Chapter 8 - The Dilemma
Elena's scream was ear splitting. Caroline, Damon and Stefan's ears were still ringing with the echoes of it minutes later. Elena's hands clutched desperately at her nose, hoping to undo the damage. Damon winced slightly as guilt bit sharply into him. He hadn't meant to hit her THAT hard.
"Damon. That was... cruel." Stefan said, struggling to express what he was feeling.
"I know." whispered Damon, slightly overwhelmed by the remorse combined with the effort it took to restrain himself from making excuses.
Elena was crying.
"Elena? I'm- I'm sorry." Damon said, taking a step towards her in order to comfort her. Elena flinched and shrunk back from his outstretched hands like a scared animal. Her eyes were filled with pain and fear. "I'll take you to the hospital. They'll fix your nose. It'll look as good as new, I promise." Damon spoke softly.
Elena's eyes widened and she looked to Stefan for help.
"I'll take her." Stefan said, picking up the car keys and gesturing for Elena to follow him.
The front door shut.
Damon stared at it. What had he done? In one moment he had jeopardised both his future with Stefan and their unborn child.
He jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Damon... That was unnecessary. But I know you didn't mean to break her nose. So don't be so hard on yourself. And don't worry about Stefan. A little time apart and he'll have forgiven you." Caroline consoled him.
"A little bit of time apart?!" exclaimed Damon worriedly.
"Just as long as it takes for Elena to get her nose looked at and for them to get back. Calm down, Damon, honestly."
Damon took a deep calming breath. Everything would be fine. His love for Stefan was strong enough to get them through this.
Of course, he would have to apologise to Elena. He decided to send her a bunch of flowers. Girls liked flowers.
Stefan massaged the bridge of his nose and sighed. To block out Elena's moaning he switched on the radio. He hadn't really minded that Damon had broken Elena's nose. It was just his whole attitude recently... It was just so hard to understand him! It was frustrating and confusing and Stefan was fed up. The nearest A&E... He steered his mind towards the matter at hand.
They pulled up at the building twenty minutes later, and Elena sighed.
"Finally..." she muttered.
Irritated, Stefan slammed the car door shut with his foot, causing it to shake slightly as he led Elena into the A&E department. Still feeling angry, he growled at the woman behind the desk who shakily pointed them to the waiting area.
They sat down in the uncomfortable plastic chairs and silently watched the muted TV that was playing the news.
Stefan took out his phone, unsure of what he was doing until he had already done it.
He had composed a text to Damon.
'Damon, I love you. I forgive you for breaking Elena's nose.'
But he couldn't send it. He deleted it. He just couldn't send it.
Maybe it was the wording. He tried again.
'I forgive you. I love you.'
Nope. Still couldn't do it.
He sighed, frustrated by his cowardice.
Although, actually, telling his brother he loved him by text probably wasn't the best, and definitely wasn't the most romantic, way to break the news. He was pretty sure Damon knew how he felt, but still, he wanted to say the actual words.
He had to satisfy himself with a simple:
'Be back soon.'
