New York || Damon Salvatore [1]

Chapter Fourteen

1976 — Manhattan, New York

  "What are you all doing for Christmas?" Robert Belcher asked as he cleaned his grease-covered hands with a white piece of cloth. There was a smile on his lips, a knowing one that told each of his workers that he was up to something.

   "I'm spending it with my family," Reginaldo said with a big grin. "Mama always cooks big on this holiday."

   "My family is back in Puerto Rico," Armando said, throwing a lit cigarette down and stumping it with his boot. "I'm gonna sit back and drink some beer."

   "My boy and I are spending it together," Joseph said with a big grin. "Ever since we came to New York, we spent Christmas at Rosy's Diner with Miss Rosy. It's not so bad."

   "My friend is doing a small get-together," Akil said, nodding. "For him, a small get-together is a party where his apartment ends up trashed."

   "I'm going to a party," Jack said, giving them a shit-eating grin. He pulled his cigarette away from his lips and let the smoke bellow into the air like clouds. "Gonna find me a cute bunny."

   "You've been trying to find one for years," Akil joked, laughing as he bit into a sandwich. "Good luck this time, Jack'o."

   They all laughed at Jack, who glared at Akil with the cigarette hanging between his index and middle finger. Jack spat out the cigarette, stumped on it with his shoe, and then spat next to Akil. It only made the later laugh harder, throw his head back and have his laughter echo around them. Robert laughed as well, a jolly laugh that reminded them all of Santa Claus.

   "What are you doing for Christmas, Damon?" Reginaldo asked.

   Damon smiled and glanced down at the floor, seeing the flask in his hand shimmer a bit with the sun. "I'm spending it in Massachusetts," he told them. "With my girlfriend's family."

   "Ooh!" they all echoed, smiling widely at him.

   "Is it that cute bunny that's in your wallet?" Jack asked, wiggling his brows. "The one with the dark brown hair and green eyes?"

   "No, the other one," Damon sarcastically answered in return, making the rest laugh. "Of course it's her."

   "What do you plan on giving her for Christmas?" Akil asked. "I bet it's something expensive."

   "A bracelet."

   "A necklace."

   "Two first-class tickets to Hawaii."

   "A proposal."

   Damon shook his head and smiled, although sadly. He couldn't think of a proposal, he couldn't think of marrying her, because he did. Oh how many times he thought of marrying her, of spending eternity with her, a simple human life. Every night, he thought of the countless futures he could have had. One of them was being born in present time.

   Damon would have been born in 1951 instead of 1839. He would have been twenty-five, deciding to move to New York because he couldn't stand how small Mystic Falls was. His brother would agree, but he would have stayed behind because he enjoyed the small town, although he would visit Damon whenever their parents allowed it. Damon would have probably been drafted to Vietnam, and he would have returned scarred, just like when he returned from battle back in 1863. He would drink to cure the scars, to numb the thoughts, to blur the pain. And on those binge-drinking nights, he would appear at The Ground, and he would have met Freya, and just like he did a few months back, he would fall for her.