Over the course of the next week, Mila worked to bury the memories once more. She went to work rarely, claiming she was sick, and she heard nothing from Elijah. She supposed she should be grateful, but all she could feel was the anger and the pain. Sitting in her apartment now, curled with her knees to her chest, fought to make the feelings pass.
"Mila." Her head snapped up to see Elijah in the door, a blanket draped over one arm and a steaming mug in the other. A shift of movement behind him had her on her feet in an instant, just as a girl peeked around his frame. "I hope we're not intruding, but I wanted to make sure you were okay." He seemed sincere enough, though Mila crossed her arms. He approached her slowly, setting the mug on a table and offering the blanket.
"Who's she?" Mila nodded towards the girl, who was giving her a rather blunt look. Elijah glanced between the two of them.
"Hayley, I'd like you to meet Mila. Mila, Hayley." Neither woman moved towards the other, and Elijah cleared his throat. "Hayley wanted to meet you." He moved to drape the blanket over Mila's shoulders, but she held out a hand to stop him. She finally turned to him, eyes hard.
"I'm fine, Elijah. You can leave." Mila moved towards the kitchen, brushing past the girl he'd brought with him. She could practically feel the territorial vibe coming off the girl, and wanted to roll her eyes. "And take your little fling with you." She could hear him following her, the murmured command for his friend to go wait outside. Mila rummaged through her fridge until she found her last blood bag, making a mental note to pick up more. Strong hands on her shoulders alerted her to his presence behind her and she huffed. "What do you want?"
"I told you, I came to make sure you're okay." His hands moved down her arms, and she turned to face him, pulling her hands away.
"And I told you, I'm fine." Their gazes met and clashed for a few moments, his filled with concern, hers filled with her rampant feelings. Neither was willing to back down; if anything, she found herself wanting to be hugged by him again, to let him comfort her. Her jaw clenched and unclenched repeatedly, and she bit into the blood bag to distract herself. She pushed past him as she drained it, careful to make sure none of it made it past her chin. She knew he was following, quite closely actually, but as she fed she couldn't seem to care. She'd put off eating for too long, and now she was ravenous. She finished the bag in no time, tossing it aside carelessly as she focused. It would have to tide her over until she got a new supply.
"Clearly." Elijah picked up the bag and moved to throw it away with a huff. "Is there a reason you are so against my helping you?" She turned to him, ignoring the blood along her lips and chin.
"Because I don't need your help." He was back in her face, looking down at her with enough concern to make her ill. "I killed your brother's friend, remember? Not sure he'd like you helping me out."
"I don't give a damn whether Klaus likes it or not. And if you're afraid of him, you needn't be." His hand brushed over her hair, and she began to relax against her better judgement. "I will protect you." Mila could feel the anger fading already, until it became a dull ache in her chest. Elijah gave her a small smile, his gaze dancing over her features. She nodded slowly, and his smile grew. "Wonderful. Now, I should go get you more to eat." He started for the door, and she grabbed his hand.
"Wait. I, um…I don't really hunt for food anymore." He raised a brow, and she nodded towards the garbage can. "I just…collect donations." He nodded, leaning down to kiss her forehead before disappearing out the door. She blinked, caught off guard by the action, and moved to clean herself up. A shower was in order, as well as fresh clothes. After spending a half hour under the steaming water, she wasn't surprised to step out and see Elijah lounging on her couch, flicking through channels on the tv. A cup and a few blood bags sat on the table, and she moved towards them immediately.
"I hope it's too your liking. It was the freshest I could find on short notice." The cup was already full, and she sat down to sip at it slowly. She knew she needed blood, but also knew she'd need to ration what she had. Tucking her legs under her, she turned towards him.
"It's fine." She hesitated until his gaze returned to her. "Thank you. You didn't have to go get this for me." Slowly, he moved closer, raising an arm in invitation. She slid under, leaving a few inches between them, and he wrapped that arm around her shoulders.
"I'm happy to get the blood for you." She focused on her cup as he spoke, taking whatever comfort he was willing to give. "Did you want to talk-"
"No." Mila already knew what he was going to ask. Now that the pain had faded, she never wanted to bring it back again. "I don't want to talk about it. Can we just…watch something?" She could feel Elijah looking at her, and she met his gaze. He nodded slowly, pulling her more firmly against his side, and flicked to a movie at random. As she drank and relaxed, she was glad he'd come to help her after all.