Hey guys! Thanks for reading and reviewing the last chapter. I appreciate the feedback. I'm so glad I was able to update this chapter much sooner than the last few others. Luckily I don't have too many real life distractions at the moment, so it's great to be able to focus on updating this story.
Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter. Thanks for reading
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Elena looked up at the clock worriedly, for the third time in what felt like hours, but in reality had only been about four minutes. It had been over an hour since Damon left for Katherine's, and she hadn't heard from him since. Picking up her phone, she dialed his number for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes; still her call went straight to his voice mail.
You've reached Damon. You know what to do.
She let herself fall back against the plush sofa with an exasperated sigh. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her mind from thinking of the worst case scenarios. She half convinced herself that Damon was tied up, and lying unconscious in Katherine's closet.
"I'm sure he's fine, Elena." She heard Jeremy whisper, as he dropped himself beside her on the couch.
"You don't know her," her soft voice was barely audible as she tapped her foot nervously against the laminate floors.
"I just think Damon looks like he can handle himself," her brother offered. He gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze, before reaching down grab her hand. "Besides, stressing out isn't good for you." His face scrunched up in worry, feeling the slight trembling of her hand in his. "Elena seriously, you need to calm down."
She nodded in agreement; bring her free hand to rub her temples, wishing it as easy as it sounded. Her brother was right, she needed to calm down, the last time she was that stressed out, she woke up in an ice box of a room, bright lights shining in her eyes, and two strangers standing over her. The last thing she wanted was another trip to the emergency room. Inhaling deeply, she brought her hand down to rest gently against her stomach. I'm sorry sweetie, but daddy's being an impulsive ass, she thought annoyingly as she rubbed soothing strokes against her stomach.
"How about I make you something to drink?" Jeremy was on his feet instantly, a reassuring smile on his face. "Tea or hot chocolate?"
"I'll have some tea, it's in the cabinet above the sink" Even the smallest amount of caffeine would only exacerbate her stress level. Yes, tea would be great, it would calm her down, help her clear her head, eliminating all these ludicrous thoughts from her mind. Who was she kidding? Not even all the tea in the world would ease her restless mind; nothing would, except the sight of Damon walking through the front door in one piece. God, Damon where are you? She yelled internally as if he'd somehow hear her.
Her stomach did flips as she recalled her own encounter with the infamous Katherine Pierce. That night was forever engraved in her memory; she'd never felt such crippling fear in her entire existence. The wild look on the woman's face as she held her by her throat, slamming her against the hard tiled walls, haunted her subconscious, causing her to shiver in trepidation. It was a miracle she survive that confrontation without a spine injury.
Fifteen minutes later Jeremy strolled into the living room with a steaming hot mug of her favorite chamomile tea.
"Here," he said placing the hot mug in her hands. "Try to relax Lena."
She silently thanked him with a nod of her head, blowing her breath over the hot beverage before taking a tiny sip. Surprisingly she felt herself relax slightly as the warm liquid made its way down her throat. She could taste a hint of honey and lemon which made her smile up at Jeremy, pleased that despite so much time spent apart, he still remembered how she loved her tea.
"So you and Damon, I think the two of you are more serious than you've let on."
Elena was forced out of her thoughts, throwing her brother a questioning glance. "How do you mean?"
"I mean it seems like you two are pretty serious, look how afraid you are for him." Elena scoffed not knowing how to reply to her brothers inquiring observations.
"It's easy to panic for anyone when they're alone with Katherine," she said avoiding eye contact. It was true, the woman was a lunatic. She'd be frightened for anyone who had the misfortune of crossing paths with her. Of course Damon was also the father to her son, her baby would need him, and so what if she panicked a little at the thought of him being hurt, it didn't mean she was in love with him or anything did it?
"Elena…" He gave her a knowing look that said he knew better, and she'd better start coming clean.
"Jer, what do you want me to say?" She asked, eyes wide, the last person she wanted to have this conversation with was her baby brother. They weren't supposed to talk about these things, her job was to look after him, and his was to make her job impossible. They perfected those roles once upon a time, and at that precise moment she'd do anything to revert back to that, if only to avoid this conversation he seemed so intent on having with her.
"I just want you to be honest with me," he replied sincerely.
Sighing deeply, and running a hand through her messy locks, she glanced at the earnest expression on her brother's face. She placed the still piping hot mug of tea on the coffee table in front of them. "Fine, yes Jer I guess I might feel a lot more than I may be ready to admit."
A knowing smile crept on his face. "I figured as much." He laughed, obviously thoroughly amused, already having known the answer all along.
Elena rolled her eyes, and slapped him playfully on the arm. "But you just had to hear me say it!"
She looked down at her idle hands nervously. "Anyway, it doesn't matter how I feel, if he doesn't feel the same." Sure she knew Damon had feelings for her, maybe even a lot. He made that much clear by the way he cared for her, the way he stepped up and went above and beyond to accommodate her and their unborn son. But did were his feelings even as remotely intense as hers? How could she be sure? It frightened her more than anything she'd ever felt.
"I've seen the way that guy has looked at you; if that's not love I don't think I've ever known it."
"Well maybe you've never known it." She teased, "You're what? Twenty-one?"
"Twenty-two." He corrected in mock offense. "Seriously Lena, he almost lost his shit before you told him I was your brother." He laughed as he recalled Damon's face when he walked through the front door. It was almost as if someone punched him square in the face.
Elena laughed, also remembering Damon looking quite offended that she was receiving a foot rub from a man that wasn't him. God, why was everything was so backwards with them? They could kiss, and sleep together, hell even planned to raise a baby together, but talking about their feelings? For some reason, that seemed to be out of the question.
He was clearly jealous even at the idea of her with someone else, and if she was being honest part of the reason she felt uneasy about him being at Katherine's was because of their history. The rational part of her brain told her that Damon wouldn't want anything to do with that woman after the crap she's pulled, but there was still that teeny irrational part of her mind that almost had her convinced he'd come back home and tell her he and Katherine were reuniting. Don't be stupid, she chided herself. Of course he wouldn't, would he?
She reached for her mug of tea, which had cooled down considerably since her last sip, hoping that it'd help her to relax again as she found herself getting more worked up than she'd been before.
"I think you should talk to him, tell him how you feel." Jeremy urged, and she practically choked on the warm beverage, in the most dramatic fashion, coughing and wheezing, and spilling tea all over her lavender sundress. Silently she thanked god, the tea was cooler now; surely she'd have burns if this had happened a few minutes earlier. Instantly she felt her brother's hand rubbing gentle strokes against her back, whilst laughing at her overreaction.
"It was only a suggestion, sheesh." He teased, throwing his hands up in surrender. "Why are you so afraid of telling him the truth?"
"The truth will only complicate things Jer." She looked clearly agitated. "If it doesn't work out, or if he really doesn't feel the same it could be disastrous, and we have a baby to think about here."
"And what you're doing now doesn't have the potential to blow up in your faces?" He asked, "I mean look Elena, you guys are already together, just because you don't make it official, or you don't say 'I love you' doesn't make it somehow void, or less serious. Actually I think you're risking more now than you'd be if you'd just tell each other the truth. "
"Since when did you become so wise?" She looked at him both proud at how much he's matured, and even more irritated at how right he was. "Why does it matter so much to you that I tell him anyway?"
"I know you Elena," he spoke softly "and you never let yourself be happy. This is the closest I've seen you come to it in a long time, and I just really want that for you." He gave her shoulder one more affectionate squeeze, before pulling her in for a hug.
Damon pulled up to the parking lot of his old apartment. It wasn't the most upscale place, but it was in a decent part of town. When he first moved to Mystic Falls he didn't plan on staying long, just long enough to get his mother on board with moving to New York, and deal with his father's law firm, so he hadn't felt the need to get a luxurious place. The place had the most basic necessities, a bed, roof, running water, electricity and a swimming pool for those sweltering southern heat waves. He was a simple man, he didn't need anything fancy.
When Katherine informed him that she'd moved into the exact same apartment, apart from the feeling of unease that settled in his chest, there was the certainty that she wouldn't last a day there. It was nothing like what she was used to in New York. There were no fancy Jacuzzi's and expensive spas, not even a five star restaurant within a fifty mile radius. But now it had been months and somehow she had managed, he didn't know what to make of it.
He walked up to the door, both dreading and eager to get this all over it. He let his hand fall against the door, knocking three times before listening for a response. Nothing. Instead he heard blaring music coming from inside the small apartment. He brought his hand to knock again, harder this time, and the door creaked open slightly. Poking his head in slightly through the tiny opened crevice, the stench of cigarettes and alcohol almost caused his eyes to water.
"Katherine!" he yelled through the small crack of the door. Still Nothing. He widened the opening of the door and stepped inside, only for the overwhelming odor to fill his nostrils. He looked around and the place was beyond unrecognizable, but so very Katherine.
Everything was overdone, from the hot pink walls to the various animal prints that covered almost every surface in the living room. The living room, or what was left of it, he couldn't really make out anything underneath all the beer bottles, cigarette butts, and a few other things he wish he hadn't seen. Maybe she wasn't adjusting as well as he thought, with no maid service around to clean up after her, it was no wonder the place closely resembled a city dump.
"Katherine!" He yelled once more taking a step towards the hallway, the music grew louder the further he entered the apartment; some cheesy pop song that he was sure would have his ears bleeding at any moment. Katherine always had horrible taste in music, he recalled. There was another sound coming from what used to be his bedroom, and before the sick realization hit him that she obviously had company of the opposite sex, he had already knocked on the wooden door.
Almost instantly she stepped out of the bedroom not even bothering to put on a robe. The smell of sex wafted out of the room mixing with the stench of alcohol and cigarettes.
"Damon." she whispered breathlessly. "What a pleasant surprise."
Standing there frozen in place, his mind couldn't even form coherent thoughts. He should leave, come back another time, when she wasn't so obviously pre-occupied. No, no he couldn't leave, this was important, she needed to hear him out, and he needed some answers.
"Do you mind putting something on Katherine; I'd like to have a word with you." He requested, trying not to be distracted by how disproportional her body was now that she'd gone and gotten yet another boob job.
"We're a little busy in here," she breathed. Her eyes were blood shot red, speech was slurred, and everything about her was just off. "You can join us," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at him and the thought made him want to hurl. "Or you can wait out here, we shouldn't be much longer." She winked at him before slamming the door in his face.
He pulled out his phone to glance at the time. Dead. He sighed frustratingly before shoving the tiny device back into his pocket, deciding to stand against the wall instead of taking a seat among the garbage that filled the room.
What felt like hours later Katherine finally emerged from the room, her lover trailing close behind her. She kissed him sloppily on the lips sticking her tongue far down his throat before flashing him a seductive grin. Damon supposed she orchestrated the whole exchange in hopes of pissing him off or maybe making him jealous, but all he felt was disgust.
As soon as she shut the door behind him, it was time to get down to business. "I want this to be brief and to the point."
"What can I do for you, Damon?" She was standing way to close for his comfort; her hand was resting on her hip, her leg slanted in an obvious effort to give him a peak underneath her robe.
Damon examined her intently. Her entire body was flushed pink, sweat dripped from her face profusely despite the cool air in the room. He noticed her red eyes the moment she opened the door, she looked like hell. Katherine may have been a lot of things, but he never knew her to be careless about her appearance. It was possibly the only thing she ever cared about when they were together; it wasn't like her to let herself go like that.
"Are you drunk?" He inquired. There would be no point in getting into a serious conversation with her if she wasn't even sober.
"I'm fine." She stated as she struggled to stand up right. Her hair was matted to her forehead, her eyes unfocused, and she was breathing unusually heavy.
Noticing her discomfort he reached out to steady her only to have his hand harshly smacked away.
"I said I'm fine." She snapped defensively.
"Okay," he surrendered throwing his hands up. He realized how long it'd been since he last seen her, and the mysterious woman's words echoed in his head.
Katherine is ill.
She most certainly was, that much Damon could surely observe. She looked thoroughly exhausted, and he assumed it wasn't just from her tryst with the mysterious guy who walked out of her apartment just minutes ago. Damon observed her even more closely, she'd lost so much weight since the time she'd come to see him while he was recovering from his gun-shot wound. He knew he shouldn't care what was going on with her, but something was definitely wrong, and as much as he wanted nothing to do with the woman in front of him, some small pathetic part of him maybe still wanted to help her.
"You had something to tell me?" she breathed, fingering the tie around his neck seductively. "I have to say, I didn't expect to see you here. "
"Yeah… about that." He yanked himself away from her questing hands abruptly. "Is everything alright with you Katherine?"
Damon almost wished he could take the words back as the rage flashed in her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'M FINE." She screamed.
"Okay… Okay... I hear you." He relented.
"What are you doing here Damon?" She inquired, giving him a suspicious look. "Tired of your girlfriend already?" She taunted. "I knew you'd get over her soon enough, she's just not your type."
He gave her a look of exasperation, he just wanted some answers, and her immature remarks about Elena were only serving to piss him off, especially now that he was seeing flashbacks of him finding Elena lying unconscious and bleeding on the bathroom floor. It took major effort to swallow down the vehement rage that threatened to bubble over the surface.
"Can we please leave Elena out of this for once?" His voice was controlled, yet still not enough to hide the obvious contempt. "How could you be so blasé after everything you've done?" He asked in pure repulsion. "God Katherine you're just the lowest kind of person there is."
Katherine rolled her eyes dramatically. "Fine, believe me the last thing I want is to talk about her."
"Then don't." He snapped, and the look of amusement on her face, made him shake his head in disbelief, wanting to forget the whole thing and walk right out of her tasteless excuse for an apartment.
"Do you know a woman by the name of Isobel Pierce?" He asked instead, deciding to stick to his original plan. Answers, you need answers Damon.
"As in the woman who calls herself my mother, Isobel?" On her face was a look of completely indifference. "Why what about her?"
"I got a phone-call from a detective, who said she was missing."
"And why would they call you? What relationship do you have with my mother?" she was eyeing him fixedly, waiting for his reply.
Damon wasn't sure how to answer that without somehow tipping her off to what he knew. He was however taken aback by her lack of reaction to the news of her mother's disappearance; instead she was asking him questions that should be completely irrelevant to a distressed daughter, who'd just learned that her mother was missing. "Did you know she was missing?" he asked in an effort to turn the suspicion away from himself.
"No… No I had no clue." She stuttered. There still wasn't an ounce of worry or panic in her face. "Who's to say she's missing anyway, the woman never stays in one place."
"I'm sure whoever's close to her, must have realized something was wrong…. and you're sure you didn't know about this?" It was hard to believe that no one in her family contacted her about her mother's sudden disappearance. Something wasn't right, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.
"No, "she answered shortly turning away from him completely. Damon swore she was avoiding eye contact.
"So what are you going to do?" he asked curiously, assuming she actually cared even a little, if she wasn't somehow involved.
"Do I look like the police Damon?" She snapped.
"No I guess not." He replied in defeat, it was obvious that Katherine wasn't about to give up whatever she knew, and he had no desire to stand in her presence any longer than it was necessary. He'd just have to find another way to get the information he needed. "I'll be getting out of here." He started to walk away before he felt her grab his forearm.
"You didn't tell me why the police contacted you of all people." she eyed him skeptically.
Shit. He needed to tell her something. Anything other than your mom was afraid you'd gone off your crazy pills and called me in hopes of tracking you down. "She said she hadn't heard from you in a while, and wanted to see if I had any idea where she could reach you, I guess they found my number in her phone" he explained instead, giving her his best poker face.
"Yeah well if I wanted to get in contact with her I would've called." The brunette answered coldly. "And you're sure that's all she said?" The distrustful look on her face said she didn't completely believe him, but Damon knew she had no proof of otherwise.
"That's all." He managed to say, not giving her a chance to respond before walking away.
At the sound of his car pulling up in the driveway, Elena finally allowed herself to exhale. After the initial feeling of relief settled, she felt the anger starting to slowly seep in. God, he could be such an inconsiderate asshole, she thought as she scrubbed the pan harder and harder until she was almost sure her hands would start bleeding. She must have called him twenty times, frantic and worried that maniacal ex-girlfriend of his had buried him alive. Yet he was perfectly fine, probably not a scratch on his body and he couldn't even bother to answer his phone.
Once the front door swung open she could hear him calling out her name. "Elena!" She decided she'd give him a taste of his own medicine, not even bothering to answer him.
He got to the kitchen where she stood loading the dishwasher, and she decided to continue ignoring him, even as she felt the heat radiating from his body just centimeters behind her.
"Is there a reason why I'm getting the silent treatment, or this just another Tuesday night?" He joked as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, feeling her tense up and her sharp intake of breath.
"I'm glad you find this so hilarious, Damon." Elena was already finding hard to hold onto her anger, especially having him so close. God, her body was such a traitor, and she had a sneaking suspicion that Damon was aware of it.
"What's the matter?" He whispered, his lips were so close to her ear, she felt a herself shiver just a little. Soon those lips were trailing kisses down the nape of her neck, and she felt a chill run through her. Pulling herself away rapidly, she turned to face him. She wasn't about to let him get off that easy. Damon was used to using his charm to distract women, and she wasn't about to fall victim to it. At least not tonight.
"I called you like fifty times today Damon, I was worried sick." She finally said in agitation. "I thought something happened to you." Her eyes softened at the last part and he could see the panic in her face.
Damon felt like a complete idiot. Of course she would have been worried, he felt like a tool for not even considering it, not to mention guilty for being the source of her stress, once again.
"I'm sorry Elena, my phone died, and I guess I just didn't think." He pulled out his phone to show her, and he saw her expression soften considerably from the angry look she wore when she turned to face him, but she was still pouting slightly.
"Come on, you're not still mad at me are you?" he teased, mimicking her pout, and bringing his hand down rub slow circles against her stomach.
"Don't touch me." She complained, rolling her eyes and willing herself not to laugh.
"Technically I'm not touching you, I'm touching my son." He argued playfully.
"Well he's not officially yours until he's out of me."
"I want you to remember that Gilbert." He warned jokingly. "The next time he's beating you up I won't be there to bail you out."
She shook her head as her lips finally curled up into a smile. It was the damndest thing, and she'd yet to find an explanation for it. Every time the baby got restless all Damon had to do was rub small circles against her stomach and he was calm in no time. Elena tried it numerous times whenever Damon wasn't home but it was pointless. There had to be some kind of technique to it, she thought and she'd study Damon's hands, but she never figured it out.
"So what happened with Katherine?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, moving on to more important matters.
"Let's just say she didn't seem all that concerned with her mom disappearing." He answered. "Something's going on there Elena; I just don't know what it is."
"You think she had something to do with it?"
"Yeah." He nodded slowly. "I just don't know how to prove it."
Elena ran a hand frustratingly through her hair, taking a deep breath. "So what does this even mean?"
"It means I have to figure it out." He said with a kind of determination she'd never seen before.
"No, Damon you can't get involved!" she protested worriedly.
"Katherine's completely lost it, and after what she's done to you, I'd be a fool not to look into whatever she's up to." He reasoned. "I'm not just gonna sit here and wait until she harms you again." He cupped her face affectionately in hands, his ocean blue eyes locking with her brown ones.
"Who's to say she will?" Elena asked. "And besides I can take care of myself." She said stubbornly. "I don't need you going out and getting yourself hurt trying to protect me."
"I'm not gonna let her hurt you or my son again." Damon said definitively, and Elena knew it was pointless to argue further.
"Where'd Jeremy go?" He looked around and noticed that Elena's brother was no longer in their home.
"He had a job interview at the grill." She informed him. "He's really trying to get his life together; he's going to school too. " She smiled, she was so proud of him. Before she'd always try to force him to do these things, but seeing her baby brother wanting to take responsibility for his own life, almost reduced her to tears.
"Well if it doesn't work out, or if he's looking for something else, you tell him to give me a call. I'm sure I can find something for him to do at the firm."
Elena took a good look at the man standing in front of her, asking herself how she got so lucky. Realization suddenly hit her the moment he uttered those words; she loved him. She was in love with Damon Salvatore. The irony of that situation wasn't lost on her. When she first moved back to Mystic Falls, she thought seeing Damon was just about the worst thing that could have ever happened to her. But now she couldn't imagine her life without him, she didn't even know how she ever thought she'd be able to move out. There's no way she'd be able to leave him.
"Thanks Damon, I'll let him know." She smiled sweetly at him.
"He's family, whatever I can do to help." He lean over and planted a gentle kiss on her lips.
"My mom invited us to dinner tonight, she's been complaining about how little she's seen of you." He rested his forehead against hers, brushing his thumb across her cheek.
"That was sweet of her." Elena really did enjoy Anetta's company, and she meant to make some time to spend with the older woman but with everything that's happened and the constant chaos that was her life, it seemed nearly impossible. A quiet evening surrounded by his family, was probably just what she needed.
They arrived at his mother's house at about six o'clock. Elena immediately loved the quaint and cozy feel of the house the moment Damon parked his car in the drive way. It was a more old fashion home then where they lived and just a little smaller as well. There was a garden adorned with many beautiful hydrangeas, tulips, and daffodils, and it made her think of her own mother.
Once inside, the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread, among numerous other ambrosial smells attacked her nostrils. Her mouth watered slightly as they made their way towards the kitchen, where his mom stood stirring a pot over the stove.
Her blue eyes widened with excitement when she saw them. She dropped her wooden spoon on the counter and rushed over to squeeze Elena in a tight hug. "I'm so happy you guys made it." She said. "I was starting to think I'd have to give most of this food to the homeless shelter."
"I wouldn't miss this for anything in the world." Elena assured her.
"You're too sweet." The older woman complimented.
"Ahem." Damon cleared his throat. "Don't mind me; I'm just your first born son." He said in amusement, interrupting their hug fest.
She rolled her eyes, swatting him playfully on the arm. "Oh stop being a crybaby." Anetta kissed him on the cheek. "I've missed you pudding."
"You saw me just last week."
"Well that's a long time for a mother to go without seeing her first born son." She teased. "I hope you don't plan on keeping my grandson away from me that long." She looked fixedly at the both of them, as they both shook their heads in unison.
"Dinner's almost ready guys, Stefan will be here any minute." She informed them. "Why don't you show Elena around, in the meantime?"
When Damon turned around he could see Elena already engrossed in the pictures of him and Stefan that were displayed in his mother's living room. He stood behind her, watching her smile at the picture of them at his fifth birthday party. A smile formed on his own lips when he looked at it. In the picture he was smiling mischievously as he covered Stefan with birthday cake. Stefan was wearing his signature brood even at three years old and clearly not happy about having cake smeared on his face, and his mother stood behind them laughing at the entire thing.
"I see you were a trouble maker even back then." She shook her head, laughing at how the picture accurately captured both he and Stefan's personalities, even now as adults.
"If by trouble maker you mean awesome? Then yeah I guess you could say that. "
She picked up another frame; this one was a family portrait. The boys were a bit older; Damon looked about ten years old in it. In the picture he and Stefan stood in front of their mother, and an unknown man she assumed was their father. She could see the resemblance between Stefan and the older man; they had the same light brown hair and emerald green eyes.
"Was that your dad?" She asked almost somberly, aware of how sensitive he was about the topic.
"Yeah, that's dear old dad." He answered with a hint of bitterness; he couldn't even look at that picture. Even at ten years old he understood that they were just keeping up appearances, in reality they were nowhere close to being happy. Every night Stefan would crawl into his bed with him, tears staining his cheeks as Giuseppe hurled insults at their mother. But in the frame they were the picture of domestic bliss.
Squeezing his arm affectionately, she decided not to open that can of worms. He'd have to deal with his issues eventually, but it didn't have to be that night.
Minutes later Stefan finally arrived, with Bonnie following closely behind him looking like a nervous wreck. Elena assumed Stefan was finally going to introduce her to Anetta as his girlfriend, and she smiled at her friend reassuringly.
"She's gonna love you." Elena whispered to her, after hugging both her and Stefan.
"God I hope you're right." Bonnie laughed nervously.
"Just stay away from the wine if you want to make a good impression." Elena joked. She knew how Bonnie could get with alcohol when she was nervous.
"Not going near it," her friend laughed.
Anetta greeted Stefan and Bonnie with the same warmth and enthusiasm as she'd greeted her and Damon moments before. Elena was in awe of the older woman, despite everything Damon told her that they'd been through with his father; she was still this warm and caring soul. It was obvious how much she cherished both her sons and Elena found that admirable.
"It's nice to finally officially meet you Bonnie; Stefan can't stop talking about you."
"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Salvatore." Bonnie answered relief soon flooded her face. She didn't know why she'd been so nervous before.
"Oh please child, call me Anetta." The woman hugged her tightly.
"It's nice to meet you Anetta."
Anetta called the boys inside to help her set the table, leaving Bonnie and Elena sitting in the cozy living room. The entire house had such a homely feel to it, which was a slight contrast to the modern feel of her own home. Mostly it caused a wave of nostalgia hit her as she was reminded of the home where she grew up.
"So I take it you've decided not to move out after all." Bonnie interrupted her thoughts in a low whisper.
"No, I'm not." Elena instantly felt bad for not informing her best friend earlier; she shot her an apologetic look. "But I haven't even told him yet."
"It's okay; I knew you weren't going to be able to go through with it." Bonnie said matter of factly.
Elena looked at her almost disbelievingly. "And let me guess you were just waiting around until I came to my senses?"
"I was waiting around for you to figure it out. "
"Figured what out exactly?" Elena raised her eyebrow in question.
"That you love him." Her best friend said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And don't even act it's not true Elena, we should be past that denial stage by now."
And she didn't deny it; she didn't utter a word for a while. "Funny thing is I realized it today." She finally spoke.
"Better late than never." Bonnie laughed affectionately. "Have you told him?"
Elena's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "I can't Bonnie; I'm not ready." Why was everyone just expecting her to walk up to Damon and express her undying love for him?
"Well take your time Elena; you don't have to tell him right away. But you don't want to wait too long either." Bonnie advised.
Elena nodded in understanding. "Thanks Bon."
"Anytime."
"Girls dinner's ready." They heard Mrs. Salvatore call out from the dining room, and they both followed the delectable aroma that lead them to the feast Anetta prepared for them.
The food looked even more mouth-watering than it smelled, and Elena could feel herself growing hungrier by the second. Her eyes widened at the amount of food on the table, there was everything from risotto, to penne pasta, creamy potato salad and a beautiful golden brown roast that she couldn't wait to dig her fork into.
She took a seat next to Damon, with Stefan and Bonnie sitting across from them, as Anetta took a seat at the end of the table. She watched as Damon started to dig his fork into the penne only to have his hand gently smacked away by his mother. "Nuh-uh, prayer first sweetie."
Elena nearly choked on her laughter as Damon said the fastest prayer she'd ever heard in her entire existence. The whole thing must have lasted a whole two seconds. The entire table erupted with laughter as his mother shook her head in amusement.
Soon everyone was digging in, and Elena realized that not even the smell or sight of the food did the taste any justice. She'd had Italian food before, and even made some herself, but nothing tasted better than something authentically made.
"This food is delicious." She complimented.
The older woman smiled warmly at her, before getting up to pile more of the potato salad on her plate. "You have to eat more than that Elena, remember you're eating for two now." The woman explained.
"Thanks." Elena laughed. Initially she was being polite by taking what she considered a reasonable amount of food, but she really didn't mind eating more, especially when the food was so good.
Damon laughed at her and she rolled her eyes, shoving him playfully.
Just when Elena thought she couldn't eat another bite, Anetta brought out her Tiramisu layer cake that had her mouth watering all over again. The whole thing looked scrumptious, it was covered in white cream frosting and delicious chocolate shavings adorned the top of it.
"This was Damon and Stefan's favorite dessert when they were little boys." She explained. "I used to make it around Christmas time, and they'd fight each other for the last piece." She recalled merrily.
"I can't say I'd blame them." Bonnie commented. "It looks absolutely delicious."
After dessert they spent a few moments catching up. Anetta asked about the incident with Katherine, and expressed her relief that Elena was okay, but they didn't spend too much time dwelling on such depressing topics. Instead Elena laughed as Stefan and Damon argued about who won some bet they made when they were kids, or who their mother loved more, as the older woman just shook her head dismissively at them, explaining that she didn't have any favorites.
When it was almost time to leave, she felt Anetta grab her hand gently leading her to the front porch ahead of Damon.
"We didn't really get a chance to talk in there with all the commotion." She said almost nervously. It was the first time Elena had seen her less than absolutely sure of herself all night.
"How are you?" Anetta asked, her face was full of genuine concern.
"I'm doing a lot better." Elena admitted.
"I'm glad." Anetta provided. "It's important you don't stress yourself out too much, especially so close to your due date," she rested her hand gently on Elena's stomach feeling the baby kick slightly.
"I know, but sometimes it's hard not to with everything going on."
"I just wanted you to know that I'm here for you, if you need anything." The older woman stressed. "Even if you just need to talk, maybe I'll be able to give you some advice, if not I'll be happy to just listen, even if it's about Damon." And they both laughed at the last part.
"Trust me I know despite how much I love him, he can be quite stubborn." Anetta added, and Elena nodded her head in agreement. "But I know my son is a good man, and he has a big heart. That's how I raised him." She stated proudly.
"He is." Elena agreed. "I'm lucky to have him, we both are." She looked down at her protruding stomach and rubbed it gently.
"He's lucky to have you." Anetta stated, and Elena felt the tears well up in her eyes. It had been so long since she'd had a maternal presence in her life, and felt like she belonged somewhere. All that died right along with her parents that night on Wickery Bridge. Until this moment she'd almost forgotten what it was like to have someone around her who genuinely cared about her well being like a mother to a child. Anetta could see her tear up and enveloped her into another tight hug, rubbing her back gently.
"You're part of this family now Elena." She said that in her ear. "I'm so happy to have you."
"Thank you." She said gratefully wiping the tears away from her face, just as Damon appeared on the porch.
"Elena is everything okay?" His eyes filled with worry.
"She's fine." His mother said. "Those are happy tears."
She could see him visibly relax and she smiled at him reassuringly. "I'm okay."
Anetta kissed her son on the cheek and hugged him for what felt like eternity before reluctantly letting go. "I'll be by on Thursday after work, mom." He promised when he finally managed to get free.
The older woman gave Elena one last hug before they got in the car and headed home.
In the car Elena felt Damon reach for her hand as he steered with his left hand. "Did you have a good time?"
"Yeah, I needed that." She admitted. She loved being around him and his family, she felt like she belonged, both his mother and Stefan had been completely welcoming and supportive since the moment she'd met them, and she was grateful.
"Good. Glad you did." He smiled at her, taking his eyes off the road for a second.
Elena couldn't help but think about the conversations she had with Bonnie just moments ago and with Jeremy earlier that day. They both seemed to think telling him how she felt was the way to go and at this point she was starting to run out of excuses not to.
"Damon?"
"Hmm" he answered. Not taking his eyes off the road this time, his right hand still intertwined in hers.
"I... I'm not moving into Bonnie's anymore."
"I'm glad." He admitted, smiling sweetly and bringing her hand to his lips, placing a soft kiss against her knuckles.
"And Damon?" She took a deep breath, as her whole body tingled at the innocent gesture.
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
Thanks for reading. :) Please Leave a review! Let me know what you think!
