Not About You

Chapter Twenty-Seven

A/N: This has not been edited. I just wanted to get it out because it's been so long. Any tweaks made later will be small and not affect the story. I apologize for the delay. 

***

The decision was made to take Liz back the boarding house and wait for the vervain to leave her system so she could be compelled. Lucy was less than thrilled with the plan but kept her mouth shut. It would easy enough for her to avoid the dungeon while they had a guest.

Caroline had just arrived home after going to retrieve some clothes for her mother's stay. Lucy followed her friend to the basement, unwilling to leave her alone with her mother after the earlier events. They had nearly reached the room when the threads of conversation reached them.

"Keep Caroline away from me, please," Liz said, her voice breaking.

"What?" Damon responded. "What are you talking about? She's your daughter, Liz."

"Not anymore, she's not."

Caroline whimpered low in her throat and dropped the suitcase as her hand flew to her mouth. Tears pooled in her eyes. She fled back up the stairs.

Lucy growled in irritation and stepped into the room. "I can't believe you. What the hell is wrong with you? You fucking bitch." She strode across the room as she yelled. A firm arm impacted with her waist and swept her up to keep her from getting any closer to the sheriff.

"Easy, kitten." Damon's voice in her ear served to calm her. Slightly.

"She hurt Caroline," Lucy protested as she struggled uselessly against her boyfriend's hold.

He simply tightened his grip and shifted his hold so he was hugging her to his chest. "I know, baby. It's okay. It's all gonna be okay."

It wasn't. She knew that. But having Damon tell her everything would be fine while he held her and ran fingers through her hair went a long way to shifting her emotions. Suddenly feeling very tired, Lucy leaned against him. "She made her cry." Lucy's voice was weak, defeated. She tore her gaze away from the other woman and focused all her attention on Damon. "She probably doesn't even care. She's too fucking selfish. Always has been."

Lucy pulled herself from the vampire's hold and headed up the stairs to find Caroline. Stopping at the top of the stairs, Lucy took a deep breath and pulled herself together. She had to be strong and positive for her friend.

Her friend that she couldn't seem to find anywhere. Giving up, Lucy stood in the entryway and yelled the blonde's name. Stefan appeared a minute later. "She's with me."

That was all Lucy needed to know. She gave him a nod in acknowledgement. "Take care of her and tell her I love her."

In a flash, he was gone. Lucy was overdue for a meal but right now the only thing she wanted was a nap. Well, she'd prefer a nap with her favorite vampire but figured he'd come to find her in a bit. She hadn't even reached the stairs when she was joined by said vampire. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her temple.

"Today sucked."

He hummed in agreement as he steered her toward the bedroom.

"The next time you want to be civic minded and I say skip it, we skip it," she said with a huff.

He smirked and kissed her temple again. "Whatever you want, kitten."

***

The next couple of days passed in a quiet haze of melancholy as Caroline's mood affected them all. Not that any of them blamed her, but it sucked to see one of your people hurting and not being able to do anything about it.