Unstoppable | The Vampire Diaries

51. Dangerous Liaisons

Riley walked into the Gilbert house, taking tentative steps as it dawned on her that there was now only one human living there.

"I never meant for her to die," Stefan's voice said from the kitchen. "She asked me to help Matt first and I did."

"And now the world has one more quarterback. Bravo brother," Damon replied, the anger evident in his tone. He couldn't believe it when he found out that they had a chance to save Elena's life – but instead, Stefan had saved Matt.

"Hey," Riley said somberly, walking into the room. "If I can hear you, then Elena definitely can. She has vamp-hearing now, remember?"

Both brothers looked up at her, neither of them particularly happy to see her in their moment of crisis.

"There's still a way we can save her," Stefan informed her. "Bonnie's stronger than ever, there might be something she can do."

Riley raised an eyebrow. "Elena died with vampire blood in her system. What could Bonnie do to change that?"

"Thank you!" Damon hissed in agreement. "She needs to feed and complete the transition."

"I'm gonna fix this," Stefan said determinedly. He understood Damon's anger, but he couldn't ignore Elena's wishes that night – she'd told him to save Matt and that's what he did.

"Can I see her?" Riley asked, glancing upward. When Caroline had first turned, she had avoided her through her own fear, making her best friend's transition that much harder. She didn't want to make the same mistake with Elena – even if it meant that she had to accept losing another friend to vampirism.

"Yeah," Damon said enthusiastically. "See her, feed her, get this thing over with."

"No," Stefan said forcefully, his voice softening as he turned his attention to Riley. "Give her some time."

"She doesn't need time, she needs blood," Damon said angrily.

Riley rolled her eyes, not wanting to get involved in their argument. To be honest, if there was something that Stefan could do to stop the transition, then that's exactly what she wanted. But she couldn't ignore that Damon was right. She'd seen what happened when someone refused to feed. They couldn't let Elena die.

"I'm gonna go visit Matt in the hospital," she informed them, turning around. "I'll send him your best wishes, Damon."

He scoffed at her retreating back. In his mind, Matt Donovan was the reason that Elena was a vampire (in transition). The blond busboy didn't deserve a damn thing from him.

***

She knocked on the door softly, opening it to reveal Matt locked in an embrace with Caroline.

"Hey," Caroline said through tears. "I can't believe Tyler's dead."

Tyler was the only one who was definitely sired by Klaus. The Original Hybrid's death had caused Tyler's. Riley worked this out quickly, but blamed herself for not thinking about it sooner. Her mind had been filled with Elena and Elijah, leaving little room for anything else.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly, wrapping her best friend in a tight hug. "Is there anything I can do?"

Caroline shook her head, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "I'm supposed to be halfway to Florida by now."

"Then go, Care," Matt said, worried for her safety. The entire council were looking for her. "I already got Elena killed, I won't get you killed too."

Riley tutted. "You didn't get Elena killed, Matt. She's..." she trailed off, lowering her voice. "A vampire. But her heart's still beating."

"This isn't your fault," Caroline added sincerely. Damon was the only person who could blame Matt for something that was so out of his control.