A girl who looked remarkably like Kathrine stood not ten feet from me. She was surrounded by people. It wasn't Kathrine, that much I knew. Not even she was that good at playing innocent.

Where was the bitch? It shouldn't be this difficult to find her in this small a town. Well, the fact that I mostly stuck to shadows might have contributed a teensy bit.

I was so paranoid I'd be caught. After ninety years on the run, it was hard to shake old habits.

Stefan stood near her like sentry, hands in his jacket pockets.

Damon looked thoroughly annoyed as a blonde girl talked to him, a clipboard clutched in her hands.

They were real. Not some figment of my imagination. My brothers were breathing, interacting.

I'd been lied to.

They were healthy.

"Boo."

I had Tyler Lockwood against the wall before I could fully process what was happening.

He held up his hands in surrender. "No surprises, understood."

"I could kill you in an instant. Don't do that." I let him go.

"Why were you watching Elena?"

Elena. The girl Stefan and Damon were talking about. "Reminded me of someone, but it's not her."

"Can I ask you something?" He followed me to the next best hiding spot.

"Haven't you already been doing that?"

"Why Mystic Falls of all places?" There was something behind his curiosity. I just couldn't figure out what.

"Maybe I just like small towns."

"C'mon this is the most boring town you could have chosen. Nothing happens here." He was lying. His heart was racing, so different than the soft beat it'd had before.

"You know."

"What?" Tyler wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Don't bullshit me, you know." He ought to, given the Lockwood curse. "If you're going to interrogate me, at least be more subtle about it."

"The Salvatores are vampires, it wasn't hard to put two and two together."

"Congratulations on your shocking intelligence." Here I was thinking he was just some dumb jock.

"That's it? You're not going to defend yourself?"

"No." Why would I? I wasn't exactly ashamed I was a bloodsucker.

"So are you going to answer my question honestly?"

"I'm looking for someone. Rumor has it, she's here." There were also whispers that the boys were alive but I hadn't believed them. I wasn't that lucky. "I have to figure out where she's hiding."

"Who is it?"

"That's for me to know." The less people I involved, the better. "You ask a lot of questions when you're clearly afraid of me."

Tyler hesitated. "Are you a danger to the town?"

"Not as long as I'm left alone." Was he part of the wretched council my father had been apart of? Did that survive?

I really wanted to stay as under the radar as I could. Only took one measly person to draw them here. I'd rather that not happen until I was good and ready.

"Attack me, and things will get messy, I'd like to like to make that abundantly clear."

"Aren't you the confident little thing." Came an all too familiar voice from behind me.

Damn it.

I closed my eyes, and turned on my heel.

"Morgan?!"

"In the flesh."

Damon swept forward, wrapping me in a bone crushing hug. "I thought we'd lost you."

"Heard my big brothers were in town, had to come see it for myself."

He drew back, holding me at arm's length. "Where the fuck have you been?! Why come to us now?"

"Hard to know where you are when I'm halfway across the world. I only just got back in the states recently."

Granted I'd been tracking Kathrine, but it was partially true.

He scanned my expression. "You're older." His thumbs grazed my cheeks. "You weren't there when I went back, I assumed you were dead."

Step back, Morgan. I couldn't get my feet to move. "Stop."

Fucking snap out of it.

"What's wrong?"

I wanted this. Wanted my brothers. I couldn't have them. "You need to forget you ever saw me." Or they would come for him. They'd come for Stefan. "Please Damon, let me go, I'm begging you."

His brow furrowed. "What's wrong?" He repeated.

Tears welled in my eyes. I hated this. "I thought I could keep my distance, that I could live with just seeing that you were alive, and be able to leave."

"Tell me what you're running from."

"It's not safe."

"What?"

Morgan move. I finally managed to step away, shaking my head. "I'm sorry." Then I sped away like a coward.