The More Things Change

Ten

A chill haunted me the entirety of the drive to the Boarding House. It spread throughout my limbs as if I were freezing as night's shadows rushed by beyond the window. If it wasn't being exorcised from Elena's body, it might've been the silence emanating from the front seat. The occasional flicker of Damon's stare in the rearview mirror. The way Stefan kept combing his hand through his hair. With the radio off the car was quiet. Only the whisper of the road beneath the tires to fill the silence.

Despite the soft lighting, the Boarding House loomed over the grounds once night had fallen. Damon pulled around where a carriage house once stood, renovated into a garage. The camaro glided inside. Once the car shut off, his eyes sought me out in the mirror. "Home sweet home."

I pulled my jacket tighter around me, as if that might ward off the frost filling my veins.

Stefan was the first out. His eyes were shadowed beneath a brooding brow, his lips turned into a slight frown. He left the garage without a backwards glance.

Damon's reflection tracked him. "Hm." Crinkles appeared around his eyes. "Been too long since he snapped a neck or two."

My brows pulled low. "That's not funny."

"Wasn't trying to be." Damon stretched his own neck out and added, "Now. About those answers—"

I pushed my way out of his car, shivering a little as the night air brushed against me. "Can we do this inside?"

Damon was out and leaning against the door as soon as it banged shut. "Not going to do anything weird, are you? Like make strange nests dripping with goo or pop out of anyone's chest?"

I fixed him with a flat, distinctly unamused look. "I told you, I'm human."

His eyes widened as he leaned the slightest bit forward. "Maybe you're just saying that. Trying to fool me. And the instant I let my guard down, you're going to spit out a face hugger."

"If I was going to plant an egg down your throat, I think I'd have done it this afternoon," I pointed out tartly.

His lips firmed into a line before stretching into a wry smile. "Good point." He extended an arm. "After you."

A cobblestone path to the main house guided me across the lawn. Damon hurried forward to open the door for me, waiting until I'd passed then following. I paused, letting him take the lead once we were both inside.

Damon took an immediate left, towards the room he'd emerged from the day before, during his little sorority get together. Taking hold of double doors, he swung them open in one grand push.

The room beyond was familiar. From the wet bar at the far side, to the fireplace that dominated the center and pulled in the eye. The walls were hidden behind bookshelves that stood as tall as the ceiling. The furniture was all antique, perfectly upkept as they shone inthe light from the standing and overhead lamps, alongside the two large windows to either side of the fireplace. It smelt of woodsmoke, leather, and the faintest hint of aged paper.

I wasn't surprised when Damon's first stop was the bar. Glass clinked together as he lifted a decanter of what I supposed was bourbon. Pouring himself a generous portion, he took a long sip before his attention settled in my direction. "Help yourself."

My boots sank into the plush rug that covered the entire length of the room. As soon as I was close enough to reach out and pluck a glass, Damon indicated a bottle with a wave of his drink. "Tequila's there."

I picked it up. The label was in Spanish, and I'd never gotten beyond the first year in high school to translate it. But it was the deepest gold I'd ever seen, almost an ochre. Lifting the tumbler to my lips, I breathed in the sharp scent and tilted back the whole thing. It was smooth as cream on my tongue and flowed down my throat like water. I didn't stop, swallowing mouthful after mouthful, until the whole of the glass was gone.