My diary. The one and only place where I could express all the things I could not say out-loud. My diary, which held so many secrets; of my own...and two others. The pages of which had slowly become consumed with one name:

D A M O N.

It couldn't be gone. It had to be here.
I'd been so busy with getting ready for the wedding and helping Jenna, that the safety of my diary had not been at the forefront of my mind. I should have been thêm careful and locked it away somewhere. If I'd thought - for even a một giây - that there was the slightest chance our trang chủ would be broken into, then I would have hidden it somewhere no-one would have thought of looking for it. Like in the lò nướng hoặc something. No-one would expect to find a diary hidden there.
I clumsily stepped over the jumble of items lying on the floor, Damon and Jeremy watching me closely.
"You didn't hide it under your mattress hoặc underneath your bed, did you?" Jeremy asked. "Because those are the two places I would look first."
I didn't answer. I lifted the edge of the picture frame that was hanging above my giường slightly, holding my breath. If my diary wasn't wedged behind it, then it was definitely gone.
It wasn't there. But even though we all know it's pointless, we conduct a thorough tìm kiếm of my room anyway, as if there's a chance we might find it if we look hard enough. In the end, I'm too exhausted to tìm kiếm anymore. My diary is gone.
I sit on the edge of my bed, half-frozen in shock while Damon and Jeremy switch into their best 'CSI' mode, mulling over possible suspects, motives, times, clues.
"The only thing we know for sure is that the thief isn't a vampire," Damon stated, standing bởi the window.
A human then. That wasn't quite as bad...but in a way, it was also worse. Damon and Stefan were in grave danger of being exposed to the Council as vampires.
"The thief would also have to be someone who knows Elena," Damon continued.
"Right," Jeremy nodded. "They would have to know where she lived, which room was her's..."
"And that she kept a diary," Damon concluded grimly.
I looked up at him. "And they must already know that bạn and Stefan are vampires. Why else would they have taken it?" Panic I can't reign in anymore comes tumbling out. "That must be why Stefan's picture of me was the only thing that was stolen. The fire, the intruder at your house, the break-in...it's all connected somehow. It must be. What if my diary ends up in Sheriff Forbes' office? What if - "
"Wait a minute, what picture that was stolen?" Jeremy frowned.
"Somebody broke into our apartment. He was wearing a mask, and the only thing that he took was a picture of Elena that was on Stefan's desk," Damon replied.
"Two break-ins in one day? It's gotta be the same guy," Jeremy answered, at the same time I blurted out, "Do bạn think it was the man who was watching us across the river?"
Damon shook his head, clearly troubled. "Maybe. hoặc maybe it was someone bạn already know."
"But pretty much everyone we know was at the wedding reception," I pointed out.
"It could be someone who wasn't invited. hoặc - " Damon frowned. "Did anyone leave the party early?"
Nobody can remember. Jeremy volunteers a few names, but it doesn't sound like the thief would be any of them. As much as I don't want to think about it, I could have been standing in the same room as the person who broke into my house just a few hours ago. I shiver.
Damon rubs my shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. We'll get your diary back."
Jeremy looks troubled. "I wonder what the man bạn saw tonight was doing. I mean, he was close enough to attack bạn if he wanted, but he didn't..."
Damon's mouth tightened. "I don't know, but I think I'd better stay here tonight, just in case. I don't think the two of bạn should be in the house alone."
I don't put up a fight. Actually, I'm glad. I feel much better already just knowing he'll be here. We all agree that we'll deal with it in the morning - Jeremy and I can look over the guest danh sách and Damon can re-visit the hotel and ask if any of the staff saw hoặc heard anything that seemed a little off. It's well after 3 AM and Jeremy looks as if he would fall asleep standing up. I'm exhausted but I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight. I'm facing a massive crisis and Stefan is nowhere to be seen hoặc heard. If I do sleep, I'll probably have nightmares of him and Damon being led into the woods and shot, then staked; hoặc Stefan đọc my diary and then killing Damon in a fit of rage; or...
"Are bạn going to tell Jenna and Rick about this?" Jeremy interrupts my worst-case scenario imaginings.
I glance at Damon. "Yes. But not tonight, OK?" I have a horrible feeling that if Jenna and Alaric knew we were facing a crisis situation, then they would hủy bỏ their honeymoon. I don't want that; and it's not like they could do anything even if they were here.
Jeremy yawned. "OK. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."
"'Night," Damon and I answer at the same time.
"Are bạn OK?" Damon asked me as I open the linen cupboard for spare pillows and blankets. "It's been a long night..."
And it's about to get even stranger. As awful as the last hour-and-a-half have been, I can't help picturing the look on Jenna's face if she knew that Damon was staying the night.
"I think so. My head feels funny, I think I'm just tired." But I don't want to go to sleep. As we turn the đi văng into a make-shift bed, I realise that I don't want to sleep in my own room. I think it's knowing that a stranger has been in my private space, raking through my belongings.
"Are bạn sure you'll be comfortable on the couch?" I asked doubtfully.
Damon waved a hand dismissively. "There are worse places to take a nap, believe me." He raised one eyebrow at me. "Now stop worrying and go to bed."
I smiled. "Goodnight Damon."
He smiled back. "Night Elena."
After I trudged upstairs, I changed out of my bridesmaid's dress, unpinned my hair, washed my face and brushed my teeth. But once I was in bed, I could not sleep. All I could think about was dangers of all kinds looming from every side, and that if something happened to Damon and Stefan, then it would be my fault. I decided that I would never get to sleep if I stayed in giường tossing and turning. Maybe eating something would help. I crept downstairs. The first sign that I'm not the only one who is still awake is the soft glow coming from the living room. Damon is lounging across the đi văng with his feet up đọc something. I fully intended to pass bởi without saying anything, but no matter how quiet I am, I know he can hear me and it seems kind of silly to just walk into the phòng bếp, nhà bếp without acknowledging him.
Damon looks up as I approach. "Hey. Why are bạn still up?"
"I can't sleep." He shifts over to make room for me and I tiredly collapse on the đi văng beside him.
Damon put his book down. "Are bạn worried about Stefan?"
"I'm worried about all of us," I sighed.
"Do bạn want to talk about it? It might help bạn sleep..."
I shook my head slowly. "No. Distract me. Tell me something that will take my mind off what's happened."
A strange smile tugged at the corners of Damon's mouth. "OK. But I have to warn you; I haven't had a lot of experience at telling bedtime stories."
"I'll take my chances." I snuggle into a corner of the blanket that's covering the đi văng and shift around so I'm in a thêm comfortable sitting position. "You could read me a bit of the book your were reading."
Damon opens the book at a ngẫu nhiên place and begins đọc to me. As my eyelids get heavy some part of me thinks that, crisis hoặc not, there's no other place I would rather be than right here. And that's when I know: losing my diary was a warning to me that I can't keep my feelings for Damon hidden from Stefan forever. Sooner hoặc later, he's going to find out the truth. Whatever happens next, even if I somehow get my diary back - I have to break up with Stefan.