An Elemental Difference - FIRE - Book 2 (Stefan Salvatore)

Chapter 6 - I call it as I see it.

DONOVAN HOUSEHOLD

When Matt heard a knock at his door for once in his life, he prayed it wasn't Caroline, or Aella, and even Elena. He let out a sigh of relief when he opened the door, and Jeremy stood there, his hands in his pockets, with an uncertain look upon his face.

As their eyes met, Jeremy smiled tensely at him, "Hey, Matt."

Matt knew the tone, the tone of guilt, and he winced at the young teen, "You too?"

Before Jeremy could answer, Matt left the door open and retreated back into his home. Jeremy took that as a reluctant invitation and followed the footballer into the living room. As he entered the room, his eyes widened at the two duffle bags packed pretty full as Matt added more items.

"You're leaving."

It wasn't a question, but Matt stilled for a moment before he added another pair of sneakers to his bag, "I need to be away from here."

Jeremy took a seat, his eyes wide, "You don't have to go, Matt."

Matt snorted, his attention on his bags, "My mom is not here, my sister is dead, and my friends are liars... I can't stay."

Jeremy ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "We didn't lie to you to just keep you in the dark; it was to protect you-"

Matt angrily turned on Jeremy, "-and was keeping Vicki a secret too?"

Knowing exactly what Matt was feeling, Jeremy answered truthfully and tearfully, "Yes. I've been in the exact same spot you are now, only it was 10 feet away as I watched Vicki die. And as angry as I was then, I know now that Aella not telling me was to keep me safe." Jeremy let out a harsh laugh, "Sometimes... I wish I never knew and could be a regular teenager again."

Matt's anger seemed to simmer a little at Jeremy's honesty, "But your sister didn't die, Jer. If it was Elena or Aella, you'd be just as angry, just as betrayed as I am now."

"You're right," Jeremy agreed. "I would." He ignored the bags for a moment, "Have you spoken to anyone about this?"

"Well, I thought about going to the Sheriff," Matt told him but then sighed heavily. "But, I got the feeling she wasn't gonna believe anything I said, so I changed my mind."

Jeremy grimaced, "Not really the best person to speak to about this."

Matt looked up and breathed through the anger, "The Sheriff knows too."

"How do you think all the attacks are labeled as animal attacks," Jeremy nodded heavily. "She's part of this secret council group that hates anything supernatural. The mayor was a part of it before he was killed. I think Mrs. Lockwood has taken his place now. Logan Fell was a part of it until he grew a conscience."

Matt looked back to Jeremy, "And Ty?"

The desperation in Matt's voice was heartbreaking, and though Jeremy wished he could lie about this, now was the time for the truth. "He found out when your hand was trapped under the cart for Founder's Day, Aella used her magic to lift it, and he saw."

Matt fell down on his couch and held his head in his hands, "I'm all alone." Although it was said in a whisper, Jeremy heard and opened his mouth to deny such a statement when Matt continued. "This is too much. All of this is just too much. I don't want to know this." He jumped up and returned to packing his bag - more hastily this time.

"Matt-"

"No, Jer," Matt cut Jeremy off. "I'm not going to change my mind. There's no one in this town I can trust. I just need to take some time and figure out what to do."