Ch. 12

"I love you, Elena."

The resounding silence following his declaration hung in the air. Unfortunately Elena's mind and body froze to process and understand his meaning.

He loved her.

Damon Salvatore, the eldest brother-not Stefan whom she'd spent chasing for years. No, Damon. Damon loved her.

She couldn't stop herself from instantly dropping his hand and stepping away. She needed to think, but words escaped her lips before she could.

"For how long?" she asked simply.

She knew most would dismiss this question as irrelevant, but she had to know. The thought terrified her to her core, knowing that his need for declaring these feelings must have been around much longer than two days. One didn't simply say those three words automatically, especially not a man as unfeeling and driven as Damon Salvatore.

Suddenly she didn't just want to know his reply; she desired it. Like the dry summer desires the rain.

She yearned to know how much Damon needed her, longed for her, wanted her.

"For all my life." He said huskily, taking another step towards her, attempting to close the distance between them.

Elena's breath hitched as her heart began to drum louder and louder in her own ears. Her thoughts were a mess. She'd spent her whole life infatuated with Stefan. Longing for him, attempting to catch his eye. While the whole time Damon had been there doing the exact same thing.

Her mind raced to remember Damon throughout their youth, and a swarm of memories came flooding back into her mind.

Thoughts of Damon meeting her under her tree after his mother's parties, and of him joking with her about how dull they were.

The day of the storm, and Damon covering her with a blanket as she sat shivering from the rain. His warm hand in hers as her heart pounded out of excitement or fear she never could tell.

Their exchanged glances, their banter, even their awkward moments at the pool all whisked through her mind. Looking up into his deep ocean eyes she finally began to recognize this particular look.

She'd seen it before, in all of these circumstances. Noticed the way his gaze grew deeper, how his head leaned down just a bit lower, how his eyes softened looking almost delighted to see hers, and she knew. She knew within her heart he was sincere. Damon Salvatore loved her, Elena Gilbert. He always had, and from the looks of it he always would.

"Damon…I," she said, looking into his hopeful eyes.

"Yes?" he asked, practically in earnest, his face contorting into one of the most adorable longing looks she had ever seen.

"I need some air." She said, stepping back. She couldn't do this. Not now when her mind and her heart were saying two different things.

Wanting two different men. Loving…two different men.

Damon looked baffled as she walked past him, and she tried to ignore the hurt in his eyes as she walked up the stairs. Entering her bedroom alone she gently closed the door behind her. She moved across the bedroom and sank down into the enormous king sized bed. Finally curling into herself she allowed the tears she'd kept inside to fall.

Guilt racked her body as she reached the conclusion that she just might be in love with two Salvatore's at once. Deciding that this trip was a mistake she rose from the mattress and went to collect her things for her suitcase. Walking beside the dresser she accidentally bumped into it, her tear filled eyes had done no good in maintaining her vision.

"Great…" she said sighing and bending to pick up the valuables she'd scattered on the ground beneath her, when she heard a familiar voice next to her.

"Scared her off for good." Came Damon's voice, and Elena was surprised to find that she had unintentionally knocked the receiver off of the phone. She reached towards it, placing her hand on the phone to hang it up, but paused when she heard her name. Damon was talking about her, and she suddenly couldn't tear her attention away. A few moments into this conversation, and she realized she knew more than she ever wanted to hear.

Downstairs, below the crying girl, stood a lost boy. Damon's heart was on the verge of breaking by the silence that filled the empty room around him. His gaze continued to longingly look up towards the stairs, willing Elena to walk back down them again and run into his arms.

Sadly, he knew that was a fool's hope. He'd blown it.

Lost his cool, and completely ruined everything. Turning toward the fireplace he hurled his tumbler into the flames, causing it to break into a million pieces like his newly shattered heart. He growled into the air willing the moment to rewind back before he'd ever spoken. This wasn't him. His emotions weren't supposed to get in the way. They shouldn't. He was Damon fucking Salvatore and he sure as hell didn't need a lost oversensitive girl to turn his world upside down.

But he had…and it terrified him.

"Oh fuck this." He said, walking over to the phone in the kitchen and lifting the receiver. He was suddenly done with this "lovely" weekend getaway and he was sure Elena would be too.

Sighing he concocted a new plan for their weekend. He would return her to the mansion then he himself would skulk away back to the office until this whole mess had resolved itself somehow. He didn't know how he had become so involved with this plan anyway. If Elena didn't want him, then she clearly wanted Stefan, and he wanted her. So who was he to stand in the way?

Obviously he'd severely misjudged his effects on the young Miss Gilbert, and would have to admit to his parents that he'd failed miserably in every way.

Dialing the number for his mother's private line he was relieved when he heard someone pick up the phone.

"Hey Mom, its Damon." He said automatically.

"Damon, why are you calling so late? What's happened?" Laura Salvatore replied. She sounded groggy, as if he'd woken her and Damon finally realized the time when he noticed the midnight display on the stove clock.

"Sorry to call so late mother, but something's happened that requires your attention. I think we have a small hitch in the plan."

"What happened? Did Elena not enjoy her time with you today?" his mother asked willful…hopeful. He knew she'd been pulling for this to happen almost as long as he had.

"I told you, she had more of an effect on me than I did on her. I may have said the dreaded "L" word and scared her off for good."

"You did what?!" Laura practically screamed into the phone. Damon pulled the receiver back from his head, attempting to remember why he had called her in the first place.

"Look, I know this might come as a shock to you but I've felt that way about Elena most of my life, and after today I just didn't want to hide myself from her anymore."

"But she loves Stefan darling." Laura said without remorse. Damon felt as if someone had turned the knife in his heart one final time.

"I know. I just thought she'd reconsider. You know what a sucker I am for a lost cause."

"Well that's true. I suppose I'll have to talk to your father now about all this. He was really banking on you becoming her new infatuation. This merger really is everything to him and he wont be happy about this at all."

"I know mother." Damon said sinking farther into the wall by the kitchen. He didn't see how this day could possibly get any worse.

"I don't know what could have happened Damon you really are a catch. Perhaps our ploy didn't work well enough because…" his mothers voice trailed off as he heard a sound of breathing coming from the phone that wasn't his mothers and then a sudden…. CLICK.

Damon stilled, his mother was still droning on but he wasn't listening. He was reaching an automatic state of panic. He'd known that sound. It was the sound the phone would make when someone else picked up another landline in the house. Stefan and him used to do it all the time as kids. They would play pranks on their father by adding in their own information during a business call. They'd always get into major trouble, but they'd done it anyway. It was a way to pass the time while getting what little attention they could from their father. Damon knew whomever was on the other phone could've heard his conversation, and something told him that Elena's guest room might just have had an extra phone line in it.

Not bothering to say goodbye to his mother he hung up the phone instantly to turn on his heels just in time to see Elena behind him at the top of the stairs, tears in her eyes, and her traveling bag in her hand.

"Damon. I want you to take me home. Now." She said.

Damon stood in shock looking at the fragile girl before him. How had he ever thought he could pull this off? Why had he even gone through with it? He suddenly realized that if she knew…he'd never have her again. He'd lose her completely and he was determined not to let that happen.

Racing to the bottom of the stairs, he rushed to take them two by two until he reached her.

"Elena, I don't know what you think you heard, but I can explain." He said a breaths width away from her, so close that he could see the redness rimming her eyes from her tears.

"I don't care to hear anymore lies or excuses Damon. I'm tired, and I want to go home. Whatever plan you and your parents have isn't going to work on me."

"Please, Elena listen to me. None of that matters now. What I said tonight wasn't a lie."
"Shh…" she said, lifting her finger to press against his lips. "I know, but I…don't know how to trust you anymore Damon."

Damon took a step back on the stairs letting that phrase sink into his heart.

"Then I guess I'll take you home." He said, bending down and lifting her bag he turned and carried it down the stairs. Elena followed him slowly out of the house and towards the car. Opening the trunk to the old Chevy Camero he lifted her bags inside and shut it with a loud force. Every nerve in his body surged, willing to stop him from making this dreadful mistake, but alas he had no choice in the matter. So he unlocked their doors, and they drove away back towards Mystic Falls, leaving behind traces of a love that he feared they would never find again.

**********AUTHORS NOTE*******

So sorry to leave you all hanging for so long. I've had some family issues that have hindered me from writing for awhile now. However, I want you to know I fully intend to finish this story along with Forbidden Desires, and I appreciate your wiliness to continue reading/reviewing my works.

I am sorry for the angst as well, but as we all know Damon and Elena work well under pressure, and something tells me Elena won't be able to fight this feeling for long. ;)

Please keep reading/reviewing!