Save Me from Myself

Damon smirked at my previous comment as he started down the driveway and headed for the main road. I sat in the car, quietly looking at the gloomy clouds. The sound of thunder rolled through the area as another lightning bolt split the sky. Soon, droplets of water began to cover the window, blurring my view.
"Look at those clouds! Are you sure we'll get there by midnight?" I looked at him a little worried.
"Sure, I'm a badass driver." Damon grinned. "Come on, don't tell me you got scared. I thought you enjoyed rainy weather." he snickered while keeping his eyes on the road.
"I'm not scared." I shook my head disapprovingly. "I just hate long road trips, that's all." I shrugged.
Damon turned on the radio and looked for some upbeat music to cheer me up, gaining a small smile from me. The water droplets began growing larger and falling frequently as the clouds grew darker and darker. I tried to forget about the bad weather and started tapping my fingers to the rhythm of Runaway by Love and Theft.
"See? It's not that bad." Damon gave me a quick glance.
"Yup! Hartford, Connecticut – here we come!" I threw my hands up in the air cheerfully, making Damon chuckle.
Four hours later I started to feel nauseous, so I told him to pull over so that I could take a breath of fresh air. As soon as he stopped the car, I got out and puked on the side of the road.
"Whoa, what's wrong with you?" Damon looked at me worried as he stepped out of the car and rushed towards me.
"It's called car sickness." I replied weakly. "I told you I hate long trips." I murmured.
"Get back in the car! The last thing you need is to catch a cold." Damon said as he led me back to the passenger seat. "There's a gas station around the corner. I'm gonna buy you some tissues and a bottle of water. I'll be right back." he added calmly.
I sat on the passenger seat with the door wide open, waiting for Damon to return from the gas station. Suddenly, his cell phone started to ring and I ignored it, but the person insisted and I decided to take the third call.
"I'm so sick and tired of this stupid game. Where are you?" a female voice spat angrily in my ear, making me froze for a moment. "Damon?" she insisted after seeing that nobody replied, then she quickly hung up.
'That was weird.' I thought to myself while staring at the cell phone screen. The woman's number appeared as private, so I couldn't figure out who she was. When I was about to put the cell phone back to its place, Damon got back in the car with tissues and a bottle of water and saw me with his phone in my hand.
"Why are you searching through my cell phone?" he questioned me with a guarded look.
"I wasn't searching through your phone. The woman insisted on calling you and I thought that it was important, that's all." I defended myself.
Damon grabbed the phone out of my hand and his face turned pale as he looked at the missed calls.
"It's a private number." I said with a flat voice.
"What did she say?" he asked with a husky voice. "What did the woman say?" he almost shouted at me, causing me to stare at him with big eyes.
"Nothing, just that she's tired of your stupid game. Whatever that means..." I replied bluntly while shutting the door.
Damon put the phone in his pocket, started the engine and drove off without looking at me.
"What game was she talking about?" I asked with my arms crossed together around my chest.
"I don't know. I have no idea who that was. She obviously called the wrong number." he replied with a flat voice.
"Really? Then why did she call you by your name?" I shrugged.
"Are you jealous?" he sneered.
"Me? Jealous?" I laughed in his face. "Yeah, right..." I rolled my eyes at him.
"Of course you're not jealous. You don't give a damn about me." he said bluntly.
I got tired of this stupid conversation, so I took my mp3 player out of my backpack and put my headphones on. Damon turned off the radio and kept his eyes on the road, glancing at me once in a while. During the next two hours, neither of us broke the awkward silence. Every time he wanted to say something, I looked away or just gave him a dark glare, then I finally closed my eyes, pretending like I was asleep.
It was almost midnight when the car stopped, causing me to open my eyes. I pouted when I looked out the window and saw a road sign saying "Welcome to New Haven!". It was still raining heavily and the wind was blowing, furiously bending the roadside trees.
"I need coffee. What do you want me to get you?" Damon asked while pointing at bar that was just across the street.
I looked at him, but I didn't reply.
"Fine, don't talk!" he slammed the door and walked away.
'This is fun...' I ironically thought to myself and sighed.
A few moments later I got out of the car and walked up to the bar. As soon as I opened the door, Damon stopped talking to the bartender, giving me a questioning look.
"I just need to use the bathroom." I said as I walked past him, heading to the restroom.
'God, I feel so tired.' I said to myself after washing my face and looking in the mirror. At that point, all I wanted was to get to Hartford to find a decent hotel and sleep in a comfy bed.
When I got out of the bathroom, Damon was still waiting at the bar table. Without saying a word, I walked past him and out of the bar.
"Here, I brought something to warm you up." Damon handed me a cup of hot chocolate as he got back in the car.
"Thanks!" I shrugged.
"We'll get to Hartford in less than an hour." he said calmly and I just looked at him without saying a word.
Damon rolled his eyes in defeat and mumbled something that I didn't understand as he fastened his seat belt. I put the hot chocolate in the cup holder and waited for him to start the car while I was looking out the window. Suddenly, a tree fell on the hood, its branches covering the windshield. I almost jumped from my seat, letting out a small scream.
"Are you ok?" Damon asked on a worried tone.
"Yes, I'm fine." I replied with a weak voice, still shocked about what happened.
"Stay in the car!" he demanded as he got out in the heavy rainfall.
He struggled to remove the tree from the hood, but he couldn't do it alone, so I got out of the car to help him.
"I told you to stay in the damn car!" Damon shouted angrily.
"What the hell is wrong with you? I'm just trying to help." I shouted back.
"I don't need your help!" he replied emotionless.
"Yes you do. You can't do this alone. You're gonna damage the car." I rolled my eyes at his hot-headedness.
"Why do you care? Just get back in the car!" he shouted again, still struggling to remove the tree from the hood without success.
"So what's the plan, Superman? Are we going to keep fighting in the middle of the pouring rain or will you let me help you?" I mocked Damon, gaining a dark glare from him.
"Oh, just shut up!" he threw his hands up in the air, frustrated.
"Make me!" I scoffed.
"As you wish." he replied bluntly, causing me to give him a questioning look.
Damon let go of the tree and quickly came towards me, then grabbed my waist and pulled me to him, crashing our bodies together. I started to breath heavily as his piercing blue eyes were staring into mine.
"What are you doing?" I babbled with a weak voice, a blush making its way to my cheeks.
"Something I should have done a long time ago." Damon replied before cupping my face between his hands and pressing his lips against mine.
I widened my eyes and froze for a moment as his reckless reaction completely took me by surprise. I instinctively shoved his chest, trying to pull away from the kiss, but the feeling of warmth and pleasure was tempting, so I ended up kissing him back. Sparks flew and I had butterflies in my stomach as our lips moved in perfect harmony, making me forget about the heavy rain that was pouring down on us. It was odd that this was happening, but there didn't seem to be any awkwardness between us. It almost seemed as if this was a common occurrence, something we were used to rather than the first out of the blue kiss that it was.
He started playing with my wet curls as he let our lips fall from the kiss, his crystal blue eyes staring into mine once again.
"Wow, this turned out a lot better than I expected. Maybe you do have feelings for me after all." Damon chuckled softly, making me blush and look away to avoid his gaze.
Soon, we pulled away from each other as we heard footsteps coming in our direction. As soon as the man approached us, we recognized him as the bartender.
"Do you need help with that tree?" the old man asked with a kind voice.
"Yes, we would appreciate it." I replied with a small smile.
Damon handed me the cardigan and the hot chocolate from the cup holder, telling me to wait for him at the bar. I nodded and quickly headed to the bar and sat at a table, looking out the window at Damon and the other man as they were struggling with the heavy tree. About 15 minutes later, both of them walked inside the bar.
"Thank you so much for your help!" I said to the man as he and Damon sat at my table.
"You're welcome, dear! My name is Anthony Patterson." he replied on a friendly tone.
"I'm Madeleine Thorne." I added with a smile.
"So, where are you two heading on such a stormy weather?" Anthony asked curiously.
"My mother's aunt from Hartford City passed away and we're attending the funeral in the morning." I said before taking a sip from my cup of hot chocolate.
"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the bridge collapsed and you can't get to Hartford tonight. I just heard it on the radio before I got out to help you." his voice suddenly became sadder.
"Really? Isn't there any other way to get to Hartford?" I pouted.
"The car is damaged, Maddy. We can't leave this town tonight." Damon said bitterly. "Do you know if we can find a hotel around here?" he asked Anthony.
"Don't worry about that, you can stay at my place tonight. My wife Susan likes having guests over. We live only a couple houses down." Antony replied with a smile.
Anthony's idea seemed to be the best option at the time, since the streets were flooded, the car was damaged and the hotel was too far, so we decided to spend the night at his house. After closing the bar, the three of us got in the car and headed to Anthony's place.
His house was small and humble, but very clean and cozy at the same time. As soon as we stepped inside, his wife greeted us with a heartwarming voice and led us to the guest room.
"This was our son's room, but we turned it into a guest room when he got married." Susan said on a cheerful tone. "Make yourselves comfortable! I'll let you know when the dinner is ready." she added before heading back to the kitchen.
I stood there awkwardly, looking at the bed and remembering the conversation I had with Damon earlier that evening when I told him that we would sleep in separate rooms.
"I'll let you change into some dry clothes." Damon said before walking out of the room.
I unpacked all my clothes, changed into my pyjamas and put the rest of the clothes in the wardrobe, then went to find Damon. He was sitting on the living room couch, reading the local newspaper.
"Cute PJ's!" he smirked at the sight of my new purple pyjamas.
"Thanks! Where are your clothes, by the way?" I asked curiously.
"I didn't bring any." he shrugged.
"What about your pyjamas?" I asked surprised.
"Who needs them? I sleep in boxers." he grinned, making me blush.
"There you are! I brought you some dry clothes. They belong to my son, but I'm sure they fit you." Susan interrupted our conversation and handed Damon some clothes.
"Thank you!" he replied before going to the guest room to change.
"Dinner is almost ready." Susan said with a smile.
"I'll help you set the table." I replied before following her to the kitchen.
Dinner was absolutely delicious. Susan made macaroni and cheese, chicken steak and the most delicious apple pie I've ever eaten. I insisted on helping Susan with cleaning up the table and the dishes, then went back to the guest room to get some rest.
When I entered the room, Damon was lying in bed with his eyes closed. Without making too much noise, I snuggled under the covers. 'Whew, at least he has clothes on.' I let out a sigh of relief before closing my eyes and trying to fall asleep. But the next moment, I felt his hand gently touching mine, entwining out fingers together. Taken by surprise, I suddenly opened my eyes, but I didn't say a word. We just stood there in silence for a while, staring at each other and breathing heavily.
"Before we left Mystic Falls you warned me not to make you regret the trip. Do you... regret it?" Damon broke the silence.
"Are you asking me about the trip or about the kiss?" I answered his question with another question.
"Both." he replied slightly surprised.
"No, I don't regret any of them." I said as I felt a blush making its way to my cheeks.
"In that case, you won't mind if I do this." Damon replied as he leaned over and kissed my lips.
Not holding my emotions back, I wrapped my arms around his neck and combed my fingers through his silky hair, the warmth of his lips sending a rush of tingles through my body. Eventually, breaking into a smile, I accidentally broke our kiss, causing him to smile as well.
"I'm sorry I shouted at you tonight." Damon whispered in my ear.
"I'm not." I replied with a smile, looking him in the eyes, causing him to give me a wondering look. "None of this would have happened if you hadn't shouted at me." I clarified. "I'm sorry about your car, though." I pouted.
"Don't worry about the car. I'll take care of it in the morning." he said on a comforting tone. "Let's just sleep. It's been a long and crazy day." he added before he turned off the nightlight.
"Good night!" I replied with a sleepy voice.
I snuggled against Damon's chest, earning a soft kiss on my forehead. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close and tucking my head under his chin. I quickly fell asleep with a dumb smile on my face, feeling happy and protected in his warm embrace.
My happiness quickly faded as forgotten memories started haunting me in my sleep. I tried so hard to remember where I had previously seen Stefan's demonic face, but now I wish I had never found out. Unfortunately, my dream brought up the image of the night when Damon punched Jeremy in the face and stared with hungry eyes at his bloody nose.
I suddenly woke up crying and screaming, roughly pulling away from Damon's hug and jumping out of bed. He opened his eyes and quickly walked up to me, trying to calm me down.
"Don't worry, everything is ok. It was just a nightmare." he spoke with a soft voice, tightly wrapping his arms around me.
"Don't touch me!" I spat angrily and pushed him away, still unable to control myself, causing him to stare at me with widened eyes.
My eyes were full of anger, fear and regret. 'How could I have been so stupid? If Stefan is a vampire, it means that Damon is a vampire too. What am I gonna do now?' I couldn't help but blame myself for missing something this big. Suddenly, I knew that the real nightmare has just begun.