Treacherous//book 1

13

Ric and Elena head out to the car after Damon tends to her wounds. He's outside with them, but I'm still in the house, grabbing a bottle of bourbon that I think Ric and I need. "Your little sister didn't let me die out there" a voice from behind me speaks. I turn around, almost dropping the alcohol. "Elena still has hope and she still loves you, but that hope is gonna wear thin". I grab some ice in a cup and try to make my way past him, but he holds my wrist. "Stefan, let go". I try to struggle out his grip, dropping the cup and bourbon in the process, but he holds still and just stares at me. He doesn't speak until I stop struggling.

"Why do you have so much hope?". I frown. "Because of Elena. She can't lose one more person". Stefan shakes his head. "You can't hold onto hope for Elena's sake. No. There's another reason. You remember". I'm wildly confused now. "Maybe the vervain got to your head, but there's nothing for me to remember. Now let go of me".

Just then, Damon walks in. He sees me struggling in Stefan's grip and that's enough for him to dash over to us. He pries Stefan's fingers off my arm and throws him across the room. "Come on," Damon says, his hand on the small of my back. "You'll remember!" Stefan shouts from the floor, a drunken mess. I look back to see Stefan staring directly at me with a smirk.

"What is he talking about?" Damon asks before he leads me to the car. I shrug. "That's what I'm trying to figure out".

Once at the house, Alaric and Elena go up to their rooms. I stay downstairs, making myself a sandwich and scrolling through my phone. I decide to call my best friend Tessa. I haven't spoken to her in a while and I think not responding to her text messages is kind of rude without meaning or a callback.

"Hello"

Her voice sounds groggy.

"Hey T"
"Jordan. Wow. Nice to hear from you again"
"I know. I'm sorry. My brother and sister are a piece of work. Worse than us when we were in high school"
"Look at you J. A mother figure now"
"Barely. I don't know how to keep these kids safe. They're going through things we didn't even go through as teens"
"Well, sad to say, but at least they have you there instead of you being here in the beautiful sun and partying and swallowing plan B's"
"Oh, hush. I found the use of condoms before you did"
"Uh Yeah. Seven pregnancy scares later".

We both laugh for a moment before I feel the tears welling up in my eyes.

"I really miss everyone there. I miss everything"
"Yeah. We miss you too. Whenever you wanna blow off your adult life and come for vacay, my house is still always open. Just because I mailed all your things away to you, doesn't mean I mailed you away too"

At this point, I'm shedding tears and the way Tessa is speaking to me so softly proves she knows I am. We exchange our goodbyes before hanging up. Now, left alone with only my tears and loud sobs, I break down. I miss my simple life in California. Not having to worry about vampires is exactly why I left.

Arms wrap around me in a warm embrace. I don't know whose they are, but I take it and just cry. He coos in my ear and it soothes me. His voice, I recognize anywhere. I look up at my little brother who towers over me as I sit. He has a sad smile on his face. The same sad smile that washes over my sad expression.

"Thanks," I say, wiping my eyes with the tissues he hands me. "Want to tell me what's wrong?" He questions, taking a seat next to me. I shrug it off. "Maybe. But first, we need to talk". He frowns, not understanding. "Your little ex-girlfriend ghost party". By now, all the sadness in my bones has been flooded with concern.

Jeremy sighs, not avoiding the topic. "You know," he says more as a statement than a question. I nod slowly. "Talk to me about it. I've heard from other people but I haven't gotten to speak to you".