Vampire Diaries Blood Brothers

~Chapter Fifty Five~

Stefan Salvatore

The empty whiskey glass shattered in my fist, the shards piercing the flesh of my palm. Crimson spots dotted my hands before the skin bound itself together as though nothing had happened. I snatched the bottle from the drinks cart and popped the lid, the cork smashing the window on the far side of the room. A part of me wanted to fix it, but there was a stronger more dominant part of me that relished the destruction. I tipped the whiskey down my tingling throat, inhaling its contents far too quickly. 
   My frustrated yell echoed around the parlor as I slammed the hollow bottle into the fire, the embers roaring to life just as the monster in me had when Eva had given me her blood. Eva. Tears pricked my eyes as I clutched my head, tugging the roots of my hair until my scalp hurt. I bit her. I bit her. How could I have bitten her? I loved Eva more than I had ever loved anything or anyone in my life and I bit her. A week ago I was sweet, caring, loving, and compassionate. I was the perfect gentleman, the man Eva wanted and deserved, the man I wanted to be. And now? Now I was my worst nightmare, the very thing I'd spent the last century trying to bury, a ferocious monster who was so controlled by his bloodlust that he tried to feed on the love of his life. How did I fall so far?
   The low rumbling of a familiar car engine put a halt to my pacing as I peered out the window, shifting the drape aside with my pinky as I studied the Gilbert's car roll to a stop on the gravel. I frowned, my brow knitting together as a short and sharply dressed man with a wide forehead emerged from the vehicle. We never had visitors, besides Eva of course, and those mindless college girls Damon always had over. I ran my tongue over my dry, cracked lips. Mm, sorority girls...
   "Hello?" 
   Shoving the tantalizing thought of young blood out of my mind, I zipped through the parlor to the front door where I met the Gilbert's car thief. Surprise flickered across his face as I forced a polite smile. "Hi, may I help you?"
   The left side of his face contorted as he tilted his head, grinning from ear to ear as he stuck his hand out at me like a gun. "You must be Stefan, I'm John Gilbert. Eva's uncle."
   My lips parted slightly as I ran my burning tongue against the parched skin. John Gilbert? He knew Isobel, and he probably knew Eva's birth father too... Did Eva ask him here without telling me? 
   "Uh... Mr. Gilbert," I finally managed. Opening the door further, I took his outstretched hand in a firm grip just as a perfectly polite and gentlemanly human boyfriend might if he were meeting his girlfriend's father for the first time. Careful not to crush his fragile human bones, I shook his head, holding my breath as I did. "It's a pleasure to meet you," I lied, releasing his grasp. "Eva has told me a lot about you."
   He chuckled, rocking back on the balls of his worn leather loafers as he shoved his hand in the dirtied pocket of his gray jeans. "All bad things I'm sure," he joked. 
   An awkward silence stretched between us as his ugly chuckle turned into an uncomfortable and raspy inhalation. Pretending to look around, he tilted his head and rubbed the back of his wrinkled neck with his hand. My brows knitted together as the gleaming sunlight caught on a piece of silver hugging his finger. "Nice ring," I murmured.
   He raised his eyebrows, holding his hand out between us as he studied the shiny black stone and the unidentifiable silver symbol embossed overtop. "Oh, thank you," he flashed a grin.
   "Family heirloom?" I raised a brow.
   He hesitated, narrowing his eyes before drawing his hand back into his pocket. "Something like that."
   "Well," I broke the silence, cupping the edge of the wooden door. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Gilbert-"
   "John, please," he interrupted. "Mr. Gilbert is so formal."
   I forced a tight-lipped smile. "John, it was nice to meet you but if this is a social visit then I'm afraid I'll have to take a raincheck. I have a..." I gulped, the burning tingle of thirst growing at an uncontrollable rate in my throat. "Personal matter," I coughed, "to attend to. If you don't mind," I added politely.
   He slapped his thighs, nodding as he backed away slightly. "Of course, where are my manners. I'm sorry for coming unannounced, I just... Well, as I'm sure you know I don't see my niece very often and when I heard she had a boyfriend, well, I just had to meet him," he beamed, his eyes lighting up as he slapped the side of my shoulder. 
   My body tensed as my almost-smile faded completely. I rolled my lips into my mouth, counting in my head as I held my breath and my nose as John Gilbert's sleazy aroma radiated. "I understand." Eighteen, nineteen, twenty.
   "Yeah well, Eva doesn't have a dad anymore and Jeremy, well, you've met Jeremy right? He's a bit... Anyway, someone's gotta look out for her."
   I blinked. Was he serious? The uncle who only ever visited his family for his own gain thought he was better suited for looking out for Eva than the aunt who dropped her entire life to take care of Eva? Or the brother who yes, fell off the rails for a bit, but would now do anything for Eva? Or the best friend who stuck by her side all Summer while the world moved on around her? Or the town who would rally around Eva in an instant? Or me? Or even Damon? (Yeah Damon was a dick but from what I'd heard about dear old uncle John he'd probably help Eva before John even knew she needed it). 
   "That's very kind of you, but Eva has people in her life who look out for her."
   John snorted. "I'm sure she does, but, come on," he held his arms out like that Han Solo guy, Eva's favorite character from the movies Star Wars. "I'm her uncle."
   "You are, but Eva has plenty of love and support and people looking out for her too. Maybe if you'd stuck around or cared enough to call in once in a while you would know she was in good hands."
   He tilted his head, a dazed look of amazement in his lake-water hued eyes. "Whose hands? Your hands?" He took a step forward, less than an inch between our bodies as he stared up into my hard brown eyes. "You listen to me and you listen very closely because I'm not gonna say this again: You had better stay far, far away from Eva. You're not good for her, and don't bother with the whole 'you don't even know me' speech. I may not know you, but I know what you are and you are going to stay away from Eva."
   I turned my head, my jaw set and eyes narrowed. "Or what?"
   He hesitated, the cogs turning in his head as he studied my fierce glare. "Or Isobel will step in," he confessed, stepping back and presuming the casual stance he had when he first knocked on my door. "I may be a lying dirtbag but believe me when I say you do not want that to happen."
   Before I could say anything John stuck his hand out and that stupid fake grin returned as he grasped my stiff fingers. "I know you'll do what's best for Eva," he remarked, his set of metal keys jangling in his grasp as he pulled them from his jacket pocket. "You wouldn't want to get her killed too."