|𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒|
Song: Way down we go by KALEO
After I got the call from Elena, her voice sharp with frustration as she told me that all three of my brothers were currently in her house, I felt like I had no choice but to head over and try to rescue her from the inevitable chaos. The last time they were all in the same room, things almost turned catastrophic—and that was being generous.
I expected to find them bickering inside, probably raising hell in her living room. Instead, I arrived to find them already on the lawn, spaced apart but tense, all three of their heads snapping toward me the moment I stepped out of the car. Kaiden and Damon wasted no time, storming over, their expressions twisted with accusation.
They both shouted over each other, their voices overlapping in a demand I barely had time to register.
"Did you take the Gilbert Journal from Alaric Saltzman?" Damon barked.
"No I bloody did not!" I yelled, planting my feet as they loomed over me. My tone was sharp and defensive, eyes narrowing at Kaiden, who had stepped way too close for comfort. "Why does he have it in the first place—Kaiden, step back, what is your problem—move!"
Kaiden didn't budge until Stefan suddenly appeared behind him, grabbing the back of his jacket and yanking him backwards with force.
Stefan moved in front of me protectively, glaring at Kaiden like he was a threat. "You heard her. She didn't take it. Now take... a... step... back."
Kaiden scoffed, brushing off Stefan's grip like it didn't bother him, though his pride probably stung. "Who else knew it was there?"
That made Stefan's eyes drift toward the house, and without saying a word, Damon bolted for the front door. He peered inside through the open frame and spotted Jeremy lounging on the sofa.
"No!" Elena shouted from behind him, her voice sharp with panic as she realized what Damon was about to do. "Damon! Leave him out of this!"
"What's the big deal?" Damon replied casually, brushing off her concern as he walked right in and perched on the arm of the sofa, towering above Jeremy. His eyes narrowed with laser focus. "So, I heard you found a really cool journal from back in the day. Who else did you show it to?"
"Huh?" Jeremy hummed, barely paying attention, too immersed in whatever game he was playing.
"Don't ask questions." Damon said coolly, as Kaiden appeared and stood right beside Jeremy, his presence intimidating. "Just spill."
"You're kidding me, right?" Jeremy scoffed, his confusion growing. He looked past Damon to Elena, silently pleading for her to explain what was going on.
"Jer," Elena said calmly, "did you tell anyone other than Mr. Saltzman about Jonathon Gilbert's journal?"
"Why is everybody obsessed with that thing?" Jeremy replied, his expression genuinely clueless.
"Who else did you tell?" Elena repeated, pressing him.
Jeremy shrugged and leaned back lazily. "Just that girl, Anna."
Kaiden leaned in like a predator catching scent. "The hot, weird one?"
"Yeah." Jeremy nodded.
"What kind of description is that?" I snapped, rolling my eyes as I looked between Kaiden and Jeremy. Kaiden only shrugged in response. "Who even is that?"
"That's what me and Kaiden wanna find out." Damon chimed in, shooting me a pointed look to silence me. "Jeremy, how do you know her?"
"I just know her." Jeremy replied with a nervous chuckle, his eyes flicking to me and Stefan in a desperate plea for backup. Elena had just stepped out of the room to take a phone call, leaving him at the mercy of two vampires and a hybrid.
