14. No Exit

Brayden opened the front door of the Salvatore Boarding House, only to see his panicked soulmate standing on the other side.

"You were right" Caroline informed, entering the boarding house, "He's off the rails, and this is from my mom", Caroline handed Brayden a file.

"Let me guess, people are missing and the random dead bodies that are showing up, they've been ruled off as animal attacks" Brayden said, without even opening the file.

"Check and check" Caroline confirmed, "But there's something else", Brayden opened the file and started going through it, "All the victims were found inside their homes without their head, and their skin was desiccated".

Brayden looked at the Forbes vampire in shock, "That would mean that Damon's feeding on vampires".

***

A frustrated Brayden sat on the couch in the Salvatore's living room, while Caroline paced back and forth infront of him.

"I shouldn't have let him go" a guilty Brayden said, "I should have stopped Stefan from saying what he said, I should have said something to Damon, then maybe he would have been fine".

"No, uh-uh, no" Caroline protested, "You are not turning Damon's roosting chickens into a Brayden Salvatore guilt trip, no one could've stopped him from going after Wes the other night".

Brayden let out a sigh, "So from all this, what I'm getting is that Damon and Enzo did find Wes, who ended up injecting Damon with the injection he was gonna give Kaitlynn, the injection that makes vampires feed on vampires.

"Good news, bad news" Caroline said, "Bad news is that when this happened to Jesse, we had to kill him but the good news is--", Caroline thought about it for a second then let out a frustrated sigh, "I'm sorry, usually, there's some good news".

"At least you tried" Brayden said, before looking down at the file on the table, "I have to find my brother, no matter what".

"Well, I can come with you" Kaitlynn informed, entering the living room, having eavesdropped on Caroline and Brayden's conversation.

"Kaitlynn, hey, I didn't know that you were here" a slightly shocked Caroline greeted, wondering what the Pierce vampire was doing here, she turned to her boyfriend with a questioning look.

In response, Brayden simply shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know why she's here, she just showed up this morning and still hasn't left".

"Right" a suddenly very suspicious Caroline said, but before she could say anything to Kaitlynn, her phone started ringing, taking it out of her back pocket, Caroline realised it was the Lockwood werewolf calling her, "It's Tyler".

A frown formed on Brayden's face, "Why the hell is Klaus's old minion calling you?".

"Be nice" Caroline warned.

"Is he hitting on you?" a jealous Brayden asked.

"Not everyone is hitting on me Brayden" an amused Caroline said.

"Uh have you seen yourself?" Brayden asked, "Everyone should be hitting on you".

"Well I'm glad they don't, because then we will have a pile of dead bodies" Caroline retorted.

"Absolutely" Brayden said, giving his soulmate a smug smile, not even trying to hide the fact he will kill people if they tried to hit on his girlfriend.

"Idiot" an amused Caroline said.

"Love you too, princess" Brayden said, making Kaitlynn clench her hands into a fist.

Caroline chuckled and finally answered her phone, "Hey" she greeted Tyler.

"Hey, have you talked to Matt?" a concerned Tyler asked from the other side.

"No, why?" a confused Caroline asked.

"Because it turns out Nadia's been compelling him to forget things" Tyler revealed, shocking both Caroline and Brayden, while Kaitlynn closed her eyes in frustration, "Matt said he'd avoid her, but now I haven't heard from him".

"Do you think he's in trouble?" a concerned Caroline asked.

"I think he hasn't been at home or work, and his cell phone goes straight to voicemail" Tyler informed.

"Okay, I'll come right over and we can figure this out together" Caroline said, making Brayden glare at her in annoyance, "I'll see you soon".

"Maybe I should come with you" Kaitlynn told Caroline after she hung up on Tyler.

"No, you deal with Damon" Caroline said, "We can handle this".

A reluctant Kaitlynn nodded her head and turned to Brayden, "I'm gonna get some clothes, and you'll pick me up at my dorm?".

"Mhmm" Brayden said, once Kaitlynn had walked out the boarding house, Brayden turned to Caroline, "Bad news is you're sending your boyfriend on a road trip with his ex-girlfriend whose been acting really weird lately, good news is that, oh wait, there is no good news".

"It'll be fine" Caroline assured.

"Really?" Brayden asked, "So you haven't been noticing Kaitlynn's weird behavior?".

"I have" Caroline clarified, "But I just think it's the result of her break up with Damon".

"And I think it's something completely different" Brayden retorted, "And since I'm going to spend the next twelve hours in the car with her, I'm going to figure it and once I do, you best believe I will be telling you that I told you so, something isn't right here".

"And I expect nothing less from you" an amused Caroline said, stepping towards her boyfriend, she wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled him into a kiss, "Be safe".

"Tell the mutt to keep his distance" Brayden warned, before pulling a chuckling Caroline into a kiss.

***

Brayden stopped his car at the gas station.

"You ever think about driving like a normal person?" Kaitlynn asked, as her and Brayden stepped out of Brayden's sport car.

"Normal is overrated, Kaitlynn" Brayden stated, starting to fill his car up with gas.

"But normal is also safe" Kaitlynn retorted.

"We're vampires, we have no reason to be safe" Brayden said, after making sure his car's gas tank was being filled, Brayden looked at Kaitlynn, "Why are you here?" he asked, making Kaitlynn look at him in confusion, "You made it clear you're not going to take Damon back, so why are you here now?".

"I told you" Kaitlynn reminded, "I'm doing this for you", Brayden opened his mouth to say something, but Kaitlynn kept talking, not giving him a chance to remind her that he doesn't want her to do this for him, "Because you're still holding on to the hope that maybe this is the time that Damon can be saved".

"And from that tone of yours, you don't think Damon can be saved" an annoyed Brayden realised, "I don't get it Kaitlynn, why are you suddenly so against Damon? I mean even when you found out about what me and Damon did to the Whitmore's, even then you refused to give up on him, instead he was the one who broke up with you but you wanted to fight for him, I don't get what changed".

"I mean, obviously, I still care about Damon" Kaitlynn clarified, "I guess I got my hopes up too many times, I want off the emotional rollercoaster that is Damon's redemption, you know?" It's just, it's dizzying", Kaitlynn looked at Brayden, who had turned away from her, afraid in his anger he would say something he shouldn't have, "Are you hungry? Because I'm starving".

"Luckily we've stopped here then" Brayden said, giving Kaitlynn a forced smile, "What do you want?".

"Whatever you're having" Kaitlynn said, "But with a lot more salt in it and maybe covered in chocolate?".

"I thought you hated that combination" a confused Brayden said.

Kaitlynn shrugged, "I'm trying to stop hating the things I never really gave a chance to".

"Sounds exhausting" Brayden commented, before walking into the gas station to get Kaitlynn some food.

Once Brayden had into the gas station, Kaitlynn quickly rushed over and opened the front of his car, after staring at the engine in confusion for a while, Kaitlynn finally decided to rip a random pipe attached to the engine, before rushing back to where she was standing before.

***

Caroline sat in the Lockwood's living room, when Tyler walked in with a hot cup of coffee in his hands.

"Thank you" a grateful Caroline said, taking the cup of coffee from Tyler, "So Matt, he's missing?".

"I don't know if he's missing" Tyler admitted, "He just hasn't been home in two days, and he's not answering his phone".

Suddenly the Lockwood front door opened and in came the Donovan boy Caroline and Tyler were concerned about.

"Matt?" a shocked Caroline called out, gaining Matt's attention.

"Caroline, what are you doing here?" a confused Matt asked.

"Kind of wondering the same thing" Tyler said, as he and Caroline stood up from their seats, "Where the hell have you been?".

"Did I give you my sunglasses?" Nadia asked, walking towards the front door of the Lockwood mansion while searching her purse for her glasses, when she finally looked up, she saw both Tyler and Caroline glaring at her, "Oh", a confused Nadia looked at Matt, "I thought you said they wouldn't be home".

"Okay, rewind, start over" an extremely confused Caroline demanded, "This whole time, you've been with Nadia?".

"It's a long story" Matt defended, before turning to Nadia, "Nadia, come on in".

A smug Nadia entered the Lockwood mansion and stood next to Matt.

***

A frustrated Brayden looked at the broken pipe, "Kait, hold this, be careful though it has grease on it" Brayden warned, handing Kaitlynn the broken pipe.

"Oh, okay" Kaitlynn said.

"How the hell did this pipe just rip out like this?" a confused Brayden asked, while tinkering with his car's engine, "And now this stupid car won't start till we have another one, I really hope the mechanic here has a spare otherwise this long journey just became longer".

Kaitlynn let out a chuckle and while Brayden wasn't looking, she wiped the pipe on her shirt.

Brayden stood up and turned to Kaitlynn and that's when her eyes landed on her shirt that was now full of grease, "This was you being careful?".

"What?" Kaitlynn asked, pretending to be oblivious as to what Brayden was talking about, Brayden gestured towards Kaitlynn's dirty shirt, causing her to look down and let out a gasp, "I love this shirt".

"You might want to turn that love into loved" Brayden said, "Because that shirt is gone now".

"Great" Kaitlynn said, handing Brayden the pipe back, "Awesome, that's just, awesome", an annoyed Kaitlynn rubbed her hand on her cheek, causing the grease to transfer from her hand to her cheek.

"And now you have grease on your cheek" a very amused Brayden said.

"What?" Kaitlynn asked, she looked at her dirty hands and let out a groan of annoyance, before starting to laugh, "Well, you got all that engine stuff on you, and I clearly have to change, I saw a hotel, like, a couple streets down that way, do you think we should get a room so that we can shower while we're waiting for the car?".

"If you want a hotel room, then go be my guest, I'm going to wait here for the car" Brayden said, realising him and Kaitlynn alone in one hotel room, will not look good to anyone.

"Just give them your phone number" Kaitlynn suggested.

"Kaitlynn, you and me in one room, won't look good" Brayden said.

"Oh come on Brayden, since we do you think like that?" Kaitlynn asked, "We're just friends, and if you're afraid about what Caroline will think, then don't worry, I'll tell her why we had to share a room, I promise this won't affect your relationship, now, will you grab my bag?".

Brayden watched Kaitlynn walk away and after a little bit of thinking, Brayden pulled his phone out and texted Caroline everything that had happened, before grabbing his and Kaitlynn's bags out of the car and following after her towards the hotel.

***

Matt poured himself and Nadia a glass of bourbon, "I was on my way out of town, and then there she was, sitting on the front steps, waiting for me", Matt walked over to Nadia and sat on the armrest of the couch she was sitting one, while handing her a glass of bourbon.

"Subtlety's not my strong suit" Nadia defended, "I felt bad about compelling him and bad about snapping your neck", a not so amused Tyler nodded his head in sarcasm, "Again, subtlety".

"So why haven't you been answering your phone?" a confused Tyler asked Matt.

"I lost it the first night" Matt informed.

"First night where?" Caroline interrogated, having a hard time believing Matt and Nadia's story.

"Atlantic City" Nadia replied, "I'd never been, neither had Matt".

"One drink led to three, then to five, and then, rest is kind of a blur" a sheepish Matt admitted.

"Yeah, because she's compelling you" an annoyed Caroline snapped.

"Caroline, I'm wearing vervain" Matt pointed out, showing his vervain bracelet to the Forbes vampire, "She's not compelling me".

Caroline stood up from her seat and walked over to Matt, "Where have you been the last two days?" she asked, trying to compel the human boy.

"I told you, she's not compelling me" Matt said, "We're having fun".

"Oh" Caroline said, "Fun, just like the time she buried you alive, whoo, pop open the champagne".

"I thought you said she'd be cool with us hanging out" Nadia asked Matt.

An extremely annoyed Caroline looked at Nadia, "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?".

Matt shook his head at the two girls "Uh".

Nadia stood up from her seat and walked over to the Forbes girl, "It means you've done nothing but judge Matt since he walked through that door, when everyone knows you're not exactly winning friends with your romantic choices".

"Don't" Caroline warned, a dangerous glint forming in her eyes, "Don't you dare say a word against Brayden and don't ever compare yourself to him, his love is pure, yours isn't even love".

An angry Caroline stormed out of the Lockwood's office and Tyler quickly ran after her to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid in her anger.

***

Brayden and Kaitlynn entered their shared motel room together, Brayden tried to get them two separate rooms but to his dismay, the motel only had one room available.

"Why the hell did you bring your entire closet?" an annoyed Brayden asked, placing Kaitlynn's two massive bags on to the bed.

Kaitlynn chuckled, "Well, I didn't know how long we'd be gone, and to be honest Damon's spirals require a little more than an overnight bag".

"Okay, I get that you're mad at him, but don't forget that he is my brother" Brayden reminded, sitting down on the couch, "Keep the judgement about him to yourself, I'm not interested in hearing it".

"Do you really think he's not a lost cause?" a curious Kaitlynn asked, sitting next to Brayden.

"Yes" Brayden said, "He's not lost, he's heartbroken, and he always comes back from that, we both do".

"What?" a confused Kaitlynn asked.

"I was once in the same boat as him, remember" Brayden reminded, "I know what's it like to love you Kait, guaranteed it's not as much as I love Caroline or Damon loves you, but once upon a time, when I was human, I truly believed we were made for each other, your love changed me and it changed Damon, and when I found out about you being free this whole time, the heartbreak tore me apart, but I had Caroline to mend my broken heart, I'm scared Damon won't have anyone, so I have to be there for him, no matter what".

"That's too much pressure on yourself, Brayden" Kaitlynn said, "What happens if you can't bring Damon back from this?".

"I will" Brayden stated, "And I won't stop till I do, I know if the situation was reserved, he'd never give up, and I'm not going to give up on him".

***

After their talk, Brayden had jumped into the shower and Kaitlynn took the time to make their beds, when her attention went towards Brayden's ringing phone, thinking it was Caroline calling him, an annoyed Kaitlynn walked over to Brayden's phone ready to hang up, but it wasn't Caroline's name that was flashing, it was Damon's.

With a roll of her eyes, Kaitlynn answered Damon's call, "Oh, my god, Damon?".

"Hello, Brayden" Enzo greeted from the other side, "How wonderful to hear your beautiful, feminine voice".

"Enzo" Kaitlynn realised, "What the hell do you want?".

"I'm in a spot of trouble, actually" Enzo admitted.

"Where's Damon?" Kaitlynn asked.

"Oh, he's here, salivating" Enzo replied, "About to chomp into my neck until my head pops off in a grotesque but slightly comical fashion".

"Wes infected him?" a shocked Kaitlynn asked, neither Brayden or Caroline having told her this.

"You know about the virus? Good" Enzo said, "We could use a hand, Wes enlisted some of those singing witches and trapped us in the house".

"Do not come here!" Kaitlynn heard Damon yell.

"He doesn't wanna risk reeding on you or Brayden, kind of sweet, really, but he'll be fine" Enzo assured, "Beside if he feeds on either of you, I have orders to kill him".

Kaitlynn thought about Enzo's words for a second, "Okay, text me the address, to my phone, and we'll be there as soon as we can".

"Fine, oh, and ticktock, I've managed to restrain him but you know how persistent Damon can be when he wants something" Enzo said.

"We'll be there soon" Kaitlynn promised, before hanging up the phone and after deleting Damon's name from the call  list, she placed the phone back where Brayden had kept it, just in time as Brayden walked out the bathroom, wearing a fresh pair of clothes while drying his hair with a towel.

"Hey, did Caroline call?" a curious Brayden asked, walking over to her phone and checking to see if he had any calls.

"Nope" Kaitlynn replied, "No calls at all".

***

After checking on the car, Brayden came back to the motel room, "Car is finally fixed!" he yelled to Kaitlynn, who was currently in the shower. 

"I'll be right there!" Kaitlynn called out.

Brayden walked over to his bag and started placing  his old clothes in, when the bathroom door opened, and Kaitlynn, wearing nothing but a towel, peeked her head out.

"Hey, would you mind grabbing me my shirt? It's the green one right on top" Kaitlynn asked Brayden, who looked at her and immediately a frown came on his face.

"You couldn't have grabbed it before you went to chair?" an annoyed Brayden asked, picking the shirt up and throwing it at Kaitlynn, making sure not to look anywhere he shouldn't.

"Thanks" Kaitlynn said, catching the shirt and walking back into the bathroom to wear her shirt, in the process, leaving half of the bathroom door open, but much to her dismay, Brayden didn't look towards her even once, he was too busy making sure he didn't forget any of this things here, having enough of the waiting game, Kaitlynn quickly wore her shirt and walked over the middle Salvatore.

Sensing Kaitlynn's presence behind him, Brayden turned around, "Are you--", before Brayden could complete his sentence, Kaitlynn leaned forward and kissed him, for a second Brayden stood there in shock, not knowing what the hell was happening, the next second he shoved Kaitlynn away from her.

"Are you insane?!" a furious Brayden asked, "Why will you kiss me? Did you forget that I'm with Caroline?!".

"Brayden I--".

"Just stop" Brayden interrupted, "Stop talking, I don't even want to see your face right now".

An extremely angry and extremely guilty Brayden walked out the room, wondering how the hell was he supposed to explain this to Caroline and Damon.

***

After receiving a message from Matt through Nadia's phone, Caroline quickly rushed back to the Lockwood's mansion, where she saw Nadia trying to leave.

"Going somewhere?" Caroline asked, blocking Nadia's path to the door.

"Actually, I am" Nadia confirmed, "And you're in my way".

Matt walked out the Lockwood's office, "Matt, are you okay?" a concerned Caroline asked.

"Yeah, why, what's going on in here?" a confused Matt asked.

"You texted me from Nadia's phone" Caroline reminded, causing Matt to look even more confused then before, making realisation draw on Caroline, she turned to Nadia, "So you compelled him again".

"And they say blonds are dumb" Nadia taunted.

A furious Caroline speeded over to Nadia, she wrapped her hand around her throat and slammed her to the wall, "What are you doing to him? Tell me!" she demanded.

Nadia quickly used her strength to slap Caroline's hand away from her throat before switching their positions, with now her hand wrapped around Caroline's throat.

"Nadia, stop!" Matt yelled.

"You may not remember Matt, but this is your fault, trust me" Nadia told the Donovan boy, before turning to a struggling Caroline but just as Nadia was about to attack Caroline, Tyler speeded into the house and threw Nadia on to the ground.

"Young hybrid beats old vampire every time" Tyler told Nadia, hovering over the vampire, with his eyes glowing yellow.

Nadia elbowed Tyler causing the hybrid and vampire to roll around the ground for sometime, with Tyler trying to bite Nadia but eventually Nadia managed to push Tyler away from her and speed out of the house.

"Wait a second, does anyone wanna tell me how this is my fault?" an extremely confused Matt asked.

***

Damon sat on the ground of the house Wes and the travelers had trapped him in, his mouth bloody from attacking Enzo, who Wes had saved through the help of the travelers and then taken from here.

Damon opened his eyes when he heard familiar footsteps, "Kaitlynn" he whispered, a small smile forming on his face, but that smile immediately left his face when he realised she shouldn't be here, so with a panicked look on his face, Damon turned towards the front door where Kaitlynn stood, "Don't" he warned, shaking his head, "Do not", Brayden walked behind Kaitlynn, immediately causing Damon to stand up, "I said don't! You come in here, you ain't coming out".

Brayden looked around the messed up house, "Mind telling me what happened?".

"I wanted revenge for the both of us" Damon replied, "Got stuck with a vampire virus, almost killed my last friend", Damon shrugged, "Typical Damon".

"Enzo texted me the address here" Kaitlynn informed, "Damon, we're here to help you".

"You can't help me" Damon snapped, "I feed on vampires now, you're both vampires, do yourselves a favor and leave".

"When have I ever left you in alone when you were in trouble?" Brayden asked.

Damon glared at his brother, before speeding over to the barrier and showing his veins to the duo, causing Kaitlynn to flinch back in surprise while Brayden stood there unaffected, "Stay back!".

"Come on Damon, we both know I'm not afraid of you" Brayden reminded.

Damon looked towards Kaitlynn for a second before looking back at his twin, he then turned his back towards the duo and started walking away from them, when Kaitlynn's voice stopped him.

"Neither am I" Kaitlynn said, stepping inside the house.

"No, no, no" a panicked Damon said, quickly grabbing Kaitlynn by her arms and trying to push her out of the house but failing miserably, "You gotta get out", once he realised he couldn't push Kaitlynn out, a furious Damon glared at the Pierce vampire, "What the hell is wrong with you?!".

"I'm proving to you that you're not a lost cause, Damon" Kaitlynn said, as Damon turned his back to her, while Brayden frowned, that's not what Kaitlynn told him, but nonetheless putting his suspicion aside for a second, Brayden also stepped into the house, while Kaitlynn bend down and grabbed a piece of broken glass from the ground.

"Kaitlynn" a panicked Damon warned, having an idea what the oldest Pierce was about to do.

"See?" Kaitlynn said, using the glass to make a cut on her hand, immediately Damon turned his head, the smell of Kaitlynn's blood overwhelming him, "Damon, you can resist this, you can do it, why? Because you love me, and that love is stronger than any craving".

"Get away from me, Kaitlynn" Damon warned, struggling to stay in control as Kaitlynn waved her bloody hand near him.

"This is a stupid idea" Brayden told Kaitlynn.

"No it's not, he can resist this, I know he can" Kaitlynn stated, placing her hand on Damon's shoulder and forcing him to face her, "You can do this Damon, fight it, there you go, turn around", a struggling Damon slowly but surely faced Kaitlynn, "There you go", Damon looked at Kaitlynn and suddenly the veins under his eyes that had disappeared, suddenly appeared again and he bit into Kaitlynn's neck.

As Kaitlynn yelled in pain, Brayden speeded over to his brother and tried to push him and Kaitlynn apart but that virus had made Damon really strong.

"Damon, stop!" Brayden yelled, "You're gonna kill her!".

"Brayden" a panicked Kaitlynn cried.

"Dammit Damon, let go!" Brayden yelled, but Damon refused to let go of Kaitlynn causing the Pierce vampire to kick a stake in Brayden's direction, Brayden looked at the stake then at Kaitlynn, wondering if she has lost her mind, he would never kill his brother.

"He's going to kill me" Kaitlynn cried.

A panicked Brayden looked around for a solution, when suddenly his eyes landed on the broken glass pieces, he quickly picked one up and stabbed Damon in the neck, immediately causing Damon to yell in pain, in the process stepping away from Kaitlynn and giving Brayden the opportunity to snap his neck.

***

Damon slowly opened his eyes and immediately let out a groan of annoyance once he realised his surroundings, Brayden had chained him up in the Salvatore's basement, Damon looked towards the basement door and saw his youngest brother, Stefan standing there.

"I know you can't help yourself, but if you bring home a rabid animal you're gonna get bit" Damon warned.

"I didn't bring you home, Brayden did" Stefan informed, "But I should've never told you to leave".

Damon growled and tried to lunge towards his brother but the chains on his limbs stopped him.

"Now, now Damon, save your energy, you're gonna need it for later" Brayden said, walking into the cellar, but making sure not to get too close to a hungry Damon.

"I'm gonna kill you, Brayden!" Damon threatened, "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but at some point, I'm gonna rip open your throat and you're gonna die".

"Give me a break Damon, you're not the first ripper I've come across" Brayden said, he gestured towards Stefan, "I mean my little brother is literally the ripper of monterey and in the 20s, I was in love with the man who invented the term ripper, I know how to deal with rippers".

Stefan stepped closer to Damon, "You know that feeling you get when you're around vampire blood? That burning in your veins? I feel that on a daily basis, and there's a way to control it".

"And let me guess" Damon said, "It would bring you no greater pleasure than to teach me".

"You're not in the learning state right now Damon" Brayden said, "What Stefan is going to do right now is get you more vervain while I have a very interesting conversation with my soulmate, we're brothers Damon, you should know that neither me or Stefan will ever give up on you".

"She has" Damon pointed out, making both Brayden and Stefan look at him in confusion, wondering who he was talking about.

"You talking about Kaitlynn?" Stefan asked, Damon nodded his head in confirmation, "From what I hear, she practically got herself killed to prove a point today".

"Remember the vampire ripper Jesse, the one Brayden hated because he had a thing for Caroline, when he attacked me, Kaitlynn had to kill him" Damon reminded, "But if there was the slightest chance that there was another way to stop him she would've taken it".

"Yeah, so?" a confused Stefan asked, while Brayden stood there in silent.

"She knew it would be impossible for me to resist her blood, and then she just kicked Brayden a stake" Damon continued, Stefan looked at Brayden, who nodded his head in confirmation, "Essentially told him to kill me".

"So, what are you saying?" Stefan asked, refusing to believe Kaitlynn would do that, "You saying that Kaitlynn wanted Brayden to kill you?".

"You got another excuse?" Damon asked.

Stefan looked at Brayden, "And what do you think?".

"I think something isn't right here" Brayden said, "Something isn't right with Kaitlynn".

"But what?" a confused Stefan asked.

"That's what I'm going to figure out" Brayden said, walking out the cellar room.

***

"Hey" Brayden greeted, walking into his living room and seeing Caroline standing by the fireplace, "When did you get here? I was just about to call you".

"About one and a half of these ago" Caroline informed, holding a glass of bourbon in her hand.

"Did you find Matt?" Brayden asked as Caroline turned to him.

"Yes, and Tyler was right" Caroline informed, pulling her phone out of her pocket, "Nadia's been compelling him to forget things".

"What is Nadia forgetting Matt of all people to forget?" a confused Brayden asked.

"Who knows?" Caroline said, "He tried to message me but Nadia stopped him", Caroline showed Brayden her phone, "Help K, was all I got".

Brayden grabbed Caroline's phone and  stared at the text Matt sent her, after a moment of thinking, his eyes went wide and he looked at his girlfriend, "I figured it out".

"Figured what out?" a confused Caroline asked.

"This whole road trip, hell even since Katherine died, Kaitlynn has been acting so strange, especially with me" Brayden said.

"How so?" a curious Caroline asked.

Brayden looked at Caroline, "Don't get mad" he warned.

"Oh no, what happened?" a suddenly scared Caroline asked.

"Kaitlynn might of, slightly, kissed me" Brayden asked, taking a step back from his girlfriend, not trusting her to not throw the glass at him.

"She did what?!" a furious Caroline asked, "Did you kiss her back?!".

"No!" Brayden quickly said, "I would never do that".

"What the hell happened on this road trip, Brayden?!" Caroline asked.

"Well, we stopped at the gas station for gas and some food and that's where my car broke down, so Kaitlynn suggested we get a hotel room so she could shower--".

"You guys got a hotel room?" a hurt Caroline asked, "With a shower?".

Brayden stepped closer to Caroline, "It wasn't for what you're thinking, I pushed her away the minute I realised what was happening, Caroline you know that I love you, I would never cheat on you and I would never go for my brother's girl, please, tell me you believe me, I need you to trust me".

Caroline looked at Brayden, the vulnerability in his voice told Caroline he meant everything he said, "I trust you" she whispered, making Brayden breathe a sigh of relief, "But I don't get it, how could Kaitlynn do this to me and Damon? I just don't get it, she knows that this would destroy both of us, what is she doing?".

"Exactly!" Brayden said, nodding his head, "I was already suspicious of her, because from the way she was talking, it seemed like she had given up on Damon, which confused me because a few days ago she told me that she was going to fight for him, and on top of that, tonight, she tried to get me to kill him".

"No, I mean, she may be mad at him, but she would never want him dead" Caroline protested.

"Correct" Brayden said, "But she did, now I have a theory, it's a crazy theory, but I think it's right".

"Okay, tell me" Caroline said, wondering what theory Brayden had.

"Okay look, Matt texted you saying help K before Nadia compelled him to forget whatever he figured out" Brayden said, "K could be for Kaitlynn, or it could be for her sister, Katherine, remember, when Katherine was dying Nadia had a way in which Katherine's spirit could go into her body".

"Yeah, but that didn't happen because Katherine had a change of heart" Caroline reminded, realization suddenly drew on her, she finally figured out the same thing Brayden had, "No, no, you don't think that--it's--no, it's impossible that she, but we would've noticed, it's Kaitlynn, we know her".

"Exactly Caroline, it's Kaitlynn, we know her" Brayden said, "And ever since Katherine's death, Kaitlynn hasn't been herself, it's almost like someone else has taken over her body".

"Oh my god" a shocked Caroline whispered.

"Katherine is possessing Kaitlynn" Brayden finally said.

***

Presenting 5x14 of They Don't Know About Us!

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Brayden and Kaitlynn's road trip to find Damon?

Thoughts on Caroline confronting Nadia and Matt?

Thoughts on Kaitlynn kissing Brayden?

Thoughts on Brayden and Caroline putting the pieces together and figuring out that Katherine is possessing Kaitlynn?