la casa di Salvatore | 02 | c. forbes

[ 2 ]

Chapter Two
May 25th, 2009
05/25/09

Athena pulls into the driveway of the Salvatore Manor, mentally preparing herself for being back in this godforsaken place. She turns off the car once she's parked and steps out, the rain having turned into a mist during the ride from Caroline's to Zach's place. She tilts her head up, taking in the large house in front of her, her thumbs digging into her pockets as she taps her fingers against her thigh.

The house was just as she remembered before Zach's parents died. It hasn't changed a bit. She stretches out her neck, closing her eyes as images flash through her mind of the day they were attacked. She had been so close—but not close enough. It was too late.

She opens her eyes when she hears the front door open. She sees the familiar figure of Zach standing on the porch, his arms crossed in his sweater as he tries to fight the cold. She smiles and goes around to the trunk, popping it open and grabbing her bags. She closes it and makes her way up to the porch, stopping a few feet in front of her nephew and setting down her bags.

He doesn't move, his eyes having followed her the whole time. She tilts her head, grinning at him with soft eyes that are reserved for family. He doesn't smile back, but his look is soft as well—tired from it being 12:12 in the morning.

"I didn't think you'd ever come back," Zach says, shivering as it begins to rain harder and the breeze blows through the area.

Athena raises her eyebrows, rolling her lips into her mouth, "I didn't think you'd stay. Guess we were both wrong," she says. She steps forward and opens her arms, gesturing for him to give her a hug. He smiles then, stepping into her embrace and hugging her tightly. They've always had an aunt-nephew relationship, Athena having helped raise him when he was young while Damon and Stefan gallivanted around the world. "I missed you, kid," she said, ruffling his hair as they pulled away.

He grabbed her bags and stepped aside to let her in first. "I've missed you too. Damon and Stefan aren't with you, are they?" He asked hesitantly, glancing around anxiously as if expecting them to just pop out of the bushes.

"Nope. Just me, love," Athena said. He sighed in relief causing Athena to smirk at him in amusement. He shrugged, smiling slightly before he disappeared down the hallway toward the stairs to put her bags away in her room. She sighed and went toward the fireplace, settling down in front of it on her back as she stared at the ceiling.

Caroline. Something about her was off. The way she was in the middle of the road, the hesitation on the 'I was with my friends' bullshit, the thing chasing her in the woods. Something more than a hunt for the doppelganger was going on. Yet, Caroline didn't seem anything, but a normal girl living in a small town. Who or what would be after her?

All the tomb vampires are locked away. Katherine is locked away. Her brothers aren't in Mystic Falls. None of her enemies or anyone really besides Zach and now Caroline knows she's here. So, what the hell was going on?

She'd have to start scouting on the regular. Who knows what creatures are drawn here because of the magical bloodlines that run through this town's veins.

Hopefully, whatever was chasing Caroline was just there by chance and was looking for a meal. Not actually after the young girl for any other reason, but survival.

She shook her head and closed her eyes, setting her hands on her stomach as the heat of the flames licked her skin. It calmed her down, always having had a connection and interest in all things fire.