Chapter 26
Elena woke up held securely and protectively in Damon's strong arms. The sun was peering in from the window and she could hear birds chirping. Last night could have been a dream for how normal it was. She smiled at that thought this was her normal now waking up with Damon. She was still sort in in shock by everything that had happened. She was surprised she hadn't had any nightmares. Instead she felt rested and lighter somehow. As terrifying as the night had been it was the beginning of the end of the Craig chapter in her life and for that she was so grateful.
Damon moved a little and mumbled in his sleep his soft lips pressing against the back of her neck. She closed her eyes again for a moment just enjoying the feeling of being here with him. Her growling stomach and need to use the bathroom eventually forced her to get up. She noticed she was in his tee shirt and realized he must brought her to bed and undressed her. She remembered falling asleep in the car. She was so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open. She really loved the way he took care of her like that. He was so gentle and caring, and so protective of her but never in a way that made her feel controlled or smothered only loved and safe.
She brushed her teeth and just threw on a pair of flannel pants she had left in his room before leaving the bathroom. He was just starting to wake up. He reached for her and frowned. She stifled a little giggle and tiptoed over to his side of the bed jumping in on the other side of him.
"Boo." She teased nibbling his ear a little.
"Come here." He mumbled in his sexy morning voice. He rolled her small body over his chest and into her spot and wrapped her back up into his arms.
"Mm that's better." He smiled into her hair and she giggled a little.
"I want to lie here all day, but I'm starving. I never even ate dinner last night." She said patting her stomach.
He groaned but reluctantly got up. She brushed her hair while he was in the bathroom yawning a little. She went to open the porch doors and was surprised to see them locked, he never locked them. She supposed he was being extra careful after what happened last night.
He exited the bathroom and gave her a sheepish look when he saw her unlocking the porch doors.
"Paranoid." He explained.
"I get it." She said walking over and wrapped her arms around his neck. "But we don't have to worry anymore."
"I'm always going to worry a little." He admitted gazing into her eyes.
"I know." She replied, she probably would always be a little cautious too. Certain things just stayed with you.
They walked downstairs holding hands. Rick was already at the table having a cup of coffee. Damon went and grabbed a few mugs for Elena and himself just as Jenna walked in. She was carrying a box of bagels and had a handful of papers in her other hand.
"I brought breakfast," She said. She set the bagels down on the table and handed Elena the papers, "and your papers."
"Bagels and divorce papers, the breakfast of champions." Elena murmured glancing at the paperwork.
Jenna laughed and Rick looked sort of awkward like he didn't know if he should laugh or not. Damon just glanced at her carefully.
"I'm joking, lighten up guys these papers symbolize my freedom. They are good." Elena said with a smile. She never thought she'd be so happy to see any legal document.
Elena sat down with a pen and started going through the papers. Signing her name down with vigor on each spot that called for it.
"So, I just have to sign and we're done?" She asked.
"Once you sign the papers he will be served in prison. If he signs them right away, I can deliver them to the courts and considering the well-known circumstances, the judge will grant you the divorce right away. However, after the way he treated you and considering he's going to prison likely for life you may want to fight for the assets. The home, any cars, money it should all go to you." Jenna said.
"I don't want anything from my past with him." Elena said. "I just want out of the marriage."
"What if he refuses to sign the papers?" Damon asked.
Elena bit her lip; she had a feeling he would. Why would he be agreeable at this point?
"He would have to take you to court to protest the divorce, and he has no ground to stand on seeing as how he has an attempted murder trial coming up." Jenna explained. "I can present the paperwork to the court siting he refused to sign if I need to. Considering you were abused in the marriage we can get you out of it that way. It would just take longer so hopefully he signs it. He has no reason not to at this point. It will only make him look worse."
"He'll try to stall it. I'm sure he will." She sighed.
"Even if he does, you'll still get free. He can't win now. You have the upper hand." Damon reminded her. He scooted his chair close to hers and his arm around her and squeezed her. She closed her eyes and soaked in his support. He made her feel so strong sometimes like she could do anything.
They ate silently for a while when Jeremy came in his eyes wide.
"Holy shit it's like a mad house out there." He said walking over to the table and helping himself to a bagel.
"You're a half an hour late and you're stopping to eat breakfast?" Damon asked.
"Yeah well, the streets are littered with reporters and I could hardly get unto the estate." Jeremy said wolfing down a bagel and going to the fridge for milk.
"I fed you an hour ago." Jenna rolled her eyes.
"Is it really that bad?' Elena finally found her voice; she hadn't thought about reporters. She didn't want to be all over the news.
"I'm sorry honey." Jenna said empathically. "It's a pretty big story."
"I have extra security guarding the place." Damon assured her.
"Your dad's going to have a cow." Elena said her eyes wide.
"I already warned Stefan." Damon murmured. "Giuseppe didn't call, so Stef must have handled it."
The phone from the study rang as if on cue and they exchanged a glance.
Jeremy went to answer it and they followed him. Damon seemed to be bracing himself.
"The Salvatore boarding house, how can I help you?' Jeremy answered. He was silent for a second.
"No, she's not doing any interviews right now." He hung up. "It was for someone from some magazine wanting to interview you."
"Don't talk to anyone until the trial is over." Jenna advised.
"I don't want to give any interviews period." Elena said as the phone rang again.
"Salvatore Boarding house," Jeremy answered, he listened for a second and then hung up right away, "Another one."
"Great how are we supposed to book guests?" Elena groaned in frustration.
"I'm sure they'll simmer down right?" Damon asked Jenna who looked doubtful.
"Not until the trial is over. You might have to close temporarily." She suggested.
The phone rang again and they all just watched helplessly as Jeremy picked up and hung up again indicating another reporter.
"That one asked for you." Jeremy looked at Damon.
"Just unplug the phone. I'll put up a message online stating we are closed until after the trial." Damon sighed.
"If we close, we won't meet this month's quota. Your dad could sell." Elena said panicked.
"We can't book guests if they can't get through, sweetheart." Damon said softly. "Besides no one will want to stay here right now, with all the reporters and stuff outside."
"But your dad…" Elena reminded him.
"I'll deal with him when I need to. On the bright side of things, the attention is hurting us now, but it might help us down the road, any publicity is good publicity, right?" He said. "If I can double the goals next month maybe dad will chill for this month. " Damon said.
"What if he doesn't?" Elena asked nervously she couldn't be the reason Damon loses this place. She couldn't lose this place for herself. she loved this place. It was the place they had met and fell in love.
"Don't worry angel, I'll take care of it. You have enough to focus on." He said.
"But..." She started.
"He's right, Elena." Jenna said in a soft tone. "The police will be here soon to interview you. You need to focus on remembering last night and giving them all the details."
"So, you guys have to close for a little while. You'll turn it around quickly." Jeremy assured her.
"Not if it has this bad stigma now." She mumbled.
"It won't." Rick offered. "The reporters just want interviews with the victims. It's not like the crime happened here or he stayed here. As soon as things calm down people will want to book rooms again."
"Okay, okay." She relented but she was still pretty worried.
The boarding house and her position in it meant a lot to her. She couldn't lose that no matter what. She wouldn't let Craig take that from her. She saw Damon's determined eyes and knew he wasn't going to let that happen. He would fight his father to the bitter end to keep this place. She just hoped it never had to come to that.
The police arrived shortly after Damon officially temporarily closed the boarding house. It was nice when the phone stopped ringing off the hook. Elena was still in her sweats and Damon's tee shirt, but she didn't care much about appearances today.
"Elena Morgan?" A tall older looking man greeted her, and a woman stood next to him. He was dressed professionally in a causal pair of blacks and a button up shirt. He had a dark chocolate complexion and big brown soft eyes. His shaved black hair had just a hint of grey to it. He gave her a smile that seemed quite genuine and she found herself relaxing right away.
"Please don't call me that. Elena or Elena Gilbert will suffice." She said shaking his hand.
"I understand and apologize." He said. "I'm Abe Grady, chief of the Chicago police department. This is Sara Medley lead detective in this investigation." He pointed to the tall woman next to him. She had her dark hair tied back in a bun and wore no makeup on her fair complexion. She looked young, but she also looked very determined, with her steel grey eyes. She was dressed in a conservative gray business suit. Elena was glad at least one of them was a woman it made her feel more comfortable.
"It's nice to meet you Elena." Sara said taking her hand.
"Hello." Elena said politely. "This is Damon Salvatore he was also there last night."
"Yes it's good to meet you too Damon. You are quite the hero from what I hear." Officer Grady said.
"Hardly," Damon said. "Please come in."
"You'll have to excuse us we haven't even dressed yet today." Elena offered.
"That's quite alright." Officer Grady replied.
"We shouldn't take up too much of your time." Sara added.
"Andie Starr gave us a full confession. What we need is to go over your statements to make sure everything adds up." Chief Grady explained. "It shouldn't take too long."
"I would still like to be present just in case." Jenna spoke up walking into the entry way.
"This is my attorney Jenna Sommers." Elena introduced them and then led everyone into the parlor.
"Let's start with you Elena, do you remember what time you stepped outside at the Grill last night?" Sara asked ready to take notes.
"I think it was around ten I'm not sure. I brought the dishes back and I was a little warm, so I stepped outside. The next thing I remembered I woke up tied up in a basement." Elena said.
"It was ten fifteen." Damon said looking at his phone. "I got the message from my PI that Craig had moved and then she was gone."
"You had a PI watching Morgan?" Chief Grady asked.
"We knew if he found Elena, he could kill her. We wanted fair warning if he found her." Damon said.
The detective Sara nodded and wrote something down, and Chief Grady gave Elena an apologetic look.
"Did you consider going to the police regarding your fears? We could have protected you." The chief asked.
"With all due respect Chief..." Damon said. "She tried to report him before and one of your men treated her like she was the criminal."
Elena smiled a little he always had her back and he was always on her side. She wasn't so sure she could get through any of this without him.
"That is a deep concern." Jenna spoke up. "I expect your department will be investigating that issue. I'm not against filing a complaint if her legal rights were denied because of police department cover-up."
"We will be launching a full-scale investigation on Morgan. I assure you that." Chief Grady said somberly.
"Let's get back to the current case." Sara suggested.
"So what happened after you woke up in the basement?" Sara continued.
Elena filled in all the gaps of the night. She remembered every detail and so did Damon. She was certain they had more than enough to prove without a doubt he would have killed them all had they not stopped him. The chief told Elena he'd be following up personally on what happened when she tried to file a report.
Sara took a few pictures of Elena's bruised chin and her scratched wrists before they thanked them for their time and left. Elena let out a sigh of relief once they were gone. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would have been though. They were both genuinely nice and professional.
"So what now?" Elena asked.
"Now they file the charges against him. A special prosecutor will be assigned to the case, and a court date will be set." Jenna explained. "We'll meet the prosecutor once official charges are filed."
"You won't be my attorney?" Elena asked feeling a panicky feeling. She had gotten used to that idea and it made her feel better about this whole thing.
"I will be your attorney, just not really for this case. The state is going to be filing charges, and they will want a specific type of attorney to handle this. I'm a family law attorney, but also your personal attorney. What I will be doing is making sure your rights, and Damon's, are met during this whole thing." Jenna assured her.
"Okay." Elena breathed.
"The entire Chicago police department is already in hot water over this." Rick walked in his eyes glued to his phone.
"I'm seriously considering filing a complaint against the department for turning a blind eye to your abuse." Jenna murmured.
"I don't want to go there. I don't think the chief had any idea. He'll do the right thing now." Elena said.
"Besides right now we have to focus on making sure Craig never hurts any woman again." She added.
"Which is exactly what we do." Jenna agreed whole heartily.
Closing the boarding house left them with nothing to do for the day. Jenna had gone home and Rick joined her she looked pretty tired. Elena felt guilty knowing she was up late helping her. She was touched by how supportive and wonderful everyone was being.
Damon had Jeremy help him with the lawn outside. Elena tried to call the prison, but her dad couldn't take calls for the day. She wondered if reporters were calling the prison as well. After wandering a bit. She decided to lounge around in the library. She hadn't really had the chance to explore the vast room yet. There were so many books she wasn't sure where to begin.
She spotted To Kill a Mockingbird on the middle shelf behind the large mahogany desk and went for it. She noticed a loose floorboard by the desk and made a mental note of it for Damon to have fixed before reaching up to grab the book.
She had just curled up on the coach when the doorbell rang. She looked around nervously
Jeremy and Damon were still outside. She knew Damon gave the guards strict orders about who could come on the estate, but she was still nervous. Who could it be, were the cops back?
She was relieved to find it was just Liz and Caroline.
"Come in." She smiled and led them inside.
"We brought lunch." Caroline held up a bag. "Roast beef sandwiches your fave."
"Thank you." Elena smiled happily and brought the food into the kitchen.
"So how are you?" Liz asked.
"It's weird I want to be relieved but it's not over quite yet so I can't be. But it's the beginning of it being over. I'm finally free to be who I am that feels good." Elena said.
"No wonder you got so sad when I brought up your uncle." Caroline murmured.
Elena nodded and exchanged a glance with Liz.
"It's very sad what happened to him and his wife." Elena said quietly.
"Caroline why don't you got get those boys? They must be hungry it's hot out today." Liz suggested.
"Sure." Caroline said cheerfully heading out the kitchen door.
"I just want you to understand that night things had already gone so bad when I arrived. I..I thought of Isobel she would have wanted everyone to go on somehow. She wouldn't have wanted Grayson's life to be ruined over it. I realize now it was probably the wrong choice." Liz said. "I was young then and trying to help two very good friends."
"I know." Elena said. "I'm glad I didn't end up in an orphanage. Life with my dad wasn't perfect but I wouldn't trade it."
"I just wish things would have been different." Liz sighed.
"But they weren't." Elena pressed her lips together. "Thanks for taking care of me."
"Oh honey, don't thank me for that." Liz said a stray tear falling down her cheek.
Caroline came back in with the guys. Damon and Jeremy both glanced at Elena carefully. A warm feeling came over her. She smiled a little assuring them both that she was fine.
They tore into the sandwiches and discussed the non-important events for a while. It was nice to just forget about everything for a few hours. Jeremy left with Caroline and Liz since there was nothing for him to do.
Damon pulled her into his arms and embraced her for a long moment after everyone was gone. She closed her eyes and let her body just absorb the moment.
"I have an idea I thought maybe you would like." He murmured into her ear.
"What's that?" She asked.
"Come with me." He took her hand and they walked outside.
They got to the rose garden and she smiled and sat down on the bench. "This is always a good idea."
"This isn't exactly my idea." He smiled a little and pulled Isobel's silver locket from his pocket and handed it to her.
"Why do you have this?' She asked.
"I went up and grabbed it while you were saying goodbye to Jer."He explained.
"I didn't ask how you got it. I asked why you have it. I know how sneaky you are." She smirked.
"I know you like the tribute I did for my mom, so I thought I'd do one for yours too." He pointed out a little circle of pink and white roses next to the one he had made for his mom. Her eyes got wet immediately as she gazed down on it.
"I thought as an extra touch we could bury her locket in the center, but if you would rather keep it as a memento. We can always bury something else there or nothing at all." He trailed off when she continued to stare silently at it.
"I can't believe you did this." She finally breathed out.
"If it was too presumptuous. I'm sorry I didn't want to upset you..."
"No don't say sorry," She said tears rolling down her cheeks. "I just can't believe you did this…I love coming out here and I love what you did for your mom. I wanted to ask you to do something like this for mine. I just can't believe you knew. I love this, I love you."
He thumbed the tears from her cheeks. "I thought maybe it would be easier for you to make your peace and be able to talk to her here."
"You just always know." She cried.
"I just know you." He said kissing her closed eyes down her cheeks to her lips.
"I do want to bury the locket here I think." She said and he gave her an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder.
"Do you want to talk to her alone?" He asked.
"I think I need to." She said bravely.
"I'm really proud of you." He said softly. "Not just for being brave enough to face this but everything today."
"It's because of the support I have." She said. "Especially yours Damon."
"I love you sweetheart." He kissed her and she held unto to him for a few moments before letting him leave.
She kneeled and carefully buried the locket in the center of the roses.
"I'm don't really know what to say mom. It sucks that you died, it really does. It hurt for so long it still does." She started.
"You should know that dad still loves you. He never stopped, he never will." She said.
"I'm sorry I didn't get to know you mom." Elena said. "I don't even get to hear much about you because of how things ended up, but what I hear always sounds good. You sound like you were caring and sweet, strong and fearless according to dad."
"I used to be like that. I'm getting to be again. I finally found the strength to fight it was in there me all along. Coming here and building a life and finding love real love. It helped me find that strength again." She said.
"I think you would like Damon. He is so good to me. Beyond good he just, he's amazing. He's so sweet and loving like this, he just knows what I need." She said.
"I hope you like his mom too since you're stuck next to each other." She laughed a little feeling kind of silly but talking to Isobel like this made her feel at peace.
"I know I probably didn't end up in the kind of life you hoped for, but my future is going to be better than ever. I want to be someone you would be proud of." Elena said. "Just like I know Damon's mom is proud of him."
"I am going to do that. I'm going to stay here; hopefully have a future with Damon and a great life. The kind of life I know you hoped I would have." She said softly.
"I know we never met and that's so unfair, but I love you mom. I don't have to have known you to know that much." She finished a few tears rolling down her cheeks.
She got up and sat down on the bench staring out into the horizon. A feeling of comfort seemed to come over her. For the first time in a long time she honestly could believe everything was going to be okay.