The Missing Piece

I'm Not Hurting Anyone

I laid on the soft white fabric, staring at the textured ceiling. I heard the door open and shifted my gaze towards it.

"You alright?" My husband's voice filled my ears as I pushed myself up to sit on the bed. He entered the large light blue room, leaving the door cracked as he walked towards me.

"I guess," I let out a soft sigh as the bed shifted, conforming to his weight. "I just don't understand my brothers. One minute they are claiming to protect me, and the next they're trying to hurt me."

"They didn't try to hurt you, Love." He set his hand on my shoulder.

"They knew that killing you would hurt me, and yet they didn't care. I'm glad you talked to Stefan," I grabbed his hand with a soft smile, "I'm glad you're still here. How soon can we leave?"

"Actually I want to stay here, in Mystic Falls for a while. We've been on the run, but now Mikael is dead, so we don't have to run anymore." I let my gaze fall to the floor before Nik lifted my chin. "I promise it'll be fine, love." I nodded slightly before pushing myself off the edge of the bed, my feet hitting the cold wooden floor.

"I'm going to head out for a bit, I want to clear my head." He grabbed my hand gently, pulling me back to him with a small smile. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest as I let out a sigh and returned the hug.

"Call me if you run into any trouble," I nodded before he kissed the top of my head and let go.

"I won't be gone long." I grabbed my jacket and slid on a pair of black ankle boots before heading out. I decided to walk around town instead of driving, before long I was in a clothing store.

"Can I help you?" A light, sarcastic voice sounded from behind me, I turned to see Caroline standing with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yeah, actually. If you could leave me alone that'd be great." I turned back to the rack of sundresses.

"Well you could leave Mystic Falls, then you could leave us alone." She scoffed before stepping closer.

"I'm not bothering anyone, you're the one who came up to me. I'm just shopping for a dress." I pulled out a black dress with a bright blue floral pattern on the skirt. I held it up in the mirror before laying over my arm.

"You could have gotten Elena killed, she doesn't want you here, and your brothers-"

"My 'brothers' tried to kill my husband. Not even a day after I lost my best friend. And as far as you go," I turned towards her, my face softened as I recomposed myself, "you're not worth my time, you don't stand a chance against me, so I wouldn't test my patience."

I walked up to the counter and paid for the dress, having it put in a black bag before leaving the store. I stepped out into the bright sun and headed to another store, buying a few tops, bottoms, and shoes, as well as a pair of large sunglasses before going to the grill for a drink.

"Cleo?" I turned to see Elena, the girl who had both my brothers wrapped around her finger. I turned to walk away before I felt a hand lay on my shoulder.

"Cleo wait." I shrugged out of Damon's grasp and turned around.

"Wait for what?" I sighed crossing my arms over my chest, the colorful shopping bags hanging from my arms.

"We're trying to protect you," Elena said from behind Damon, "he's dangerous."

"That's a joke, right?" I scoffed at her and stepped away from Damon. "Maybe you shouldn't be so concerned with who I'm around and maybe take a look at your boy-toys." I turned quickly and walked away, ignoring Damon trying to get my attention. Before I could get too far I felt a sharp pain in my head causing me to drop to the ground. When the pain finally subsided I gathered my bags and turned to face them again. Bonnie was standing behind Damon and Elena.