I had been alone in the dark boarding house for exactly 4hours and 26minutes. I spent 2 of those hours crying on the floor of Damon's master bedroom. I kept thinking that maybe if I cried loud enough he would hear me and come home, but he never showed. After the first hour, I stopped crying so loudly but I couldn't help the tears and quiet sobs, they lasted for another hour. After I eventually stopped crying altogether, I made my way downstairs to sit at the kitchen table with a small glass of water, refilling it every now and again.

I ordered a Chinese after sitting in silence for a half hour. I wasn't too hungry, but I just wanted to hear something else besides my own breathing. My Chinese food took another half an hour to arrive but my heart jumped when the bell rang. I ran to the door, hoping it was Damon. My stomach sunk when I saw the delivery woman, reminding myself that if it was Damon, he wouldn't knock. Hell, he doesn't even knock at my flat.

I finished my dinner and spent the next hour sitting in the dark.

It was 6:44pm when the front door opened and closed quietly. Too quietly. At first I thought it was my imagination but then he walked through to the kitchen and slowly sunk down into the seat across from me. It took me a full minute to process his return. But here he was, nearly four and a half hours later. I was raging inside. We sat in silence for no more than 15 minutes, but I was alone, in the dark for four and a half hours, I couldn't take the silence anymore so I started to talk. I spoke slowly through gritted teeth and enunciated every word carefully;

"Where. The Fuck. Did You Go?"

He spat back a response with an equal amount of venom,

"How delusional must you be to even consider asking me that?"

His snide comment took me by surprise, but I stood my ground.

"Guess I'm pretty fucking delusional, then?"

His palms flew down on the table with a loud bang and he pushed himself out of his chair. Clearly four hours wasn't enough to calm him down. He shouted loud and clear;

"Don't start on me now, Elena. Not tonight."

I mimicked his actions and pushed myself up quickly.

"No. I want to talk. Where did you go?"

He took an exasperated sigh and stared directly into my eyes.

"I drove down to Atlanta to talk to Clara, you know, the therapist you were suppose to see?"

He dropped his head and I could tell that what he was about to tell me, he wasn't planning on doing so. There was a very noticeable change to his voice, almost cracking.

"Elena, I spent weeks interviewing her, making sure she was the right person for you. Do you not appreciate the lengths I go to? And for what, for you to just throw it away like it's nothing?"

I stand, unsure of where he is going with this or what to say in response. I open my mouth to speak but he starts again.

"I know you might think that I don't notice but I promise you, I do. It's been very difficult to make you happy lately, I mean you've never been an easy person to make smile but lately it's been more challenging than ever. And I thought that, maybe, it had to do with some things that you might not feel comfortable talking to me about. So I had a deeper look into the therapy thing and I decided to help you. And I know you're going to say that I shouldn't have took your decision away but I knew you would've turned it down so I took matters into my own hands."

He made is way around the table to hold my hands in his own.

"Now, you can say what you need to say but I will never stop helping you. Ever."

My mouth hung open and my eyes shimmered with tears that threatened to fall.

"Damon, I-"

Before I could start talking my stomach convulsed a first time, then a second. My hands flew up to cover my mouth as my stomach tightened a third time. I ran over to the sink and threw my head forwards. Damon was at my tail and spoke in a soothing tone while he held my hair back for me.

"Oh baby, what did you eat? You know what, tell me later. Just concentrate of getting all that crap out of you. My god Elena, you really ate something bad didn't you?"

I spoke painfully between hurls.

"I appreciate you helping me but I don't think commentary is gonna be all that helpful thanks."

My voice was croaky and my throat burned as the remains of my dinner came up in several trips. I kept going until my mouth dried out from empty heaves.

I wiped my mouth with the wash cloth on the side and sunk down to sit with my back against the cabinet door under the sink. Damon ran the tap to clear away all the excess sick and grabbed my glass from the table to fill it up for me. He crouched down to give me the water and rubbed my shoulders.

"What did you eat, Elena?"

"Just Chinese. The same place we order from every weekend. I ordered the same thing I always do too."

He nodded his head and stroked my brown locks softly, my head moulded into his hand and I closed my eyes.

"I'm going to go run you a hot bath. Do you want me to come back down for you or take you up with me?"

"I can still walk you know? Besides, I'm all gross and sick-y."

"You're beautiful."

I blushed hard and I had to turn away to prevent him from seeing my red cheeks.

He took the glass from me and stretched out his arm to place it in the now-clean sink. He took my hands and wrapped them around his neck. I held onto him while he slipped his hand under both my legs and effortlessly picked me up into his strong, comforting embrace.

I'm finally home and he's back to his old self. Going out of his way to help me. God, why did I have to scream at him? I made his life a living hell.

I snuggled up into his chest and let out a quite, satisfied moan. I felt his laugh in his chest and it made me smile.

Fuck, I missed you

"I missed you too."

My eyes shot open and I stared up at him.

"Did I say that out-loud?"

He smiled down at me again and shook his head.

"No, but I can get into your head remember?"

"I'm too tired for a vampire-abilities lesson. You can teach me tomorrow. I promise."

"Too tired? It's only just gone 7."

"Well not tired, just worn out."

He rolled his eyes and let out a happy laugh, another thing I missed about him. He pushed his bedroom door open with his back and placed me down on his tidy bed. I made it properly when he left. He chuckled when he saw it, knowing full well how much I hate getting into an unmade bed. I hesitated when he put me down, instantly missing the familiar contact. Damon walked over to the bathroom and started running the bath. My eyes were droopy and I yawned frequently. What seemed like an instant was 15 minutes and soon Damon was back to undress me.

"Come on, let's get you undressed. Unless you want to go in with your clothes on, which I don't recommend."

"Mmm, of course not, Salvatore."

I lay limp on the bed while I let him take off my clothes carefully. Then he asked me a question which caught me by surprise.

"Do you want me to come in with you?"

I thought about his suggestion on Saturday, about getting used to being indecent around him. I had to get away from my past somehow, maybe this is the start.

"That would be amazing, Damon." I replied with a warm smile.

A soft dressing gown covered my bare body and I was picked up and carried to the bathroom. My legs fell gracefully to the ground and I took a deep breath before untying the gown and letting it drop to the floor by my feet. Chocolate brown hair hid my shoulders before Damon scooped it from my neck and began to plait it.

"Since when did you learn how to plait?" I asked softly.

"Since always."

The bobble held my hair behind my ears and his hands barely grazed the skin on my arms before making their way to my hands and guiding me into the bath. The temperature was perfect and I sunk in, letting my body become submerged in the hot, soapy water. Vanilla scented candles covered every surface in sight, engulfing the suite in a soft, romantic glow. I took in my surroundings, appreciating the effort Damon goes through- all for me. His soft voice suddenly filled my ears.

"Sit up then, baby."

The water shifted as a now-naked Damon slid in behind me, letting me lean back onto his bare chest. He rubbed my arms and playfully tangled my fingers into his own. I wished this moment would last forever until he said something that made my heart stop. He sat up and spoke quietly.

"There's somebody here."

His hearing was always at his strongest when we were alone, in times such as this.

He heard the panic in the elevation of my breathing and was quick to reassure me.

"Shh, don't worry, Elena. I won't let anyone hurt you."

It amazed me how such a simple sentence could send me back to Cloud 9, yet somehow he managed it. Every time.

"Stay here. Don't move and if anybody comes in here, scream as loud as you can."

I answered with a shaky voice, trying to sound as confident as I could but failing miserably.

"Okay."

He got up and left the bath, quickly wrapping a towel low around his waist. In a compulsive move, I reached out and grabbed his arm tightly. His head snapped back at me and he kissed my forehead.

"Stay here."

I nodded my head and anxiously watched him walk further away from me. He turned the corner cautiously before returning almost immediately after.

"They're in here."

I was quick to reply to his confusing statement.

"What? What do you mean 'in here?' Damon?"

His confused face expression worried me and he slowly walked back to the tub and crouched down next to it. To my surprise, he placed his hand delicately on my flat stomach and listened intensely. His eyes dropped to the floor and he let out a sigh I didn't realise he was holding. A hurt expression plastered his features then he looked up and stared into my eyes for the longest moment of my life. He spoke in a calm voice;

"Elena, is there anything you'd like to tell me?"