Tourniquet || Damon Salvatore (1)

Chapter 11: Vicki's Vanishing Act

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I rushed to Elena's house and on my way I dialed her phone number.

"Hello?" Elena's soft voice questioned.

"Elena! Where are you?" I asked, my voice full of panic.

"I'm with Stefan.. We were um...Hanging out and now we're heading over to my place. You can stop by if you want. You never came back with the shammies... Are you okay?" Elena replied in a manner that made it seem like she was hiding something.

"Elena, you can't trust Stefan. You can't trust either of the Salvatore brothers! Get as far away from him as possible," I blurted out urgently.

"Arina what are you talking about?" Elena questioned in a suspicious manner. Did she know what they were?

"The Salvatore brothers... they're monsters, Elena. Damon Salvatore especially..." I spoke, my voice was cracking as I began to remember what happened between Damon and I.

"Wait...You were with Damon?!" Elena shouted with worry.

"It wasn't something I wanted...Look, a lot has happened and you need to trust me when I say this: don't trust Vicki and don't trust Stefan... I've seen some really messed up things Elena...Mystic Falls is in danger. I-" before I could continue I heard Stefan's velvety voice cut me off.

"Arina... I need you to listen to me. I would never hurt anyone... I'm different than my brother. I don't know what he did to you but you need to trust me. You need to explain to me what happened so I can protect you and Elena," Stefan spoke calmly but in a serious manner. His words managed to calm my rapidly beating heart and ease my mind.

"I just arrived at Elena's house I'll be inside in a second," I said before hanging up.

I walked into the house. "You know what's wrong with her?" Elena immediately asked me, most likely referring to Vicki.

"Damon fed her his blood then killed her," I uttered out. My body would've been shaking in place if it wasn't for Stefan who softly put a hand on my shoulder in a comforting manner.

"What?" Elena's eyes widened with fear.

"She hasn't completed her transformation yet." Stefan said in more of a questioning tone. He seemed baffled as to why she hasn't completed the transformation.

"H-how does she do that?" Elena asked.

"She has to feed on human blood," Stefan replies to his girlfriend.

"And what if she doesn't?" I asked hesitantly.

"She'll die. She may only have a few hours." Stefan spoke sorrowfully as Elena paced around. My breathing started to get rapid.

I don't want Vicki to die. Yes, she's made bad decisions but she doesn't deserve this!

"She's upstairs with him right now," Elena spoke worriedly.

"It's ok. She doesn't know what's happening to her yet," Stefan reassured, mainly looking at me. He could tell I was unraveling.

"So when is she gonna know?" Elena asked

"Right now, she doesn't remember anything. A part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, the memories will start to come back, and then she'll know she has to make the choice," He said.

"The same choice you made?" Elena spoke bitterly.

"Elena-"I started but she waved her hand at me like she was telling me to shut up.

Matt came down stairs and we all sat in silence. Suddenly we saw Vicki race out of the house. Matt rushed after her shouting,"Vick. Vicki!" When we got outside she was long gone.

"She was fine, and then she just...She just freaked out," Jeremy spoke, distressed.

"I'm gonna go look for her. Call me if you hear anything," Matt said before running off.

"I can track her," Stefan whispered to Elena and I, not wanting Jeremy to hear.

"Go," Elena commanded and I nodded in agreement.

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I ended up hanging out with Jeremy and Elena after I called Ander to tell him that I was fine. Elena told me briefly the history of Katherine, according to Stefan.

We stopped talking when we heard the doorbell ring. With worry, I went with Elena as she went to open the door. As she opened it we saw Damon. She immediately tried to shut the door but he pushed it open.

"Jeremy, go upstairs," Elena shouted and Jeremy did so. For once he actually listened to his sister and boy was I glad.

"You're afraid of me. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess. Stefan finally 'fessed up," He smirked. My thoughts immediately flashed to the incident in the cellar and panic grew within me. Elena could tell.

"Stay away from us," She said firmly. She softly pushed me behind her in a protective manner.

"Hey, there's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for Stefan. May I come in? Oh, wait. Of course I can. I've been invited," he smirked and then continued, "We can cut to the chase if you want. I'm not gonna kill you right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda. So...Where's Stefan?" He said walking towards Elena and I, shutting the door. I backed away even further from him.

"He's out trying to fix the mess you created, " I spoke harshly. I was worried sick about Vicki and this was all because of Damon.

"Don't look at me with those judgey eyes. Girl's gonna thank me for what I did to her," He grinned at me, most likely remembering everything that had happened. With ease he lightly pushed Elena aside and towered over me. I looked up at him and noticed the look in his eyes. He was challenging me, trying to get me to react to him.

"Did you thank Katherine?" Elena spoke with venom. I smirked at her comment. Damon moved away, turning his attention to Elena.

"Mmm. Got the whole life story, huh?" He turned to look at her.

"We got enough," I hissed.

"Oh, I doubt that. My brother would never admit to his faults," Damon murmured frowning for a moment as he stared off in a pondering manner.

A moment later, he snapped out of his daze and looked over at Elena. "Speaking of Stefan, tell my brother I'm looking for him...Also, tip for later, be careful who you invite in the house," Damon spoke winking at the end.

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I eventually went home and immediately took a shower. Thoughts of everything that had happened consumed my mind. Everything has happened so fast. It was overwhelming.

Mystic falls wasn't as plain as I thought it was. The Salvatore brothers were vampires. I felt crazy believing this but whenever I began to doubt it I remembered the veins that appeared under Damon's eyes and his unquenchable thirst for blood.

Stefan seemed like he had no ill intentions. I could tell he really cared about Elena and loved her. He had this look in his eyes that showed that he'd do anything for her.

Damon on the other hand...I couldn't figure him out. Part of me just wants to paint him as a villain but I can't bring myself to do it. Despite all of the horrendous things I've seen him do, i've noticed that he has moments where he displays humanity. I'm beginning to think that his cold exterior is front and that in reality he's a man who's been hurt.

Once I finally got settled into bed, I got a call from Elena. Apparently she broke up with Stefan. She cried over the phone and I tried to comfort her as best as I could. I was shocked that she had broken up with him.

After we finished talking, I heard a knock on my bedroom door and in came Ander. A look of uncertainty was adorn on his face.  "Arina, I need to ask you something." He spoke seriously and handed me a leather-bound book. It looked worn and old.

Why was he giving this to me?

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Word Count: 1329