Katherine...Oh, Katherine how could you have been so naive...I only wanted to love you, never to hurt you. But you didn’t listen, you had to have us both.

That’s right, brother. She wanted both of us but she ended up dead.

Damon’s taunting voice slid down Stefan’s spine, leaving chills in its wake, and stopping his heart. Stefan looked up and around, sure that he had heard his brother speak. But looking around, Stefan only saw his father immersed in his own thoughts and the servants bustling around the sunny room. No sign of Damon anywhere.

Stefan hoped he wasn’t going crazy. Well, maybe he already was. Last night had proved that what he had thought was real and safe was really all an illusion. What was sane was gone and what was deadly was the here and now. But no, not even Damon’s voice in his head be real, that was just too impossible.

Ah, but it isn’t brother of mine...You see I have the power. The power to destroy...

Stefan closed his eyes, willing this cold and cruel voice to go away and leave him to mourn the loss of his first love. Why couldn’t Damon just leave him alone. Katherine had been Stefan’s too before Damon’s evil influence had corrupted her.

Stefan snapped open his eyes and felt his heart accelerate. Something wasn’t right. Where was Damon? Anger seeped through his body. Why should Damon act like the self-righteous one when Stefan was in pain too? Stefan was tired of Damon acting like a martyr. He was hurting too but he wasn’t taking it out on everyone.

Damon, come out now. Wherever you are, show your face and prove to me that you aren’t a coward. Stefan mentally projected. He wasn’t sure if Damon could hear him or not. But if he did, he was positive that Damon wouldn’t leave a challenge unmet.

Damon’s voice shook with rage. The intensity almost knocked Stefan from out of his chair. Coward am I? Well we shall see how a coward acts when I am through with you, brother. Stefan wanted to cover his ears to try to block Damon out but thought better of the childish gesture.

Damon walked into the dining room, like the superior being that he thought he was. His white linen shirt was spotless but hanging out and his pants were spotted with mud. His naturally wavy black hair was tousled and framed his dark face. Arrogance, defiance, and rage shimmered in his eyes. That triumphant gleam that a cat has once it has caught the mouse after a long and challenging chase. But what held Stefan speechless was the cruel taunting set of his mouth. It was like Damon had found out some secret knowledge that told all the truths and horrors of the world. Like what it was to be a vampire...

A dawning realization came to Stefan, something that turned his stomach and left a gnawing pit in its wake. Damon had succumbed to living the life of the damned. Stefan knew that he was one too, but oh how he tried to ignore it. To try to live the life he once had. Sooner or later, he knew he would have to leave his father’s home. But to try to resume a sense of normalcy. He had tried and failed. His own blood-lust had taken over just this afternoon, when Stefan was reading a book in the library. The pain was so quick, so sharp, and so violent, that he thought that he was going to die. But then he knew. He knew where it was coming from and why it was attacking him. He needed blood. And as gruesome and disgusting it was, Stefan knew that without it he would die. So, a quick walk into the forest resolved his problem for the time being but it didn’t resolve the shame and disgust he had felt for himself afterward and probably would feel for the rest of his inhumane life.

It was what he was feeling right now, gazing upon Damon in all of his triumph.

“Damon,” Giuseppe raised his head and looked at his son’s disheveled clothing. "Where have you been? Its late in the evening and you have been gone all day."

He merely shrugged his shoulders. Not bothering to give his father an explanation. Giuseppe rose, the chair grated on the floor as it was moved back. He walked over to Damon and stood there. Both men were staring through the other, waiting for one of them to look away. It was an action that both had done before. Damon stood at least a foot taller than his father, but Giuseppe’s authority could not be diminished. Finally, Damon looked away and turned to walk out of the door. Giuseppe’s hand stopped him.

"Damon, you aren’t leaving until you tell me where you have been." his eyes flashed silver in their black depths. Stefan could tell that his father was angry. It vaguely reminded him of Damon. "Where were you? Have you been whoring and drinking again?" Giuseppe shouted. "I will not allow you to live in this house when you continue to disobey me.” The walls trembled with every word that he uttered. Damon remained utterly motionless under their father’s tirade. Not one emotion flickered across his face.

Finally, Giuseppe stopped. His chest was heaving and his eyes blazed with fury. Stefan never knew how Damon could stand, resembling a cold marble statue, like that. Still, not even when their father had taken a whip to Damon once, did he show the least ounce of pain. Giuseppe’s hand fell away from Damon’s arm. Disbelief and shock was mirrored in his eyes. He stared at his eldest son in confusion, “Get out,” he whispered vehemently, “you are no son of mine. By morning, I want to see not one sign that you ever lived here. Capite?”

Time seemed to stand still. Damon was still an impassive stranger and it appeared that he wasn’t even paying attention to his father’s rage. But if Stefan hadn’t been focusing on his brother so closely he might not have noticed it, a ticking in Damon’s cheek. Damon’s eyes were downcast and his whole body motionless except for that ticking. Stefan knew that whenever Damon’s cheek ticked, then something was going to happen and it wasn’t going to be pleasant.
Just then, Damon lifted his head, "I understand. Il vostro shame non è più bearable; la mia faccia frequenta il vostro ogni incubo. Ricordandovi di che cosa." he spat at his father while his eyes held daggers.

He hadn’t accused Giuseppe out right. But the words were there....Your shame is no longer bearable; my face haunts your every nightmare. Reminding you of what you did.... Stefan looked down at his hands in his lap. He knew what Damon meant and didn’t think that Damon would be so foolish to even jeer at Giuseppe with what he didn’t know. You killed my mother with your selfishness....

Stefan heard a slap bounce off the walls and echo throughout the room. His head jerked up just in time to see Damon’s face snap back from the impact of Giuseppe’s hand. A angry red welt flashed brightly on Damon’s cheek. No sorrow nor regret was ever seen on Damon’s face. Just hatred. Damon bowed to both Giuseppe and Stefan before leaving them.