The Saltzman Girl// Sequel to The Other Gilbert Girl

Know Thy Enemy

I'm sitting at the table eating breakfast when dad gets a call. He looks at me and then walks out of the room on the phone. He walks back in a few minutes later.
    "Hey, who was that?" I ask him.
    "It was Damon. Isobel showed up at your house last night. Jenna knows she's alive. We need to go over there." He tells me and I nod. We leave and make our way over there.
"Hey. Is she up yet?" He asks Elena when she opens the door and we walk in.
"She won't come out of her room." She says.
"What'd you tell her?" He asks.
"Nothing. She won't talk to me." She says and she sounds exasperated.
"We're gonna have to fix this Elena." He tells her.
"Yeah." She sighs.
"So, she really just showed up?" I ask Elena and she nods. "Do you think she's still in town?" I ask her.
"I really don't know. I don't think she's going away anytime soon." She says and I nod.
"Jenna.." Ric says as she comes downstairs.
"I don't want you here, Ric. You need to go." Jenna tells him.
"Ok, listen. I can't begin to imagine what you must be feeling right now." He starts.
"Rage and betrayal would pretty much cover it." She tells us.
"Where are you going?" Elena asks.
"I'm going to stay on campus. I have a thesis to write and I don't want to be in this house." She tells us.
"Jenna, please just stop. Let us explain to you exactly what is going on." Ric tries.
"Elena, Phoebe, I need one of you to go to the Lockwood's today and accept the historical society's check for your mom's foundation." She tells us.
"Ok, but Jenna please just.." Hs starts but Jenna cuts her off.
"I don't have it in me to hear anymore lies from you." She says and slams the door.
"Jenna, just--"
"Let her go. It's better that she's not here, what with everything that's going on. But maybe had you been a little more honest with her from the beginning, this--" He start and my dad punches him.
"Huh. Says the guy that told his daughter that he was her uncle for 17 years." I tell him.
"Sorry, Elena. Phoebe." He says snd walks towards the door.
"I'll meet you at home." I tell him and he nods.
"You know this is your fault, right?" Elena asks him.
"Right." He says and we walk upstairs. Hunter and Stefan meet us in Elena's room. Caroline calls us in hysterics about how Matt knows she's a vampire and thinks she did something to Vicki. He ran off and she can't find him.
"This is bad. Between Isobel and Jenna and now Matt, this is disaster bad." Elena says.
"Yeah." Stefan and I agree and Hunter takes my hand in his.
"Elena and Phoebe, can you come downstairs, please? I need to talk to you." John asks us coming into her room.
"I have nothing to say to you." Elena tells him.
"Please. It's important. You, too, Stefan and Hunter." He says and we all make our way downstairs. We get to the bottom of the stairs and everyone stops. Being tiny like I am, I can't see so I push past John to be in the front. When I get past him, I see Isobel standing in the kitchen.
"I asked John for a do-over." She tells us and I'm too shocked to form words.
"You invited her in?" Elena asks turning to John. I can't take my eyes off of Isobel though.
"She has information about Klaus. Please, just listen to her, ok?" John tells us and then Stefan speaks up.
"All right. What do you know?" He asks.
"Since I was here I've been doing everything possible to find Klaus. We knew our best chance was to find him before he found you." Isobel tells us.
"Best chance at what?" Stefan asks them.
"Keeping Elena alive." John tells us.
"You don't get to talk, ok, not after everything you've done." Elena snaps at him.
"Are you ok?" Hunter whispers in my ear and I nod.
"Were you able to find Klaus?" Stefan asks.
"No. Nobody knows where he is, but there are these rumors that are flying around that a doppelgänger exists." Isobel tells us.
"Which means any vampire that wants to get in favor with Klaus will be lining up to capture you." John says.
"I'm not buying any of this. The last time you were here, you made it clear that you didn't give a damn about me. Now all of a sudden I'm supposed to believe that you want to help?" Elena says to Isobel.
"Isobel's been helping all along. Klaus has been obsessed with finding Katherine for centuries. All it would take was any one of those 1864 tomb vampires to spread the word around that Katherine was still alive, and it would be him straight here to Mystic Falls, where you were bond to be discovered, so we killed them." John explains.
"And almost killed Stefan, Damon, and Hunter in the process." Elena fires back.
"I have a safe house I can take you two to. The deed is in your name. No vampires can get in without your permission, not even me. Let me help you." She tells us.
   "You want to help? Then get the hell out of my house." Elena tells her.

                                  ▫️▫️▫️

Elena and Stefan pick me up from mine and my dad's apartment. I had changed into a white dress fit for accepting this award. We go to the luncheon and we see Caroline there.
    "Hey, any luck finding Matt?" Stefan asks her.
   "None. What if he tells somebody? What if he tells everybody?" Caroline asks.
   "No, we just gotta find him and make sure that doesn't happen.Do you have any idea where he would be?" Stefan asks Elena.
   "I wish I did. But, he wasn't really one to run." Elena tells us.
   "You know, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen. You know, I was supposed to tell him at the right moment in the right way and he was supposed to be ok with it because he loves me." Caroline tells us.
   "We'll help you find him. We just have to except this thing for Jenna." Elena tells her and I nod.
   "All right, well call me when your done, and I'll be out looking for him." She says and walks away.
   "Maybe he'll come around, you did. Actually you both did." He tells us.
   "I didn't have a choice, I was kidnapped." I tell them with a laugh and he smiles at me.
"And here to accept the donation to the Miranda Sommers scholarship fund is Elena and Phoebe Gilbert." Ms. Lockwood says and Elena and I walk up to the stage.
"The historical society was my mom's baby. She considered all of you family and would be honored and touched by this gift." Elena says and then there's a clatter that draws the attention of everyone. We go to follow when I'm dragged away with a hand over my mouth and I see Katherine holding Elena.

Elena shakes me awake and I realize I'm in a car.
   "Come on." She says. I get out of the car and Isobel is waiting there.
   "Just because you can't be compelled doesn't mean I can't force you to come with me." She tells us.
   "So is that what happened? You were compelled to betray Katherine?" Elena asks as we walk into a grace yard.
   "If I was I couldn't tell you." She says.
   "So you lied. You did find Klaus, didn't you? He knows where we are now. Are you taking us to him? What is this?" She asks as we walk up to a grave stone that says Isobel Flemming on it.
   "My parents, your grandparents, they put it here when it became clear that the police weren't gonna find my body. They visit every week, and they bring flowers, Even though there's no one buried here. The Isobel they knew is dead. So maybe there's a part of me that's buried here, the- the human part, the part that I abandoned when I- when I choose to be a vampire, the part that used to dream about the day that she'd know her daughters." She tells us with a smile.
   "What?" Elena asks and I smile at her.
   "And instead you got to meet the other part... the part that would betray her own flesh and blood." She tells us.
   "I still believe that there's good in you. There is always good in everyone, even evil vampire birth mom's, who betray their own flesh and blood." I tell her with a smile and she smiles back. Then her phone rings. And she answers  it.
  "Who was that?" Elena asks when she hangs up.
   "I'm so sorry, Elena.. that I was such a disappointment to you. And Phoebe, thank you for giving me peace." She tells us and then rips off her daylight necklace. She soon catches into flames and I run to help but Elena holds me back as she burns. We wait until she stops burning and we call Stefan to come get us. Elena picks up Isobel's necklace and gives it to me.
"You should keep it. I know you wanted to know her, and she would have loved to know you." She tells me and I take it from her and put it around my neck.
"Thanks." I tell her.

▫️▫️▫️

"Hey, Dad. Are you okay? You haven't been answering my calls. There was this whole thing with Isobel and.. well, she's dead. I'm sorry. I'm going to stay at the house tonight so that's why I didn't come home. Can you bring me my backpack to school tomorrow? It's in my room on my bed. I have clothes at the house so I'm covered in that department, ok. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow." I say and hang up. I left a message on the apartments answering machine. I go to my bed and there's a note there. I pick it up and unfold it.
'You're more gorgeous in person. - N' It's written in beautiful cursive handwriting. I'm confused at first but then I just put it in my desk drawer and then get into bed.