Blood Witch

1

"It was the only way I could save you." That sentence echoed in her head long after he had said it, though he had told her long before the pain had begun in her chest. The only thing she was certain of any more was that Witches were about Nature, and Vampires were unnatural. If she had known that he could give her something that hurt so badly, she would have listened to Elena and kept herself away from him. Elena, just the name made the suffering unbearable.

She tried to make her tears silent, but with each one there was a stab of pain that made her gasp. She was glad that she didn't have to run any more; she doubted she could walk another step. It was lucky for her that the car Damon had chosen had been so easy to steal, though she really hadn't expected anything different. If she had been with anyone else, she would have allowed herself to cry like a baby, since that was what they all saw her as, really, but she wouldn't with Damon – even if he expected it. She would be strong for him, she had decided even before he had taken her from the hospital, even if inside she was as weak as... Bonnie McCullough.

"Why do you cry, my little red-bird?" The handsome vampire to her right asked, his usually sarcastic tone a shade lighter, "Everything will be fine, you'll see." His voice took on a strange tone as he said these last words, as if he too was remembering all the things that they were leaving behind them—maybe for good. His eyes were on the road in front of them, but he was examining her with his other senses. He could read that she was conflicted about more than just this impromptu road trip, and he needed to know what that something else could be. "What's on your mind?" he asked in his smooth, refined voice that he used to persuade.

How could she answer his questions when she did not know fully herself? All she could think about was how much she had lost so quickly. Although Damon understood her better than anyone in Mystic Falls, she was pretty sure that he would not understand this. And besides, she was embarrassed to be feeling these things at all. She ought to be grateful that she and Damon had escaped this far without anyone, or anything, coming to stop them. She should be totally relaxed in the knowledge that Damon would be there for her whatever happened—so why the hell wasn't she?

"Elena's never going to forgive me for this," she finally said, confessing to a fear that she had been able to avoid confronting until now. She knew in her heart that if Elena did not consider her a friend any more, it would be likely that Meredith did not either. To lose two friends at once... she didn't know how she would be able to go on. So, they had had some memorable arguments between each other, but they had always been her friends. The reason why she was so much more worried about Elena's reaction over Meredith's was that Meredith always kept a level head and did not allow anything to influence her... not even her own emotions. Bonnie could rely on Meredith, but would she in turn have faith that Bonnie would do the right thing?

"Elena has nothing to do with this—don't make her part of this, Bonnie. This is just about you and me."

She had to admit, if only to herself, that his words sent a thrill through her. Could it really be so simple? She wondered if something would happen to change it, as something always did, or if this could last. This felt too good to last, too perfect to be true. She told him all of this with a catch in her voice, and he told her that she was too good, too perfect to be true, and yet she was real. Every moment that past felt as though it would be the last, so she savoured every second, and jumped when his cell began ringing.

Damon didn't flinch in the slightest, just brought the phone up to his ear and said into it, "Hello Brother, sorry we didn't invite you and your girlfriend on this adventure, but it was kind of short notice—" A voice on the other end of the line broke in with a loud growling sound. "No, of course I haven't done anything to her, she's fine, aren't you sweetheart?" He passed the phone to her but continued to hear both sides of the conversation clearly.

"Stefan—Stefan—Stefan, calm down," she was alarmed by the panic in his voice, but she still had enough intuition to know that the worry wasn't for her. "Speak to me normally!" There was a pause as she listened to what he was so eager to tell her. "What do you mean, Elena's coming for Damon?" Despite the petty part of her that was still confused by this turn of events, her intuition still worked fine and what it was telling her was that if and when Elena caught up with them, she needed to protect Damon.

TBC