Kismet | Damon Salvatore

Chapter 27

Damon didn't answer her text.

When she arrived at the Boarding House, she didn't hear anyone on the lower floors, but footsteps overhead let her know Lily and Damon were on the second floor. And it didn't sound like they were happy.

"When I came back to get you?" she heard Lily asking as she tiptoed upstairs.

"Yeah," Damon replied. "1903, you found out we were vampires, you landed in New York Harbor after a forty-year romp in Europe, and you... oh. You weren't coming to get us."

"No, I wasn't, I'm sorry," said Lily softly. "Since I laid my eyes on you and your brother yesterday, I have been trying with all of my heart to connect with the woman who was your mother, to remember what it felt like to mourn you and your brother after I was banished by your father. After I was turned, the only thing more powerful than the longing I felt for you was the fear of what I would do if I ever saw you again. So, I stayed away. I had to find others who could help me find my way back to myself, and... by the time my new family helped me to do that, everything I felt for my old family– for you and your brother– was gone. I hate that I can't make myself feel more. I'm so sorry."

Maribel pressed herself to the wall as Damon stormed out of the room, entering his own and slamming the door shut. Though she didn't want to make it obvious that she had heard everything, she still walked the rest of the way upstairs and knocked on Damon's door.

He opened it only because he knew it was her. "Hey," he muttered.

"I'm so sorry, Damon," she whispered.

"Doesn't matter," he said, as if to convince himself. "You and Stefan are my family. Not her."

"How about I make you something to eat? Or we could go and eat out, get away from the house for a little bit, talk about it..."

"No." He checked his phone. "'Cat's out of the bag, Jo knows.' How the–?"

"My mom brought cookies, your mom saw her, they talked, my mom told Meredith and I guess Meredith told Elena and Caroline..."

"And of course Care Bear knowing means everybody knows," said Damon distastefully. "Should have seen that one coming."

"In better news," offered Maribel, "I gave Meredith the injection for Liz. They'll administer it today and hope to see some tumor reduction. They'll have her undergoing tests every day afterward to assess her cognitive skills. With any luck I didn't fumble the bag. She'll feel much weaker but she'll be cancer-free. And I'll be able to publish a paper about it when we leave and we'll make a bazillion dollars and we can live anywhere we want..."

He moved away from her touch when she tried to massage his shoulders. "This is my fault, I shouldn't have told you about the plan, now Jo will be upset with you."

"Even if she is, it doesn't matter. I told her how I felt very brutally. If she's not okay with it, sucks to be her. She'll be safe, her baby will be safe... that's all that matters to me. Besides, it's better we talked about the plan together. I wouldn't have liked secrecy between us. We work because we communicate, we respect each other... not telling me about the plan when I'm part of it would really mess things up for us. Let's not keep secrets from each other. Surprise parties or engagement rings is one thing, but a plan of this magnitude is something else entirely."

Damon managed a small smile. "Knowing you, I'll be the one receiving the engagement ring and it'll be made out of some metal you invented."

"Hey, if I find out a nucleus can have half a proton, maybe then I can invent a new element. Oh..." she tapped her bag, "Ripper cure is in there, for your mom..."