On My Own (TVD Series)

The Secrets We Keep

Her head hung low, staring down at the glistening wet road, her fingers spread across the road, embedding the loose pebbles against the skin of her palm. She hadn't said a word since I let her consciousness go, assuming she was trying to hear past her screams. But looking at her from where I stood, she didn't resemble anything like her pictures. She was frail, seemed like she hadn't eaten a decent meal in the last few weeks, her eyes glazed over, her lips pale and thin. One could mistake her for an orphan if they passed by, but then she lifted her head and stared directly at me.

"What are you going to do with me?" She mumbled.

"...nothing, right now. I just want to talk."

"Talk?" She grumbled, dragging her hands across the road and resting them on her knees before pushing herself up.

"...what you did to me isn't the way you get someone to talk."

"Oh, so when you and your screwed-up siblings do it to my people, that's alright?" I blurted out loudly.

She now stood on her own two feet when she tried to take another step closer, but only found herself wiggling around in the same spot.

"What's the matter? Lost your footing."

"...what the hell are you? How are you-"

"If I told you, you might not believe me," I added, resting my back on the grill of my car.

"But if you want to take a guess..."

"...it's obvious...you're a heretic..." She sighed angrily.

"Nice try...I've never betrayed anyone for the sake of power; it's always been the other way around."

"There's no other name for you..."

"I beg to differ...I'll give you a hint. I need nothing but the blood in my veins, feel nothing but the chill of my skin, and obey nothing but my command. Nature broke their laws for me...what am I?" I smirked.

It was then that Valerie's frail and pale skin burned in a blush of amber. Slowly but surely, her cheeks flushed, and her hands tightened beside her.

"...there was no name for you when I was around all those years ago, except for mongrel."

"Well, nowadays they call me a tribrid... others call me an abomination, that one tends to hurt my feelings."

Pushing away from the front of my car, I strolled closer to Valerie, and without using any of my tricks, she remained where she stood.

"Why are you telling me this? Why me out of all people?" She sighed.

"Because...I think we can help each other, perhaps even become allies."

"Ha...you're joking, right? After Lilian finds out, you and all of your friends are screwed."

"Maybe...but I think you know that would end in your deaths. You saw what I did to you, I didn't even bat an eye...can you imagine what I can do to them...from right here?" I smirked.

"...but I wouldn't do that, because you have bigger problems than Lilian. So, while you may believe what you want regarding Lilian wanting to hurt me, I think telling her that one of her beloved heretic children wants to kill the man she loves will send her spiraling, don't you think?"

Pursed lips and tight hands, I glanced down at her white knuckles before crossing her arms over her chest.

"What do you want from me?"

"...Oscar said that I could trust you just before I sent him away."

"You're lying." She snarled.

"I saw Oscar, he's alive and-"