Elena POV:
"I'm so sorry," I barely heard against my hair.
I was too groggy from sleep to realize who was pressing their entire weight on my chest, and I didn't recognize that I was in pain at first. As if in a haze, I pried my eyes open and found myself staring into luminous, green eyes directly above me. Slowly, I realized that I was still in Damon's bed and being pinned down by someone above me. I went to yank my arms away, but the intruder was much stronger than I was. He seemed really remorseful and nervous as he stared down at me.
"Stefan?" I gasped when I finally placed those familiar, green eyes.
Immediately upon identifying him, I began to thrash like a maniac, but no matter how panicked my movements were, Stefan was keeping my body fully under his with almost no effort on his part.
"Shh, shh. It's okay. Don't wake up Damon," He tried to hush me in a comforting tone.
When Damon's name was mentioned, I followed Stefan's gaze over to the opposite side of the bed where Damon was sleeping soundly, totally unaware of my growing terror.
"Please. Get off," I cried, tears leaking down my cheeks and soaking my hair.
"Elena, I'm so sorry. You have to forgive me," He insisted calmly, as if I wasn't falling to pieces beneath him.
"Let go! Let go!" I wept loudly, hoping to get Damon's attention.
But for some odd reason, Damon was not waking up.
"Say you forgive me. I love you," He cooed down at me with a sincere expression.
"Okay, okay! Get off me!" I panted as my body wiggled and weaved to escape his hold.
The look in those green eyes made my breath catch in my throat. He looked...scared. Of me? For me? I didn't know. Although I was exhausting myself by writhing around so much, I didn't stop. I couldn't. It was like an animal instinct had taken over.
"I really am sorry, Elena," He repeated solemnly.
His weight on my chest felt like I was suffocating to death. Briefly, I paused and listened to his words, bouncing them off the edges of my mind.
"Sorry for what?" I whispered quietly, not sure if I really wanted the answer.
As if to answer my question, his fangs slid out and glistened in the dark. His eyes fell to my neck, and his lips upturned into a serene smile. When our eyes met again, I saw that he had decided what he was going to do, so I began flailing harder than before, even though it was purely futile. Stefan's mouth ducked to my neck, and when his fangs managed to grip both sides of my artery, he sunk his teeth in before savagely ripping me open.
I didn't even have time to scream. I had bled out in seconds.
Gasping, I flew up into the seated position like I'd been launched from the bed. My body was covered in sweat, and my heart was hammering at a painfully fast pace. It was dark, but I could make out that I was naked with only a sheet to cover me. It was sticky with sweat...and something else. Slowly, I peeled off the sheet to find my legs covered in blood. My breath flew back into my throat, and my heart leapt in fear as I tried to orient myself to where I was. Was I in Stefan's bed again on the night he bit me and almost killed me?
I was trying not to lose it, especially while Damon was sleeping right next to me. Although I had a faint recollection of the past few hours, every time I closed my eyes, I felt like I was waking up again in Stefan's bed, covered in my own blood and gushing out fast. Trying to tell myself it was a dream, I attempted to calm my breathing, but the sight of my lower body covered in blood was too similar to the night I had almost died. And the dream had felt so real. Suddenly frightened that Damon would wake up and find me in such a state, I climbed out of bed, dragging the sheet along with me, wanting to hide the evidence. Since the house had a draft, I wrapped the sheet around myself and wandered downstairs. After surveying the fireplace, I decided that I was too inept to start my own fire. I would warm up another way.
Seeing Damon's bourbon stash out of the corner of my eye, I tiptoed over like a child peeking at their presents early. With shaky hands, I poured myself a drink, sloshing some on the sheet and myself in the process. I sat down on the couch with a sigh and sipped at the bourbon minutely. Briefly, I wondered how Damon could drink such stuff. It was unbelievably gross-tasting and super strong. Even though it wasn't exactly my drink of choice, I sipped and sipped until the fear ebbed away and the sleepiness returned. Thanks to the bourbon, I felt full and warm inside. I was fading fast, so I set the tumbler down and fell gently onto my side and sunk into those blessedly soft couch cushions. By the time my eyelids were drooping, I was so far gone that I almost didn't hear the loud creak of the wood floors from across the room.
"Stefan?" I gasped, springing back into the position I had taken when I first sat down.
"Damon, actually," Damon spoke, looking unhappy that I had mistaken him for Stefan.
When he stepped into the light, though, and saw my condition, his sulking expression dropped, and his eyes roved over my pale face, down to the sheet, and then to the nearly-empty tumbler on the table.
"Nightmare?" He concluded, and I nodded sagely.
Neither of us knew what to say, so we both looked towards the fireplace, which still had no fire. Noticing how cold I was, Damon started on the fire while I watched. When the tiniest flames began to pop up around the logs, Damon walked over and joined me on the couch.
"It'll be warmer in a minute," He promised lamely.
"Okay."
When Damon's eyes fell onto the sheet, I unconsciously tightened my smile into a grimace. I didn't want him to ask about it.
"Why the sheet? You know, I have clothes upstairs you could've borrowed," He joked lightly.
I shrugged and tightened it around myself.
"Here, give me the sheet, and I'll get you one of my shirts," Damon conceded, reaching for the sheet.
Unconsciously, I jumped up just as Damon's fingers grazed the material, surprising us both. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Give it," He ordered sternly, standing up.
I would've done anything not to see the sight of blood all over me again. It brought back too many memories of that night, and I had just calmed myself down.
"It has blood on it," I argued weakly, looking for any excuse for him to drop it.
"I told you-blood doesn't bother me," He responded, making another grab for the sheet.
Much to Damon's chagrin, I plopped down onto the couch, narrowly missing his grip. Sighing, he sat down beside me and waited for an explanation. I blew out a trembling breath before slowly opening up the sheet, unashamed at my nakedness.
"Remind you of anything?" I asked.
His eyes first fell to the splattered red decorating my legs and thighs before trailing up my body to my gaze again.
"Oh," He sighed.
"Yeah."
"I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. You know that, don't you?"
"Yeah," I answered again, biting my lip and looking out into space.
Sensing my doubt, Damon scooted over until our hips to our legs were touching. Taking my hands in his, he repeated,
"I will never let that happen again. I promise."
As he said this, his eyes were boring into mine with such intensity that I thought he might be compelling me for a moment. My fingers fluttered to my chest where the necklace that Stefan had given to me was still resting. Even though I was gone, Stefan was still protecting me...in some way. Seeing my fingers tightening around my necklace, Damon's face pinched infinitely.
"He's not coming back," Damon vowed.
I didn't know if he had said that for his or my benefit.
"I know."
After quietly watching the fire for a few moments, Damon rubbed his hands on his knees before standing up. With a wicked smile, he lent his hand to me with the palm up.
"What?" I asked with a small smile, putting my hand in his and allowing him to pull me up off the couch.
"I think I owe you a bath."