She was asleep.
He could hear it in her voice.
He forgot about the time difference. That where he is, is not where she is. You would think he would have figured that out by now, but he was trapped in his reverie, and it never occurred to him.
But she was awake now.
She calls "hello" into the phone, but he does not answer. He is frozen on the other end, here in Amsterdam. His plan never progressed past the thought of calling her. The phrases he thought about for so long now do not come to him. He thought this would be simple. He thought hearing her voice would be enough to shake him out of his self-destructive mode. But his tongue is frozen and his lips do not move. He stands on the side of the canal with the phone in his hand, saying nothing.
And yet, she knows it's him.
She whispers his name into the phone, not so much a question as a statement. He has no choice now but to answer. He clears his throat and just when he is about to speak, he hears rustling on the other end. Then Stefan's voice is on the line. He too calls out Damon's name.
Where are you? Are you okay?
This is a new development. And it unnerves him. If anything would shake him out of his illusions of love, this would be it. He did not plan on Stefan being beside her in bed, but he should have.
He should have.
Stefan says the words that Damon had hoped to hear from Elena.
Come home. It would be nice to see you again.
Damon hangs up.
