♤ [1] An Everlasting Death - The Vampire Diaries

ı 17 ı New Suite Ride

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"All our memories they're haunted"

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WE DRIVE around town for about twenty minutes, just observing passing cars so I can get an idea of what I want. None of them quite stand out to me. I want something different, unique almost like Damon and Stefan and their cars.

While we drive James and I keep the conversation light, connecting over how much Mystic Falls has changed. We end up driving in the old parts, telling stories of our own lives that James claims were intertwined in 1864. He hasn't quite mentioned what our relationship was back then, but I get the feeling is was some what romantic, making me feel even more guilty.

We pass a part of the forest that causes James to stop, pulling the car over. He points to an area of tall, old trees. "That was where the old Mystic Falls use to be, before the revolution. I'm talking about the B.C era, when Vikings walked these grounds. My sister and I would run through these forests everyday. It made for quite an infinite game of hide and go seek," he says, wearing a nostalgic smile.

"What was your sister's name again?" I ask.

"Lexi," he sighs. "Her name was Lexi."

I nod, not sure exactly how to ask questions on the touchy subject. "Was she younger?"

"Yes. She was turned at 18, and I was turned at 20." I remember how he said Klaus, one of the Originals had turned them against their will. It reminds me of Katherine, and seeing how Klaus presumably stole my memories, I guess I've got two enemies to hate.

"Do you miss her?" I ask.

"All the time."

"I'm sorry," I say, sinking into my seat. "It's relatively fresh. Mine and Stefan's birthday was like a month ago."

"No need to be sorry," he says. "I'm okay now that I've learned to move past it. We weren't too close over the years as she was still mad at what she was. She turned her madness to helping people like Stefan. That's how they became great friends, and that's how I became friends with him."

My curiosity takes control and I ramble out a bunch of questions. "So Lexi knew Stefan before he was turned? How did I meet you? Why were you in Mystic Falls in 1864?"

At this question James becomes stiff, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "I went to Mystic Falls for a job to try to something new and that's when I met you. I actually introduced Lexi to Stefan and your family. But after things with the council started acting up, I told Lexi to leave. I stayed behind with you and your brothers as the whole situation started getting worse."

The way he becomes tense makes me feel like there's something he's not telling me. I refuse to believe I was the only reason he had stayed in Mystic Falls in 1864. There must have been a goal, an objective to bring him back.

"What was the real reason you were in Mystic Falls?"

He laughs uncomfortably at my question. "I always remembered you were smart."

I stare at him and watch as he struggles to come up with an answer. Thankfully for him I'm distracted by a car that goes zooming past us. It's not just the sound it makes that attracts me, but the look of it too. 

"That's the one! I want that one!" I say excitedly.

James squints his eyes at the car in the distance before shifting the truck into drive, speeding after it. The car is fast but the driver isn't dumb; he stays within a reasonable speed limit while James breaks it, catching up to it in no time. He goes to pass it, signalling the man to pull over.