"Rylie. Rylie!" The blonde heard but it sounded like it was in the distance. "Wake up Rylie." Rylie felt her body being shaken. Flying her eyes open she saw a man sitting in the bed she was sleeping on. Rylie screamed and flew back hugged her knees to her chest and head tucked down. She was breathing hard and she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Hey, hey Rylie is me. It's Stefan." Stefan said holding his hands up. Rylie looked up slowly only showing her eyes. "It's ok. It's just me. I won't hurt you." He said softly. Rylie was still crying. What kind of dream was that? This was the first time she had ever had this kind of dream. She never dreamt of her father, or the way he was shot and she never dreamt of 'him' in her childhood house.
"You alright?" the teen asked.
"Yeah I'm fine." She said with a rasp.
"You were screaming. I wouldn't say that you're fine."
"It was just a bad dream. I'm fine." The girl got up and went to her bathroom. She didn't bother to close the door. She turned on the sink and put her hands under the tap. She splashed water on her face. When she turned around with a towel against her face she bumped into Stefan. "Stefan, I swear I'm fine."
"Rylie, you were screaming like someone just died. Tell me what the dream was about."
"I don't remember." She lied. She walked past the younger and went to lie down. It was a little after 2 in the morning. "I'm sorry for waking you. Go back to bed. I will see you in the morning." Stefan watched the older girl and sighed in defeat.
"Fine. But I'm here if you want to talk about it."
"Goodnight." She said brushing him off.
Stefan walked back up to his room. He was worried about his new friend. He didn't know what to do for her if she wouldn't tell him what was bothering her. She had been acting different since she came home from the Grill. She waved to Elena and him and went right up the stairs.
For the last couple weeks he had been trying to get information out of her about her past. Caroline had asked him to find something about her. Something that happened in her past. He had found some important stuff about her. But some stuff he couldn't get to. Someone else was doing a search on her too. He didn't know who or how many who's but there was someone else looking for Rylie.
Sleep took Stefan under pretty quickly again. Rylie wasn't so lucky. The dream freaked her out. She waited a while to leave her room. She wanted Stefan to go back to sleep. She headed out to the kitchen for a middle of the night snack. She entered the kitchen and opened the fridge. Opening up the freezer she chooses the ice cream. She grabbed a spoon and ate from the container. She had bought the ice cream for herself a few days earlier. She told the brothers to back off, that it was hers. She had her back to the kitchen entrance and didn't hear the footsteps approach.
"Taste good." She heard from behind her. She turned around and threw the spoon at the new comer. "Ouch." Damon said rubbing his chest.
"What the hell Damon? What are you doing up?"
"I heard the fridge open, I came to investigate. Why are you up?"
"I had a bad dream." She mumbled.
"Care to share?" Damon grabbed another spoon for the blonde and one for himself.
"Not my ice cream." Rylie said scooping the container away.
"I meant the dream. The spoon is for my ice cream. Since my new housemate doesn't share hers." He went to the freezer and grabbed a small Ben and Jerry's out. Rylie didn't answer back. She sat there and played with her dessert. "Earth to Rylie, are you going to share the dream?"
"I can't remember it." She lied. Damon sat down next to the blonde and she stiffened up. He had notice she was acting different since the scare with Chris earlier that night. But if she didn't want to share he was not going to force her into it.
"So, how's life?" He asked taking a bite of his chunky monkey ice cream. Rylie turned towards him with furrowed brows.
"I live in the same house as you. I think you would know how my life is going. I work and I sleep."
"Sounds like you need a life."
"Wanna share yours?"
"Trust me; you do not want my life." Rylie looked back down at her dessert and moved the melting cream around in a circle. You don't want mine, she thought to herself.
"Stefan said you guys lost your parents when you were young. I'm sorry. I know the pain." She saw Damon from the corner of her eye. He had put his head down and nodded it lightly. "I also heard about Andie." That makes his head snap towards her.
"You heard about her?"
"Yeah, word gets around. I'm sorry for your loss." She doesn't look up at him to feel his blue daggers glaring at her. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned the dead girlfriend. She replaced the cap to her ice cream and put it away. "I think I'm going to go back to bed. Good night." Damon didn't respond as she left the room.
When Rylie awoke later that morning it was almost 11. She hadn't slept that late and to know she had nothing to do the rest of the day in a long while. She got up with a stretch. Falling back to sleep after her midnight snack was difficult. She tossed and turned for hours. When she finally fell asleep, it was more peaceful than it was. She got ready for the shopping day with Caroline. She was actually looking forward to it. She still had a few hours before the teen was out of school. Rylie dressed in a black lace razor back tank top, dark denim shorts and open toed black wedges. She added hanging black onyx earrings. She curled her hair a little and held it back with her black aviator sunglasses. When she was done she noticed there were dirty clothes everywhere. Looking around she saw there was no hamper, so she made a big pile and then went to look for one.
On the main floor she didn't see Damon. She knocked on his bedroom door but he wasn't answering if he was in there. She checked the living room, parlor, and kitchen for the raven head but he wasn't anywhere. Guess he's not home, she thought to herself. She went back to the kitchen and made a sandwich. She realized half way through her lunch she didn't even know where the washer and dryer were. She hadn't needed to do laundry since she arrived in Mystic Falls. With all the clothes Caroline gave her, Rylie didn't need to do laundry for a good two months. She could text Stefan and ask him where it was, or she could look for it herself. Old houses like this had to have come with a washroom. In her old house in Allentown, it was in the basement. But Damon told her the stairs were bad. However, she saw Stefan come up from the basement a few times. She never thought anything of it until now.
She cleaned up her dishes and looked around to make sure no one was watching her. She headed towards the mysterious door. Turning the knob she looked around again. She was nervous. Rylie knew she wasn't supposed to be going down there. But one, she wanted to know if the washer and dryer were down there. And two, what was the big deal about the basement anyway? Why could she not go down but they can if the stairs were that bad? The blonde opened the door wider but it was slammed shut. She jumped back and saw Damon leaning on the now closed basement door.
"Thought I told you not to go down there?"
"Sorry, I was looking for the washing machine. I have laundry to do." Damon looked at her threw slits. He had his arms folded and looked intimidating. Tucking her hair behind her ear she looked everywhere but at him.
"It's not down there. It's in the washroom down the hall. Stefan never showed you where it was?" Rylie shook her head. "Come on then, this way." He stood up straight and went down the hallway and opened a door on the left and reveled the machines. "Don't go down there. The stairs suck."
"I'm confused though."
"About the stairs being a death trap?"
"No. You and your brother go down there all the time. Because I had seen Stefan coming up from there before and you once or twice. But I can't go down there?"
"You are the tenant remember? You obey our rules. And one rule is no basement." Damon did have a point, Rylie thought. She just sighed and nodded her head. "Need anything else?"
"Laundry basket?" The older brother went into the room and retrieved a tall wicker basket.
"Thanks." Rylie said taking it. She started walking up the stairs when Damon spoke up.
"Did you have lunch yet?" Rylie turned around.
"Uh, yeah. I just had a sandwich. Do you want me to make you anything?"
"No, I was going to see if you wanted to go to the Grill for some lunch and a drink."
"If I knew you were home sooner I would have said sure. But I got laundry to do and then I'm going shopping with Caroline."
"Maybe another time." The raven head said. Rylie nodded with a small smile and left back to her room.
When she reached her suite she was confused. Damon had been stand offish with her since she arrived to Mystic Falls. And out of nowhere he asks her out to lunch. Was he on something? She shook her head at the idea. Maybe he was drunk. Rylie looked at her clock it was barley one in the afternoon. However, Damon has a track record of drinking. So it was possible. Wasn't he there when Caroline asked me to hang out? She thought to herself. He was she remembered. She shrugged it off as loss of memory.
After gathering her laundry she went down to the washroom and put a load on. What to do until Caroline got out of school? She already read the book she borrowed when she got here. She could read another one. She made her way to the study but was welcomed by Damon once again. He looked at her and she smiled. He gave a sideways smile and turned back around. What was it about him that made her feel so nervous? She kept her eyes on the binds of the books and tried not to notice him. The brothers really did have a lot of books.
She found a book she wasn't expecting to see. She stopped in her tracks and took the book out of the shelf. Rylie looked at the cover and snorted a small laugh while shaking her head. She looked over her shoulder slightly. Damon didn't look at her. She wondered if he had read this book, or it was just here for decoration. She looked back at the book. She put it in the crook of her arm and continued to look for more. She could really get a lot of reading done in this house. She found a few other books she thought looked interesting. She started for the door to leave when the raven head spoke up.
"Find anything good?" Rylie turned around. Damon wasn't looking at her, he was making bourbon. How the hell did he know she was leaving?
"Uh, yeah. I found a few. Hey, why do you have Twilight in your house? You and Stefan don't look like the vampire slash werewolf people." She asked walking toward him. She grabbed a glass and made her own drink. Damon snorted at the statement.
"We got some newer books for the library when we were thinking of having tenants again. But it didn't work out."
"Why is that?" She asked taking a sip.
"Life got in the way. More important things than playing house with strangers." Rylie nodded at the response. She understood that other things come in the way of what needs to get done. It happens to everyone. Damon took a sip of his drink. Rylie saw the big ring on his finger.
"That's some ring you got there." Damon looked down at it and shrugged.
"Family air loom. I got stuck with it." What was with everyone having a family air loom ring in this town? She thought.
"What is it?"
"It's the Salvatore crest." He said.
"I mean the stone."
"Lapis lazuli."
Rylie was shocked. Caroline had the same kind of ring. Well, the stone. She said it wasn't hard to get that kind of ring in this town.
"Can I see?" He put his glass down and took the ring off. He handed her the ring and it was a heavy item in her small hands. "Wow, I'm surprised you can keep your hand off the ground with the weight of this thing on you." She said examining it. "But it is a nice ring." She said handing it back.
"A little gaudy for my taste. But hey, I can't be picky." He said slipping it back on. He sent her a grin when it was in place. She smiled back when she heard her phone go off. She fished it out of her pocket and saw it was Caroline texting her.
Thank God I am almost out of school. Retail therapy is what I need. Can't wait to see you.
Rylie replied with:
I can't wait yo see you too. I ate lunch, but dinner tonight? Maybe drinks at the Boarding House after? You can spend the night.
"Blondie?" she heard. She looked up at Damon.
"Excuse me?"
"Was that Blondie?"
"If you mean Caroline then yes. She's almost out, so I have to finish getting ready. See you later." She said walking out of the room. When she reached her bedroom she threw the books onto the bed. She went over to the vanity and applied what little makeup she had. It was just her eyeliner and mascara. It would have to do. She mad a mental note to pick some other products up too. Before she left the room she grabbed her bag and threw the necessities into it. Such as her phone, wallet and her paperwork. Walking to the door she turned around to make sure she had everything. Nodding that she did she closed the door and left.
Rylie knew the younger blonde got out soon so she figured she would wait in the Salvatore living room until she got there. She sat on the couch and crossed her leg over the other and took out her phone to play a game. Half way through Caroline called.
"Hey." Rylie said to the younger. "On your way?"
"No. I am so mad. The cheerleading coach wants us to have an extra practice for tomorrow's game. And being captain I have to be there."
"Oh, well I understand Caroline. I've been there. Maybe dinner and drinks tonight then."
"No, come to practice. We can go shop for a little bit after. And then we can go out to dinner." Rylie thought about it for all of a second before she said yes. She wanted to see her friend. And they did have plans. It was just being altered now.
"Sure, give me a little so I can walk there."
"I will see you soon!" Caroline almost sang into the phone before hanging up.
Rylie put her head back. The school was a longer walk then the Grill. But she said she would go. And she liked watching the girls practice. Sighing, she stood up. She had to get going now if she would be there in time. Or at least see half the practice. She grabbed her bag and shoved her phone in. She knew it was warm that day so she went into the kitchen to grab a water bottle. When she entered she saw the raven head standing at the sink.
"Hey." She said walking to the fridge. Damon turned around fast. "Did I scare you?" she said with a small smile. "You don't seem like the one to get scared easily."
"I just didn't hear you. Usually you walk hard." He said defensively. Rylie rolled her eyes as she found her water bottle and closed the door. "Leaving?"
"Yeah, I gotta walk to the school. The coach told the girls there is an extra practice today. So since I have nothing else to do so I'm going to go see it."
"I'll take you. I'm going that way anyway. I need to speak to Ric."
"Really?" she asked surprised. Damon looked at her with frustration.
"I said I would take you. Don't expect it all the time." That was the Damon she knew. The dick. She nodded and turned on her heel.
"See you at the door." She called over her shoulder.
While waiting for Damon she leaned against the door frame of the living room. She grabbed her phone and texted the younger blonde and told her that Damon would be driving her to the school. She added a shocked face icon next to it. Caroline responded with a picture message with her hand on her shocked face. Rylie couldn't help but laugh at the picture. She didn't hear the older man walk up behind her.
"Something funny?" he asked. Rylie screamed and threw the phone into the air. She then protected her head. When she turned around the raven head was laughing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare the crap out of you."
"Well, you did dick." She said hitting him in the shoulder. Damon stumbled back but Rylie noticed that his arm was very hard. He must work out, she thought. Damon leaned down and handed her the phone.
"Ready?" he asked when she took the phone.
Damon saw the way that Rylie reacted to him scaring her. He ignored it. If she didn't want to talk about what she was running from, then he wasn't going to pry. If Caroline asked if anything happened, maybe he'd tell her. But he wasn't sure. It wasn't his place. And honestly he didn't care all that much.
It was enough the blonde was staying with him and his brother in the Boarding House. He had told her no in the beginning but of course the other vampires went behind his back and said yes. With all the crap that has been going down in the town the last few months, he didn't really need to look out for more humans. Ric was one thing. He could handle himself. Plus he had that 'bring me back to life' ring. Jeremy did too. But Matt didn't and neither did Rylie. He knew if anything happened to the newcomer that Stefan and Caroline would have a stake in him before dinner.
That was another thing that pissed him off. Stefan and Caroline were getting closed to this chick. They didn't know her. Caroline offered her clothes and a cell phone. Stefan is talking to her at all hours of the night. They are having dinner at Elena's. If something happened to her, he was not going to be responsible. Let them be. They were the ones that wanted to know everything about the girl. He could care less.
The two made it to the school faster than if Rylie had walked herself. Which she was glad for. It was a hot day and she did not want to be walking in this. She felt a pinch of pity for the cheerleading squad though. They would have to be out in the blazing sun rehearsing.
When Damon and Rylie pulled up, she saw Stefan's small red sports car in the parking lot. He was just putting the key in to leave when he spotted Damon's Camaro. He had the look of confusion on his face when he saw the blonde sitting next to his brother. He quickly dropped what he was doing and made his way over to the car. He opened the door for Rylie and helped her out.
"Such a gentleman Stefan. Maybe you can teach McScary pants over there some manners." She said pointing her thumb over her shoulder to the older brother.
"What are you guys doing here?" Stefan asked looking between the two.
"Well, I was supposed to go shopping with Caroline after school. But she got called for a cheerleading practice. I'm just here for moral support. Your brother needs to talk to Ric. So he offered me a ride. See you later." She said as she walked towards the field.
Stefan was still looking at his brother when the blonde left.
"Don't look so broody little brother. I didn't do anything to her expect give her a ride." Damon said closing the door to his car.
"Why do you need to talk to Ric?"
"Well, mister nosey, unless you have been doing some killing and haven't told me. I think we have a new vamp in town. Mayor Hopkins called earlier today and told me to look into it."
"So you thought you would talk to your friend before another vampire?"
"You were in school. I didn't want to ruin your studies. Education is very important. I didn't want you to miss a valuable piece of history or something like that."
"Who's been killed?" Stefan asked keeping up with Damon.
"A couple druggies. Near the lake. The vamp didn't even try to keep it a secret that they were here. Didn't try to even clean up after themselves. I will handle it like always. Just watch out for the humans like you always do. It's how we work."
"What did the Mayor and Liz say about this?" the younger brother asked concern written all over his face.
"At first Liz thought it was Rylie. I reassured her that she wasn't a vampire. But they want it handled right away."
"Why would she think it was Rylie?"
"She's the newest person in town Stefan. But I heard her heartbeat. I know she is human."
"What do you plan on doing about it?
"Well, for starters I'm going to talk to the town vampire hunter and asked him to help. Then we will take over and go from there. Don't worry brother, I got it."
"Don't sound so cocky of yourself Damon. There have been plenty of times that us other vampires has caught the guy. It was me that killed the tomb vampire who was going after you."
"It was also you who let Klaus not be killed too."
"Yeah and then where would we have been Damon? Caroline, Elena, Tyler, you and me would all be dead too. So be happy I didn't let you kill him. And if I remember correctly you killed my best friend." Damon stopped in his tracks. He turned and faced his little brother. They were nose to nose.
"Still won't let me live that down huh? It had to be done so you and I could stay around Mystic Falls. So you can stay with Elena."
"And so you can find Katherine." The younger mumbled.
"Why don't you go make sure someone is ok? Even better go have a bunny." Damon said and walked off leaving his brother where he was.
Rylie walked to the field feeling good. She would get to see her best friend, go shopping and then out to dinner. She didn't have to walk in this blazing sun from the Boarding House to the school. Thank God Damon was in a good mood to offer her a ride. She walked up to the bleachers and sat down. She looked for her blonde friend but didn't see her yet. She must still be in the locker room, she thought. She made herself comfortable with her water and cell phone. Unlocking her phone she saw she had a text from the young friend.
The coach is running late. Let me know when you're here.
She replied with:
I'm on the bleachers. Damon drove me. Something about having to see Alaric.
She put her phone down and took a long swig of her water and waited. The heat was making her sweat a little. It was going to kill the girls on the field when they came out. She missed cheering but not in the heat. It wasn't so bad in Pennsylvania because it wasn't as hot as it was in Virginia. But after a long practice she couldn't wait to get home and shower.
She saw the some girls coming out of the school and she looked for her friend. And low and behold she was the first one out. The blonde jogged over and waved to her when she got close enough. Rylie waved back. Caroline came up to her on the bleachers and sat down.
"Why did Damon need to see Alaric?" she asked.
"I don't know. I didn't ask. And honestly, I don't care. I'm happy I didn't have to walk in this heat." The younger smiled a little. It looked like something was bothering her.
"Try practicing in it." She looked over and the other girls were gathering on the field and started stretching. "I was so mad that coach said we had practice. And she's not even here. I looked for her in the school and tried her cell I can't find her. I guess I will be leading practice today. All the girls are here."
"Then make it short. You guys rock. I don't know why she wanted one to begin with." Rylie replied.
"I might do that. I have a girl date with my best friend. No reason to keep her waiting."
"I will just work on my tan." She shrugged.
"Well, I better get it started. So we can shop and eat. Still wanna have a sleep over at your place tonight?"
"Yeah, we can drink and have a good old slumber party."
"Sounds like a good girl's night for me." With that she got up and walked down the bleachers to the other girls.
Caroline was conducting the practice. Rylie was watching but her mind was wandering too. She had seen the girls do these cheers that she could do them in her sleep if she wanted to. Something caught her eye near the school. When she turned to look she saw Alaric and Damon walking over to the practice. Weird, she thought. Why would they be coming this way? They never came to practice. Especially Damon. She had seen Alaric at the school before when Caroline was getting dressed. She had a few conversations with him. But nothing out of the blue about the history teacher being at the school he worked at. Caroline must have seen them too. She called a 5 minute break. The other girls walked to their water bottles and she walked to the men. After conversing for only a short while Caroline looked at her friend with worry. That caught Rylie's attention loud and clear. But why would she look at the older blonde? Did she do something wrong?
When Caroline got back to the girls she told them practice was over. She waved Rylie to come down. The older packed up her water and phone into her bag and went down the bleachers. She walked to her friend and smiled. Damon and Alaric were still standing at the edge of the field waiting. For what?
"Everything ok?" Rylie asked
"Yeah, everything is fine." She smiled. "I cut practice short so we can go eat. I just have to do something with Damon and Ric really quick. Stefan said he will take you home and then I will be over right after to go shopping. Are you mad?" she was disappointed but if they needed her help for something then she couldn't be that mad.
"No, I mean I'm disappointed but I understand. Where is Stefan?"
"He's by his car. Caroline go get changed and I will take her to the car." Damon said walking up.
"I can find the parking lot just fine. Thanks though." She said. She gave Caroline a small smile and said hi to the teacher. She turned on her heel and walked away. But Damon was right behind her. "Guess your deaf too. But ok, you can walk me to the car."
"I'm just trying to be nice. Like you told my little brother I need to learn some of his manners. Well, here you go." He said offering his arm like he was taking her to prom or something. She looked down at it and then at him.
"Really? First a car ride and then you're offering your arm?"
"Take it or leave it." She shrugged and took it. What are the chances that Damon Salvatore would do it again? "Though so." he mumbled. Rylie thought to herself, this guy really is cocky. She rolled her eyes.
The two made it to the red sports car and saw Stefan leaning on it. He was watching them approach.
"Bring her to the Boarding House. Caroline said she would pick her up when she's done." Damon said.
"I know the plan." the younger said. He opened the door for Rylie and she stepped in. Stefan went around to the other side of his car and hopped into the driver's seat. He started the car and pulled out slowly. He looked worried. Something was definitely up. But what was it? Why wasn't anyone saying anything?
"Stefan?" She asked. He looked over at her. "What's going on? I mean why did Caroline get pulled away with Ric and your brother?"
"She has to help them with something. It won't take too long."
Even though something was telling her that something was off she just replied, "I hope not. I'm hungry."
AN:: So I haven't been getting the response to this story like I have with my last one. Reviews really are what keep me motivated.
As most of you all know, I have been extremely busy the last few months. And it won't change anytime soon. But I have been working on this chapter for what feels like months. And in fact it has been weeks. The next chapter is already started. But if you want me to post it I need more than like 2 reviews a chapter. I want to hear your opinions. What do you want to know? What do you want to happen? This is the stuff that keeps my minds spinning. I already have future chapters slowly being written between work and being a mom. But like I said I'm not getting the responses that I have liked to have gotten.
So if you want me to load Chapter 6, leave a review. As a guest or as a user! PLEASE! I love the story, and what I have planned for it. And I want you as my minions to like the story as well.