TRUST, the vampire diaries

n i n e

Avery was walking down the hall with her dad, briefly explaining how this morning's events had transpired. As they walked past the parlour, Zach paused, noticing Damon stretched out on one of the sofas with a book in his hand.

"I didn't know you were here," Zach stated. Avery glanced up at him and had half a mind to just pull him right out of the house with her that moment. Sure, Damon seemed relaxed, sprawled on the gaudy red patterned sofa like he owned the place. Which, actually, he did. Either way, Damon was volatile at best and there was no guarantee he wouldn't flip on them if they did or said the wrong thing.

"Just going through Stefan's homework. Boy, this country sure has dumbed down in the last hundred years. Why he wants to go to high school is beyond me. I mean, in the seventies, he went Ivy League. Harvard, I understood. Actually, no. I didn't get that either." Damon began, he stared dramatically at the ceiling as if contemplating the matter before glancing back at the human Salvatores.

Zach glanced around nervously and linked his fingers with his daughters, almost as if checking he was still next to her. Damon's eyes watched the movement before speaking again, "Go ahead, purge. Get it out. What's on your mind?"

Avery subtly shook her head at him, but Zach took a awkward breath before asking anyway, "Why are you here, Damon?"

Damon laid the book down on his lap and paused, before deciding to go with, "To spend time with you, Zach."

He shut the book, which now rested forgotten in his lap. "And Avery, of course. Family's important." His tone was mocking, they all knew it. It was something to be expected from Damon, which was why Avery was so surprised Zach decided to react to it.

"I know you," Zach said firmly whilst nodding. "You always have a motive."

Damon didn't seem fazed, stretching back so his head rested on the arm of the sofa. Avery grabbed her father's arm then, to her it seemed like Damon was a predator lining up to attack. The calm before the storm. She wasn't sure Zach got the message she was trying to give him, as he continued, "So tell me, what is it this time?"

In an instant, Damon was in front of them. He tossed Avery aside and she let out a groan when her back hit the wall of the entrance way. She quickly refocused, scrambling up to her feet as Damon held her father by the throat.

"You are in no position to question me."

Damon's tone was firm and quite frankly, terrifying. The house was silent other than Zach's desperate gasps for breath as Damon dug his thumb into Zach's windpipe. Avery was moving towards them then, but she knew better than to intervene physically. Instead, she squeaked out an apologetic, "He didn't mean to upset you!'

Damon smirked at her and her feeble attempt to ease him.

"This is not upset, Avery."

She watched as his hand seemed to tighten even more around her father's throat and pure blind panic was starting to sweep over her.

Appearing from nowhere, Stefan was there, "What's going on?"

As Damon turned to face Stefan, he dropped Zach carelessly to the floor and Avery ran to his side. She wasn't sure what to do so just tried to catch his eye and wordlessly ask if he was okay.

"Having a family moment, Stefan. Spending some quality time."

Damon bent down and Avery was sure he was going to finish the job, instead, Damon patted Zach on the shoulder before leaving the room the way the two youngest Salvatores had entered in. Stefan watched him go.

"Hey, are you okay?" Stefan reached a hand out to a stumbling Zach, who blindly pushed it away.

"No! I'm not." Zach snapped, and Avery's eyes widened a little. She hadn't seen her father angry in so long, but maybe that was an expected reaction after being choked in your own living room by your vampire ancestor. "And neither are you. How many more people have to die before you see that?"

"I see it. All right, Zach, I see it." Stefan sighed, seemingly deflated.

"Then why aren't you doing anything about it?" Zach continued, tone still angry as he fought to catch his breath.

"I can't, Zach." Stefan snapped suddenly, before his tone softened. "I can't."

"It would take human blood. It's the only way that I could stop him, and I can't do that."

The two Salvatore men eyed each other for a moment and Avery took the opportunity to help her father up from the floor. They were all looking round nervously as if Damon would pop out at any moment and slaughter them all for the fun of it.

"Vervain," Zach whispered, his tone low. "Could weaken him if he ingested it." Stefan began to nod but stopped and looked dejected again. Zach didn't appear fazed as he continued, "It would help get you the upper hand."

"Vervain hasn't grown here since 1865. Damon saw to that. The little I had, I gave to Elena." Stefan stated, his tone back to being dejected.

Zach looked around and made eye contact with his daughter. Her large brown eyes stared back at him hopelessly. Zach took a breath before turning back to Stefan, eyeing his face as if trying to tell if he could be trusted.

Stefan clearly noticed the look, "What?"

Zach motioned with his head, pulling Avery along with him. Stefan paused as he watched them go, before following after them. Opening the heavy wooden door down to the cellar, Stefan and Avery followed Zach down the set of stairs that looped around the corner. They were steep, so Avery grasped the handrail as she followed them down.

Arriving at another door, Zach opened one of the cellars to reveal the human Salvatore's secret.

"You've been growing it."

Stefan turned to stare at them incredulously.

"It's just something that's been passed down through the generations." Zach began.

Stefan looked at Avery, trying to gauge her reaction to see whether she had known about this or not.

She met his gaze with a half smile as she tried to joke, "Blood only runs so deep when you're related to vampires."

"Damon would kill us if he knew that I had it." Zach said, his arm wrapping protectively around Avery's shoulders.

"But you're telling me... Why?" Stefan looked at them both, eyes darting between them trying to catch their gaze.

"Because I trust you." Avery stated, connecting her gaze with his. Zach squeezed her shoulder as he continued,

"And you're gonna need it if you want to get rid of him."

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sorry for such a long wait for an update!