things aren't quite right in Mystic Falls, and she's digging into Vampires. Would love to hear your thoughts! How do you think she'll find out for sure? How do you think she'll react? Xo, Eden.