"It's so hard to see him locked up like this." Elena stated in defeat as she looked through the cellar bars at Stefan who was laying with his back turned to her.
"You're the one who locked him up." Damon replied from where he leant against the wall.
"We helped." I pointed out with a sigh and folded my arms over my chest as I rested my head on the wall behind me.
"I couldn't have him running around chewing on people while the town was looking for vampires now, could I?" Damon countered in sarcasm and I rolled my eyes in response.
"It has nothing to do with you actually caring about him?" Elena asked in annoyance and raised her eyebrow back at him challengingly.
"Your thing. Not mine." He answered in disinterest before walking up the stairs and I narrowed my eyes at the back of his head.
"He's going to be fine, Elena." I reassured as I looked back at her. I watched as she looked away from Stefan finally and back at me, slowly nodding in agreement. I gave her a small smile as the two of us walked upstairs and into the library where Damon stood. He was examining some device that Pearl had dropped off to him last night.
"Did you ever figure out what that is?" I asked toward him as I walked over to the couch to grab my coat.
"Nope. But whatever it is, it doesn't work." Damon replied in annoyance, looking down at it in disappointment.
"Pearl didn't say anything else about it?" Elena added from the couch across from me where she was putting her clothes from yesterday, into an over night bag.
"She thought she was stealing Jonathan's vampire compass, but it was a pocket watch." Damon informed with a sigh. "That Jonathan Gilbert was a crazy scientist." He added and I walked past him and over to the coffee table where I had my school books sitting. "Have you spoken to your uncle lately?" Damon asked, looking between Elena and I curiously.
"We've been avoiding him for the most part.. That, and I've also been here most nights." Elena answered with a shrug and Damon rose an eyebrow back at her.
"So you'll be here again tonight?" Damon asked, looking at her from over his shoulder and I pulled my books into my bag.
"Is that a problem?" Elena asked, tilting her head back at him and he rose an eyebrow.
"Yes. You're a complete nuisance." He replied sarcastically and I chuckled a bit. "And I'll see you tonight as well?" Damon asked, looking back at me and I rose an eyebrow at his question.
"I'll see you later." I informed with a small smile before Elena and I walked toward the door.
-Time Skip-
I dialed Damon's number into my phone once I walked into my room and threw my bag onto my bed. "Yes?" Damon's voice asked, answering his phone on the second ring.
"Elena and I are just grabbing clothes and then we'll be right over. How's Stefan?" I asked, opening my closet and scanning all the clothes in front of me.
"Extra broody. Hold on." Damon answered and I waited as the line went silent. I grabbed a black long sleeve shirt and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans. I threw the clothes on the bed and walked over to my dresser, grabbing my brush and curling iron. "He won't eat anything." Damon added, coming back through the phone and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"He has to eat.. Something. What's his favorite type of.. Um.." started, cutting myself off awkwardly before I let out a deep sigh of annoyance.
"His favorite type of what?" Damon asked in slight amusement from the other side and I rolled my eyes.
"Type of animal that he prefers?" I asked, finishing my question and raising an eyebrow as I put the necessities in my bag.
"Ew.. Gross." Damon stated jokingly and chuckled dryly in response.
"You're joking doesn't help." I pointed out and opened one of my drawers before I grabbed a pair of socks and underwear.
"It helps meâNow, hurry up. I can't babysit all night, I have things to do." Damon countered in some boredom and I scoffed in some amusement.
"I would say 'drop dead' but..." I replied sarcastically, letting a smirk play on my lips as I closed my drawer.
"Ha. Ha. Stefan likes... Puppy bloodâLittle golden retrievers with cute, fluffy ears. That's his favorite." Damon answered in amusement and I narrowed my eyes in annoyance.
"You're an ass." I sighed before we hung up. I grabbed my bag off of the bed after I packed everything in it. I threw it over my shoulder and turned toward my door, only to jump but slowly sigh in some relief.
"Sorry." John stated with a knowing smile from where he stood in my doorway and I shook my head back at him.
"Uncle John. I didn't see you there." I replied uncomfortable and he slowly nodded before walking into my room and looking around.
"I thought we could talk. We haven't had a chance to catch up." John informed and I rose an eyebrow and gestured at the door.
"Elena and I are actually just heading out soâ" I started but he quickly cut me off as he turned to look at me.
"Well, it won't take long." John stated emotionlessly. I watched him in curiousness as he walked over to my dresser and looked over all of the pictures on my mirror.
"What did you wanna talk about?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest as he held up a picture frame of my parents.
"Well.. I know you knowâand I know that Elena does, too." John stated emotionlessly as he turned to me and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Know what?" I countered, tilting my head back at him and he scoffed dryly.
"It's really silly to keep pretending. You're supposed to be the older sister, Mariana." John stayed in disappointment and I felt my blood boil at his words. "What do you think your mother would say if she knew Elena was dating a vampire?" He added and folded his arms over his chest, making me narrow my eyes back at him.
"Which mother?" I countered emotionlessly in response before I turned and walked away from him. "Elena, I'm leaving!" I yelled as I started going down the stairs.
~~~
"How are you feeling?" I asked as I looked at Stefan through the bars on the cellar door. I watched him quietly while he sat on the floor in front of the cot and stared down at his hands. "Damon says you need to drink that." I added, gesturing my head toward the bottle of blood, feet in front of him. Stefan slowly shook his head in response but didn't look back at me. "You need it, Stefan. You can't survive without it." I pointed out as I shook my head.
"I don't want to survive." Stefan stated emotionlessly, finally looking up at me and meeting my gaze. I furrowed my eyebrows at him and watched as he looked back down in defeat.
"Don't let Elena hear your say that." I stated in a stern voice and Stefan slowly shook his head in response. "You need to talk to her, Stefan. She wants to be here for you but you can't keep pushing her away." I added in defeat but he didn't respond or even acknowledge me and I sighed deeply. "You... You didn't mean that.. did you?" I asked in some defeat and watched him look back up at me slowly.
"I'm sorry, Mariana." He replied emotionlessly, making me stare back at him in silence. "After what I've done, it has to end.." Stefan stated, letting a tear fall as he said it. "I just want it over." He admitted quietly again before he looked back down at his hands.
~~~~
"You know he's just being dramatic. He's not going to starve himself." Damon stated in reassurance as he leant against the back of the couch in the library.
"Then why would he say that? Say that he doesn't want to survive?" Elena countered in defense from where she sat in a chair across from him while I paced back and forth in front of them both.
"Because he feels bad for feeding on Amber." I answered and looked at Damon who nodded in agreement.
"It's very typical Stefan martyr stuff." Damon replied and looked back at Elena with a shrug. "It will pass." He added with a nod and Elena rose her eyebrow.
"Will it? Because he seemed to be in a lot of pain." Elena replied quietly and Damon scoffed dryly.
"Yeah, that will pass too, once he eats." He stated sarcastically and I looked at him in annoyance.
"I didn't mean in physical pain.." Elena admitted in defeat and I watched Damon's face soften at her.
"I know what you meant." Damon stated in reassurance before he looked over at me and sighed. "Look, are you gonna be okay here if I have to run out? I have an errand to attend to with the teacher." He pointed out and I tilted my head.
"The teacher? AlaricâAre you two friends now?" Elena asked in confusion as she furrowed her eyebrows.
"I don't have any friends, Elena." Damon replied sarcastically as he grabbed his jacket, making me scoff.
"Right." I countered jokingly and watched Damon narrow his eyes at me playfully while he put his jacket on.
"You know, both of you should stay up here. You shouldn't be down there by yourselves.. Not until I get back." Damon stated in caution toward us.
"We'll be fine." Elena replied with a sigh and Damon shook his head.
"You know.. you're very trusting of him, given the circumstances." Damon admitted as he started walking toward the door and I folded my arms over my chest.
"So are you." I countered, watching as he looked back at me in confusion. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be leaving." I pointed out and he slowly looked away from me.
"I won't be long." He stated softly before walking away from us and out of the room. I looked back at Elena who rose an eyebrow at me, as if suggesting something. I furrowed my eyebrows and her gaze intensified before I sighed and quickly followed after Damon in pursuit.
"I'm coming with you." I stated, spotting Damon by the door and he turned to me in protest but I quickly cut him off. "Number one, You can't compel meâand number two, threatening me won't scare me off." I informed and grabbed my coat from beside him. Damon narrowed his eyes down at me but sighed in defeat, not arguing as he walked out the door. I looked back at Elena who stood in the hall and gave me a reassuring smile before I walked out of the house, after him.
~~~
Alaric, Damon and I walked toward an apartment complex in GroveHill and I rose an eyebrow at it. "This is the one here." Alaric stated as the three of us walked up the driveway. "The Records show this was paid three months in advance." He added and I looked around it curiously to see all the lights off.
"This is where it gets tricky. I may or may not be able to get in." Damon pointed out with a sigh as we walked up the steps before he knocked on the door.
"Yeah, how does that work? You always have to be invited in?" Alaric asked with furrowed brows as we stood beside Damon.
"By the owner or person of entitlement. Short-term rentals and hotels are a bit of a gray area. You kinda gotta play it by ear." Damon replied as I put my hands in my coat pockets. Alaric nodded in some amusement as he thought it over while Damon stepped closer to the door and started jiggling the door handle.
"Could we not kill anyone today?" Alaric asked in defeat, making me chuckle a bit.
"You mean, you just brought him along for his company?" I countered sarcastically and gestured at Damon who broke the lock on the door which slowly opened. Damon stepped aside and gestured for Alaric and I to walk in and we did.
"Doesn't look like anyone's home." Alaric stated quietly once we walked inside. I looked back at Damon curiously and watched him wiggle his foot inside of the doorway before nodding.
"Yeah. I'm good. No permanent resident, apparently." Damon pointed out before walking in behind Ric and I and shutting the door behind him. The three of us slowly walked through the apartment, breaking off in different directions. Alaric walked into what was the living room and I walked into the dinning room while Damon went into the kitchen. I rose my eyebrow and looked around my surroundings carefully, noticing the lack most furniture besides a table and some chairs. I sighed and turned toward Damon who opened the fridge across from me.
"You got anything?" I asked, only to furrow my eyebrows at the dozen of blood bags that were sitting in the fridge in front of him.
"Uh.. I think we have company." Damon stated with a sigh. I opened my mouth to reply but was cut off as I was pushed up against a wall. I groaned and looked down at the vampire that was fully shifted and angrily growling at me. I narrowed my eyes at him and held a hand up in warning.
"I wouldn't." I stated, clenching my teeth in anger and watched him slowly furrow his eyebrows.
"Katherine?" The vampire asked in confusion before Damon pulled him off of me and the vampire fell on the floor in front of us.
"That's enough." Damon stated him in annoyance, making the vampire shift back to normal and look up at him in confusion. "I know you." He added, raising an eyebrow at the vamp.
"Damon?" The vampire asked, tilting his head and standing up from the floor before straightening out his clothes.
"Your name is Henry. You were in the tomb." Damon informed and Henry smiled back at him.
"Yes, Sir." Henry answered before he looked between the three of us and furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you doing here?" He asked, looking back at Damon in curiousness.
~~~
"So.." Henry started, leading off as he drained a blood bag into a small glass on the counter while we all surrounded the kitchen. "How do you know John Gilbert?" He asked, looking at Damon. Damon shifted his gaze on me and I narrowed my eyes at him from where we sat at the table.
"Well, I've known John for years. He's a good friend." Damon answered, looking back at Henry and tilting his head. "How do you know him?" He countered with a soft smile.
"I met him right after I got out of the tomb. He's been helping me out." Henry pointed out, making me furrow my eyebrows and look toward Alaric who leant in the wall across from me, giving me the same confused look.
"Helping you out how?" I asked, looking back at Henry who put the glass of blood in front of Damon.
"Adaptingâit's a whole new world. Cars, computers, Match.com." Henry informed in amusement as he opened the fridge. "There's so much to learn. He helped me get this place." He added and grabbed another blood bag before closing the fridge again.
"So do you live here alone? Or is there someone else here?" Alaric asked bluntly toward Henry who rose an eyebrow and looked at Damon skeptically.
"That's my friends very... passive-aggressive way of asking, uhâdo you know a woman named Isobel?" Damon asked in reassurance toward him, making me look between him and Alaric in confusion.
"Uh, no. No, I don't know an Isobel. I know John. He's my only real friend." Henry answered as he emptied out the blood bag he grabbed, into another glass. "He really showed me the ropesâHow to use a microwave, separate my whites." He added with a smile as Damon and I exchanged a look.
"What else do you do for him?" Alaric asked, folding his arms over his chest and Henry nodded back as he grabbed the glass in his hand.
"I help him keep an eye on things. You knowâwith the others." Henry informed and gestured at Damon who furrowed his eyebrows.
"The others?" Damon asked, tilting his head in confusion and I rose an eyebrow as Henry nodded.
"From the tomb." Henry answered and I rose an eyebrow at his answer. "They're still pissed at the Founding Families for trying to burn them alive." He admitted as he looked between the three of us. "I'm cool, but those tomb boys, they want revenge." Henry stated with a sigh before drinking from his glass.
"What does John want with them?" I asked, tilting my head at him from where I sat on the counter.
"He's just keeping an eye on them, you know? Trying to keep them out of trouble." He answered with a smile and Alaric looked at Damon in annoyance.
"Well, that's John. He's such a do-gooder." Damon chuckled in agreement before Henry's phone started ringing. I rose an eyebrow as he pulled it out and looked down at the caller I.D.
"Hehâthat's John now." Henry stated in amusement before Damon quickly got up from the table.
"Oh. Hey, let me talk to him." Damon suggested with a smile before taking the phone and Henry nodded, chuckling back at him.
"All right, Yeah." Henry agreed and I exchanged a worried glance with Alaric. Damon stared down at the phone, letting it ring and Henry slowly furrowed his eyebrows at him. "Are you gonna answer that?" Henry asked, his voice becoming more tense and serious now.
"Am I gonna.. answer that?" Damon asked, looking between Alaric and I. The two of us slowly shook our heads, making Henry look at Damon in confusion.
"What's going on?" Henry asked, looking down at the phone that was still ringing in Damon's hand. The air between all of us became thick and tense, and I think Henry caught onto that. I watched as he narrowed his eyes at Damon before he shifted and vamped toward Alaric, ready to sink his teeth into him. Damon grabbed him and turned him around just as Ric staked him from behind. Henry groaned and I jumped off of the counter, watching him slowly desiccate and fall to the floor in front of us.
"Let's not kill anyone tonight." Damon quoted and pat Alaric's shoulder as he looked down at Henry in defeat. "Your words. Just pointing that out." He added sarcastically and I rolled my eyes at him.
~~~
"Find anything, yet?" Damon asked, pouring another blood bag into his glass while Alaric and I sighed in defeat and walked into the living room.
"No, I looked everywhere. The place isâthe place is clean." Ric answered, shaking his head before sitting on an arm of the couch while I sat on the coffee table in front of him and Damon came over to us from the kitchen.
"Well, I found this behind the blood in the fridge." Damon stated before he tossed a beer to Alaric, which he caught. Damon sighed and looked down at Henry who was laying on the ground in front of us.
"God, This was a real dead-end." Alaric pointed out in annoyance and I shrugged.
"I wouldn't beat myself up over it." I reassured as Damon walked over to some mail that sat on a coffee table next to the door.
"What'd you think you were gonna find, Huh? Isobel with a cigar and her slippers?" Damon asked in amusement and I sighed at him while Alaric started chuckling before he ran a hand down his face in frustration.
"Oh, man. Iâ" Alaric started, sighing in annoyance at himself before shaking his head. "I gotta stop this. IâI can't keep searching for her." He added in defeat and Damon rose an eyebrow at him.
"Really? Only after two years?" He asked before he grabbed a kitchen chair and placed it in front of Alaric. "That's actually.. moderately healthy." Damon added with an approving nod before sitting backwards in the chair, making Ric and I chuckle at him.
"What are you going on?" I asked, gesturing at Damon who looked back at me. "One hundred and forty-six?" I added and tilted my head at him with a smirk.
"Well, I figured the two hundred marks probably a good stopping point." Damon countered jokingly and I shook my head in amusement while Alaric chuckled again.
"Ahh." Ric sighed heavily before looking down. "I mean, no answers enough. I keep thinking I wanna know why, when, you knowâthe precise moment when my wife decided life with me wasn't enough." He added in some anger, making me scoff lightly.
"Well, if it makes you feel better, she left Elena and I first." I pointed out sarcastically. Alaric looked at me in defeat and I gave him a reassuring smile before I looked away.
"She charmed me, your wife Isobel." Damon pointed out and I looked at him as he narrowed his eyes, just at the thought of her. "She talked a good game, man. She was smart. She had this excitement in her eyes." He added with a sigh before scoffing. "Probably should have known there was something different about her, some time to Katherine. There had to be some reason I didn't kill her." He added sarcastically and drank from his glass of blood while Alaric slowly shook his head, disinterested in the subject now.
"That's enough, Damon. We don't need to hear anymore." I stated emotionlessly toward him, making him furrow his eyebrows and look at Alaric who sighed deeply.
"I just don't want to waste anymore of my life searching for answers that I really don't want." Ric stated in disappointment and I slowly nodded in agreement. "I'm through with Isobel, I.." He added, leading off and shaking his head in defeat. "I'm done. I'm done with all of this." Alaric informed as he thought it over in his head. "Yeah." He decided, giving us a stern nod before he got up from the couch and walked away from us. Damon looked at me in defeat, making me sigh and walk away from him also.
-Time Skip-
Damon and I walked into the library to see Elena sprawled out on the couch while she wrote in her diary. "Oh, God. You're still here?" Damon asked sarcastically and she rose an eyebrow at us.
"Were you expecting anything else?" She asked in amusement. I walked over to her and picked up her feet before sitting down on the couch and placing her feet on my lap.
"No." I sighed, tapping her leg gently and Elena rose an eyebrow at Damon and I as he poured himself a glass of bourbon from behind us.
"So.." Elena started, leading off and sitting up to look at us both. "How was the 'errand' with the teacher?" She asked in amusement, making Damon roll his eyes.
"Futile." Damon answered with a sigh and I nodded in agreement. "Although, I think I witnessed the teacher having an existential crisis." He added and I rolled my eyes but didn't respond. "Has Stefan eaten yet?" He asked, changing the subject and looking at Elena as he sipped from his glass of bourbon.
"I thought you didn't care." I countered, tilting my head at him in some amusement and he rose an eyebrow.
"Chalk it up to morbid curiosity." Damon answered with a shrug and Elena looked up at us from her diary.
"I think he's getting there." Elena nodded back at him, hope in her eyes. "But he's got a lot of guilt that he has to deal with. And it doesn't help that you've spent the last one hundred and forty-five years punishing him for Katherine getting caught." She added and looked away from him as she wrote in her diary again.
"This is my fault now?" Damon asked, looking at her in annoyance.
"No, this is no one's fault, Damon. I'm just saying... you're not exactly innocent." Elena pointed out as she looked back at him while he furrowed his eyebrows, taken aback. "You've made it your life's mission to make him miserable." She added in disappointment. Damon stared back at her with his jaw slightly dropped, trying to register what she was saying.
"Let me ask you a question." He started in annoyance and walked in front of her with his glass in hand. "In all this important soul-searching and cleansing of the demons of Stefan's past, did you ever manage to get the rest of the story?" Damon asked, shaking his head in annoyance at her and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"He said there was more." Elena replied with a nod as she sat up, giving him her full attention.
"Yeah. That's an understatement." Damon countered with a scoff as he turned to walk away from us.
"Damon." I pressed in confusion and quickly got up from the couch. I walked after him and grabbed his arm, turning him towards me but he pulled himself back and looked down at me with a clenched jaw.
"Tell me." Elena stated as she now stood from the couch, staring between us.
"Did Stefan mention that he killed our father? That he fed on our father while in transition?" Damon asked, tilting his head at Elena who furrowed her eyebrows. "I guess it was justified since it was our father who shot us after trying to save Katherine." He added and I watched him in silence, listening intently as he moved back over to the alcohol stand. "That same night, I was prepared to die a humanâto not go through with the transition, but Stefan had other plans for me." Damon informed as he set his glass down on the table in front of him. "From the moment Stefan had his first taste of human blood, he was a different person. I suppose I should thank himâheh." He chuckled with a slight shrug and I furrowed my eyebrows. "It's been a hell of a ride." Damon added with a dry scoff before he downed the rest of his glass, only to pour more into it.
"Oh, my godâHe said that he wanted to die.. That's why he won't feedâNow I understand why butâ" Elena started, only for Damon to cut her off.
"His choice. If he's stupid enough to make it, so be it." Damon replied emotionlessly, drinking from his glass again and Elena scoffed in anger.
"Don't do that. Don't pretend like you don't care." She stated with annoyance before turning away from him and walking toward the cellar. I looked at Damon in annoyance and he sighed, looking away from me.
"Feel better?" I asked, looking at him in disappointment and he rolled his eyes.
"Cut me some slack, will you?" He countered, downing the rest of his glass and I chuckled dryly.
"You're kidding, right? Maybe think before you speak next time." I pointed out in disbelief and watched him furrow his eyebrows back at me.
"Mariana! Damon!" Elena's voice yelled from the hall and I quickly snapped my head toward it. She ran back into the library, breathing heavily toward us and I looked her over in concern. "He's gone." She stated, holding up his daylight ring toward us and I felt my breath hitch in my throat.
"Where would heâ" I started but Damon quickly cut me off.
"The quarry." He admitted, narrowing his eyes at the ring. "That's where we woke up.. That's where we should have died." He stated quietly. Elena looked at me in defeat before she quickly ran toward the door, grabbing her coat on the way out. I looked at Damon in defeat but he didn't acknowledge me.. and I didn't blame him.
~~~
Elena and Stefan walked into the library where Damon sat, still trying to figure out the device Pearl had given him while I stood behind the couch. "Little boy lost." Damon stated, once he looked up at Stefan, noticing they had walked in holding hands.
"I'll be upstairs, okay?" Elena asked and rubbed Stefan arm reassuringly before he nodded back at her. Elena looked away from Stefan and at Damon, slightly narrowing her eyes. "Goodnight, Damon." She stated emotionlessly before looking at me and I gave her a small smile as she walked out of the room. Silence fell over the three of us as Damon put down Jonathan Gilbert's device and picked up his glass of bourbon instead.
"Thank you." Stefan stated, slowly walking forwards with his hands in his pant pockets.
"No, Stefan, thank you. You're back on Bambi blood, and I'm the big badass brother againâAll is right in the world." Damon replied in amusement as Stefan sat in the chair beside him.
"No, I mean it. Thank you.. Both of you. For helping her take care of me." Stefan countered softly as he looked between Damon and I.
"You brood too much. Everything on this planet is not your faultâMy actions, what I do? It's not your fault. I own them, they belong to me. You are not allowed to feel my guilt." Damon stated in annoyance and looked away from him and at the fireplace.
"Do you feel guilt?" Stefan asked, tilting his head at his brother who sighed back at him.
"If I wanted to, it's there." He answered, sipping his bourbon again and Stefan slowly nodded before he got up and walked away from him. "You know, Emily waited until after I turned to tell me that she was successful in protecting Katherine in her spell? She didn't want me to know about the tomb. She thought it would impact my decision." Damon stated in annoyance and looked up at Stefan who slowly turned back to him.
"She didn't want either one of us to turn. She said it was a curse." Stefan admitted with a slight shrug.
"WitchesâJudgey little things." Damon stated with a sigh and I scoffed lightly, making him smirk.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Stefan asked, raising an eyebrow at his brother.
"'Cause I didn't want you to know. 'Cause I hated you, and I still do.." Damon answered bluntly and Stefan slowly nodded before looking down in defeat.
"I know." He agreed quietly and looked back up at Damon who narrowed his eyes at him.
"But not because you forced me to turn." Damon informed, tilting his head at Stefan, making him furrow his eyebrows in return.
"Then why?" Stefan asked, shaking his head in confusion and Damon slowly got up from the chair and walked toward him.
"Because she turned you." Damon answered and I furrowed my eyebrows and watched him stop in front of Stefan. "It was just supposed to be me, Stefan.. Just me." He added emotionlessly before walking out of the room. Silence filled the air around us and I slowly walked around the couch and folded my arms over my chest.
"I'm glad you're okay." I stated toward Stefan, changing the raw subject and he looked up at me with a small smile before nodding in thanks. "But.." I added, my voice slightly changing as I walked closer to him and watched as he furrowed his eyebrows at me. "If you jump off the wagon againâAnd I think that you're a threat to Elena.." I asked, leading off and narrowing my eyes at him. "I will kill you, Stefan." I informed emotionlessly and he slowly nodded down at me. "I won't hesitate.. and I won't let her get hurt.. So I hope it doesn't come to that." I added in warning before I walked past him and towards the door.
"Mariana." Stefan stated from behind me and I turned back to him, raising an eyebrow. "He trusts you, you know." He pointed out and I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "And so do I." He added, giving me a short nod and I gave him a small smile before I walked out of the room.