A life in the shadows

23

"So, in addition to being the founder, you're also a den mother?"
"Shut up, Damon." Matteo said, pouring blood into a few glasses and a jug in case the vampires wanted a refill and put them on a tray. He got some popcorn and chips and some chocolates and put it on another tray, along with some water bottles. He made some sandwiches too, knowing those kids were always hungry. He threw a blood bag at his brother. "You must be thirsty."
"Thanks." Damon nodded. "So what time's their curfew?"
"Depends on their ages. But these older kids don't have one. They usually go to sleep by midnight. What teenager doesn't want to sleep, you know?" He took a tray and headed to the games room putting down the snacks on the coffee table in front of the television, smiling at the kids. He walked back to the kitchen where Damon was throwing the blood into the bin. Matteo just rolled his eyes taking the second tray of more snacks and Damon followed behind him with the tray of blood.
"Thanks, Mr Salvatore." They all said together. "Thanks Mr Damon."
"That's creepy." Damon said. "How do you all do that?"
"Ignore him. Have a good night, kids."
"Night." They all said, though this time, not all at once.

"What is this?" Damon asked.
"The attic. This is where I keep most of my things, brother." Matteo took a key out from around his neck and unlocked the door.
"You keep the key around your neck?"
"Yeah, it's an important key." He shrugged. He walked up the stairs and switched on a light.
"Woah." Damon said. The room was full of objects and things.
"Yeah. So, I didn't keep any journals exactly, but I wrote you and Stefan countless letters, so I could give them to you one day. Here..." he bent down to pick up five huge bundles, "Are yours."
"Am I supposed to read all these?"
"Read them or don't. I just promised myself I'd one day get a chance to give them to you."
"I'll read them all." Damon vowed.
"Thanks, these belong to Stefan. I'll give them to him soon." Matteo shoved some more bundles in his case.
"Since when did you have a briefcase on you?"
"I took it when we got into the attic. It was by the door." Matteo said.
"What's this?" Damon walked over to the end of the room, where there were boxes and boxes of trinkets.
"Those were gifts. Some of the people I helped out- they were grateful and usually insisted I take something. I keep it to remember them."
"Oh. And what's that?" He walked to a section of the room filled with sketches and paintings.
"Those were Eliza's paintings. The ones that I held on to. I promised Jeremy I'd bring him some." Matteo said, looking through a few before selecting three and carefully placing it in his case.
"Eliza Gilbert. She was hot."
"No wonder you've got the hots for Elena. She's exactly your type. A doppelgänger and a Gilbert." He nudged his brother's shoulder. "And these are Josh's things. This picture- one of the first pictures we had together. His pocket knife- the one his grandfather gave to him. His father gave it to me after Josh's death. And a few other things."
"I'm really sorry."
"It was a long time ago. I've grieved and dealt with the pain."
"It's understandable that you're still upset."
"I'll always be upset over his death. He was my best friend for ten years. He was, in a way, kind of the first brother I had, Dames. We were joined at the hips. We always joked that we were triplets. Me, him and Eliza. I was born the day after them too. And you were our little brother. You wouldn't remember him, but he adored you. And you were always following him around."
"I'm sorry. I mean, Stefan and I- we both thought you were dead. But you knowing we were alive never getting to get close to us seems much harder."
"It was hard, I'll admit. I'm just glad I got to see you again." He walked over to an old antique table and brought out an old antique box.
"What's that?"
"It's an old Forbes heirloom. I wanted to pass it on to Caroline. It belonged her ancestors, after all." He put it carefully in the briefcase. He selected two more books, a journal and a grimoire and placed them away too.
"What about those?"
"Well, I remembered an old Bennett grimoire I had, and Eliza Gilbert's journal."
"How adorable."
"Shut up, Damon." Matteo rolled his eyes, closing the briefcase before standing up and dusting himself off.
"So you'll be going back bearing gifts?"
"Yeah, more or less."
"And the Lockwood boy?"
"Werewolf, right?" Matteo looked around the attic. "It'd be mean not to bring him something, and I'm sure I have something belonging to Bob Lockwood somewhere."
"What's with all the founders heritage? And the Bennett one too."
"I promised Jeremy I'd bring him something, and I can't very well get him something and not his sister, hence the journal. And Caroline was kind of intrigued by her family history, and Mrs Forbes gave me this amulet in 1864 in hopes that I would one day give it to someone deserving. And Bonnie deserves to learn a little more of her magic. This was Emily's granddaughter's grimoire. She gave it to me for safekeeping, right before she died." He said. "It's time it goes back to the hands of a Bennett. And it would be sad if I didn't get the Lockwood boy anything."
"Well you don't really know him."
"Met him, a few times."
"What about Donovan?"
"Yeah, I've got an old watch I can give to him, laced with vervain. I think since he knows all about vampires and all, his mind should be safe." Matteo looked around the room.
"So what about Lockwood?"
"I have no idea. What does he even like?"
"He plays football, though Donovan's the quarterback."
"He's a wolf, he probably plays all sports. It's in his DNA." He thought before an idea came to him. He started walking out of the room. "I know exactly what to give him."
"Nothing from your creepy old attic?"
"No. The kid might want information about where he came from. How to find the other wolves."
"I thought you told Klaus you didn't know where they were."
"No, I told them half of the ones I knew moved and the other half were dead. I didn't say I didn't know where they moved to."