Damon spun round and looked at me with a hint of fear in his eyes.
“Katherine looks like you Elena. All she has to do is knock on your door and ask to come in. Although Jenna will think it’s strange, she’ll do it.” I gasped. He was right. I could imagine Jenna’s confused look as she let the apparent “me” into the house. “But,” Damon reassured, “I don’t know if Katherine knows where you live. But she’s out there right now, probably lurking outside the house. If you go home she’ll follow you and try to learn everything about you.” He stared into the fire. “She’ll then try to be you.” I sat very still.
“How do you know?” I asked quietly.
“Because I know Katherine, Elena. Enough to know that you will have sparked her interest. And she’s not the only one who wants to know why you look like her…” He said the last sentence with curiosity strung in every word.
“Don’t you think that I want to know too? I mean we found out that I was adopted from Isobel, but that was it. We don’t know how she was linked to Katherine.” I sat back down again, shaking at the thought that the moment Katherine stepped into my house that that was it. She was in forever. I shuddered again and Damon perched himself on the arm of the chair next to me. He looked as though his was about to say something but his mouth just shut and his eyebrows lowered. I looked out of the window and saw my reflection staring back at me. Suddenly my reflected lips curled into a smile but my face hadn’t changed. I froze. My eyes widened. Katherine was staring at me through the glass. Damon saw me tense and followed my eye line. But when he looked at the window she was gone.
“What did you see, Elena?” He asked worriedly.
“Katherine,” I whispered. He immediately stood up and was at the window before I blinked. Stefan was up too and glancing hurriedly around.
“She can get in, can’t she?” I asked, frightened. “She can get in here because no human resides here!” Stefan nodded. His face was tight with worry and anticipation. Both of them looked ready to strike. The house was silent apart from the subtle noise of my breathing. We stood in hush for a few moments. Before I blinked, the space before me was empty. When I did blink the space was home to none other than Katherine herself. I gasped and huddled in the chair. Both Damon and Stefan darted in front of me and growled. Katherine crossed her arms and stood casually, smiling at them.
“What do you want,” Damon spat. His fists were clenched at his sides. Katherine smiled as she propped herself against the wall.
“Damon dear, calm down,” she said, her grin widening. “I just wanted to visit my old home town, is that too much to ask?” Stefan took a step. He looked nearly as angry as Damon.
“This town was never your home, Katherine. You used it to your advantage. Can’t you see that you’re not wanted here? Why not just leave?” he growled menacingly.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said as anger washed over her face. I recoiled. So did Damon and Stefan a little. “I want to know why that girl,” she pointed a pale finger at me, “looks EXACTLY like me. I can’t work out why. It’s uncanny.” She glared at me with confusion in her dark eyes. I cleared my throat.
“Di-did you know someone called…Isobel?” I asked, my voice uneven and timid. Damon and Stefan spun around to face me, yet they kept looking warily back at Katherine. She cocked her head to one side.
“Isobel, did you say?” she replied. I nodded. She stared at me hard, and then her eyes widened. She gasped and backed away. “Oh my god!” She cried out. I was confused. So were Stefan and Damon.
“Katherine, what is it?” Damon urged, taking a step towards her. She was clutching her stomach, breathing heavily. “Katherine!” he called out and she glanced up at him, then across at me. She pointed at me with shaky hand.
“She’s….me!”