The Beginning | Damon Salvatore #1

Chapter 14

"I'm sorry," Elena said, running her hands over her forehead. "I'm having a hard time understanding exactly what you're saying." Alex sat on the couch, watching the floor as Damon, Dean, Stefan, and Sam, along with Bonnie and Jeremy, all sat in the living room of the boarding house.

"She brought the lady back to life because a voice told her to, and based on what Gabriel said, she thinks it's God," Sam explained with his arms at his sides, hands in his pockets. His skin crawled every second each of the vampires moved, every part of his body itched to remove their heads from their bodies.

"Her name is Elizabeth Forbes," Elena said in a snarky tone. Alex ran her hand down her face. Sam's fists white-knuckled even more.

"Easy, Elena," Alex said, tired and run down from talking and talking and talking about what happened, reliving every second of it without a clue as to what it meant. Alex could faintly see the surrendering hands of Sam go up in front of his chest.

"So, what are we supposed to do with this information?" Bonnie spoke up. Alex got a sick feeling when she talked and she assumed it had something to do with Bonnie's witchcraft thing she had going on, according to Elena.

"I have no idea. I'm just as confused as all of you," Alex said, glancing around the room. Her eyes were tired and no one noticed but Damon.

"This is what Elias wanted from you this whole time?" Dean asked, confused and also a little angry. "What would a vampire possibly want from you?" Damon shot him a look, which he ignored. Alex sighed and adjusted herself in the chair again, unable to get comfortable.

"Gabriel said he wants to be human again, but before you say anything," she said, raising a finger to Dean who was standing up. "I don't know how I'm supposed to do that. I have no idea how it works and for the millionth freaking time, I am just as confused." Her impatience and frustration with the whole situation was getting the best of her and she knew it because she was lying to them; she mumbled an apology before massaging her temples, a headache forming beneath her fingertips. Dean sat back down and Damon stood up.

"I think we've had enough discussion for today," he said, making Alex look at him. She sighed in relief as he continued, looking at her. "You hungry?" She smiled.

"Starving," she said, getting up. Damon led the way to the door with Alex close behind. Dean caught her wrist as she passed him, making her wince a little.

"Dean," she hissed. He looked up at her with intensity.

"You sure you want to go with him alone?" He asked coldly, glancing at the vampire in the doorway, waiting on her. She scoffed and pulled her arm from his hand.

"Do you really have that much trouble trusting me or anyone for that matter?" She asked in a whisper. Sam pursed his lips, nodding to himself, but no one noticed. When Dean didn't say anything, she went on. "I'll be fine, Dean. Damon won't hurt me." He let out a sharp breath and tilted his head, giving up. She gave a curt nod and followed Damon out the door. The vampire shut the door behind her, shooting Dean an aggravated glare with a shake of his head.

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Alex fought the laugh in her chest as Damon scrunched up his nose at her plate. He'd gotten the same thing, but the stench was too much for him.

"Why do you eat if you nearly vomit just looking at it?" Alex asked, feeling the rumble of her laugh in her chest, but no sound escaped.

"Said every college female with an eating disorder," he said, giving a proud smirk at his own joke. Alex shook her head in a chuckle, shoving a fry into her mouth. People were watching them in the restaurant: The Grill. She denied the flushed skin on her neck.

"I do it to seem normal, if you must know," he said, sticking a fry in his mouth, unfazed by the rancid taste she knew was on his tongue. She pushed away the thought of that single word—tongue—especially Damon's, and ignored the flush on her neck still.

"You seem pretty normal to me even if you don't eat," she said, watching his eyes move across her face. Something in her gut hurt when whatever was in his eyes made her feel light. She knew she couldn't think about that. Not yet, but she knew exactly what she had to do now; it seemed to stupid to find the drive to do what she had to do in Damon's eyes, but it made sense and she couldn't keep denying what she felt for him.

When he didn't say anything, she began eating again, planning her escape while he watched her. A line formed between his brows.

"What is it?" He asked, forcing her to look at him with his eyes. She relaxed in her seat, trying to stay calm.

"Nothing," she said, faking a smile and popping another small fry in her mouth. He gave a forced smile, not believing anything she was putting on and she didn't blame him. She knew he didn't believe her. After she was finished, she smiled and pushed herself from her seat. Damon followed her eyes as they rose above him.

"I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be right back," she lied. He nodded, smiling a little as she walked away. Once she was in the bathroom, she tried to be as quiet as possible, only making noises that matched everything one did in the bathroom. She even sat on the toilet for a moment before ripping some toilet paper and rubbing it on her jeans before tossing it in the empty bowl, flushing it, and walking to the mirror. As she washed her hands with no soap, she stared at herself in the mirror. She was about to do the one thing that ensured Damon would never trust her again; she solidified the breaking of their friendship by turning off the water and wiped her hands and quietly opened the bathroom door only to dart to the exit at the back of the restaurant.

She panicked as soon as she was out of the building. The patch of woods directly in front of her was inviting, so she quickly ran to a small trail leading God knows where. If she could get far enough to evade Damon's super vampire ears, she would be able to be more methodical about where she was going. Until then, it was a race to nowhere but far away.