Chapter 4

Mystic Falls

Matt slowly made his way into his office at the police station, ignoring the looks he was getting from the other officers. His head hurt and he was in desperate need of a drink. He closed the door behind him and drew the blinds shut so nobody could see inside. He hadn't had a moment alone to process his thoughts in days.

First it was the doctors and nurses in the hospital. Then it was his coworkers and friends stopping by to see him. He managed to avoid giving a police report on what happened by lying. He told everyone that it was an accident. He put himself in the hospital.

Everyone laughed it off as he told them how stupid it was of him. He promised he'd be out in a few days and back in the office. By then the wound in his stomach would have healed enough to walk properly.

He walked over to his desk and sat down in the comfortable office chair, grabbing the bottle on his desk filled with water. Or at least that's what it would look like to anyone that came in. He scowled and unscrewed the cap, swallowing three large gulps of the strong vodka before setting it back down.

Now that he was back in his office and out of the hospital, he had one goal.

Find Elena.

She couldn't hide from him forever, and he'd be damned if she got away from this easily. By the time he was finished with her, she'd be begging him to bring her home and take care of her again. He couldn't let anyone know what really happened that night because then they'd take her away. They'd send her to jail.

Maybe he wanted her to go to prison. He'd always know where she was that way, and she'd only get a few years. Then when she got out they could be together and she would have learned her lesson. Maybe he wouldn't have to punish her for constantly undermining him anymore.

They could start the life he always wanted together. They'd be happy together. Just like in the movies. He'd never leave her, and he'd never be alone. After his mom left when he was in high school, he was devastated. Then his drug addict sister left a year later, and he was just alone. Elena saved him. Now he had to save her. He couldn't let her be out there all scared and alone, thinking that he hated her.

He wasn't exactly happy with her, but he could never hate her. She got on his nerves like no other with her incessant mistakes, but he was in the process of training her to be the perfect housewife. She would be happy too when she finally learned her place and stopped trying to be something she wasn't.

He licked his dry lips and took another drink from the bottle before turning his gaze to his computer. Now he had to find her, wherever she was. He had confided in his boss while he was in the hospital that it was Elena who put him in there. They had a disagreement and she accidentally hurt him.

Sergeant Jones was surprised to hear that, and Matt expressed his worry that Elena thought he was mad. She hadn't come to visit him yet so he gave Jones his key to their house to see if she was there.

She wasn't.

That's when Matt realized she ran, and that maybe that was a smart thing to do on her part. He was livid when he realized what she did. It went against everything he taught her and trained her to do. She betrayed his love for her and his desire for her to be the best version of herself she could be.

The entire time they had been dating, he always made sure she looked and felt her best. He bought her the most expensive clothes and had her dye her hair from a boring brown to a fun blonde. She never once complained, and he never had a reason to suspect that she wasn't happy.

But he saw the fear in her eyes and heard it in her voice that night. It just pissed him off even more. She had no reason to be afraid of him. He was helping her. He was teaching her how to please him so they'd always be happy. He gave her everything she wanted, and this was how she repaid him?

With a new pit of burning rage in his chest, he ground his teeth and pulled up her credit card account on the computer. There hadn't been any activity in days. He had never been happier to be a cop than in that moment, because now he had just about any connection necessary to track her down. He would find her eventually; there was no place she could hide forever.

He picked up his phone and dialed the extension for one of the officers and waited until it connected. The man answered and Matt said, "I need you to contact the airport, bus stations, and taxi services, basically any method of transportation and ask them for the videos from their surveillance cameras over the past few days."

He replied, "What should I tell them I need it for?"

Matt snapped, "Tell them it's none of their damn business."

There was a moment of silence before the officer said, "What case is this for? I thought you were still on field duty."

Matt didn't like the fact that he had to explain himself to some newbie cop at the bottom of the payroll. He didn't owe an explanation of anything to anyone, let alone someone that was nothing more than a bug beneath his shoe.

"How about you stop asking so many questions before they get you into trouble." Matt said slowly, lacing the threat into his voice.

"Yes sir." The man returned obediently right before hanging up.

Why was it so hard for people to listen to him? Was he the only intelligent person that existed on this earth? First, it was Elena that had to be taught a lesson or two. Now his subordinates suddenly thought that they could do whatever the fuck they wanted?

He chugged the rest of the vodka from his water bottle and angrily threw it into the trashcan. He needed Elena back home so he could take out his anger on her. Maybe then she wouldn't try running away and putting him in this situation in the first place. He loved her, and he needed her. She kept him together when he was falling apart. She was there for him when everyone else left. She was the only one he could depend on, and she wasn't there.

If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that he'd find Elena eventually. She'd get what's coming to her. She owed him for doing this to him. And she'd pay dearly for it.

"Hey Elena!"

I turned my head to the source of the voice and saw Caroline jogging to catch up to me. I frowned, wondering where she came from. I had the day off of work today since Caroline was still trying to fit me into the schedule, and I had assumed that she would be working. But I was just leaving my house to go into town where Damon directed me and pick up some things that I needed from the store.

"Hey, Care. Where'd you come from?"

I was still walking down the path to my house out to the road, and she was running from the direction of my house. She caught up to me and a bit breathlessly answered, "Oh, I didn't tell you? I live right down there."

She pointed towards where the road veered off in two directions. My house was down the path to the right, and she was motioning towards the left. Huh. I'm almost surprised she hasn't blabbed on about how we're neighbors yet.

"Really? I expected you to live in town where there's a ton of people and places to shop." I told her with a smile.

She rolled her eyes, "Well I totally would—I'd love an apartment above a cute little coffee shop, but I haven't been able to find one that's in my price range yet. I live with my mom back there."

I crossed my arms as we walked and curiously asked, "So what all do you do? You own The Grill and houses for rent, but is that it?"

She shrugged, her blonde curls bouncing with her shoulders, "Well, I inherited all of those things from my dad when he passed away, so I figured that I'd take over for him. But my dream is to be a fashion designer. I love clothes, in case you haven't noticed, but there aren't many opportunities to pursue those dreams in a small town like this."

I frowned, "You could open up a small boutique and see how that goes? You already know how to run a business and from what I've seen, your style is amazing."

I looked at her current outfit of a flowery sundress and wedges. I might have to recruit her to help me get some new clothes.

"Thanks, but I don't know…I've never been to school for fashion design or anything and I'm not so sure how well I'd do in a small town like this." She said, a bit disappointed. It was almost strange seeing someone so full of life like her looking so down.

I nudged her side with my elbow, "I wouldn't be so sure about that. I know I'd shop there, and think of how many tourists you'd get in the store. I don't know about you, but when I'm on vacation I love going shopping."

A light laugh fell from her mouth, "Fine! You convinced me! Besides, who doesn't love shopping? And my clothes would be amazing!"

I giggled and asked, "So where are you headed if you're not working?"

She huffed, "Actually, I was just going to check on another tenant of mine. They're complaining that the air conditioning isn't working, so I had to call in someone to fix it and I want to be there to make sure they don't screw up the whole thing."

I grimaced, "Sounds like torture."

"Of the worst kind." She agreed. "Where are you going?"

"Well I kind of need to go get some groceries and pick up some other essentials in town since I just moved here and I don't really have that many things. This whole move was kind of last minute so I packed what I could." I explained loosely.

She smirked, "Well have fun with that. At least this air conditioning guy might be cute."

I raised a brow, "How do you know I won't have a cute cashier?"

She snorted, "Because the only men that work at the grocery store are sixteen and pimply or sixty and wrinkly."

I lightly shoved her shoulder as we reached the end of the road and she waved goodbye as we split in different directions. I smiled to myself at the thought that I was really fitting in here. I had a friend in Caroline and Damon, and a decent job. I had a house, in a quiet town where the people were kind and easy going. What more could I ask for?

The walk into town didn't take long, and as much as I wanted to stick around and look at all of the shops and sights, I wanted to get home and put all of my groceries away so I could go visit Damon. Well, I had an ulterior motive for seeing him besides the teensy weensy crush my body might have on him. I decided to take him up on his offer and buy some paint for my house. It needs it, and if it gives me a reason to see Damon then do I need anymore convincing?

Once I bought all of the food and supplies I needed, I was carrying several bags filled to the top about a mile back to my house. As soon as I could afford it, I would be getting a car. Or at least something to get me and heavy things around more easily.

After I dropped everything off at home and put it all away, I made my way over to Damon's store. I hoped he'd be there today, but from what I've seen he's always there.

I walked inside the store with my heart set on finding Damon, but instead I found Mia sitting behind the counter again and a boy sitting next to her, playing a handheld videogame. They both looked up and Mia smiled a toothy grin while the boy seemed indifferent, resuming his game. He looked a few years older than Mia, and I remembered Caroline told me he was seven. He had sandy blonde hair with tan skin and green eyes that matched Mia's, so it was easy to deduce that they were related.

Mia stopped coloring and said, "Hi!"

I smiled and walked up to the counter, "Hi, Mia. What are you coloring?"

"A flower." She said simply, coloring the middle of it yellow. "Alex says flowers are boring."

The boy next to her put his game down and turned it off, "That's 'cause they are. Dinosaurs are way cooler."

"Are not!" She argued. "There aren't any pink dinosaurs, but there are pink flowers."

He rolled his eyes as I laughed, "So you're Alex. I'm Elena. I just moved to town a few days ago."

He held out his small hand to me, "It's nice to meet you."

His grin was crooked with a few missing teeth and the sight made me smile even wider as I shook his hand, "Nice to meet you too." He grabbed a piece of blank paper from Mia and I watched as he found a green marker and began showing her how to draw a dinosaur.

"See, you have to draw the tail and the teeth like this." He said, pointing to the sharp points in its mouth.

Mia scrunched up her face adorably, "That looks scary! I want a cute dinosaur!"

"Well dinosaurs aren't cute! They're mean and they eat other animals!" He argued.

"Then I don't like them!" She huffed, crossing her arms to glare at him.

I laughed, "Hey, I don't suppose either of you want to help me pick out a color to paint my house? Well, actually my floor."

They both looked at me with varying degrees of surprise and amusement. Alex laughed, "You're painting the floor?"

I chuckled, "Yeah, why not? I think a nice bright color would be fun and make my house look brighter, don't you think?"

Mia giggled, "But what about the walls?"

I shrugged, "They can stay boring as long as the floor is fun."

Alex hopped off the counter to look in a drawer behind it, saying, "Okay, let me find the color thingy so we can pick out a color."

A moment later he set down a ton of paper swatches organized in order of color all connected by a plastic ring. I fanned out the colors and leaned over the counter, "Hm…what color is bright and fun?"

"Pink!" Mia shouted.

"Pink!?" Alex scoffed. "Her house will look like a cupcake, and you're the only one that likes that!"

She pouted, "Fine."

I smiled, "I like pink, Mia, but I think a different color would be better because if I move out and a guy wants to buy the house, he's not going to want a pink floor."

Her frown turned neutral as she got over it and Alex suggested, "What about yellow? Yellow is a bright color."

Mia wrinkled her nose, "Not yellow! The sun is yellow and if you had the sun in your house it would be really hot!"

Alex rolled his eyes and I laughed at her reasoning. She then grabbed the color swatches and pointed to a bright sea foam green/turquoise color. "I like this one!"

"Yeah, me too!" Alex said, pulling the colors closer so he could see them.

"Alright, then 'aqua waters' it is." I said, just as the door across the room opened and Damon came walking out.

He smiled when he saw me and asked, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

I stood up straight and handed him the swatch, "We decided on 'aqua waters' for my house."

Mia added, "She's painting the floor!"

He raised an amused brow, "The floor?"

Alex laughed, "Yeah! You don't paint the floor, you paint the walls!"

He chuckled and turned to me, flashing me that half smile that makes my insides liquefy, "I'll make sure to place the order, then."

I unconsciously licked my lips before smiling at him, and his eyes followed the movement. My heart rate picked up as he watched me, studying me, and it surprisingly didn't make me feel self conscious in the slightest. It made me feel…good. Wanted, maybe. I haven't felt wanted by a man in a long time, but that doesn't mean that I'm just going to fall into bed with Damon. I can't. Everything's still so…raw. And Caroline told me that he was one of those one night stand guys, and I'm definitely not that girl.

Mia's sweet voice interrupted our eye sex, "Elena, do you want to color with me?"

We both abruptly looked away from each other and Damon said, "Mia, I'm sure Elena's busy."

I frowned, "No, it's fine. I have the day off today."

Mia handed me a blue marker and said, "You can color the water, while I color the boat."

I bit back a laugh as she began attempting to draw a boat. It turned out more like a red blob in the middle of the paper. As I made the waves with the marker, I stole a glance at Damon from the corner of my eye. He was watching us with his arms crossed over his muscular chest and a smile on his face. It made my smile grow as I listened to Mia give me more instructions for the picture.

The same door that Damon came out of suddenly opened, and a woman that was the spitting image of Damon walked out. She had shoulder length black hair matching his with fair skin, and the same exact blue eyes. She was struggling to carry a box of books and said, "Damon Michael would you help your mother out once in a while?"

He rolled his eyes and groaned as he took the box from her, "You see, Elena? I told you the only thing us men are good for is carrying heavy stuff!"

I giggled and his mom put her hands on her hips, giving him a slight glare. "Go take that box and put the books on the shelves." She instructed him before turning to me and smiling warmly, "Hi, Elena was it? I'm Lily, Damon's mom."

I shook her hand when she held it out and I said, "Nice to meet you. I just moved to town."

"Damon mentioned someone new." She said, giving Damon a knowing look that I couldn't dissect. "Said a beautiful woman moved to town and needed help fixing her sink." She winked at me and my eyes widened. Did she think that…that I was just looking for an excuse to see Damon or something? Or that fixing my sink meant…oh god, I could feel my face heating up already!

"Mom!" Damon yelled, clearly both annoyed and embarrassed. "I told you the sink was broken, and I fixed it!"

She held up her hands and defended, "I never said you didn't!"

He rolled his eyes and grumbled, "You sure said something, though."

She gave me a pointed look and said, "Always so sensitive."

"Mom!" He yelled again, and this time I couldn't help but laugh.

She huffed, "Oh, would you relax? It's not got good for your blood pressure!"

"I don't have a blood pressure problem, Mom…" He mumbled to himself, resuming putting away the books. I guess he had given up on arguing anymore.

Mia chimed in, "Grandma, look at the picture we made!" She held up the finished picture, complete with birds in the sky and a big yellow sun.

Lily smiled and took it from her, "It's gorgeous, Mia, in fact…" She walked around the counter to the bulletin board and found a pin, "I'm going to hang it up right here."

Mia beamed with excitement as Alex scoffed, "My dinosaur's better. See?"

Damon had finished unpacking the books and he came to stand next to me, watching the scene play out. Lily said, "I think they're both great. We'll hang yours right up next to Mia's."

Damon's warm breath tickling my ear as he whispered sent shivers down my spine, "Sorry about my mom. She can be a little…bold."

I smiled and turned to face him, not nearly prepared enough for how close he was. All it would take is a few inches and our noses would be touching. I sucked in breath and whispered back, "Isn't the point of having a mom for her to embarrass you?"

He chuckled lowly, and the deep sexy sound caused something to ignite inside of me, "You don't know the half of it."

"You'll have to tell me some of the stories sometime." I said, earning a grin. "I must warn you, I've got some real killer embarrassing parent moments though."

"Worse than yelling about nonexistent blood pressure problems?" He quipped.

I blew out a laugh, "Imagine being a freshman in high school, and a boy calls your house, asking to talk to you. Your mom answers the phone, hears that it's a teenage boy, then tells him that you're not ready to start dating boys, then hangs up, so she and your dad can sit you down and lecture you about sex for two hours."

He grimaced, "Damn. I think you win."

"Oh, but I didn't get to the best part!" I said, barely containing my laugh. "My dad was a doctor, so I wasn't even spared the cheesy alternate words to everything dirty. It was all clinical and proper, and so very disturbing to a fourteen year old girl."

He snorted, "Nice. I'm guessing the kid never called back, huh?"

I shrugged, "He got a little making out the next day in school. It's the least I could do after what happened."

He shook his head, "Thank god I never got the sex talk. By the time Mom realized I was having sex, I was already 17. I got a stern warning not to screw up and that was that."

I glanced over to his mom and the kids to see that she was watching them both draw while clearly keeping an eye on us. She couldn't hear what we were saying, but she didn't need to to see something she liked.

"Your mom seems really nice." I told him. She definitely wasn't as subtle as my mom was.

"I think she likes you too." He said, the corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk.

And I think I really liked it here. Actually, I loved it here. Now I guess I'll just have to see how long my little bubble lasts before reality comes crashing back in.