"How did you get away?" Elijah asked, curious.
They were sitting in her bedroom, her on her bed and him in the window seat.
"I don't know." Elena shook her head. "One second, he was on top of me and the next, he was on the floor."
"I wonder." Elijah leaned back, his expression thoughtful.
"What?"
"This is something I think you need to work on yourself, but if you need help, I'll be there however I can be."
"I know. Anyway, you accompany me to the Founder's Historical Society event?" Elena asked suddenly, desperate to not think about the night she was attacked by her ex-husband, though that part was only in her memories. "As a Founding Family member, I have to go, and you know Damon will worm his way in somehow."
"Of course. Anything you need."
They remained silent for a long moment before Elena spoke again, "Did you know?"
"Know what?"
"What Damon did to Caroline?"
"I figured out what happened, based on your memories, but every move I made to try to stop it, something got in my way, almost like it was meant to happen."
"The spirits wanted Caroline hurt?" Nausea curled in her stomach..
"I can't answer that, but know that I did try to save her, and I failed."
"But, if you could have, you would have, right?"
"Yes. Murder, torture, feeding from humans indiscriminately, I can tolerate that. But sexual crimes go against everything I believe and hold most dear."
"You sound almost like a feminist."
"I am a devote feminist."
"Prove it."
"I played a key role in helping getting the movement started, from making sure women could wear pants, to being able to vote, and to being able to own their own homes. I was there. And I continue to fight for people who were assigned female at birth to have autonomy over their bodies, compelling the right people to make sure that Roe vs. Wade remains the law of the land."
"So, you'll be my date and protect me from people who think they can take what they want from whoever they want to."
"If that's what you need from me, of course."
"And Damon?"
"I hung him from the rafters in the attic of the house Klaus renovates in your memories and I got a bit creative with some tools, but I won't go into details since it was rather gruesome, if I do say so myself, for the pain he caused you. Once I was satisfied with the amount of pain I inflicted, I compelled him to leave Caroline alone, and warned him away from you."
"You didn't compel him away from me?" Elena asked, suddenly fearful.
"I can if you want me to, but I've seen your memories, how strongly you feel about him. I won't dictate your actions."
"After what he did to me, there's no way. Yes, I know he thought I was Caroline at first, so it wasn't actually me he thought he was hurting, but still, it doesn't change what he did. I can't be with someone who hurt my friend like that."
Elijah cocked his head, listening.
"What is it?"
"Tyler Lockwood is here for the pieces for the display."
"Oh, right. I forgot."
"Jeremy's giving it to him."
"Jeremy and Tyler, not a good mix. I need to get down there."
"Don't worry. He was better behaved this time. Will you be okay?" he asked.
"I'll be fine. I just-" Elena broke off and sobs shook her shoulders.
She'd married Caroline's abuser! And while people could change and become better, it didn't change that seeing him, seeing them together, had to cause Caroline distress. Seeing her friend with her rapist couldn't have been easy, because yes, Damon did rape Caroline.
All at once, she found herself wrapped up safely in Elijah's arms, cradled against his powerful chest.
"You're safe, Elena
After a long moment, someone knocked on her bedroom door.
"Elena?" Jeremy called. "Sheriff Forbes wants to talk to you."
"Just a minute." Slowly, she extracted herself from Elijah's embrace. "I know it sounds silly, but could you hide in my closet? I don't want to be alone."
"If that's what you need, of course." Elijah stood up and a second later, she was apparently alone.
"Come in."
The door opened, revealing Liz. Glancing around, the sheriff closed the door, then turned to Elena.
"What happened the night you were attacked?"
"I was almost asleep, then someone came in through the open window. I think my bruises tell the rest of the story."
"You were outside when we came up. Why?"
"I was trying to get away without bringing him to Caroline or Bonnie. Better it just be me that gets hurt instead of people I care about."
"Would you recognize him if you saw him again?"
"I don't know. Maybe?" Elena shook her head. She truly didn't recognize the one who'd attacked her as being the man she'd fallen in love with, even though she knew in her head that it was.
"Elena?"
"His face, it, it was too twisted up…" she trailed off. "It's all a blur really. Maybe, once I've had time to heal a bit, but right now, I don't know. Now, please leave. I told you all I know."
Liz pursed her lips, but did as Elena asked.
"Why didn't you tell her about Damon?" Elijah asked once Liz was gone.
"Because she'll just get herself killed," Elena replied. "Damon will be even worse now that he knows he attacked me instead of Caroline, since, according to you he was already fixated on me, and I won't risk her dying because she thinks she can handle him."
"Residual feelings can be painful to deal with."
"Yeah." Elena lowered her head.
"You loved him for years, and now, you've been forced to come face to face with what he actually did to your friend."
"My feelings for Damon came about because he was there when I was vulnerable after the sacrifice and Stefan leaving. It's- he was there for me and he changed for me. But was that change because he wanted me? Or because he really wanted to be good?"
"If I had to hazard a guess, it's because he wanted the girl."
"How could I have been so stupid?"
"You're a smart, strong woman, Elena, who's mind is your own. You're not the teenager you were last time, so you're seeing everything in a different light, including the people you love. If that lights makes them seem like a different person, you'll heal from the pain that causes. Of that, I have no doubt." He cupped her cheek gently, his thumb ghosting over the bruise under her eye.
"Thanks. I've gotta take care of something really quick." Standing up, she went to Jeremy's room.
That watch wasn't going to leave the house if she could help it. If they tried to kill Elijah, he wouldn't hesitate to take them to task for it.
Knocking on his door, she got Jeremy's attention.
"What's up?
"Hey, did you leave the watch in the box?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, because if you took it, I was going to call Mrs. Lockwood and tell her that we'd decided to keep that since it now belongs to you, instead of Dad."
"You're not mad at me?"
"It is yours, Jer. She can't be mad if it's changed ownership since the pieces were agreed upon and you want to keep it." Elena attempted to laugh, but the bruises made her wince and she grabbed her side. She hadn't even realize she'd been hurt there.
"Are you okay?"
"I'll heal."
"What do I tell Jenna about the guy you've in your room." Jeremy smirked.
"Elijah's a friend, who's trying to help me, nothing more. Please, Jer. Don't say anything about him and I won't say anything about you and Vickie."
"Alright, fair enough." Jeremy raised an eyebrow, but put his headphones back on.
Heading downstairs, Elena picked up the house phone and dialed the Lockwood home.
"Hello. Lockwood Residence."
"Hello, Mrs. Lockwood, this is Elena Gilbert. With everything that happened the last bit, I forgot to tell you that since the watch belongs to Jeremy now, he didn't want it out of his possession. It's one thing our dad passed on directly to him and he's really possessive of it. So, don't worry about it, it's not missing."
"Okay," she sounded very disappointed. "I was hoping to be able to show it since it's so beautiful."
"I'm sorry, but Jeremy doesn't want it leaving the house."
"If you change your mind, please bring it, but the other pieces will more than make up for it, so no worries."
"Thanks for understanding. Bye."
Just then, frantic knocking came from the front door and Elena answered it to find Caroline and Bonnie on the other side.
"May we come in?" Caroline asked, holding up the basket in her hand and gestured with her elbow to the basket in Bonnie's arms. "We brought care packages."
"Sure." Elena stepped out of the way and her friends entered the front room.
Her phone buzzed and she checked the message.
Enjoy your evening with your friends. Contact me if you need anything.
What about Caroline's necklace?
I'll leave it on your bed. I got one for Bonnie too, even though she won't need it. Just so it won't look weird that you're giving one friend a gift and not the other. Caroline's is a heart locket and her birthstone, with the vervain sealed inside the locket. Bonnie's has a large birthstone in her month.
"We thought that since you were attacked by some crazy guy the other night, you could use movies, candy, ice cream, the works, and your friends." Caroline set her basket on the kitchen table.
"That sounds amazing."
How had she thought that Caroline was selfish and ignorant of the others' needs in her other life? Just because she was a bit blind to the supernatural didn't make her selfish or stupid.
"So, did they find the guy who broke in?" Bonnie asked.
"No, but the sheriff and others are still looking." Heading towards the stairs, she called over her shoulder, "I'll be right back."
Just as Elijah had promised were the two necklaces inside black velvet boxes. Grabbing them, she ran back down the stairs.
"I um, I got you guys something. It's for nothing except being such good friends and hopefully, we will be friends for the rest of our lives." Opening the boxes up, she handed them the necklaces that Elijah had designated for them.
"Oh, wow." Bonnie examined the necklace carefully.
"Okay, Elena, this is perfect. It'll literally go with everything!" Caroline squealed. "Help me put it on?"
"I know I've been out of it since I woke up, so these are to show how much you guys mean to me." Elena hooked the clasp together.
"Awww. You were hurt and you're still giving us things! And they're so pretty!" Caroline hugged her.
"To be fair, I ordered them before that happened."
Elena pressed her cheek against Caroline's shoulder, holding her close. With all of the compulsions she'd endured, the blonde girl couldn't remember what had happened to her, so she didn't know she'd endured even worse than Elena had.
"Still. You remembered to give them to us." Bonnie joined the hug and Elena clung to them.
She'd needed this, Elena realized. Her soul ached to have her friends close and back in her life. She'd lost them over time, each of them fading out of each others' lives, after they won that last fight against Hell, but she'd been so obsessed with Damon that she hadn't realized it until she was back with them.
"I've missed you guys, so much," she whispered. "It feels like it's been years."
"You've been through a lot," Bonnie said, rubbing her back.
"It doesn't mean I have an excuse to lose my friends. Now, our last 'girls night' got cut a little short, so let's get started and," stepping back, she held up her hands, "no talking about why that night got cut short in the first place."
"Popcorn first. We can't watch movies without making popcorn!" Caroline pulled a bag of microwave popcorn out of the basket and put it into the microwave.
Seemingly shallow, but feeling far more than she let anyone in on, Caroline was the true backbone of the three of them. She was the muscle, the strength, the one the other two leaned on even if they didn't realize it, because she could take it.
After Caroline popped several bags, she poured them into a large bowl and then they grabbed drinks and sweets, before making their way to the couch.
"What shall we watch?" Bonnie asked.
"Nothing romance," Elena said. She couldn't bear that, what with what happened between her and the man she'd married before.
"Okay, I've got just the one."
"What is it?"
"You'll see." Caroline put a movie in and sat on one side while Bonnie took the other.
Whether her friends realized it or not, they'd brought break up food, just what she needed, considering she was finally being forced to accept that the man she'd loved in her last time around wasn't going to be the love of this life.
Whether Damon could be saved or not, that would between him and Stefan, but it wouldn't be because of her, not this time. The brothers needed each other. They didn't need to be torn apart by her because she looked like the woman they loved.
Bonnie threw a piece of popcorn at her.
"What?" Elena jerked out of her thoughts.
"Your face said you were thinking forbidden thoughts."
"Thanks for that."
Her phone buzzed and she checked it.
The Martin witches have agreed to free Enzo.
When?
Whenever they get a chance without drawing attention to themselves.
Thank you.
"Who are you texting?" Caroline asked.
"Elijah. He's been very understanding about everything and helping me with it."
"I thought you weren't interested."
"He's being a good friend, nothing more."
Her friends exchanged glances behind her back, but she missed it, allowing herself to focus on the cars racing through the streets.