This Elena quote from S4's 'Into the Blue' fits THIS Damon to a tee: "So things aren't easy and you're just gonna push me away, now? That's what you do, Damon. You think that you don't.. you don't deserve something... so you ruin it."
Feeling the warmth of the sun beating down on his face, Damon slowly opens his eyes. He's facing the window, not wanting to think about last night. Although he's not naïve enough to believe that he can postpone it for long, at least he can hang onto the illusion for a little while yet. Lifting up on his elbow, he reaches for the clock, sighing when he sees that it's only a little after seven. Sitting up, he rubs the kinks out of his lower back. When he hears a sigh, he watches the red head for a few minutes before reluctantly dragging himself to his feet. Deciding to forego a shower, he quickly puts his jeans and a tee shirt while trying to figure out how to wake her up. Hearing a groan, he turns around to see her stretching her arms above her head while giving him a lazy smile.
"Morning, sleepy head, " Damon smirks, adding, "You should get ready and come downstairs. I need to get started in the kitchen."
She smiles and nods and starts to sit up, first one leg and then the other. Not wanting to dwell on it, he quickly slips through the door, leaving her alone to get ready. As soon as Damon walks into the main area of the bar, he takes a quick look at the number of people already here. As he skirts past Ric, he hears him mutter something under his breath. Shrugging his shoulders, he goes into the kitchen to start getting things ready for the day.
Maybe fifteen minutes later, Ruby trots down the stairs and takes a seat at the bar, her eyes drifting around no doubt looking for Damon.
"Good morning, Ric," she says, when he steps in front of her. He pours her a cup of coffee, thinking to himself that she's in a fine mood considering the amount of alcohol she drank last night. When Damon steps out, she lights up, a dreamy look on her face.
After winking at her, he looks at Ric. Noticing the frosty look on his friend's face, he asks Ruby to come and have breakfast with him. Looking over his shoulder as he leads her away, he swallows thickly as Ric's face darkens even more.
"I can't put this Genie back into the bottle," Damon thinks to himself, smirking as he disappears into the kitchen.
Waking up, Enzo rolls over to an empty bed. He did get home awfully late last night and maybe a little bit tipsy but he doesn't remember getting into a tussle with his wife either. Thinking she is probably letting him sleep in a little while since it's Saturday, he closes his eyes again, drifting off for another hour. When he wakes up the second time, it's because Noelle is bouncing up and down on his midsection. "Oomph," he groans, laughing at her.
"Daddy," she squeals.
He quickly turns the tables, rolling her onto her back and tickling her till she's red in the face. Hearing her screams, Bonnie comes in, laughing herself when she sees her husband and daughter. After telling Noelle to go into the kitchen, Bonnie sits down on the edge of the bed. She gives her husband a kiss and then tells him to come to join them for breakfast.
As soon as she walks out, the memory of last night hits him square in the chest. Mentally panicking about his idiotic brother in law and wondering what in the hell Damon was thinking, he throws his legs over the side of the bed. Hoping that for once he can keep this to himself, he lazily ambles into the bathroom to do his business and get dressed.
Joining his girls in the kitchen, he gives his wife a kiss on the temple and Noelle one on the top of her head. Although wary of how Bonnie will react when she inevitably picks up on the fact that something is bothering him, he still loves being able to spend his free time with his girls.
To be able to kiss them whenever he wants, make love to Bonnie whenever he wants to and to cherish them is what Enzo lives for. Taking a seat beside Noelle, he looks up to see that his wife is giving him a searching look but she says nothing, turning away to reach into the cupboard for a coffee cup.
When she hands it to him, he latches on to hers before she steps away. "I'm sorry for being so late last night and for drinking a little too much."
"It's fine, Enzo. You deserve to have some fun once in awhile. And besides, you're doing it for me and my brother so how could I complain?" she mentions, smiling when he touches her fingertips with his lips. Sitting down, she picks up her mug, taking a sip of tea. Setting it down, she lifts her fork and starts to cut her pancake, smiling at Noelle as she shoves a piece into her mouth.
"Oh I should mention Elena is coming over in a little while. I'm so glad that my morning sickness is better so I can spend a few hours with her without having to run into the bathroom to spill my guts. Plus I think she could use some girl time too."
"Elena is coming here?" Enzo asks, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat.
"What's going on, Enzo?" she asks, tenting her fingers as she stares unblinkingly into her husband's eyes.
Knowing that she may likely raise her voice, Bonnie decides that they should finish breakfast. While Enzo cleans off the kitchen table and washes up the dishes, she takes Noelle to her room and puts a cartoon movie on the DVD player for her. Once she hands her daughter her favorite dolly, she smiles and walks out of her room, pulling the door closed. Joining her husband in the kitchen, she leans back against the counter. Crossing her arms over her chest, she tells him to spill.
When Enzo goes into all the rather scandalous details, a horrified look washes over her face. "What do you mean he was with someone?" she asks incredulously, wringing her hands together. "I mean, why would he...?"
"Sweetheart, please calm down, you don't need the stress. If I knew why Damon was acting the way he's acting, don't you think I'd try to do something about it?"
"Has he gone completely mad? Since when does needing space mean that he starts writing off the people that have been there for him the whole time? How could he?" she snaps, anger at him burning hot inside of her. Standing up, she reaches into the refrigerator for a bottle of water. Shaking her head, she takes a swallow, wanting nothing more than to wring Damon's neck right now.
Surprisingly, Elena is a in a good mood this morning. Janie's visit cheered her up so much and then Bonnie's call was the icing on the cake. She is looking forward to spending the day with her and Noelle shopping. There's a play area made of giant breakfast food items like a bacon slice slide and a waffle and giants pancakes and the like. She knows that Noelle is going to have so much fun.
Although it seems like a pipedream right now, she hasn't entirely given up hope of having a child of their own. Even the thought of her belly bulging with Damon's child puts a smile on her face and makes her insides burn with the best kind of warmth. When she arrives at Bonnie and Enzo's home, she pulls up alongside the curb and stops the car. Getting out, she reaches into the backseat for the box of cupcakes she made. She sent a half a dozen of them home with Janie and brought the rest over here for Noelle.
Since it's early yet, she doesn't want to wake everyone so she walks around the house catching Enzo's form just as he steps back into the house. Hurrying behind him, she stops in the door when she sees how distraught Bonnie looks.
"What are we going to tell Elena?' she asks. As if feeling her presence, she looks over her shoulder, her mouth parting when she sees Elena standing in the doorway.
"Going to tell Elena what exactly?"
Suddenly feeling the ground is shifting, Elena nearly drops the cupcakes. Quickly Enzo reaches for them and after setting them down on the counter, he tells her to sit down. Knowing that something is very wrong, she considers the expression on their faces. Nodding at Enzo, she pulls out a chair and sits down, thanking him when he hands her a cup of coffee. Suddenly her stomach is roiling like a typhoon and her heart is slamming inside of her throat, making it difficult for her to swallow. Steeling her spine, she braces herself for yet another body blow.
Bonnie and Enzo share a look so she knows it's bad. Bonnie takes her hand, squeezing it comfortingly when Enzo goes onto reveal what he witnessed the night before. Too stunned to speak, her pain too visceral and her insides raw, Elena doesn't know what to say. Although she'd like to be able to call him a liar, she knows that he would never fabricate something like that. Standing up, her eyes hollow, she starts to leave. She expected it to be bad but she wasn't prepared for this revelation, not even close.
Her belly is spinning so hard, she can taste the bile burn at the back of her throat. Holding onto the arm rest tightly, her fingernails are gripping it so hard that they're putting marks in the leather. Her nailbeds are white, her heart is thundering painfully against her chest wall. It dawns on her that this is the third time that she's coming here to confront her husband.
Today however, it feels different somehow. Looking over at Enzo, she feels a little more anger creeping in. Bonnie insisted that he drive her, saying that she was in no condition to do so. Nonsense, Elena thinks to herself, she was fine, maybe even too fine considering what dropped on her lap today. She overhears Bonnie telling Enzo that she was in shock and that they didn't want her to be alone when it wears off. No, it can't be true, this is just a nightmare, an awful, horrible nightmare. But when she feels the car stop, she snaps out of her stupor. Although Bonnie wanted to be with her too, Elena told her that a bar is no place for Noelle.
She's already out of the car before Enzo can help her. Knowing the finality of all of it, she's in no hurry so she waits for him to lock up the car and step in beside her. She tries to steel her resolve, she doesn't want to give Damon the satisfaction of seeing her break so she fists her hands so tightly that her fingernails pierce the soft skin of her palms.
It's nearly eleven in the morning. Enzo pulls the door open and she steps inside, letting her eyes adjust to the subdued lighting. Planting her feet, she looks around. The first person she recognizes is Ric. He's talking to that girl, the one that was here the last time. Is that her? she thinks to herself, feeling like her insides are being ripped out through her throat.
That girl is playing with an olive on a toothpick. As if she knows that Elena is watching her, Ruby turns around. Immediately recognizing her, Ruby gives her a smug look, as if to say that she won. Happening to look up, Ric sets another drink in front of Ruby then hurries over to greet her.
"Elena, are you here to see Damon?"
Elena is no fool and she can clearly see that he is uncomfortable. It's also strange that he's calling her Elena. Staring at him for what seems like an eternity, Elena doesn't say anything, she can't because she has no idea what to say. He nods at her gently then scurries away, disappearing down the hall. Enzo walks up beside her, pressing his palm against the small of her back to offer support.
When Enzo notices Ruby, she smiles sweetly and waves him over towards her. "Enzo, hi. It's nice to see you again!" Stunned, he opens and closes his mouth a couple of times, thankfully spared from having to answer her when Damon strides into the room behind Ric. The pit of Damon's stomach is burning like wildfire but he lets the cold veneer wash over him.
"Do your worst" she said and that's exactly what he intends to do.
Although he would rather be literally anywhere but here, he braces himself for the confrontation that's about to follow. When he happens to notice the smug, self satisfied expression on Ruby's face, he knows that he's going to have to plunge the dagger in no matter how viscerally it's going to hurt Elena. It has to be done, he reasons with himself. It's the only way she'll let him go.
"Did you change your mind? Are you bringing me the signed papers instead of confetti this time," he asks, his voice cold and distant.
"Is it true?" she asks, her façade cracking just slightly.
Before he can say anything, Ruby interrupts. Reaching for his hand, she smiles wickedly at Elena and then says to Damon, "Honey, I think I forgot my purse upstairs in your room. I'm just going to go pick it up while you... talk to her."
Cringing inside but rather than back off, he uses it to his advantage. Flashing a smile at her, he pulls her close. "Okay."
He waggles his brows and pats her backside as she struts away. Having watched the whole interaction, sickening her inside, Elena says nothing till the woman is out of sight. Suddenly it's like she and Damon are in this bubble as Ric and Enzo seem to blend into the background.
"I hope you enjoyed that little show because it hurts like hell..." she admits, doing everything in her power to keep her tears at bay.
"I'm not the same man, Elena. It's time you got that through that thick skull of yours," he retorts, his heart twisting painfully at what he has to do.
"You keep saying that... over and over. I guess I'm the fool here but trust me, now I get it. The Damon that I have loved from the moment I laid eyes on him would never have done this," she rages, her tone rising with each syllable that slips from her mouth.
Cringing when she uses the word loved, past tense, he nevertheless digs deeper. "I'm not talking about some random fuck..."
"I know," she screams, interrupting him before he can say anything else.
"So give me a chance to know the new you. We're supposed to be a team, we don't have to be alone in this.." She falters when images of her husband and that woman materialize right before her eyes.
"You're delusional, Elena. Do you honestly believe that I'm going to go into detail about every person that I've failed? People who are dead because of me? You don't know the half of it," he sneers. Pulling a cigarette out of his pocket, he lights it up. Taking a long puff, he pauses for a moment to get his second wind.
"You are too innocent, too good and much too naïve for the world that I belong to now."
Although she feels like breaking, she isn't ready to raise the white flag yet. "Please Damon, tell me. I can handle it. I'm not a porcelain doll that you need to keep packed inside bubble wrap." She wants to take his hand but as she moves forward ever so slightly, he jumps back.
Yelling now, he starts gesticulating wildly with his arms. "You can never understand and I don't want you to. Unless and until you spend a few years in prison, we have nothing to talk about."
Seeing that he now has her on the ropes, he goes in for the kill, "Get over it, Elena. Sign the fucking papers so I can be done with it and done with you," he spits. When he sees that she's reeling, he moves closer, ready to wield the coup de grace with precision.
When their faces are inches about, he screams in a lethal tone, "I. DON'T. WANT. YOU. ANYMORE."
Suddenly feeling the air leaving her lungs, Elena can't breathe. Her hand goes to her throat, her eyes darting wildly around the room looking for an escape. Turning, she points her finger at Enzo and yells, "Don't follow me! I don't want anyone from this family near me for the foreseeable future."
Without looking back at Damon, she runs out of the bar, slamming the door shut behind her. Despite her warning, Enzo runs after her. He looks both ways and as he starts to run one direction when he sees her darting into a taxi. Before he can reach her, the cab disappears into traffic.
"Son of a bitch," he curses knowing Bonnie is going to be apoplectic when he tells her what happened today.
Back inside the bar, Ric looks at Damon who's already helping himself to a double bourbon.
"You just screwed up, big time," he says then walks away, wanting nothing to do with his friend for the time being.
When the taxi reaches her house, she tries to pull some money out of her wallet but her hands are trembling. The man can see that she's on the verge of a breakdown. She steps out of the cab and takes his fee before walking her to the door. She's still breathing like a locomotive, her nostrils are flaring and her chest hurts. Whether it's from shock or anger, she really doesn't know or care. Once she's inside, she drops her purse to the floor. She wants to do something, needs to do something to make it stop hurting so much.
When she reaches the kitchen, she starts rifling through the drawers, throwing things over her shoulders, not caring what breaks or where it lands. She feels nothing when shards of glass pierce her lower legs when the mug shatters. Her mind is in a maelstrom, all she can hear are his words, "I don't want you anymore" pounding at her temples, imprinting the letters there with a searing lance of white hot pain. Her head is throbbing but she doesn't care. She has to stop the hurt in her heart somehow.
A sense of euphoria washes over her when she finally finds what she was looking for. When she picks up the cold steel, she feels almost orgasmic, knowing that her pain is going to end as soon as she pulls the trigger. With the gun in her hand, she goes back to the foyer. Her eyes are darting around and she thinks she shouldn't do it here, not here.
Picking up her purse, she stuffs it inside. When she pulls the front door open, she is pleasantly surprised to see the cab driver still parked in front of her house. Opening the car door, she slides in and tells the man where she wants to go. Her hands are sitting firmly on her purse as he pulls away from the curb to deliver her to the destination she seeks.
Raking his hand through his hair, Ric takes stock of the day. Ever since the blow out between Damon and Elena in front of the whole bar, the day has gone from bad to worse. He took it upon himself to escort Ruby out of the premises and put her in a cab telling her that if Damon wants to keep his job, he cannot be distracted by her anymore today or any day for that matter. He also reminds her that she has a job too. Knowing he has a lot of work today and that the SHIT between Damon and his wife and his mistress needs to come to a grinding halt, at least while he's on the clock.
After Elena left, Enzo went home to his pregnant wife and Damon has not ventured out of the kitchen except to use the men's room. He's no doubt wallowing with bourbon as well as cooking with it. Shaking his head, Ric pours himself a shot throwing it back before waiting on some of the customers that amble in. The TV is on a local station to watch their baseball team, The Santa Fe Fuego play. Chatting with one of the customers, they stop talking immediately when they hear a breaking news bulletin chiron flash across the screen.
"We're sorry to interrupt local programming but we have breaking news. There has been a shooting at the Santa Fe County Courthouse. We have Andie Starr on scene. What can you tell us, Andie?"
"Thank you, John. We're told a woman walked into the building, pulled out a gun and started shooting randomly. My sources tell me that no one was injured except the assailant who herself was shot by a guard when she refused to drop her weapon. I'm told that she was acting crazed and rambling incoherently."
"Have your sources told you anything about the identity of the assailant?"
"My source tells me that the woman has been identified as Elena Salvatore."
"Is she in police custody? Do you know where she is now?" John, in studio, asks.
"We're told that she's been taken to the hospital for medical care and then if she survives her injuries, she'll likely be evaluated to determine competency. This is Andie Starr signing off."
In shock and gawping like a fish, Ric finally finds his voice yelling hysterically.
"Damon! Get out here now! Elena is on the news!"
If you can make it through this chapter, they'll be another one in a day or two.
This Damon is a lot like TVD Damon. After everything that happened to him with Vaughn, the gruesome crime scenes, seeing little Faye bleed out in front of him and then a horrific stint in prison, his feelings of self worth are non existent. He hates himself as much as all of you probably hate him now too.
Chapter title: 'The Thunder Rolls' by Garth Brooks.
Thank you all so much for your kind reviews and friendship. You're all the BEST!
And Eva, there are no words to say how much you mean to me.
Be safe and have a fantastic day. There will be another chapter, likely Wednesday. Thank you again so much.