Humanity 3 "The Renewal"

Chapter 11

Last night, Elena decided to have Damon compel Jeremy to leave town. He’s staying with relatives in Denver to start his life over. I didn’t think that was fair to him, but what choice do we have at this point? Everything keeps going to hell. It’s not fair for anyone to live like this.

My fist pounds into the punching bag.

I can’t take any of this anymore. I have been trying, for so long, to make it seem like I can deal with all of this. I can’t and the truth is, I never could. There was never a part of me that wanted to live this life.

I pound the bag again.

This was forced upon me and if I could start over, I would never choose this again.

Another hit on the punching bag.

Yes you would. My subconscious reminds me. If you didn’t live this life, you wouldn’t have met these people. You wouldn’t have met Damon.

Thoughts begin to cloud my head as I deliver another strong punch.

“Hey, you’re gonna put a hole in that thing.” Ric says, coming into the living room of his apartment. “You wanna talk about it?”

I shake my head as I punch the bag again. “Nothing to talk about.”

DAMON’S POV

I wrap a towel around my waist and walk out of the shower, into my room. I come around the corner and Stefan is standing in the doorway of my bedroom.

“Good morning.” I smile.

“You’re late.” He says coldly. “We’re supposed to meet Bonnie at the witch house in ten minutes.”

“Relax, brother. You don’t want your hair to fall out.”

“Would you hurry up? We have work to do. You know, Klaus isn’t gonna spontaneously self-destruct.” He says as I walk over to my closet.

I turn to face him and shoo him out with my hands so I can change. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

ASHLEY’S POV

Ric holds the punching bag as I continue to hit it.

“So, what’s got you all worked up?” He asks.

“I didn’t really sleep last night.” I admit.

“Yeah, me neither. Probably something to do with dying…” He trails off.

“Are you okay?” I ask him.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine. I think the ring, however, is running low on batteries.” He explains and that’s what I was afraid of.

“That’s another reason why Jeremy had to get out of town. If those rings have a shelf life, he is not protected, neither of you are.” I say as I punch the bag again, as hard as I can.

“Nice. You’re getting stronger.” Ric says as he stumbles back a bit with the force of my punch.

“I’m just channeling frustration. I need coffee.” I say, removing my gloves and walking into his kitchen.

“Seems Damon’s compulsion worked, Jeremy was packing when I left there, going on about his new school in Denver.” Ric tells me and that hurts me.

I try not to think about that as I change the subject. “Have you talked to Damon today?”

“No. Why?” He asks.

“No reason. I just haven’t seen him.” I say with a sigh.

DAMON’S POV

Stefan and I are walking up to the witch house and let’s just say that the tension is thick. I’m not sure how much I trust an alliance with my brother at the moment.