Bloodlust → Stefan Salvatore [1]

A Few Good Men

     "Coffee?" I ask Elena while I open the mug cabinet.
     "No, I'm fine." She assures. I grab a mug and pour myself some coffee. I notice the huge bags under Elena's eyes.
     "Did you get any sleep last night?" I ask Elena.
     "No, I found out that my birth mother could be dead." She yawns through her words.
     "Jesus, Elena that sucks. Did you find a name."
     "Yeah. Isobel Flemming."
     "So that's it?"
     "Well, not exactly. Jenna said that Alaric Saltzman's ex wife was named Isobel. She died."
     "The same Alaric Saltzman that is our history teacher?"
     "Yes," she started. "also the Alaric Saltzman that is dating our Aunt."
     "God, don't remind me. Look, maybe you should have some coffee." I say while grabbing another mug.
     "No, it's fine. I'm going out anyways, I'll just buy one."
     "Are you sure?"
     "Blake, please." I nod as she grabs an apple and exits the kitchen.

I watch Elena leave the house from my window. I don't need to ask to know she's going to find out information about Isobel. I hear someone walk in the doorway. I turn around to see Stefan.
     "One of these times Jenna is going to see you." He hugs me.
     "Oh well." He whispers in my ear before kissing the side of my ear. I pull back.
     "Elena just left. She's going to find out more information about her birth mother."
     "Has she found anything."
     "Kind of. Jenna told her that Alaric's wife's name was Isobel. If that was Elena's birth mother, that means she's dead." Stefan sighs.
"I mean, can I do anything? I can go talk to Ric."
"I think Jenna is already on it, but if it makes you feel better than you should." Stefan nods and then vanishes.

My phone vibrates in my lap and I pick it up quickly. It's Elena. I answer it.
"Hey, what's up?"
     "I just visited one of Isobel's old friends, Trudy. I asked if she had any idea who my dad was... and things got awkward."
     "Awkward how?" I ask.
     "She gave me tea with vervain in it."
     "You think she thought you were a vampire?"
     "I don't know what to think anymore, Blake."
     "So that's it? That whole trip was for nothing?"
     "Yep, completely useless. The weirdest thing though was there was this man standing in the street, just staring at me."
     "Well, are you on your way back?"
     "Yeah, I'm almost back in Mystic Falls. Do you wanna meet me at the grill? I heard there's this odd fundraiser thing and we both know you need to get out of the house." I laugh.
     "I'll be there in a few minutes." We both say bye and hang up.

     I walk into the grill to see Stefan and Elena talking. Elena sees me and signals me to go over.
     "Hey... is everything alright?" I ask.
     "Blake, Ric's wife was killed by a vampire."
     "What? You can't be serious." Elena looks depressed from this. I grab her hand, and she smiles at me, but I can tell it's a fake smile. I hear someone tap the mic. Everyone looks at the stage.
     "Take your seats everyone, the show's about to begin." Carol Lockwood announces. Elena and I begin to walk over to an open area. I look back at Stefan, he's walking to true corner, in the back. Predictable.

     Carol Lockwood starts introducing the line of men. If you put in a ticket, and your ticket is pulled, you win a date with one of the five men. She gets to the last two, Ric and Damon.
     "Bachelor number four, Alaric Saltzman. Tell us, Alaric, what's your profession?" She asks.
     "I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls High School."
     "Beauty and brains, ladies. Something we all would like. Now, what subject do you teach?"
     "I teach History."
     "Say, Alaric. Could you tell us one fun fact about Mystic Falls." Ric goes silent.
     "Well, he's just saving all the juicy stuff for the date, ladies." She moves on to Damon.
     "Bachelor number five, Damon Salvatore. Tell us Damon, what do you do for a living?"
     "Currently I'm unemployed." Damon says putting in a bit of charm.
     "Something we'll all remember. Have you been anywhere these last few years?" Damon nods.
     "Yes, actually I have. I've been to Kansas, California, North Carolina... oh, and I think Ric lived in North Carolina for a while, didn't you, Ric?" He asks looking at Ric. He doesn't answer. I furrow my eyebrows. What the hell is he doing?
     "Well, I know your wife did, yeah she was quite something, just delicious." Almost in unison, Elena and Ric's jaws drop. Elena grapes her coat and gets up.
     "I need some air." She walks outside, Stefan and I follow her. Stefan gets out the door, but right before I do a crowd of people block it, some entering, some just walking around. Hopefully Stefan can talk to her.

     After Carol finishes interviewing the bachelors, I stop Damon from leaving.
     "Will you move, your in my way."
     "What the hell is wrong with you?"
      "What do you mean?"
     "You killed Ric's wife, Isobel."
     "So the hell what? It shouldn't mean anything to you!"
     "You know how Elena is looking for her real mom. Her name is Isobel." Damon's expression changed.
     "You killed Elena's mom, and she'll never forgive you for that." I turn around and allow him to walk away, and I go outside. I see Stefan talking to Elena. I walk up and hug Elena.
     "Are you okay?" I ask.
     "To think I was beginning to feel sorry for him. He's such a dick." Elena begins looking behind Stefan.
     "Oh my god!"
     "What?" Stefan and I say while turning around. There's a man staring at us.
     "Thad the guy from earlier, from Trudy's, who was in the middle of the road." He walks up to us.
     "Sir?" Stefan asks.
     "Stop looking."
     "What?" Elena asks.
     "Stop looking for her, she doesn't want to see you, she doesn't want to know you, do you understand?"
     "Isobel?" I ask.
     "Do you understand?" He repeats.
     "He's under compulsion." Stefan tells us.
     "I understand." Elena says.
     "Good." He says before stepping back into the road. A truck runs straight over him. Elena and I jump back in surprise. Not only did this man just kill himself right in front of us, but Isobel could still be alive!

     Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter, and I'm also sorry I haven't been updating consistently. This time around, I promise you there will be more updates soon, and this book will be close to over before we know it! 😁