Thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter!!! Hope you enjoy chapter 7.

Chapter 7 – Waiting

The next morning I was woken up suddenly by someone knocking on my door.

"Elena! Stefan is downstairs." Jeremy said through my door.

"Uh I will be down in a minute." I said in an aggravating tone. I opened my eyes and the space next to me was empty. Damon was gone. I quickly sat up and looked all around my room but it was empty. His jacket was still on the back of my chair though. I grabbed my cell phone and opened up a new text. 'where are you????!!!???!!!' I hit send and then dragged myself out of bed. I took off my shorts and threw on some yoga pants and then put a hoodie over my tank top. I slowly walked down the stairs and into the living room. Stefan was sitting on the couch. I walked around the couch and sat down on the opposite end that Stefan was at.

"What do you want Stefan?" I said looking straight forward. "You couldn't have called? You woke me up."

"I am sorry for waking you up."

"Yea, well there are a lot of things you should be sorry for but I am guessing that is not the reason you are here."

"I am looking for Damon."

"I haven't seen him since last night." I said. Which wasn't a lie, he was gone when I woke up this morning. "Why do you even care where he is? Do you need to yell at him some more and make him feel worse then he already does? Look Stefan I am tired and I want to go back to bed." I got off the couch and walked over to the front door Stefan followed me. "If you see Damon, try not to be such an ass, he is hurting a lot." Stefan said nothing and walked out the front door. I closed the door and ran back up stairs to my bedroom. I picked up my phone to check if Damon had responded but I had no texts. I got back into bed under the blankets and placed my phone next to me. I drifted back to sleep and had a dreamless sleep. I woke up an hour and a half later, as soon as my eyes opened I grabbed my phone to check for messages, still nothing. I went through my contacts and when I came to Damon's name I hit the call button. It rang about 6 times before his voicemail picked up. I decided to leave him a message.

"Hi Damon, it's Elena. Please call or text me back. You left without saying goodbye and I am worried about you. Please get back to me."

I hit the end button and dragged myself out of bed and downstairs to get some breakfast.


It was almost midnight. I was pacing through my entire house. I still hadn't heard from Damon and was just a wreck all day. I finally decided to go upstairs and take a hot bath to try to relax myself.

As the tub filled up I undressed myself and poured some raspberry scented bubble bath into the running water. I stepped into the tub and slowly sat down. The hot water seemed to loosen up my muscles but I was still worried about Damon. I knew I would be a mess until I heard from him. After twenty minutes I got out of the tub and pulled the plug to let the water drain out. I threw on an oversized t-shirt and headed towards my room.

I jumped in bed and under the blankets. I grabbed my diary from the bedside table and opened it to the next blank page.

Dear Diary,

Today I have been beside myself with worry for Damon. I haven't heard from him all day, the last time I saw him was before I fell asleep last night…fell asleep in his arms. I know he is still hurting. I tried my best to be there for him but with Damon it is hard for him to let people in. I am sure it took a lot on his part to even hug me back, but he did so maybe I am helping…a little. I wish I could do more for him. I know it is impossible to take all his pain away, but I just wish I was able to do more then just hug him. If I don't hear from him by tomorrow morning I will have to deal with Stefan for a little while and go over there and talk to him about it.

I closed my diary and place it on the bedside table along with my pen. Just then my phone went off because I received a text message. 'hope I don't wake you, I am at home, went a ways out of town to eat.' I wave of relief came over me…he was OK. Then a second later I felt awful for the person that was the victim in his little trip. I hit reply and began to type 'you didn't wake me I was up, you can come over if you want.' I hit send. I shut my light off and layed myself down. About a minute later my phone went off again. 'I don't think that is such a good idea.' I frowned and hit reply. 'I can go over there.' I hit the send button. I wasn't sure if he didn't want me there because I was no help and a useless reminder of Katherine or because he didn't want to start another war with Stefan. My phone when off again. 'I don't think Stefan will like that too much.' I was getting tired of texting and having to wait for a reply so I went through my contacts and landed on Damon then hit the call button.

"Yes, Elena."

"Damon. Hi." I don't know why but it was almost like his voice caught me off guard. It wasn't his usual cocky tone. "Look, why don't you just come over, I don't really care what Stefan has to say about it. I still believe he is 100% wrong with this whole thing and I want to be your friend. That is if you want to be friends, I realize I probably don't even help much but…"

He cut me off. "Elena, you have no idea how much you helped me last night. I honestly have no idea what I would have done if it had not been for you."

"OK so what is the problem?"

"It is late Elena. You should sleep." He said before he hung up the phone.

As soon as the line went dead I felt hurt. I didn't understand why he was being so mean to me. I have done nothing but help him. I got out of bed threw on some jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed Damon's leather jacket to put on. I grabbed my keys and ran outside to my car. I wasn't even going to attempt sleeping until I talked to him.

I pulled up to the Salvatore place. I knew Damon had already heard my car and the chances were pretty good that he knew it was me. I turned my car off and sat there for a few seconds staring at their house. I took a deep breath and got out of my car. I shoved my keys into Damon's jacket pocket and made my way up the porch steps and to the front door. My heart began beating a little faster and my stomach started doing flip flops. I brought my fist up to the door and knocked loudly. No one answered. I knocked again and still nothing. I slowly reached for the door knob and gently turned it. It was unlocked of course, why would vampires need to lock their doors. I walked into the entry way and peeked into the empty living room. I decided to try Damon's bedroom. I slowly walked up the stairs trying to not make any noise, but in an old house that was next to impossible. I reached Damon's room. His door was closed and I could see light shining from underneath the door. I lightly knocked on the door and slowly opened it.

"I thought I told you to go to bed." Damon said not looking up from whatever he was writing.

I said nothing. I slowly walked over to the desk that Damon was seated behind. "I wanted to make sure you were OK. Despite what I am to you, you are my friend and that is what friends do." My voice sounded shaky like I was afraid, not of him but of what he would say.

Damon placed his pen down gently on the desk. He slowly raised his head up and looked into my eyes. I could tell instantly that he was still deeply hurt and again it broke my heart.

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