The Daughter of Damon Salvatore
Chapter Twenty
By the time Damon and Jessica pulled up to the Miss Mystic event, the event was in full swing. Damon was hesitant to leave Jessica, but he wanted to seek Stefan out and make sure that he wasn't ripping apart Elena or Elena's competition.
Jessica sensed his hesitation and knew exactly the reason why.
"I'll be fine, go and do whatever it is that you really want to do" Jessica encouraged.
Damon took one last look at her and nodded.
"Keep yourself safe and call my cell if anything doesn't seem right, ok?" Damon instructed.
Jessica nodded and watched as Damon walked away.
Jessica sought out any familiar face that she could so that she was not stood alone whilst she felt this uneasy.
She soon spotted Jeremy and headed over to him.
He looked up as she approached him and, upon seeing her smile at him, he turned his back on her and walked off in the complete opposite direction.
Jessica halted, trying to trawl through her brain for anything she might've said or done to upset him now.
As everybody mingled for the dance, her eyes drifted over towards Tyler, who was talking and smiling with two other girls Jessica recognised from school.
Jessica suddenly found herself lost in thought. She pondered over Damon's words to her earlier and thought about what he could have meant.
One the one hand, she had wanted to have sex with Tyler. The first time she had slept with him, she had been numb and completely detached from the situation. Jessica knew that she had been allowing herself to be more open and confident with her body. She had decided that a new town where no one knew anything about her, was a great opportunity to try and live her life as a normal teenager should. However, she had slightly lapsed back into the world of drugs and alcohol, it seemed to fit the pattern that no strings attached sex followed.
Having sex with Tyler had been simple, she was grateful to the guy after all. She had wanted to prove to herself that she could have a normal sexual experience and Tyler had taken her in and given her a roof over her head when things had been difficult at the Salvatore's. She owed him. The best way to thank a guy was sex…wasn't it?
"Jessica Salvatore, I've heard so much about you" a voice sounded from Jessica's left.
Jessica turned her head at the sound of her name and found herself facing a girl who seemed to be the same age and height as her. The girl was wearing a beautiful black dress, and her dark curls were pinned back into a neat bun.
The girl chuckled at Jessica's obvious assessing of her.
"I'm Anna" the girl introduced.
"Oh, Anna? As in Jeremy's Anna?"
"The one and only" Anna smiled back.
"It's nice to finally meet you properly" Jessica said, trying to make conversation.
"You to. So, how are you linked to the Salvatore's? We both know that I have been around for a long time, and I honestly know nothing about you. You're not a…you know, but you are something, aren't you?" Anna asked.
Jessica bit her lip, she did not really know this girl and she certainly wasn't going to start spilling out her deepest secrets.
"I'm a relative of Zach Salvatore. I grew up in the UK and moved over here when my mum died" Jessica gave the same story she was giving everyone else.
Anna's eyes narrowed.
"But that's not everything" Anna stated.
"That's everything I'm going to tell you" Jessica bravely quipped back.
Anna chuckled.
"I like you; you have fire. Don't lose that" Anna smiled warmly.
"I don't intend to" Jessica replied.
The two girls relaxed around each other.
"So, any idea what's wrong with Jeremy today?" Jessica asked.
"Well, he's just found out about me so he might be trying to process. Give him some time, I'm sure it's all because of me" Anna explained.
Jessica's eyes widened.
Jeremy finally knew about vampires.
That couldn't lead to anything good.
Music finally started playing louder and the girls knew that it was time for the contestants to be introduced. Jessica and Anna headed to the foyer to watch the Miss Mystic potentials descending the staircase.
As Mrs Lockwood introduced each girl, Jessica noticed that there was no sign of Stefan. Elena was still competing…wasn't she?
Jessica's thoughts were answered a minute later when Mrs Lockwood read out Elena's name and Stefan's as her escort. Stefan was definitely nowhere to be found and Jessica cringed at the implications of that.
As Jessica started to wonder what Elena was going to do with no escort, Jessica watched as her father moved to the bottom of the staircase and met Elena, arm outstretched towards her, offering himself.
Jessica watched as Elena and Damon moved to the outside area and couldn't help admiring her father as he danced perfectly to the music. She begrudgingly admitted that the two danced well together.
Once the dance had ended, Jessica watched Damon like a hawk. She knew that his thoughts would be on finding Uncle Stefan and Jessica wanted to help. Jessica observed the Sheriff as she pulled Damon aside and whispered furiously with him.
Jessica did not like the reaction Damon had to the Sheriff's words, he looked worried.
She remained out of sight as she watched the Sheriff and Damon enter a bathroom. Jessica could just about hear the conversation about the blood found on the shattered remains of what was a mirror.
Damon and the Sheriff took off, searching other rooms in the house.
Jessica quickly headed back outside; she wondered if she could get Anna to help.
As she ran outside, she almost ran straight into Jeremy.
"Jeremy! I've been trying to get a moment with you all afternoon. Are you ok?" she asked as she tried to assess how he was really feeling about the vampire revelation.
"Not now Jessica, I really don't want to talk to you" he replied moodily as he tried to side-step her.
Jessica blocked him, she was really worried now as she had clearly done something wrong.
"What did I do wrong this time?" she asked him.
Jeremy glared at her.
"You've been lying to me. All of you. Elena, you, Anna, Damon, Stefan, and even Alaric. I read Elena's journal and I now know everything. What makes it worse was when I told you about my paper, you laughed at me and brushed it off…making me feel like I was insane. I just want all of you to leave me alone" Jeremy said through gritted teeth as he pushed past Jessica again.
"Jeremy, wait…let me explain" she shouted after him.
He kept walking and went to follow him.
Before she could take a step, a hand gripped her upper arm tightly. She gasped in response to the sudden pain from the pressure.
"Don't you think you've done enough? Leave my nephew alone, or I will end your bloodsucking life right now" John hissed into her ear as she winced at the pain in her upper arm.
Jessica did not have time to respond to his threat as he walked past her and headed straight for Jeremy.
Jessica rubbed her now slightly bruised arm and walked away from the crowd of teens who were watching the entire situation.
She walked over towards the edge of the woods in order to have a moment of privacy to collect herself before looking for Amber and Stefan once more.
As her senses went into overdrive, everything started to sound clearer.
She focused on these clear sounds until she heard a voice that sounded just like her uncle's.
Jessica hesitated as she headed in the direction that she thought she heard Stefan's voice. The sun was quickly going down now, and it was starting to get dark, of course Stefan would take the Amber girl into the forest which bordered the property.
As she stepped into the woods, she heard a shrill scream in the distance.
Jessica just knew it was the scream of the Amber girl who had not shown up when it was her time to dance.
Jessica ran through the trees without any hesitation, she knew she could help save the girl from her off the rail's uncle.
Suddenly, everything went quiet, and Jessica didn't dare to breathe.
Had Uncle Stefan killed the girl?
Jessica gulped and was about to take another step deeper into the forest when there was a sudden woosh behind her. Jessica turned to face the noise that she thought would be Damon but instead, her heart nearly stopped beating.
Jessica was face-to-face with her vamped out uncle. He had blood dripping down his chin and was absolutely lost to the bloodlust.
"Uncle Stefan?" Jessica whispered.
"Jessica" Stefan stated as he took a step towards her.
"What have you done with Amber?" Jessica asked.
Stefan chuckled manically and shook his head.
"She's behind you" Stefan stated darkly.
Falling for the trap, Jessica turned to look behind her.
Stefan took the advantage whilst Jessica was distracted and grabbed the teen by the shoulders as he sunk his teeth into her neck.
Jessica screamed out in pain as she tried to summon her magic to help her. She finally managed to summon something, and it was enough to make Stefan drop Jessica to the ground. She landed next to the unconscious body of the Amber girl, who also had bitemarks on her neck. She looked like she was bleeding just as badly as well.
"Amber?" Jessica said as she tried to shake the girl awake.
Jessica didn't have time to provide any more aid as she heard Stefan regaining control over Jessica's magical headache distraction.
Jessica stood up on her feet, feeling slightly lightheaded from blood loss as she did so, and prepared to defend herself and Amber against the monster who had taken over her uncle's body.
As Stefan went to attack Jessica again, he suddenly flopped to the floor in agony.
Jessica stared at him in confusion, she wasn't doing anything.
"Jessica!" she heard the voice of her father call as she looked up to see him sprinting towards her.
Jessica also noticed Bonnie stood on the edge of the woods, completely focused on Stefan.
Stefan was on his knees, screaming out in pain as Bonnie's focus remained unrelenting.
Damon approached Jessica and saw the bite mark on her neck as well as the blood spilling from it. Without hesitation, Damon bit into his wrist and went to offer his arm to Jessica. Jessica shook her head.
"Amber needs it more" she indicated to the unconscious girl on the floor.
Damon looked like he wanted to argue but knew that he'd be wasting time, he knelt to the ground and thankfully heard the sound of Amber's weak heartbeat. He forced his wrist into her mouth and breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the girl accept his blood.
Damon left Amber laying on the ground knowing that she would come round soon and that there would need to be some compulsion and a story put into place.
As Damon looked around, he noted his brother had now snapped out of his blood lust.
Stefan, who could now think more clearly, looked at the scene in regret. He noted Damon attending to Amber who was laying on the floor, Stefan remembered exactly what he had done to her tonight. His eyes then found Jessica's, who was trying to staunch the bleeding of his bite mark with her hand, Stefan saw that Jessica looked slightly afraid of him. His attention then turned towards Elena, who looked horrified and a little nervous. Then finally, his eyes found Bonnie who looked as if she was ready to give him another painful witch attack if he couldn't hold it together.
Stefan knew he couldn't stay here, seeing the devastation he had caused tonight and knowing that the one's he loved and cared for were afraid and disgusted by his actions made him make the decision to run off into the night before anyone could stop him.
After Stefan had gone, Damon went over to check on Jessica's wound.
"It's stopped bleeding already, you're healing" he whispered in wonder at how quickly she could heal because of his genes.
Jessica nodded and reached into her bag for some make-up remover wipes so that she could wipe away some of the dried blood.
"We need a cover story" Elena said determinedly from where she stood.
Jessica looked over at Bonnie who looked none too pleased that she'd had to intervene in yet another vampire problem.
"Thank you, Bonnie" Jessica said.
Bonnie looked over at Jessica and smiled tightly at her before turning to Damon.
"Get him under control, or I will take him down" Bonnie threatened.
Damon went to snap back at her but gulped when Bonnie just glared at him. Damon nodded in understanding.
Bonnie turned back to Jessica.
"Come by and see me tomorrow. From what I've seen tonight, you need more practice. I'm done here and I'm going home. I will let you guys figure out what lies to tell the authorities" Bonnie stated as she turned and walked away from the scene without even glancing at Elena to say goodbye.
Damon, Elena, Jessica, and the now conscious Amber, remained in silence as they watched Bonnie retreat back into the party.
"What happened?" Amber groaned from her seated position on the floor.
Damon quickly knelt down so that he was eyelevel with her.
"You went to get something from your car and an animal attacked you. Jessica found you and called me and Elena to help you. That is all you remember" Damon compelled as Amber nodded.
"Thank you for finding me and getting help Jessica, that animal was vicious" Amber replied as Damon helped her stand to her feet.
"Did you find her?" Liz shouted as she and her backup saw the small group.
Damon quickly removed his jacket and wrapped it firmly around Jessica, covering up her bloodstained dress and wound.
Jessica nodded in understanding.
Liz reached the four of them and the authorities immediately went to make sure that Amber was ok, Amber started telling them exactly what Damon had compelled her to say.
"Damon, how did you find her?" Liz asked with a hint of relief in her tone.
"I didn't. Jessica called me on my cell and told me that she had found Amber injured and that she needed help. Elena was with me, and we both came out here to find Amber and Jessica like this" Damon explained.
Elena nodded, agreeing with Damon's version of events.
"How did you find her Jessica?" Liz asked.
All eyes were on Jessica, she was the best of liars when she needed to be, and she knew it. She decided to bend the truth a bit.
"I went outside to get some fresh air after the competition, I was looking for Jeremy and his friend Anna. Instead, as I was looking for them, I heard someone screaming from this direction. I thought someone might have fallen or been injured and needed help, so I came to the edge of the trees over there, and that's when I could just about see Amber laying here on the ground. I rushed over to her and could see that she was bleeding, but she was conscious" Jessica explained.
"Why didn't you come and find me or an adult?" Liz asked.
"I didn't want to leave Amber as she was really scared, bleeding, and a little dizzy. I was worried that if I left her alone, she might make her injuries worse. I saw Damon and you talking before I came outside and knew that you two were together so, I called Damon from my mobile. That way I didn't need to leave Amber all alone" Jessica replied.
Liz nodded, accepting Jessica's warped version of events.
"Did you see what it was that hurt her?" Liz asked.
Jessica shook her head.
"When I got here, it was just Amber laying on the ground, and she was already injured. If something attacked her, it was long gone before I showed up" Jessica replied.
Liz nodded again and smiled reassuringly at Jessica.
Jessica sighed in relief, fortunately only Damon heard her, and he nudged her lightly with his elbow in warning.
"Well thank you Jessica, we will take care of Amber from here. Damon, why don't you get Jessica home? She seems a little pale to me" Liz suggested.
Damon nodded.
"Will do Liz. If you need me for anything, you know where to find me. Elena, do you want to ride with us? I can give you a lift home" Damon asked.
Elena nodded.
"Yes please" she whispered.
Liz nodded, happy that the minors were going to be taken care of by Damon.
"Thank you, Damon. Enjoy the rest of your evening kids. Get some rest" Liz said her goodbyes as she headed quickly back over to Amber for further questioning.
"Let's get out of here" Damon said as he guided the two teen girls towards his car.
.
.
.
Elena had refused to go home and said that she wanted to go back to the boarding house with Damon and Jessica.
Once at the boarding house, Damon sat the two shaken girls down on the couch and poured a very small amount of whiskey for them both for the shock.
Elena didn't touch her glass, but Jessica took hers and downed the drink in one gulp, much to Damon's displeasure.
"Did Stefan give you that bruise?" Damon questioned as he noticed the bruising on Jessica's arm.
Jessica shook her head.
Damon just stared at her, expecting a response.
Jessica took hold of Elena's glass of whiskey and drained that as well, Damon glared at her.
"It was John" Jessica whispered under her breath so that Elena couldn't hear her.
Damon fumed where he sat, imaging the pleasure he'd take in ripping John apart.
"Is he here?" Elena suddenly asked, having tuned in to the conversation when Damon mentioned Stefan's name.
Damon nodded and sighed.
"Why don't the two of you go up to Jessica's room and relax whilst I go and speak to Stefan?" Damon suggested.
The two girls nodded and made their way up to Jessica's room.
In Jessica's room, Elena looked around at the untidy sheets and hesitantly took a seat on the vanity chair not really knowing what to do with herself.
Jessica, feeling just as awkward perched on the end of her bed.
"We've never really talked, have we?" Elena finally said.
Jessica shook her head.
"You know, I was really jealous of you when you arrived in town. You were all Stefan and even Damon could talk about for a while and I admit, I hated how much attention they both gave you" Elena confessed.
Jessica looked stunned; she hadn't even noticed.
Elena took a deep breath.
"Then, a few weeks ago, Stefan and I argued over you. I was being a bitch and demanding him to tell me what made you so important…petty of me…I know! It was then that Stefan told me that you had recently lost your mother and that he and Damon were the only family you had. I immediately felt guilty for being so cold towards you, you're just a kid who's lost her mom too young, and you need family around you to fall back on. I would know, and I get it now" Elena said.
"Look Elena, I'm going to be honest, I never noticed that you had a problem with me. In the UK, I was surrounded by people who hated me, and you learn to block it out and keep your emotions to yourself. I very quickly learned not to care what other people thought of me, I had myself and my sick mum to worry about and it really puts things into perspective. So, like me or hate me, I'm a Salvatore and I'm not going anywhere. If anything, tolerate me for Stefan's and Damon's sake" Jessica replied.
Elena nodded.
"So, how come you look so much like Damon. When I first saw you, I was convinced that you were his twin sister or something" Elena smiled.
"Elena Gilbert, are you saying that I look like I'm a hundred and seventy years old! How rude!" Jessica mocked gasped.
Elena froze for a second before noticing Jessica's jesting smile. Elena relaxed and laughed.
"Haha, I thought I'd pissed you off then. I just meant that you look so much like Damon that it's uncanny" Elena said.
Jessica nodded; she understood what Elena meant.
"It's all about genetics. I come from the Salvatore bloodline, of course there are going to be similarities. Just like you look like that Katherine woman…and she's super ancient" Jessica said.
Elena thought about it and nodded, her similarities to Katherine were much more than Damon's and Jessica's.
Jessica was not going to reveal anything more about her lineage to Elena. Uncle Stefan hadn't and Jessica assumed that he hadn't for a reason…most likely her own protection. She refused to drop that bombshell.
"Hey, do you want to shower and get out of that dress? I have some spare clothes that you can have so that you're more comfortable" Jessica suggested, trying to make Elena feel welcome.
"Actually, that would be appreciated" Elena agreed suddenly feeling exhausted.
Jessica nodded and quickly grabbed a fresh towel and some clothes that Elena would be comfy in. Jessica handed them to Elena and then showed her into the bathroom.
Elena smiled appreciatively as she closed the bathroom door and started to shower.
Jessica took a look around her tornado of a bedroom. She knew she needed to change the bedsheets from earlier and was thankful that Elena had chosen to sit down at the vanity rather than the soiled bedsheets.
As she grabbed some fresh bedsheets, Damon came in.
"How's Stefan?" Jessica immediately asked as she continued stripping the bed.
Damon assessed the scene noting Elena showering, Jessica changing her bedsheets for obvious reasons, and his little brother pacing back and forth in his bedroom.
Damon shook his head.
"He is full of remorse and regret but has no control. He wants to be sorry but is about to snap again at any second" Damon explained.
Jessica nodded.
"What are we going to do?" Jessica asked.
"He needs to be weakened and starved…it's the only thing I think would work" Damon whispered into her ear.
Jessica nodded in agreement.
Damon stood in disapproving thought as he watched Jessica make her bed again.
"Don't worry, I'm washing the sheets" Jessica quipped as she noticed Damon watching her.
"Did I say anything?" Damon asked.
"You didn't have to" Jessica retorted.
Damon was about to reply when a freshly showered and dressed Elena emerged from the bathroom.
"How's Stefan?" she asked.
Damon gave the same reply he had given Jessica.
Elena frowned, not wanting to accept the situation.
"Look, are you planning on staying the night? If so, you cannot stay in Stefan's room…take one of the empty guest rooms" Damon said as he left the room to go and nurse a bottle of bourbon from downstairs.
Once Damon was gone, the two girls looked at each other.
"I don't really want to sleep on my own here…I love Stefan but what if he…in the night…" Elena trailed off.
Jessica, feeling pity towards the girl, made a suggestion.
"Why don't you sleep in here with me? My bed is big enough for the both of us, Damon is opposite us and I have witchy ability to protect us" Jessica offered.
Elena thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Would that be ok? I'd owe you big time" Elena replied.
Jessica shrugged.
"It's no problem" Jessica said.
The girls were interrupted from their conversation by a sudden noise coming from the doorway of Jessica's bedroom.
The girls watched nervously as Stefan stood awkwardly staring at them.
"Hi Stefan, how are you feeling?" Jessica asked, trying to keep things calm.
Stefan looked at her in despair.
"Jessica, I am so sorry…I don't know what to do. I don't want you to be afraid of me" he said as tears sprung to his eyes.
Jessica took a deep breath and bravely went over to her uncle and hugged him.
"It's ok, you're going to be ok" she cooed reassuringly.
He sniffled and nodded as he took a step away from her.
His eyes then found Elena's, she was stood on the other side of the room and looked a little frightened.
Stefan stepped past Jessica and headed for Elena.
"Elena, what must you think of me? I'm bad, I'm so bad for you to be around…but I can't stop myself and I'm so scared of what would happen if I hurt you…" he sobbed as he collapsed into Elena's arms.
He buried his head into her shoulder, and she hugged him tightly.
"It's ok Stefan…everything will be ok" Elena whispered to him.
Stefan suddenly slammed Elena painfully against one of the walls, his veins protruding under his eyes, and his fangs extending.
"How can you say that? After everything I've done, how can you look at me and not see the monster I am? I don't know what to do how wil-…" Stefan was cut off from his aggressive rant as pain and heat flashed through his side.
He groaned as he slumped to the ground, clinging to Elena's hips and legs as he did. Elena looked shocked at Stefan's sudden pain.
Damon, who had been at Jessica's door the second Stefan had started talking to the girls, looked equally shocked and impressed.
Jessica, who held the vervain dart she had stolen from Alaric when they'd all gone vampire hunting, looked sadly at her broken uncle.
Damon went over to the girls and gently took the dart from Jessica's hand. He stared at her as if waiting for an explanation.
Jessica shrugged.
"I weakened him, it's up to you to do what needs to be done from here on out" Jessica stated.
Still surprised, Damon just nodded and picked up his little brother, throwing him over his shoulder. Damon walked out of the room, the girls trailing behind, and lead the way down to the basement.
Damon carefully lay Stefan down on the cot bed in the cell, and locked he iron door shut behind him.
Damon, Jessica, and Elena watched from the other side of the cell door as Stefan slept soundly in the caged room.
The three of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"The two of you should go and get some sleep, I'll take it from here" Damon stated.
The girls nodded in agreement and bid Damon goodnight before heading to Jessica's room and climbing into bed.