You Are My Life

Still Handling It?

~ Mallorie ~

"Rise and shine, sleepy head," Damon's voice rumbled in her ears as if it was weirdly distorted.

As Mallorie came to her senses, she realized her pillow didn't feel very pillow-like. It was too warm and hard. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up to see Damon with his arms behind his head. She shrieked and jerked away from him.

"What the hell!" Mallorie shouted. "Get out!"

Damon didn't move. "You know you were dreaming about me. Explains the drool." He grinned.

Mallorie hit him in the side. "Not funny." She pulled her phone out. "Six a.m.? Do you really not have anything better to do at six a.m.?"

"Fine don't come with me to bring Stefan home. See ya." Damon pulled himself to the edge of the bed to get up.

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait. What?" Mallorie rubbed her eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them. "What are you talking about? Where is he?"

"Windy City." Damon raised his brows.

"He's in Chicago?" Mallorie asked. Damon nodded. "Well, how do you know?"

"It came to me in a dream. I was naked. You would have loved it." Damon's smirk faded when he caught Mallorie's hard look. "Start packing."

"Is he okay?" Mallorie slid to the edge of her bed.

Damon waltzed over to her dresser. "Well, let's just say he's not there to meet Oprah." Damon opened the top drawer and pulled out a pair of lacy black underwear. "Ooh. Put these in the 'yes' pile."

Mallorie shot him a glare. He dropped the underwear on the top of the dresser and walked out.

With a sigh, Mallorie got up and followed him. "We need to tell Elena."

"No, we don't." Damon turned and stalked back toward her. 

"She deserves to know. Stefan is—"

Damon's hand wrapped around Mallorie's upper arm. "She doesn't need to know. If we can't bring him back, her hopes are dashed. Then she tries harder. I won't be the reason she dies. We'll lose Stefan forever."

Mallorie stared into his eyes. There was sadness there. "Okay. We wait."

Damon released her arm and walked away. Mallorie returned to her room. The first order of business was shoving the underwear back into her top drawer. The audacity of this man was going to kill her. She refused to be a rebound from Andie. But, if he wanted the flirty game, two could play at that.

After packing a few of her items into a suitcase, Mallorie headed down the stairs. She had picked an outfit that included fishnets, short shorts, and a shirt that cut down revealing a lacy camisole. She grinned as she saw Damon's jaw drop as she descended the stairs.

"Ready?" Mallorie asked.

Damon shook his head to bring himself back to reality. "Yeah. Yep."

He walked over and grabbed her suitcase. Mallorie noticed his eyes lingering on her body. The walk out to the car was basically silent. She couldn't fight the blush coming to her cheeks as she slid into the front seat. By the time they had settled into the car and left Mystic Falls behind, it seemed like Damon's brain had re-entered his head. 

"I completely forgot about this." Damon reached into the backseat and pulled out a notebook. "Read this. Paints a pretty little picture of Stefan's first experience in Chicago."

Mallorie shook her head. "No. This is Stefan's diary. I can't invade his private thoughts like that."

"Can't or won't?" Damon raised a brow. "Besides, you need to be prepared for what you're about to see."