Rebekah's Daughter-Natalia Mikaelson (The Vampire Diaries)

Chapter 15

After dropping the bomb on me about the Brotherhood of the Five, my uncle took off half way around the world to dig up the sword that is suppose to be the key to the Hunter's Mark. I chose to stay behind, which I don't think surprised my uncle too much, not really wanting to involve myself in this if I didn't have to. Wanting to keep this whole business a secret from everyone else in town, my uncle also daggered my mother to keep her quiet. He wanted me to help Stefan with any dirty work that needed doing here but I opted for hanging out with a couple other men instead.

I upended the bottle of Jack Daniels and drained the last bit of alcohol from it before letting it drop next to the empty Jose Cuervo. It had only been less than a day since my uncle left on his archeological expedition and I had gone through most of the liquor in the place; I hadn't even slept the night before. Suddenly feeling sick of all the high end furniture and decorations in the place, I decided I needed a change of scenery and eventually stumbled my way out the front door and into town.

It took me a while but I finally made it to my destination; The Grill. Apparently I didn't realize what time it was because when I walked in there was no one in sight besides Matt who was still setting everything up before opening. "What are you doing here? We don't open until 11."

"Relax, I'm not going to ask you to do anything, I just need a new place to drink," I told him as I made my way over to the bar.

"You sure you haven't had enough already?" Matt asked, eyeing me as I made my way to the bar haphazardly.

"Oh no I have, but that doesn't mean that I need to stop," I said as I reached over the counter and grabbed the first bottle I could.

"Well just keep in mind that you're paying for whatever you take," he said.

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of ripping you off, Matt. In fact, feel free to pour yourself a round or two, on me," I offered before taking a large drink.

"You're not here to try and bribe my forgiveness for Rebekah, are you?" he asked.

"Why in the hell would I do that for her?" I asked.

"She's your mom, isn't she?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Unfortunately," I muttered before taking another drink.

"Okay, sorry I asked," Matt said and started to continue his opening duties.

"Just tell me one thing," I stopped him before he could go far. "Would you ever choose to leave your child?"

He gave me a weird look, like he was debating on whether or not he should even answer. A moment later he said, "Considering my own mom walked out on me to leave me to fend for myself as my sister was turned into a vampire and killed, I'm going to have to say no, I would never put my kid through that kind of pain."

My anger evaporated as his answer brought me up short. I hadn't realized that happened to him and now felt a little guilty for asking about it; the rant I had built up inside me about my own mommy issues suddenly felt trivial. "I'm sorry, I didn't know... I can understand why you hate vampires so much, taking your sister away and all."

"Yeah, well, your kind aren't exactly the most caring."

"Hey, I'm barely even a vampire. A werewolf-witch hybrid is far more appropriate... not that I'm making a good case for either one but still," I said, turning back to my drink.

"Not that I'm trying to vouch for you or anything, but uh, out of your whole family you seem to be the most... tame I guess," Matt said.

"Tame?" I asked him bemused. "I'm not a wild animal, Matt."