Vampire Diaries Blood Brothers

~Chapter Thirty Five~

As soon as I invited him into the motel room Damon was on the other side of the room in a flash, his feet barely touching the floor as he leaped onto the bed closest to the window, folding his arm behind his head as though he were sunbathing on the beach as he sunk into the soft mattress.
   Watching him hold his phone above his face, I shook my head slightly, sitting on the edge of the bed while I unzipped my Christian Dior boots. I was still a little shaken up from being held captive by a vampire, almost having to watch Damon die, then witnessing him re break his ribs and holding them together so they would heal correctly. There was one bright side though. Since I'd saved Damon's life with my talking the vampire out of killing him, he owed me one. He couldn't mock or make fun of me for being a little unnerved because I was the reason he was still here. I wasn't sure how long it was last, but I was going to make the most of it.
   "Damon... Why did you bring me with you?" I queried, crossing my legs as I folded my jacket in my lap, placing it on the ottoman sitting against the end of the bed.
   "Well," he shrugged. "You're not the worst company in the world," he considered. "You should give yourself more credit."
   "I used to be more fun," I sighed wistfully.
   "You did OK," he smiled, his lips pressed together.
   I leaned back on the bed, my hands folded atop my chest as the soft pillows surrounded the frame of my face, my hair pinned beneath my head. "I saved your life," I beamed proudly, sitting up so I could meet Damon's eyes.
   "I know." His smile and raised eyebrows revealed amusement, but his eyes and tense posture made me wonder how he really felt about that. The slight twitch at the corner of his mouth made me suspect either embarrassment or maybe hate. Hate that I, Eva Gilbert, a mere mortal teenage girl, saved him, a powerful vampire with no humanity.
   "And don't you forget it," I ordered, unable to keep the grin off of my face.
   Glaring, Damon shook his head slightly, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Why can't you just play a game on your phone or be anti social like other teenagers?" 

The television wasn't working so I switched my phone on, bored since Damon's delightful aura and topics of conversation had ceased when he disappeared into the bathroom to have a shower. My phone froze before is went into a spasm caused by the gazillion number of missed calls and texts.
   "Oh no," I breathed.
   "What?" Damon looked up, pouring a complimentary packet of M&M's down his throat as he emerged from the bathroom.
   "I turned my phone off to avoid Stefan," my voice faltered as Jenna's contact filled my screen, her eleventh call in the last hour. "I forgot about Jenna."
   "So?" He raised his eyebrows, tossing the packet on the ground.
   "So, she has no idea where I am or what happened!" I let out a frustrated groan. "Agreeing to look after Jeremy and I was the biggest sacrifice she's ever had to make. She had a hard enough time in the beginning trying to deal with Jeremy's addictions, I'm supposed to be the mature, responsible one. We have trust. She doesn't have to keep checking in on me like she did for Jere. We're more like friends, or sisters even, not guardian and dependent. She's done so much for me and the least I can do is make it as easy as possible for her. She didn't deserve this."
   "Maybe," he shrugged, slowly striding towards the door.
   "Where are you going?" I demanded, an arrow of panic piercing my heart.
   "Um... Never had a chance to thank Bree," he pursed his lips, his tone slow and... Nervous? "And I forgot my jacket."
   "Oh," I nodded thoughtfully. "I'll come too then," I decided, sliding my arms through the jacket sleeves. "To thank Bree," I added as I grabbed my boots from the floor.
   "Uh," a crease formed on his forehead. "You don't need to do that."
   "Sure I do. She let me into a bar, despite my age, and was a great contender in that drinking contest. Besides, a lot has happened and some fresh air would do me good. It's pretty stuffy in here," I lied, scrunching my nose.
   "It's raining. You might catch a cold," he stated in a matter-of-fact voice. "Stefan would kill me if I got you sick," he pointed out.
   "Thanks dad," I rolled my eyes. "Since when were you the responsible one?"
   "Since I promised to keep you safe," he reminded me as I finished zipping the last boot.
   "I'm sure I'll be fine."
   "Yeah, but," he leaned against the wall uncomfortably. "I didn't want to say this but I need to make a call to a certain someone. A someone you're avoiding and if you're there with me he won't let me get a word out until I let him speak to you. And, you know how annoying that is," he rolled his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips.
   "And what's this call about exactly?" I folded my arms.
   "Well, gotta check in the little bro for one thing, make sure he hasn't gotten himself into any trouble. Plus, I gotta make sure all my work with the Council hasn't been undone while I've been gone. You know how it is, making sure all the secret vamp stuff is still, uh, secret," he coughed.
   "Why don't you just lie then? I can hang out with Bree while you talk to Stefan and you can tell him I'm fast asleep at the motel. Give him a taste of his own medicine," I murmured the end.
   "And why don't you just stay here?" He challenged, blocking the door with his arm.
   My gaze faltered as my head dropped, my eyes fixed on my shoes. Damon shifted his position, obviously trying to figure out what was wrong. The fact that I was scared to be alone was embarrassing and I had no idea how he would react. I knew I'd have to tell him, but I really, really didn't want to. Lucky for me, I didn't need to. 
   "You don't want to be alone," he realised. "Do you?" I shook my head silently, my cheeks reddening as he scrutinised my expression. "Eva, I promised to keep you safe and I've kept that promise so far, right? I mean, that thing with Bree's boyfriend wasn't great but you were safe. I keep my promises, or at least the ones I mean, unlike Stefan," he snickered. "Anyway, I meant what I said and as long as your are in here you are completely safe," he reassured me.
   "But-"
   "Give me your phone," he interrupted.
   "What-"
   "Just, give it here," he urged, waving his hand in front of me.
   "OK..." I breathed, frowning as Damon tapped violently on the keys. "I've just put my number in your contacts so if anything happens, call me."
   "Thanks, but I can't call you if I'm dead," I mumbled grimly, looking at the selfie he took for his contact picture. How could a murdering psycho like Damon look so handsome even while posing as a vampire? His fingers were bent into claws and he was growling, although his teeth looked pretty human from what I could tell. He looked how a five year old might pose as a vampire on Halloween, only without the white makeup and fake fangs.
   "Eva, you had to invite me inside so that I could enter," he reminded me. "I put the room under your name so no vampire can enter without your say so. Alright? You'll be fine. Besides, by the time you've figured out what to do about your Aunt I'll be back. You won't even know I'm gone."
   And with that, he disappeared.