Chapter # 4:
Damon checked his phone. Too much homework, rain check?
Well that just won't do, he thought to himself. He only got to see Elena a few days a week and he wasn't willing to part with any of them.
If she can't come to me, I'll just go to her, he decided. He looked at the little box in his hand and shoved it in his pocket before heading out the door.
It had been 4 months that they had been together now but Damon still couldn't believe his luck. If you had asked him who Elena would choose 4 months ago, he would have bet against himself for sure.
When she had admitted that she was in love with him, it may have been the happiest moment of his life. And the sex had been sooo good that night.
He smiled to himself.
He'd been doing a lot of that lately, smiling. And not the sarcastic smiles he gave so freely but genuine, happy smiles.
He thought back to their first morning after. He'd woken up to find her staring at him.
"I get it now."
"Hmm?"
"I get it now," Elena repeated. "If I had been with you instead of Ric, I would have shoved the cure down your throat."
Damon raised his eyebrows, an amused expression on his face.
"I wouldn't have cared that it wasn't what you wanted, that it wasn't right," she continued, eyes cast downwards. "A lot like the time you fed me your blood even though I never wanted to be a vampire."
She looked up suddenly, her face the picture of sincerity. "I would have rather had you as a human, than not at all. So I guess I can be a little selfish too."
"Oh I always knew you were selfish, I've actually been meaning to talk to you about that, " he replied, putting on his serious face.
She rolled her eyes at his joking during a moment where she was pouring out her heart to him. "Ha ha, very funny."
"I'm a funny guy," he responded, leaning down to take her lips in a kiss.
As they pulled apart, Elena reached out a hand to caress his face. "No more of that though," she said softly. "No more near death experiences. No more misery. We're done with that okay? Were going to be happy now."
He gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face, quickly noting just how beautiful she was. "We'll I'm pretty much happier than I've ever been, so I'd say we're off to a great start."
He had arrived in front of her dorm room. If he'd had a beating heart, it would have been racing in excitement at the prospect of holding his Elena in his arms again. Damon shook his head at the thought. My God he was smitten.
He knocked on the door. No answer.
"Elena?" he called. Still nothing.
Looking both ways to make sure no one was around, Damon forced the door open.
The room was empty as he had suspected.
Where could she be? he wondered.
With a sigh he went over to her bed, grabbing her teddy bear and taking a seat. It seemed he would just have to be wait.
She didn't know how she'd gotten here. She had no conscious recollection of deciding to visit the cemetery or driving here. Yet here she was, walking towards her mother's grave.
She sank to her knees as soon as she reached the headstone, tears beginning to run down her cheek.
Her eyes were closed as she tried to quell the violent images coursing through her mind. So far she had had no luck. But she was determined to stop thinking about it.
She opened her eyes and focused on the words in front of her.
Here lies Miranda Gilbert.
"Oh mom, I miss you," she whispered.
"I wish you were here so you could tell me what to do, you always knew what to do."
She pictured her mother's smiling face, giving her advice about one thing or another. What she wouldn't do to have her back.
"Something happened tonight, something. . . horrible. And I wish I could it take back, but I can't," her voice broke with emotion. She felt like she was about to fall apart, but instead forced herself to calm down.
"So I'm going to do the next best thing. I won't tell anyone about it and I'll make myself stop thinking about it. Time will pass, and eventually I'll forget. And one day it'll be like it never happened at all." She nodded her head in resolve, yes this was what she would have to do.
Slowly she got up and began to walk back to her car. On the way she passed another grave she recognized, Bonnie's. They had gotten it mere weeks ago when Jeremy had admitted that in bringing him back to life, Bonnie herself had passed.
Elena felt a sharp pang in her already broken heart. It occurred to her just how much she missed her best friend, especially now.
She swept her hand over the cool marble of the head stone. With one last look, she turned and left.