ALMOST IS NEVER ENOUGH | TVD [1]

XXVI • MEMORY LANE

twenty-six. memory lane

Mystic Grill Restaurant

Elena Gilbert is sitting at a small round table for two people, alone, silently reading a borrowed book titled Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, which Rosie lent to her recently since she suggested the classical English novel for her; it's about a gentleman, named Mister Earnshaw, who owns Wuthering Heights, which was passed down to his envious son — Hindley — and his new wife right after he came back home from a distant college, after his father has died. Still bitter over his foster brother, Heathcliff, who has grown extremely close with their sister, Catherine, while he was away, Hindley forced him to give up his education and treated him like a servant. Once after Hindley's wife died with consumption, given birth to a baby boy named Hareton, Hindley descended into alcoholism as he continued to abuse and mistreat Heathcliff. This story of an unjust treatment between brothers, despite not related in blood, undeniably reminds her of Stefan and Damon.

Is that why Rosie suggested the novel for her? It couldn't be. Her best friend doesn't remember the real story between the Salvatore brothers...unless they have already told her everything. Otherwise, it must have only been a coincidence as a definite conclusion. According to the classical story, in contrast to the real story, Stefan has always been mistreated and abused by his own alcoholic brother, Damon, since Katherine's tragic 'death' in 1864. '...I promise you an eternity of misery...' Damon has always been envious and bitter of Stefan because many people would always favor the younger Salvatore, including Katherine, Rosie, and even their unjust father — Giuseppe — who only sees Damon as a disappointment. He wants what his brother has. Although the question she wonders now would be; why Stefan? What's so special about him? What did Damon do that people would rather choose his brother over him? Perhaps he's just not good enough...

Think of the devil himself, Damon Salvatore suddenly takes his seat down in the chair right next to her, momentarily startling her by his presence.

Elena looks at him with an unfriendly frown, "What do you want?"

"So, this is where you spend your time when you're not stabbing people in the back." Damon looks up to see Rosie/Minerva joining them at the table after he hinted about the doppelgänger's trick when they were at Duke; it seems that Elena and Katherine have a lot more in common than just their looks, in which they would both use people to their own selfish advantage. He has no idea why he's not surprised to find out this ugly, upsetting truth.

Although Elena seems undeniably upset, in denial, by this 'accusation'. It was her own choice to use Damon to her own benefit when they were away. She was truly desperate to know more about her original lineage rather than figuring out the dark mystery about the Lockwood family with lycanthrope. Rosie sarcastically smiles at this bitter remark before she offers her best friend an apologetic smile, which only indicates that she's not on anyone's side on this since she wasn't involved in their road trip to Duke University. She doesn't want to similarize or differentiate Elena and Katherine; she can't because she just doesn't remember much about the malevolent latter. She doesn't even want to think that Elena Gilbert is the malevolent kind. She refuses to adopt that negative mindset because she is her best friend.