Wayward Hearts- Book 4

Part 36

Emma sat on the bed with her legs crossed, staring into the fire that was lit in the fireplace. Damon watched her from a chair in the corner, concerned for her mental stability. He decided to try and lighten the mood.

"Hey, just because I'm stuck in this room," he walked over and knocked on the invisible barrier that Liv had created in his room to keep him there and away from other vampires, "doesn't mean you have to be. Besides, the room service sucks."

Emma silently shook her head and continued to stare at the fire.

Damon sighed and walked over to the bed, he stood in front of Emma, blocking her view and forcing her attention on him, "Em. Talk to me."

At that moment, something happened in Emma's brain and she seemed to snap back. Her posture changed, she sat up and looked confident again. The light in her eyes seemed to return suddenly. She looked over and smiled at Damon, who looked very disturbed at her sudden change in behavior.

"How are you feeling? Should I get Jeremy or Matt to bring you some of Stefan's blood?" Emma asked, sounding like a very animated version of herself.

"Uh..." Damon continued to look at her like she was crazed, he was almost afraid to make any sudden movements, "No, no, I'm good."

"Okay," Emma hopped off the bed and headed to the dresser to grab a change of cloths, she tossed them on the bed, "I'm going to go help Caroline with the hunt for the antidote for you."

Emma trotted off to the bathroom to shower and get herself ready. Damon stood up and carefully stepped over to the bathroom, he listened as Emma showered, waiting for some sort of clue that she was about to break again. She seemed like a rubber band that had been pulled too tight and was about to snap.

When she turned the shower off, Damon returned to his seat, acting as if he had never bothered to move. He watched her with a cautious eye as she dressed herself. She walked back into the bathroom and stood in front of the sink, brushing her teeth.

Damon stood up and walked into the bathroom again, he leaned against the wall behind her, still waiting for her to break. As she began to pull a brush through her hair, she finally began to talk to him.

"So," she began, "I know we have a lot to talk about, but not right now, okay?"

"Uh, yeah, that's fine Em," Damon assured her.

Emma turned around and looked at him while she continued to brush her hair, "Ya, know, just because we have so much going on right now. I need to find a way to make you better first and then we can sit down and talk about everything that happened."

Although there were no more tangles in her hair, Emma continued to methodically brush it. Damon raised his eyebrow as he watched her. He wasn't sure if she was just running on auto pilot and hadn't noticed that she was done or if she was using the sensation as a calming method, perhaps a bit of both.

"I'm pretty sure Blondie can take care of everything herself," Damon stepped closer to Emma and gently reached up to grab her hand that had the brush in it, "maybe you should stay here with me."

Damon took the brush from her and set it on the marble counter behind her. He moved slowly as he wrapped his arms around Emma's waist and pulled her closer to him. One of his hands caressed her cheek softly. He held her gaze as if he were trying to compel her, but he knew it would never work on her, no matter how much he wished it could in that moment, just to take the memory of the pain away.

Emma reached up and took his hand, she kissed the inside of his palm, just below his thumb before she let his hand drop away and slipped out of his hold.