Vampire Diaries Blood Brothers

~Chapter Thirty Six~

Stefan truly is the greatest guy anyone could ask for. He wasn't mad at me for leaving or avoiding his calls, he wasn't mad at me for spending 24 hours alone with his untrustworthy vampire brother, and he wasn't mad at me for telling him I needed time to think about our relationship before seeing him again. Instead, he drove me back home then left just as I had asked, promising me that he would respect my need to take some time until I was in the right head space to make a decision about us. 
   When he dropped me off the first thing I noticed was the familiar car parked in front of the house. I wasn't sure who it belonged to, but something about it looked familiar. The feeling of dread gripped my heart as my hand hovered over the doorknob. I hoped with every inch of my being that whoever owned that car wasn't here at this very moment, because I knew that would make for an awkward, and probably embarrassing, scene for both me and Jenna. 
   As soon as I opened the door Jenna leaped up from the couch. Her expression was stern and unforgiving but the relief in her eyes gave her look of an angry parent away. We both stood on opposite sides of the room, motionless when I turned at the sound of footsteps coming down the hall.
   "Hey Jenna," he started, oblivious to my presence. "What do you think... Uh..." His voice trailed as he saw me standing beside the coat rack. "Eva," he gulped uncomfortably. He glanced at me, then back to Jenna, then to me again. "I think this is my cue to leave," he murmured just loud enough for us all to hear. Stepping awkwardly around the coffee table he leaned into Jenna and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll call you later, OK?" Jenna nodded slightly as he excused himself, practically running out the door before things got any more tense than they already were. 
   The silence resumed once the door had closed, both of us like statues, unsure of where to start and what to say. "I see you and Mr Saltzman are pretty close," I murmured.
   Jenna's pursed lips were replaced by a scowl as she dropped her arms to her side, marching towards me angrily. "I don't set a lot of rules Eva," she growled. "Not with you. I trust you to tell me the truth." Tears pricked her eyes as I slid my arms through the jacket sleeves, folding it before tucking it under my arm. "Where were you and why did you lie to me about it?" She demanded. "I thought we were closer than that."
   A feeling of rage swept through me as Jenna accused me of lying. How dare she go off at me for lying? I lied about one night, one stupid night! How could she do that after lying to me for seventeen years?
   "Now is not the time you want to talk to me about lies, I warned her, scowling as I started up the stairs to my room.
   "Don't do that!" She followed. "Don't turn your back on me. I didn't do anything-"
   "OK question," I turned on my heel, glaring down at her as the moisture built in my eyes once more. "Am I adopted?" The twitch at the corner of her mouth and fear stricken eyes told me everything I needed to know. Yes, I was adopted and yes, she knew. "I trust you to tell me the truth too Jenna. How could you not tell me?" I pleaded, the anger in my tone softening to one full of sadness and heartbreak. "I thought we were closer than that."

~~~

By the time I reached my room my eyes had dried up and there was no water left to spill. Jenna knocked on my door a few times, respecting my privacy enough not to come inside without my permission, but not enough to stop begging for a chance to explain. She probably thought she had a good reason, but I couldn't think of a single one which would make lying to me my entire life acceptable. 
   Mr Saltzman came over while I was in my room which was a relief as it kept Jenna away from pestering me to open the door. Through the walls I managed to hear bits of their conversation - he was doing his best to comfort her which, despite everything, I was glad about. Jenna had never really had a stable relationship and though I didn't know much about Mr Saltzman or his relationship with my Aunt, he made her happy. She deserved that. Even if she was a liar.
   My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out to see Jeremy's name fill the screen, the call button vibrating in the bottom left corner. He hadn't tried calling me while I was in Atlanta, so I assumed Jenna or Stefan must have told him the truth about my adoption. Why else would he try me now?
   "Eva?" Concern plagued Jeremy's voice as he answered the phone, a bunch of kids playing sport in the background. 
   "Hey," I croaked.
   "Eva I'm so sorry," he breathed apologetically. "Jenna told me everything, said the two of you got into a fight when you got back."
   "Yeah," I clutched the roots of my hair, trying not to give my pain away through my uneven breaths and cracked words.
   "You probably want some time to figure this out or write in your diary or whatever, but I just wanted you to know that I love you. I don't care whether you were born of mom and dad, or someone else. Gosh, I don't even care if your birth parents are a couple of nuts or psychos! I love you Eva and you are my sister. You always have been and you always will be, no matter what."
   Tears of joy and love pricked my eyes as Jeremy promised that no matter what happened, nothing would change between us. Hearing that no matter what happened, my little brother would love me for as long as he lived was the best feeling I'd had since my night with Stefan. 
   "Eva, I know things changed between us last Spring but... I want you to know you can talk to me about anything. I love you and I will support you no matter what."
   "I know Jere," I sniffed, smiling as the tears blurred my vision. "And me too, OK? Whatever it is, if you wanna talk about school or friends or work of girls or whatever!"
   We shared a laugh as I leaned my head against the windowsill, unable to keep the smile off of my face as Jeremy launched into telling me every single thing that happened at school today. If he'd done this any other day I'd probably get bored and tell him to tell someone who cared but at this moment all I could think about was how thankful and fortunate I was for having such a great brother like Jeremy. And he was right. It didn't matter whether we were related by blood or my heart, one thing was for sure and it was that our sibling bond was unbreakable.
   "I have to go," he finally finished, the school bell ringing in the background. "I'll see you when I get home, OK?"
   "OK," I cried.
   "And Eva? For what it's worth, I didn't know."