╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
let loose
╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

( blood brothers )

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

GILBERT ESTATE
1859
*Damon Salvatore is 20 years old while Mary Gilbert is 19 years old*

There was nothing they could do. Mary Gilbert was going to die. The town doctor had diagnosed her with consumption, and they were to send her to a sanatorium that very day. 

Johnathan Gilbert had begged and begged the doctor to give him a few more days so that he could concoct something to heal her, but the doctor had made it very clear that it was too late. The bacteria had spread to a large portion of Mary's lungs that at such a late stage there was no stopping it. All they could do now was send her away, so no one else was at risk of catching her disease.

When Damon heard the news, he felt like he was going to die. Mary was his world, and he was going to lose her to something he had no control over. It was just like with his mother, present one day and gone the next.

Damon cried and cried until there were no tears left to cry.

That late afternoon, Mary hobbled out of her home for the last time. The carriage had arrived to take her away. She didn't want to leave. She would rather spend her last few days lying in her own bed, but she did not want to risk her father or anyone else getting infected.

As she closed the distance between herself and the carriage, a coughing fit erupted in her chest. She quickly whipped out a handkerchief to catch the blood. Once it was over, she folded the handkerchief over and looked up.

Damon was standing on the other side of the gate to the estate. He watched Mary with solemn eyes, another round of tears pouring down his cheeks.

He hated to see her suffering. He hated that he could not be there for her.

"Mary!" he called out longingly, unable to contain himself.

At the sound of Damon's voice beckoning her to him, Mary broke down. A river of tears fell from her eyes as her throat burned. It wasn't until now that she realized how strong she had been. Damon was her weakness, and now only a reminder of what she could not have.

She could not bear to look at him for any longer. She didn't want to think about him anymore, so she took off towards the carriage.

Seeing the love of his life flee from him made Damon's heart break. "Mary!" he called out again. This time his hands gripped the rails of the gate in desperation.

In one swift motion, she boarded the carriage and swung the door closed behind her.

Damon hit the gate with his fists. "Mary!"

The horses to the carriage grunted and made their way towards the gate. The carriage rolled right past Damon, and he fell to his knees watching it go.

"I love you," he mumbled as he watched his angel depart from him.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Harper's POV.

*The Salvatore Boarding House*

Elena and Damon come up from the basement. A dungeon cell is down there and that's where they're keeping Stefan. Why the Salvatores have a dungeon I have no idea. It's just another aspect of this huge old-timey house that gives it an aura of mystery.

Elena comes over to me on the couch and starts to fill a bag with her dirty laundry. She's been staying here most nights to keep an eye on Stefan. I don't know how Jenna has been allowing her to sleep away so many nights because my parents would never.

She starts to fold a pair of jeans together.

"How's Stefan?" I ask her.

I'm very aware of Damon's presence in the room, but I'm doing my best to act normal. He doesn't bother me as much as he used to — not since we danced together at the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant. I still can't even believe that happened. It feels like a dream every time I think about it.

Me and the incredibly handsome Damon Salvatore danced together. Yeah, that happened.

"He's . . . improving," Elena hesitates to answer my question. The reluctance in her voice is making me think otherwise.

"Improving?" Damon butts in all of a sudden, gaining our attentions. "I haven't seen him this brooding since his favorite carriage horse died."

Elena rolls her eyes at him. "Did you ever figure out what that is?" she asks.

That's when I notice a small circular trinket in Damon's hands. It must be what Elena is referring to.

"Nope. Whatever it is, it doesn't work," Damon responds.

Elena picks up her bag and continues filling it with clothes. She sighs. "Pearl didn't say anything else about it?"

"She thought she was stealing his vampire compass, but that was a pocket watch," Damon explains. "Johnathan Gilbert was a crazy scientist."

At his comment, Elena and I exchange a knowing glance.

"Have either of you spoken to your uncle lately?" Damon questions suddenly.

"I've been avoiding him, actually," Elena responds. "Plus, I've been here most nights," she adds, stuffing the final contents of her clothing into her bag.

Damon turns around and his eyes land on me on the couch. "What about you?" he asks.

I quickly think back to these last few days. "He's come over to dinner a few times. But other than that, he hasn't really said anything."

Finally finished filling the bag with her laundry, Elena slings it over her shoulder. She looks down at me. "Hey, I'll be back to pick you up later." Elena looks over at Damon. When she sees he has his back turned to us, she mouths are you going to be okay?

I'll be fine I mouth back.

She nods. "I'll see you later."

It isn't until Elena is actually gone that I realize how not fine I really am. I'm in a house alone with Damon Salvatore. What was I thinking? Not to mention, it's his house!

Trying to keep my cool, I go back to doing what I was about to do before Damon and Elena came up from the basement — my history homework. I have questions from the textbook due on Monday, so that should keep me busy for a while.

I unzip my backpack and take out my history textbook, a pencil, and a sheet of paper. For a hard background to write on, I'm gonna use a binder. I lay it over my thighs as I rest sideways on the couch with my knees bent. My back is pressed against the armrest. I shift a little to get comfortable.

"What are you doing?" comes Damon's voice, startling me slightly.

He had been so quiet this whole time that I almost forgot he was here.

He walks around to the front of the couch, setting himself down on the empty cushion next to me. Instinctively, I pull my knees closer to my chest.

I look at him but don't quite make eye contact. "Just some history homework. It's due tomorrow," I explain.

He's so perfect — goodness, I need to stop.

"Alaric is really giving you homework?" Damon scoffs incredulously.

"Well, he has to give us a grade somehow," I defend, but even I don't completely believe what I'm saying. In the bigger picture, shouldn't helping your blood-lust troubled friend take priority over school?

"You know what I think?" Damon begins. "I think you could use a break."

At first I'm confused about what he's talking about. "A break from my homework?" I question.

"Yeah." He nods. "Come on. I've got a speaker. I know you want to."

The very thought of dancing with Damon again gets my heart pumping, but, of course, my mouth betrays me. "Oh no." I shake my head quickly. "I have to finish this." I bring my eyes back down to the blank sheet of paper, trying my best to focus on my homework. But it's hard with an extremely attractive man sitting just inches away. 

"Oh, come on," Damon drawls, and before I can react, he grabs the binder and piece of paper from off my legs.

"Hey!" I blurt out.

Ignoring my protests, he sets my stuff to the side on the coffee table.

"Get up," he orders almost in annoyance. He leans over and grabs my wrists, pulling me to my feet along with him.

I nearly stumble into his chest when he lets go.

Okay, so this is happening.

I look up at his face, and he's smirking at me. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Damon disappears. I look all around the room for him, but he's no where to be seen.

A second later, he appears in front of me, and the sound of upbeat music reaches my ears.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

He must have turned on the speaker he was talking about.

"Um," I say at a loss for words, still reluctant about this.

Without warning, Damon rapidly closes the distance between us. His arms wrap around my waist, and he lifts me up off the floor.

"Woah!" I yelp in surprise.

He spins my body around in a circle and finishes off by bending me down in a dipped position. The rush of air and adrenaline makes me giggle in spite of myself.

In my dipped position, I gaze up at his face.

He is a sight, isn't he?

His eyes are glittering with enjoyment. All it takes is one look into those eyes for me to forget my worries and for a rush of excitement to fill my belly. I can't stop the smile forming on my face.

And after that, I feel like I'm flying. Damon and I dance around the living room without a care in the world. It isn't formal like how we danced at the pageant, but lively. I allow myself to let loose in front of him like I have never done in front of a boy in my life, and maybe even in front of my close friends too. I can't even remember the last time I've had this much fun. Damon has awakened a side of me that I didn't even know existed.

At some point, we end up in the hallway. Damon has my hand in his and is leading me towards the stairs. I laugh as he twirls me around, and I end up in front of him.

I've never even been upstairs before, but I don't really care. I'm having too much fun to stop now.

I dance my way halfway up the stairs, and Damon follows me. Kind of liking him following me like that, I turn around and go up the rest of the steps backwards so that I can watch his handsome body move to the music.

Gosh, he's gorgeous.

Distracted, I somehow miss the top step and trip backwards onto my back. It doesn't hurt that bad cause I already had my knees a little bent while I was dancing, but it does snap my mind to attention.

I don't know how, but somehow Damon nearly falls on top of me. He catches himself with his hands on either side of my body.

Our faces are just inches apart, and our breathing is heavy.

I've never felt more alive.

All of a sudden, a phone starts to ring. It takes me a moment to realize that it's Damon's.

He groans and reaches behind into his back jean pocket to take out his phone. After standing to his feet, he extends a hand down to me. I take it, and he lifts me to my feet.

"Hello?" Damon answers the phone in an agitated voice. His facial expression changes to one of curious surprise. "Before I hang up, how did you get this number?" he asks whoever's on the other end.

I don't know whether I should stay and listen or not, so I just stand in place, waiting.

"What kind of digging?" Damon questions into the phone. He lowers the phone and muffles it with his hand. I'll just be a minute he mouths to me before walking away.

When he's gone, my stomach sinks in disappointment. We were having fun, and now it's over.

Not wanting him to find me still awkwardly standing at the top of the staircase, I head back downstairs. I'll have to go exploring upstairs another time.

When I make my way back into the main living room, my eyes immediately land on the binder and blank sheet of paper still lying on the coffee table.

Gosh, I really don't want to do my homework.

But I have to.

I plop myself down on the couch and reach for my things. I get down to business and answer the first question in the textbook when my phone rings.

It's Elena.

"Hey," I greet.

"Hey, I'm just grabbing some clothes, and then I'll be back to pick you up. How's Stefan?" she asks.

"I dunno know. I haven't been down there in a while," I lie casually. She doesn't need to know that I haven't been down to check on Stefan at all because I've been too busy dancing with Damon. She'd be so disappointed in me. I'm disappointed in me. If anything, I should have at least been getting my homework done this whole time. "I'll go check on him now," I assure her.

"Okay, I'll see you in a bit," says Elena. "Bye."

"Bye." I end the call and get up to do what I said I would.

Damon hasn't come back downstairs yet, so I assume he's still on the phone. I might even be able to check on Stefan and come back up before he's done.

It isn't until I get down into the basement that I realize I've never been down here before without Elena. The hallway is eery and too quiet. My eyes automatically travel to every dark shadow as if something is hiding within them, watching me.

A sense of relief travels through me once I reach the dungeon door. I'm sure Stefan must have heard me coming. I keep a safe distance away from the door just in case. Stefan would never mean to hurt me on purpose, but if his blood lust is still strong, he may have no control over his urges. The last thing I want is to be stupid and let my guard down.

"Stefan," I whisper. Even whispering down in the basement sounds too loud. When I get no response, a sort of awkward feeling settles in my stomach. "Stefan, it's Harper. Elena wanted me to check on you."

Still no response.

I take a tentative step forward and rise on my tiptoes to get a glimpse at Stefan through the bars. He's sitting on the ground with his head hung between his knees.

He's awake, meaning that he must have heard me. He just doesn't want to talk right now. I can completely understand that. 

I lower my heels back to the floor. "If there's anything you need, just let me know," I say in a comforting voice. I don't know what he would need that I could possibly provide for him, but it just felt like something I needed to say. "We all care about you, Stefan. You don't have to go through this alone. I just wanted you to know that," my voice quiets at the end.

To my right, the sound of footsteps startle me. Damon walks into view, and in his hand is a plastic water bottle filled with blood. He walks up to me. "I'll take it from here," he says, placing a dismissive hand on my shoulder.

Damon cares about his brother. I admire that about him, even if he doesn't say it out loud or act like it all the time.

I go back up to the living room and return to my homework. It appears that there is no way I'm going to get out of doing it. It's just going to continue to annoy me with its existence until I get it done.

Not too long later the sound of the front door opening alerts me of Elena's return. Thank God.

Time to go home. I work there better anyway.

THE SANATORIUM
1859
*Mary Gilbert is 19 years old*

She felt like she was going to die, which, she was, but not yet, not until she had endured the worst torture of her life. Mary Gilbert would give anything to have the strength to cover her ears with her hands or even with the blood-stained pillow beneath her head.

The older man on the cot beside her was hacking up a storm, and every intense cough made her head pound in insufferable pain. Make it stop her mind pleaded. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop.

Finally, a nurse came to the old man's aid, and a moment later, his coughing fit ceased.

Mary allowed herself to have a moment of relief even though she knew the peacefulness would not last long. But a win was a win, and she did not intend to waste it.

"Ah, I thought he would never shut his mouth," said a familiar voice.

A head of blond hair came into Mary's view. Her weary eyes met those of Noella Branson. A part of Mary could not believe what she was seeing, and she thought she was dreaming.

"What are you doing here?!" Mary gasped. The sudden sharp intake of air made her lungs burn, and a painful cough erupted from her throat. With all the willpower she could muster, she forced her coughing fit short.

She had to be sure. She had to be sure that it was really Ella standing before her.

Once Mary could focus, her eyes grew wide at the sight of the girl in front of her. "It really is you!" she exclaimed. To the rest of the sanatorium, she probably sounded insane, but Mary didn't care. This was the happiest she had felt in days.

Noella smirked. "You really thought I would just leave you here to rot like a tree? Not on my watch."

It then dawned on Mary that the sanatorium was the last place her friend should be. Noella could easily catch consumption from herself or from one of the other patients. "You should not be here," Mary said, attempting to shake her head but was too weak.

"Oh hush," Noella silenced. "You know you are happy to see me." She sat at the end of Mary's cot, right by her feet.

"Well, yes, but I do not want you to fall ill."

A small laugh left Noella's lips. "My dear, Mary, I would not be here if I were risking such a thing."

"So you have had consumption before?" Mary questioned, puzzled by her words.

A far-off look filled Noella's green eyes as a light smile graced her lips. "Not quite."

"Whatever do you mean?" Mary questioned, beginning to feel a wave of pain arise in her chest, a pain she had grown accustomed to feeling these past few days. A constant reminder of the end to come.

Noella ran a hand up and down Mary's sheet-covered legs. "What if I told you I could save you?"

Mary was not amused. "I am in no mood for such teasing," she said in repulse.

The blond ignored her, and instead pulled out a small bottle with red liquid inside. "I brought you something."

"What is that?" Mary asked, leaning her head up off the pillow a little to get a better look.

"Something to make you feel better." Noella sat up and moved towards the front of the cot where Mary's head lay.

"It looks like blood."

"Just take a sip," Noella encouraged, popping out the cork lid and placing the opening of the bottle down to Mary's lips.

As she got her first taste of the red liquid, the poor girl gagged. "What is this?! It tastes terrible! Like — Like metal from a plow!" The red liquid was all over Mary's mouth now, trickling down in crimson streams.

Noella let out a laugh. "You will get used to it."

Finally finished swallowing the vile stuff, Mary gazed up at Noella in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I said I could save you, did I not?" the blond girl reminded.

For some reason, Mary knew deep down in her heart that Noella was serious. Her life would not end at the sanatorium, not yet.

As Mary opened her mouth to speak again, Noella suddenly aggressively reached forward and enclosed a hand around her neck. She watched with wide, horrified eyes as her best friend jerked her arm.

The last thing Mary heard was the sharp crack of her own neck breaking.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

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a/n:

I can't believe this book is almost done, just 2 or 3 chapters left, guys! Also, if you guys ever see any spelling or grammar mistakes within the story please let me know because it really helps lol

-- roxy

( word count: 3.5k )