Chapter 3
"Elena?" Damon asked through the door.
Elena couldn't move. She was still crying in the tub, hugging her knees and couldn't move.
"Elena, are you ok? Please open the door." Damon said gently through the door.
Elena didn't move.
"Elena, I hear you crying. I want to help you! Please…"
Still nothing.
"Elena, if you don't open this door in five seconds, I'm going to break it down!" Damon sounded panicked at this point.
Still Elena didn't move. She was still crying hysterically.
The door burst open and Damon looked at the condition she was in. His heart broke at the sight of her crying. He immediately grabbed a towel from under the sink. He gently picked her up out of the tub and wrapped the towel around her, trying not to look at her body to spare her modesty. Carrying her to his bed, he gently laid her down and starting wiping the tears from her cheeks and eyes before hugging her.
"Shhhh, it's ok, I've got you. You're ok," he kept repeating to her while gently rocking her back and forth.
Elena finally calmed down and was able to breathe normally again.
"I heard you crying from downstairs. Are you alright?" he asked gently again, making her look into his eyes when he put his finger under her chin and lifted it up.
"I'm fine now, thank you Damon," she spoke softly.
"Is living with me starting to give you nightmares?" he joked lightly but inside he knew that Elena had some past issues that he would like to get her to talk about in the month she was here.
"No, it's not you. It's just my mind doing things to me is all," Elena explained calmly.
"Are you ok now?" he asked her one more time, looking at her carefully.
"Yes, fine," and this time she really looked into his eyes. She saw nothing but his determined ways to comfort and hold her.
"Ok, the lasagnas in the oven. It should be ready in about half an hour. Please get dressed and meet me downstairs," he said before kissing her forehead then leaving his room.
Elena sat there holding the towel in place for a few minutes before finally getting up and dressing in jeans and a nice shirt and a dash of lip gloss.
She couldn't believe she had freaked out like that. Damon probably thought she was a total nutcase. Well, not that he didn't already deal with nutcases, but still. She vowed at that very moment that she wasn't going to let her emotions get the better of her again. She didn't want to tell him about her troubled past, ever.
Half hour later
Going down the stairs and into the dining room, she was met by the sight of the kitchen table decorated with flaming candles and set with two dinner plates. While the table itself was somewhat long, the plates were put side-by-side.
"Dinner is served, madam," spoke Damon lightly when he walked into the dining room with a pan she assumed was the lasagna. He pulled out her chair for her and she sat down.
"I know you said no makeup was allowed, but I can't live without my lip gloss," she said it like she would die without it.
"I think I can make an exception for that," he laughed. "It's not really an official rule, but I do like to see women in all their natural beauty."
The two of them dug into the delicious lasagna and kept their conversations light. She talked about her job and he talked about his own life. He used to be part of a big company but realized that it wasn't' his cup of tea.
"If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to help women so badly?" she asked politely after they had done the dishes together. His house didn't have a dishwasher, which she was appalled at that fact.
"I just decided I wanted to help them find life again, especially after experiencing something horrific in their lives. If one of them was raped, I try to help them come to terms with it and help them realize that not every man is out to get them like some Lifetime movie." He said with disgust before he continued.
"Remember the girl I told you about last week?" he asked.
"Yeah, the one with the abusive boyfriend."
"Yes, well she's a close friend of mine. I really wanted to help her in any way that I could. And it worked. It took a bit of time, but she's not scared anymore and she's more than capable of taking care of herself now. Ever since then that's all I've wanted to do: help women find their way again," and he was looking at her intently now.
"Oh? So…based on what you've seen of me and my partial breakdown an hour ago, can I be saved?" she asked it aloud without realizing it. He looked into her brown eyes with his light blue ones.
"I know you have some trauma in your past. I know it will be difficult to get through, but once you tell me about it, I'm sure I can help you get past it completely and feel better. It's not good to keep things bottled up inside you for a long period of time. Trust me, I know the feeling." Toward the end, he seemed like he was talking more to himself than just her.
"Do you trust me?" he asked gently cupping her face in his hands.
"Yes. Surprisingly yes."
"Then I'll help you." He leaned in, pressing her lips against his. It was a gentle, comforting kiss but there was a spark there. Both of them felt it.
That Night
Elena walked out of Damon's bathroom with her long pajama bottoms and a camisole on. Damon was sitting in bed reading a magazine. He looked up when Elena walked in.
"Cute pjs," he commented with a smile when he looked up at her.
"Thanks," she smiled. "Hey, why is your top cabinet in the bathroom locked?"
"I have a few personal things in there," he said, looking back at his magazine.
"Like what? I promise I won't put my tampons in there if it's your manly cabinet," she teased lightly before heading to her side of his bed. She got in and pulled the covers up to her shoulders.
Damon didn't respond to her last comment but he did put his magazine away, turned off the light and slid down into the bed beside her. Before Elena could close her eyes, he spooned her from behind.
"Is this another part of my treatment?" she asked.
"How did you guess?" he asked and Elena could tell without looking at him and from the sound of his voice that he was smiling.
"This will help you get more comfortable being near me," he explained gently. "So close your eyes and get some rest. Have happy dreams." And he kissed her gently on her cheek.
Elena thought she would be nervous when she got here, but she wasn't. Damon made her feel like she was home. And she felt loved and taken care of by him. Her last thought before she went to sleep was that "maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all" then she fell into the most peaceful sleep she had had in years.
