Note: chapter title from "temptation" by moby.

6. a gateway to hope

… … …

No matter how hard Stefan tries, he can't stop thinking about the things Damon said during their practice session on Sunday. He doesn't want to believe any of it, but the more he thinks about it, the more he has this nagging feeling like he doesn't know the whole story like the thought he did. For years, it's always been black and white to him; between the way his father treated him, and the way Damon treated him, and then the way his father fawned over Damon… he never thought there was more to it than that. Stefan wonders if maybe this whole time, he's only seen what he wanted to see, because it was easier to be mad at Damon and to resent him than it was to look a little deeper.

The only person he can think to talk to is Elena. She's the only one who went through everything with him, the only one who might be able to offer another perspective. He needs her to tell him he's being an idiot, that Damon's just manipulating him and he's falling prey to it. (He doesn't really think it's that simple, but he can hope, right?)

"I need to talk to you," he says when he approaches her at her locker Tuesday morning.

She startles, looks over at him. "Good morning to you, too, Stefan," she says sarcastically.

He rolls his eyes. "I'm serious." He grabs her wrist and pulls her toward an empty classroom, shuts the door.

She pulls her wrist from his grasp. "Stefan, what's going on?" She studies his face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just…" he turns away from her, runs his hand through his hair, paces the room. Then he turns back to face her. "Remember what you said the other day? About how you think Dad treats Damon the same way he treats me?"

Elena nods slowly. "Yeah. Why? Did something happen?"

Stefan sighs, sits down at a desk, and she follows suit. "He said some things on Sunday, while we were practicing. Like how Dad pushes him maybe even more than he pushes me. And the more I think about it, the more I think maybe he's not lying."

Elena tilts her head to the side. "Does that bother you?"

"How could it not bother me?" Stefan wonders. "All this time, I've thought I was the only victim of all this… abuse." He spits out the word like it's poison. "But what if I'm not? What if Damon's just as much of a victim as I am?"

Elena studies him for a moment, and he searches her eyes for the answers. "I don't think you're totally wrong," she says slowly, like she's trying not to say too much. He wishes she would just say whatever she's thinking. "I wouldn't say Damon's a victim, necessarily, but I think there might be some truth to what he's saying." He nods, hangs his head a little. "I think the only way you're ever going to know for sure is if you two finally hammer everything out, but that's going to take a little time. You just have to be willing to let it happen, Stefan."

"So much has happened," he reminds her. "He's been horrible to me, to us, for the better part of the last five years. Am I supposed to just forget about all of that? Pretend it never happened? Dad didn't do those things, Elena. Damon did."

"You're right," she concedes. "Damon did all of that. No one made him treat us that way. But if you ever want to have a relationship with your brother again, you're going to have to let him apologize, and you're going to have to move past it."

"He's not going to apologize," Stefan snorts. "He doesn't care."

Elena hesitates. "If you care, Stefan - and it's obvious that you do - then deep down, on some level, Damon cares too."

He breathes out a long sigh, looks up at her in annoyance. "Why do you always have to make me think so hard about everything?"

She laughs. "You wouldn't have come to me if you weren't already thinking it."

She's right, but he can't quite go there just yet. There's too much tension still hanging between them, too many things left unsaid and too many bridges between them that are all but destroyed. He's not sure he wants to let Damon back in, but he's starting to realize that with the way things are unfolding, at some point, he might not have a choice.

… … …

"You look nice today," Damon says when he comes into the tutoring center after practice on Wednesday. After his session on Monday, he still felt behind and she decided maybe he could use some extra help, so offered to help him out for a while before she goes to dinner with her family for Jenna's birthday tonight. She's a little more dressed up than she would usually be for a tutoring session, so she shouldn't be surprised that he would comment on it, but it doesn't stop the blush from lighting up her cheeks.

"Stop." She rolls her eyes, but she can't help but smile. "Flattery is not going to get you out of your calculus assignment."

Damon sighs, snaps his fingers in annoyance. "It was worth a shot." He smiles at her, sits down across from her. "Seriously, though. Got a hot date tonight? Stefan finally make his move?" He waggles his eyebrows mischievously.

She lets out a surprised laugh and punches him in the shoulder. "Asshole," she mutters as he laughs. She tries to regain her composure. "Today's Jenna's birthday, so Alaric's taking us to dinner."

"Hmm." Damon looks over his shoulder as if he's deep in thought. "Hot Aunt Jenna. My twelve year old self had a serious crush on her."

"Damon!" She laughs.

"I'm serious," he smirks. "I used to tag along with Stefan to your house just to get a glimpse of her."

"You're a pig." She rolls her eyes, but she can't seem to wipe the smile off her face. "Stop trying to distract me."

"I am doing no such thing."

"You are not subtle. You wanted extra help, so here we are. Where's your textbook?"

He sighs dramatically. "Okay, okay, fine."

She watches him while he works, thinks back on her discussion with Stefan this morning. She wonders exactly what Damon said to him that got his mind going, wonders what that conversation would have looked like. And not for the first time, she wonders exactly what he's gone through in the last few years at the hands of Giuseppe Salvatore.

"Can I ask you a question?"

He looks up, smirks at her. "Now who's trying to distract who?"

She rolls her eyes. "Damon."

"Shoot," he says, looking back down at his book to continue working on his assignment.

She hesitates, then decides to just go for it. "What's your relationship with your dad like?"

He bristles a little bit, and she fears for a second that he'll shut down, but she watches as he tries to relax his shoulders. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… is it anything like what Stefan goes through?" She rests her chin in her hand, tries to watch his face, but he won't look up. "You told me things would get bad if he finds out about your grades. How bad is bad?"

Damon sighs. "Let me guess. Stefan opened his big mouth."

She rolls her eyes. "This doesn't have anything to do with Stefan. I'm not asking for him. I'm asking for me."

He twirls his pencil in his hand, takes a deep breath. "I don't know how bad it would get," he admits. "I've had glimpses of it over the years, his temper, but he doesn't let it go with me like he does with Stefan. It's more like…" He mulls it over. "It's more like I'm a pawn. Like he doesn't want me to succeed for myself, but because it would reflect well on him. Because he never got to be as great as he wanted to be, so he wants to live vicariously through me."

"So he's using you."

"Basically." He still won't meet her eyes, stares at a point on the wall across the room. "At first it felt really good to have him looking over my shoulder. It felt good to have him recognize something that I was doing. I liked that he was so invested in my success in football." He shrugs. "I didn't think anything of it, until one day freshman year, he made me run wind sprints after practice because my aim was a little bit off. I got so dehydrated I ended up on an IV in the hospital."

Elena's jaw drops. "What?" She looks at him closely. "Stefan never told me that."

"Stefan doesn't know." He finally looks over and meets Elena's eyes. "Dad took me to the hospital himself, waited while they gave me some fluids, then demanded they release me so he wouldn't have to admit to Mom that he screwed up. He berated me the whole way home about how I needed to be in better shape; that a better athlete would have been able to handle it. When we got home, he told Mom we were at the school late working on my aim."

She fights the urge to take his hand in hers. "Damon, that's terrible."

"Yeah, well." He looks away from her again. "I saw it for what it was after that. He didn't really care about me. He just didn't want his great name to be tainted, and my natural athletic talent made me a better pawn than Stefan would have been." He looks back at her. "If Stefan had gotten the athletic genes instead of me… the roles easily could have been reversed."

She studies his face for a moment. "Why didn't you ever tell Stefan about any of this?"

He shrugs. "By that point, he had already made up his mind about me. It wouldn't have made a difference."

"it could have."

She catches a peek of a smile. "Elena Gilbert, ever the optimist." He lets out a breath. "Hindsight's twenty-twenty. It's also a royal bitch, so I try not to think about it too much. I can't change it now."

She covers her hand with his. "Thank you for telling me that."

He smirks at her, turns his hand so he can grasp hers. "You've always had a way of making me talk even when I didn't want to."

She smiles at him, looks down and watches as his thumb moves across her knuckles. A shiver goes up her spine, and she pulls her hand away. She checks her watch. "Shit," she mumbles.

He clears his throat, sits back in his chair. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you late."

"No, I'm not late, but if I don't leave now I will be." She smiles. "I'll lock the door on my way out, but it doesn't lock from the inside, so just make sure it's shut all the way when you leave."

He smirks. "Tell Hot Aunt Jenna I said happy birthday."

She shoots him a look on her way out. "I definitely will not tell her that."

She hears his laughter as the door shuts behind her and she can't help but smile. She wonders what Stefan would think if he knew everything Elena knows now. She can't tell him - for obvious reasons, but also because she wouldn't betray Damon's trust that way. He has his reasons for keeping it to himself. But she wonders how much of the pain and distance between them could have been avoided without all the secrets and misunderstandings. Somehow, she needs Stefan to see what she now sees: that Damon's just as hurt, just as bruised, just as much a victim as he is.

… … …

Stefan's barely opened his locker on Thursday morning before Matt practically ambushes him.

"Salvatore," he greets him. "I need to talk to you."

"Cant imagine what about," Stefan mumbles.

"What's going on between you and Caroline?"

Stefan takes a step back, breathes out an incredulous laugh. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Come on, man," Matt sighs. "I'm not trying to start a fight here. She's been acting weird lately, and I know you two have been talking. I'm just tired of it and I need answers. I just want you to tell me, man-to-man. What's going on?"

"Look, man," Stefan starts. "I know you don't know me, but that's not the kind of person I am. In my eyes, she's taken, off-limits, and that's the end of it. Even if I did like her… I wouldn't do that. So I hate to say it, but maybe it's not me you should be worried about."

He studies Matt's face for a second. He doesn't look angry, or spiteful, or even sad. He just looks tired. Like he's been trying to solve the puzzle that is Caroline Forbes for so long and he's made so little progress that he's on the verge of giving up. They're not friends, but for a second, Stefan feels for the guy. It's obvious that he's crazy about her, and it's even more obvious that it's all about appearances for her. He wonders what kind of person would lead someone on for almost a year when she's not even interested.

Not someone he wants to be involved with, that's for sure.

"Sorry I couldn't help you out, man," Stefan says.

"Hey," Matt sighs. "At least now I know what the problem is. If it's not you, it's either her or me. And I'm all in, so…" he sighs. "I didn't mean to dump on you. Thanks for being honest."

"Anytime," Stefan says, watching as Matt turns and walks down the hall. He wonders how the hell he got to this point, where Matt Donovan thinks that Caroline Forbes would rather be with him. Caroline Forbes, the cheerleading captain. He almost snorts at the thought, because yeah, she's been flirting with him, but he never really thought it meant anything. He was fresh meat; as much as he hated being called that, that's the kind of person she is, so he didn't really think anything of it. But now…

Fuck. This new life he's living is like the twilight zone, or something.

… … …

He probably wouldn't admit it if anybody asked, but Damon's actually enjoying teaching Stefan how to play football. It's nice to be reminded of the basics; it takes him back to a time when things were simpler, when he wasn't worried about performing well for the scouts or beefing up his stats for his dad. A time when he didn't have to think so much and could just play. The added bonus that things aren't so tense between them anymore doesn't hurt, either.

"How well do you know Caroline Forbes?" Stefan asks him as they warm up for another practice session.

Damon snorts. "Who doesn't know Caroline Forbes? I'm pretty sure she's hit on every guy on the team at least once. She's harmless, though." His left quad cramped up at practice today, so he holds his ankle behind him to stretch it out a bit. "Why? You interested?"

"She's with Donovan," Stefan reminds him.

"So?" Damon catches the ball Stefan throws at him. "You can still like her even if she has a boyfriend. You just can't do anything about it."

"It doesn't matter," Stefan sighs. "Nevermind. Forget I asked."

Damon shrugs. He wants to push his brother for answers, but he doesn't think they've hit that level quite yet, so he'll leave it alone for now. "Anything else you wanna ask me before we start?" he jokes.

"Actually." Stefan picks up the ball, tosses it between his hands and approaches Damon. "What did you mean the other day? About Dad?"

Damon sighs, shakes his head. "Look, just forget it."

"No, I wanna know." Stefan holds the ball still in his hands, tosses it to his brother, puts his hands on his hips. "What have you not been telling me for the last few years? Is it really that bad?"

"It's not better or worse than the way he treats you," Damon admits. "It's just different. You have this idea in your head that I have the better end of the bargain, but I'm not so sure that's true. The only difference between you and me is that he happens to find me useful to further his own agenda."

Stefan furrows his brow. "What the hell does that mean?"

Damon rolls his eyes. "It means that Dad only cares because my athletic ability allows him to relive his own glory days and undo all his mistakes vicariously through me."

Stefan scoffs. "I still don't see how that's the same. You've never felt like you're an outsider in your own family; like it wouldn't even matter if you weren't there."

"You're right, Stefan." Damon holds his arms out to the side. "You're the victim here. I'm just whining for no reason. Can we practice now? I'm tired and I want to go home."

Stefan holds his hands up in defeat, and Damon feels like he wants to punch something. He's talked about his dad more in the last two weeks than he ever has, and he's sick of it. Giuseppe doesn't deserve that much of his attention or his energy, and he's done wasting his time talking about it. It's not going to change anything. This is his reality, at least until he can figure out how to get as far away from this place as humanly possible. He's learned to live with it; he wishes everyone else would just let him.

… … …

When Caroline invites she and Bonnie over for a movie night on Thursday, Elena should know 'movie night' is code for 'I have boy problems and I need advice.' It is Caroline, after all, and Elena's pretty sure every problem she's ever had involves a boy in some fashion.

"It sounds like what you need is a good, old-fashioned pro-con list," Bonnie suggests, pulling out her phone to start a new note. "Reasons to stay with Matt versus reasons to break up with Matt."

They're all sitting on the floor in Caroline's bedroom, pigging out on junk food and candy while Caroline vents about her crumbling relationship with Matt. An old chick flick is playing on the TV in the background, but they lost interest less than ten minutes in. Who needs romantic comedies when they can just make fun of Caroline's ever so dramatic love life?

"Ugh," Elena laughs. She shoves a handful of popcorn in her mouth. "This feels so wrong."

Caroline rolls her eyes. "If you're not going to help, Elena, then keep your mouth shut." She turns to Bonnie. "Reason to stay number one: The whole cheerleading-captain-star-quarterback thing. We're practically destined to be together."

"Are you forgetting the part where Matt is the backup quarterback?" Elena reminds her.

Caroline ignores her. "Reason to break up number one: he's obviously the clingy, jealous type. Ew."

"I don't understand how you've been with him for almost a year and you're just now figuring that out."

"Reason to stay number two: he treats me like gold ninety-eight percent of the time. That's hard to find in high school boys."

"How does he treat you the other two percent of the time?"

"Elena," Bonnie laughs.

"Nobody asked for comments from the very unhelpful peanut gallery," Caroline glares. "This is a big deal, Elena. Matt could be the one. I don't want to make the wrong decision here."

Elena rolls her eyes. "Okay, okay. Here's the thing. If you're even contemplating breaking up with him, that's probably a bad sign to begin with."

Bonnie nods. "That's a good point."

"The fact that you even need to have this conversation," Elena continues, "means you're not just doubting that he's the one, you're doubting that you even want to be with him. You're stringing him along, Caroline. You've been flirting with Stefan for the last three weeks, and now with this Klaus guy in the picture, you're setting yourself up for way more drama than you need."

Caroline sighs. "I don't want to believe you, but I know you're right."

"Matt deserves better," Elena finishes. "And so do you. If you're not happy, it's time to end it."

Bonnie drops her phone on the carpet, grabs a handful of chips from the bowl. "I guess that settles that."

Caroline covers her face with her hands, lets out a frustrated groan. "I'm done talking about this." She pops a Hershey's kiss into her mouth, smiles at them mischievously. "Now It's time for you two to spill your guts."

"I think it's been well established that you're the one with the complicated love life, Caroline," Elena laughs.

Caroline huffs. "We just spent the last hour talking about my drama. Come on, I know you two aren't that boring. Give me something juicy. Bonnie, you are awfully quiet over there."

Bonnie's cheeks color immediately. "What are you talking about?"

Caroline's eyes light up. "I knew it! You're hiding something. Spill."

"Well…" Bonnie sighs. "I guess I could use some advice." Caroline claps her hands together and turns to face Bonnie, her smile wide with anticipation. "There is this guy I've sort of… been talking to lately."

"I cannot believe you haven't told me this yet," Caroline whines. "I thought you were my best friend."

Bonnie rolls her eyes. "The thing is, he flirts with me, and he acts like he likes me, but he won't make a move. I know he's single, so I don't know what the hold up could be."

"We could be a lot more helpful if you'd tell us who it is," Elena prompts.

Bonnie closes her eyes, squeezes them shut. "Enzo St. John."

"Oh my god!" Caroline squeals. "I knew it! I so knew it! I saw you staring at him all dreamy last week during cheerleading practice. I didn't know you two have been talking!"

"It's just little conversations here and there when we run into each other," Bonnie explains. "We're in the same Spanish class, so he'll text me about assignments sometimes, or I'll run into him in the hallway and we'll say hello. And every time we talk, I get this vibe, like we're completely in sync. And then… nothing."

Elena frowns. "Enzo is Damon's best friend, right?"

"Duh," Caroline rolls her eyes. "Try to keep up, Elena. They've been friends since… well, since whatever happened between him and Stefan. And you, I guess. Which we'll get to next."

Elena puts her hands up in surrender, and Bonnie glares at Caroline. "Subtle."

Caroline shrugs innocently. "I'm just saying." She focuses back on Bonnie. "So he hasn't asked you out or anything?"

"No," Bonnie says in exasperation. "That's the point. I don't know what's going on, because I keep sending all the right signals, and I can't tell if he's not picking them up or if he's just not interested."

Elena takes a bite out of a chocolate chip cookie. "Why can't you just ask him out?"

The two of them look over at her in shock. Caroline scoffs. "Please. Girls don't ask the guy out."

"No, maybe she's right," Bonnie realizes. "Maybe I'm making a mistake by sitting around waiting for him to make the move. Who says I can't ask him out if I want to?"

"Um, hello," Caroline insists. "Like, every dating code that exits on the planet! If you make the first move you come off looking desperate."

Bonnie rolls her eyes. "Fine. I'll just keep waiting around like I really am desperate. That makes so much more sense."

"Glad you agree." Caroline turns to Elena. "Okay. Your turn. I know you have some drama with the Salvatore brothers and I wanna hear about it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Elena hedges, taking a sip of her soda. "Stefan's my best friend, Damon's not. End of story."

"Except," Caroline begins smugly, "that I saw Damon coming out of the tutoring center after practice on Monday, and you were not far behind him."

Elena turns white as a sheet. "You saw that?"

"I knew it!" Caroline squeals. "Man, I'm good at sniffing out a scoop. Spill, missy. Don't skimp on the details."

Elena sighs. "Listen to me. What we talk about here stays in this room, okay? Stefan cannot find out about any of this."

Bonnie's eyes widen. "Wow, this is juicy. Now I'm interested."

"Damon's grades are slipping, and he asked me to tutor him so he can stay eligible to play."

"That's it? That's all that's going on?" Caroline asks, furrowing her eyebrows.

Elena rolls her eyes. "You don't understand. This thing between Stefan and Damon… it's not just normal brotherly arguing. It runs way deeper than that, and it has for a long time now. Damon's treated Stefan - and me, frankly - like dirt for the last few years, and if Stefan knew I agreed to help him…" she shudders. "He just can't find out, okay?"

Bonnie holds her hands up. "We won't tell. But if It's such a big deal, then why did you agree to help him in the first place?"

"It's… complicated," Elena sighs. "There's a lot of history between Damon and I. Their family situation is not great, to say the least. If his dad ever found out about his grades, things could get bad for him. I guess there was a lot that went into it, but the point is it's happening, and I hate lying to Stefan about it."

"So don't," Caroline shrugs. "It's tutoring. It's harmless. If Stefan's pissed at you about that, it's his problem."

"He won't see it that way," Elena insists. "Trust me. I just need to keep his grades up for the season and keep Stefan from finding out."

The more she talks about it, the more she wonders what the hell she's gotten herself into. There's too many pieces in play here, too many things that can go wrong. Caroline smirks at her, and Elena knows her plan is a long shot, but she has to at least try, because she's already dug herself a pretty deep hole. She just has to keep the walls from caving in on her before she can climb out.

No pressure, or anything.

… … …

Another Friday night, another game Stefan spends warming the bench.

He'd be upset except that he's actually improving, and Coach told him today that if he continues to show progress in practice, that he might put him out there for a couple of plays next week. He won't be stealing Tyler Lockwood's starting spot anytime soon, but that's not his ultimate goal, so it's okay. He just needs to make it through the season without his dad throwing him through a wall.

He waits it out so he's the last one to leave the locker room - again - but this time, Giuseppe is leaning against the wall waiting for him when he exits. Shit. "I know what you're gonna say," Stefan starts.

Giuseppe grabs Stefan by the collar of his shirt, shoves him against the wall. "You listen to me, son," Giuseppe seethes. "This is two weeks in a row now that you've put a damper on the good Salvatore name. You'd better start pulling your weight, Stefan, or these little talks of ours will start getting more painful for you."

Stefan feels his shoulder blade being crushed against the cinderblock and wants to tell him they're already pretty painful, but he knows that won't get him anywhere. "I'm getting better, Dad. Ask Damon - I've been working really hard. Coach says if I keep improving, he'll put me in next week."

Giuseppe shoves him against the wall one more time, steps back, straightens out his shirt. "You'd better hope that's true," he threatens. "My patience is quickly running out, Stefan."

He finally turns and walks away, and Stefan peels himself away from the wall. He feels the bruise from last week radiating pain in his shoulder, wonders if his dad's 'lecture' made it worse. He just wants to go home, ice his shoulder, and sleep this off, but he promised Elena he'd meet her at this party some new cheerleader is throwing, and he wants to groan in frustration. He's not in the mood to play nice with people he could care less about, but he promised her, and she's big on promises, so. He supposes he'll just have to suck it up. Story of my life.

… … …

Elena's never been a fan of parties like these. She doesn't really see the point. Or she didn't, until she started hanging out with Caroline and Bonnie and actually had someone to talk to at things like this. But right now, her two friends are nowhere to be found - she figures Caroline's probably off somewhere with Matt and Bonnie's trying to find Enzo - and Stefan hasn't shown up yet.

"Having fun yet?" She turns and finds Rebekah approaching her with an extra solo cup in her hand. "You look like you could use one of these."

Elena forces a smile and takes the cup from her politely. "Thanks." She takes a small sip and wants to spit it right back out - nothing tastes quite as bad as cheap beer. "Great party."

Rebekah shrugs. "Figured it's the best way to start to get to know everyone." Elena follows her eyes and watches as Stefan makes his way through the crowd, searching for her. "Especially that one right there. What's his deal? You two are inseparable. Is he off limits?"

Elena snorts. "What am I, his matchmaker?" She smiles at Rebekah. "Excuse me." She pushes her way through and catches Stefan by the arm. "Hey. What happened? You look like…"

"Like I just got ambushed by my psychotic father?" He takes Elena's drink from her hand, chugs the contents, grimaces. "Yes, well, there's a reason for that."

Elena's heart drops into her stomach. "Come on, let's go get some air." She pulls him through the crowd and onto the back deck, where it's less crowded and the music isn't thumping in their ears. "So your dad ambushed you. What did he say? Are you okay?"

He sighs. "I'm fine, I guess," he grumbles. "It wasn't anything worse than anything he's ever said to me before."

Elena runs her hand down his arm sympathetically. "You didn't have to come, especially after that," she tells him. "You should have just called me. We could have gone out for pizza or something."

He forces a smile. "I promised you. Besides, maybe the cheap beer will cloud my head enough that I'll be able to sleep through the pain in my shoulder tonight."

She feels her blood run cold. "Your dad…"

Stefan shakes his head. "It's fine. I promise, it's fine. It's just bruised."

Elena puts her hands on his shoulders, forces him to look at her. "Listen to me. I want you to promise me that if things get bad, you'll come to me. Okay? You know Jenna and Alaric would help you in a heartbeat."

He lets out a breath, nods. "I know. I can handle it, though. Really."

"But if you can't…"

"I'll come to you, I promise." She searches his eyes, watches as the corner of his mouth quirks up in a grin. "Stop worrying. You're gonna get premature wrinkles."

She thinks about berating him for not taking her seriously, but the last thing he needs right now is another lecture, so she lets it go for now. "I'll have you to blame for that, then," she smirks. "Come on, let's get you that beer."

She knows he's brushing it off, but she has a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knows Giuseppe is emotionally abusive, but she never thought he would actually lay a hand on his son. She should have seen it coming, honestly, with the way things have been escalating between them lately. She just wants to protect him. After Damon told her what their father did to him… she won't let that happen to Stefan, she promises herself. She won't let Giuseppe tear him down that way. But as she watches Stefan down beer after beer, she wonders if maybe she's already too late.

… … …