A/N: Computer is fixed and I'm ready to make up all the time you guys had to wait. Sorry, again!
Damon felt like a coward, again. He was running away from his problems, again. Driving down the boulevard of shattered hope, discouraging words floated in.
Coward. She doesn't love you anymore. Just give up, drive to Georgia. Find a new girl. His head bobbed in agreement.
"Have a few one-night stands." He firmly stated, his grip on the steering wheel increasing. The throbbing in his head had returned, more powerful and painful than it had ever been. Drinking and driving never did mix well.
Bright lights, too big of a city, and countless hookers flashed by as he continued driving down the black pavement. Tires screeching, the turns he took were like the stake that Elena Gilbert had driven into his dead heart. Pain had broken down his mask of sarcasm, shattering into millions of individual painful thoughts.
Damon had once dreamed of waiting nervously, tapping his toe as the priest smiled on at the crowd like he was a clown hired for a party. The whispers died down as the doors were thrown open, the organ beginning its cheerful tune. Blushing bride and proud brother, all in sync, stepped down the aisle. His head still hung low, too afraid to look into the eyes of the bride he was dreading. There was the spark in his mind that was telling him 'It's Elena, you fool. Look up!'
As the bride came closer, he slowly lifted his subtle chin, finally meeting the eyes of the blushing woman before him. Her cheeks were rose red, eyes brimming with unshed tears, hands trembling slightly. The only thing that struck Damon as odd was the wicked grin plastered to her angelic face.
Throughout the ceremony, he watched the smile never leave. Not once did he hold her hand, for he feared that it would somehow bring him back into the real world.
"You may kiss the bride." The foolishly wide grin of the priest caught Damon's attention.
His hands trembled as he painstakingly slowly lifted the pale white veil off the beauty's face. The mask was removed, her performance was drawing to a close. She mustered all of her speed to capture his lips for a quick kiss, keeping her forehead padded against his, "I finally have you, Damon." Her words sent shivers down his spine. She sounded nothing like his angel. "Doesn't mean I love you, though."
As soon as the words floated into his ears, he pulled back to look into her eyes. The sparkle that only his Elena could have was now dull and lifeless, "Get away from me, Katherine!" He pushed her back.
Still keeping her act up, she stumbled backwards until she hit the marble wall, "What's the matter with you, Damon?" Katherine sweetly muttered.
Jeremy jumped to his feet, rushing over to help his 'sister'. Once to her feet, Jeremy glared daggers to Damon, "What the hell, Damon!" He stomped over to the altar, where he drew his fist back. As if the ticking of the clock on the far wall had suddenly stopped, Jeremy's fist stilled as well as the rest of the guests, Katherine, and the priest.
The whir of sirens snapped him out of his deep thoughts. The rear view mirror was slanted sideways pointing to Damon (so he could see himself everyday). Quickly, he adjusted it so it was in its proper position.
Just as he suspected, a police officer was on his tail, shouting 'Pull over' into the loud speaker.
"Not a chance." Damon murmured, a smile plastered to his face, the speed now well over 90.
The hospital...
Her hand was rested firmly against her stomach, eyes glued to the small dome under her gown.
"Ms. Gilbert, I just signed your discharge papers, so you can leave whenever you would like to." The doctor smiled warmly before exiting.
Elena, on the other hand, was feeling awful. Physically, mentally, emotionally-awful. The words that had slipped out in her rage-fueled argument with Damon was now taking its toll on her.
Truth was, she wanted Damon in the baby's life. In her life- she still wasn't too sure. It was a constant seesaw with Damon. One moment he's the softhearted man she had grown to love, and the next, he was the bad boy stud that she grown to dislike. Elena had no clue what to make of all of this. Worrying wouldn't help anything, but being joyful would just bring back the fact that she had driven away her baby's father.
Nice job, Elena.
Suddenly, the door to her room was flung open.
"Elena, I got here as fast as I could." The dark-haired teen bellowed. The nurse setting up a gurney just outside the room coldly shushed her. Bonnie snickered as she closed the door and sat down on Elena's hospital bed.
Her head slanted in confusion, "Why are you in such a hurry to see me?"
Bonnie hung her head low, "I headed home after I left you and Damon to talk. When I was driving back, I saw Damon speeding out of town and I just knew-" She let it hang in the air, too afraid that she would do any more damage to her beloved friend.
Elena nodded in understanding, "I said some things to him that I should've never said." Bonnie only sat there, fidgeting with the fabric of the bed sheets. The words were itching to pour out, but she tried her best to restrain them.
Seeing the inner war taking place, she placed her hands on her shoulders, "Bonnie, you can tell me anything." Bonnie glanced up to see if she was sure.
Once satisfied, she began, "Elena, do you really want him to be a part of this baby's life?" She paused to look down to her own hands, which were now gripping the sheets, "Caroline and I have agreed that we would help you raise him or her if you choose so." She bit her lip.
Elena gripped her shoulders tighter, drawing Bonnie into a tight hug, "You guys are pretty much all I have left now. If Damon comes back, then him and I will work out the details. Otherwise, we're going baby shopping." She smiled warmly, feeling the small tears of Bonnie stain her gown.
Once they parted, Bonnie left the room to sign her discharge papers.
"May I please sign Elena Gilbert's discharge papers?" She asked the nurse who had just hung up angrily.
The nurse took a deep breath, "I'll need to see some identification and then you can sign the papers."
Bonnie nodded, reaching into her purse and grabbing her wallet.
"Okay, here's my identification." Bonnie said as she handed her ID to the nurse, who forcefully tore it away from her hands.
Bonnie actually felt sorry for the keys on the computer as the nurse jabbed each key slowly. Once she had entered all the information needed, the nurse dug through the paperwork on her desk. She gripped a form and threw it towards Bonnie, "There, just leave the paperwork on the desk. I need to go ice my fingers now." She huffed towards the lounge, leaving Bonnie to fill out the forms. It was two pages thick, making her feel like it was a test.
Focus.
There was a light vibration in her pocket, drawing her out of her thoughts. She dug into her pocket until she gripped her phone.
Her eyes squinted as she looked at the caller ID, which read 'unknown'. Shrugging her shoulders, she pressed the green button, "Hello?"
There was a slight pause, "Bonnnnieeeee."
Bonnie's Point Of View
Oh, hell no. Not now. I sighed as I shifted my weight from one foot to the other.
"What the hell do you want?" I was beyond irritated by him at this point in time.
"H-how is her?" He didn't even make any sense. Drunk, I assumed.
"My god, Damon. You're drunk, aren't you?" I felt my blood begin to boil.
"Ye- nooooo." He slurred, sarcasm dripping from each word he spoke.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Can't even keep sober for more than an hour?" I practically yelled into the phone. The nurse who had gone to ice her fingers had made her way back to the desk, now smiling, amused by the small phone argument taking place in front of her desk.
"Boy troubles?" The nurse asked, even more amused than before.
My eyes shot over to the nurse, "Yeah, something of that nature." The nurse's eyes sparked with anger.
"Hand me the phone." She demanded. Immediately, I handed over the phone, standing back to watch her.
"Listen, punk ass. Men like you deserve to rot in hell. Why don't you just go and play around with some blonde." And just like that, she angrily hung up, and slammed the phone back onto the counter.
I stuck my hand out. She looked up in surprise, but took it anyway, "The name's Bonnie Bennett. It is a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for that."
The nurse chuckled, "Just a few minutes ago I had to deal with some jack a-" She stopped herself from cursing, "jerk who had cheated on me. And you're welcome." She began to walk down the hall, her dark, black hair layering down her back, clipboard in hand. I stood there, arms crossed in amusement, then continued on with the paperwork.
Damon's Point of View
"Why don't you just go and play around with some blonde." The words rung in my head. I looked over my shoulder to the half-naked blonde on the bed of the exquisite hotel room.
"Don't mind if I do." I mockingly stated as I prowled over to the bed, my eyes locked on the blonde's green pair. She licked her lips before I towered over her head, my lips placing light butterfly kisses up and down her neck.
"The name's," Kiss. "Damon," Kiss. "Salvatore." The blonde screeched as I made my way to her lips.
"My name's," Sloppy kiss. "Lilly," Sloppy kiss. "Brouter." I shuttered at the name, it was ugly. Anyone who names their kids after flowers have no brain.
Obviously, I had given up. Given up on Elena and my new-found life back in Mystic Falls.
But now, here I was, playing around with a blonde whom I probably will kill later on.
Clearly, I had gone back to my old philosophy: "Play" and kill.
"Yummy." I smirked as I licked my lips seductively. She smirked back and began to remove her bra.
Gilbert Residence
There was this sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, telling her that something was wrong. Elena couldn't exactly place her finger on it yet, but it was most definitely bothering her.
Sprawled out across her bed, she placed the pen and diary on her sheets. Ever since she came home from the hospital, her mind fell blank whenever she opened the crisp, new pages of her diary.
Her hand rested upon her stomach.
"I love you." She whispered as if telling a secret too valuable to say aloud.
There was a loud rumble from her stomach announcing to the world that she hadn't eaten since the morning. Sighing, she stumbled out of bed and made her way downstairs.
Peeking around the corner, she saw Jeremy pouring milk into a bowl. She was about to head back upstairs when her foot landed on a creaky floorboard.
"Hey." She almost jumped out of her skin. Turning around, she was met with Jeremy, who had an amused smirk on his face, eating a bowl of cereal. She glanced over at the clock in the kitchen.
Arching an eyebrow, she stated, "You do realize that it's 4." She crossed her arms.
Jeremy shrugged his shoulders, placing another spoonful of cereal into his mouth, "It's breakfast time somewhere in the world." He smiled, "Hey, I got the pickles you asked for." Jeremy motioned towards the refrigerator.
At the announcement of pickles, her ears perked up, "Pickles." She breathed out. Rushing into the kitchen, she whipped open the refrigerator door. Her eyes searched the shelves until they landed on the jar of pickles. She quickly grabbed the jar and popped the lid off, "Pickles." Her eyes grew wide as she began to eat them one by one.
Jeremy laughed, sending bits of milk and cereal onto the floor, "Slow down, you're gonna choke."
She glanced up, "Ditto for you, Jer. Seriously, you're obsessed with inhaling your food."
He waddled over to her and lightly bumped her with his hip, "I do not." They both chuckled, until she realized that she had left the refrigerator door wide open.
Using her foot, she kicked it closed. A sudden chill ran up her spine remembering that Damon used to do the same at the boarding house. As soon as the memory came, it left the room.
"Do you want a pickle?" She raised up the jar before biting into the one in her hand.
He snickered, a look of disgust on his face, "Ew, no." She had to bite back a laugh of disbelief before realizing that she too had once hated pickles.
"You don't like pickles? What's the matter with you?"
This time, both Jeremy and Elena had chills run up their spines remembering the same words pour from Damon's lips. He cleared his throat, trying to break the awkward silence in the room.
"Ugh, well, I'm gonna head over to Tyler's, he invited me over to play the new game he got." He lightly kissed his sister's forehead before briskly leaving out the front door, leaving Elena standing in the kitchen with her jar of pickles.
The light crunching noises were the only sounds that filled the seemingly dead house.
She shrugged her shoulders as she made her way to the stairs. But before she got there, there was a light knock on the door. Elena sighed before walking over and whipping it open.
"Caroline? What's the matter?" She placed the jar of pickles on the coffee table before returning to her distraught friend.
"I-I...Elena." She stuttered between sobs. Elena pulled in close before grabbing her jar of pickles and walking upstairs. The two plopped down on her bed, Caroline continuing to sob and Elena continuing her session of pickle-eating. She kept eying the jar, wishing that it was filled to the brim.
Caroline snapped her head up, "Elena, I have to tell you this now or it'll kill me." Elena nodded.
"When Damon left, I followed him, which is why I never came to see you in the hospital room." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, "He drove all the way to an airport and boarded a plane for Las Vegas. Being me," She lightly smiled before frowning, "I boarded the same plane. Luckily, he didn't see me." Elena's eyes were slightly wide from hearing that Caroline was playing the role of 'stalker'.
Caroline continued, "Once in Vegas, he went to all of these casinos a-a-and-" She stopped before looking to the ground, "He picked up a few girls in the casinos and took them back to his r-room. That's where I stopped, I couldn't handle seeing it anymore. I f-flew back home."
Soon, both girls were sobbing endlessly, wrapping their arms around each other for comfort.
"I t-thought he would change, b-but he just went back to his old w-ways." Elena sobbed.
Caroline nodded in agreement, "He deserves to rot in the deepest pits of hell."
All through this, Elena couldn't help but wonder if Damon was in the right mind. What the hell was wrong with Damon Salvatore?
Las Vegas
Damon sat on the bed, staring down at the floor. The lifeless body of the blonde lay behind him, stark naked. He felt awful deep down, but the feeling of 'being back on top' kept coating that guilt.
See, you're Damon again.
He nodded in agreement.
She was trying to make you into Stefan.
Damon hesitated before nodding.
She doesn't love you anymore.
He painfully nodded, knowing that it was the truth.
A/N: It's a lot to comprehend, I'm sorry. I threw a lot of twists in there. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Next chapter: Damon returns? If he does, does he beg for her forgiveness? Will she forgive him? And how do Jeremy, Bonnie, Caroline, and Tyler tie into all of this? Hmmm.
Remember to review; Hints: Katherine, wedding(?), baby.
Any suggestions for this story are gladly accepted!