Now I lay me down to sleep
Pray the lord my soul to keep
It was night and it was crazy in the club. Elena had taken way too many shots she could walk and form semi-coherent thoughts but her judgment grew increasingly impaired with every shot she took. Her best friends Caroline and Bonnie were out on the dance floor having fun grinding with their attractive partners. Caroline was the typical fun blonde; she loved to party and had such a bubbly personality it was hard to process any other emotion but happiness when you were around her. She could even get her more reserved and cautious friend Bonnie to party hard, drink, and dance with random strangers.
Elena was thoroughly enjoying her blue kamikaze, the way it slide down her throat, and made her feel good; high and light like she was on a cloud. That night she was not in a party mood but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the wonderful setting and equally wonderful drinks in lieu in what happened less than three months ago. But she wasn't allowed to think of that, she was here to party at the new, invigorating club. True she had sat at the bar all night but that didn't mean she wasn't having fun, in fact with the amount of alcohol in her system everything around her had a serene glow to them; the strobe lights illuminating everything then sending everything back into shadows, the crowd of dancers on the floor were just dark bodies now only close inspection would give away any details. The drinks all appeared to glow under the amazing lights and she noticed that her drink in general had an eerie look to it almost. The blue hue reminded her of the sky no the ocean, yeah, that's what it looked like. A calm deep blue ocean, full of clean calm water, but Elena knew water wasn't always calm and could kill. Water was the reason her friends thought she needed a night out, as she continue to be entranced by her drink she couldn't help thinking back to that night.
Elena was working late that night and that's the only reason she was even available to take that call. The man on the phone was polite and courteous but that didn't make Elena feel any better. He had said that her parents' car had driven off the Wickery Bridge and by the time anyone had discovered the car it was too late. She was devastated, heartbroken, and in denial; she had actually called the man a liar because she knew her parents did not go out on a Wednesday night. "They don't go out on weekdays! You must have their car confused with someone else's; they just don't go out without a reason!" At that point Elena had been venting on the phone, she could not and would not except the fact that her parents, her brother, practically her entire family was gone in one night. "My brother has school the next day so it must be a mistake! He had practice late and school the next day so it's not possible, it can't be true, you must be wrong!" She was sobbing uncontrollably and had to hang up; she could barely hear the man's attempt to comfort her and ensure her there had been no mistake. Elena could not accept that answer she hung up and dialed her old home number, after each ring she grew tenser until finally her mother's voice kindly told her that no one was home and she should call back again. However, Elena knew no matter how many times she called back and what time she called back no one would ever be home. But she had not given up completely as soon as she hung up she phoned her Aunt Jenna; she would know what was going on. Hell, her family might be at her aunt's house having dinner and just cleaning up, laughing and remembering good times. However, when Elena called her hopes were obliterated. Her aunt was in hysterics and with both women in utter despair it was hard for an entire conversation to form.
"He…." Jenna tried to choke out but was barely able to mutter a syllable when Elena quickly interrupted.
"Jenna, Jenna, are they there? Please, tell me they are there with you. Can I speak to mom, dad, Jeremy, anybody. Let me speak to anyone of them, please! Jenna, please!" Elena had sobbed out, she could not accept it, they had to be there, they just had to, and that was the only logical explanation.
She heard her aunt's sniffles through the phone and her soft broken voice whisper, "They're gone."
That's the moment she knew and finally accepted the fact that SHE WAS ALONE. Her entire family had been ripped from her. There would be no going home to a house full of people inviting her in, no family dinners, and there would be empty seats at the table during the holidays.
She could no longer confide in her mother and expect those wonderful words of wisdom she depended on. Her father would no longer make those corny jokes that she always seemed to chuckle at and she would no longer have a brother to "protect" her from boys and all their wicked ways. SHE WAS ALONE. A myriad of questions flew through her mind, all centered on her family, all going unanswered…what were they doing out? Why was Jeremy with them? Why didn't they call me, I was only fifteen minutes away? How did they drive of the bridge? Why not me, why take them?
And if I die before I wake
Pray the lord my soul to take
As Elena woke from her deep slumber the first thing she registered was the acute warmth she felt. This was strange, why was she warm? And then she felt them, thick strong arms that felt like his but couldn't be; he never stayed the night. She quickly jerked out of bed but her movements were too hurried and she was too groggy, still tangled in the sheets, she toppled to the floor and hit the ground with a loud thump! Oh shit, she thought to herself, that would surely wake the unwanted intruder. But Elena was not aware that Damon had been awake ever since she started crying in her sleep.
He had felt a shaking and wetness on his cheek that had been resting against Elena's cheek. When he opened his eyes he was met with a pained expression dotted and streaked red with hot tears. He should have been appalled at this outward display of emotion, but he wasn't. In fact, he could muster nothing but sympathy up for this girl. He just held her tighter and tried to be a comfort for her. He, of course, knew what she was crying about. He had heard the story of poor Elena Gilbert and he had been there the night the family's car was fished out of the river. The Wickery Bridge provided seclusion, and the expansion of trees provided cover from prying eyes; perfect for hunting. He had been in the area for a good meal, sometimes he would even pretend to get hit by a passing car, wait for the passengers to get out, and then feast. He always drains his victims in fact he compelled most of them and then left. Only the ones he knew and personally thought should die, were drained dry of blood. He was just getting ready to depart from his hunting spot, hidden in the trees and shadows, when he noticed a car crossing the bridge and a figure run and stop in front of the headlights, like whoever it was wanted to be hit, or the more cynical side to Damon thought wanted to drive the car off the bridge. That's when he heard the breaks screech and saw the car swerve and break the barrier as it was driven right off the bridge. He could hear screams coming from the car as the mysterious dark figure ran faster than humanly possible. He wasn't curious enough to run after the stranger but he did care that a whole family was now struggling to breath at the bottom of the river. He took out his phone, called 911 and made a dash for the bridge but he never remembers making it to the water. All he ever remembers is getting to the broken guard rail and then blacking out. A few hours later he woke up and felt a familiar yet uncomfortable sensation in his neck. Someone had snapped it someone strong, someone so fast and stealthy they caught up to him without his knowledge. It had to have been that vampire he saw run in front of the car that was currently being pulled out of the river. He hadn't stuck around to seen the bodies. It wasn't until later that he knew the family to be the Gilberts and that only one daughter, who wasn't in the car at the time, was left. That's when he decided that he should probably find out what she knew about the supernatural and that's how this whole arrangement began.
"Elena, are you okay?" He felt immediately chilled with the loss of her warm body and the sheets she had taken with her on her tumble. He peaked his head over the edge of the bed and couldn't help but chuckle at the confused expression on her face as she looked up at him. Her hair was a mess and she was still tangled in the sheets. She really was beautiful even when she was discombobulated.
When she looked up and saw that angelic face with those piercing eyes she was more than confused, "Damon?" She was shocked, so the strong arms wrapped around her had been his. Her body immediately filled with warmth at the thought of him pressed against her holding her all night, but she couldn't help her apprehension, "What are you doing here? Did you stay the whole night?"
His expression immediately went from amused to serious and stoic, "Yes," he answered slowly not offering up any information as to why he stayed just that he did. The truth was that he couldn't give her an exact answer; he was baffled at himself for staying in the first place so what could he tell her. Oh, I just felt like it. Yeah that's a good descriptive answer that won't leave more questions than answers. When she gave him a questioning look he could just tell that she was about to ask for more information so he cut her off by asking a question of his own, "Why are you crying Elena?" He realized after he said it that the question was rude, a little too bluntly put, but what's done is done. He examined her expressions to see if he had offended her too greatly. She only looked perplexed not angry or hurt.
Elena hadn't even registered her damp cheeks with everything that she had to process as soon as she woke up. The tears however were no surprise, she often awoke with tear stained cheeks and on most nights she woke screaming. She had the same dream about her family's death that she had that night almost every night. She would recall that phone call, the helplessness and loneliness she felt. She accumulated many sleeping problems after that dreadful night and if it wasn't for Damon tiring her out almost every night she probably would have been an insomniac by now. Sleep never gave her closure or solace, she would always have nightmares.
"Bad dreams, about them, you know the usual." She looked up at him then and saw the slightest expression of pity cross his face and then it was back to that devilish smirk she was so accustomed to.
"Well why don't you join me on the bed and I'll show you how I get rid of bad dreams?" The combination of that face displaying his cocky smirk, and the playfulness in those gorgeous pair of baby blues had her practically jumping back on the bed. He had her pinned beneath him in a matter of instants and she could feel his morning arousal through the sheets, it excited her. She expected him to quickly remove the fabric and just take her but the ceasing of his movement both confused and frustrated her. She tried to wiggle her hips to create friction but he just raised his and held her hips down with one hand. The other hand held her hands above her head so she couldn't touch him. She was surprised at how strong he was. He bent his head down to her ear.
"Uh-uh, remember I'm the one who's showing you how to get rid of bad dreams," he purred. She was growing uncomfortable, he had never been playful and it was refreshing to see a softer side to him. Little did she know how dark his dark side really was.