A/N: Hey all! Here's CH.24! Please let me know what you all think, it does get a little dark. But, it won't stay like throughout the whole story! There is a very cringe worthy flashback and I'm sorry in advance for it. But, I was really trying to show a little more about what Elena had gone through with Matt.
Anyways, thanks for reading & enjoy!
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR-One and Only
Elena's P.O.V.
It's funny how your past can quickly catch up with you. How the mention of a person's name that hurt you can send you into a tailspin of emotions and you feel them all over again like a speeding train about to derail on the tracks.
I didn't want to talk about it..I know..One step forward and like fourteen steps back in my attempt at repairing my relationship with Stefan. But, I just couldn't say much else after he told me that Lexi wants me to testify. So, instead of talking about it more in depth with him, I sent him to Target to go school shopping with Sam and Olivia. So, that I could lay here on the bed and try to focus, try to stay calm about the impending court date that could put Matt away forever...Which I want..I really do. Yet, my feelings are so messed up that when I close my eyes all that comes out of my mouth is a prayer.
I know that I haven't been a great person lately and my choices have really not been the best. But, please God..Please help me in this and give me the strength to move past him...To move on with my family that you gave me. A family that I don't want to ruin with my nonsense insecurities and my fears...Thank you for bringing him back to me...Thank you for bringing him home to me and the kids...They really need their dad.
I'm rambling at the end of it, trying to fit in all the things that I haven't said a prayer about in a while. But, as I lay my head down on the pillow in our bedroom. I exhale deeply and know exactly what I need to do..I need to call her and tell her everything, I need to channel this fear that I have and focus it on putting Matt away for everything he's done to me. So, I slowly get up from the bed and grab my cell phone. I know that we're not really supposed to call anyone with it, only use it for emergencies- that was the instructions. But, I can't talk to Stefan about this. He doesn't know everything that happened to me and I'd like to keep it that way, for as long as I can.
My hands fumble with dialing the number as I hold the cell phone up to my ear and listen closely to the ringing. Once..Twice..."Hello?" She answers, just when I take a long drawn out breath before I respond.
"Hi. Lexi...It's Elena Salvatore and I was hoping to meet with you...I wanted to talk about the upcoming trial of Matt Donovan..But, I want this to stay between us and I want you help me figure out how I'm going to testify against him." I disclose, hearing as she exhales deeply, almost sounding like she's writing something down.
"Hi Elena..Uh, okay. Let's meet at the coffee shop on Main and 78th St. There is a Starbucks on the corner of the plaza building. I actually have your files with me and I can be there in an hour. Can you meet me then?" She asks, a nervousness in her tone as I nod my head, agreeing to meet with her. Silently hoping that I can stomach anything at the coffee shop, once Lexi and I sit down and the memories of my five year relationship with Matt come at me with full force and each of them hit me hard..Everything that I've been trying to run from..Everything I'm still ashamed of, everything that haunts me.
"May 26th, 2009. The second time you called the police." Lexi states, flipping open the file in front of her and sliding it across the table, my hands briefly letting go of the warm coffee in them as I flip over the paper and suddenly, the memories of that night come flooding back...
"Open the damn door, Elena! I will bust it down if you don't open the door now!"He shouts at me. My face is bleeding, the cut on lip won't stop gushing blood and I can feel the crimson liquid slip into my mouth as I slide down against the wall of the bathroom and cry.
I'm thankful that Caroline took the kids for the weekend, thankful that they don't need to see this. But, I'm terrified of what Matt will do. He's been drinking all day, something about having a really hard day at work and losing two people that he had saved from a fire at a townhouse. I know it's hard for him. I know it is..But, I need to get out of here..I don't to be his punching bag anymore...I don't need this life for me or my children. Because, the day that I lost Stefan, I never thought that I would be losing part of myself as well...That part of me that used to be strong.
"Open this door Elena...Or I'll-" Matt screams, pounding his fists against the door as I crawl on the floor, retrieving the one thing that I know will scare him, that will make him think twice about what he's doing. I know that he's drunk and that it might not be very affective. But, just as long as he leaves me alone for the night and I can get to Caroline's without a problem. Then, that's all I care about it.
"You'll what? You'll hit me? Go ahead. Do it..Do it, Matt!" I taunt him as I open the door, watching as he stumbles back on his feet, nearly hitting the ground when I stare down at him. My shaking hands holding the cell phone that I had stored in the bathroom, inside one of the cabinets, just in case of emergencies like these.
"If you hit me one more time, like you have been. I'll leave. I will take the kids and you'll never see me again. And, I will make sure that that they put you in jail for as long as your pathetic and miserable life lets you live." I tell him, my voice shaking as I speak and suddenly my eyes grow wide when he steps in front of me, his breath smelling like booze, the smell of it making my stomach churn with disgust as Matt slams me back against the wall and I hear one of pictures crash against the ground, glass flying everywhere.
His thin finger nails digging into my skin, pulling my chin so that I look at him directly when he leans into me and says in a low warning tone. "If you leave me. I will call up Social Services and tell them that you're an unfit mother..That you don't deserve your child. I'm sure that bruise on Olivia's wrist from her playing around to roughly or even, I could add a few more...then, I'll be able prove it. Oh and Sammy, he could live with me. You'd be left with nothing..Because you'd be dead. I could kill you and make it look like an accident."
That's when I feel it, the small barrel of his gun poking into my rib cage. My eyes close shut when Matt backs away a bit and smiles wickedly. "Do we have an understanding. You can't leave me, Elena. You're mine now and even if you did try to go..I have connections, I could find you where you went. Do you understand me, I'm not Stefan, sweetheart. Come to think of it, I'm glad that I'm not him..Because he's dead and he's a worthless piece of ash, now." Matt states, pushing himself away from me and eyeing me up and down as he lets out a sinister laugh.
" Stefan would never do this to me. He's a better man than you will ever be. Don't you dare talk about him like that!" I shout at him, watching suddenly as Matt pivots on his heels, taking a swing at me that hits me in the jaw, directly sending me to the floor.
The memory fades as I feel the tears start to escape past my face, some of them escaping into my mouth as I cover my sobs with my hands, quickly excusing myself from the table and making my way into one of the bathroom stales.
I crouch down in front of the toilet and throw up everything that I had eaten this morning. I'm gasping for air, shaking in my body when I remember what I had said when the police came, explaining to them that it was just an accident. A misunderstanding between us. After, Matt had threatened me, promising to make my life a living hell if I didn't give him what he wanted or listen to what he was saying.
I'm coughing and feeling the bile rise up into my throat again when I hear the bathroom door open quickly and then the door latch locks as Lexi looks around the empty bathroom, exhaling deeply. I can tell that she's got all of the paper work with her, because I can hear the sound of shuffling in the bathroom of a folder when she speaks to me.
"Elena, are you okay? I'm so sorry that I showed you that..You weren't supposed to see those pictures..It was my mistake. I'm sorry." She explains in a worried tone.
I get up slowly, trying to catch my breath, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand as I lean against the stale door and unlock the latch. Lexi catches me in her arms when I flop backwards and she wipes away my tear stained cheeks as I turn in her arms and exhale deeply, crying even harder now as the memories of Matt consume me. I'm barely making any sense as I say in a firm tone. "I'm going to testify against him for everything he's done. He's made my life a living hell and it's time that I take it back from him. But, I don't want Stefan there when I do. He doesn't know every detail and he doesn't need to."
"Okay, we'll figure out something..Okay. Let's just..Let me drive you home and be with you until Stefan gets back." Lexi offers, brushing my hair away from my face, giving me a weakened smile as she helps me up off the floor and leads me out to the parking lot, until I calm down enough to be able to face Stefan again.
Stefan's P.O.V.
"Daddy! Can I get these fast shoes?" Sammy asks me, bouncing up and down the aisle with a red box in his hands, this huge grin on his face as he hands me them and I laugh a bit.
"Fast shoes? Sam..These are called tennis shoes." I correct him, hearing as Olivia lets out a loud sigh, sitting down in front of me when she tries on a pair of pink flats.
"Nope. They're his fast shoes..Dad, they make Sammy fast!" Olivia argues, standing up and smiling at me when she places one of her feet in front of the small mirror to the side of her. She's admiring her new 'ballerina' like shoes with such pride that it makes me laugh a bit.
"Fast shoes..huh? Hmm...I hope he isn't going to be running from all the little girls that will chase him around on that play ground." I state, hearing when Olivia giggles and Sam's face contorts into a grossed out look as he says "Ewww...Girls have germs!"
"Oh? Ha. Okay...I guess they do then." I say in a surprised tone, watching as Olivia moves towards me a bit, leaning into my ear as she whispers "Do you like my shoes?"
I smile, grabbing her by the waistline and pulling her towards me, kissing the top of head as I speak. "I love them. Just make sure that you can dance away in your ballerina shoes quickly..from all the boys!" I say in a joking manner, hearing as Olivia laughs, placing her hands on her hips when she does a small dance, smiling widely as she asks "Like this?"
"Just like that. Okay, we've been here for two hours. We should probably be getting back to your mom." I explain, getting up from my seat as I look over at them and Olivia glances at me, her bottom lip sticking out at me as she pouts. "I don't wanna go..I like shopping." She says, sitting down on the floor, her arms crossed over one another as she glares up at me in protest.
"Of course you do..Just like your mother. Olivia..We have to go, you can come back with your mom. Look, how about we go and look at some puppies before we go back home?" I bargain with her, watching as she quickly jumps up from the floor, tugging Sam by the arm and standing next to the shopping cart full of clothes and school supplies that I had helped them pick out.
"Okay!" She exclaims, her brown eyes full excitement as I ruffle the top of her head and she groans. "Daddy, you just messed up my hair!"
"Are you ready for school tomorrow?" I ask Sam, watching as he smiles at me and adjusts himself in his car seat.
"I'm scared." Sam states, looking at me through the rear view mirror.
"You'll be fine Sam. Just go in there and act like the fun kid I know you are. You don't need to be afraid. Olivia will be in the same class with you. Right livia?" I ask, getting her attention as she glances up at me from the color book in her hands and nods.
"What if they don't like us?" She asks in a worried tone, glancing at me.
I laugh a bit. Who would not love them? Okay, I'm starting to sound like a proud and protective father. But, seriously..who would not love these two? Olivia the outspoken, brown haired and brown eyed little girl and Sam the little jokester with his bright green eyes and dark brown hair..Yes, he's shy when you first meet him. But, once you get to know him. He's a funny, intelligent and all around fun loving kid.
"Sweetie, they'll love you. Trust me, you both have nothing to worry about." I reply, watching as Sam's eyes grow wide when he notices where I'm taking them.
"You're taking us to get a dog?" Olivia shrieks with excitement as I nod my head.
"Yeah. I think that maybe the dog will help you guys makes friends tomorrow, when I take you both to school in the morning." I tell her in a confident tone, hearing as they both giggle at me and I run my hands through my hair, thinking about how much I've missed in their lives and how determined I am to make up for ever being away from them.
Damon's P.O.V.
I'm still trying to register the fact that Bonnie told me that I'm going to be a father. It's still sinking in as Tyler sits across from me. We both got called into the fire station for our evaluations and decided to stay here and catch up a bit, without worrying about the nagging of Bonnie or Caroline.
"So, you're going to be a dad and my wife hates me...Well, not hates me. But, she doesn't want to have kids right now. She's thinks that we're going to end up being like-" Tyler's voice stops as he looks past me, his jaw dropping a bit with a slight smile.
I turn around to see Caroline standing by one of the trucks. She's got these tight black jeans on, a hot pink blouse. Her long blonde hair is flowing from side to side as she walks and smiles at him, clearly acting like nothing is really wrong.
"I knew I'd find you here. I just got off work and went home to see if you were there. But, when I got home and saw that your car wasn't parked in the driveway. I knew that I would find you here. So, I stopped by the store and bought you an apology cake." She says, placing the plastic bag onto the table and smiling at me as she slides into a seat right next to Tyler.
"Umm...You shouldn't have." I comment, watching as Caroline laughs a bit and bites down on her bottom lip nervously.
" I wanted too and plus..It's also my way of saying congratulations on being a dad, Damon. Ah..I like the sound of that...Daddy Damon! Just wait until you have a baby to carry around with you like, everywhere. So cute!" Caroline gushes as I smile a bit. She's right, it will be 'cute'.
"Wait a minute. You know? When did Bonnie tell you?" I ask, finally realizing that Bonnie had told me that she didn't really tell anyone...Anyone except for Caroline..Her best friend!
"Oh please! She called me from the store to ask me about which pregnancy test she should get. She was nervous and we got to talking and well, suddenly..it slipped out that she was at the store looking for that. So, then she told me." Caroline confesses, hearing as I exhale deeply. But, just when I'm about to open my mouth to respond back to Caroline.
All three of us hear the shrilling sound of what sounds like a baby and a woman crying. "Help me! Please... Take her..Please, just take her." The young girl sobs, walking into the station with a baby wrapped up in a yellow blanket, a light green "A" embroidered into the blanket that the woman has wrapped around her child.
"Um. Ma'am let one of us take to you and your baby to the hospital so that you can get checked out and we can-" I start to say, slowly getting up and walking to the girl whose becoming more hysterical by the minute.
"NO! Please, I can't take care of her anymore..Please, just take her. Give her a good home. I can't do this. Tell her that I tried the best I could..But, I'm not ready for this, I can't a mother. Her name is Abrielle." She states, carefully gazing over at Caroline. Whose gotten up and is watching her worried and hurt eyes lock on her as Caroline walks over to her, palms facing the ground when she speaks in a calming tone.
"Ma'am we can take you and the baby to the hospital and get you both the care that you need. Now, I have a car that I can take you there in." Caroline says in a calm and sweet tone, trying to calm the woman down. But, it's clear that she's scared and just wants to give up the baby, maybe not have any more ties to the child at all.
"No. Just take her to the hospital and promise me you'll stay with her. That once she get's adopted, that you'll tell her one day that I didn't have a choice. I had to give her up. Please." She pleads when her shaking hands give over the crying baby, gently placing her small body into Caroline arms.
"Okay. I promise...I'll be with her. I'll stay..I promise. You're going to be okay..Abrielle." Caroline says in a reassuring tone, looking down at the sobbing baby and gently rocking her back and forth as Tyler and I stand by, watching the young mother leave without another word, her shaking hands covering her sobs.
A/N: Hmm...Interesting? Things will be getting very interesting in the next few chapters. I can promise you all that!
-Until Next Time!-