You Are My Life

Checking In

All four of them left the courthouse to go to the Grill. After a celebratory dinner, they headed back home. Mallorie retired to her room for some relaxation. She curled up in her armchair with a good book and some hot cocoa. 

Before long, Mallorie was dozing off. Someone crashing through her door caused her to bolt upright. Elena closed the door behind her.

"Hey, what's going on?" Mallorie rubbed her eyes.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Were you sleeping?" Elena asked.

"No, I was just resting my eyes." Mallorie set the book down on her side table. "What do you need?"

"I need to fill you in on today's developments." Elena sighed as she sat on the edge of Mallorie's bed. "Mason Lockwood outed Damon and Stefan to Liz."

Mallorie covered her mouth. "No, he didn't. Are they okay?"

"They're fine. Caroline and I were able to intercept them before Liz and her deputies could do too much damage." Elena frowned. "The only issue is that Liz not only knows about them, but she also knows about Caroline."

"How is she?" Mallorie leaned forward.

"Caroline is spending the night at the Salvatores'." Elena sighed. "Needless to say, Liz did not take the news well."

"That's horrible." Mallorie rubbed her forehead. "I can't imagine what Caroline is going through."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put a damper on such a great night." Elena brushed her hair back.

Mallorie shook her head. "No, it's okay. I want to know what is going on with all of you, especially if it's something this big. I need to go check on her tomorrow."

"Yeah, I planned on heading over, too. Stefan took quite a beating." Elena rose. 

"Is Damon okay?" Mallorie asked.

"Yes, he managed to go mostly unscathed." Elena walked to the door. "By the way, he was really nice to Liz. I think you're right, something is different about him."

Mallorie picked up her book and flipped to her page. "He's still an ass."

"Yeah, you're not wrong." Elena sighed. "Have a good night."

"You, too, sister." Mallorie smiled.

Elena returned the grin before walking out the door. After Elena left, Mallorie couldn't get back into her book. Thoughts of Caroline and Damon seeped into her head. With a quiet groan, she flopped onto her bed. It was nearly four in the morning before Mallorie was able to silence the thoughts and fall asleep.

When she woke up, sunlight was already streaming through the windows. She quickly pulled her phone out from under her pillow to see it was almost nine-thirty. With blazing speed, she bolted out of bed and sprinted to the bathroom. In fifteen minutes she was racing out the front door and down the street. 

Mallorie didn't knock when she got to the Salvatores' house. She barged in the front door. In the parlor, Damon was sitting on the couch sipping his morning coffee and reading the newspaper. He turned to look at Mallorie.

"Where's Caroline?" Mallorie closed the door behind her.

"You should learn to knock." Damon set the coffee and newspaper down and stood. "What if I was indecent?"

Mallorie crossed her arms. "It would have brought you too much joy. Now, do you know where Caroline is or not?"

"Blondie? She's in the shower." Damon sat back down and invested himself in the newspaper again.