Chapter 7

November 15th

Stefan and Alaric left for a hotel around midnight. Damon asked them to stay at the boarding house, but they refused. They wanted to get up early the next morning and travel around New York.

Elena and Damon went to bed shortly after that. Something about Damon's body language told her he was trying to avoid talking about the obvious tension she had witnessed between him and Stefan earlier.

Getting into bed, Elena watched Damon take off his sweater. She couldn't help but realize she was very attracted to him. She had denied it at first, but he was an incredibly beautiful man. Very hard to resist. His upper body was perfection, his hair short and perfect, and a face like a Greek God. As he was taking off his shirt, she looked below to his belly, which stretched as he pulled the construing garment off. She looked from his belly button down the trail of fine dark hair to his…

"Staring is impolite, Elena." Startled, she looked up at Damon's face to find an amused expression on it.

"Sorry, I was just staring into space," she blushed.

"Uh huh, sure," was his only response as he smirked at her. He climbed into bed beside her without putting another shirt on.

"So…what was that with your brother earlier?" He knew she was going to question him about that later.

"Nothing much, just some family drama," was his only response.

"That's not an answer."

"Well, if you must know, my father and I differed on our opinions so much that it drove me to leave. I haven't looked back since then."

"Well, at least you have a family."

Damon looked at her in shock before responding.

"Well, I don't talk to mine. Stefan is the only one I talk to on a regular basis," was his only response.

"Let's get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow." She knew he was referring to her revealing her biggest, darkest secret. She couldn't say she was looking forward to it, but it was necessary.

"What?" he asked as she eyed him carefully.

"Why didn't you put anything else on?" she asked.

"I'm too hot. Are you nervous around me when I don't have a shirt on?" he asked, smiling slightly.

"No, of course not." she responded a little too quickly.

Laying on his back, he pulled her closer to him and laid her on his chest. She was surprised at this new form of intimacy he displayed but didn't question it. Truth was she felt so safe and warm in his arms that she forgot about the rest of the world and its cruelties. Cruelties that she would have to tell him about tomorrow….

Next Day

Damon had fixed Elena a hearty breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs, whatever she wanted. She could tell he was trying to comfort her before she even began to tell him the horrors of her past.

When he led her to the comfortable living room, he sat down next to her. He was looking at her with big, blue eyes-a look she had never seen before.

"I want you to know that no matter what you tell me here today, it will remain between just you and me."

"Spoken like a true psychologist," was Elena's sarcastic reply.

"But I'm not. Big difference. So how about I ask you simple questions to start out with? What was your boyfriend's name at the time of your parent's deaths?"

"His name was Tyler."

"What was he like, personality-wise?"

"He was kind of stand-offish, a dick in today's terms. But he was charming, funny, I fell for him."

"Ok, tell me, what made the two of you break up?"

Elena was silent for two full minutes. She seemed to be staring off into space and her eyes were void of emotion. She seemed to try to be emotionless in order to get through the talking.

"It's ok, Elena. Take your time." Damon spoke softly.

"Tyler took me out on a date. We were having fun. Then he took me out to his car where he starting kissing me on the neck, shoulders. I told him to stop, but he wouldn't. I didn't even notice the other three guys who came out. They were friends of his I suppose. They joined around him…..and they…." Elena couldn't speak after that, her tears started running like faucets down her cheeks. Damon didn't need her to explain what had happened afterwards.

Scooting closer to her, he took her in his arms and hugged her tightly. His own heart broke at the trauma she had in her past.

"Shhh, it's ok. I've got you. I'm so sorry…I didn't realize what I was asking of you. Please forgive me." He cried right along with her.

After she had calmed down somewhat, she was able to continue.

"Someone found me naked in an alleyway afterwards. I don't remember much after that. They committed me to a psych ward because I had no one else. There they injected me with all sorts of drugs to keep me sane. When I was well enough, I got out."

Damon remembered she couldn't answer his question to the Girl, Interrupted movie thing he asked her a week ago.

"What happened to you afterwards?" he asked gently.

"I went to live with my aunt Jenna. No one told her what happened to me and I didn't tell her at all until it got out. Everywhere I went, people gave me pity looks and such. Some even glared at me, as if to say it was all my fault I was raped. I finished high school and got out of that town as fast as I could. I haven't looked back since."

"And Tyler? What happened to him and his gang of basterd ruffians?" Damon asked with barely contained rage in his voice.

"Tyler was acquitted, but the rest of them I don't know. I doubt they will come after me now after so many years." was Elena's response.

"Thank you for telling me, Elena. I know it must have been difficult for you," Damon said while rubbing her back gently. Kissing her forehead, he continued:

"I think we're done for the day. I think it's safe to say I know why you've avoided relationships since then."

"Well now you know," Elena responded.

"Yes I do. I can help you now. Look, Elena, I can't even begin to imagine what you've been through but you have to know—none of it was your fault. It happened many years ago, but there has to be a way to move on from it." Damon had Elena's face in his hands and was making her look right into his eyes.

"Alright Damon. I've come a long way since then but…I'm still afraid. Even the possibility of me having a physical and emotional relationship with a man scares me intently."

"I know, but you're making process," Damon said with a smile on his face.

"Just a few more weeks with me and you'll be a free woman. Hell, I might even set you up with somebody," he joked, then stopped. After what she had been through, he felt like a total jerk for even mentioning it now.

"It's ok, Damon. But don't ever do that!" she screeched at him while holding back laughter.

"Ok, I promise," he laughed right along with her.

The once serious air between them quickly changed back into light-hearted friendliness again.

Later

Damon and Elena were walking in the park; he thought it would be a good idea for them to get some fresh air. However, it was very cold now in the middle of November.

Elena shivered in the cold and Damon put his arm around her, rubbing her shoulders through her jacket.

"You ok? Do you want to head back?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine." She responded, reassuring him.

"I'll fix us up some nice, hot cocoa when we get back," he smiled.

"That sounds wonderful, Damon. Thank you."

The two of them stood facing each other for what seemed like an eternity. She couldn't look away from those enchanting blue eyes and he couldn't look away from her beautiful face. He leaned in as if he was about to kiss her when the girl from a couple walking a few feet from them let out a loud laugh when her husband told her something funny. This caused Damon to stop leaning forward and suddenly pull back.

"Hmm," he said while clearing his throat. "Well, perhaps we should be heading back. It will be dark soon and I don't want you catching a cold," he smiled before brushing his finger over her now red nose.

"Ok," was Elena's only response before they started walking again. Damon didn't mention what almost happened and neither did she. Neither wanted to question the issue. She was still shocked; there was a spark between the two of them. She tried to shake the feeling from her, but couldn't. It wasn't conductive to a doctor-patient relationship so to speak. She didn't want to even go there…or did she?