A/N: I am so sorry that I haven't updated soon. I was admitted into the hospital on Friday and just got home last night. It seems that the stomach virus is worse than anyone has ever imagined.
Please note: I do not own Vampire Diaries nor the characters associated with Vampire Diaries. I only own the characters that I have cooked up!
Anyways, here is chapter four of Lover Come Back!
(Three Weeks Later…)
"Are you alright?" Jeremy's head slipped in through the crack of the door, afraid that he would catch what Elena had.
Her face was completely pale, hidden from the sheets that draped over her face. Soft groans were emitting from her soft, white lips, "I don't want you to catch what I have. Just stay away from my room, alright?" Her hand snaked out from underneath the blanket and waved him off.
Nodding in agreement, he walked downstairs and into the kitchen. The wood finish on the cabinets shimmered in the pale sunlight that was pouring in through the shades on the sink window. Four stools were placed nonchalantly around the small island; one of the stools currently occupied.
Jeremy went about his business, trying his best to ignore the smirking figure sitting on the wooden stool before him. Grabbing a bowl and his box of cereal, he sat on the stool opposite that of the figure. He gracefully poured the silky milk into the bowl, watching the white waterfall as it collided with the floor of the bowl. Then, he opened the box of cereal and kept pouring the cereal into the bowl until it was overflowing with milk and cereal. This was 'Jeremy's Cereal Routine.' Quite the opposite of what the norm is; cereal then milk. Honestly, he didn't give a damn.
Finally, he plucked his spoon from the counter and dug into the mountain of soggy cereal. Glancing up to the figure on the stool, he now acknowledged him, "Yo." It was the new vocabulary word he had acquired after meeting the new kid at school. And it made the figure chuckle.
"Jeremy." He greeted with a nod.
Jeremy narrowed his eyes as if hearing the silent question within the one word, "She quarantined herself; won't let anyone in her room." He choked out, a spoonful of cereal crammed into the right side of his mouth to speak.
The figure nodded, his walls now fully up, for he was afraid that Jeremy could see right into his eyes, into his soul.
If Elena can see right through me, than surely Jeremy can too.
Deadly silence poured in, choking both men. Jeremy ate his cereal in silence, his left leg slightly swinging and crashing into the wood of the island. Damon looked towards the staircase, longing to walk up the wooden steps to his beloved one.
Jeremy glanced up and followed the trail to the staircase. Sighing, he said, "You can try heading up there, but there's no guarantee that she'll let you in." Damon smirked playfully before shrugging his leather-clad shoulders. Slipping off the stool, he started towards the staircase.
The closer he came to the staircase, the clearer he could hear the gurgle of the toilet's flush upstairs. Each crash of his combat boots against the wood of the staircase sent of jolt of excitement to see Elena. He hadn't laid eyes on her since the day she threw up at the boarding house- nearly a week ago. Ever since then she had some excuse for him not to come over.
"I'm puking my guts out," or, "I need some time alone," and, "I'm so tired." Truthfully, he thought the best excuse was when she picked up the phone and slammed it back down onto the receiver. Never quite understanding the reasoning behind that action, he shrugged it off like he does to everything else.
But now, it sounded like she was heading back to her bed to dose off once more. Not wanting her to fall asleep before he had a chance to talk to her, he sped into her room, clicking the door shut.
Almost immediately, he was greeted by tissues strewn across the floor, a chair that was hurled into the corner, countless empty boxes of various foods that resulted in his eyebrows rising. But the one thing missing from the scene was the woman of the hour.
"Elena?" Damon softly called out, twisting his head this way and that. There was a light shuffle of covers indicating life beneath. Slowly, he strode towards the bed and sat down directly next to the lump of covers. The palm of his hand rested against the covers, trying to find Elena's body. Finally, he landed on her arm, causing her to squirm.
"Jeremy, I told you to stay away from my room. I don't wa-" She began, but was cut off by Damon's eager words.
"It's me, Elena." Damon murmured, gently lifting the covers that were masking her identity. He couldn't help but gasp. Society would have said that she looked horrible, but to Damon, she never looked more beautiful. He softly caressed her paled cheek with the back of his fingers.
What surprised him was that she stayed silent, her lips unmoving, only slightly quivering. The room was nearly sixty-eight degrees, but internally for her, it was nearly forty-five degrees.
Seeing her obvious discomfort, Damon wrapped his arms around her shoulders, bringing her in to rest her head against his chest. He softly caressed her chestnut hair, whispering soft words to her as she began to drift to sleep, her heartbeat slowing.
Jeremy softly rested against the wall closest to the door, trying to slow his breathing so Damon wouldn't hear. It was no use, really. Damon knew that he was there, but kept his lips shut, for he didn't want to awaken Elena. He gently rested the sleeping figure down onto the bed. Jeremy took this as his chance to peek in. Once he did, his eyes were met with the sight of Damon gently placing a kiss on her forehead.
As he straightened his back, Jeremy rushed to his room, lightly clicking the door shut once he was inside. Damon smirked, obviously amused by her kid brother's actions. With the smirk still plastered to his face, his hand ventured over to the lamp, fingers wrapped around the pull-chain socket. He listened intently to her slowing heartbeat, just to make sure that she was sleeping properly.
Just as he was about to pull the chain, he heard it. The sound poured into his eardrums, resulting in him to freeze and listen even more intently.
There it was, a heartbeat.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
He was taken aback.
It has to be her heartbeat.
Listening with all his abilities, he heard her heartbeat, resulting in him taking in a deep breath of relief. He pulled the chain, clicking the light off, and ventured towards the window.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Damon stopped dead in his tracks. There was a soft echo of her heartbeat that was invading his senses. The sparks in his head immediately searched through the records in a split-second before pulling out a file from when he had ventured to a small village in Italy.
Flashback to Italy 1967
The soft hum of passing vehicles and the padding of villagers' feet against the cold ground was all he could clearly hear. No one dared to speak a word, for they were too afraid of the lurking vampires that they knew were in the village.
Everyone suspected everyone of being a vampire. No matter who you were, you were suspected. A few days before this memory, an accused, small child was staked and burnt. The villagers all feared the same fate as the child.
The leather of his shoes lightly squeaked as he ventured on down the dirt path, occasionally bumping into the warm flesh of a human. As he was passing one small hut, the cries of a woman shattered his sensitive eardrums. Damon snapped his head towards the direction of the cries, expecting to be met with the sight of a woman being killed or having merchandise stolen. But when his eyes landed on the woman, a pang of sorrow hit his heart. She had fallen into a pile of crates, trying her hardest to lift herself up onto the palms of her hands. With each shattering cry that emitted from her paled lips, Damon's feet inched closer. No one was rushing to her aid. No one.
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that no one was coming to help the poor woman. She was clearly in the late stages of labor, but he had absolutely no clue what to do. The woman's heartbeat was growing rapid, but when he listened carefully, he could hear the strong heartbeat of her child.
Feeling useless, he sped away, never looking over his shoulder.
End of Flashback
And that's when it truly clicked for Damon. The sudden rage and jealousy rushed through his veins, resulting in his fangs to protrude from his gums. For fear of hurting her, Damon sped away from the room to anywhere that he couldn't hear that small heartbeat.
How could she?
A/N: Oo, things are getting intense.
Next Chapter:
Damon disappears in a jealous rage, leaving everyone worried. Jeremy grows suspicious of Elena's symptoms and does research, dragging Caroline, Bonnie, and Matt into the process.
I'm bringing Matt into this story because a lot of people were upset that I killed him off in Puzzled Hearts.
Remember: Reviews are my inspiration to keep writing!