Eat Your Heart Out

I took a whiff of the drink and could tell there was some sort of alcohol in it. Once more I sipped it, gagging as it went down my throat. “What’s in this?” I asked, eyeing the mysterious liquid.

“Just a little something to help the pain.”

“It’s got alcohol in it.” I said slowly cocking an eyebrow in his direction.

“Scotch, actually. And a bunch of water.”

“That explains why it tastes disgusting.”

“The fact that it’s scotch?”

“The fact that you watered down the scotch.” I took another sip, trying to finish it. I had one goal in mind, and that was to go home.

His brows were furrowed as he looked at me. “How old are you anyway?”

“18, but I’ll be 19 soon enough.”

“And you’re upset because I watered down the scotch?”

“No one’s perfect.” I said, almost draining the cup. “Just don’t let the twins know,” I said giving him a small smile.

He sat on the bed, about where my knees were and took a sip of his own drink. “Ah, still going through that pesky rebellious teenage stage I see,”

“Oh it’s not a phase,” I replied downing the last of the nasty concoction, “it’s a lifestyle.” I held the glass out to him. “Home, please.”

He took the glass and set it on the other side of him. “I said that we would talk about it, I didn’t say I would bring you home.”

“Dude, seriously, I have work.”

“Dude, seriously, I don’t care.” He stood and walked out the door, my guess bringing the cups downstairs. “Stay!” He yelled as he disappeared out the door.

Like hell I would.

Throwing off the covers, I slipped my feet into my shoes, grabbed my clothes and stood. When I stood, it seemed that my ankle didn’t hurt as bad as before. In seconds I was out of the door and down the stairs. My guess was that the scotch did its job and took away part of the pain. I made it down to the door and almost made it out when a hand slammed the door shut in front of me.

“Guess that drink worked a little too well.”

“You said I could go home when I was done, I finished the damn drink.”

“I told you we would stay put and talk about it,”

“That’s not fair! –“

“Hey, what’s the problem here?” Stefan butted in from the top of the stairs. I could hear his footsteps before I could see him.

“Damon said if I would drink this nasty thing, then I could go home. He’s not letting me go!”

“I said that we would talk about it –“

“Why not just let her go?”

“Because I had a few questions first and she had already proven that she can’t take care of herself alone anyway.”

“I can take care of myself –“

“Which is why I found you in a middle of a road, hurt.”

“That wasn’t exactly my fault!”

“Then whose was it?”

Stefan intervened at that point. “Surely we can work something out. Damon, she wants to go home so let her. And then, Kris, you could stay here tonight.”

“What?” I shouted the same time Damon just nodded.

I glared at the both of them. “I can take care of myself.” It came out as a growl and I pulled the door open after that and left. Stefan followed close behind me.

“Kris, look. Please –“ he grabbed my arm and made me face him. “I know that you can take care of yourself alright? But who was it that attacked you last night? Did Jeremiah come back?”

Sighing, I ran a hand through my messy hair. “There may have been a small run-in last night,”

“Kris, then please let us help you,”

“Help me with what, Stefan?” I said, getting frustrated. Turning on my heel, I continued my journey to the house. Stefan kept pace.

“Look, just until your brothers get back, okay? What if this happens again and neither of us are around to stop it?”

“How many times do I have to tell you I am going to be fine?”

“As many as you want, but I’m still hoping you’ll take my offer.”

I unlocked the door and turned to face him. “Stefan, to be honest, I don’t really want to be around Damon. I’d rather take my chances at home.”

“There’s a spare room by my room you can stay there. I’ll make sure he stays away. I’ll even see if Elena will stay and you can stay busy with her. But something’s not right with this Jeremiah guy.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Stefan,”

“Kris, do it for me, as a friend, please? He attacked you at school and at home. What makes you think he won’t attack you again?”

“Stefan…” he looked at me with a pitiful look. “Fine…”

“Thank you.” He replied with a slight smile. “Text me when you get off alright?”

I nodded, before stepping in my house. “I will. See you later.” I gave him a small wave and went upstairs to pack a small back for this weekend and change
for work.

~*~

Work itself was not bad, but it was long. I made decent tips, which is normal for a Friday night, called the cops on a bar fight that almost happened, and soon enough it was midnight and I got to go home.

I practically sprinted to the car and, after making sure it was securely locked, sent Stefan a text letting him know that I was on my way home.

The one problem with this town was that there were no street lights…at all. And after everything that had happened, I was overly paranoid. Pulling up to the house about ten minutes later, the nerves started to kick in again. Quickly, I gathered all my things, held onto the house key and made a break for it.

This time, I didn’t drop my keys and made it in safely. The door slammed shut behind me and I let out a breath that I didn’t know that I was holding onto. Flicking on all of the lights, my feet silently carried me up the stairs for my room where I quickly put together a small bag for the weekend.

As I finished changing into something comfortable, there was a light knock at my door. I pulled my white hoodie over my head and walked down to the front door. Opening it, I glared at the figure leaning calmly against the frame.

“You just won’t go away, will you?”

“Nope,”

“Where’s Stefan?”

“I think he’s working on your room.”

“Oh.”

“Can I come in?”

I stared at him for a moment, the statement unnerving me. Slowly, things began to click in my mind. The statement, the unnaturally quick movements, the ruby liquid, my miraculous recovery – it took everything I had not to let out a groan. I silently prayed I had just misread everything.

“Hello?” He asked waving a hand in my face.

“Uh..no..I-I was just headed out anyway. Give me a second and I’ll grab my bag.” I shut the door and turned, quickly going up the stairs. Damon Salvatore, a vampire? Did that make Stefan one too?

My mind was reeling trying to find a different excuse. I had left New York to escape Jeremiah and his little gang, and all the other night crawlers out there. I came here to start over and yet, it looked like I had two as next door neighbors.

Shaking my head to clear the thoughts, I smoothly picked up the blue duffle sitting on the bed, flipped off the lights in the house, grabbed my keys, and followed Damon back over to the boarding house.

Stefan met us at the door and freed me from Damon. We chatted for a while about the day and he gave me a quick tour of the house ending with the spare bedroom he was allowing me to sleep in.

“You have to understand, no one has stayed in this bedroom for a while, so I apologize in advance.” He said before opening the door.

“It’s fine, really. Thank you for letting me use a room.”

“You’re welcome. Just to let you know. Bathroom is down the hall on the right, my bedroom is here,” he pointed to the door to my right, “and Damon’s is on the end.” He finished pointing to my left.

“Okay,” I said giving him a small smile. He opened the door, leading me into a beautiful room. It had white walls, a grey carpet, and beautiful old wooden furniture. “It’s beautiful,” I said, gawking at everything as I stepped inside.

“I’m glad you like it,”

Turning, I gave him a hug. “I’m going to go to bed. But thanks for kind of forcing me to stay.”

“Once more, you’re welcome. And if you need anything, I’m right next door.”

“Okay.”

“Goodnight, Kris,” he said, breaking the hug and shutting the door.

“Good night.”

Walking over to the plush bed, I kicked off my shoes and quickly climbed under the covers and fell asleep.