FIFTEEN
Not even a minute after collapsing, there were hands grabbing my shoulders and then arms around me as I was lifted up. I put my head on a shoulder and closed my eyes in relief as I inhaled the scent of Stefan. He carried me to the living room and sat me on the couch before going to get me a glass of water. I had a few sips before I set it on the little table next to the couch. Unable to keep sitting, I laid down on my side. Stefan was kneeling in front of me and stroked my face while he moved the hair out of my vision. I was still crying; I was one weepy vampire. His eyes were full of compassion and understanding. "You heard," I breathed, surprising both of us that I was able to speak.
He nodded. "I had come back from hunting and I was afraid that if I moved to help you he would kill us both."
I felt sick and closed my eyes. "I don't know what to do. I can't lose Damon."
"I know," he replied and put his other hand in mine. "He gave you a week. We can all come up with a plan in a week."
I shook my head. "No we won't."
He smiled grimly as he continued to trace my jaw. Never in my life had I ever felt this weak. I felt completely and utterly helpless. "You are going to tell Damon, right?"
I barely nodded. "But I need everyone here to help me stop him in case he tries to go after Klaus."
"I can arrange that. If you make him promise not to go after him, he won't. He really does love you Elena." I knew the words hurt him, but he said them anyway. Maybe he was finally accepting it. "Come on," he whispered as he picked me up. "You need your rest. It'll be better if you don't look like this when Damon gets home."
I said nothing as he carried me into my room and laid me on the bed. He tucked me in gingerly as if he were afraid I would shatter into pieces if he touched me. "Thank you," I breathed when he was finished.
"You're welcome," he returned and kissed my forehead before leaving. I curled up into a ball and used my arms as a pillow instead of the real thing. Unaware of how tired I was, I drifted off to sleep rather easily.
My slumber didn't last long, but it was long enough to recover from the adrenaline rush I had experienced. I felt eyes on me and I lifted my head to find Damon staring at me from the entrance of the room with a peculiar expression on his face. "Are you aware that you were barking in your sleep?"
I shook my head as I thought about how weird that was. Vampire or not. "I was?"
"And whimpering. And doing that thing with your hands and feet as if you were running on all fours," he said as he crossed his arms. "Care to explain?"
"How long have you been there watching me sleep like a stalker?" I countered.
"Not long," he said and sat on the edge of the bed beside me. He tipped my head up and his eyes widened as he noticed the color of my eyes. He inhaled deeply through his nose and then narrowed his eyes at me.
"Yes, I had Tyler's blood. Only because he had mine first." Way to make the situation more awkward, I chided myself.
"I can't wait for this explanation," he said dryly.
"When Tyler found me on Friday, he licked the blood on my face. After you left, I talked to Stefan and Tyler and they noticed I was looking paler than usual. Stefan went to hunt and Tyler offered me his blood."
"We had plenty of bags in the fridge," he said and then scowled at the fact that he would rather I had done that instead of taken fresh blood.
"The blood bags still haven't healed me completely. So I took it, but I almost went too far."
He nodded and cupped my face. "How do you feel now?"
I did a mental check and nodded. "I think it worked because I don't feel anything relating to that injury."
He looked thoughtful. "I'm still going to have a talk with Mr. Lockwood." His hand traveled down my face and then my throat. When his fingers touched the chain his eyes snapped downwards until he lifted the locket away from my skin. I closed my eyes as I felt him tense. "Please tell me you found this in the kitchen."
I bit my lower lip and shook my head briefly before looking back at him. He was angry and wanted to yell out, but his self restraint was astounding. "It wasn't in the kitchen."
"Elena-"
"I don't want to talk about it right now," I said and sat up so that I could wrap my arms around him and find comfort and safety in his arms. "I will tell you what happened, but not right now. I promise," I breathed as I tightened my arms around him.
Reluctantly he nodded and pulled away long enough to shed his clothes before joining me under the covers. "How was girl's night?" he asked.
I was laying on my stomach with my arms tucked under me and my head was turned towards him. He was on his side, propped up on his elbow with his free hand stroking my back. I was relieved that he was willing to let it go for now. I wanted to feel a bit normal before I told him I only had a week left. I pushed the thought aside and answered him. "Anna had my fath- my uncle's ring and Bonnie spelled it. That way Jeremy has a ring to keep him safe when Anna turns him. Then we pigged out on junk food and watched cheesy girl stuff for a few hours."
"Any pillow fights you would like to rehash in detail?"
I smiled lightly and shook my head. "No, sorry. How did your...evening go?" I asked, a glimmer of humor in my eyes.
He shrugged. "Not as much fun as it would have been had I stayed."
He flashed a grin and I rolled my eyes. "You and Tyler need to get this lesbian thing out of your head. It's not going to happen."
He moved so that he was laying on top of me. "I don't want anyone else but you," he said with a serious voice. He leaned down and kissed me. It was sweet and fierce at the same time and I felt my body soar in that safety that I felt whenever I was in his presence. His lips moved from mine, to my jaw, and then my neck. As I relaxed from his expert touch, I couldn't help but think Klaus and his ultimatum. His words echoed loudly in my head and I nearly jumped off the bed after forcefully pushing him away. I stood by the window and pressed my head against the cool glass. He was right behind me, slipping his hand into mine and squeezing it for comfort. "I think you should tell me what happened," he said in a low voice that was full of protectiveness.
I continued to stare out the window. "Only if you promise to do nothing and stay right here with me."
He turned me to look at him with is other hand, keeping his other firmly locked with mine by our sides. His eyes were blazing like a wildfire, knowing full well that he was not going to like what I was about to tell him. "I promise to stay right here."
"I mean it Damon. No running off to do something stupid."
His grip tightened on my hand and had I been human, he would have broken it. "I promise," he replied and stared at me. "Now out with it."
"After Anna and Bonnie left, I felt scared because I was alone. I heard something out back and foolishly opened the door. I was going to come back in, but Klaus was behind me, putting my necklace on." Again, his grip tightened and his jaw was clenched so hard I thought it would snap. "He said he wasn't going to kill me," I started and had to stop from the onslaught of tears that kept coming up. "He is angry because I killed Katherine twice. He said he would give me a week to...a week to..." I couldn't say it.
"Elena, it's okay," Damon said in a not so convincing tone.
I took a deep breath and flipped that inner switch just to get through the next part. It helped more than I thought it would. "He said I had a week to either be with him for an eternity or he would settle for taking you from me as I had taken Katherine from him."
This time, he really did break my hand. I grimaced and pulled out of his grasp to heal and felt the bones crunch as they knitted themselves back together. He was livid with anger that he was practically glowing. His gaze flickered to the door and then to me. The moment his eyes met mine, he seemed to remember his promise and the fact that I was scared out of my mind. He pulled me to him in a crushing grip that I returned completely. "I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. Do you understand that? That bastard is not going to touch you or threaten you ever again."
I wanted to believe that and so did Damon but we both knew the truth. One of us was going to lose and it wasn't going to be Klaus. We stood there in silence clinging to each other to let the situation sink in and the reality was very unpleasant.