It had been about a week since Elowen received the news. She wasn't able to get ahold of Stefan at all during that time. She even dropped by the boarding house to see how he was doing, but when she got there, Damon told her he was out hunting and that she should come back later.

Discouraged, she had gone back to her car, only to break down crying. Damon was by her side in an instant, opening up the driver's side in order to ask her what was wrong. It took her a couple of tries to speak through her hyperventilating, but she explained what had happened to Vicki and Lexi. Damon comforted her until she stopped crying and told her he'd pass the message along to Stefan. She hadn't seen or heard from either of them after that.

She'd been managing to brave her way through school with the help of Josiah and Matt. Both had been taking turns making sure she was alright, though she'd asked them not to because it wasn't fair that she was allowed to grieve and they were stuck babysitting her. They continued to do it anyway.

That morning, Elowen was rushing to get out of the house. She'd overslept and was very late to school. When she got downstairs, she discovered both her mom and Josiah lounging about in the living room. She was too frazzled to even be mad that they didn't wake her. She rushed to make herself a shake for breakfast and then made a beeline for the door. She opened it and received the shock of her life.

"There's my little girl!" Luis Ortiz, her father that she'd thought they finally escaped from, gushed with a smile. His fist was raised as if he had been about to knock. Elowen didn't say anything, frozen, as buried feelings of worthlessness and low self-esteem came crawling back up her throat. She felt like she was about to be sick.

"What, aren't you glad to see me?" Luis asked innocently, acting as if nothing was wrong.

"Hey, nerd!" Josiah's voice rang out from behind her. "I dunno if you're aware, but you kinda need your backpack-!" His footsteps came to a slow stop a few feet away.

"Joey! How are you-"

The next few seconds happened so fast, Elowen didn't even have time to react. Josiah had dropped her backpack and pounced, decking Luis in the jaw. Luis staggered backwards and grabbed onto the porch for support.

"You don't get to call me that!"

Luis was holding his face where he was struck, anger flaring through his eyes. Josiah stood his ground and glared right back. Luis stood up straight and loomed over Josiah. He was seconds from striking him back when Esmeralda appeared in the doorway.

"What the hell is all that noise out…. Here…." Esmeralda trailed off when she saw her ex-husband. Almost immediately, her face went stoic. She pushed Elowen behind her and pulled Josiah back inside the house. "You are trespassing on my property. I can and will call the police if you don't leave. Now."

Luis forced a smile back on his face. "I know when I'm not wanted." He turned around, painfully slow, as if to antagonize them, and left.

Elowen felt suffocated. Esmeralda was checking Josiah's knuckles, which were bruising by the second, but he jerked his arm away.

"I have to get to school," he said shortly, then left the porch and headed in the opposite direction. Esmeralda tried to get him to stay, but it was no use. She turned to check on Elowen, who hadn't said a word. She took one look at her mom and shook her head.

"Uh…" her voice cracked slightly. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "Jo's right. School." She trudged passed and left. She could hear Esmeralda calling after her, so she took off at high speed down the street until she couldn't hear her mother's voice anymore.

Esmeralda watched Elowen flee down the road helplessly. She tugged at her hair, hyperventilating and on the verge of crying. She tried her hardest to stay strong for the kids, but seeing Luis face to face…. bad memories resurfaced and she felt like the same hopeless woman all over again. All Esmeralda could think about was all of her hard work to start a new life and move passed her abuse being one big joke. She would never truly break free from Luis.

She felt herself beginning to become lightheaded. The world started to spin and the next second, she hit the ground, fainted.

Elowen found herself rushing through the busy hallways of the high school. Her mind was racing with a thousand thoughts at once but only one was blaring the loudest: Alaric.

Stefan was still off doing who knows what and she knew that if she told Damon, he'd do something impulsive and risky and she couldn't deal with that type of stress right now. She had no idea how much Ric actually knew about Luis, but maybe that's exactly what she needed. Someone who didn't know.

When she burst into his classroom, however, he was mid-conversation with Elena. Quickly, she tried to backtrack.

"I- I'll come back later, nevermind," she sputtered and tripped over herself as she exited the room.

"Hey, wait a second," Alaric spoke in a rushed voice, getting off of his desk in order to go after her. He cast a glance at Elena, who nodded and slipped past them both without a word. Esmeralda had texted him this morning saying that she was going to let Elowen sleep in, but half the day was gone (it was already lunchtime) and something was obviously wrong. He steered her back into the room and closed the door.

Elowen stood quietly in the middle of the room. Alaric observed her for a moment from his desk, allowing her a minute before he said anything. He noted how badly her hands were shaking and the beads of sweat collecting at her hairline. Elowen noticed he was staring at her hands and shoved them in her jacket pockets.

"I'm not really sure what I'm doing here," she confessed. "At first I thought I was here for me, but as I was walking down the hall, I realized I'm here for mom." She took a shaky breath as she gathered her thoughts. "My dad paid us a visit today."

Alaric straightened up. He didn't know a lot of Esmeralda's story yet, but he knew the divorce was messy and that she wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

"She's always been there for us, but nobody has ever really been there for her. I mean, she has my aunt Eliana, but….." She shrugged her shoulders. "She really likes you. I can tell," Elowen switched gears. "Just…. Please, don't hurt her."

Alaric nodded his head. "I won't."

He opened his arms up and Elowen walked into his embrace without hesitation. The moment was broken when Elowen's phone went off. She pulled back from the hug to answer it.

"Hello?"

Alaric watched her face drop into a look of worry and dread. Her tremors, which had started to die down, picked back up twice as hard as before.

Her mouth opened to respond, but nothing came out. She stuttered for a moment before managing to say something. "O-Okay, thank you for telling me. I'll, um, be right there."

"What's wrong?" Alaric asked when she ended the call.

"That was the hospital. They said mom's been admitted."

Alaric offered to drive her to the hospital while she tried her hardest to get ahold of Josiah. The school was left to scramble for a substitute for the remaining classes, but he didn't really care. He was trying his hardest to keep Elowen calm every time Josiah's line went into voicemail.

Her heart was racing again and her breathing was labored and fast, causing Ric to take one hand off the steering wheel and grab her hand.

"Hey, you've gotta breathe. I'm sure Josiah is fine."

"But he needs to know mom is in the hospital!"

"He'll find out when he finally decides to listen to the dozen messages you've left. You've done all you can, Elowen," he reassured.

"Elle," she corrected.

"What?"

"You can call me Elle."

They pulled into the hospital parking lot. Elowen rushed out of the car before it even fully stopped. Alaric was just behind her. Sheriff Forbes was talking to a doctor a few feet away when the two of them came in. Elowen had just approached the receptionist desk when both the doctor and Sheriff Forbes pulled her off to the side.

"Hey…." Sheriff Forbes greeted with a sad smile. "Sorry we weren't able to meet under better circumstances. We got a call from a jogger about an hour ago, reporting that your mother was unconscious in your driveway. She woke up in the ambulance drive over here, but she still needs to rest."

"The good news is, her vitals are normal," the doctor took over her. "Her blood pressure is still a little low, but other than that, she's in perfect health."

"Do you know what caused her to faint?" Alaric asked.

"Most likely it was a case of sudden intense feelings of stress, anxiety, or emotional shock. Maybe all three combined. We're going to monitor her blood pressure levels and once they rise back up to a normal level, we'll release her."

"Can we see her?" Elowen inquired quietly.

"Of course. Right this way." The doctor led them to the room she was in and left them alone. Esmeralda was awake when Elowen came in. She smiled, albeit a bit tiredly, and sat up. Alaric trailed in and her smile faded slightly.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, then winced a beat after. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way-"

"No, no, it's alright. This is a… family matter. If you want me to leave-"

"No!" Esmeralda objected rather loudly. "I just…. It would be nice if you stayed."

Alaric nodded. Him and Elowen situated themselves in the two empty chairs inside the room. Esmeralda placed her hands on top of Elowen's in a gesture of reassurance.

"Joey?" She asked hopefully. Elowen shook her head. Esmeralda sighed. "He'll come back around. He usually does."

"Mom…" Elowen began. She looked at Alaric though the corner of her eye, who looked away and busied himself with what was playing on the tv in the room. She lowered her voice to be careful. "How did he find us? What are we gonna do?" She sniffled, eyes becoming wet with tears. "I don't want things to go back to the way they were."

"I won't let that happen," Esmeralda said immediately, her tone saying that decision was final. She reached out and wiped away a tear. "We can get through this. We always will." Her eyes flickered over to Alaric. "Honey, if you don't mind, Ric and I have a lot of things to discuss. Go try and track your brother down. At least make sure he hasn't done anything reckless."

Elowen nodded her head, drying her face with the sleeves of her jacket. Esmeralda leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of her head as a goodbye. Elowen got up and straightened her clothes up.

"Let me know when they discharge you."

She left the room and headed for home.

Elowen was still trying to get her bearings when she walked up her driveway. The only car there was Esmeralda's; her car was in the garage, which had been deemed totaled by their insurance. That wasn't something she wanted to think about right now. Actually, she didn't really want to think about anything.

She shut the front door with a loud kick and dragged herself upstairs. When she reached the top, she stood there in silence for a moment. All she wanted to do was sleep. Elowen lowered herself to the ground and stared up at the ceiling. After what felt like an eternity, her eyes finally gave in and fell closed.

When she woke up, the sun was shining directly on her face. She stirred around and grunted in disapproval, rolling over and burying her face into her bedsheets.

Wait.

Elowen sat up, slightly dazed, and realized she was in her bed. She glanced at the time and saw that she'd been out for about 2 or 3 hours. Was everything a dream? She sure hoped it was.

The sound of footsteps ascending the stairs drew her attention to her door. It creaked open slowly and Stefan's head peeked into the room. He smiled slightly when he saw she was awake.

"You're up," he said, walking towards the bed with a plate of food in one hand and, of course, a green drink in the other. Her eyes watered at the gesture and suddenly, she felt like everything was going to be okay. He handed her the plate and set the drink on her nightstand. She took the food gratefully, while Stefan patiently took a seat on the edge of her bed. It wasn't until she was halfway through her meal that anything was said.

"I'm so sorry that I've been out of reach. It's just, I've been trying to control this bloodlust thing ever since-"

"Elena fed you her blood. I know….. Is it even safe for you to be around me right now?"

"I've got it under control. Don't worry." He brushed some of her hair from her face. "Damon told me you tried to stop by. It sounded urgent."

"... You mean he didn't tell you?" She asked in a quiet voice. He shook his head. Elowen tightly closed her eyes and racked her brain for a way to break the news. "Uhh…. I don't… know…. How to…." She took her a deep breath. "Vicki and Lexi's bodies were found by a hiker last week."

A long, long moment went by. The silence in the room was deafening. Elowen risked prying her eyes open. Stefan was staring blankly at her in disbelief.

"I have no idea who did it or why they were coming back to town- I just-" She tried to say something to comfort Stefan, but came up with nothing. Slowly, his eyes filled with tears and one finally spilled over.

"Are they absolutely sure it was Lexi?"

"They, uhh… had me come in to ID her."

Stefan let the tears flow, sniffling no matter how hard he tried not to. They embraced, though it was hard to tell who was trying to hold who.

"I'm sorry, Stefan. I'm so, so sorry," she sobbed.

"No, I'm sorry that I wasn't there. That was unfair to have you deal with that yourself," he said through tears, voice cracky and unstable. She shook her head.

"Don't do that. I know I've been through a lot and that I've been all over the place and such an emotional mess recently, but Lexi was your best friend. You have the right to be selfish for once and not focus on me."

Stefan only sobbed harder in response. With his emotions even more heightened than usual, they stayed like that for a long while. It wasn't until Elowen's phone started to ring that either of them moved. When she saw Josiah's name on the screen, she practically pushed Stefan away and dived to answer.

"Are you alright? Where are you?" She asked, worry dripping from her voice.

"That doesn't matter right now. I got your voicemails. How's mom?" He quickly changed the subject, probably sounding just as frantic. Elowen explained everything that had happened in his absence, including what room number she was in so he could go visit her.

"When I left, Alaric was still with her. I don't know if he still is. Just, please let her know that you're okay."

"I will. I'm sorry I just ran off like that," he apologized. A bitter laugh erupted from her throat.

"So am I."

They both hung up the phone. Elowen put her phone on the nightstand and gave a long sigh of relief. Stefan gave her a moment, dabbing at his cheeks as he collected his thoughts.

"So…" he started, voice slightly hoarse from crying. He cleared his throat to speak better. "Want to tell me what's going on with Esmeralda?"

"My dad is in town," she blurted. A long gap passed where neither said anything. Stefan almost couldn't tell if she were serious.

"He just…. Showed up on our doorstep this morning. Josiah stormed off to who knows where, I ran away with my tail between my legs and mom…." Elowen gave a long sigh. "The stress was too much for her and she fainted in the driveway. Stefan… I can't do this again."

"Hey, don't talk like that." Stefan scooted himself closer to her and allowed her to lean on his shoulder. "How about we change the subject, huh? I'll talk about how I've been doing instead. I haven't exactly been keeping you updated.

"I've been doing much, much better. Improving little by little everyday. Still a bit jittery and on edge, though. Lots of alcohol to keep the cravings at bay and lots of exercise to try and sweat it out faster. My body is still trying to readjust, but I think I'm gonna be okay."

"I can't believe it's only been a couple of days," she noted in a monotone voice.

"Me, too." He absentmindedly ran his fingers through her curly hair. "I've missed you."

Elowen angled her head to look at him better. "I missed you, too."

Stefan leaned down and gave a quick peck to her lips. When he leaned back, it was obvious that there was electricity in the air. Elowen grabbed his neck and pulled him back in, the rest of her food completely forgotten. Stefan laid her down on the bed as they began to kiss much more passionately. Elowen rolled him over to where she was on top, giggling against his mouth. Stefan grunted lowly from the back of his throat, and, with more aggression than needed, flipped them back over. He started kissing her all over her face and trailed down to her throat. As suddenly as this started, it stopped.

Stefan was breathing heavy, staring at the veins protruding from her jugular and listened to her heartbeat.

"Stefan?" Elowen asked, unable to see his face as it was buried in her neck, but knew something was wrong. At the sound of her voice, he seemed to snap out of it and quickly pushed himself backwards, making sure to put enough distance between him and Elowen. He slammed into the wall with a loud bang.

They were staring at each other, wide eyed.

Then, Stefan left without a word.