CHAPTER THREE | THE END OF THE AFFAIR

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A HEAVY SIGH LEFT THE STRAWBERY-BLONDE'S LIPS AS SHE WANDERED DOWN THE STAIRCASE AND INTO THE KITCHEN. Riley knew that she was going to be absolutely no help to anyone if she continued to wallow in this pit she dropped herself in, so she decided to start her day properly— with breakfast, something she neglected to have whilst Stefan had disappeared. The pair usually had breakfast together since she started living at the Salvatore's and it felt strange to eat without him.

"Mornin'," Damon called out toward his girlfriend as he wandered straight over to her and placed a kiss on the side of her head. Then, he raised an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder at the toast she was preparing. "Wow. You're eating? I'm impressed."

"I figured I'd get myself back on track. I'm no good to anyone the way I've been lately." Riley simply shrugged as she twirled around to face her boyfriend, who seemed strangely upbeat all things considered. "What's with you? You seem awfully chipper."

"That's because I am," Damon smirked.

"Oh? And, why is that?" The strawberry-blonde raised an eyebrow just as the toast shot up from the toaster. She placed it down and began to spread a thin layer of butter across it. "You haven't been terrorizing the locals again, have you?

"What? No." The Salvatore vampire scrunched up his face in disbelief whilst the witch took her first bite of toast. "Why would you even think that?"

"Uh— does there need to be a reason?" Riley tilted her head with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay. Well, if you're gonna be like that, I guess you don't wanna come with Elena and me to bring Stefan home." The Salvatore started out of the room but paused just before he reached the door.

"Damon, stop it." Riley rolled her eyes and dropped her toast back onto the plate before she brought a glass of Orange Juice up to her lips. "Where is he?"

"Chicago." Damon sang.

"Why the hell would he be there?"

"I don't know. I'm not a mind reader, okay? Just grab some clothes and let's get going." Damon shrugged, then his eyes cast to the toast. "Uh— finish your breakfast first though, okay?"

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Damon and Riley had picked Elena up from the Gilbert residence and then hit the road to Chicago. Riley prayed that once they found Stefan, he would be willing to come back home, but part of her knew she was only kidding herself.

"I sure hope we can find him because it would suck if the last memento of Stefan was that crappy old necklace." Damon scoffed to himself whilst his eyes were drawn to Elena, who was in the backseat fiddling with the vervain necklace Stefan had given her.

An irritated sigh left Damon's girlfriend's lips as she rolled her eyes and glared toward him from the passenger seat."Are you seriously gonna be an ass this entire journey?"

"It's an antique, Damon." Elena snapped viciously. "Like you."

"Hm." Damon rolled his eyes and then tossed a large book into Elena's lap. "Read this. It paints a pretty little picture of Stefan's first experience in Chicago."

Riley pushed her head back between the seats to get a better look at the book Damon just handed Elena. "Stefan's diary? You're not serious. Why the hell have you got that?"

Damon shrugged in response and kept his eyes on the road ahead. "You both need to be prepared for what you're about to see."

"We've seen Stefan in his darkest periods. We can handle it." Elena shrugged and shoved Damon's brother's diary back into his hands.

"Here's one," Damon stated as he opened the journal and began to read whilst his eyes flickered back toward the road as he did so. "March 12th, 1922. I've blacked out days. I wake up in stranger's blood, in places I don't recognize with women I don't remember." Damon tilted his eyes to his girlfriend. "Ah. I'm shocked! Stefan's not a virgin?"

The Evans witch rolled her eyes and yanked Stefan's journal away from Damon. "What's even more shocking is that you're not. Now, keep your eyes on the road and be quiet."

"Fine. Back to my game." The Salvatore softly hummed with his hand placed on Riley's thigh. "Tell me if you see a Florida plate."

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After a long and irritating drive, the three finally arrived in Chicago and pulled up outside a dark apartment complex. Damon wasted absolutely no time telling the females that this apartment complex was where Stefan had chosen to live when he resided in Chicago.

"Stefan could live anywhere in Chicago and he chose this?" The doppelganger scoffed in disbelief as they wandered through the halls toward Stefan's apartment door.

"There used to be an all-girls high school around the corner, but it shut down for attendance issues," Damon explained once he stopped outside a door, which Riley assumed must've been Stefan's old apartment.

"What a surprise. Guessing Stefan had something to do with that, huh?" Riley rolled her eyes, and then glanced to Elena who had her arms folded over her chest.

"If you're trying to scare me into giving up and going back, it's not going to work."

"Sh." Damon placed his index finger over his lips before he yanked the lock on the door off with his vampire strength, then carefully pushed the door open. "Here we are. Stefan's second-personality home."

"Look at this place. This doesn't seem very Stefan." The Evans witch trailed off in disbelief as she glanced around the apartment. It was the furthest thing from Stefan's personality.

"Pretty obvious he hasn't been here," The doppelganger told the pair as she ran her index finger against a cupboard and picked up a pile of dust on the end of her finger.

"Tours not over yet," Damon told them as he wandered straight over to the shelf, slid his hand down the side, and pulled it to reveal a secret back room.

Once the backroom was revealed, Riley and Elena took a few hesitant steps forward, almost as if they were worried about what they would find. Damon witched the light on in the cupboard, and all they saw was liquor on the shelf.

"Stefan hid his alcohol. What a monster." Elena chuckled in a mocking tone.

"Hang on." Riley took another step forward, further into the cupboard where she saw a dozen names written in chalk up and down the wall. Almost as if it were a list. "What the hell is this?"

The Gilbert girl's eyes widened with intrigue as she stepped forward to witness the list. "It's a list of names. Are these all his victims?"

"Still handling it?" Damon questioned with a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he left the cupboard and headed back into the apartment.

"What were you doing in the 1920s? Paving the way for women's liberation?" Elena defended in a righteous tone that made the other female immediately feel awkward.

"I was around. Chicago's a big city." Damon simply stated. "Stefan was a cocky Ripper douché, but I could avoid him and still indulge in a few Daisy Buchanans of my own." The Salvatore shrugged just as he headed toward the door.

"Uh— where are you off to?" Riley raised an eyebrow toward her boyfriend just before he reached the door.

"His old stomping ground," Damon answered back in an obvious tone.

"We're coming with you,"

"No. You two stay here and whip up an actual plan." Damon ordered in a stern tone as he saw the look of irritation on his girlfriend's face. "I'll come back when I find him."

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"What're you doing?" Riley raised an eyebrow toward Elena, who was sprawled across Stefan's bed with his journal in her hand. "I thought you wanted to respect his privacy, hm?"

"I just— I'm reading his entries and his entire life he's struggled with his bloodlust. It's horrible." The doppelganger heavily sighed as her eyes flickered up to Riley. "Lexi played such a huge part in him learning to control himself. She pulled him back."

"What a charming little homestead." The voice of none other than Klaus Mikaelson in the hallway caused Elena and Riley's eyes to widen fearfully.

The Evans witch grabbed hold of the doppelganger's hand and yanked her into the cupboard, where Stefan's victim list was. They managed to shut it just as Klaus and Stefan entered the apartment. Riley cupped her hand over her mouth to silence her breathing as she and Elena listened to Klaus and Stefan's footsteps move against the floorboards of the apartment.

"Do you feel that?" Klaus asked once more as he wandered around the apartment. "Is anybody here?"

"It's been vacant for decades. People must break in all the time." Stefan nonchalantly replied whilst Riley and Elena tried their best to keep themselves under control. "Why'd you bring me here?"

"Your friend, Liam Grant. The one who drank his wife's blood. I never could figure out why you wanted his name. And, then you told me your little secret. It was all part of your special little ritual."

At the mention of Liam Grant and Stefan's ritual, Elena's eyes moved to the list of victims that she was coincidentally stood beside. Her eyes scanned the list, then she saw it— Liam Grant.

"To write it down." The Salvatore trailed off breathlessly.

"And relive the kill over and over again." Suddenly, footsteps approached the cupboard as Klaus yanked it open. "You believe me now?"

Riley squeezed hold of Elena's hand, their eyes were fixed on the entrance of the cupboard just as Stefan stepped inside. The Salvatore glanced at the alcohol on the shelf, and then to Elena and Riley who were scrunched by in the corner, beside the list.

Riley could tell that just by the look in Stefan's eyes, he wanted to hold Elena in his arms. "Look what I found." He suddenly declared and panic struck the two girls before he grabbed a bottle from the shelf and wandered out. "1918. Single Malt."

"My favorite." Klaus hummed. "Let's go and find someone to pair it with."

Once Stefan and Klaus had left the apartment, Elena grabbed a vervain dart from her bag and held it within her hands. Riley had called Damon almost seconds after the Hybrid had left the apartment, and it didn't take him long to return once he heard the panic in his girlfriend's voice.

"Hey. You okay?" Damon asked, her eyes scanned the Evans which who quickly ran into his arms. Then, he glanced at Elena. "Make yourself presentable. I know where Stefan's gonna be tonight." He tossed a bag into her hold.

"Riley told you that I was practically discovered by Klaus and you're worried about what I'm wearing?" The doppelganger scoffed in disbelief just as Damon dropped himself down on the couch.

"I had an hour to realize what a bad idea it was to leave you two here alone, process it, and move on." Damon could barely make eye contact with the two females.

"Is that your way of apologizing?" The Evans witch crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." The Salvatore sighed. "Anyway, get dressed. You're all road-trippy and gross."

"What he means to say is: Take a shower, make yourself look cute because we're going to get Stefan." Riley nodded toward her friend in an attempt to calm her down.

"So, you know where he's going to be?" The doppelganger raised a hopeful eyebrow.

"Yes, with Klaus. So, I'll distract Klaus while you and Riley deal with Stefan. But, you two are going to have five minutes tops before that Hybrid freak rips my heart out. So please, tell me you can do this."

"Damon, we've got this." Riley nodded.

"We've got it." Elena agreed.

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Riley and Elena waited in position impatient, but their hearts began to race the moment they saw Damon wander out of the bar with Stefan, who followed behind him with a vicious look on his face. Stefan sped straight over to his older brother and slammed him against a nearby car.

"What is wrong with you?" The younger Salvatore sneered whilst he held Damon by the collar of his shirt.

"What is wrong with you?" Damon retorted whilst he pushed Stefan's hands away from him. "You threaten Riley one day, you save my life the next. What are you? Good? Bad? Pick one!"

"Klaus almost saw Elena today. You have to get her out of Chicago. You have to get both of them out of here." Stefan growled lowly.

"They're not going anywhere until they've got you checked into vampire rehab and on the mend. Trust me, I've tried."

"Elena is the key to everything. Klaus can't know she's alive." Stefan gritted his teeth.

"What are you talking about?" Damon's eyes widened as confusion fell across his face.

"She was supposed to die in the sacrifice and she didn't. Now, Klaus can't create any new Hybrids. His witch is seconds away from figuring that out. Tell them both to go home and forget about me."

The eldest Salvatore felt the presence of Riley and Elena behind him, and he knew that there was no way Stefan would be able to tell them to leave him alone. "Tell them yourself."

Damon headed inside the start his plan. He would distract Klaus while the two females tried to convince Stefan that he would be better off coming home with them.

"You both shouldn't be here," The Salvatore grunted lowly, almost as if he were consciously trying to avoid contact with either female.

"Where else would we be?" Elena questioned with a raised eyebrow whilst she stood perfectly frozen.

"What do you want?" Stefan's gaze flickered between the two girls. "Damon won't be able to distract Klaus for long.

"We want you to come home, Stefan," Riley answered his question whilst Elena stepped closer and placed her hand against her boyfriend's cheek. "We need you to come home."

The doppelganger wrapped her arms around Stefan and remained within his embrace for a few seconds just as Riley attempted to inject him with a vervain dart. Just before the vervain dart made contact with Stefan, he sped around and grabbed her wrist.

"How much clearer can I make it?" Stefan viciously snarled and squeezed Riley's hand harshly until eventually, she dropped the vervain. "I don't want to come home." Stefan's gaze turned to Elena. "Klaus is obsessed with siring these Hybrids. The second he knows you're alive, he'll figure out why it's not working."

"Look, I know you're trying to protect me, but I can't let you do it. Come with us, Stefan, Please." Elena begged once more.

"And what do you expect if I do, huh? It's never gonna be the same, Elena."

Elena's breath hitched in her throat as she shook her head. "I know that."

"I don't think you do." Stefan snapped once more, whilst Riley watched the tears begin to fill in Elena's eyes. "I've left bodies scattered from Florida to Tennessee. Innocent people. Humans."

"Lexi found you like this before. In the twenties, and—and she saved you."

"And, you know what I did after that? I spent thirty years trying to pull myself together. To a vampire, that's nothing. To a human? That's half your life."

"We're not giving up on you, Stefan. We can't." Riley snapped a little more confidently.

"Yes, you can. You both can, it's done. That part of my life is done. I don't want to see either of you." Stefan simply shook his head, then he turned to Elena. "I don't wanna be with you. I just want you both to go."

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