He began to exhale deeply as he stood quietly outside her apartment; nervously, he began to check himself for any imperfections before raising his arm to knock upon the door.  The door slowly opens and there she stood, the mere image of perfection in his heart.  Her icy blue eyes meet his and her peach-colored lips whisper his name beautifully.

 

“Damon..”

 

The door widens as Vanity steps backwards allowing him inside.  The two gaze at each other as the door slowly shuts behind them.

 

As Damon steps inside, he is in awe of the beauty standing just inches from his body.  He slowly steps in, extending his arms out to greet her with a hug, but Vanity backs away.

 

“Damon, we need to talk.”  The words escape her lips like dread.  She did not know how she was going to do what she had to do, she just knew it had to be done.  She sighed deeply, reaching her hand out to his and cupping them together as she led him to the sofa.

 

“Please sit down.”

 

By this time, Damon’s body was quivering inside.  Her inviting touch was nearly too impossible to not indulge on, for the last time he touched her silky skin, she was fighting for what seemed her life.

 

“I’m glad you called Cassie.  I was worried about you.”   He reaches out his hand, offering her a seat upon his lap.  Again, she pulls herself away.

 

“Damon, I don’t know how to tell you this, but things are quite different now than they were back then.  We..I am not the same girl you remember.”

 

Vanity sat down on the sofa, keeping a relatively spacious distance between them.  She breathes deeply, she is unsure on how to continue.  Cassie had been silent this whole time.  Vanity was on her own.

 

“What do you mean, Cas?”  Damon looked into her eyes, those icy blues did seem a bit darker, not in color, but in spirit.  He tries to move in, and Vanity, now raises a stiff arm against him.

 

“I won’t stop you so nicely next time, Damon.  Sit and listen like a good boy, and I won’t be forced to hurt you.”  Her stern side eye was misinterpreted, and Damon begins to smile.

 

“Damn girl, alright, we role playing now?”   Damon smiles as once again he tries moving in on Vanity. 

 

She shuts her eyes, breathing forcefully, she opens them and begins to stand on her feet.   She steps up to him, spreading his legs apart with her knees, she slowly nestles in between his thighs and lowers her body, brushing her breasts against his chest.  She leans in, placing her right arm against the Adam’s apple of his throat, pressing in as hard as she could.  Her left arm reaches to the back of his head, and forcefully grips his black hair pulling it backwards.  With a knee lift to the center of his legs, she leans into his face, her lips brushing over his, their eyes locked upon each other.

 

“This is not a game, Damon.  I can, and I will hurt you if you do not stop.”  She forcefully shoves her body back off him and she stands looking down upon his face.  “I said we need to talk, and talking is what we are going to do.  Do not make this any harder than it must be, Damon.”

 

He reaches for his throat, rubbing the front gently as he nods his head.  Vanity sits back down upon the sofa, still with a side eye upon him.

 

“Here..”  Vanity hands the letter to Damon that Cassie had addressed to him.

 

“What’s this?”  He replied.

 

“A damn set of keys, Moron, what does it look like?” She rolled her eyes at him.

 

“No Shit, Dick Slicker..”  He grinned.  “I can see that.”  Vanity smiled.  His version of Cat and Mouse almost had her wheeled in.  She snickered at his attempt, but it was still a no go.

 

“I think you are supposed to read that.”  She said in a sarcastic tone. 

 

Damon looks it over and begins to unfold the letter.  Vanity anxiously awaits.

 

My Dearest Damon,

By now you must be somewhat confused.  The gorgeous girl, you see before you, desperately trying to figure out how to be me is named Vanity.  Don’t get upset, I will further explain in this letter.  Take a good look at her.  She is me in every physical aspect, her personality is quite different tho. Something I have had to create within myself to endure life.  Something that will also be explained in this letter.

Please, take this moment to look at her, and call her by name.  Let her off the hook, she is as confused as you are.

Damon glances up from the letter, glaring at Vanity.

“Vanity?”  He looked so confused.  Vanity just smiled, relieved, yet also confused.  She nods her head.  Damon continues to read on.

 

Thank you!

Now this letter will find you with several mixed emotions. All in which you deserve to feel.  I am sorry that I am unable to be with you at this moment, but believe me, it’s for the best at this time.   This, is not easy for me to discuss, let alone tell anyone.  You are the first person who will finally learn the truth.  No one, not even Vanity knows.  So, buckle up, take a deep breath and prepare yourself.  This, I promise you, will not be easy.

Do you remember the day before you left for Italy?  The morning you scheduled our appointment to get my passport and I told you I was running late.  Well, that morning I was with your mom. 

Inside that ziplock bag is a white envelope. Have Vanity give it to you. But please do not open it just yet.  The reason I was late lies within that bag.  But you need to hear the story before you open it.

 

“Hand me the ziplock bag.”  Damon insists.  Vanity slides it across the coffee table to him.

 

After the visit with your mom, it was imperative, she said, that we, me and her, went somewhere safe to have lunch, and to cancel my plans for the rest of the day. It was the very reason that I called to cancel our date.

It was not that I did not want to meet you.  Your Mom gave me no choice.

 

Damon continued to read, his face looking more and more confused.

 

Later that night, I wanted to call you, to tell you everything your mother and I had done that day, but she swore me to secrecy until she could assure me everything was ok.

That next morning, when you called, I was in the shower, getting ready to meet you.  I had my bags packed, my letters to my family written and, in my bag, explaining my decision to leave.

When I called you back, your phone went directly to voice mail.  I felt as though you did not want to talk, after the ordeal the day before.

I rushed and got ready to meet you at the airport.  However, as you know I did not make it.

 

Damon’s face showed a sign of recollection as he remembered that day well.  It was the letter his father gave him, supposedly from Cassie, that would send him away so quickly.

 

Now this is where things get hard, and I am so very sorry to have to do this to you.  Trust me, this is the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

I got into my car and headed out to the airport.  With 3 miles down the road, my front tire unexpectedly blows out.

I tried calling you, but still no answer.  I called your mother, and she also did not answer.  I had no one else to call!  I could not call my parents and I could not call my brother.  I was alone, scared and all I could think about was how you must be feeling.

I sat in my car, just crying.  It was about 20 minutes later; your father’s henchmen stopped and offered me a ride to the airport.

Not thinking twice about it, I got in, bags and all.

 

Damon’s eyes began to water, and he took a moment to look to Vanity, before wiping it away, as he continued to read.

 

We traveled for what seemed like an hour, for a mere 30-minute trip.  When I asked, they simply suggested we were picking up your mom.

We reached your father’s warehouse, and the men grabbed and drug me out of the car, bags and all.

I was thrown inside a small room where your father stood waiting.

 

Damon inhales strongly and fiercely exhales, his eyes now begin to squint with anger.

 

He held the contents you see before you in that ziplock bag.

You may open it now.

 

He reaches for the top of the bag, sliding the red tab across the top to the right side, opening it and reaching for the envelope, he pulls it from inside.  He tosses the bag to the floor and gently rips the seal across the top of the envelope.  He looks inside, his eyes grow wide, and he springs his head directly up and stares at Vanity, never taking the contents out of the envelope.  He shuts his eyes for a moment, again inhaling deeply.  He placed the envelope between his legs and continued with the letter.

He continued to tell me, there would be no way he would allow his son to be with the likes of me and he made sure that you felt it was me who never wanted to see you again.

 

“That Dirty Bastard!!”   He continues.

               

The more I tried to plead with him, the more aggressive he got, I tried fighting, you know I could never go down without one.

But the more I pressed on, the angrier he got.

He repeatedly kicked me, tossed me up against the walls of that small room, and punched me as if I were a standing sandbag.

No one could hear my screams!

 

“I’m going to fuckin kill him!!”   Damon forcefully stood to his feet, as the white envelope fell to the floor, he clutched the letter in his hand, and tossed it to the sofa and began pacing the floor.   He reaches for his phone from his back pocket, he looks down upon it and almost throws it across the room.  He looks to Vanity, who seems to be equally confused.  He takes a step back to the sofa, reaching for the letter, sits and begins to pick up where he left off.

 

As I lay broken on the floor, barely conscious, I could hear him talking to his men.

“Get her phone. Face time that punk ass of a brother of hers.”

From then on, it gets to be a blur, I could see Colton laying in the street from the video on my phone.   His motorcycle bent and scattered into pieces on the highway.  Your father was trying to prove a point.  He continued to kick me, as I remained helpless on the floor. He punches me repeatedly until I lose consciousness.

After that, I can’t tell you what happened, I can only tell you that when I finally came to, your father was leaning up from me, fixing his suit and leaving me for dead.

The rest you will need to discuss with Colton.  I don’t think my parents could handle all this.  But this was the night Vanity was born. I cannot tell you anymore about that night except for what I was told at the hospital. That you may need to ask your mom about.

Please take the big envelope and look inside now. within that, is a picture.

 

Damon reaches for the yellow envelope, he sighs, glaring even more at Vanity.  His eyes are filled with angered tears.  His heart palpitates a hundred miles per second it seemed.  He was shaking, he could not reach inside the envelope, he handed it to Vanity.

 

“I..I can’t do it.  Take it out..”  He nervously said.

 

“Are you sure Damon, I don’t…”  he quickly cuts her off.

 

“TAKE IT OUT…..PLEASE!”

 

Vanity slowly reaches inside the yellow envelope, sliding her hand inside and retrives the image, sliding it out for them to see.  Just as she does, the image was facing Damon’s direction.   His eyes grew wide, his face completely pale, and he falls to the floor onto his knees.  He cries out with a massive yell. As he reads the words typed on the photo.

 

Patient: Cassandra Hurst     Age: 18     Attending Physician: Helen Mikaelson

Sonogram: 8 weeks/3 days   Gender: Boy

 

He drops the letter, he falls limp across the lap of Vanity, she sits stunned, not knowing what to do.  She turns the image to look for herself, her mouth drops open, her eyes grew wide and the only thing she saw of the letter Damon had dropped were the words.

 

Please forgive me Damon, I could not save our son.

 

Vanity immediately lowers herself clutching Damon’s body in a tight embrace.