November 2006
"Damon, this has got to stop," Giuseppe bellowed in Damon's office. Damon hardly even reacted to his father's tone, choosing to pretend to focus on the documents in front of him.
"Are you even listening?" Giuseppe growled at his son.
"No, I'm not," Damon shrugged. He hadn't heard from Elena in over a month. He knew his father did something, but he was still holding onto hope that she'd turn up one day asking him to help her fix it. Which he would. He would always help her.
"Damn it, Damon," His father shouted as his fists landed with a bang on Damon's desk. He finally looked up to the rage in his father's eyes.
"What Dad? Am I not following the plan? Well last time I did that you took it upon yourself to fix it, so I assume you'll take care of this as well," he snapped bitterly.
"You need to stop punishing me for Elena," Giuseppe warned, "I did you a favor."
At his father's words, Damon became enraged. His blood boiled, his heart rate increased, and all he could see was red. He rose from his desk and placed his palms on the flat surface to look straight into his father's eyes.
"Let me spell this out for you, I will never stop punishing you for what you did to Elena," Damon hissed, "Don't ever think you did me a favor or that you will ever be forgiven."
Instead of listening to whatever his father had to respond to that, Damon gathered his things and quickly left his office. He knew if he spoke to his father any longer, he'd say or do something he'd regret. So instead, he did what he always did. He walked to his favorite bar, get drunk, and told whoever would listen about the love of his life before the bartender would cut him off and call him a cab home.
And every night he remained convinced that he'd never be happy again.
Present Day:
Elena was exhausted before she even got up. Her sleepless nights had finally caught up to her and they weren't letting her off easy. She dragged herself to her kitchen and poured herself a cup of superficial energy. The smell of coffee alone was enough to perk her up a little and just as she poured herself a cup, she was startled by a loud knock at her door. And another.
It was way too early for someone to be banging on her door. Still, she pulled her robe tight around her and threw the door open. She almost slammed it closed when the image of Damon, clad in all black as usual, standing on her porch invaded her vision. His blue eyes were full of remorse as he looked right into her eyes.
"What are you doing here?" She said with an acidic voice. Seeing him instantly reminded her that she was pregnant, a thought she would try to avoid before noon on most days.
"I'm here to fight for you, for us," he said firmly. Her heart sunk at his words. It was everything she wanted to hear and everything she dreaded hearing.
"You threw in the towel that day at Caroline's. You don't get to fight anymore. Besides, shouldn't you be married," she practically hissed. She made a decision on him and she was working so hard to stick to it. She actually had been doing well, but then he showed up at her house and destroyed all her progress with one look. A small voice in her mind told her that she needed to tell him about the pregnancy, she owed it to him. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.
"Please just let me explain. I said those things because I thought it would be easier to marry Katherine if you hated me. It didn't work. I didn't marry her, Elena," he explained in a rush, "Because I'm still in love with you. Nothing has changed that and now I know that nothing will."
His words silenced that voice very quickly. How dare he show up here thinking that she'd just fall into his arms and let her back into her life after all they'd been through? Her eyes started stinging at his words. They were so bittersweet. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to just throw herself into his arms and never leave, but she knew she couldn't. She would never let herself feel that heartache again.
"I can't, Damon," she whispered brokenly, "It's too late."
Before he had the chance to protest she slammed the door in his face. She stared at the closed door wondering where she ever got the strength to do it. The tears she'd been fighting were threatening to spill, but she refused to cry anymore. He would not get anymore tears. She would suck it up and move on with her life.
She stood there for the longest time trying to convince herself that one day she'd be happy again.
8 o'clock sharp her doorbell rang and she hurried down the stairs to open it. She smiled when she saw Mason in his suit waiting for her. She felt good being able to move on, that was what she told herself at least.
He looked her up and down with hungry eyes that made her feel a little uncomfortable, but she bushed it off as she smoothed down her navy gown.
The party was in full swing when they arrived and she wished so badly that she wasn't pregnant, because she could really use some champagne. She thought that she could just push Damon out of her life and move on, but then she realized she was pregnant- which was confirmed by two different tests- and he showed up on her porch telling her everything she wanted to hear. She knew she should've told him about the pregnancy, but she was afraid. She was afraid for her own heart because she would never be able to handle it if he rejected her again.
She tried to get lost in her evening with Mason, but Damon's face kept making appearances in her mind. She dance with Mason, but mentally noted that he wasn't a smooth as Damon. His hands were clammy where Damon's would be warm. His feet bumped hers, where Damon's would glide across the floor. Everything Mason did was compared to Damon. She wondered briefly if Damon would make an appearance at the event while he was in town. A part of her wished he would. All of her wished he would.
Halfway through the evening, Mason mentioned getting some fresh air, which she agreed that she needed. He took her hand and led her opposite the doors she assumed they'd go through.
"Mason," Elena asked as he tugged more forcefully on her hand, "Where are we going?"
He led them down a long hallway and pulled her through one of the doorways. They were in a large study. It had a giant wooden desk right in the middle of the room with a few couches facing each other. Her head whipped around when she heard the faint click of the door being closed. This was not what she imagined when he said fresh air.
"It was just getting too crowded out there," he said quietly as he walked closer to her. Something about that moment didn't sit well with her. Her heartbeat picked up and her palms started to get clammy.
Before she could say anything else, he slammed his lips against hers and pushed her against the large desk. She was so shocked that she stood frozen before her mind switched into overdrive. His hands started to pull the fabric of her gown up her legs as he rubbed his groin into her.
Her hands came up to his chest to push him off her, but he misinterpreted it and it only fueled him on. His lips moved away from hers and kissed a path down her neck.
"Mason, stop," she said firmly, but he ignored her as his hands settled on her bare thighs and slowly started inching upward.
"Mason," she said louder, a little panic starting to color her tone, "I said stop."
She tried with all her strength to push him off, but he remained unmovable. Her heart rate skyrocketed and her mind was going a mile a minute. When his hands reached her lace underwear, everything went into panic mode. She started moving frantically trying whatever she could to escape his clutches.
"I said stop!" She screamed, her hands shakily trying to pry his out from under her dress. His head snapped up and his hand covered her mouth almost as soon as the sound left it.
"And I say that you need to shut up," he growled at her.
Suddenly a million things happened at once. His hand reached out and ripped her underwear from off her body and as soon as his other hand left her mouth she let out an earsplitting scream. In the same moment, she heard the door to the study being kicked open and suddenly Mason's body was ripped away from her. She closed her eyes tight against the tears threatening to fall as she heard the grunts from Mason as her savior delivered strong punches, probably to Mason's face. Then suddenly there was silence.
"Elena?" She heard a melodic voice softly calling her name. She closed her eyes tighter because she knew if she opened them she'd be disappointed to see it wasn't who she was praying for.
She decided that she couldn't hide forever and finally opened her eyes. She was bombarded with the image of Damon standing a few feet from her, his hands up in front of him like he was afraid to touch her. His dress shirt was untucked and his tie was hanging limp around his neck.
She opened her mouth to say something, but instead of words coming out, a wave of nausea hit her so hard that she didn't think twice about running from the room and into the nearest bathroom. Her stomach wretched as she hovered over the toilet, letting the nausea remove whatever she had put in her stomach that day.
Damon had gotten to the party much later than he'd planned. He'd been personally invited by Carol that day when he was walking aimlessly in the town's square. He'd just walked in when he spotted Elena laughing with a tall, tan man. They spoke seriously for a few moments before the man took her hand and led her away. His heart sunk in his chest to see her smiling with someone else. He grabbed himself a glass of champagne and downed it before moving further into the Lockwood's home.
He chatted mindlessly with several people, pretending to listen to them, but in reality he was searching for Elena. He excused himself and started to wander down the same hallway he saw her disappear into. He moved further down the hall when he heard a blood curdling scream. He moved quickly to follow the sound. He opened every door until he found them. The scene in front of him set his blood on fire and all he could see was red. Without a moment of hesitation he ripped Mason's body from Elena's and threw him on the floor before Damon pounced on him and laid a few hard punches to his jaw.
He tried to call her name as she stood frozen where he found her with her eyes tightly shut. When she finally opened her eyes, her face went pale and she darted from the room.
Damon stood in shock as Elena dashed out of the room so quickly. It took him a few minutes to process what happened and then finally set out after her. He checked every room down the long hallway until he finally found the door to the bathroom open. He tentatively pushed the door open and saw Elena curled up in the far corner of the bathroom, sobbing quietly to herself.
"Elena?" He asked softly. She slowly lifted her head off her knees to look at him. She was a mess, mascara tracking down her cheeks with her tears, her hair had been pulled from her styled up-do, her face pale, and her whole body was shaking.
"Damon," she whispered in a broken voice and that was all it took for him to drop to his knees and take her up in his arms. He rubbed soothing circles on her back and gently stroked her hair as she cried into his shoulder. He could almost feel all her pain and anguish coming off her in waves.
The moment his arms wrapped around her, she felt like she was home. She cried out in relief to have him there, in fear of what had just transpired with Mason, and for herself. How would she tell him that she was pregnant? How would he take it? He had just showed up on her doorstep begging for another chance, would he still want it if he knew?
When she finally calmed herself, he took her up in his arms and lifted her from the floor and set her on the bathroom counter. He grabbed a washcloth and wet it before pressing it against her face and clearing away all the mess from that night. He worked meticulously and she stayed perfectly still, afraid that with one movement she'd scare him away.
When he was wiping the last of her makeup off, she slowly reached out and stopped his hand. He looked at her curiously, but she gave him a small smile before taking a deep breath and preparing for what she was about to say. She would not make the same mistake she made five years ago.
"Damon," she whispered. His eyes were soft when hers met his as his other hand gently cupped her face and ran his thumb over her cheek.
"I'm-" She started, but she was cut off by the bathroom door being thrown open and Carol Lockwood's panicked voice filling the small space. They jumped apart at her sudden intrusion.
"Elena!" She said in a rush, "You poor dear! I am so sorry for what happened. The Sheriff is here to take your statement," then she turned to Damon, "Yours too. Thank goodness you were there so quickly."
Carol instructed them to follow her and Elena reluctantly pushed herself off the counter to follow Damon and Carol. As they made their way down the hall to the main living room, her hand somehow found its way into Damon's and stayed there through the whole process of questioning. It took quite a bit of prying on his part to separate their hands when they had to be questioned individually.
She had decided that she wouldn't press charges. It was just too much to handle at that point. Finally, she was allowed to go home. Then she realized that Mason had driven her. She stood awkwardly in the entryway of the Lockwood mansion trying to think of a way home when a velvety voice floated into her ears.
"Need a ride?" She turned to see him exiting the room he'd been taken into. She opened her mouth to speak, but when no sound came out she just nodded her head and followed him to his car.
The ride to her house was short and silent. All the courage she'd built up in that small bathroom was shattered the second Carol's voice filled it.
"Are you ok, Elena?" He soft voice broke through her thoughts. They stood on her doorstep and she didn't even remember how they got there. She'd been so consumed in her own mind.
"Yes, thank you, for everything," she said quietly, glancing up into his ice blue eyes from under her lashes.
"Well Salvatore does mean savior," he smirked at her with a wink that turned her legs to jello. She smiled a little, but it fell when she remembered what exactly she was keeping from him.
"You're sure you're ok?" He asked when he saw her face fall so suddenly.
She shook her head this time as tears welled up in her eyes.
"I have to tell you something," she said quietly, her voice shaking.
"What is it?" Concern was written all over his features.
She took a deep breath, there was no going back. She would not repeat her mistake. He had to know, and she had to be the one to tell him.
"I'm pregnant."
The silence that followed was more deafening than any sound she'd ever heard.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your sweet reviews and adding this to your favorites/alerts list. You are all amazing and make me so happy.
I'll be sad to see this story end because it's the first I've ever received over 100 reviews for. So thank you for that.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And if you sent me an email about the SOPA thingy, I got it don't worry!
PS, I posted a preview of the first chapter of my new story that will eventually make it onto this website, but if you want to give it a read the link is: princessme385 (dot) livejournal (dot) com
It's the most M rated thing I've ever written, but don't get too excited. I wouldn't exactly call it "smut", but it's pretty close. Haha
Anyway, reviews are love!