Eight years ago.
Elena hadn't fallen asleep so quickly that night.
Her insomnia made the bags under her eyes more noticeable. Frowning was not very common for her upon waking. She still harbored confusion and a strange feeling that she was not used to and that was why it was difficult for her to interpret.
The reason for her wakefulness was a few steps from her and Elena wasted no time and walked straight to her.
"Bonnie... Can you tell me what you were doing with Damon last night?"
Bonnie turned around hearing her voice.
Elena was wearing a school uniform, the same one that she would soon wear.
The question took her by surprise and Bonnie stared at her with a raised eyebrow.
She was not obliged to answer, what she did or not was nobody's business, least of all the girl who kept looking at her impatiently.
"Why?"
Elena tightened the handles of her backpack. How what... why?
"You can't answer a question with another question! Normal people know that!"
"Normal people don't go around finding out what other people do... right?"
Bonnie reprimanded her with every right and Elena looked at her embarrassed.
"I'm sorry... I woke up at the night and... I didn't see you... I was going to go looking for you and I didn't want to-"
"Nothing happened." Bonnie cut her off abruptly. She had nothing to hide, and she was not going to explain more than that!
But those words was not enough to quell Elena's curiosity.
In a matter of seconds something caught Bonnie's attention, her gaze shifted behind Elena's shoulder and she could see the person walking in their direction, so she took advantage of that to avoid being questioned.
"But... You can ask Damon if you want. There he comes."
Elena watched her go.
With the strange sensation still gnawing at her gut, she turned around and went to find a better answer.
Damon greeted her with the same smile as every morning. He opened the car door so she could get in, but Elena didn't get in.
"What were you and Bonnie doing at night?"
This time the words were spoken with much more demand and full of unfounded suspicion.
Damon was surprised and puzzled. It didn't take him long to analyze the situation. The tone Elena was using didn't like him at , knowing what would be the best way to mediate against her capricious demands, Damon leaned toward her a little.
"Stop meddling in matters that don't concern you." he dropped a hand on her head and tousled her a bit.
"Damon! Don't do it, you know I hate you doing that!"
He put a hand in his pocket satisfied that he had annoyed her a bit.
Sometimes dealing with her sudden moments of possessiveness wasn't much fun, but Damon knew how to deal with her temper.
He knew her very well. Since he began working for her father as a teenager, his affection for Elena was always very brotherly. Damon was only three years older than her, but he always felt a certain affection for her.
Although he sometimes feared that Elena might misinterpret his affection. Damon was always very sincere in their relationship.
Elena would always be the spoiled little sister he never had. He would always see her that way.
Which was why he sometimes hated being persuaded by her to comply with any of her whims.
However, seeing that frustrated face on her gave him an idea of what was going on. She was jealous.
Damon watched her as she combed her fingers through her hair. A bit annoyed and at the same time incapable of him getting mad at her.
"I know you don't like it, that's why I did it. I don't like you sniffing around either, that's not pretty at all. Come on... get in the car or you'll be late for school."
Elena entered without further objection.
As they left the house, she saw Damon and Bonnie exchange glances.
And she didn't like the way Damon's face lit up.
To hide her annoyance, Elena just looked away.
With her arms crossed, she was beginning to regret wishing she had a sister.
Present.
"Damon..."
The moment of recognition was short lived. Sarah crossed her arms and continued to hit the ground with the sole of her tight shoe. The exasperated sound the little girl was making brought Bonnie back from a whirlwind of emotions.
What could she say after all this time?
She snorted... She had nothing to say. Of course yes. Not! if anyone had to say something here, it was him, not her!
Her conflicting thoughts confused her. God, not two seconds had passed and he's already driving her crazy.
Bonnie hid as best she could all the emotions she was feeling in that moment, except one... annoyance... annoyed with him, annoyed with her, annoyed with life, with the stupid feeling which she apparently had not buried well.
She cleared her throat, standing up and awkwardly disengaging from the tight grip.
"Damon... wow, it's been a while. You seem to be fine, that's good! yeah..." Seriously? Why did she get so clumsy with words?
Bonnie turned her back on him and rushed to take the little girl in her arms despite the resistance she was giving.
"Sarah!"
The warning worked. Sarah raised her arms without further protest.
Bonnie just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible and she hoped the daze on Damon's face would keep him at bay and not stop her.
All the emotions inside her conspired to push her to the limit. Contrary to him, Bonnie could barely hold all the pieces together, but she wasn't sure how to control all those sensations.
God... she wasn't ready to see him again, she thought she never would. Why was she so nervous? It was just him. Got damn!
For the first time, after all these long years, the two of them met again, and like it or not, she was just as affected as he was, only his reaction was slower and his strange silence proved too awkward to bear.
Damon was beyond excited, but yeah... his reaction was terrible. Everything was so unreal to him.
He forgot the sense of speech, it was her in front of him. It was Bonnie only inches from him and she was pulling away and he wasn't doing anything to stop her. Damon? do something!
"Bonnie wait... I-I-"
Damon hesitated again when she turned and the moment was caught by him in slow motion.
It was her, as beautiful as ever...
Her melancholy green eyes met his for the second time. And they both looked at each other for a split second that seemed like an eternity.
He couldn't think of anything coherent to say. Even when the gaze in Bonnie's eyes pleaded with him to say more than a just plain, wait...
Yes... she wanted him to say more than that... She allowed herself the luxury of thinking about that. If only he knew... but it was too late to go back in time, Bonnie.
Damon had a lot to say...
Yes... he wanted to say more than that... He wanted to hold her by the arms and hug her tightly and not let her go... He wanted to know if in all these years she had thought about him, like him... who had not stopped thinking about her, not once... yes, he wanted to say that and much more.
Only that his nerves betrayed him and Sarah's frown silenced any important words.
Seeing the little girl in her arms, the confusion in his mind emerged as a thought aloud.
"Is she your daughter?" his voice was heard with a mixture of uncertainty and pain.
The question didn't surprise Bonnie. That had been a constant question in her live.
Bonnie and Sarah's features were more than noticeable, both shared not only the same blood but also a certain physical resemblance. Similarities were always the subject of discussion among those close to them, but the most striking thing was their eyes and their gazes.
Sarah had inherited the Bennett's trademark eye color.
Hazelnut green.
The answer to that question was always simple, but Bonnie forgot to affirm or deny it when the little girl in her arms took her face with her little hands.
The annoyance that emerged a few moments ago in her vanished. Sarah looked at Bonnie with infinite joy.
"We are the same, right?"
Sarah answered most innocently instead of Bonnie.
Damon's assumption made him nod with a slight shake of the head.
Yes, they had a great resemblance, only that the little girl was a little lighter and had straight hair, unlike Bonnie's freckles, the girl had a small mole above her left cheek... just like...
The thought was interrupted by the sound of her voice.
"Sorry Damon, we're in a rush. Bye!"
Reality made her put her feet on the ground. This time the old feelings were buried again, Bonnie didn't have time to deal with old memories from the past. Right now, the least she needed was to add more problems to her life.
She walked away, hurrying her steps, avoiding again tripping over the people walking around her.
Bonnie didn't give him a chance to speak, she heard him say something, but she preferred to turn a deaf ear. Walking away was the best when it came to Damon, or so she thought.
Before losing sight of them.
"Can I take you two?"
That was what Damon had tried to say, but Bonnie refused to accept that offer.
Sarah raised her hand and he said goodbye using the same gesture.
Damon couldn't do anything to stop her. Idiot, he let her walk away.
A new thought emerged with more will.
No, he won't let her get away from him again...
"Who was that man?"
Sarah's curiosity was normal for a six-year-old girl. For her age she was very observant, sometimes too much, and the whole situation she had just witnessed did not go unnoticed by her newly noticeable interest.
"Nobody."
Bonnie responded without further explanation, hoping Sarah would stop snooping.
Sarah walked behind Bonnie, jumping two at a time.
She didn't believe her.
"You're lying, and... I know it! because I know you better than anyone!"
The tiny index finger stopped on her cheek and the witty ideas inside her head were deliberately exposed.
"I wonder... Where do you two know each other? I had never seen him in my whole life. He must be an important person. I am sure he is someone important, I know from his sophisticated wardrobe, he looked very elegant. You know... I know about these things, he must be like those powerful men that appear in the magazines we have at home, how do you know someone like that? and his name is Damon? Who would name his son that name? Damon...?"
Sarah finished giving her opinion with a grimace, wrinkling her tiny nose, waiting for Bonnie to get involved in the conversation, but Bonnie only rolled her eyes at the six-year-old's improvised and very well articulated monologue.
The recklessness in Sarah's words was beginning to make her uncomfortable.
To no avail Bonnie avoided being part of the little girl's indiscreet arguments.
However, Sarah was right. Now that she thought about it, Damon was wearing an elegant suit underneath the impressive coat. She had never seen him in such distinguished clothes and he looked so handsome.
Got damn! she shouldn't be thinking about what he looked like.
Surely... he already made a life with someone else... yes... surely he must have someone in his life... a beautiful woman by his side... maybe...
Bonnie shook her head to banish any thoughts of Damon Salvatore. She didn't need to keep tormenting herself. She hated that bittersweet feeling that kept clinging to her heart.
None of that mattered anymore.
Steeped in her past, Bonnie gave Sarah a lot to think about.
Sarah narrowed her eyes.
And a mischievous thought arose in her little head. Head down and her eyes narrowed, the little girl dared to whisper the question.
"Was he your boyfriend?"
She looked excitedly with an exaggerated gleam in her eyes, eagerly awaiting the answer.
Bonnie stopped walking and turned to give her a warning look.
"No! And stop snooping, pretty girls don't do that! Besides, I already said that he is nobody, we will not talk about him again, or his clothes or his name, or how he looked. End of the questions. Now keep walking or we'll be late and we don't want that, right?"
Sarah raised her eyebrows, lowered her gaze, and crossed her arms without responding.
Bonnie took a deep breath, she hated having to be tough on Sarah, but someone had to put in a little discipline.
"Sarah... please... don't make a bad face at me, today has been a difficult day, and it's not over yet... OK?"
Sarah just nodded and Bonnie grabbed her hand again to go on her way.
Where did she get all those words...? Sophisticated? powerful men...? and... How does she know about these things?
A person came to her mind.
Of course, who else...
Damon didn't have lunch with his colleagues as he had planned, no. He had just returned from a long business trip and His plans to celebrate his arrival in the city changed dramatically at the last minute.
The need not to lose sight of her was more powerful than his rationality.
Embarking hopelessly on a shameful persecution, Damon followed Bonnie and the little girl in his car.
As if he was a stalker pervert! No, better as if he were a desperate madman. That, although it also sounded terrible, had some truth.
He could be considered desperate. But the options were very limited when it came to her and he had to act fast if not he could miss this opportunity that presented itself as a fluke of fate.
Opportunities like this weren't common and although he disagreed on the methods, Eventually it would all bring him to one place, Bonnie
Maybe actions like these might not be justified for some, but for Damon it didn't matter. He was blinded by a feeling and he had been carried away by it, now he could not question his decisions, he did not regret acting that way, somehow his shame, he had kept it like a handkerchief in his pockets.
It wasn't easy to follow her, but it wasn't difficult either.
Ronald, his driver, parked the car across the street, awaiting further instructions.
Sitting quietly in the back seat of the black car with his fist clenched under his nose, Damon watched the exact moment that Bonnie walked with the little green-eyed girl into the little restaurant.
For a few seconds, confused thoughts arose in his mind.
He couldn't believe he had bumped into her while leaving his office.
For a long time Damon searched for her without success. Just when he was back, the first thing he did was look for her, just as he promised, but Damon didn't find her. It was as if she had disappeared from the map in recent years. And he only found terrible news, and that made him believe that he would never see her again...
But the hopes never left, thinking about her gave him reason enough to know that one day he would find her. Only that Damon never thought that seeing her would surprise him so much to the point of throwing him off balance completely
Never in a million years did he expect to enconunter her, just like that... It was as if she magically appeared in front of him.
Staying focused on what he had to do, Damon wasn't going to lose sight of her again. He wasn't sure what had happened during these years, but he had already lost a lot of time.
Idiot! why didn't he say anything to her? And of course, she took advantage of his pathetic reaction to run away from him... He must have assumed that she would. Bonnie always knew how to get her way.
A smile revealed hope.
Bonnie had also been surprised to see him, although she tried to hide it with her stubborn apathy, her eyes would never lie to him.
Now an important question arose giving way to a delicate reality.
Who was that little girl? Was she her daughter? Bonnie never responded.
That didn't matter, but... Was she married? she wasn't wearing a ring, was she in a relationship? Yes... that would be a terrible disappointment and a great impediment for him... but... to hell with everything!
"Ronald, I need you to do me a favor, but first take me to the office."
Damon gave indications and Ronald nodded looking at him from the rearview mirror.
"Yes sir."
Damon took one last look at the restaurant.
What could he lose if he tried? or worse... What could he lose if he didn't?
Bonnie left Sarah at one of the restaurant tables.
The same lonely table where she always sat to spend time drawing until Bonnie finished her waitress job.
It wasn't exactly a very responsible thing to have to take a child to work, but Bonnie had no other options. In order for her boss Jeff to agree to her bringing Sarah to her workday, Bonnie had to make a small agreement with him.
If Sarah stayed for the remaining time, she would take over cleaning the kitchen for those days. Jeff agreed and that's how it all worked out for both of them. A win and win!
Leaving the little girl in sight. Bonnie went straight to the small closet, her second shift had already started and with it some of that time was being deducted from her salary considerably.
Bonnie took off her coat and looked at herself in the mirror for a few seconds.
She was still affected by seeing Damon. It had been so long, it wasn't fair to feel like a excited teenager, again...
Mature Bonnie, many years have passed, you should be over it by now! Come on!
Two knocks on the door caught her attention.
"Honey, Jeff is getting unbearable and I think I can't keep hearing his screams anymore."
Bonnie arranged the coat on one of the shelves and went out adjusting the apron around her waist.
"Thanks for covering for me, Maggie." Bonnie kissed her on the cheek in thanks. She would always be grateful to the older woman.
Mrs. Margaret nodded, there was nothing to be thankful for.
Maggie always covered for Bonnie when she had to fly to pick up Sarah from school and today was no exception. Still chewing on her gum, she asked.
"Looks like you added another problem to your day, Honey."
The years of experience and the time she had known Bonnie not only affirmed it, it was more the sight of a grumpy Sarah walking through the door that made her assume that something had happened to them on the way back.
Sarah usually came in with a smile lighting up the entire environment, greeting employees and customers, including Jeff, and it was strange not having felt that contagious joy.
Bonnie straightened her uniform and tied her now short hair into a simple bun.
Problem? Yes!
She turned to answer Maggie.
"Let's just say... yeah! My past... could just be called that! A problem that I never thought I would see again!"
And... she just hoped she would never do it again!
Inside his office.
Damon waited with extreme impatience for the call from his driver.
All the rest of the day he was busy with one thing, Bonnie... The only thing Damon had done was think about her, there was nothing else in his thoughts, Just Bonnie...
Impatient to want to have some kind of information. The hours passed... the afternoon turned into night and the night only brought him memories of a past that never left him.
So many things happened in his life during all this time and... even so in all these years he did not stop thinking about her even once.
Damon had everything he had dreamed of, everything he never thought of having, he had it... He had worked so hard to get where he was.
But the feeling of emptiness was always very latent and he always knew that his life was missing something.
Was he so greedy and ungrateful with life that he wasn't satisfied with everything he had?
What else did he want...? What more do you want Damon? he knew those answers very well... yes, he knew what he wanted and it was her... that was always what he wanted... he wanted Bonnie Bennett in his life.
How was it possible to long for something that was never his?
At first, Damon believed that it was only something fleeting, he was also too young to realize that things were not always as simple as he believed, the ignorance of youth. But as everything went by, that belief turned into a bitter joke that haunted him for all these long years and now after all these years, the only thing he regretted was that he had not been braver.
With a slight sigh, he relaxed his body on the leather seat. His eyes fixed on what his fingers were holding.
The photo in his hands was old, it was the only possession he had of her, his true and his most precious treasure.
It was the same photograph that he had used the afternoon he went to look for her more than eight years ago and that after that he had made it his after no one claimed it.
Damon smirked as he saw an annoyed Bonnie with a fake smile while holding a dirty teddy bear.
She was no longer the girl in the photo and she was not the 16-year-old who had made him run, no. Although she hadn't changed much, she still looked very adorable. Perhaps her short hair made her look a bit older, yet she looked so beautiful.
She always was.
His brows furrowed at an unwelcome thought.
Was he being selfish by acting this way? Was he being selfish if he interfered in her life? What right did he have to do that? Had Bonnie received his letter? Had she read every word of that letter? Had she waited for him?
Damon smiled bitterly making a snort.
He was a Naive... the look on her face was not exactly from a woman who had waited... Surely she had someone more... of course she did... how not to have it, she was beautiful... and that little girl?
Damon put the photo back in the inside pocket of his jacket. The sound of his phone made his nervous heart beat faster, it was Ronald.
"Sir, the lady just entered a condo with the same girl in her arms, asleep."
"Was there someone else?"
That question caused a painful lump to form in his throat. The suspense of the answer was killing him, he wanted to hear a... no.
"No sir, just the two of them."
Damon nodded, releasing the sigh he knew he was holding back. That information reassured him for a brief moment. But until he spoke to her, his relief would not be complete. He needed to know...
"All right, come find me."
He was determined.
For a long time Damon waited sitting in the back seat of a black Audi A4, he waited and waited.
Perhaps this was more difficult than he thought, he was afraid of encountering a terrible reality...
Bonnie married or to someone else... What was he going to do if that was so?
The expression on his face was nothing but indecision, anguish and fear, hidden under a facade of uncertainty.
He was no longer a young man and yet, here so close to what he wanted, he felt like one...
"Sir?"
Ronald's voice caught Damon's attention, who felt a little embarrassed by the cowardice of his behavior.
Damon looked at him for a moment to reconsider his decisions. "Ronald... Can I ask you a question?"
The gray-haired man behind the wheel nodded. "Of course Mr."
Damon stared at the door of the small condo, completely unsure.
"Did you ever feel selfish for wanting something so bad that you didn't care if-"
The words stuck in his throat.
The old driver knew what Damon was referring to.
From the rear view mirror he saw how nervous his boss was, it was strange to see him that way. In particular he was never a fearful man and even less was he seen to act like a coward.
And Ronald saw him hesitate, Damon was regretting it and before making the decision to abandon what he was going to do, Ronald began to speak...
"I once met a woman... I still remember her smile, and may my late wife forgive me, with whom I was very happy, but Angelina was my first love and to this day I wonder what would have happened between us if I would have had the opportunity..."
Damon heard the deep sigh and looked at his old driver and good friend.
Ronald removed his glasses and massaged his eyebrows.
"That question has always chaced me over the years..." Ronald put his glasses back on and looked at Damon again. "May it not happen to you the same as it did to me, Sir. If fate has given a second chance, then do not hesitate and take it..."
Damon nodded.
Yes... those words were enough to give him the courage to move on and face his past, no matter what... he would always continue to love her.
"Thanks Ronald... I'm not sure how long it will take, but can you wait?"
And Ronald nodded warmly. "Yes... Don't worry, Sir."
Damon got out of the vehicle and took a few steps, taking a moment to look around.
The neighborhood was not exactly pretty, it was too poor and perhaps dangerous. His face immediately reflected concern.
What had happened in all this time? She was ok? Was she safe?
Damon was quick to find all the answers to all his questions.
He climbed the small steps to the door, he took a deep breath and knocked.
After several seconds of suspense, a few knocks on the wood, and a finger pressed on the doorbell switch, the door finally opened.
Not in a million years did Damon imagine that behind that door he would find someone else from his past.
"Elena?"
AN:
-I know, there are some questions, and I hope I can answer them in the next chapter.
-Although this story is inspired by a AU/TVshow(One of my favorites). I took the audacity to change some things. So it took me a bit longer than I thought to build this chapter... I'm still not sure of this... Please do not hesitate to give me your opinion, that is important to me. Your opinions are very valuable, they help me to have another approach to the story. And the least I want to do is confuse you.
Then I wasn't sure if Damon should have waited to collect his thoughts or if it was right for him to act on impulse. So things went faster than I expected and Damon just couldn't wait another minute to see Bonnie again and have a chat with her.
But I suppose these are the consequences of acting deliberately, now he will not only face Bonnie but also Elena.