An Elemental Difference - AIR - Book 1 (Stefan Salvatore)

Chapter 81 - The Roasting of Miss Caroline Forbes

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE

Damon walked into the Study, where Aella laid across one of the comfy couches reading, "Ugh. God. You're still here?"

Aella looked to him bemused, "Stefan's still in the shower, were you expecting anything else?"

Damon picked up Aella's legs and sat down on the couch, placing her legs over his lap, "No, just don't want to make you too comfortable here."

She looked over her book at him, "Thanks, Damon."

Damon leaned over and tapped the Grimoire in her hands, "Reading up on old Emily?

Aella nodded, her eyes back on its pages, and she nodded faintly, "I just reached the section as you and Stefan turned."

Damon's eyes rolled back, "You know that ancestor of yours was a bitch, right?"

With a snort, Aella nodded, "I'm beginning to see that more and more." She lowered the book to her knees as she looked to the older Salvatore brother, Damon's head leaned back on the couch with his eyes shut.

"You can ask me, I won't bite," Damon told her, his eyes remained closed. Until he opened them with a smirk on his lips, "Much."

"You had no clue what Emily and Katherine had put in place?"

Damon mused over her question and eventually shook his head, "Emily waited till after I turned to tell me she'd been successful in protecting Katherine with her spell. She didn't want me to know about the tomb. She thought it would impact my decision... Witches.." He winked at her, "Judgy little things."

At his wink to her, Aella let out a small smile, "Why didn't you tell Stefan?" Damon looked to her, unsure. Aella questioned further, "Why didn't you ever tell Stefan about knowing of the tomb and that Katherine was still alive."

"Cause I didn't want him to know," Damon shrugged softly, his gaze away from her to hide his emotions. "'Cause I hated him, and I still do."

"I'm sorry, Damon," The two were surprised at Stefan's voice as he stepped into the room. "I'm sorry for all I did."

Damon stood up, jostling Aella's legs as he did so, he moved over to the drinks table and poured a healthy amount of liquor in his glass. After he'd taken a sip, he turned to his brother, pointing his finger at him with the glass held in his other fingers. "But you don't know why."

Stefan stepped more into the room, "I do know."

Aella watched between the brothers, she knew this was a moment that needed to happen between the brothers. Damon let out a sarcastic chuckle, "Except you don't. It was never because you forced me to turn."

Aella frowned, as did Stefan, this was not what they were expecting to hear. Stefan needed to know why, so he asked, "Then why?"

Damon's eyes watered, and he quickly downed his drink to hide them, "Because she turned you." He finally looked at his brother and confessed. "It was just supposed to be me, Stefan... Just me."

MYSTIC GRILL

Following Damon's confession, he left the Study. Aella had held on to Stefan for the next thirty minutes until Stefan felt ready to meet their friends at the Bar and Grill.

Entering the space, congratulation banners and balloons were decorated around their favorite eatery. Caroline was the center focus, with Matt on her arm, as everyone that arrived congratulated her. When the couple walked up to them, Caroline frowned at the tense emotion Stefan was letting out. Still, with a simple shake of the head from Aella, she hugged them and thanked them for setting up the party.