Chapter Ten
The following morning, Jessica woke and got ready for school as she had the previous day. As she went downstairs, she noticed Stefan pacing in the living room.
"Morning Stefan, what's wrong?" Jessica asked, noticing that his body was coiled with tension.
"Damon. I want to kill him" Stefan hissed.
"What's new?" Jessica shrugged, Stefan and Damon were always pissed off at each other.
"He's kidnapped Elena and driven her away somewhere" Stefan muttered.
Jessica's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Well how did that happen? You and Elena sounded pretty happy last night" Jessica stated.
Stefan's face whipped round to look at her before he grimaced.
"You, um…heard that?" Stefan asked awkwardly.
"Sure did! But what went so drastically wrong that she ended up in the hands of Damon?" Jessica asked.
Stefan sighed.
"She saw a picture in my room of a girl that Damon and I used to…date" Stefan admitted.
"Yeah, keeping pictures of ex-girlfriends around whilst you are shagging your current girlfriend is not the cleverest thing to do. Also, dating the same girl that your brother dates is never a good idea" Jessica replied.
Stefan just rolled his eyes.
"The picture is from 1864, when Damon and I were still human" Stefan said.
"Well, that changes things slightly. Surely Elena isn't the type of girl who would care about a girl you dated like 150 years ago?" Jessica asked, confused.
"The woman was called Katherine and she wasn't just 'a girl', she was a vampire. The vampire who turned both Damon and I" Stefan confessed.
"Wow! That's crazy to think about. But again, surely Elena wouldn't be upset over it…would she?" Jessica asked, processing the information.
Stefan sighed again and held out a small, white, square piece of paper towards Jessica.
Jessica looked at it curiously.
"This is Katherine in 1864" Stefan said.
Jessica took the piece of paper from Stefan's hand and looked at the picture.
"Well, fuck me!" Jessica exclaimed, eyes widening.
She looked at Stefan in shock not knowing what to say.
"Well, what on earth does this mean?" Jessica gasped.
Stefan shook his head.
"I have no idea. All I know is that Elena is definitely not Katherine, and that is all I could ever hope for" Stefan said.
"Well, that's not what Elena is going to think" Jessica said, stating the obvious.
Stefan looked at Jessica, eyebrows drawn in confusion.
"Oh honestly! You may be a vampire but, are you still that much of a guy? You may be 160 years old, but you are still pretty stupid" Jessica exclaimed.
"What are you talking about? I'm aware that Elena must be freaking out about how similar they both look but she should have at least let me explain…" Stefan said, hesitating slightly at the outraged look on his niece's face.
"She's not just freaking out about the fact that another woman looks exactly like her, Stefan" Jessica said.
"What do you mean?" Stefan asked.
"From the perspective of a teenage girl, here is what I would think if I were in Elena's position…" Jessica started to explain.
Stefan nodded, waiting patiently for her to continue.
"…I meet a guy, he is amazing and wonderful and is this indestructible, supernatural, beautiful, person. I fall in love, knowing that there is a lot I still need to learn about him. He has a history with another woman who dated both the guy and his brother – and evidently there are still issues there. I end up having a romantic evening with the guy, we snog…and more. Then, in post-sex bliss, I happen to find a picture of the ex-girlfriend. Who, by the way, does not look 'similar' to me but is identical to me. The first thing I'm going to do, is get the hell out of there" Jessica explained.
"But why?" Stefan asked.
"Don't you see Stefan? Elena and Katherine are identical. I guarantee that Elena thinks that you are trying to re-live your relationship with Katherine through Elena. Elena is going to be asking herself 'who am I to him?', 'does kissing me make it easier for him to pretend he is with Katherine again?', 'when I give my body to him, who's body is he mentally taking?' Do you get it?" Jessica asked.
Stefan gulped.
"I think so. Elena might be thinking that I pretend she's Katherine because they look the same and that makes her question which woman I am really with when we are together" Stefan replied.
"Exactly!" Jessica said.
"Oh god! I really messed it up, didn't I?" he asked rhetorically.
Jessica nodded.
"Yes, you did. You should have just been honest from the beginning when you told her you were a vampire. She definitely shouldn't have found it out on her own to the point where she is left questioning everything that she's had with you so far" Jessica said.
Stefan let out a deep sigh.
"Ok, I messed up. However, it still doesn't change the fact that she is currently who knows where with Damon. She left without her vervain necklace, and I have no idea how far Damon will push her before he compels her. I just don't trust him when it comes to her" Stefan said.
"I understand Stefan. However, despite the evil that is Damon, I don't think he would actually hurt her" Jessica said.
"I know, I'm just worried she's hurt already. After she fled from here last night, she apparently got into a wreck and totalled her car. The car was found mangled at the side of the road this morning, Jenna called me panicking and begging that I knew where Elena was" Stefan said.
"She crashed her car?! If she's with Damon, he's not going to let her die. I say, let her spend some time away from here and everything. Damon will get her mind off it all, she may even have enough space to think clearly about the situation. Then, when she comes back, she will be able to approach you and ask exactly what she wants to know. You'd better give it" Jessica said.
Stefan nodded.
"You're right. I just want to know where she is, that's all. Maybe I could ask Bonnie to do a locator spell. Come on, or you're going to be late for school" Stefan said as he and Jessica headed for his car.
At school, Jessica made her way towards her first class whilst Stefan went looking for Bonnie.
Jessica's second day went much like the previous day, she hung out with Jeremy alone at lunch as there was no Elena – or Bonnie for that matter – to talk with. She even joked with Jeremy when he stated that he was going to the library after school to work on the history paper that Mr Saltzman had assigned him as a clean slate.
When the end of school finally came, she made her way out of the building and found a nervous looking Stefan waiting for her.
"What's wrong now Stefan?" Jessica asked him.
"Bonnie's been missing all day" Stefan said.
"What did you do?" Jessica accused, remembering that Stefan had gone to speak to Bonnie earlier that day.
"She couldn't perform the locator spell and was convinced that something was wrong with her. She took off in a panic" Stefan admitted.
Jessica stared at him.
"Well, what are we going to do?" Jessica asked him.
"We are not going to do anything. You are going to spend the afternoon with Sheila, Bonnie's grams whilst I am going to go and search everywhere I can think of" Stefan said as he ushered Jessica into his car and began driving in the direction of Sheila's house.
.
.
.
Once at Sheila's house, Jessica stepped out of the car. Sheila was stood on the porch, waiting for Jessica to arrive.
Jessica turned back to Stefan.
"Start with that place in the woods where she destroyed the crystal. There might be a clue there" Jessica said.
Stefan nodded.
"That's exactly what I was thinking" Stefan said.
Jessica smiled slightly.
"Be good for Sheila, she's here to help you" Stefan said as he started driving away.
Jessica turned back to Sheila.
"Well, dear. Look at you. Let's see if we can get that magic under control" Sheila said as she motioned for Jessica to enter the house.
Jessica thanked Sheila and introduced herself properly to the older woman. The woman smiled and sat Jessica down at the table as she pulled out numerous ancient looking books.
Jessica just stared at them.
"Witching 101; the origins of witchcraft" Sheila announced.
Jessica groaned.
Sheila chuckled lightly.
"Well how do you expect to learn to control your magic if you don't even understand where it comes from in the first place" Sheila stated.
'True' Jessica thought.
From that point, Jessica paid great attention to every word that fell from Sheila's lips.
.
.
.
Hours later, Jessica and Sheila heard a car pull up outside. Sheila looked out of the window and saw Bonnie and Stefan approaching the house. Sheila ran to the door and flung it open.
Sheila hugged her granddaughter tightly whilst she thanked Stefan for returning Bonnie home safely.
Stefan nodded and told Jessica it was time to go home.
Jessica thanked Sheila and said that she would return the following day.
Stefan and Jessica headed home.
Once home, Stefan waited impatiently for Elena and Damon to arrive home. He had received a text saying that they were nearly home.
Stefan's pacing was making Jessica anxious until she couldn't take it anymore.
"Stefan, you are doing my head in. Why don't you go and relax in your room, I will let Elena know you're up there when she arrives" Jessica suggested.
Stefan thought for a moment then nodded in agreement. He could zone out by writing in his journal to pass the time. He headed upstairs.
Jessica let out a sigh of relief and pulled out some of her own homework to do whilst she waited.
Jessica had just completed her chemistry homework when Damon and Elena walked through the door.
Jessica smiled at Elena. Elena returned the smile with a small one of her own.
"Is he here?" Elena asked.
"In his bedroom" Jessica clarified.
Elena thanked Jessica and headed upstairs to find Stefan.
Jessica was left alone with Damon.
"How was your day?" Damon asked her.
Jessica shrugged.
"It was ok" she stated.
"How was yours?" she asked.
Damon shrugged back.
"Enlightening…" he replied cryptically.
Jessica just nodded and tried to look busy doing her homework as Damon turned his back to her and made his way to his bourbon and poured himself a drink.
"Why don't you follow me into the study?" he said, back still turned.
His question clearly left no room for argument as he headed out of the living room and entered the study.
Jessica sighed and got up to follow him, she had dodged the inevitable long enough.
Damon had already seated himself in the large desk chair and was indicating for Jessica to take a seat in the other chair on the opposite of the desk facing Damon.
Damon watched as Jessica took a seat. He calmly took a sip of whiskey and placed his glass down on the desk. He then opened the desk drawer and pulled out the file he had read through the previous day.
Jessica found the edge of the desk in front of her VERY interesting.
"Jessica, look at me" Damon stated.
Jessica looked up hesitantly.
"I want you to tell me your side of this" he murmured encouragingly.
Jessica sighed; she really didn't think that she would have to talk about any of this ever again.
Damon waited patiently for her to speak.
"I met Robbie when I was 13. He was the older brother of one of my friends at secondary school. In the UK, you start secondary school at age 11 and you are there until you are 16 or 18 – depending on where you choose to go with your education. Robbie went to the same school as me but was in his penultimate year whereas I had just started my third year there" Jessica started to explain.
Damon nodded, listening intently.
"Whenever I went to my friend's house, he would also be there with his own friends. Our friend groups mixed and there were always house parties, and we would all hang out together. At first, he was nothing more than my friend's brother. That changed when he asked me out – we started to date. We kept it secret; he was 16, I was 13, and I was scared of what my friend would think or say if she found out that I was dating her brother" Jessica continued.
Jessica looked down again, hating the memories that were already building up in her mind again.
"We dated for a while, and eventually I started hanging around his friend's more than I did my own. Robbie had a best friend called Sam; those boys went everywhere together. One night, I'm at home alone as mum had been gone for a couple of weeks…" she trailed off as she thought about her mother.
"…Robbie texted me, asking if I wanted to go out to a party that night. As normal, I agreed. I was always the partygoer type, and this occasion was no different. About an hour later, Robbie and Sam came by my house, and we walked to the party together…" she took a deep breath, the next part of the story changed her life.
"The boys spent the entire night drinking themselves stupid and took various combinations of drugs. I will admit that I'd had some alcohol and smoked as well but, I was becoming really concerned about how over the top the boys were going. I decided that I would be the 'sober(ish)' one who would be able to keep an eye on them and make sure they didn't do anything stupid or get themselves into trouble…" Jessica paused.
Damon took a moment to assess the young girl in front of him, he really wanted to know how this tied in with the disturbing reports he had read in her file.
"…As the night went on, the boys really wanted me to join in on the fun and I was reluctant. Robbie could tell that I wasn't in the massive party mood that I normally would be, and he very kindly sat with me for a while so that I didn't feel left out. We found something to eat and had a couple of drinks together. Then, I felt really dizzy and I blacked out..." Jessica whispered.
Damon was now listening intently to the young girl's words, he did not like the sound of where this was heading.
"…when I came round, I realised that I had been moved to a bedroom – and stripped naked. Robbie told me that he'd resorted to putting something in my drink, just to get me naked, as I had been reluctant to sleep with him up to that point. I was really dizzy and felt really out of it and was trying desperately to leave. Robbie grabbed me and threw me back on the bed, he then climbed on top of me, pinned me down, and started having sex with me – whilst Sam occasionally joined but mainly filmed it over Robbie's shoulder. I found out later, it had been a fantasy of theirs for years to film an amateur threesome and sell it for lots of money on the dark web" Jessica paused as she noticed Damon's expression.
He was furious, his mind was firing at warp speed, and he could feel his fangs start to lengthen and his veins starting to blacken at the thought of ripping the two boys' throats out.
Jessica stared; she didn't realise she had started shaking whilst recanting the past.
Damon noticed that Jessica had stopped talking and focused back on her. In a completely unorthodox attempt at comfort, he reached out and took Jessica's shaking hands in his own sturdy ones.
"Don't stop there Jessica, keep talking about it sweetie…don't be scared to talk to me because I am the last person who can judge you" Damon encouraged gently, none of this was in the file.
"The whole time it was happening, I spaced out and tried to be anywhere else but in that room. After it was all over, they saw how much blood there was and how much pain I was in, and I think that freaked them out and brought them back to reality. I was hysterically crying and in agony, and they then decided to threaten me to not say anything, or they would publicise the video and put it all over the general internet. They made me watch the video and it clearly showed my entire face and body, drugged up and spaced out of my mind. All you could see of Robbie and Sam was a tiny bit of shoulder, arm, and leg here and there. Sam was a student in computer engineering and could hack and decode systems, adding an anonymous video and hiding its encryption was easy work for him. Sam was also a cybercriminal and people paid him to hack into systems illegally. I knew that if the video had got out there, it would have looked like I made a sex-tape…my future would be done" Jessica admitted.
Damon shook his head in disagreement.
"You should've gone straight to the police" Damon said.
Jessica nodded.
"I know, I wanted to. But…" she hesitated.
"But what?" Damon tried not to shout in indignance on her behalf.
"Mum hadn't been home for weeks and I didn't know where she had gone or when she intended to come back. If I'd gone to the police, the first thing they would have asked is where my parents were and why a 13-year-old had been left to get into that situation in the first place. I was scared of what that would mean for me and mum, especially as I knew that it was my fault mum was having to go to extreme lengths to know more about my heritage and what a problem my magic could be in the future" Jessica explained.
Damon went to argue further but decided against it for now.
"So, what did you do instead?" Damon asked.
Jessica shrugged.
"I kept my mouth shut. Robbie and Sam left first, I was on autopilot and didn't know what else to do but get dressed and leave myself. As I went downstairs, the others at the party noticed me walking out of the same room that Robbie and Sam had just gone out of, and they assumed that the three of us had some kind of kinky hook-up. I didn't take much notice of the gossip around me; my goal was getting out the front door. I got out and made my way home, took a much-needed shower, and then tried to sleep whilst forgetting what had happened" Jessica shrugged like that was a normal response to a situation like that.
Damon just stared at her in astonishment.
"Just like that?" he asked in shock.
"Just like that" Jessica deadpanned.
The two sat in silence for a moment.
Damon wanted to ask her a really personal question and wasn't sure if it would upset her further.
Jessica could see that he wanted to say something and waited patiently for Damon to speak.
"Was that…your first time?" Damon coughed awkwardly, voice almost a whisper.
Jessica looked down once more and nodded.
Damon clenched his jaw in anger and his hands gripped the wood of the desk so hard that he left dents in it.
Jessica continued.
"Then, the blackmail started. I would be at school and one of them would approach me and demand various 'services' or they would leak the video. I was so scared, and I didn't know what to do for the better, so I just did what they asked hoping they would eventually get bored and leave me alone. We eventually got caught by a teacher, I was on my knees and the teacher who caught us said he'd keep quiet about it if I shared my 'skills' with him in return for better grades. I refused. So, the teacher failed me, and told the Headteacher about my 'skills', I got into so much trouble for the position I had been caught in with Robbie. Robbie's father was on the board of governors for the school and donated a large sum of money for extra-curricular school activities and free school meals for students. Robbie got a detention, I got suspended for eight weeks. I had to forge mum's signature on the acknowledgement slips of my suspension as she wasn't around" Jessica informed him.
Damon gulped; he was suddenly really regretting the day he walked away from Jo.
"When I was allowed back to school, vicious rumours had spread. I was a whore, a slut, a slag, and I would get boys, and even some teachers, making suggestive comments towards me. I've slept with the entire male population of that school apparently, students and staff. Anyway, Robbie's sister was disgusted that I had ever even been involved with her brother and she hated me for it. Our mutual friends followed her lead, and they would purposefully start shit with me inside and outside of school. I was also blamed for being the reason that Robbie and his family couldn't have their annual skiing holiday that year due to his father having to fork out to save Robbie's arse and the family's reputation" Jessica went on.
"After that, I stopped caring about anything. I didn't have any friends left at school. The only friends that I did have were outside of school and they were all into drugs and involved in criminal activity. I officially had a reputation and, had I told someone about the tape…would anyone have even believed my version of events? I knew well enough that it would have been my word against his and, what proof or support did I have left?" Jessica said shakily.
"I started taking drugs when I realised that they actually helped me to feel nothing at all – it was euphoric, a relief, and made life so much easier. I would pull all-nighter's, drinking and taking drugs, sleeping around, and then turn up to school in the morning having nothing better to do. Some teachers started to notice, and those teachers did seem like they genuinely wanted to help me but, because I would ditch school and try to disappear off the face of the earth, the support was never consistent" Jessica said.
"My friends outside of school took matters into their own hands and nearly had Sam killed, the murder attempt caused them flee town and so I lost the only friends I had left, and I lost my access to drugs. Instead of basking in numbness, I would feel rage and despair instead due to withdrawal. My thoughts got darker and more dangerous as time went on and there was no one to stop me from acting on those darker thoughts. A short while later, whilst at school, I passed my old group of friends, and they were making flippant and snide remarks about me as usual. I finally snapped. I started attacking them – hitting, punching, and grabbing at whatever I could to ensure pain and damage. I didn't care, I wanted them to suffer and bleed, I was so restless – I can't even describe it. The deputy headmaster came to break the fight up and he happened to grab me by the shoulders. The second I felt his hands on my shoulders, it triggered flashbacks of that night and I panicked. Without hesitation, I swung my hand around and punched him in the face…extremely hard. I felt his nose break instantly under my fist and blood splattered everywhere. I was expelled on the spot and charged for four weeks as a young offender for the violent offence, no questions asked" Jessica finished, refusing to acknowledge that tears were actually falling, she hated showing weakness.
"Then mum got sick…and nothing mattered anymore" Jessica choked out, trying not to scream in anguish.
Having never spoken of the events out loud before, Jessica felt like a massive weight had been removed from her shoulders. That weight included the lifting of an emotional barrier which had been firmly fixed in place since the day everything had started to go wrong.
Damon watched the troubled teen crumble to pieces in front of his eyes. He had been angry with her earlier when he had first read the file and found that she had spent some time in a youth prison for violent assault of a superior. He had been more than ready to just tear shreds off of her for her behaviour. However, he was now glad that he had listened to his gut instinct and spoken to her first. Of course, her story didn't excuse her of everything, but it did give Damon a starting point. She had been numb and uncaring of everything around her for the last couple of years. How on earth could he expect her to respect and hold regard for others when she didn't respect or hold an ounce of regard for herself and her own wellbeing?
Jessica's sobs brought him out of his thoughts as his attention focused back on his daughter.
'Time to start earning that forgiveness' he thought to himself.
He stood and went over to the sobbing girl. In an uncharacteristic move, he picked her up from the chair. He cradled her far too thin frame in his arms and moved towards the couch in the library next door. He sat down with her on his lap and rocked her in what he hoped was a gentle and comforting gesture – like he used to when Stefan was a baby.
He knew deep down that she was not a bad person, he only hoped in time that she would see that to.
Meanwhile Stefan, having heard Jessica's sobs, had come down to investigate. Upon seeing her and Damon, he backed noiselessly out of the room in disbelief at the humanity his brother was showing in that moment.
Damon stroked Jessica's hair lightly and made hushing sounds as he hugged her, ignoring the snot and saliva that was making its way onto one of his favourite shirts. Clearly, his comfort was enough. He eventually heard her sobs subside and she finally fell into an uneasy sleep in her father's arms.