A Fresh Start (Damon, OC, Klaus)

11. Blissful denial

"I'm taking her home Liz. She'll be safe with me."

"I know Damon, but remember I have to explain this to the council. So first I have to speak to her, just be patient."

I didn't want to open my eyes. People shouldn't argue when I'm dead. It's just plain rude. The room went quiet and suddenly someone was holding my hand.

"Jessica... Jessica, are you awake?"

Huh, maybe I wasn't dead. I opened my eyes and saw those beautiful eyes again, searching mine.

"Damon?"

My voice cracked as I spoke, my mouth and throat dry. Damon disappeared and was back in an instant. He held a glass to my mouth and with his other hand lifted my head. I gulped down the water, it felt so good going down.

When I finished I felt slightly better. Damon stayed standing by my side and I noticed Liz was standing at the foot of my bed. I smiled at them,

"So, I'm not dead then. Well that's good, mom will be happy I guess."

They looked at each other with sad faces, I laughed nervously, "Well obviously I'm happy too."

I was really scared all of a sudden as they continued to stare at me. All of a sudden I had that feeling in the pit of my stomach that I had going home... was it last night, two nights ago... it didn't matter. I threw back the blanket and started to climb out of the bed. The wires stopped me, as I started pulling the needles out of the back of my hand Damon tried to stop me.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I looked up at him, "I'm going to find my mom. Don't you dare try and stop me Damon."

I made my voice as angry as possible but he just ignored it, pushing me back into the bed. He had a pained expression on his face, "Jessica, by the time I got to you, you were almost dead. I gave you blood but it wasn't enough so they brought you here. You had to be given so much blood. You need to rest."

I didn't trust the way he and Liz kept looking at each other. I tried getting out of bed again, but again Damon pushed me back down. Now I was getting seriously pissed off.

"Damon, where is my mother? What happened to my father? What did he do to me?"

Damon took a seat beside me on the bed, Liz told us she would give us a few moments. I was starting to freak out.

"Jessica," Damon began, "your mother is dead. Your father broke her neck. He then tried to kill you by draining all your blood."

My hand instinctively went to my neck, which triggered some kind of memory. I gasped at Damon,

"You... you're... you can't be. You care about me... or is that real?"

"Yes Jessica, I'm a vampire. So was your father. But I would never kill or hurt you, yes I do care for you. I can't honestly tell you why, but I do. Your father tried to kill you so I killed him."

I let out a sob and threw my arms around Damon, "He's dead. Oh my god he's dead, we're free. We can stop looking over our shoulders. Mom will be so happy. I can't wait to see her, I have to tell her  the good news."

I could feel Damon's entire body stiffen, I sat back confused,

"What's wrong?"

He frowned at me, "Jessi, weren't you listening to me? Your father killed your mother, he broke her neck."

I just stared blankly at him. He was wrong, no way was my mother dead. He was playing some kind of cruel joke. She wouldn't leave me. Not now, not when he was finally gone from our lives. We never had to worry again. Damon was saying something but I couldn't hear him. I could see his lips move but no sound was coming out. It was wrong, all wrong.

Damon was really worried now. Jessica was just staring at him with absolutely no expression on her face. He grabbed her shoulders,

"Jessica... Jessi...  are you ok?"

It was like she couldn't hear him. She just kept staring. Damon decided to go find that doctor, Meredith Fell. She knew all about the vampires and was the only person in this place he trusted... well almost trusted.

"Jessi, I'll be back with the doctor as soon as possible." With that Damon took off as fast as he could while pretending to be human.

It registered with me that Damon had left. I looked around me without really seeing anything, home. I had to get home. I would get there and mom would be sitting waiting for me. I climbed out of bed and got dressed in a daze, the actions were automatic more than anything.

I left the hospital and as I passed people I could see them staring at me, pointing at me and saying something but I couldn't hear them, all I could hear was the one thought in my head over and over.

Mom is at home. She's fine.

I was vaguely aware that the clothes I had put on where the clothes I had arrived in the hospital wearing and were covered in my blood, oh ok then. That explained the looks I was getting.

I was halfway home when suddenly Jeremy was standing in front of me. He grabbed my shoulders and I watched his lips move. He was asking me where I was going, I looked at him. Was he being silly, where else would I be going?

"Home, I have to go home. Mom will be worried!"

I didn't see the look of pity on his face as I walked around him, that was when Damon's car screeched to a halt beside us, he jumped out and ran over to me and Jeremy. I turned my attention to him and smiled, "Hi Damon. Could I get a lift with you? I have to get home."

Damon looked to Jeremy, who shrugged. "I just found her, that's why I phoned you. Doesn't she know about..."

He looked down at me as he answered Jeremy, "Yes, I told her twice. But I don't think it's registered with her."

Damon led me to his car and opened the passenger door for me, I thanked him and climbed in. I waved at Jeremy. "See ya later Jer."

He just waved back, a worried look on his face. People in this town worry too much, I thought to myself as Damon took off in the direction on my house. Neither of us spoke as he drove, we pulled up and I climbed out. I ran to the house,

"Mom... Mom... I'm home..."

As I approached the broken front door however, the blissful denial cloud covering my mind started to waver. I paused before entering the house. Now I was scared, I felt a hand take mine. Damon was beside me, I took a deep breath and squeezing his hand we entered the house. There was blood everywhere. Crippling fear took over my body, my legs crumpled and I fell to the floor. I could hear sobs and realised they were coming from me. Tears were flowing down my face, Damon sat on the floor beside me, sorrow on his face.

"She's not here. Is she?"

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