Sweetest Revenge (Vampire Diaries Fanfiction)

Chapter Three

When I was a little girl, I believed everything I did was supported by my family.

The feeling of being immune and invincible to bullies and hostility... it outweighed any insignificant emotion such as sadness or embarrassment.

I had brothers. 5 of them, and I was the only girl. Why worry about something as insignificant as my safety when they would ensure it? My three younger brothers wouldn't have been able to help in any way then, but my two older brothers had shut down every wrong look a person gave me with a look of their own.

If I could change anything of my childhood, it would be that. The false sense of security.

But that was the wrong way to put it. The security was not false. My brothers would have saved me from anything—in their power—and while they might not have paid too much attention to my emotions, they certainly made up for it in terms of my well-being.

What more could a girl want? I had a family, brothers who loved me and cared for me, a set path in my life. I could mess up a thousand times over and it wouldn't matter if I had a family to come home to, to see them look at me— even while disappointed—with love.

I would kill for that life again.

That wasn't even an over-statement. I would literally kill for it, because I have known more sadness and desperation—devastation in these past two years than I have ever supposed to have known. My security and protection shattered with shots of a gun. Four shots, to be exact. And three more brought down the lives of my younger brothers while I ran like the foolish, insecure mess of a girl I was.

"I'm not that girl anymore." I growled. I turned and slammed the wall with my fist and a moment of white pain blinded me before my wrist and knuckles healed.

"The punching bag is up there for a reason." Carlo said from behind me.

I whirled on him in fury.

"I don't—"

I cut myself off with a bite of my lip and took control. Some days my emotions took over. There was a time when I was ruled by them—and now I suppressed them and they felt almost alien.

"What was it you wanted today?" I asked and slipped off the gloves over my knuckles. Carlo stood in the doorway, his face blank.

I didn't exactly know what Carlo was... if he was a warlock, or like me in the sense that he's 'gifted' with no certainty of power—except Carlo was always powerful and always will be. My power depended on a certain activation.

He must be European. He had tanned skin, dark, green/blue eyes that always seemed to shift, and he was tall and well built. His expression always bordered on arrogance.

He also never gave anything about himself away.

"I assume you've heard about the blast that killed almost all the council members?"

I kept my expression impassive, although I was thinking... how convenient that is for me.

"There were survivors?" I asked. He shook his head once.

"Not all council members attended. Everyone who was involved in the capturing of the vampires was killed." He paused and gave me a look. "Don't look so satisfied, Isabella. They were people."

I gritted my teeth and held his gaze. I thought I was getting better at keeping my emotions from my face. To be fair, Carlo hardly cared whether they were people or not. He just liked keeping me in check.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I want you to go to the memorial today and see how many vampires there are in town."