So this is a new story i'm writing, not sure if it I will continue though. Based on the reviews if you wants me to then I will :) Please review and enjoy!

Italics are flashbacks by the way!

Chapter 1

"I can't do this anymore Stefan," Elena said, tears in her eyes.

"What're you talking about?" he asked standing up from his spot on the couch and walking towards her.

Elena took a deep breath, "I refuse to be treated the way I am. Either you quit with the drinking and violent behavior, or I'll take action," she said confident.

Stefan snickered, "You're going to take action?" he asked with an amused look on his face. "And what would that be? You're going to tell your little brother? What's he going to do? You going to call the cops? Good luck with that," he turned away from her and made his way back to the couch.

"Stefan," Elena said. He ignored her and continued to the couch to finish his beer. "Stefan!" she screamed. He quickly turned around and walked over to her, fast.

"Who the hell do you think your talking to?" he screamed in her face. She held her hands up to his chest and tried pushing him away from her. He grabbed both her wrist that lay on his chest and removed them. His grip tightened and he pushed her back into the coffee table.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed from her spot on the floor. No matter how much pain she was in right now, she refused to break. Broken glass was on the ground from her falling on the table and some of it stabbing into her back. Elena pushed herself up from the floor and walked away from him and into the kitchen. She wiped the tears falling from her eyes. "I'm leaving Stefan."

Stefan followed her into the kitchen, "Baby, without me you're nothing." He started walking towards her slowly.

"Don't," she said, holding up a finger and pointing it at him. She grabbed a glass cup from the cabinet and filled it with water from the sink. She put it to her lips and took a long drink from it. Before she knew it, Stefan swung and knocked it out of her hand. It shattered on the ground with glass and water everywhere. Elena put a finger on her lip where she now felt blood.

"You're gonna listen to me Elena. You're not leaving me. You're staying here with the kids and you're gonna be a wife, just like you've always wanted to be."

"You don't own me Stefan," she said through clenched teeth.

"You do what I say!" he yelled, raising a hand and slapped her across the face. She instantly grabbed her right cheek and held it. It wasn't the first smack she's received from him, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt any less. It stung and she felt her face get hot. She felt her heart pounding and she never broke eye contact with Stefan. "Understand?" he asked her.

"Screw you," she spat and walked past him. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him.

"You think I like doing this Elena? You're just so damn stubborn!"

"Let go of me!" She yelled trying to pull her arm out of his grasp. "Stefan, you're hurting me," she barley got out as he twisted her arm. "Please, I'm sorry," she begged.

"Now was that so hard?" he asked releasing her arm. He left her alone in the kitchen as he made his way into the living room, where he'd probably end up getting drunk for the night.

Elena took a shaky breath and leaned against the refrigerator. She slowly slid down it and her body racked with tears. How much more of this would she be able to handle?

"Happy birthday princess," Elena whispered in her daughter's ear as she woke her up. Her now three-year-old rolled over and groaned, "Come on Hailie, time to get up silly." The young girl stretched in her bed and sat up.

"I'm 4 today," she smiled brightly and held up four fingers. Elena smiled and picked up her daughter.

"That's right, now we have to get your dressed for your party today." Elena carried her over to the closet and sat her on the floor. She picked out a black ruffled skirt and a white shirt with a cheetah print heart in the center. "Alrighty, let's go," she smiled and took her daughters hand in hers.

Next stop was to her son's room. Parker was sleeping soundly in his big blue bed with stuffed animals surrounding him. "Parker!" Hailie yelled as she ran onto his bed and sat down next to him. "It's my birthday! Get up! We gonna party!"

The small boy rolled over and opened his eyes. Elena picked him up and dressed him in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. She walked downstairs with both her kids and into the living room. The very same living room she spent so much time in. The room her and Stefan shared so many memories in.

The Salvatore house.

She sighed and put Parker on the floor, where he took off with Hailie and ran around. Elena tied her hair back into a ponytail and walked into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the orange juice.

"Jesus Christ!" she yelled and grabbed her chest when she turned around. Standing behind her was the one and only, Damon. "You scared me."

"Good to see you too," he smiled at her.

"How'd you get in here?" she asked him, clearly surprised he was standing in her kitchen. To be honest, she didn't like the fact that he showed up unannounced to her house.

"You know, I used to live here too, I know where the spare key is," he winked at her.

"Then I guess I better change the hiding spot."

"Now why would you want to do that?" he asked taking the cup of orange juice Elena poured for herself and drank it.

"I don't know, maybe so creeps like you don't just show up in my house?"

"Yeah, you never know who lurks around in Mystic Falls," he smirked.

"What're you doing here Damon?" Elena asked annoyed.

"Well, it is my baby bro's kid's birthday today. Today is the kid's birthday right?" Damon asked, doubt creeping onto his face that it wasn't her birthday today.

"Yeah, but you three years late," she remarked.

"So what? I didn't show up to the last three parties. But in my defense, I never got a party invitation," He said holding his hands up, Elena smiled at him as she put the juice in the fridge.

"Mommy!" a voice yelled as feet ran into the kitchen. Hailie stopped in her tracks at the strange man sitting in the kitchen.

"Boo," he whispered to her, causing her to run to her mother. "Easy kid, I'm not a killer," he held his hands up in defense and laughed.

"Hailie, this is Uncle Damon. He's daddy's brother," Elena introduced him to her.

"Speaking of baby bro, where is he?" Damon asked.

Elena shot him a look, "Not now Damon." Elena picked Hailie up and adjusted her on her hip. "Aunt Caroline will be here any minute now to help decorating, isn't that gonna be fun?"

"Yes!" Hailie exclaimed.

"I'm here!" Caroline announced herself as she walked in with her hands full of bags. She stopped in her tracks when she spotted Damon, "What's he doing here?" she asked Elena, confused.

"Good to see you too, Barbie. And he is here because it's Emily-"

"Hailie," Elena corrected him.

"Hailie's birthday," he finished. Caroline rolled her eyes and put all the bags on the kitchen table. She pulled streamers, balloons, signs, and poster paper out of the bags.

"Let's get started," she smiled.

Hailie and Parker were coloring while Elena hung streamers down the staircase and Caroline hung signs up around the house that read Happy Birthday. Damon on the other hand was sitting and watching while nursing a beer.

"You know, you could help," Caroline said throwing a plastic bag full of balloons that had to be blown up at him. "Start blowing them up." He groaned but reluctantly sat up and starting blowing up the balloons.

"I'm getting light-headed," he complained a few minutes later.

"Man up," Elena told him and retrieved the six balloons he already blew up. She scattered them around the house and went back to help him finish up. "Bonnie will be here soon," she told him.

"What is this, a reunion or something?"

"No one told you to come," she shrugged. "Did you even bring a present?" she asked.

"Of course I did," he said rudely and pulled out a crumpled ten-dollar bill and gave it to her. She rolled her eyes and accepted it, placing it on the table next to her.

"Bonnie's here!" Caroline announced as her other best friend walked through the door with a party bag in her hands.

"Elena," Bonnie said, sympathy on her face.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked from her spot on the couch.

"This was in front of the door," she said holding up a small box with wrapping paper around it. "It's from… Stefan."

"He was here? Why didn't he come in or something?" Elena asked standing up and walking over to Bonnie. She took the present out of her hand and looked at the tag. "It's for Hailie. Did you see him Bonnie?"

"No," Bonnie shook her head. "It was there when I pulled up." Elena nodded in understanding with a sad smile. "Elena…"

"No, I'm fine," Elena said putting on a front. "I'm gonna go check on the food," she said walking out of the living room and into the kitchen.

"What does she mean go check on food? She isn't even cooking anything," Damon said.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," Caroline replied sourly. She rolled her eyes and went back to decorating the house. Bonnie sighed uncomfortably and went over to the kids.

"Happy birthday Hailie," she smiled and handed her a birthday bag. Hailie smiled excitedly and opened it to see her present. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the doll she wanted.

"Thank you Aunt Bonnie!" she exclaimed and jumped up to hug her aunt.

"No problem sweetheart," Bonnie replied hugging the young girl back.

Elena stood over a pot boiling water in the kitchen. She tried to remain calm for her kid's sake. How could Stefan just come and go like that on his kid's birthday? She heard heavy footsteps approaching her. She stood up straighter and shook off the thoughts. "You don't have to pretend to be okay," a husky voice said from behind her.

"If I don't then who will?" she asked.

"You've known those people out there your whole life. Sorry sweetheart, but you ain't fooling any of them."

"Well if I pretend that I'm okay, sooner or later I'll start believing it Damon."

"And how do you know that it will work?"

"Because Damon!" she yelled, and quickly regretted it. "Because, it works every other time." She looked into his deep blue eyes. The ones she always got lost in.