The Curse Of The Petrova Doppelgangers

15. Twin Sisters

Chapter 15

)Elena's POV(

We walked into the building, Damon and I. Almost immediately, someone came up to me and wrapped me in a bear hug. "Andrea! How are you, sweetie?"

My mind blanked. She thought I was Andrea. "Err-" I struggled to say something like Andrea would: rather flippantly and self-assured. "Fine," I eventually decided. "Thank you." My arms dangled at my sides limply. 

The woman released me. "Has there been any news?"

She must've mistaken my expression for sadness because she grabbed my hands, her eyelined eyes wide. "I'm so so sorry, sweetheart!"

I couldn't respond; my tongue felt like glue. What in the hell is she talking about?

With the hand she held, she led me over to the same part of the building Andrea had pointed me to earlier. 

"Alaric is here already," she began, "and I'm sure he's looking you and he's irratated enough: you did abandon us for nearly a week, young lady."

Alaric? Who was he? Why was he looking for Andrea? Was he her boyfriend or something?

"What does he want?" I tried.

The lady laughed. "How would I know, sweetie? It's not like we talk." She paused and inspected me. "Hang on- Andrea, your hair is different! And you've known Alaric for years, and-"

I cut her off hastily, doing as Andrea had suggested originally. "I ... fell. Hit my head. Ages ago, like. I've got a bit of a head ache now, actually..."

The woman pursed her lips. "Oh, Andrea, honey, you really should be more careful! This is the fifth time this month! You already have a ..." she lowered her voice, "condition. You don't need to make it worse! One day, it'll be permanent, and you'll be stuck like that forever!"

Andrea, you have a lot to answer for; a boyfriend, a "condition," this...

I looked over to Damon, who, it seemed, had just caught the woman's attention. I nearly groaned as she started again. "Andrea, get yourself a new boyfriend, did you?" she clucked her tongue. "My, my, won't Alaric and Ian have something to say about this! You vanish on Wednesday and come back almost three days later with a boyfriend? Andrea, are you sure you remember even meeting this man? I mean, you're not exactly reliable in that area, now are you, dear?" 

Damon gritted his teeth. "She's perfectly reliable. I'd trust her with my life!"

Turning to him sharply, I wasn't sure if he meant me or Andrea, but the woman didn't notice. She laughed. "Then that makes you a fool and dead man. Has Andrea here told you about Max and his brother, Ian? Honestly, I don't know who was worse: I might say Max, but it's rude to speak ill of the dead."

Damon raised an eyebrow in thought; my eyes widened. Two brothers, one dead. Presumably fighting over Andrea. What?

Any similarities you recognize? a spiteful little voice whispered. I started- who here besides Andrea-

The woman stared at me expectantly. 

"What?" I finally asked, having no idea what she'd said.

She frowned at me. "To Ian and this boy, I mean." It took me to realize it was her asking about similarites; I had just mistaken it for something else. "They don't look much a like, so do they act alike? This one looks more like Max, though, if I do say so."

I jerked back angrily; what buisness was it of hers?

"A-" Damon began cooly, but I caught him off guard, speaking scornfully to the woman. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"