Chapter 10 ~ Regrets

Vella was waiting until she knew Damon was gone and Stefan was busy so he wouldn't hear her. She walked down the stairs, through the livingroom and out the front door without being noticed.

Vella was fishing the keys to her car out of her purse. Damon had kindly brought her car to the boarding house for her the day before.
When she found the keys she started the car and began to drive away from the boarding house.
Vella had no clue where she was going. All she knew for sure was she was going there alone. She didn't think she deserved anyone's help because the whole situation was her fault. Why didn't I let my mom teach me witchcraft? Why did I have to be so stubborn? Why couldn't the vampires have killed me instead of my little sister? Her thoughts we all toxic to her well being, but she was too distraught to realize it.
Vella had only got half a mile from the boarding house when all of a sudden there was something in the middle of the road. She had been going too quickly to stop so she tried to swerve, but her car hit the ditch on the other side of the road, rolled over and came to a stop on the passenger side.
Vella was hurt, but alive. She was thinking how grateful she was for her seat belt, when suddenly she was being yanked out of it and thrown on the grass in the ditch.
Vella was stunned from the landing. It felt as if she had a cut on her right shoulder. She tried to prop herself up on her left side, when something grabbed her right arm suddenly.
Vella screamed out in agony from the searing pain. When her eyes came back in to focus, she realized it was Gabriel.
"Did you really think you could hide from me?" he uttered in an ominous voice.
Vella tried to scream for help, but Gabriel dug his fingers deep into the large gash on her right shoulder which caused her to whimper instead.
"I wouldn't bother trying that again, it's just going to hurt you more," Gabriel whispered in her ear.
Vella shuddered. She couldn't think straight, she was in too much pain. She tried to move away from him, but that only caused him to push his fingers deeper into her shoulder.
"It must be horrible being so weak," Gabriel chided. "If you would only give me what I want I would leave you alone."
Vella gave him an evil look. "You must think I'm really stupid. The moment you get what you want you will either kill me, or turn me into a vampire."
Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "You are correct, but you are forgetting one thing."
"What's that?" Vella asked, though afraid of the answer.
Gabriel began to cackle. "If you give me what I want, I will kill you quickly. But if you don't, than I will take my time torturing you as painfully as I possibly can."
Vella knew this was it. She wouldn't give the vampire what he wanted no matter what. She wasn't about to let them release over 100 super hungry vampires into the world. But first, she wanted to know something.
"If you want to know you have to answer a question for me."
"Well I don't have to do anything since I am the one who has the upper hand, but you amuse me, so ask me what you will, " Gabriel replied with an amused smile.
"What happened to my sister?"
Gabriel's eyes narrowed again. He was trying to decide if he should tell her, or if he would wait until he got what he wanted. He decided on the latter.
"I will tell you once I have what I came for."
Vella felt defeated. This was how her life was going to end and she didn't have the answer she needed.
Gabriel didn't give her a chance to think. He dug his fingers in a bit deeper and than bit her in the neck.
The sudden pain incapacitated Vella. She couldn't move or breathe. She felt like her whole body was on fire and she couldn't move. Her last thought before she sank into unconsciousness was of her sister.




Damon was out hunting in the woods close to town. Since the moon was so bright, he had to be careful not to be spotted by anyone. The only thing he sensed was a giant male deer. It wasn't his usual diet but it would do in a pinch.
He stalked the deer and drained it of all its blood, then cut a huge hole in it so other animals would clean up the body quickly.
Damon was disgusted by the taste, but he was too worried about Vella's state of mind to continue to hunt for more suitable prey at the moment. He figured he could visit the blood bank when he had a chance. Before he would head home though, he did a quick sweep of the forest in case the vampires after Vella were nearby.
While Damon was sweeping the west side of the forest, he felt a burst of energy, which was obviously a vampire. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He took off as fast as he could go in the direction of the energy burst.
As Damon approached the area where Gabriel was torturing Vella, he could hear her cry out in pain and then silence.
Damon didn't even bother to think of the possibility Lilith was around also, instead he ran super speed to where Gabriel was perched over Vella and stuck out his arm.
Damon's arm connected with Gabriel's head and sent him flying onto the road.
Gabriel got up and stared angrily at Damon, but instead of fighting he took off into the night.
Damon paused to listen and make sure Gabriel was gone before he ran over to Vella.
She was bleeding profusely from a wound in her shoulder and another in her neck.
Damon picked her up and ran towards the boarding house.
When Damon arrived at home, he yelled for his brother to help him.
Stefan came running down the hall to see what had happened. He was shocked to see Damon carrying Vella's limp, bloody body.
"Weren't you supposed to be watching her, Stefan?" Damon screamed.
Stefan didn't defend himself, there was no time. Vella needed help now.
Damon and Stefan did their best to stymie the bleeding, but the wound on her shoulder kept bleeding. The only thing Damon could do was bite his wrist, and try to get Vella to drink his blood and hope it would work fast enough before she lost too much of her own blood.
Stefan did not agree with this, but he didn't protest.
What else could they do? Definitely not take her to the hospital.
After what seemed like forever, the bleeding stopped and the two brothers relaxed...a little.
Stefan apologized profusely to his brother for not hearing her leave. But Damon was too sick with worry to care about his brother's stupidity, he would make him pay later.
Damon took her up to his bedroom once again and sat vigil. He didn't move again until she woke up the next afternoon.


Vella opened her eyes slowly, taking time to let them focus. Her head hurt and she didn't quite remember where she was at first.
Damon was instantly at her side, looking her over to make sure she was still healing.
Vella smiled weakly at Damon. She was beginning to remember what had happened and was grateful to be alive, or was she dead?
Damon made her promise not to move and grabbed her a glass of water, which she took willingly.
Damon helped her sit up so she could drink it.
Vella drank the whole glass which made her feel a bit better. All she really wanted was something for her headache though, but she didn't tell Damon. She figured she deserved to suffer through a little pain after the stupid thing she had done.
After Damon was sure she was going to be okay, he questioned her about leaving the house.
Vella just told him she didn't remember why she left, but she remembered.
Damon could sense she was lying, which incensed him.
Why did she not trust me? After all that I have done for her, how could she still not trust me?
He thought about it for a minute, than called her on her lie. He decided he would compel her if she wasn't going to be honest, but he didn't tell her that.
Vella began to sob a little. "I'm sorry, Damon. I don't want to lie to you."
Damon looked at her shrewdly. "Then why did you? I thought we trusted each other."
Vella wasn't sure what to say, she knew he was right and it hurt. "I do trust you."
Damon snorted a little. "It sure doesn't seem that way from my position."
Vella was suddenly feeling more regrets. She had failed her sister, she had failed herself and now she was failing the one person who had tried to help her. What was wrong with her?
Damon was angry and disappointed but most of all he felt hurt. After all they had gone through, after all they had shared, how could she do this?
Damon decided the best thing was to leave her alone for awhile. She needed her rest any way.
He decided to do something unlike him and find his brother. He needed help to make sense of this before he did something he regretted.
Stefan did his best to council Damon, but since he knew little of what they had been through, he couldn't say much. He did remind Damon of all that Vella had remembered in the past few days and how it was probably weighing heavily in her mind.
Stefan tried to assured Damon that it probably had nothing to do with him, he was positive of that. He could tell how Vella felt about him by the looks she gave his brother when she knew he wasn't watching. Stefan didn't need compulsion to tell him that.
Stefan actually made him feel better, which relieved Damon. Asking for his brother's help was not good for his ego, but he would do just about anything for Vella. If only she knew that, he thought, maybe that's the problem.
Damon went back to his room to check on Vella, who was sleeping soundly, so he sat by her bedside until she awoke an hour later.



When Vella opened her eyes from her nap, she saw Damon sitting in a chair beside the bed with his eyes closed, but she could tell he wasn't sleeping.
She felt a wave of guilt and regret wash over her. She was surprised Damon was even waiting for her after what she had done.
Vella sat herself up in the bed with her back on the headboard. She was feeling much stronger and she noticed her shoulder was healing quickly.
Damon got up from his chair and sat down beside her on the bed. He took a hold of her hand, wrapped his fingers between hers and gently squeezed.
Vella squeezed her hand in return and turned to Damon, who looked like he had lost his best friend.
"Damon, I'm so sorry," Vella apologized. " I never meant to hurt you."
Damon turned and looked into her eyes and frowned. "I know you're sorry, Vella. That's not why I am upset."
Vella frowned, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear what he might say.
"I'm upset because I wasn't thinking about your state of mind last night. I should have known you weren't thinking clearly. Instead I left you alone."
Damon went to look away from her, but Vella put her hand on his face and forced him to look at her again.
Vella had a few silent tears running down her face. She wasn't sure which emotion was responsible however. It could be the guilt, the shame, the regret or maybe, love?
"It wasn't your fault, Damon," Vella whispered.
Damon leaned closer until his lips were brushing the side of Vella's face close to her ear. He whispered, "That doesn't matter now. What does matter is..."
Damon couldn't finish his sentence. What he wanted to say was 'us', but he didnt think he could actually admit his feelings out loud to himself and Vella. There were very few things in this world that could frighten Damon, but love was one of them.
Vella nuzzled her face up against his, hoping he would finish his sentence. The suspense was killing her. She just had to know what he was going to say.
Damon opened his lips and whispered, "I love you, Vella."
Vella pulled her head back a bit and turned Damon's head so she could look him in the eyes. She wasn't sure how long she stared into his eyes, it seemed forever. Vella had to know if he was telling the truth, his eyes told her everything. She began to breath a little heavier, she was scared but exhilarated at the same time.
Vella finally got the courage to whisper, "I love you too," while a happy tear rolled down her face.
Damon and Vella embraced each other tightly, neither of them uttering a word. They had been alone in the world for a long time, but now they had each other.




It was many hours later, when Vella and Damon left Damon's bedroom.
Vella grabbed herself something to eat in the kitchen, while Damon searched the house for his brother, but didnt find him.
They sat on the couch making plans about their next moves against the vampires.
Vella was feeling much braver than she ever had thanks to Damon, but she was still terribly frightened.
When Stefan arrived home later that night, Damon and Vella discussed their plans.
Stefan wasn't thrilled with their plan, but he didn't object. He knew they had to do anything and everything they could do to stop the massive tomb from being opened, but that