Unstoppable | The Vampire Diaries

109. Death Wish*

Three Years From Now*

After being unable to reach Caroline, Riley pulled up outside Ric's house to find that the front door was wide open, making her even more suspicious than she already was. She called his number, willing him to answer.

"Riley."

"Ric," she responded. "Are you home? What's going on? Are the girls okay?"

"Everything's..." he was going to say 'fine', but he stopped himself. "Caroline's in trouble."

Riley nodded. "I figured. Stefan called. I'm right outside, do you want me to come in or-"

Abruptly, he cut her off. "No. Don't come in!"

Frowning, Riley tried to peer into the house through the open door, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. But he'd never stopped her from coming in before.

"This isn't just about Caroline, is it?"

Ric sighed wearily. "Riley... Damon's here."

That was the last thing that she'd expected to hear, and she didn't quite know how to take the information. So instead of showing her true feelings, she went into defensive mode.

"I'm sorry, reception's a bit fuzzy – it sounded like you just said 'Damon's here'. Like, Damon Salvatore? The Damon that I said I never wanted to see again?!"

"He says he's here to help," Ric told her. "I didn't even know he was... back."

Riley scoffed, rolling her eyes. "We don't need his help," she asserted. "Damon Salvatore is the most selfish person I've ever met, we don't need a damn thing from him."

Ric was silent for a second. "So I guess you don't wanna talk to him?"

Riley turned her key in the ignition and started to drive towards Caroline's workplace. "No, what I want is to save my sister. But please tell Damon to leave when this is all done. The last thing I need is to have to forget him all over again."

Three years. It had been three years since she'd seen the man who was once the love of her life, the man who had once been her best friend.

Three years wasn't long enough.

Present Day

Lily Salvatore requests your presence

to celebrate our town's peaceful spirit and introduce a new friend.

This Evening, 5 O'clock

"Looks like mom raised her man-crush from the dead," Damon commented, after reading the invitation aloud with a sarcastic tone. "Does she really think I'm gonna go to this thing?"

Stefan looked at his brother in surprise. "You saw the invite – Julian's back. You're going." According to him, this wasn't up for discussion.

"To watch Lily bat her eyes at her zombie douche-brain boy-toy?" Damon asked, screwing up his face in disgust. "Thanks, but I'd rather stay home and stub my toe repeatedly."

Riley rolled her eyes, taking the invitation from him to read it for herself. "It sounds like she's trying to make amends," she reasoned. "Plus, if she was inviting you over so that Julian could kill you, then she probably wouldn't have invited me."

Damon chuckled sarcastically. "You make it sound like you're going."

"Of course I'm going," she told him incredulously. "I want to meet the new guy! And the last person in Mystic Falls that I'm scared of is Lily." Compared to all the Heretics, and the mysterious guy that was stuck in the Phoenix Stone, Lily was a piece of cake.