Prologue
I met Stefan when I was just 16 years old. We fell hard and fast. We were able to connect over similar family issues and just life in general. My parents had divorced shortly after my brother Jeremy had been born. I remember the fights like they were yesterday. Jeremy and I have continued to live with our mother, Miranda. Our father moved to New York City shortly after and worked there as a Physician in the local ER. It has been just the three of us for years. We lived in a quaint home in Mystic Falls, Virginia. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was ours. My mother didn't have to work due to the smart investments she had made when married to my father. I get sad thinking about him. I haven't seen him since I was 3 years old, and I really have no memory of him.
Stefan's life has been more difficult than mine. Similarly, his parents divorced just after he was born. He lived with his father, Giuseppe. It was a large brick home that they shared, just the two of them with the staff that worked there. Giuseppe owned a local lumber mill. They were well off and Stefan had never wanted for anything. Well, anything other than seeing his mom and brother once more. His brother, Damon, was just 6 years old when Lily, his mother, had taken off in the middle of the night. She left Stefan behind.
Unlike me, Stefan had chosen not to hold a grudge. He is lucky in the sense that he still gets phone calls from his mother. At least once a year. And every year, on his birthday, like clockwork he gets a card from her as well. Lily had explained to him when he was older what had forced her to run in the middle of the night. She had said that her and Giuseppe's relationship had been tumultuous; if not toxic. Her choice to leave Stefan behind was never completely understood. She tried to convey her reasoning, but Stefan never truly believed her. Regardless, he never met his brother. And it left a hole in Stefan's heart.
We married young. Stefan and I were just entering our first year of college when he proposed. Before our junior year, we had a small ceremony. Jeremy walked me down the aisle, while my mother gave me away. Giuseppe stood proud beside Stefan that day. That was my family. I couldn't ask for more. Of course, I was broken-hearted when I found my father's address and invited him to my wedding. He never showed. I think Stefan had finally had enough when Lily never arrived. His mother and brother should have been there that day. The reason for their no-show never came to light. After that, he had chosen to cut off all contact with Lily and came to the realization that he would never meet his brother.
Senior year of college came and went in the blink of an eye. I was no longer Elena Gilbert. I held the name Elena Salvatore on a pedestal. After completing the necessary training, I became a High School English Teacher. I fell into life with ease. Stefan, however, didn't have it as easy. He chose last minute, due to his father's health to follow in his footsteps. He stepped up and did what he had to in order to run the lumber mill. Is that what he wanted? Probably not. Did it put a strain on our relationship? Absolutely. Stefan came home most nights, very late, and miserable. But our relationship also had other struggles.
I was 24 years old when we discussed starting a family. We tried for two years. There were tears. That was a trying time for my mental health. Unable to conceive naturally, Stefan and I went to a specialist to discuss in-vitro fertilization. Also known as IVF. I got all the blame for being unable to fall pregnant. It had to be my fault. I went through every test possible, and the specialist gave me the all-clear. Now it was Stefan's turn. And that meant only one thing. Stefan was sterile. He was unable to have children. We didn't speak to each other for a few weeks after that. I was now faced with the realization that at 26, we would never have our own. I knew if I stayed married to him, that I would never bear his child. But I loved him, and I chose to stay. We discussed adoption, but for Stefan, that wasn't an option. Did I want to have my own flesh and blood? No. I could live without it. I could be happy with it just being Stefan and me.
Little did I know, that less than 2 months later, my world would be flipped upside down. I was in my 3rd-period class when I received the heartbreaking call. Stefan had been in an accident at the mill. I was told to rush to the ER. The drive there was all a blur. My mother, Jeremy, Giuseppe, and I all sat waiting. Waiting for news. But what news would we get? Stefan was in surgery, and we were told that it would be touch and go. The "accident" was unclear. What took place this morning at the mill was unclear. He was standing by the semi-truck carrying all the lumber when a strap broke. Maybe just one, maybe more. But the large logs fell sideways. They fell on Stefan. He was covered by them. The driver said it happened in the blink of an eye. Yet, it was still unclear.
Stefan was finally out of surgery. He suffered a broken neck and a magnitude of other injuries. The surgeon had decided to put Stefan in a medically induced coma. How long would he be in a coma? That, once more, was unclear. It would be touch and go. We didn't know anything. My heart was broken.