A/N: Sorry I didn't upload yesterday, I ran out of time. Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait. Thank you so much for all the love and reviews I got last chapter! I love hearing your feedback, it keeps me motivated to keep going. I'm also working on a second Delena story which I almost have finished. Enjoy!

DAMONS POV

2 years later

It took me months before I could have a normal dream. Almost every night my brain replayed our breakup over and over on a loop. Every time I had to see that horrible look on her face, it ripped through me. I woke up in sweat, wanting it to stop. I couldn't handle it anymore, it was torture.

Then it got worse. I started to dream about random things that never happened. We were happy, and irrevocably in love. Lots of laughing and love making. Sometimes we were married. She would be pregnant, we had kids. Sometimes we were old. But we were always happy. It was like my brain wanted to remind me what I could've had until I royally fucked it up.

Then it got horrific. I started dreaming of her happy with another man. I thought imagining her kiss another man was bad but dreaming of a man fucking her was just downright tortuous. I started to dread sleep. I'd do anything to avoid it.

I had asked my uncle for a transfer right away. I moved down to the third floor, and someone else took my floor. I pretty much never saw her. There were two times that I ran into her in the parking ramp, and that was it. And those times were awful. I wouldn't be able to focus, all I could picture was her face. It was like she looked right through me. Like I didn't exist, and it nearly killed me.

When I saw her at the work party the following winter, I got so drunk in the first hour my uncle had to call Stefan to come pick me up. I don't even remember it. I just remember thinking about our first work party and wishing I could turn back time.

The following year was worse. She showed up with a date. I saw them kiss, and the way he touched her and made her laugh… It still fucks with my head thinking about it. I left before I could see anything more. I couldn't stomach it.

I spent a lot of my time at the bar. It wasn't good for my diabetes to drink but I needed to. I ended up in the hospital more in those two years than I had in my entire life. Stefan called me a drunk, and my mother made me feel like a dick every time. I could tell it was shattering her to see me like this. She was also angry at me for breaking up with Elena. She loved her, and she reminded me of how I fucked that up constantly.

Stefan quit talking to me, and my mom told me she wasn't going to show up if I ended up in the hospital again, unless I quit drinking. If it wasn't for my mother, I probably would've drunk myself to death. But I couldn't hurt her more than I already have. So, I stopped drinking.

I ended up trading one habit for another. Women. I bed one almost every other night. I drowned myself in women. It was only a temporary distraction, but it was a distraction at the very least. Not a single one of them could even compare to Elena, on any level. Physical, emotional, mental… not even close. But they helped distract me from the pain. I was able to not feel the pain for minutes, sometimes hours. But it always returned… almost immediately.

Stefan and I ended up becoming close again. It was hard for him to trust me again. Trust that I could stay out of that dark hole. I was still in that dark hole, but I was able to mask it around people.

It was hard for me to even hear about Caroline, let alone see her. She reminded me that Elena was still a human. She was a person that was out there living her life without me. But for Stefan's sake I tried my best to tolerate being around her.

She wasn't very fond of me either. I could tell she hated me on many levels. She hated that I hurt her best friend, and she hated me for putting Stefan through my drinking problem. But she loved Stefan so much that she tolerated being around me just as much.

No one ever talked about Elena around me. I think they knew better than to talk about her around me. It would probably send me down a drunken rabbit hole. But there were a few times Caroline would say her name without thinking, and everyone watched as I tried not to coil. I wanted to forget her. I wanted it to get better. Everyone says things heal with time, but I was starting to realize that phrase was bullshit. I wasn't healing. I was unfixable.

Then came the day that Stefan proposed to Caroline. I was genuinely happy for them. I was glad Stefan found his dream girl and that he would spend the rest of his life with her. It was so Stefan.

Of course, Caroline had to be Caroline and plan the most elaborate wedding. She had become a pretty successful interior designer and one of her clients let her borrow his giant beach house in Hawaii for their wedding… Yep, they planned a destination wedding. And they were making it nearly impossible for me to avoid Elena. They wanted us down there for an entire week and a half. Since I was the best man, and she was the maid of honor that meant I would be seeing her a lot. Bachelor and Bachelorette parties, groomsman dinner, rehearsal… I even had to walk down the aisle with her. I was dreading it. I was dreading every horrible second of it.

So that's what brings me to now. I'm on my way to Hawaii. I'm about to spend a week with my ex. I'm about to see the girl that I still love. I might possibly love her more now today than I did, the last time I spoke to her. So yeah, you could say I'm dreading it…

But a tiny glimmer of hope erupts in my chest, and I try to silence it reminding myself that I have no right to think she would ever give me a chance again.

"Hey," Stefan greeted me as I entered the mansion that had a beautiful beach access out back.

"Hey," I answered back in awe looking around the massive inside.

"Your room is this way," Stefan escorted me up the stairs and down to the east side of the house. He brought me to the last door on the left, and gestured to the bright bedroom, painted in corals and peaches. "My buddy Jake is right across the hall, and mom and dad are staying next to you. Plus, Caroline's mom is on this side as well." He told me.

I threw my suitcase on the bed, "Not bad."

"I know right?" Stefan smiled.

"Where's your room?" I wondered.

"Caroline and I have our own floor," he pointed up. "The master has its own private balcony, with a hot tub. You should check it out."

"I'm good," I frowned in disgust. "I don't need to know where my baby brother is having boring old married sex."

Stefan rolled his eyes, "We're not married yet."

"Tomato, Tamoto," I shrugged.

"Well get yourself comfortable, and then everyone is out on the beach out back," he said.

"Everyone?" I asked.

"Yeah, mom and dad just showed up last night," he confirmed. "Jake, Carolines mom, and dad… and his boyfriend" Stefan made a face. Not that Caroline's dad was gay but for the fact that Caroline's parents don't get along. "Bonnie, and…" he paused before barely whispering, "Elena, have been here for a couple days."

The mere mention of her name had me nearly breathless. I was nervous to see her. What would her reaction be? Would she be nice? Would she be mean? Would she ignore me?

"Well, I'm going to throw on my suit and then head to the back, are you going to join?" He interrupted my thoughts.

"Yeah," I shook my head. "Yeah, I'll be out in a bit."

After Stefan let me be, I unpacked my suitcase in a haze. I put my clothes in the dresser, put my bathroom stuff in my private bathroom. All while thinking about how I was going to react to Elena. Should I be the first one to break the ice? Should I wait for her to come to me? Should I just leave it be, and try to keep my distance for the whole 10 days I am here?

After I emptied my suitcase, I threw on my suit, and a black cut off shirt. I threw on some shades and threw my towel over my shoulder. "Here goes nothing," I mumbled to myself before walking out of the beach house.

The sun was bright, and warm on my skin. The water was a breathtaking blue. The air smelt clean and crisp. You could hear the waves crash along the shore and the birds chirp in the distance. My eyes scanned the beach seeing Stefan and Caroline off in the water being all lovey dovey with each other. I noticed Caroline's dad and husband sitting in chairs enjoying the sun. I scanned to the other side and saw her mom, chatting with Bonnie. My parents were chatting, their feet in the water. I breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't see Elena.

I was about to walk out into the sand when I heard the door behind me slide open. I heard her laugh fill my ears, and every nerve in my body was awakened, very aware of her presence. I turned around and was nearly knocked off my own feet with seeing her.

Her smile. That was the first thing I noticed. It was big and stark white against her already tanned skinned from the Hawaiian sun. Her long hair was loosely curled, her shades resting on top of her head. She wore a bright pink bikini. Her breasts were spilling out of the tiny top. Did she get her tits done? They looked bigger than I remembered. Her flat stomach, and curvy hips had my jaw on the floor.

"Oh," Her smile deserted once she saw me. "Damon," her smile reappeared after she said my name. "Hi." Then she leaned in and I was taken a back. I was expecting a slap across the face. Or even just walk around me, and pretend I was invisible.

She gave me a quick hug, and I was overwhelmed with her familiar scent. I had missed that smell. I searched for it. I yearned for it. I was hoping I could find it, but not one girl even came close to smelling like her. "Hi," my voice sounded shocked.

She pulled away too quickly.

"I'm Jake," I heard a male voice speak. I was so shocked by her presence that I didn't notice the guy that was making her smile and laugh.

"Damon," I shook his hand.

My head was racing. Are they dating? Did they just meet this week? He was a bronze looking beach boy. Tall, blonde, fit body. He belonged in a magazine, or a romantic comedy. He looked like he could play the lifeguard, who rescued the damsel in distress. All the girls in the theatre would go home and fantasize about him between their legs as they pleasured themselves.

I knew he was a college buddy of Stefan's, but I had never met him before. I prayed that they weren't anything. I don't think I could handle being in a house for 10 days with them.

I noticed their matching alcoholic beverages, and I was jealous… in many ways. I wish I was the one making her smile. I wish I could drink with them. I wish I could drown at the ache in my chest, as I looked at her.

"Elena!" I heard Bonnie shout from behind me. I turned to see Bonnie wave her down to the shore excitedly.

I turned back to Elena, she looked back at Jake smiling. They both shimmied around me, "see you around," she turned to look at me before walking down to the water.

I nearly fell over as I got a good view of her perfectly toned ass, in her thong bikini. My knuckles cracked as I clenched my fist trying to expel all the pent-up energy I had.

"Fuck me," I groaned to myself once they were out of hearing distance. This was going to suck.

Later that night we had a bonfire. I was thankful for the darkness. One… Elena was a little more covered up so I could stop looking at her glorious tits and ass. Two… I could avoid seeing Jake make her laugh repeatedly and throw her in the water. They were extremely flirty, but I never saw a kiss or anything, thank the Lord. I didn't know if that meant they just met or if they were just trying to be courteous. Either way, I was thankful.

I stared into the fire as everyone around me were lost in conversation. I tried focusing in on the conversations, but my brain kept thinking about Elena. I was daydreaming about our brief encounter earlier, still shocked by how kind she was. I didn't deserve that… I didn't deserve it at all.

Before I knew it, most of the people had gone inside to go to bed. It was just me; Elena, Jake and Stefan still awake. Jake and Stefan were talking about some college memory and they were laughing hysterically. They decided to head inside to make another drink, Jake asked Elena and I if we wanted one. She nodded her head enthusiastically handing Jake her empty glass. I mumbled, "no thanks," and Stefan gave me an apologetic look.

It was quiet for a second when they left, their laughter in the distance as the headed to the house.

She was just two seats down from me, and I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what.

"How do you like Hawaii?" I stupidly spit out.

Her eyes shifted to mine, and she swallowed. She crossed her legs, "I'm being nice to you because I want to make this as smooth as possible for Stefan and Caroline. It's their wedding and I'm not going to ruin that." Her tone had a bite to it. "Don't mistake that for anything else," she paused before looking back at the fire. "I hate you."

That is exactly what I was expecting our first encounter to be… hostile. I deserved it, there was no question about that. I deserved worse.

"I deserve that," I admitted, although her words still stung. "I thought you might slap me when you saw me."

"I was tempted," she kept her eyes on the fire.

"I'd let you," I teased.

"That's not going to work," she snapped her head to me. "The sarcastic charm thing that you do," she glared. "It may have gotten you in my pants the first time, but I'm a lot smarter now."

I tried hiding my smile, "I always loved that fire in you."

"I know your games," she ignored my comment. "And I'm not in the mood to play."

I couldn't help but smile. I loved when she got feisty. "You're just turning me on babe," I smirked at her. "You know I like when you get mad at me."

I could see the anger boiling from every pore in her body. I don't know why I used humor in this moment. I hurt the girl enough. But you know what they say… hurt people hurt. It was deflection, and it was pathetic.

She stood up, "You want to play games," she threw her blanket that was across her lap onto the chair. "Then game on," she said each word slowly. She started to march away from me, headed back to the house.

I watched as she stopped in her tracks and turned around marching back to me in rage. She stood in front of me looking down at me. Her hand rose and smacked me across the face hard. The sound seemed to echo in the night, and my cheek stung. "Screw you!" She growled before marching back to the house.

And suddenly the night we broke up came rushing back to me, and I knew I was going to have nightmares tonight.

A/N: The next chapter was really fun to write :) What do you guys think will happen next? Please leave a review/comment! See you next week :)