AN:: I forgot to put this in my last author's note in the last chapter. But a huge thanks to Tvdlover87654 for helping me with chapter 1. Thanks girl!
Anyway, here is the 2nd chapter. Let me know what you think we a review! Thanks loyal minions!
Rylie was in a room. It was dark and damp. She heard muffled noise coming out from the closed door. She tried to move but she was tied up. She was lying on a bed with her hands bond to the bed post. Her lower body was free. She moved her body as much as she could up. She didn't know this place. Looking around there was no light, no window of any sort. Where was this place? The muffled noises came closer to the door. Her heart was already pounding in her chest. As the noise, no they were voices were coming closer her heartbeat got faster. Baboom, Baboom. She started to sweat. The door started to open slowly. She saw a black figure enter and it was getting closer to her. Tears that were brimming her eyes were now falling over. She sobs were coming out as hiccups. As the figure got closer she saw it was a man. The man bent down over her.
"Don't worry Rylie, be a good girl and this won't hurt."
Rylie awoke with a start. Sitting straight up in bed she looked around. She was breathing hard and was sweating. Where was she? Looking around she saw she was in a room she didn't recognize at first. Looking to her side she saw the sleeping blonde. That's right I'm at Caroline's, she thought. Slowly her breathing became slow.
These nightmares were starting to get really annoying. No matter where she was. This was haunting her. Taking a deep sigh she stood up and went to the bathroom. After washing her face she went back to Caroline's room. She was awake now. Looking at the clock it showed it was 3:38am in neon green. She rolled her eyes. She wanted one night of sleep where waking up wasn't an option. Crawling back into bed she was hoping that sleep would find her again. But she kept tossing and turning to get comfortable. She had only been asleep almost two hours. It was less then she gotten a few nights, and more the others. She was mentally drained. She just wanted to sleep. Why was that so hard?
After tossing and turning for about an hour she felt Caroline stir. Looking over at her new found friend she saw the young blonde's eyes start to shudder open.
"Stop moving Ry, I'm tired." She mumbled.
"Sorry Caroline. I can't sleep." The young blond leaned on her elbow and looked at the older girl.
"What's wrong?" she asked yawning.
"Nothing, just a bad dream. Go back to sleep." Rylie said putting her head down and turning her back to Caroline. She heard Caroline sigh from behind her but didn't move. She laid there with her eyes open watching the clock creep closer to sunrise.
With all this time she had to try to fall back to sleep, it left her with the memories she was trying to run away from. It also left her with the memories for growing up in Pennsylvania. She was given up for adoption when she was first born. Her adoptive family got her a week later. Her parents Mike and Stephanie Carter were amazing. They never kept it a secret that she was adopted. They loved her as their own flesh and blood. She never had the urge to find her real parents. They weren't worth her time, as she wasn't worth theirs.
The Carter's were the best parents she could have asked for. They let her join any sport she wanted. If she wanted to try the piano they let her. She wanted to take singing lessons, she got to. Singing was her outlet. Her first lesson her instructor told her parents that she was a natural. She was right. Rylie landed every solo, every musical lead from middle school through high school. She wanted to go to NYU for theater. But that changed when her parents died young. Her father was in the military and was killed on deployment when she was 14 years old. Her mother died right after high school graduation from cancer.
Sighing at the thought of her parents she looked at the clock. 8:14 Am. Where did the time go? She got up and went through the clothes that Caroline so generously gave her. Finding a cute blue shirt and a pair of jeans she went to the bathroom to change. When she exited and went to Caroline's room she saw it was empty. Turning around she went into the kitchen. She saw the teen sitting at the table with an older lady. Rylie assumed was Caroline's mom. When the young girl saw Rylie she sat up and smiled.
"Hey Rylie this is my mom Liz." Caroline said. Liz turned around and smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Sheriff." Rylie said offering her hand, the older blonde took it.
"At home it's Liz. Nice to meet you too. My daughter told me you will be staying with the Salvatore's. You are more than welcome to take our guest room if you feel more comfortable."
"Thanks for the offer. I will keep that in mind. But I think I will be alright at the Boarding House."
"Offer stands if you need it." The Sheriff said as she stood up. "I'm off to work, if you girls need anything let me know." Both girls nodded and Liz left the house.
"There's coffee ready. I was thinking of getting a suitcase or two for all those clothes." Caroline said as Rylie was making up her coffee. Rylie hummed her ok as she took a sip of her hot drink. "Did you finally fall back to sleep last night?"
"No, I think I will get a better night sleep tonight."
"My mom has sleeping pills; I can sneak one away to you. She barley uses them. The woman is a workaholic."
"No, thanks. I don't like pills or medicine or anything. I'll be fine." Rylie said taking a long pull of her coffee. The coffee felt good. But it wasn't waking her up like she wanted it to.
"Want to talk about the dream last night that got you all hyped? I felt you shoot up in bed." Rylie stopped the mug half way down from her mouth. But shook her head.
"I can't even remember it now. It happened to fast to remember." She lied. She remembered that room. She remembered that man. She just wished she could see the face. She had a feeling she knew who it was. But she wouldn't admit it to herself. She was trying to forget the man. "So what's on the agenda for the day?" She asked Caroline just to change the subject. The young girl sighed.
"Well, we got to get you packed and ready to go to the Boarding House. We have to pick you a room there too. But I was thinking of brunch at the Grill so you can meet some of the people in town." Rylie looked down. She didn't want to make friends. What if she had to leave in a hurry? The thought of that made her a little upset. Even though she just met Caroline she liked her. There was something about her that she liked. "You alright over there? You're a little quiet."
"Yeah I'm fine. How do you think Damon is going to react when he sees me at the Boarding House?" She asked still looking down. She was nervous that the older brother would kick her out.
"Well, he probably won't be too happy about it. But Stefan said it was fine. So don't worry too much about it. And if there is a problem, you are more than welcome to stay here." Caroline said while standing up. "But in the meantime, we have a whole bunch of clothes to pack up and bring with us. Bring your coffee." Caroline put her own mug in the sink and left the room with Rylie right behind her.
The young blonde knew there was something wrong with Rylie, she just couldn't pin point it. The dream she had last night kept her up all night she knew it. She also knew she was awake most of the night by her breathing. But she kept her mouth shut. She was hoping if she kept her mouth shut and asked the right question every so often then the older blonde would open up to her. She liked Rylie. She reminded her of her own self before she was turned into a vampire. Rylie was self-conscience and scared. Caroline was hoping that making some friends would help with that. Walking into her own room she grabbed her two suitcases out from under her bed. Plopping them on top she opened them just at Rylie was coming in. She watched her from the corner of her eyes as the older girl put her coffee mug on the night stand.
"Here, you take this one and I will take this one." Caroline said. She shoved the smaller of the suitcases to Rylie and started folding the clothes that were piled on her desk chair. Rylie followed suit. They were working in silence. Caroline noticed it was a comfortable silence. She liked having her here. It felt normal. "So where did you grow up?" She asked folding another shirt.
"Um, Allentown Pennsylvania."
"What are your parents like?" She saw Rylie bring the corner of her lips up into a small smile.
"They were amazing. Love me, adored me."
"Were?"
"Yeah, my dad was in the service. He was shot while he was deployed. And mom passed after I graduated high school from cancer."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I lost my dad last year. He got…sick." The teen said.
"I know how rough it is." Rylie said not looking at the other girl. She knew all too well. She missed her dad. She was a big daddy's girl growing up. When she lost him she felt like her whole world crashed in. It was even worse when her mom died. She stayed in the house she grew up in. Her parents left to her in their will. But that house has since been sold and she hasn't seen it for 5 years.
"I'm finished over here. I can't get any more in here." Caroline announced zippering up the bag.
"I am too." Rylie smiled.
"Then let's get these into my car and get us to the grill. Matt's working and I think Jeremy might be too. They are great."
"I met Matt yesterday. He was my waiter."
"He's a great friend. Come on lets go see who's there." She said leaving the room with the packed bag. Rylie sighed and grabbed the bag she worked on and left.
The ride to the Grill wasn't long. The town really was small. They drove in silence. Rylie looked at the younger girl and saw she was in a good mood. The silence was deafening. She wasn't used to someone being so kind to her in so long.
"What kind of ring is that?"
"Lapis Lazuli." She said looking at it.
"Can I see?" Caroline looked at her and then the ring.
"I don't take it off for anyone. But I can get you one similar if you want."
"Caroline, you gave me enough. I couldn't ask you for anything else." Rylie said looking out the passenger window.
"Trust me; getting a ring like this isn't that hard."
"Don't worry about it." Rylie said as Caroline parked the car. She opened it and started for the restaurant. Caroline right behind her. The girl had been too nice to her for the last 24 hours. She really couldn't ask her to make something else happen. Walking in, she smelt breakfast. She really could go for a stack of pancakes. As she was looking around she bumped into a tall figure. Looking up she saw it was the older Salvatore.
"Well, isn't it the newest housemate. I thought I told you we aren't taking tenants." The blue eyed guy said.
"Stefan did me a favor. So don't get mad at Rylie." Caroline said coming in behind Rylie. Damon didn't look away from the older blonde.
"Why does everyone go behind my back?" he said.
"I heard you're a dick. Maybe that's the issue." Rylie said with more confidence then she thought she had. Damon lifted his eyes in surprise that she would say such a thing.
"I am a dick." He said and then leaned down, "You might want to watch out for me." Rylie was pulled back and Caroline took her spot.
"And you might want to look out for me." She said crossing her arms.
"I'm older than you, which means I'm stronger than you Barbie."
"And I'm angrier. So back off Damon." Caroline added. She took the older girls arm and dragged her into the Grill and to a table. "Sorry about Damon. He's a total dick."
"I see that. Maybe I should look for an apartment or something."
"No. Do not give him that. You live there. And you are not getting an apartment. You will live with me if it came to it. Now let's get food and then get you moved into the Boarding house." Rylie nodded and then looked around. She saw Damon at the bar glaring at her. When her eyes landed on him, he smirked and lifted his glass to her. He is so cocky, she thought.
"Look who it is." The voice behind her said breaking the glare she had with Damon. Rylie turned and saw the young male who waited on her last night.
"Matt, hey." She said and smiled.
"I see you're making friends. Having breakfast with Caroline." Rylie looked at her new friend and saw she was smiling.
"Yeah, Caroline is great." She said. The younger girl looked over and gave her a warm smile. "Some people aren't happy with me being in town." She said peeking over at the bar again. When she looked back at Matt she saw he was looking at the bar too.
"Why am I not surprised? But what does he have to do with anything?" Matt asked confused.
"I'm going to be staying at the Boarding House. Mister dark and dicky isn't happy about it." Rylie said, Matt and Caroline snorted at that.
"Stefan said it was cool. Damon didn't." Caroline added. Matt made a face in understanding. "We are going to eat and then go to the house." Matt took their orders and left to put it in. Rylie went into her backpack and got her must do list out from the day before. Looking it over, she could cross a whole bunch out already. She got clothes, a place to stay and food. But she needed a phone and a job. "What you got there?" Caroline said looking over the table.
"Uh, just things I need to do. Like find a place to stay, check, get clothes, thanks to my new friend, check. But I still need a job and a phone."
"Well, there is a phone place on the way to the Boarding House. We can stop there if you want. Their contracts are good priced." Rylie shook her head.
"I rather pre-paid. I don't need a contract." Rylie said sipping her water. Caroline looked at her with questions but didn't push. She knew the older girl was hiding something. She looked over a Damon and gave him a questioning look. He shrugged and turned around.
"Whatever you want." Matt returned with their breakfast and coffees. They ate in silence. Caroline was worried for her friend. No car, no phone contract, traveling with no clothes. What was this girl running from? She made a mental note to talk to Stefan about it. Maybe he can find something out. After all he did all the digging to find out Elena was adopted.
After breakfast the girls went to the store to get Rylie a phone. Within minutes they had a phone and were out of there.
"Tell me more about yourself." Caroline said driving to the Boarding House. Rylie looked at her with worry etched on her face. "Well, I know your parents are gone. You are traveling by foot. Tell me about school. What were you like growing up?"
Rylie sat there thinking about what to say. For the last 5 years it was always lie after lie. She felt like she could tell Caroline. But it put her at risk to know what was going on as well. She couldn't risk the teen's safety. She could tell her about high school though. There wasn't any harm in that. But what would she tell her? The singing or the cheerleading?
"Well, um, I sing. I did that from elementary to high school." Rylie said without looking at Caroline. "And I was a cheerleader."
"Get the hell out of here!" the younger exclaimed. Rylie looked at Caroline confused. "I sing and I'm the head cheerleader at school. You have to come to the football game this weekend and watch me. We are much better than the team."
"Isn't that always the case? I mean my squad was better than the team too. And I was head cheerleader too." Caroline looked over dumbfounded.
"What are the odds?" the blonde whispered. "That really is crazy."
It was weird that both girls had so much in common. She probably doesn't have the same past as you Rylie, she thought to herself. They turned into a long driveway and parked near the front door. She saw a small red sports car a few feet up. But what she really saw was the size of the house. Only the Salvatore's lived here?
"Here we are. Home sweet home." Caroline said with a smile. This wasn't home to Rylie. This was just a place to stay just in case she needed to run again. She hoped deep down she wouldn't have to leave. She didn't want to leave Caroline. With a sigh Rylie got out of the car and helped the teen get the bags from the trunk. Throwing her backpack on and rolling the suitcase, Caroline opened the door. "Stefan! Stefan, it's Caroline." She yelled into the house.
"Hey." The younger brother said coming from the long hallway. He looked at the newcomer. "Let me get that from you."
"Oh, it's fine. Just show me the room and I can bring it up." Rylie said with a soft smile.
"It's the way of the Boarding House. And I'm old fashion." He took the suitcase from Caroline and went to take the bag off of Rylie's back. She jumped back a little. In there were her papers she needed. Her social security card, license, adoptive birth certificate. She kept them even closer than her clothes. If she didn't have her backpack they were in her pocket or some small pocketbook. "Sorry, I'll just take the suitcase then. Follow me." Stefan gave Caroline a weird look. Rylie expected that. She knew taking the step to not let anyone touch her bag was awkward. "I'm going to give you a room near my room. Mine's on the third floor, so yours will be at the bottom of the stairs if you need anything at all." Rylie nodded her response.
Opening up the door she saw this huge room. It was much bigger than her childhood room. It could hold 10 people in here to sleep comfortably. There was a big king size bed in the middle of the wall. It was all bright and open. She had big windows on one side a bathroom on the other. She saw that there were fresh sheets recently put on the bed. She went over and brushed her hand across it.
"Elena picked out the sheets. I hope they're ok." Stefan explained. Rylie hummed that it was. "The bathroom is though this door and the door over here is your walk in." Rylie looked at Stefan in disbelief. She never had a walk in closet. Walking over she opened it up. It was huge.
"Thanks, this is great."
"I also got you some shampoo and soap. They are already in the bathroom."
"You went all out. Thanks I really do appreciate this." Stefan smiled and gave a short nod.
"I'll help you unpack. I just need to talk to Stefan. Will you be ok?" Caroline asked.
"I'm 23 years old; I think I can handle the unpacking process. Go. I will be just fine." Rylie said smiling. Caroline gave a small smile and nodded to Stefan to follow her out. The two teens went down to the parlor where they knew they were out of hearing range.
"What's wrong?" Stefan asked folding his arms.
"She's jumpy right? You didn't just imagine that. She takes the backpack with her everywhere like someone is going to steal it. We went to the phone store up the road, she wanted a pre-paid. Stefan, she's running from something."
"I don't think there is much we can do. Except just be there for her if she needs us. I'll keep an eye on her here."
"You're going to have to. Your brother isn't very happy with her staying here."
"Damon won't do anything. He hasn't fed of a human is months."
"I'm not worried about him feeding off her. He's going to make her life a living hell until she leaves. He doesn't want her in Mystic Falls."
"You really like this girl don't you?"
"There is something about her." Caroline said softly hugging herself. "I know you were the one that found out that Elena was adopted. I was thinking maybe you can snoop into Rylie's past."
"Do you know her last name?"
"No, but I knew she grew up in Pennsylvania. Allentown, I think. She was head cheerleader in school. She's a singer too."
"That's it?" Stefan asked raising his eyebrows. "You knew more about me my first day at Mystic Falls High within two periods. But that's all you got on her in a day?"
"She won't answer my questions. What do you want me to do, compel her? No, I won't." she said shaking her head.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do but try to get more out of her. Anything you can get will help me."
"Thanks, Stefan." Caroline said. She smiled at the older vampire and went back upstairs. She knocked on Rylie's door. But there was no answer. Knocking again while opening the door she saw the older blonde sleeping on the bed. Smiling she closed the door and left her to rest. Caroline walked down the stairs and saw Stefan reading a book in the parlor. He looked up when he saw her. "She's sleeping. I'm gonna head back home. I will text you with her number. Tell her I will see her later." The young brother nodded his head and Caroline left the Boarding House.