A/N: Hey guys! I'll (Olivia) be writing the chapter again, upon my insistence that Emily take time to rest. Don't fret; she'll be back with rejuvenated strength in no time!
Hope you guys enjoy! And the next few chapters will be mostly focused on Delena, not that much Beremy nor Markus/Caroline.
Previously…
"As much as I want to wrap my arms around you and spend the night together," His eyes visibly darkened, "I must respect your decision to get to know one another."
She smiled, gripping the handle to the door, "Thank you, Damon. We should do this again sometime."
He nodded, watching her step out. Before she could close the door, he leaned over, struggling with the seat belt to place his hand on her still-flat stomach, "Take care of both you, okay, Elena? I wouldn't be able to live if I lost either of you." Keeping his hand resting there for a second longer, he pulled back, allowing her to shut the door with a beaming smile on her features.
He made sure she got inside the building safely before pulling away, ease washing over him.
Elena closed the door to her apartment, feeling like she was currently situated on cloud nine. Everything felt perfect. Walking towards the kitchen table, she picked up the opened package, dove her hand inside before pulling out. With care, she placed the beautiful engagement ring on her finger while gingerly placing her other hand on her stomach. Inside, she hoped she would never have to take the ring off.
The sun had long-since risen, drawing Elena awake. She walked around her apartment, a small smile gracing her features. She felt like she was walking around on cloud nine, as two nights ago after her date with Damon. The past two days were a blur to her, doing the everyday tasks; grocery shopping, purchasing neutral-gender baby clothing, taking strolls around the park.
Damon and her hadn't had another date, but she was content with the thought that they would work out another day for their future date. Walking towards the fridge, she grabbed the milk and hastily poured it into a cup. She had her entire day planned out, and nothing was to be pushed back due to her being slow in the morning, so she picked up her usual pace. Downing the milk, she tossed a few granola bars into her purse before grabbing her keys by the front door.
It hadn't occurred to her that she had forgotten one task. She stopped dead in her tracks, quickly rolled her eyes before scurrying off to her room to get quickly changed as she was currently in her pajamas.
She had done this for the past two days, going as far as actually getting inside the elevator down the hall before the woman standing beside her pointed out that she was still in her nightwear.
You could say that this was a tell-tale sign of falling head-over-heels in love with a guy. Even Elena's aunt Jenna had pointed it out during their conversation over the phone.
"Honey, you need to get your mind on track." Jenna had warned her. She didn't want her niece risking the life of her unborn child.
Elena had bit her bottom lip before muttering, "I know. I've just been…" She trailed off, dreamily and suddenly remembering the reason why she's been so distracted.
Her aunt grew impatient and worried, "Elena. Snap out of it. I won't have you losing your baby simply because you've fallen hard for a man."
Elena had blushed crimson, even if her aunt was in Virginia. How could she know when Elena hadn't mentioned a word of Damon? It must be those maternal instincts those books Jenna had sent were talking about. She was beginning to grow agitated that she hadn't felt those feelings yet.
Rushing out of her room, Elena once again grabbed her purse in which she had left by the front door in her hurry to get to her room and walked out of the apartment. She placed the granola bar she was munching on into her mouth to jab at the elevator button, shifting her briefcase to her other hand before patiently waiting for the elevator doors to open.
It took longer than usual, Elena mused before stepping inside the now-open elevator. She courteously smiled to the elderly woman wrapped in fox fur. She nearly gagged when she caught sight of the fur around her neck, for she didn't believe in having to kill animals for mere clothing.
The woman sneered inwardly before returning the smile, pointedly giving a glare that read 'do not try to make conversation with me'. Elena gladly respected her privacy, giving a small nod in recognition of her glare before pressing the lobby button. She could see from her peripheral vision that the woman clearly took a step back as Elena stretched her arm across her. She scoffed at this before straightening her back, watching the numbers count down the floors.
She sighed a breath of relief as the doors opened, taking one step forward before being halted by the woman rudely pushing past her without a glance back to apologize for elbowing Elena in the ribs.
With a roll of her eyes once again that day, she walked out into the lobby.
"I see you are well, Ms. Gilbert." Came the uncouth, French tone of Valene Parét. Her high-pitched voice always reminded Elena of nails being dragged on a blackboard. It not only hurt her eardrums, but her nerves would get totally out of whack whenever she talked.
Elena nodded with a forced smile before taking a seat across from Valene at the café, French Bean. She placed the briefcase on the table, "Nice to see you too, Ms. Parét."
Valene waved her hand, "Nonsense. We are out of the theater, call me Valene."
Elena nodded, wanting so badly to swat her waving hand away from her face. The waitress took their orders, bringing back the water and coffee.
Valene eyed up her water questioningly, "You not like coffee?" She smiled at her foolishness, "Ah, yes, you are having a little one. It must have slipped my mind."
Not the first time something 'slipped your mind'. Elena smiled weakly before taking a small sip of her water, not wanting to beckon the morning sickness. She didn't want to bring up the reason why they were meeting, since Valene despised when someone did just that.
Valene straightened her back from taking a gulp of her black coffee.
Black like her soul, Elena mused with an inward smirk.
"You have the papers, yes?" She asked, one eyebrow raised.
Elena nodded, gesturing towards the briefcase as she took another sip of her water. Valene stared at her, not even breaking away to glance at the briefcase. She was obviously waiting for her to open it up. Elena felt the urge to smack her, but she really needed this job, unfortunately.
Wiping her hands off on the napkin from the drops of water that had fallen off of the glass, she brought the briefcase to her lap and jabbed in the code. The case opened with a definite 'pop' before she reached in to retrieve the papers. She handed them to Valene, all the while explaining, "Bonnie wrote down the entire set-up for the Dark Veil, including the estimated pricing for the tickets," Elena placed the two dollars for her water before standing up, "If that is all that you need, I will be leaving. Good day, Valene." On second thought, she mused, grabbing the money she had left, knowing that the director would sneak it into her purse.
Valene grabbed her arm as she was about to brush past her, looking up into her eyes, "You know, I should promote you. You've been with this company for eight-"
"Ten years, Valene." Elena corrected, feeling the eye rolls itching.
Valene huffed, clearly annoyed by being cut off, "Ten years, yes, and you have put forth your best effort, bringing in crowds this theater has never seen. You and your friends…" She bit her lip, trying to remember their names as well.
Not being able to hold it in much longer, she rolled her eyes, "Bonnie and Caroline."
"Yes, Bonnie and Caroline. They shall be promoted as well. Clearly Mr. Briggs has taken a liking to you three." Valene flashed a malicious smile, knowing that something happened in North Las Vegas.
Elena nodded, pulling her arm away from her grasp before continuing out the gated pavilion of the café. She made her way towards the abandoned cash register, tapping her foot in impatience. While waiting, she stole a few glances around at the surrounding eateries. Her gaze brushed past a crowd gathered at an outside watering hole, cheering on someone, maybe even something.
Her fingers kept ringing the bell placed on the counter, momentarily transfixed by the sight of the overly-crowded group across the street.
"Miss?" Came a male voice, quite youthful indeed.
Elena spun around, eyes questioning.
His eyes darted towards her hand which was still unconsciously ringing the bell, "I'm going to have to ask you to release the bell, ma'am."
She gaped in surprise, not even realizing she had been doing that before hastily removing her hand from the bell. Her cheeks brightened, "Sorry." She gave an innocent smile before handing him the two dollars, "I was going to leave this on the table for the waitress, but I don't really trust the woman I was sitting with."
The man chuckled, nodding in understanding before taking the money, "Thank you, ma'am. Have a nice day." His eyes darted up from the cash register to meet hers. Green collided with brown in that one moment before Elena tugged her gaze away.
"You too." She smiled once more before turning on her heels to walk out of the café, scolding herself for looking too long into his eyes. He couldn't have been more than sixteen, yet his eyes gave way to a soul much older than appearances.
Out of pure curiosity, she made her way towards the pub across the street, careful to watch for any passing cars. Fortunately, she made it across in one piece, and just in time to see the crowd slightly part. She pushed her way through, wanting to see what the buzz was all about.
Once she made it to the front of the crowd, she could see a raven-haired man sitting beside a hyper-active blonde, obviously dyed. Elena craned her neck to try to catch a glimpse of their faces, but found it impossible with the growing crowd.
The mass shouted a countdown before reaching one, and Elena watched with bated breath as both people sitting on the stools placed before the bar, hurriedly picked up the shot glasses, downed them, and bit into lemons. Elena nearly gagged when they spit them out, catching the strong scent of the lemons.
Her breath hitched as they turned towards each other, bringing their lips together for a heated kiss. She nearly collapsed right then and there once she saw the face of the raven-haired man. Her face completely blanched as his hands were all over her, deepening the kiss.
So this is why we haven't gone on a date in the past days, she thought with tears pooling in her eyes. In white hot anger, Elena turned on her heel, forcefully pushing through the crowd as various men whistled them on. She couldn't take any more of this, her heart was currently nestled beside her stomach which was churning at the thought of him and that blonde.
Feeling the strong urge overcome her, she rushed towards the closest garbage bin, regurgitating what little breakfast she had managed to swallow down. As she wiped her mouth on her sleeve, she felt her head become fuzzy. Deciding to ignore the feeling, she picked up pace into a jog back to her apartment only a few blocks away.
Elena sat on her couch, sobbing to the normally-relaxing movie of Belle Epoque. She couldn't pinpoint when in the film she had begun balling her eyes out, since the film was in Spanish, which she understood thanks to classes upon classes in high school.
How could she have been so foolish as to believe that he would want to actually marry her. The guy barely even proposed. "You know, maybe we should get hitched." Yeah, that sounds legit. Not.
She rubbed her eyes, feeling the sudden urge to punch someone, just release all of this pent-up anger. Her mind reeled trying to figure out how a woman like herself, one who was always prepared for the floor to fall out beneath her plans, could let this man slip under radar.
She scolded herself yet again for the umpteenth time since leaving that hell-hole bar. All she wanted to do was make him feel the utter pain she was currently enduring. Hell, this was probably not only hurting her heart, but somehow putting a strain on her baby and their growth.
Her body stiffened at the thought. How could he? She bit her bottom lip before struggling to get off of the couch, but failing miserably at doing so. She couldn't believe that had never asked where he was staying. If she had these details, she could begin plotting her revenge. She could have had him in the palm of her hand if she hadn't been such a klutz.
Elena felt like her heartstrings were being violently tugged. This was absolutely killing her. The tears threatened to fall as she clenched her hands into fists, not being able to bear this any longer. She shut her eyes, wishing that her confidants, Bonnie and Caroline, were here, comforting her. But she could only wish upon a star, for they still had three more days until they returned to New York.
Breathing deeply, Elena pulled out her phone, flipping through her recent calls. She scoffed, realizing the last time Damon ever contacted her was four days ago. Finding his number, she clicked the send button and pressed the phone to her ear. The dial tone kept ringing…and ringing.
Finally, she was listening to his voicemail, wanting so badly to just scream at the sound of his voice. Once the beating indicating her to begin saying her message sounded, she took a sharp inhale of breath before beginning, "You know what, Damon?" Her lips curled upwards into a malicious smile, "I am so better off without you. I will not be one of those girls who lose their self-respect and cry forever over some stupid guy that clearly does not know how to stay faithful. Goodbye."
She forcefully ended the call before slumping back against the couch, biting back the tears. Her eyes burned like hell thanks to the tears, but she was keeping true to her word. Elena Gilbert was not going to cry forever over some guy who clearly does not have a heart. Her mind thought back to each of their conversations, quickly realizing that he never said 'I love you' even once.
The anger within her bubbled dangerously. Turning the film back on, she calmed herself down with breathing techniques she learned while she was prima ballerina in the ballet company. Fortunately, she elevated her emotions, watching the rest of the film without shedding a single tear.
The day wore on, seemingly innocent to the frowns of the brunette below, curled up on her couch, watching film after film. It was close to midnight when the phone rang. She lifted her head up off of the couch cushion, hair in all directions. Struggling off of the couch, she shuffled her bunny slippers across the floor until she reached the small island in the middle of the kitchen. With sluggish movements, she picked up the receiver, bringing it to her ear, only to move it away from the loud voice on the other end.
"Elenaaaaa!"
Elena brought the phone back to her ear, "What? Who is this?"
The voice paused, drawing in a much needed breath after the long drawl of Elena's name, "It's Care-Care."
Elena chuckled at the nickname Caroline hated, "Hey, Caroline. You alright?"
Caroline shifted on the mattress, suddenly disliking where she was lying, "What? I can't hear you over the fan." She glanced up to the near-silent fan, shrugging her shoulders.
Elena rolled her eyes, "Are you okay?"
Caroline rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling, "Mar-velous."
The brunette face-palmed herself, knowing something was up with her friend. She would get the answer out one way or another, later. Right now, she just wanted to rest her head on her pillow and fall into a deep sleep where there was no raven-haired monster to break her heart further. "Good night, Care." She chuckled, her voice concealing the hurt.
Caroline pouted before jumping up suddenly, "Wait! Wait wait wait!" She paused to catch her breath, "You won't believe what I got the tyke!"
Elena tilted her head in both amusement and anticipation of what she bought, "What?"
Caroline looked over towards the article of clothing placed gently on her dresser, "It's a onesie. But get this, it has three sleeves, 'cause you know, you never know if it might come out with three arms." She giggled at this, hearing her friend burst out laughing.
"Oh God, Care, I love you." She tried her best to contain her laughter.
"Love ya too." Caroline smiled, missing her friend like crazy.
"I'll talk to you soon. Good night." Elena smirked before hanging up, so glad that she still had her friends to distract her from the heartbreak she had encountered. Plus, she really wanted to lay eyes on that onesie.
A/N: Damon's acting up again. :(
Reviews help the writing process!
Sneak Peek into the next chapter:
Elena felt strong, not used like she felt the other day, but femininely strong. She felt like she was on top of the world, by herself. The persistent ringing of her cellphone on the kitchen counter brought her tumbling out of her thoughts. Walking towards counter, she picked up her phone, not recognizing the number immediately. She clicked the send button before placing the phone on her ear, "Hello?"
There was a brief pause, and the sound of a clearing of the throat, "Elena, I-I…"
Elena bit her tongue, trying to bite back to the screams she wanted so badly to blast into the phone, "What?" She snapped.
"Why?" Was the simple answer she received back.