Chapter 5

It's been a couple days. The Miss Mystic Falls pageant past, I have met a couple more people at school, and the search for my mother has come to many dead ends, except for this lead my dad, and I have been working on. I was calling someone who could possibly help my dad and I.

"Hello?" He said.

"Hey, it's Myra." I said into the phone.

"Before I hang up, how did you get this number?" Damon asked confused.

"Elena gave it to me. Listen, My dad and I have been doing some digging on John GIlbert. I think we might need your help. You interested?" I asked.

"What kind of digging?" He asked with a curious tone in his voice.

"My dad has an old friend from Duke who studied criminology when we were there together. Let's just say he's become a very proficient digger." I explained.

"Well, did he find anything?" Damon asked.

"Well, we had him run a track on John's cell records. He was getting a call from a number ... The same number that I dialed to get Isobel. And then the number was disconnected." I told him.

"Isobel knows John. Whatever. We knew that." Damon said.

"Right. Well, after that, he started getting calls from a new number. And my dad had a friend run a geotrack. Got the address. It's ... It's an apartment in Grove Hill." I told him as I looked at the address in front of me.

"Isobel's in Grove Hill?" Damon asked.

"I don't know. I thought we could take a look and see what we find." I said hoping he would go along with each other.

"Perfect. Give me the address." He said interested. I shook my head.

"Oh, so you can go without me? No. I don't think so." I told him.

"I'm not going with you. You'll try to kill me." He said.

"Listen, you don't like me, and I clearly don't like you, but if we want to find Isobel, I'm gonna need your help and you're gonna need mine."

"Hold on." He said. I sighed and held my phone to my ear as I waited for him to talk. Moments later, he said,

"You drive. Pick me up in an hour."

"Fine." I said. I hung up and sighed. I walked out of my room with a bag and downstairs to where my dad was.

"I'm going with Damon to Grove Hill."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" He asked concerned.

"If Damon tries anything, I'll be ready to vervain him. Don't worry dad." I said.

"I can--" ".Take care of yourself. I know." He said with a smile.

"Just be careful."

"Always am." As I was driving with Damon in the passenger seat, I felt his eyes burning holes through the side of my head. After being fed up with his glaring, I turned to him.

"Can I help you?" I asked annoyed.

"No. Just enjoying the view." He said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes.

"You're not my type." I told him as I continued to drive.

"Really? You're not into bad-ass, mysterious, sexy vampires?" He asked with a smirk.

"I have dated a bad boy, but you take bad to another level, and that level is basically psychotic." I told him with a fake smile. Once we arrived at the apartment, I looked at the picture of the house on my phone and made sure it was the same one.

"This is the one here. The records show it was paid 3 months in advance." I told him.

"This is where it gets tricky. I may or may not be able to get in." He said as we got out of the car.

"Short-term rentals and hotels are a bit of a gray area. You kind of gotta play it by ear."

"Damon ... could we not kill anyone tonight, please?" I asked him as I grabbed some vervain and a couple stakes.

"You mean, you just brought me along for my company?" He asked with a smirk. I sighed as Damon opened the house door.

"It doesn't look like anyone's home." I said. We both walked in.

"Yeah. I'm good. No permanent resident, apparently." Damon said relieved. He opened the fridge and see blood bags.

"Uh, Myra , we have company." Out of nowhere, a man jumped on me. I quickly stabbed him with a stake. He put his hands around my throat and started chocking me. Suddenly, the man was thrown off of me.

"That's enough." Damon said helping me up. Damon looked back at the vampire who attacked me.

"I know you." "Damon?" The vampire asked.

"You know him?" I asked Damon.

"Your name is Henry. You were in the tomb." Damon said.

"Yes, sir. What are you doing here?" Henry asked. Henry continued to talk to Damon and I.

"So, how do you know John Gilbert?" Henry asked.

"Well, I've known him for years. He's a good friend." Damon lied.

"How do you know him?"

"I met him right after I got out of the tomb. He's been helping me out." Henry told us.

"Helping you out how?" I asked confused.

"Adapting. It's a whole new world ... Cars, computers, match.com. There's so much to learn. He helped me get this place." Henry explained.

"So, do you live here alone or is there someone else here?" I asked stepping towards him, hoping my mom would be here. I felt Damon pull me back.

"That's my friend's very passive-aggressive way of asking, uh, do you know a woman named Isobel?" Damon asked.

"Uh, no. No, I don't know an Isobel. I know John. He's my only real friend. He really showed me the ropes..how to use a microwave, separate my whites." Henry said with a smile.

"What else do you do for him?" I asked narrowing my eyes at him.

"I help keep an eye on things ... You know, with the others." Henry said, which grabbed my attention.

"The others?" Damon asked confused.

"From the tomb. They're still pissed at the founding families for trying to burn them alive. I'm cool, but those tomb boys, they want revenge." Henry explained.

"What does John want with them?" I asked. "He's just keeping an eye on them, you know? Trying to make sure they stay out of trouble." Henry said.

"Well, that's John. Heh. He's such a do-gooder." Damon said with a fake smile. Damon and I looked at each other as Henry's phone started to ring.

"Heh. That's John now." Henry said. "Oh. Hey, let me talk to him." Damon said with a smile. Henry handed Damon the phone.

"All right. Yeah. Are you gonna answer that?" Henry asked Damon, who just held the phone.

"Am I gonna.answer that?" Damon asked looking at me. I shook my head.

"What's going on?" Henry asked confused. He looked between the two of us before running at me.

Damon grabbed him, and I stabbed him with a stake. I watched as his body slowly began to desiccate.

"Let's not kill anyone tonight. ' Your words. Just pointing that out. " Damon said looking at me. I sighed before looking down at the dead vampire. I searched the whole house and found nothing.

"Find anything yet?" Damon asked.

"No, I looked everywhere. The place is ... The place is clean." I said sighing as I plopped onto the couch. I put my face in my hands.

"This was a real dead-end." I mumbled.

"I wouldn't beat myself up over it. What did you think you were gonna find, huh? Isobel with a cigar and slippers?" He asked.

"I ... I gotta stop this. I can't..I can't keep searching for her. It's not like she even wants me to find her." I said looking down at the floor.

"Really? After only two years? That's actually moderately healthy." Damon said siting across from me.

"I keep thinking I wanna know why, when, you know, the precise moment when my mom decided life with me and my dad wasn't enough." I said as a tear came out of my eyes.

"She charmed me, Isobel. She talked a good game, man. She was smart. She had this excitement in her eyes. I probably should have known there was something different about her, some tie to Katherine. There had to be some reason I didn't kill her. " He confessed.

"That's enough, Damon. I don't wanna hear anymore. I just don't want to waste any more of my life. Searching for answers that I really don't want. I'm through with my mom. I .. .I'm done with all of this.I'm done trying to find someone who doesn't want to be found. I can't believe I was stupid enough to think she ever loved me.

"I said sighing. I stood up and walked out of the house.

" Are you sure there was nothing?

"My dad asked me as we sat at the Grill talking .

"Yeah. I'm positive. "I sighed.

" Dad, I'm done. I'm done looking for mom. You can go ahead ad keep looking, but I'm done. I'm done being hurt every time I'm close to finding her and she's not there. "I told him. He nodded.

" I'm so sorry Myra. This is not the life you should have had. "He said with a tear falling down his cheek.

" It's ok. As long as I have you, I'll be fine. "I told him with a smile. He looked at me and smiled. Suddenly, his eyes moved over to behind me and they widened. I was confused and turned around to see someone I didn't expect to ever see again.

"Hello Ric. Myra . "She said.

" Mom. "

" It's good to see you. You look so beautiful. "She said looking at me with a smile.

" Where have you been, Isobel? "My dad asked.

" I don't have any reasons that are gonna comfort you. I don't have any explanations that are gonna satisfy you. I wanted this. "She said nodding.

" It's that simple? "I asked with tears in my eyes.

" Yeah. You were supposed to mourn me, and move on. "She said.

" You're my mom, and we love you. How could we not search for you? "I asked as tears slipped out of my eyes.

"Because I wasn't lost." She said.

I looked at her shocked. She took a paper and wrote something.

"I understand that you know my daughter Elena and I hear that she's been looking for me. So ..." She gave the paper to my dad.

"I want you to arrange for a meeting with us." He looked at the paper.

"You want me to deliver a message?" My dad asked scoffing.

"Yeah." She said smiling. He threw the paper.

"Screw you. You selfish bitch." My dad said leaving.

"Let's go Myra ." He said. I just stood there staring at this woman who looked exactly like my mom.

"What happened to you? You were my hero." I said crying.

"Now you act as if dad and I don't matter to you."

"The old me cared for you and your father." She explained.

"And now you couldn't give a shit about us." I said angrily.

"Why do you care more about seeing Elena then the daughter you raised?"

"Because Myra , I left my old life behind, including you and your father. And I don't want to ever leave this life." She said with a smile. I slapped her across the face.

"I used to cry at night hating the vampire who I thought took you from us. But he's been a better person to me then you are right now." I told her. I moved closer to her.

"Don't ever come near me and my father ever again, or I will have a word with the Sheriff about a new vampire in town." I threatened. I grabbed my bag and walked with my dad out of the Grill. As we walked in the parking lot, I heard footsteps behind me.

"What do you want from us?" My dad asked knowing it was Isobel.

"I told you." She said. "I'm not gonna do anything for you." My dad said angrily. Suddenly, I felt arms wrapped around my neck.

"You better tell Elena that I want to meet or I'm gonna start killing the citizens of this town one by one, and I'm gonna start with our precious daughter. Got it?" She said before throwing me on the ground and leaving.

I landed face down against the pavement. I groaned before I felt my dad beside me.

"Myra ! Are you ok?" He asked. I nodded before he helped me stand up. I felt a wet substance on my forehead and saw the blood on my fingers.

"Let's get you home." The next day after school, I waited for my dad, Elena, Stefan, and Damon in my dad's classroom. My dad, Elena, and Stefan entered the classroom and Elena's eyes quickly shifted to me. Her eyes widened when she looked at the cuts on my face.

"Oh my god! Myra, what happened?" She asked with a concerned voice.

"The person I thought was my mother threatened to kill me and threw me onto the ground ... hard." I explained to her.

"Isobel did this?" Elena asked horrified. I nodded.

"If you drink some of my blood, it'll heal you." Stefan explained. I shook my head.

"I don't want to take the risk of dying while your blood is in my system." I told him. He nodded. Suddenly, Damon came into the classroom.

"Damon, thanks for coming." My dad said.

"Sorry I'm late. My dog ​​ate my uh ... never mind." He said before looking at me, Stefan, and Elena.

"What's with all the furrowed brows?"

"Myra and I saw Isobel last night." My dad told them.

"Isobel is here?" Damon asked. I nodded.

"In town?" He turned to Elena and looked at her with concern.

"Did you ask her about Uncle John? Are they working together?" Damon asked.

"No." My dad answered.

"No they're not?" Damon asked.

"No, I didn't ask." My dad told him.

"What about the invention?"

"Didn't ask."

"Did she know about the tomb vampires?"

"I don't know."

"Did words completely escape you?" Damon asked frustrated.

"No, I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire wife and the fact that she threatened my daughter's life to ask any questions." Ric explained.

Damon looked at me, and I made eye contact with him before looking down.

"What did she want?" Damon asked.

"She wants to see me, Damon." Elena answered.

"Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting. We don't know why or what she wants." Stefan told Damon.

"You don't have to see her if you don't want to." Damon said to Elena. I saw the look on Stefan's face as she looked between Damon and Elena.

"I don't really have a choice." Elena said sighing.

"She's threatened to go on killing spree, starting with Myra." My dad said.

"Oh! I take it that's not okay with you guys." Damon said sheepishly. I looked at him with an "Are you serious?" look.

"I want to do it. I want to meet her. If I don't, I know I'll regret it." Elena said. I stood up about to walked out of the room, not wanting to hear any of this anymore.

"Myra!" I heard Elena yell. I put my hands in my pockets and walked out of the school.

"Myra !" She yelled again. I turned to her.

"What ?!" I yelled.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"I don't know. But what I do know is that I can't stand being in this situation anymore." I told her.

"Why? What did our mother say?" She asked.

"She isn't my mother!" I yelled.

"My mother died when Damon turned her. That evil self-centered monster is nothing like my mother." I sighed.

"So if you could just leave me alone, that would be great."

"Myra ." She said. I turned to look at her.

"Are you mad at me?"

" I'm not mad at you. Isobel showed me last night how much she cared about meeting you instead of seeing me. She told me wanted to leave her old life behind, yet, she's going looking for you. I don't know what I did to deserve such a crappy mother, but I hope she's better to you then she was to me. "I said angrily before walking to my car and drove off.

I pulled over at a bridge and took my journal out of my bag. I opened it and sighed before throwing it into the water.

"I'm pretty sure that's littering." I heard someone say from behind me.

I jumped back at the stranger's presence.

"Listen, I 'm not really in the mood for talking. "I said before walking to my car.

Suddenly, a cloth went up against my mouth, and I struggled to breath.

" Luckily, you won't have to talk much. "He said. I felt myself losing consciousness before everything went dark.

"Myra ! Myra , wake up!" I heard muffled sounds of someone calling my name. I started to regain consciousness and when I opened my eyes, I saw Jeremy looking over me.

"Jeremy?" I asked confused. I looked around and wasn't sure where I was.

"Where are we?" "I'm not sure." He told me. He held his hand out to help me up. I took his hand and we stood up. Just then, Isobel came into the room.

"Good. You're up." She said looking at me. There were two men behind her, vampires I presume.

"You two can go now. I have no use for you anymore."

"Just like that?" Jeremy asked.

"Just like that." She said with a smile.

"I got what I wanted." She said happily.

"Congratulations. I hope that all the mistakes you have made in your life come back and bite you in the ass." I said angrily. I grabbed Jeremy's hand and headed for the door. She put her arm in front of me and stopped me. I looked at her angrily.

"I'll have two of my men take you two home." She said. "That's fine. We'll walk." I told her with narrowed eyes.

"Nonsense." She snapped her fingers and two men came towards us.

"And Myra. The real answer to the question you asked me before, why I care more about Elena than you, is because she's my daughter."

"Oh, and I'm not?" I asked after I scoffed.

"No, you're not." She said. I looked at her confused.

"Ask your father." She said before her men brought us to a black car. Surprisingly, they brought us to the Gilbert residence. I got out of the car with Jeremy because I wanted to make sure he was safe. We walked in and saw Jenna there.

"Hey Jerermy..and Myrs. What are you doing over here?" She asked confused.

"Umm..my car broke down and Jeremy found me and we walked here." I lied.

"Oh. Do you want me to call your father?" She asked. I nodded. She left the kitchen.

"Jeremy, can I talk to you for a sec?" I asked.

"Sure. What's up?" He asked. I pulled him out of the kitchen and up the stairs so Jenna wouldn't here.

"Are you ok? I know being kidnapped can be kinda..overwhelming." I said to him.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. Made some shocking discoveries .." He paused.

"Do you believe in vampires?" My eyes widened as I looked at him. I sighed before answering.

"I do." He looked at me shocked.

"So you know about Damon and Stefan?" He asked. I nodded.

"Am I the only one who didn't know?" He asked angrily as he started pacing.

"Listen, when my mother died, my dad and I did everything we could to figure out what happened. My mother had taught him about vampires, and I learned about them, what they were, their weaknesses, their strengths. We learned how to protect ourselves against them. And I was only fourteen. My life is nothing but complicated, and since Stefan and Damon have been here, the lives of the people around me have become complicated. Elena didn't tell you because she was protecting you, and she didn't want your life to be anymore complicated than it already is. Trust me when I say this. She only wants the best for you, Jeremy. " He sighed and wiped the tear that was flowing down his cheek. "I know. But I wish she told me about this. I could've been prepared." He said clearly upset.

"I know. But I think this is a conversation you should finish with her." I told him.

He nodded.

Just then, I saw Jenna at the bottom of the stairs.

"Jer, phone call for you. It's Elena." Jenna said.

We walked down the stairs, and Jenna handed Jeremy the phone.

"Hello?" Jeremy asked. There was a slight pause because Elena was talking.

"Yeah I'm okay. Myra's here with me."

"Hey." I said knowing they could hear me. There was another pause before Jeremy continued.

"Yeah. Bye." He said hanging up.

"Myra . You're dad is on his way." Jenna told me.

"Great. Thanks." I said with a slight smile.

I was in the car with my dad as he drove home. I was staring out the window and thinking.

"What are you thinking about?" My dad asked breaking the silence.

"How screwed up our lives are." I said. I scoffed.

"The whole reason I'm living this screwed life is because of her. She didn't want me. I meant nothing to her. And her words keep playing in my head over and over again." I said.

"You better tell Elena that I want to meet or I'm gonna start killing the citizens of this town one by one and I'm gonna start with our precious daughter." I said sighing.

"My own mother threatened my life because I wasn't good enough. I'm such an idiot." I said putting my face in my hands.

"Don't you ever think about yourself like that." My dad said. I looked over at him.

"You are an incredible young woman, and I am so proud of the person you have become. If your mother couldn't see that, then she's the idiot." A tear left my eye, and I wiped it quickly. I looked at my dad and smiled.

"I love you Myra. Always remember that."

"I will. I love you too." I said giving him a reassuring smile. But I was also thinking about what Isobel said earlier.

"The real answer to the question you asked me before, why I care more about Elena than you, is because she's my daughter."

"Oh, and I'm not?"

"No, you're not..Ask you're father."

"Dad, tonight something weird happened. When Isobel let me go, she told me the reason she cares more for Elena is because she is her daughter, and I'm not." I noticed his face go blank.

"What?"

"I was going to tell you." He said.

My eyes widened.

"What? Tell me what?" "Isobel isn't your mother." He said.

I looked at him with upset eyes.

"Who is?" I asked as a tear fell from my eyes.

"I don't know."

I went to the High School for the Founder's Day Parade even though I wanted to stay at home and do nothing all day. My dad forced me to get out of the house. When I was in the crowd, I could feel someone's stares from behind me. I turned around to see Damon looking at me.

"I heard what happened with your mother." He said sincerely.

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? For what?" I asked turning back to the parade, not facing him. I felt his presence next to me.

"I know what it's like having a parent who's a Class-A jerk." He said looking down.

"Is Damon Salvatore being nice to me?" I asked him with a slight smile.

"Yeah, yeah ... don't get used to it." He said.

"Well, thanks." I turned back to the parade.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our stunning Miss Mystic Falls Court and their handsome escorts." Mrs. Lockwood announced. I saw Stefan, Elena, Matt, and Caroline on the float. Elena and I made eye contact, and I immediately felt guilty for snapping at her the other day. I gave her a smile, which she returned. After the parade, I walked up to Elena.

"Hey."

"Oh, hey Myra." She said looking at me.

"Look..I just wanted to apologize for what I said before. I shouldn't have take it out on you. I was just so mad-"

"I get it. And apology accepted. I just want to put it behind us and be friends again. " She said honestly.

"Me too." I said. I brought her in for a hug, but it was difficult with her big dress. We laughed.

"We'll save the hug for later." I told her. She nodded and smiled.

"I'm gonna go change and head to the Grill. Do you want to come?" She asked.

"I was thinking of taking a walk to clear my head. I just have a lot on my mind right now." I told her. She nodded understandingly.

"Ok. Well I'll see you later." She said with a smile.

"But, I did want to tell you something that I think you should know." She looked at me confused.

"Isobel isn't my mother." I said looking at her. She looked at me shocked.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything. I still consider you family." I said looking at her. She nodded.

"Same here." She said with a smile. I smile and nodded before we said goodbye. I got in my car and drove to Town Square. I got out of my car and started walking and thinking about what my dad said.

"Isobel isn't your mother."

"Who is?"

"I don't know."

I haven't talked to my dad since because I'm pissed that he kept this from me. As I was walking, I bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry-" I looked up and saw Jeremy there.

"Oh. Hey Jeremy."

"Hey, Myra ." He said with a smile I could tell was fake.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked him knowing something was off.

"Well--" "I have so many emotions, but I don't have any way to express them. Being a teenager is so hard!" I looked behind Jeremy and saw Damon there waving his hands around.

"You're a dick!" Jeremy said angrily.

"You do not talk to me like that! I'm not your sister. And from now on," Damon grabbed Jeremy's arm.

"... don't talk to your sister that way either."

"Hey. Damon, knock it off." I said looking at him.

"So, you're going to kill me just 'cause I hurt Elena's feelings?" Jeremy asked.

"Cut her some slack." Damon said defending Elena.

"She erased my memories." Jeremy said angrily.

"No, I did! She was protecting you." Damon yelled.

"It wasn't her call to make." Jeremy argued. Jeremy tried to leave, but Damon grabbed his arm and pulled him back roughly.

"Damon. Stop!" I told him fed up with his behavior.

"Let go of me before I cause a scene." Jeremy threatened.

"You'll be unconscious before you even got a word out." Damon said angrily.

"I'm not gonna say this again, Damon. Let him go." I said looking at him. He looked at me before releasing him. I put myself between them and looked at Jeremy.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

"Yeah." He answered. He looked back at Damon.

"You shouldn't have made me forget ..." He said before leaving.

"Good cop, bad cop. I like it." Damon said with a smirk.

"What is your problem?" I asked annoyed.

"One minute you're being nice and caring towards me, and the next you're off threatening Jeremy."

"He's being a punk." He said. I scoffed and walked away.

"What? Why are you so pissed at me?"

"First you tried killing my dad. Then you tried to kill me, twice. And then you tried to comfort me because of this whole Isobel situation. And now this! I don't get you. You can't be an arrogant nuisance and a good friend. " I said before walking back to my car. I have been at home for the past couple hours. Suddenly, my phone started to vibrate. I looked at it, and I got a text from a random number.

Hey. It's Elena.

Can you meet me at my house? I furrowed my brows in confusion. I have Elena's number.

Did you get a new number? I texted her back.

Yeah. Something was wrong with my old one. It got disconnected or something.

Sorry, I forgot to give it to you. Can you meet me at my house? She texted back.

Yeah. Sure. I'm on my way. I grabbed my keys and got in my car and drove. When I arrived at the house, the door was wide open. I walked into the house and heard someone in the kitchen. I walked in and saw John on the kitchen floor, his fingers cut off and and a knife in his abdomen.

"Oh my gosh!" I yelled. I kneeled next to him to see if he was still alive. When I found a pulse, I sighed in relief. I grabbed my phone and called 9-1-1.

"911 what's your emergency?" A lady on the other end of the phone said.

"I'm at-" I was cut off by my phone being grabbed. I turned and saw Elena standing there.

"Elena, thank God. We have to get him to a hospital." I stood up and grabbed her hand and instantly pulled back.

The cold feeling came back. It was almost like..death.

"What the--"

"I'm hurt you can't tell the difference Myra. I though we were friends." Realization hit me when I saw her infamous smirk.

"Katherine." I said backing up away from her.

"You texted me. Why?"

"Well, how else was I gonna get you here?" She asked playfully.

"What do you want from me?" I asked before I backed up into the kitchen counter.

"Not much." She sped forward to me.

"I need your help in delivering a message to little Elena.

You reek of vervain, so don't worry I'm not gonna feed from you, like last time." She said before stabbing the knife into my leg.

"Ughhh!" I yelled as I groaned in pain. I slid down until I hit the floor.

"W-what do y-you w-want?" I asked through the pain.

"Tell Elena, I will get what I want. Starting with the Salvatore brothers." She said with a smirk before speeding out of my sight.

Tears were coming out of my eyes as I pulled the knife out of my leg. I yelled in pain before I felt my eyes becoming heavier, and soon, I saw nothing but darkness.