A/N: Time for arrivals and lots of.. nah I don't want to wreck it. Remember to review; Hints: Katherine, wedding(?), baby
PLEASE READ THE SECOND AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!
The guilt manifested into utter pain. He had betrayed Elena, betrayed his own child. After disposing of the body, he remained sitting on the very spot in his hotel room, head in hands. The mirror was shattered, from what, he couldn't remember. Everything was fuzzy, a haze. Even the simplest things, like when he arrived in Vegas, were all gone, disappeared into the pit of a somewhat amnesiac-state.
…At least you can still party without any restraints pulling you back.
No more restraints.
Was he really considering his own child as a restraint? It seemed that the Damon Salvatore that everyone knew in Mystic Falls had disappeared. The man left was now the one that people feared, what he was afraid of falling back into. And he did, he sky-dived straight back into his old ways. Causing havoc and pain for his own pleasure.
When he arrived in Mystic Falls, he was the man that Elena despised, never wanted to see again. After the tug-of-war and the love triangle, he had gradually changed, only to fall right back into his old throne of womanizing.
The crystal blue eyes which once were the home to the fiery sparks, were now dull and bland. This ultimately did not change his current position, however.
After spending quite a few moments somewhat grieving, he jumped up from his spot on the bed and began the vicious cycle again. For nearly a week straight. Nine girls in total were his death toll that gruesome week. Nine somewhat innocent women, their lives taken by the monster that Damon had become.
On the eighth day, he sprung from his bed, ready to begin again. As he strode down to the elevator, he heard a familiar voice coming from behind the closed elevator doors.
"I'll just be in Vegas to see if he's alright," Came the familiar voice, "Just calm down, Caroline, okay?"
Damon froze before the elevator doors opened. As quick as he came, he turned on his heel. Apparently not quick enough, as the familiar person had seen him.
"Damon!" The person rushed after him, quick on his trail.
Damon didn't even bother to turn around to know who it was, "Alaric, I suggest you head back to the airport. Now." He demanded.
Alaric shook his head before placing a hand on Damon's broad shoulder, "No."
The heat rose to his face, "You've seen that I'm alright, now go!" He practically screamed, making Alaric jump by a fraction of an inch. Alaric only kept his hand on his shoulder a tad bit longer before dropping it back to his side.
"What happened to you, Damon?" He paused, "Elena needs you, your child needs you."
Damon winced at the mention of his child, "Just tell me one thing."
"What?" He asked, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
Damon flipped his head around to face Alaric, his face as hard as stone, "Did she find someone else?"
Alaric froze, shock overcoming him. There was a hint of the actual Damon there in that one question. And that showed that he sincerely, truly still cared. "No, she's waiting." He began to head to the elevators. And just as the doors opened, he said, "For the actual you to come back." He shook his head one final time before stepping into the elevator.
For a moment, it took him a while to comprehend what his words meant.
For the actual you to come back.
And then, it clicked. He sped to his room, gathered what paraphernalia he had, and headed down to the lobby.
The clerk couldn't have been a day over seventeen. Her frizzy, blonde hair came down to her mid-back. She had pale blue eyes that were dull, as if worn out. Her yellow-green suit made her cheeks look pale. But still, she had this foolishly wide grin plastered to her face.
"Howdy, checkin' out?" She drawled in her Southern accent.
Damon could only nod, as he was busy looking through his contacts list, for that one name.
The clerk smiled, punching in the departure time. She then printed out his receipt and stood back, not wanting to intrude.
Once he got to the end of the D section, he came immediately to the F section, which took him aback. For nearly a minute, he kept scrolling through.
"What the hell?" He gave up, thumb still on the screen as he tried desperately to remember what happened to Elena's number.
Upon Arrival at the Hotel...
Damon flopped down on the bed after the long flight. There was a light noise that fluttered into his ears. He perked up, glancing around the room. Finally, his eyes and ears paired up to discover the small refrigerator in the far off corner.
A smile appeared on his face as he jumped off the bed and strutted towards the refrigerator. His fingers laced onto the handle, jerking it open. There before him was the truth serum, the syringe of 'make-you-forget-everything-you-don't-want-to-remember'. Alcoholic beverages galore.
He scavenged through the arrangement until he reached the far back of the fridge where, low and behold, the bourbon was hiding. Damon plucked it up and began to mercilessly drain it. Each drop made him feel like he was on top of the world as it slid down his esophagus.
Bottle after bottle after bottle, the more he drank, the more he left in the dirt- Elena included.
All emotions completely left his head, leaving him the 'old Damon'.
"Time to forrrrrget." He slurred out, scrolling through his contact list. The flashing names made him feel nauseous. Eyes squinted, he finally came upon Elena's name.
Taking a deep breath, he clicked the 'options' button, then proceeded down to the 'delete contact' option. A split moment of hesitation is all he gave before clicking.
"Forget." He whispered, bourbon stained on his breath.
Present
"Sir, I don't mean to intrude, but here's your receipt," She smiled, "Have a nice day!"
He didn't mean to, but he glared at the clerk before snapping the receipt from her hands, leaving her in a confused haze. He stormed out of the hotel, paraphernalia in hand, and hopped into his rental Ferrari.
It was time to come home. Whether it was the real Damon or Vegas Damon, no one could know for sure.
Driving at nearly 90 miles per hour, he made it to the Vegas airport in no time.
"Virginia now boarding!" The preppy stewardess called out over the all-call. Damon snapped his head up before snaking his arm around the bags he had messily packed.
"Good day, sir. May I please have your ticket?" She smiled warmly, but Damon was in no mood to play flirt. He had skipped the ticket step altogether and just came here.
So, once he checked that no one was directly staring at them, he leaned in and began to compel her.
"You let me on the plane and give me any seat I chose. You will not remember me after this."
Calmly, she repeated his words as if a robot. The stewardess walked over and unhooked the rope, letting him pass by before telling the other stewardess that she was escorting Damon onto the plane.
The other stewardess eyed him suspiciously, "Alright, but be back soon." Her light, red hair bounced as she flipped her head back to the honey-mooning couple in front of her.
Damon and the stewardess continued on, walking down the tube-like walkway until they reached the opened threshold of the plane.
She stood aside to let him go in first. He smirked before walking right in and waiting for her further instructions.
The stewardess kept walking past the second class until she reached the steps that lead up to the first class level, "We do not have any second class seats available, but we do have three open first class seats." He kept his face emotionless as he followed her up the steps.
To his left were chatting, well-suited businessmen, and to his right were the snotty millionaires, trying their best to ignore the person sitting directly next to them. A blonde woman on his right, dressed in fur from head to toe, eyed him, getting every angle humanly possible to see every part of Damon.
You could hear a soft groan escape her throat as she realized that the seat next to her was taken. She practically glared at the man dressed in a deep purple suit sitting to her right.
The two continued on, passing a few more rows of money-loving Americans, each woman eying Damon up as if he were a piece of meat. And, boy, was he loving it.
He seemed to be slipping deeper into his old lifestyle.
The innocent side of his conscience came into play,
Hello! Moron! You have a woman waiting for you at home!
The evil side seemed to laugh,
Ha! Like she wants you anyway!
The stewardess suddenly stopped in the second to the front row, where a small boy sat. He didn't seem a day over five years old; dressed in a black, Italian suit, dark red tie, and polished dress shoes. His feet hung over the seat dangling four feet from the ground.
Damon groaned, looking back over his shoulder at the other options, finding that none of them were better. There was the German model, who had the personality of a piece of paper and the creepy English businessman. Sighing, he sat down next to the small boy, finding that it was much more spacious. The small boy lightly kicked the seat in front of him, earning him a small glare from the old woman. He just kept on kicking, his light black hair ruffling.
As Damon watched, he couldn't help but grab the boy's knee as he became irritated by the old woman in front.
The small boy looked over in surprise, "Let go of me." He had meant for it to come out in a demand, but rather, it pour out as a mere whisper.
A deep frown was carved into his face, "I'll let you go if you stop kicking that seat."
The boy saw that he was dead serious as Damon's grip on his knee increased, "Fine." He lowered his leg back to rest on the seat once more, resulting in Damon letting go of his knee.
"See, that was easy," He looked over to the see the small boy look down, biting his tongue, knowing that he would somehow regret this, "What's your name?"
The boy looked up, his eyes sad, "Damien Privet."
Damon raised his eyebrows, "Damon Salvatore." This caused Damien to smile lightly, before raising his hand for a high five. This time, Damon ignored the boy's advances altogether. Instead, he decided that looking out the window was a better option.
Damien was left hanging, causing him to hang his head lower.
Real nice, Damon. Cause a kid to feel bad. Real mature.
Damon's hands gripped the seat, wanting so badly to smack himself 'til he bleeds.
Town Square-
The pretzel lightly burned her fingers as she held it one hand while she reached into her pocket for her wallet. After handing the vendor the three dollars, she headed back over to the table where Elena and Caroline were sitting, heads hung low.
Bonnie still had no idea about Damon going back to his old ways, yet. She scraped the metal chair back before sitting down and placing her pretzel on the table. Her eyes went from Elena to Caroline and back and forth until she cleared her throat.
"What's got you guys so bummed?" She bit a piece of her pretzel off, eyebrows slightly raised.
Elena's face turned beet red, "Just the fact that Damon went off to Vegas and...and..." She left it hanging dry, leaving Bonnie to ponder. Caroline saw her hesitation and jumped in.
She leaned in closer to Bonnie to whisper, "Damon went off to Vegas where he slept with countless girls."
Bonnie's eyes grew wide, the pretzel slipping from her hands. She jumped up immediately.
"He did what?" She screamed, causing countless heads to turn in their directions. Murmurs could be heard throughout the town square as everyone stopped to look.
Bonnie looked around at all the people, "Nothing to see here, get back to your lives!" The people immediately jumped back to their routines, too afraid to look again.
She sat back down, breathing in deeply and then closed her eyes, "He's a prick, he doesn't deserve to live, he's dead, he doesn't exist." She kept telling herself.
Wanting to leave the subject behind, Elena stood, "Can we go shopping now?" Caroline nodded and stood up as well, but continued looking down at Bonnie who was deep in thought.
"Bonnie, come on, we're leav-" She was cut off by Bonnie's pointer finger going up, signaling to 'wait a a minute'. Elena impatiently tapped her foot. The hormones were getting the better of her. Caroline finally had enough before grabbing Bonnie's arm and pulling her up. She continued on, following after Elena as they all entered 'Bumble Baby'. Mothers-to-be, well into their late twenties, stared at the odd three.
Bonnie had finally opened her eyes, now fully aware of her surroundings. Wanting to leave the subject in the dust, she headed out to the far right of the store where she almost squealed from excitement.
"Elena!" She practically yelled, "Look at this! Isn't it so cute?" She held up a baby blue onesie, the size of an upper arm. Elena giggled as she skipped over to Bonnie.
"I don't even know if I'm having a boy or a girl yet, BonBon." She smiled before walking over to the rack directly by Bonnie.
Bonnie hung her head low before whispering, "I know." She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt nervously. Elena stopped dead in her tracks, "What?" She flipped her head to see Bonnie, curious of what she said.
"I said," She grew quieter, "I know what you're having. I had a vision."
The smile on Elena's face simply could not be compared to any of the other mother's in the store, "Will you tell me?"
Bonnie's head shot up, a smirk growing, "Sure." Elena tapped her foot nervously, not knowing what to expect.
"You're having," She lightly placed her hands on Elena's stomach, "a boy."
Elena started squealing, causing Caroline to rush over, "What's the matter!" She nearly screamed, now panicking.
Elena turned towards Caroline, "I'm having a boy!" The women around them gave them awkward glances.
Caroline started squealing as well, before turning around and heading towards the boy section of the store. She grabbed the cutest outfits she could find before checking out, following Bonnie and Elena out of the store, bags in every girl's hands.
Caroline began running up to random people, exclaiming, "She's having a boy!" She pointed towards Elena each time making Elena blush.
She ran up to cars yelling, "She's having a boy!" and pointing again.
Finally, she ran up to a dark-haired man, once again exclaiming, "She's having a boy!" She stopped, tilting her head to the side. Suddenly, it hit her, "Damon?"
Damon smiled, "Blondie," He turned towards Elena, "A boy? Is it really a bo-" But before he could continue, he was attacked with punches and smacks. Caroline drew her fist back and kept punching him multiple times.
"How dare you!" The silent tears slid down her cheeks, "Get the fuck away from here!"
Damon raised his hands up, gripping Caroline's hands, "Calm down!"
She shook her head violently as Bonnie came thrashing forward, the bags dropping to the ground in front of Elena who was now frozen, sobbing.
Bonnie continued Caroline's previous acts, throwing punches and scratching his face mercilessly, "I hate you! I hate you!"
He had had enough of this game. With one thrust, he pushed both girls aside, causing both to fall. Elena felt helpless as she stood there, watching him walk towards her. His eyes went from her face to her somewhat large stomach. (A/N: She is approx. 2 months pregnant)
When he reached for her, she turned on her heel and began to slowly run towards her car, her sobbing uncontrollable.
Damon was left standing there, emotionless, bound to the ground he stood on. No matter how much his innocent conscience told him to go after her, his current self stood still, arms crossed, watching her dart to her car and get in.
Once in her car, she started the engine and began to drive away, giving worried glances to the still unmoving Bonnie as Caroline rushed to her aid. As quickly as her car would go, she drove to her home.
Why didn't you go after her?
He shrugged his shoulders, not even bothering to check on Bonnie nor Caroline, and headed to his Camaro.
Controlling her breathing, Elena picked up her cellphone and dialed the one number she believed she would never call.
Finally, after countless rings, the person picked up, "Hello?"
She sighed in relief, "Tyler, he's back."
And just like that, Tyler hung up and was already speeding to the boarding house.
Boarding House
The auburn liquid swished around in the glass as he stared into the fire.
Suddenly, there was a light knock on the door. Not wanting to be bothered, he chose to ignore the unwelcome visitor. But before he even had a chance to swig down more bourbon, the door was knocked from its hinges.
There, standing in the threshold was Tyler Lockwood, eyes completely red.
The look on Tyler's face made him know that this was war, but to Damon it seemed more like fighting.
"Come back so I can beat your sorry ass?" He smiled wickedly before launching onto Damon.
Damon quickly grabbed Tyler's throat, staring deeply into his raging eyes, "I don't want to fight Tyler, not anymore. I came back for Elena," He paused, "I love her more than anything."
Tyler's eyes widened before he quickly slipped from his grip and sped back to his home, unsure of how to react.
There was a sudden feeling in the pit of Damon's stomach, telling him to go see her. As fast as he could possibly go, while being slightly intoxicated, he sped to her home, stopping just outside her window.
The branch of the tree cradled him as he sat on the branch, gazing at the beautiful sight before him. Elena was lying in her bed, hand rested on her growing stomach. His eyes grew wide upon realization that his child, his son, was cradled within her womb.
Silently, he shed a single tear, staying nestled in the branch all through the night.
A tear shed is only one of the millions shed everyday. For if that tear is shed for a woman, then it is the most beautiful thing in the world.
A/N: I don't know how many people are still following this story, but I need some inspiration people! Reviews inspire me to continue writing this story. And no, this isn't blackmail ;)
Remember to review; Hints: Katherine, wedding(?), baby.
PLEASE READ THIS:
After reading a review for this chapter, I just wanted to say that I am so sorry if I seem to be ganging up on Damon. All the fighting will stop next chapter. So, be prepared for lots of reunions- including, low and behold, Delena! I HAVE ALSO EDITED THIS CHAPTER!