A/N: Yes, Derrick is evil. Hope you all enjoy this update! Let me know what you think!
Stefan emerged from the shower, not bothering to dry his hair as he let the droplets of water hit his shoulders and run down his chest and back before disappearing under the towel tied around his waist. He never usually bothered with wearing a towel around the house, knowing that his nakedness outside of the bed still made Elena blush. It was cute and innocent and sweet and the thought of it made his heart hurt, knowing that she was still missing.
He downed his second cup of coffee before picking his clothes up off of the floor from the night before and putting them on. He brushed his teeth, ran his hands through his sure to be messy hair, and popped in a piece of gum to hold him over. Breakfast just didn't sound good at that moment. He checked his phone. Still no call about Derrick's vehicle.
Stefan punched in the number he had memorized and waited impatiently for the person on the other end to pick up. "Have you found his vehicle yet?" Stefan's voice barked into the phone. Stefan listened for a few moments before closing his eyes. "Of course he dumped it" he groaned. Apparently, Derrick wasn't as stupid as Stefan had hoped he would be. "So what now?" Stefan asked. Now that they couldn't track Derrick and Elena by vehicle. Again, more disappointment. "Sorry isn't going to find my wife now is it?" Stefan barked again before hanging up. Derrick and Elena could be anywhere by this point. And Stefan was back to square one.
He grabbed his wallet and keys, intent on going out and looking. Where, he didn't know. Maybe start in the city and then venture outside of it. As he walked towards the door, he caught sight of a shadow walking first by his door outside and then coming to stand to the side of it by the window. Stefan reached for the door handle and pushed the door open, intending to beat the crap out of whomever was lingering. Stefan came flying out of his room and grabbed the person, pinning the guy against the wall. His anger and surprise was evident as his heart continued to beat wildly in his chest. "What are you doing here?" Stefan asked, letting Damon go.
"Looking for you" Damon told him, brushing out the winkles that Stefan put in his newly pressed jacket.
Stefan turned around and placed his hands on the railing, looking out at the rising sun to calm himself. "I told you I'm not going home until I find Elena" he said, holding back his temper that was threatening to make an appearance.
"I know" Damon said, approaching him and standing next to him. "I'm here to help" he added. Stefan looked over at him cautiously. "Elena is probably the only reason Lily is home safe" he said, turning to look at his brother. "I owe her" he said.
"Where are Lily and Katherine?" Stefan asked.
"In New York with Zach. They left last night" Damon answered. "Right now, we need to go to the airport" he said, walking away from his brother.
"Airport? Why?" Stefan asked. Elena wasn't going to be at an airport.
"To pick up Alaric. You didn't think he would let you do this alone too, did you?" Damon smirked, descending down the stairs and heading towards his car. Stefan followed, seeing no other choice.
Damon was pretty peppy for having just driven all night. He sang along with the radio, talked about the weather, anything to try and distract Stefan from his deep brooding moments. Finally, they made it to the airport, a horrible twenty minutes later. Alaric was waiting curbside for them when they pulled up. Stefan got out to greet him.
Alaric pulled him into a giant hug and could care less if Stefan wanted one or not. "We'll get her back" Alaric told him, sounding a hell of a lot more confident that Stefan was feeling. Stefan nodded and pulled away from the hug. "Come on" Alaric told him, nodding towards the car.
They were sitting down at breakfast, discussing a plan of action. Damon and Alaric couldn't agree, meanwhile Stefan wanted to walk out and leave them. "We should check all the hotels in the area" Damon had suggested.
"No, we need to check all of the recently rented properties" Alaric argued. "He's probably looking at staying here long-term if Elena mentioned he was coming here."
As they continued to argue, Stefan stood up and left without a word. Damon and Alaric looked at each other briefly before sighing. "He shouldn't be the one looking for her. He's too invested and it's going to get him hurt" Damon said, running his hands through his hair.
Alaric disagreed. "No, he needs to be the one to save her. It's the only way he's going to stop feeling so guilty" Alaric said, standing up to go and find his friend.
Stefan walked fast, not wanting his brother or friend to catch up to him to talk. Stefan was done talking. Too much talking and not enough action. It was almost 8 AM. The day was half wasted by this point in his opinion.
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Elena ran her fingers over the cut above her eye, wincing as she did. It was bruised and it looked just as bad as it hurt. She ran a wet cloth over it, biting her lip to keep from crying out as she scrubbed at the dried blood.
A knock on the bathroom door made her jump. "Hurry up!" Derrick yelled at her. "We have to go" he informed her. Elena took a long, shaky breath as she rinsed off her wet cloth and set it aside. They had been in this hotel room since the night before. It was nearing dark now. She opened the door and was met by Derrick's scowl. He studied her face momentarily. "What happened?" he asked, challenging her.
Whatever fight Elena had left in her was now gone. "I fell" she answered submissively.
Derrick nodded. "That's right. Now come on, we need to get to the house before dark" he said, grabbing her arm forcefully and dragging her. He opened the hotel door and was about to walk out when he heard arguing outside in front of the neighboring room. Derrick didn't have to guess who it was. Elena's face told him all he needed to know. Derrick grabbed for his gun and eased the door closed, warning Elena not to make a sound as they hid in the room and listened.
Her heart sunk, hearing Stefan's voice just outside the door. He had listened to her note. He had come to Savannah to look for her. The only thing that kept her from screaming was the gun sitting in Derrick's hand. She didn't want him to hurt Stefan. Or, Damon. She could hear Damon too.
"We wasted the entire day!" she heard Stefan's muffled voice yell. There were a few more words she couldn't understand before she heard Damon.
"No, we came up with a plan!" Damon yelled back. "Elena could be anywhere. You're never going to find her by running around Savannah!" he reminded his brother. "So go inside, get some sleep, and wake up with a better attitude so we can start fresh tomorrow."
It went silent for a moment and Elena stood stalk still, waiting for Stefan and Damon to disperse. But there was no indication that anyone was going to move. Then, Stefan's voice came out, strained. She knew he was trying hard not to cry. "I just … I can't do this anymore, Damon" Stefan said. "It hurts too much. It hurts too damn much not knowing where she is or if she is alright. I feel physically sick right now thinking about her being trapped with that monster" Stefan choked out.
Elena knew he was crying now. And so was she. She wanted so badly to walk out that door and bring him close. She wanted to hold him and tell him that it was going to be okay. "Stefan" she heard herself whisper so quietly, not even Derrick could hear her.
"I'm sorry Stefan. I'm sorry you're hurting. And I promise you, we will get Elena back" she heard Damon say. "But you have got to take better care of yourself, or you're not going to be of any help to Elena" he reminded. "Like I said, go inside and sleep. We'll start looking at hotels in the morning that they might be at" Damon said. His footsteps disappeared down the walkway and they heard a door open and close. Then Stefan's door opened and closed.
Derrick cracked the door open and looked out. He waited what seemed like forever before grabbing Elena's arm and dragging her outside. Elena felt the gun being pressed into her side as he forced her to walk down the steps. She knew Derrick was pissed by the grip he had on her arm.
He opened the door on the older blue truck he purchased just before they hit Savannah. He shoved Elena inside as he went to the driver's side. He started the truck and began to pull out of the parking lot as Elena looked out her window up at Stefan's room.
Alaric came out of the hotel lobby with a bag of Skittles, hoping that Stefan and Damon were done with their brotherly banter. He checked his phone, seeing that he had a text from Caroline. It made him smile as he opened it. It was a sweet message about how she missed him and how she hoped they were making progress on finding Elena. He began to reply when a blue truck came flying from out of nowhere, almost running him over as he was crossing the parking lot. "Watch it Jackass!" Alaric yelled as the truck passed.
And that's when he saw her. Elena, with a surprised look on her face, staring at him as the truck passed. "Elena?" Alaric said almost in shock. He dropped his phone and his Skittles as he took off running after the truck. "Elena!" he yelled again, sprinting as the truck pulled out of the parking lot. "Hey! HEY!" he yelled, stopping to catch his breath. He bent down and picked up a rock, chucking it at the back window and watching it bounce off. Alaric got his hands up on top of his head as he bent over and breathed. Then, he turned around and took off for Stefan's room.
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Derrick continued to look behind him, paranoid that they were being followed. He had turned off of the main road and onto back roads just in case. He was silent, and Elena didn't say a word. But inside, she felt relief. Relief that Stefan was close. She meant enough to him for him to come looking for her.
Derrick turned down a long gravel road about half an hour later, cutting the headlights so no one could see them. Elena had to squint in the dark to see the house up ahead. When Derrick pulled the truck around the back, he cut the engine and got out. Elena remained where she was until he opened her door and pulled her out. He still didn't speak as he broke the lock on the back door and opened it, pushing her inside the house. For some reason, she didn't think this was a family member's house. It looked abandoned.
He pushed Elena again and she stumbled over the rug and fell to the floor. When she turned herself around, Derrick was standing over her. "You lied to me" he said. Although she couldn't see his face in the dark house, she knew he was angry. He bent down and grabbed her arms, picking her up and slamming her back into the wall behind her. "You said you loved me! You said you wanted to start over with me!" he yelled angrily at her. Elena felt tears erupt from her eyes as he shook her, demanding for an answer. "I saw the look on your face when you heard Stefan! You still want to be with him!" he yelled again, slamming his hand into the wall next to her left ear.
Elena closed her eyes and silently prayed. "Stop it" she said desperately. The fear, the pain. It was all too much for her anymore.
Derrick flipped the light on next to her and she saw the anger flash across his face. "You told me all those lies so I would let that little brat go, didn't you?" he demanded to know, pushing her harder up against the wall.
The mention of Lily sent a surge of anger through Elena. The conditions he had kept Lily in. The moment when he had tried to hit her. She was angry, and the look on his face told her that he knew this. "Yes!" Elena yelled. She used all the strength she had left to shove Derrick off of her, and although he only stumbled a step back, she never felt more free, standing up for herself. "I did what I had to do to protect my family!" she yelled at him as the tears streamed down her face. "I hate you! I hate everything about you! And there is nothing that brings me more pleasure than knowing that no matter what happens to me, Stefan will find you and he will kill you!" she shouted at him. "Because he loves me. He loves me more than you ever could!"
She was breathing rapidly now, her eyes penetrating his. He looked oddly calm, and she was trying to gage what his reaction would be. For five minutes, they stood there, staring at one another. Then he spoke softly. "He's ruined you" Derrick said, almost sadly. "He's turned you against me. Even if I were to kill him, you would never be able to be fixed" he said, tilting his head to the side and frowning at her. "It saddens me, Elena. Because I really do love you. But I can't be with you if you don't remember that you love me too."
Elena took a step back, feeling the wall press up against her back once more. "So let me go" she whispered with a shaky breath.
Derrick shook his head no. "If I can't have you, no one can" he said. Elena watched him closely as he reached out and grabbed her arm. Elena tried to yank it away, but he was stronger. And angrier. She prepared to hit him when the back of his hand slapped her across her face, sending her body limp from both the pain and the shock of it all. Derrick reached down and grabbed her, and although she continued to struggle, he was able to drag her to the bottom level of the house.
Elena felt herself being shoved into a tiny room with no windows. She assumed it had been used as a laundry room at one point. The room was empty with a concrete floor. No food, no water. Not even a blanket. She could feel the cold air coming in from the tiny vent. "I'm sorry Elena, but this is where we have to say goodbye for good" Derrick told her. He walked towards her and Elena backed away from him. "Things were supposed to be different" he said, looking at her thoughtfully.
"Go to hell" Elena said through gritted teeth.
"Maybe one day" Derrick smiled at her. "But not today. Goodbye Elena" he said, turned and exiting the small room. She heard him lock the door and then the rattle of chains sounded along with another click. He had locked her in, and she wasn't getting out.
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They had stopped at a gas station after Alaric had come bursting through Stefan's hotel door, panting from being out of breath and sputtering out what he had seen. Derrick driving away with Elena in a beat up blue truck.
Stefan had gone into a rage at the fact that Alaric had not been able to grab Elena out of the truck. So much so that Damon had had to pull Stefan off of Alaric and then after Alaric got mad, had to pull Alaric off of Stefan.
So instead of sleeping, they were up and driving around looking for Derrick's blue truck. They had checked every hotel around having discovered that Derrick had paid cash for the same hotel they had been staying at.
As Damon was filling up his car, Stefan was standing next to him, leaning against the car. His worst fear was that Derrick had skipped town. They would have no way of knowing which way he went. "She was staying right next to my room" Stefan said, and Damon knew that Stefan was beating himself up over it.
"Every available officer in the area is out there looking for Derrick's truck" Damon reminded him, choosing to ignore his brother's guilty conscience for the moment.
Stefan kicked a rocked sitting next to him. "I just don't want her to think I've given up on her" Stefan sighed. Because he wouldn't.
"She saw Alaric" Damon reminded him. "She knows you're not giving up" Damon added, putting the gas pump back and screwing on the lid.
Alaric emerged from the inside of the store with three coffees and a bag of stale muffins. "All they had left" Alaric said. Stefan took his coffee and finished it in four big gulps, hoping it would kick in soon.
Stefan then walked to the garbage can, depositing the cup inside. He looked across the street and saw that some sleazy bar was still full of life at nearly 1 AM. Suddenly, Stefan began walking away from the car and then proceeded to run across the empty street. "Hey, come on, now is not the time to be drinking!" Damon yelled. He got in the car, followed by Alaric, and drove across the street.
"Maybe a few drinks won't hurt him" Alaric suggested. "Might put him to sleep actually." Alaric got out of the car and stretched. That's when he noticed it. The beat up blue truck parked at the end of the lot. He looked at Damon who had seen the truck at about the same time. "Shit" Alaric said as they both went running inside.
The bar had a handful of people in it, most of who were completely drunk. Stefan was nowhere in sight, but the sound of a door slamming let them both know that someone had just gone out back behind the bar.
When Alaric and Damon came flying through the back door of the bar, they found Stefan holding Derrick by the collar of his shirt, punching him in the face repeatedly. Anyone could see that Stefan had completely lost it. He wasn't even thinking anymore. He was just feeling. "Stefan stop!" Alaric yelled, grabbing Stefan. "If you kill him, we won't know where she is!" he reminded his friend.
Stefan was caught by surprise at the grip Alaric had on him and ended up letting Derrick fall to the ground in a heap. "Where is she!" Stefan yelled, struggling in Alaric's grip. "I swear to God I will kill you right now!" he promised.
Damon bent down beside Derrick who was struggling to sit up. He checked him for a gun or a knife and didn't find anything. Derrick looked up at Damon and smiled. "We meet again" he said, struggling to breathe. Damon assessed the damage. Probably a broken nose, possibly a broken eye socket too.
"Where is Elena?" Damon asked calmly.
Derrick just smiled again as he reached his hand up and wiped away some of the blood running from his nose. Then, Derrick looked at Stefan. The raging maniac of was still trying to fight off the guy holding him back. "Let him kill me" Derrick said, addressing both Damon and Alaric. "Because I'll never tell you where she is. Because if I can't have her, no one can" he said, laughing in an eerily manner. "How long can a person go without food or water?" he asked, amused at his own factual question. "Tick tock" he added, locking his eyes with Stefan's and laughing again.
It had turned into a game for Derrick, and this had nearly paralyzed Stefan. Elena was a person. She was a good person and so many people loved her. Stefan loved her. And Derrick didn't care.
Stefan stopped fighting Alaric almost instantly and his body went limp. Derrick was hiding Elena, probably where no one would find her. Not in time, at least. Stefan's whole existence became threatened in that moment. The moment where derrick had sat there and assigned Elena her death sentence.
If Elena died, Stefan knew he would want to die too.