Children Of The Damned

Damon

“So, what are we going to do about our little infestation, Stef?” I asked as I riffled through my brother’s things, something I knew he hated. Which amused me.

He answered with another question. “We? Since when have you ever been interested in team work, Damon?” He scoffed.

“Am I supposed to take that as a no?” I raised my eyebrows in mock disbelief, even though I already knew what his answer was going to be.

“You know I am going to help you find out who attacked Matt. I just don’t understand what’s in in for you.”

“I can’t just let some rogue vampire run around and ruin all the fun for me. I actually want to stay here and avoid being staked. I thought that part was obvious. I can’t let this continue any more than you can, and the reasons are clear enough. I thought you knew that already.”

“But Damon, it’s more than that. For whatever reason, you feel obligated to help Ana. This has nothing to do with anyone else in this town other than yourself. The truth is, you want to possess her, and if it means hunting down a rogue vampire, you’re game. Because as long as you get what you want, nothing else matters.”

“What a nice long-winded speech you have there, brother. As for my motives, they will remain a mystery. You still haven’t gotten to the best part.”

“Oh, the intrigue,” he said, trying to sound sarcastic, but I knew I had caught his interest now. “So, how is Ana holding up after all the commotion with Matt and the attack.”

“She was absolutely beside herself with worry, of course. She wanted to stay behind to help. She visited him in the hospital today.”

“You really should stop following her, you know.”

“Are you going to act like you didn’t do the same thing to Elena?”

“Is what’s going on between you and Ana the same as what went on between me and Elena?”

I shut up then, but gave Stefan a warning glance as if to say that further comments on the subject were unadvisable.

But Stefan, being Stefan, ignored me. “Ah. You really do care about her, don’t you? As much as you don’t want to admit it, you actually care about her. She means more to you than just blood or possession.”

“Stay out of things you don’t understand, brother.”

“You’re transparent when you’re deflecting.”

That was when I decided it would be best to leave the room before I did something Stefan would regret.

__________________________________________

Eliana

I was not looking forward to the day ahead of me, and it hadn’t even begun yet. How classic was that?

It was a cold day, so I decided to wear my favorite leather jacket over a brown tank top, paired with some grey skinny jeans and black high heeled boots. I grabbed my messenger bag from the closet and went downstairs, using aviators to cover the bags under my eyes. I wrapped a grey and black scarf around my neck and brushed out my hair before putting it up in a quick braid.

My parents were up and about in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee and lazily lifting spoonfuls of oatmeal into their mouths while reading the paper. Just the sight of them annoyed me today. I poured myself a cup of coffee without speaking to them and went up to the bathroom to do my makeup. They didn’t even look up from their sections of the newspaper.

Today, my face looked blotchy and tired. I covered it as best I could with a layer of pale foundation the exact shade of my skin, and lined my eyes with black. Then I quickly brushed on some mascara and applied blush. After slicking on a layer of shimmering lip gloss, the ritual was complete, and I managed to look presentable.

When I walked back down the stairs to the kitchen, coffee cup empty, my parents finally decided to look up at me.

“Honey, did you hear about that animal attack that happened the other night. Apparently the boy is just being released from the hospital today,” my mother said, her voice filled with the appropriate amount of concern. I wondered if she really even cared.

“Hmmm,” I said, all the while wondering how they didn’t know that the boy who was attacked also happened to be my boyfriend. He went to my school. My parents were completely oblivious. I left the house without saying goodbye.

Once at school, I was bombarded with questions from the people who either hadn’t gone to the party or hadn’t been close enough to see the attack. I assured them that I hadn’t seen it happen, and that it wasn’t that bad, really.

Matt would not want people fawning all over him. And I was getting pretty tired of all of the questions.

I found myself wishing I could move back to California, stalker or no stalker. As much drama as I thought I had back in California I think I only managed to accumulate more here in Virginia.

I also remembered that my mother had never been more alive than when she made the decision for us to move across country.

“Honey, you’ll love it,” she had promised me. “We have family there. And they have real seasons over in Virginia. It’s a small, quiet town. You’ll love it,” she had said again. “Trust me.”

Sure, it was small town. A really small town. I could spit from one side to the other, and it was freezing in the winter, so I guess we could definitely say my mother was telling the truth about the seasons. And of course, my cousin Caroline and my aunt lived here. But Caroline was a pain in the ass and I never saw my aunt because she was married to her job as the town’s sheriff. But I wasn’t loving it. Not even close. As soon as we moved in and had a chance to settle down, my parents excitement died down and they got back to their jobs which set up the giant wall between us once more. I was tucked away safely in a small town where there was nothing to do but hang out at the grill or watch the high school football tea, which was what I planned on doing since my boyfriend was the star quarterback.

As soon as school was out, my phone started to ring.

“Hello,” I answered, not bothering to check the caller ID since I was expecting it to be Matt. He was going to be released from the hospital any minute now.

“Hi, honey. I wanted to know if you wanted to get dinner with me tonight at the grill. We haven’t had a chance to get out together since we moved here.”

Gee, whose fault is that?

“Sure, mom. When do you want to meet?”

“Seven.”

“Okay then. Bye mom.”

“See you then,” she said. Click.

“Love you too, mom.”

____________________________________________

Stefan

Ana looked annoyed as she entered the parking lot. Wondering what was wrong, I approached her as she pulled her car keys from her messenger bag.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine. My mom just wants to meet up with me for dinner at the grill tonight. I’m not really in the mood to do anything. Now is just not the time for a faux bonding session with her. You know, she didn’t even know that Matt was my boyfriend. She asked me if I had heard about the animal attack. Can you believe that? She is so completely oblivious. I could disappear off the face of the earth, and I swear she would never even notice I was until the school called and asked why I haven’t been attending lately or something.”

“Well, have you talked to her?”

“Every time I have ever tried, she has said she was too busy. I have accepted a long time ago that she doesn’t have time for anything other than her job. The same goes for my dad.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, pulling her into a friendly hug. She sighed.

“I am too. Thanks, Stefan. I have to go pick up Matt from the hospital. Thanks for listening.”

“Anytime.”

I watched as she got in her car and pulled out of the parking lot, driving away. Elena joined me where I stood by the empty parking space.

“Is something wrong with Ana?”

“She’s just having some family troubles.” Elena nodded in response. She understood what it felt like to have family troubles.

“Hey. Do you have any idea why Damon is here?”

My head shot up in response to her words, and I saw Damon leaning against a tree, well within earshot. He had been listening to my entire conversation with Ana.

What the hell was he up to?