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From where Bonnie and Meredith sat in the car, they could just see Vickie’sIt would have been better to be closer, but then soht have discovered them
Meredith poured the last of the coffee out of the theruiltily and looked at Bonnie
"You having trouble sleeping at night too?"
"Yes I can’t iuys are having a little talk?"
Meredith glanced at her quickly, obviously surprised, then smiled Bonnie realized Meredith hadn’t expected her to catch on "I hope so," Meredith said "It ood"
Bonnie nodded and relaxed back into the seat Meredith’s car had never seemed so coain, the dark-haired girl was asleep
Oh, great Terrific Bonnie stared into the dregs of her coffee ain; if they both fell asleep, it could be disastrous She dug her nails into her palhted
When she found the i had to be done
Fresh air That would help Without bothering to be too quiet about it, she unlocked the door and pulled the handle up The door clicked open, but Meredith went on breathing deeply
Sheout She shut the doorMeredith inside It was only then that she realized she herself didn’t have a key
Oh, well, she’d wake Meredith to let her back in Meanwhile she’d go check on Vickie Vickie was probably still awake
The sky was brooding and overcast, but the night arm Behind Vickie’s house the black walnut trees stirred very faintly Crickets sang, but their er silence
The scent of honeysuckle filled Bonnie’s nostrils She tapped on Vickie’slightly with her fingernails, peering through the crack in the curtains
No answer On the bed she couldout the top Vickie was asleep too
As Bonnie stood there, the silence see anymore, and the trees were still And yet it was as if she was straining to hear so she kneas there
None of her ordinary senses told her this But her sixth sense, the one that sent chills up her arms and ice down her spine, the one that was neakened to the presence of Poas certain There was so her
She turned slowly, afraid to make a sound If she didn’t et her Maybe it wouldn’t notice her
The silence had beco It hummed in her ears with the beat of her own blood And she couldn’t help i out of it at anywith hot,into the darkness of the backyard Black on gray, black on black was all she could see Every shapeSoh to crush her-
The snap of a twig exploded through her like gunfire
She spun toward it, eyes and ears straining But there was only darkness and silence
Fingers touched the back of her neck
Bonnie whirled again, alhtened to scream When she saho it was, shock robbed all her senses and her round if he hadn’t caught her and held her straight
"You look frightened," Damon said softly
Bonnie shook her head She didn’t have any voice yet She thought she still ht faint But she tried to pull away just the sarip, but he didn’t let go And struggling did about asto break a brick ith bare hands She gave up and tried to calhtened of ly, as if they shared a secret "You don’t need to be"
How had Elena ed to deal with this? But Elena hadn’t, of course, Bonnie realized
Elena had succumbed to Damon in the end Damon had won and had his way
He released one of her arhtly, the curve of her upper lip "I suppose I should go away," he said, "and not scare you anymore Is that what you want?"
Like a rabbit with a snake, Bonnie thought This is how the rabbit feels Only I don’t suppose he’ll kill s ht collapse There was a war inside her
Elena wouldn’t like it, she thought, just as his lips touched hers Yes, that was it But the probleth to say it The war out to all parts of her, froertips to the soles of her feet His lips were cool, like silk, but everything else was so waro and float on this Sweetness rushed through her
"What the hell is going on?"
The voice broke the silence, broke the spell Bonnie started and found herself able to turn her head Matt was standing at the edge of the yard, his fists clenched, his eyes like chips of blue ice Ice so cold it burned
"Get away from her," Matt said
To Bonnie’s surprise, the grip on her ar her blouse, a little breathless Her ain
"It’s okay," she said to Matt, her voice almost normal "I was just-"
"Go back to the car and stay there"
Noait a lad Matt had come; the interruption had been very conveniently ti on a little heavy with the protective older brother bit
"Look, Matt-"
"Go on," he said, still staring at Damon
Meredith wouldn’t have let herself be ordered around this way And Elena certainly wouldn’t Bonnie opened her o sit in the car hi
This was the first ti The light was back in those blue eyes-that cold flash of righteous anger that used to ht now, and full of energy He was hiain
Bonnie bit her lip For a led with her pride Then she conquered it and lowered her eyes
"Thanks for rescuing me," she ry he didn’t dareat hi darkness in Daood idea
But Damon’s voice was smooth, almost dispassionate "My taste for blood isn’t just a whi with here I’
what I have to"
Contemptuously he said, "Why don’t you pick on somebody your own size, then?"