The Original: Book 3

Chapter 25

"You know, none of this would be an issue if you had just done your job properly. I was perfectly willing to let you train Jeremy."

"No, you weren't," Damon retorted, throwing his daylight ring up in the air and catching it as Nik paced. "You got there on day two. Do you know how hard it is to get these X-Box brains to focus?"

"And when I turned a room full of barflies into vampires for him to slaughter, you let Kol kill them."

"Your brother problem, not mine, buddy."

"And whose bright idea was it to saddle Jeremy with a conscience?" I asked from my spot against the wall.

"Well, we couldn't have him trying to stake Elena in her sleep, now could we?"

"Ah, yes, the love for Elena. How is it that she manages to overlook every horrific thing you've ever done? Is it willful ignorance or perhaps something more pathological?" I questioned.

"Some people are just more capable of forgiveness than others." My face dropped slightly and I glanced over at Nik, wondering how forgiving he would be if he ever found out about what Kol and I did. "I bet you score about a negative five hundred in that realm," he told Nik before looking over at me. "And based on the fact that you still want to kill me for something that happened almost a year ago, you score way less than that."

"Come on. There must be a secret. It can't just be the sire bond. What is it? Compulsion? Manipulation? What is it you say to her?" Damon sat up, realization on his face.

"I think this has something to do with a certain blonde vampire. I think you," he pointed to Nik, "murdered Carol Lockwood," he pointed to me, "and I think you're worried that Caroline's never going to forgive you for letting it happen." I looked away as he smirked.

"You've done worse," Nik accused.

"Debatable. See, I don't mind being the bad guy because somebody has to fill that role and get things done. You do bad things for no reason. You do them to be a dick."

"Debatable."

"If you're gonna be bad, be bad with purpose. Otherwise you're just not worth forgiving." Damon resumed his position, lying down and throwing his ring into the air, which Nik and I took as a sign of him being done talking.

***

"Your brother's lack of communication is infuriating," Nik states, putting his phone back in his pocket.

"It's one of his trademarks, like his brooding and his hair," Damon declared and I let out a chuckle.

"I don't understand what's taking so long. I mean, how hard is it to steal a dagger?"

"From a vampire who's been stabbed by it as many times as your sister, I'd say difficult."

"Not to mention, you know how stubborn she gets. She won't give that thing up without a fight," I chimed in. Nik sighed, pulling a vial of blood out of his pocket and tossing it to Damon.

"Sweet."

"You disappoint me, Damon. You're not trying very hard to get out of here. I expected more of the daring escape artist, less the cell potato," I admitted.

"Well, I am compelled to kill Jeremy, so I figured it's probably smarter to sit in here and chitchat with you than try to bust out of here like the Hulk."

"How do you think Elena felt about that, by the way? Your inability to overcome Kol's compulsion for a single moment even though it meant killing the person she loves the most in the world?"

"She's met me," Damon glared. "She knows impulse control is not my strong suit."

"Still, must be hard trying to live up to Stefan. I remember when I compelled him to feed on Elena, he fought so hard, he actually managed to resist. Now, that's true love," Nik revealed.

"What do you know about love?"

"I know that you're in love with Elena, but I think you're afraid of what might happen when we find the cure at the end of the rainbow. Personally, I don't see a fairytale ending. All I see is Stefan and Elena. I think you see the same thing." Nik's phone started to ring and he fished it out of his pocket, answering it. "Well, if it isn't the happy homicidal maniac." The person on the other end, who I assumed was Kol, said something Nik didn't like because his face turned hard. "What?" Silence. "I don't know what you're talking about." The call ended and Nik turned to Damon, anger clear on his face. Striding towards him, he grabbed Damon by the throat pushing him up against the wall. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know," Damon croaked out.

"What are Stefan and Elena planning?"

"I don't know."

"Nik, what's going on? Who was on the phone?" I questioned, taking a step forward. He ignored me.

"I've been stuck in the penalty box with you since yesterday. Stefan won't talk to me and Elena won't come to see me. So, maybe you're right. Maybe she's written me off."

"Tell me what you know."

"I don't know anything about a plan."

"You stay here until I return." Nik let go of Damon and moved toward me, pulling me out of the cell and slamming the door. "Stay with him. I have something I need to deal with." I nodded and he was gone.

My character and her story are of my own imagination. They belong to me and nobody else. Please do not steal. Copyright 2017.