Prologue
My story begins in the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. Actually, I should say our story because this story isn’t just about me. It’s about my family and friends and the way our lives changed forever. It’s about the way we fought, loved, lost, and won. I have to tell our story otherwise it would seem like a really long dream and that none of it happened at all. Despite all the bad this change brought us, I don’t think we would have survived otherwise. So this is my family’s story, but it began with a terrible accident that would define our lives forever. This accident jump-started our new life.
It’s summer after our sophomore year of high school. It’s Friday night, and that’s game night with Mom, Dad, Elena, me, and our little brother, Jeremy. Mom and Dad are busy a lot. Dad’s a doctor, so they try to spend time with us when they could. Hence game night. I enjoy it and so does Elena… usually. Not tonight. She wants to go to a party down by the river.
“It’s just one game night that we have every single Friday. Why can’t I miss one?” Elena complains to Mom as she and I make a seven-layer dip for tonight.
“Family time is important, Elena,” Mom says, and I tend to agree with her.
I don’t have any desire to go to a party. I prefer to hang out on my own and I don’t like crowds. Seeing everyone from school is not my definition of a good time. I have to see them all year long every day during the school year. Summer is supposed to be my reprieve. School’s starting in a month, anyway.
“Mom,” Elena whines. I roll my eyes at her.
“Fine, Elena. You can go if Zoey goes with you,” Mom says, exasperated.
“Mom! Zoey’s not going to go. You’re basically blowing my plans up.”
Elena glances at me. She’s my twin and though it doesn’t seem like it, we have a good relationship. We’re just opposites when it comes to socialization. She gives me pleading eyes. I don’t want to go, but I can physically feel how much she does, so I give in.
“Fine,” I answer her unspoken question.
“All right then. You can go. I’ll drop you off and I’ll pick you up when you call,” Mom says, and Elena squeals in excitement.
“Thank you, thank you. I’ll be down in twenty. Zoey, get dressed!”
Mom gives me a knowing smile and I trudge upstairs with a sigh to get dressed. I stare at my closet and finally decide on a dark blue summer dress with stars on it. I pair it with a pair of flip-flops and put my hair in a half-up, half-down style. I’m just finishing up when Elena barrels into my room.
“Are you ready?” she asks.
“Yep. Let’s go,” I answer, and we go downstairs together.
Mom and Dad are there waiting to drive us. The drive is quiet and they park, then turn to us in the back seat.
“No drinking, nothing illegal. Have fun but be responsible. Call us when you’re ready to come home,” Dad says like he does every time we go out somewhere alone.
“Got it, Dad. Love you,” Elena says getting out of the car without a second glance. I’m slower as I smile at them.
“Love you guys. See you later. Sorry game night got ruined.”
“I know what it’s like to be a teenager. We’ll make Jeremy play with us. Besides, there will be plenty more,” Dad says with a smile that makes his face crinkle.
“Love you, honey. Try to have fun,” Mom says.
With that, I’m off following Elena like a damn puppy because that’s what I do. She finds her friends, Caroline and Bonnie, almost immediately and with them is Elena’s boyfriend, Matt, and his best friend, Tyler Lockwood. Matt’s nice enough, but Tyler’s kind of a douche.
I’m not in the mood to deal with them. Especially Caroline. Elena’s been friends with her forever and I guess she’s my friend too, but she’s a little full of herself. Bonnie is sweet. She’s also my friend but I think they are more Elena’s friends than mine.
I veer off to the left and head up through the trees. Maybe not the smartest thing to go off on my own in the dark through trees, but I want to be away from the people. Elena’s gonna do her own thing and not pay any attention to me, anyway.
I get all the way to the road and I think I should turn back because it’s dark enough that people might not see me. Just as I’m about to turn back, I catch a glimpse of something in the middle of the road. I walk further into the moonlight and realize it’s a man.
“What are you doing laying in the middle of the road?” I ask.
The dark figure sits up and looks at me. He gives me a strange look as he stands, and then he’s in front of me in the blink of an eye. Maybe I just missed him walking over here. It is dark out here…
“Just remembering how fleeting life is,” the man answers.
“It is fleeting when you lay in the middle of the road at night just waiting to get run over,” I respond with a furrowed brow. The man gives me a smirk that sends shock waves down my body and shrugs his shoulders.
“What’s your name?” the man asks.
“Zoey,” I respond, then think maybe I shouldn’t have told him my real name.
“My name is Damon,” he says and puts his hand out for me to shake. I take it in mine and shake while Damon smiles at me. God, that smile is sexy.
“Want to give it a try?” he asks.
“Give what a try? Laying in the road?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’ll keep you safe,” he says, and for some reason, I believe him. Then I do the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life. I lay next to him on the road and together we stare up at the stars and there’s no light pollution to get in our way.
“The night sky matches your dress,” Damon says beside me. I look down and smile at him.
“I guess it does.”
“What are you doing out here all by yourself? Don’t you think it’s a little dangerous?”
“I’m part of that party raging in the field. I just didn’t feel up to socializing or following my sister around, so I came up here. I was about to turn back when I saw you,” I answer.
“What? You’re not a people person?” I laugh.
“Not at all. No one would accuse me of being popular or having a lot of friends,” I answer.
“I don’t have a lot of friends either,” Damon says, standing from the road and sticking out a hand to help me up. He pulls me up effortlessly.
Now, he’s standing right in front of me and I’m staring into his ridiculously blue eyes. I could get lost in them, but my phone buzzes and breaks me out of the spell.
I glance down and see a text from Elena. She’s ready to leave, and she’s already called Mom and Dad to pick us up. She wants me to hurry up. I roll my eyes at her. She’s the one that wanted to come here in the first place!
“Sorry, I’ve got to go. My sister is ready to leave,” I breathe out.
Damon stands close in front of me and tucks a stray hair behind my ear. I feel my heart skip a few beats.
“Too bad. We were having fun.”
“I kinda don’t want to leave,” I say and immediately wonder why I said that out loud. Damon chuckles.
“We might see each other again,” he says. “I think I’m moving to town to be closer to my brother. He just got here.”
“Who’s your brother?” I ask.
“His name is Stefan and I haven’t seen him in a while. I wouldn’t miss the chance to screw with him so here I am.”
“How old are you, Damon?”
“Age is nothing but a number. I’m older than you. Let’s leave it at that,” he answers. I smile at him.
“Do you always speak so cryptically?” I ask. Damon smiles at me.
“It’s part of my appeal. Tell me, do you find me intriguing?”
“I do so I guess it’s working,” I say.
Damon gets closer to me as another buzz of my phone indicates another text, probably from Elena. I ignore it as Damon brings his face to mine. I close my eyes as his lips meet mine. They’re soft and I hold on to his shoulders as he deepens to the kiss. It takes my breath away as he pulls from me. He’s smiling at me when I open my eyes.
“That was incredible,” I say.
“Yes it was, but I can’t have you remembering this. I’m not ready for anyone to know I’m in town yet,” Damon says and I don’t understand what he means.
“You’re going to forget you saw me and everything we talked about. You walked up here to get away from the party and now your sister is texting you to leave.”
I blink and I look around, barely remember how I got up here. I look at my phone and Elena is bugging me to hurry up. I came up here to be alone and I must have spaced out. I look around the dark road. I shake my head to get rid of the haze my daydream left in my brain and walk back down the hill to where Mom and Dad dropped us off.
“About time. Where were you?” Elena says as I get into the back seat beside her.
“Just daydreaming. Sorry. I don’t remember getting your texts,” I answer.
Elena crosses her arms and looks out the window as Dad pulls away and we’re driving down the same road I found myself on earlier. I gaze out at the night sky, looking out at the stars nearly mirroring Elena when the screech of tires takes me out of my trance.
I look to the front just as we’re going over the bridge. Everything slows down as we go through the air and my head nearly hits the ceiling, but my seat belt keeps me from hitting the windshield. It doesn’t stop my head from hitting the window and the last thing I see before going unconscious is us crashing into the water.
