The Remembered ✯ Enzo St. John {2}

26 | Give It Your All

Chapter Twenty-Six

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"Well, you two are awfully quiet." Stefan strolled up to Damon and I, while I remained sitting on the ground outside of the Armory with my head back against the stone wall.

I seriously don't feel good.

"Don't tell me you're still mad about the pilot. Caroline's bringing her kids, and we're gonna get inside, and that's all that matters." Stefan acknowledged, leaning against the pillar across Damon.

"What happened to you, hm?" Damon narrowed his eyes at his brother. "You and I had a breakthrough yesterday. You pulled a Damon. You made the right choice, to hell with the consequences. We actually agreed, Stefan. I sent out a press release. And then you spend one night with blonde ambition. You're right back to your old, boring, choice-matters self. What the hell, man?"

"Do you really think that I did the right thing by taking Caroline against her will?" Stefan piped up,

"One hundred percent." Damon nodded.

"You said that's how you know you love someone. And for a second there, I actually- I actually believed you." Stefan scoffed, "I thought that my love for Caroline was so strong that I would do anything to protect it."

"That's not love, you idiots. That's fear." I croaked, opening my eyes to look up at the boys, allowing Stefan to motion over to me with a grin on his face.

"You should put that on a greeting card, Gilbert." Damon scowled, causing me to sigh.

"That night that you put yourself down, it wasn't because you loved Elena. It was because you were afraid if you didn't, you would do something terrible, and you would lose her forever. And that fear, that fear was so powerful that it overrode any love that you felt for me, or Cassidy, or Bonnie- or anybody else." Stefan addressed.

"It wasn't about you, Stefan." Damon spat.

"Oh, it had absolutely everything to do with me." Stefan continued, as Damon shook his head in denial. "I looked you in the eyes, Damon, and I begged you to stay. And you turned your back on me like it was nothing. And I thought about that yesterday, when I 'pulled a Damon'. And I realized...I never want to be that person."

"I refuse to be ruled by fear. I refuse to be you." Stefan concluded.

I broke up the deep moment by choking, falling from my seated position, laying on the concrete ground before I started puking up black blood.

"Well, that got old fast.." Damon mumbled with wide-eyes, as he and Stefan stared down at me.

I let out a gasp, wiping my mouth, wearily looking down at the ground, my arms being the only thing keeping me upright.

"Come on.." Damon muttered, grabbing me by my arm, looping it over his shoulder.

"You're pale, Cassidy." Stefan inspected my face as we all started making our way to the front of the building, slowly but surely.

"I'm a vampire, Stefan. We're supposed to be pale." I breathed.

"Who told you that?" Damon's face contorted,

"Stephenie Meyer." I weakly spoke, causing Damon and Stefan to stop in their places.

"Who?" Damon rose his eyebrows.

"The author of 'Twilight'." I reiterated, causing the duo to share a look before we reached the entry door.

"They're here." Stefan announced, causing our eyes to land on Ric, Caroline, and the girls.