Until This Lie Do Us Part

Chapter 25

Damon had always found himself thinking about her, more so as a friend than a little sister and then as a romantic interest when she got older. Then Katherine came along, but he had never stopped thinking about Caroline. "Alaric can be a real dick" Damon said, taking a seat on the windowsill with her.

Caroline laughed, wanting to remind Damon that he was one too, but she held back, neither in the mood to argue with him or belittle him. "I just ..." she began, but then remembered who she was talking to. "Never mind" she said.

Damon studied her for a moment, realizing that she was trying to say something. "Whatever it is, you can tell me" he encouraged. Caroline looked at him, trying to decide if she should or not. "Not like I could tell anyone if I wanted to" he laughed slightly. "My wife can't stand me and Stefan hates my guts" he added.

Caroline looked at him sadly. She did know that. And she felt sorry for him, being trapped in a loveless marriage and never really gaining back the relationship with his brother that he once had. "I feel like I'm losing Stefan" she said, looking back out the window. "He's got Elena now. Which, don't get me wrong, I think she's great and Stefan is really happy, but my time that I get to spend with him is becoming less and less. And when I do get the chance, Alaric has to invite himself along too" she said. "And if I told Stefan any of this, he would just laugh it off and tell me I'm being ridiculous. And Alaric would call me spoiled and Elena would feel so incredibly guilty that I would feel terrible" she added. "Do you see my problem?" she asked, turning to look at him again.

Damon nodded. "I get it" he told her, empathizing with her. "I lost Stefan a long time ago" he said, looking out the window himself. "But Stefan really cares about you, so I don't think he'd call you ridiculous if you told him all of this" he told her.

Caroline nodded. "I just don't want to get in the way of him and Elena right now. You know? They're newlyweds and this is supposed to be a really happy time for them" she explained.

"I don't know about that" Damon said.

Caroline raised her eyebrow at him. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked him, suddenly defensive.

Damon thought about his options for answering. But he already knew what he was going to say. "Elena and I kissed" he answered.

Caroline was quite sure that she did not hear him correctly. "You what?" she asked in disbelief.

A movement from out of the corner of Damon's eye caught his attention. When he turned around, he saw Stefan standing in the doorway, clearly having heard what Damon had said. His jaw was locked. His eyes bore into Damon's. "Caroline, I need to talk to my brother, alone" he told her.

Caroline looked back and forth between the two brothers before quietly getting up and leaving. Stefan walked into the room a little further as Damon stood up. "It only proves that she doesn't love you Stefan. That this whole marriage is a hoax" Damon said.

Damon could see that Stefan was tensing up, becoming angrier as every moment passed. "It wasn't enough for you to take Katherine and Lily from me, but now you're trying to take Elena from me too?" he asked. Damon simply smirked, which resulted in Stefan punching him.

Damon picked himself up off of the floor, holding his jaw. "Feel better?" Damon asked. Stefan resisted the urge to hit him again. To make matters worse, Elena came walking into the room looking angry as hell. "Speaking of the Devil" Damon smiled.

"You son of a bitch!" she yelled, drawing her own arm back and smacking him hard across his face. "How dare you talk about me like that in front of Lily!" she continued. "You know nothing about the way I feel or my intentions!" Elena's breathing became rapid and she cursed herself for losing control. It was then that she noticed Stefan in the room with them. He was staring at her. Like he was trying to figure something out.