ALMOST IS NEVER ENOUGH | TVD [4]

XXVII • COMING HOME WAS A MISTAKE

twenty-seven. coming home was a mistake

Salvatore Boarding House

A truly frustrated Stefan throws an empty crystal glass down, after he has just finished his glass of bourbon, into the lit fireplace, which shatters by the impact and the flames, just as Minerva walks in, her big hazel eyes not red and puffy anymore from her tears as she only looks up at her close friend.

He turns around to face her sympathetically, "Tyler deserved more than to be collateral damage in whatever game Sybil's playing with Damon." The young man takes a seat on the armchair facing away from the fireplace.

"Yeah. I can't even remember our last conversation. We haven't talked in months. We've both been so busy. After everything we went through, I guess I just always assumed that he would be there." I even loved him once. She sits next to him on the adjacent armchair, "I knew that this would happen."

The vampire looks at her with a sad frown, "But you didn't say a word."

"What'd you want me to say? Damon is still under the influence of a powerful siren, and you can see what she's capable of. I can't fight it."

"You can try. We both can. Look, I'm at a loss with Damon. Both Rosie and I. I don't know what to do with him anymore." He shakes his head a little.

"Maybe the best thing to do, for now, is just to mourn Tyler with your friends. We all owe him that." The banshee advised him as a reminder.

Stefan nods a little in agreement, mentally recalling in great care and sympathy that Minerva used to be extremely close with Tyler since their childhood days; not only was she close to only him, but she was very close with the locally royal Lockwood family, which is now finally left as a legacy.

****

Mystic Falls Cemetery

Matt, Isaac, Stefan, Caroline and Alaric are carrying Tyler's coffin through their local cemetery towards the other Lockwood graves, to be buried with his own family and places it carefully on the ground, only to find five more dug holes, graves, on the ground when Damon shows up behind them.

"I was wondering when you guys were going to show up. Body's probably starting to smell a little bit. Tried to keep it as intact as I could. But I got to admit, I got a little carried away about the whole ripping-the-throat-out thing. My apologies to Donovan. I'm sure you cleaned him up real nice." Damon sees Isaac grabbing a makeshift stake from the wooden handle of a shovel, "What are you going to do with that? Stake me? Go ahead, try it. But first...take your pick. 'Cause I'm going to bury everyone of you. Easy... underestimating me is what got Tyler killed." He hears Matt pulling a gun out of his pocket and Damon vamp-speeds toward him, holding him in a choke-hold, "Matt Donovan, the only living boy in Mystic Falls. You know, it's shocking you managed to stay human this long. Maybe, I should fix that."

"Is that why you came home, Damon? To make empty threats?" Stefan spoke.

"Not empty, brother." Damon roughly releases his strong hold and bites onto his right wrist before force-feeding the blonde human his immortal blood as the younger man grunts, "Don't move or I'll snap his neck. Give Matt here a non-transferrable invitation to our supernatural breakfast club."

"Damon, enough!"

"Sweet Caroline! How many innocent people did you kill on your no humanity bender, hmm? Doesn't matter what you say or don't. The devil knows what you did." The emotionless icy blue-eyed vampire pointed out.