Elena sighed, lowered her hand from the gravestone, and trailed it through the grass by her knees. "Something's after me again," she continued unhappily. "After al of us, I guess, but Bonnie said I brought it here when she was in a trance. And later she said he wants me. I don't know if it's two different people - or whatever - after us, or just one. But it's always me the bad things focus on." She twisted a blade of grass between her fingers. "I wish things could be simpler for me, the way they are for other girls.
"Sometimes... I'm so glad to have Stefan, and glad I could help protect Fel 's Church, but... it's hard. It's real y hard." A sob was building in her throat and she swal owed it back. "And... Stefan's always been there for me, but I feel like I don't know al of him anymore, especial y because I can't read his thoughts. He's so tense, and it's like he needs to be in control al the time..."
Something shifted behind her, just the slightest hint of movement. She felt a warm, damp breeze like a breath on the back of her neck.
Elena whipped her head around. Caleb was crouching behind her, so close they were almost nose-to-nose. She screamed, but Caleb slapped his hand over her mouth, muffling her cry.
Chapter 18
Caleb's hand was hot and heavy against her lips, and Elena scrabbled against it with her nails. He gripped her tightly with his other hand, holding her stil , his fingers digging into her shoulder.
Elena struggled fiercely, flailing her arms and landing a firm blow in Caleb's stomach. She bit down hard on the hand he had over her mouth. Caleb jerked backward, quickly letting go of her and pul ing his bitten hand to his chest. As soon as her mouth was uncovered, Elena screamed.
Caleb stepped away from her, holding his hands up in surrender. "Elena!" he said. "Elena, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just didn't want you to scream."
Elena eyed him warily, breathing hard. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Why were you sneaking up behind me if you didn't want to scare me?"
Caleb shrugged and looked a little embarrassed. "I was worried about you," he confessed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and hanging his head. "I was hiking up by Hot Springs earlier and I saw you and your friends. They were pul ing you out of the water, and it looked like you weren't breathing." He peeked up at her through his long golden lashes.
"You were so worried about me you decided to grab me and cover my mouth to keep me from screaming?" Elena asked. Caleb ducked his head further and scrubbed at the back of his neck in an embarrassed way.
"I wasn't thinking." Caleb nodded solemnly. "You looked so pale," he said. "But you opened your eyes and sat up. I was going to come down and see if you were okay, but your friend saw me and started running up the path toward me like he was going to jump me, and I guess I just freaked out." He grinned suddenly. "I'm not usual y such a wuss," he said. "But he looked mad."
Elena found herself feeling unexpectedly disarmed. Her shoulder stil ached where Caleb had grabbed her. But he seemed so sincere, and so apologetic.
"Anyway," Caleb continued, gazing at her out of candid light blue eyes, "I was driving back to my aunt and uncle's place, and I recognized your car in the cemetery parking lot. I just came in because I wanted to talk to you and make sure you were okay. And then, when I got close to you, you were sitting down and talking, and I guess I was embarrassed. I didn't want to interrupt you, and I didn't want to barge in on something personal, so I just waited." He ducked his head sheepishly again. "And instead I ended up assaulting you and scaring you to death, which sure wasn't the better way to go. I'm real y sorry, Elena."
Elena's heartbeat was returning to normal. Whatever Caleb's intentions, he obviously wasn't going to attack her again now. "It's al right," she said. "I hit my head on an underwater rock. I'm fine now, though. It must have looked pretty weird to see me just sitting here and muttering. Sometimes I come here to talk to my parents, that's al . This is where they're buried."
"It's not weird," he said quietly. "I find myself talking to my parents sometimes, too. When something happens and I wish they were with me, I start tel ing them about it and it makes me feel like they're there." He swal owed hard. "It's been a few years, but you never stop missing them, do you?"
The last bits of anger and fear drained out of Elena when she saw the sadness in Caleb's face. "Oh, Caleb," she said, reaching out to touch his arm.
She caught a sudden motion out of the corner of her eye and then, seemingly out of nowhere, Stefan appeared, running incredibly fast, straight toward them.
"Caleb," he growled, grabbing him by the shirt and throwing him to the ground. Caleb let out a grunt of surprise and pain.
"Stefan, no!" shouted Elena.
Stefan spun to look at her. His eyes were hard and his fangs were ful y extended. "He's not what he says he is, Elena," he said in an eerily calm voice. "He's dangerous."
Caleb slowly pul ed himself to his feet, using a gravestone as a support. He was staring at Stefan's fangs.
"What's going on?" he asked. "What are you?"
Stefan turned toward him and, almost casual y, slapped him back down.
"Stefan, stop it!" Elena yel ed, unable to contain the note of hysteria in her voice. She reached out for his arm, but missed. "You're going to hurt him!"
"He wants you, Elena," Stefan growled. "Do you understand that? You can't trust him."
"Stefan," Elena pleaded. "Listen to me. He wasn't doing anything wrong. You know that. He's a human." She could feel hot tears gathering in her eyes and she blinked them away. Now was not the time to weep and wail. Now was the time to be cool and rational and to keep Stefan from losing control.