AN: Wow! I didn't think I'd update so soon but since you requested me chapter 2 and I had it ready, I thought I'd post it. This wouldn't have been possible without my brilliant beta, so I want to thank her and you should all be grateful to her too. Enjoy this chapter and review! Those always inspire me to write more and upload sooner.
I'm wide awake
Yeah, I was in the dark
I was falling hard
With an open heart
I'm wide awake
How did I read the stars so wrong
A few minutes later when she finally stopped sobbing, the man who saved her pulled her out of the bathroom and back to the bar. She looked around, scared that the one who tried to rape her would still be there. With small steps she followed the dark haired man and when he sat on a stool, she finally allowed her legs to rest by sitting next to him.
"It's okay, he's gone now. And I doubt that he's not gonna be back anytime soon," he shrugged and called for the barman. "Two whiskeys. You know which one," he spoke with the same velvety voice from earlier. It was clear he was a regular since the bartender knew his preferences.
"Thank you for saving me. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't have been there," Elena shook her head in disbelief. She still couldn't believe what had just happened. A lot of guys hit on her, yes, but no one, until that night had anyone tried to force themselves on her.
"You've thanked me a thousand times in the last 15 minutes. It's okay. It's all good. You can relax now," he said and she was sure that he noticed how her shoulders were tense so when she finally allowed her body to relax, he smiled.
"I'm sorry. I'm so rude. I'm Elena," she smiled awkwardly. How could she forget her manners? Well, maybe she wouldn't have if she hadn't just been attacked by a drunk man who could have ruined her life forever.
"That's understandable right now. Damon," he shrugged apologetically and handed her a glass of whiskey when Alex put them down on the bar. "It should help. It definitely helps me. Every single time," Damon encouraged her to drink.
Elena lifted the glass to her lips and swallowed a mouthful before placing it back on the counter. She probably should've gone home but she was too scared to go out on the streets by herself. Eventually she would call a taxi and leave but not just yet.
"So, Elena, why were you alone in here with all these drunk guys? I mean, I know it's a good bar and all but there's always lichens around," Damon asked and his gaze fell on her face. Her cheeks were stained with tears and some of her mascara but she didn't seem bothered by this.
"I wasn't alone. I was with my friends and my boyfriend but they left earlier," she explained, running a hand through her hair. All her plans to look beautiful were ruined now. She probably looked like a homeless girl who found some good clothes and wore makeup for the very first time.
"What kind of a boyfriend leaves his girlfriend alone in a bar at midnight?" Damon scoffed resentfully. If she were in his shoes, she would ask the exact same thing. But he didn't know how much of an idiot she was because she didn't want to leave with Dylan. She mentally scolded herself again.
"It's not like that. He told me to leave with him but I wanted to have one more drink. It's not the first time I've been alone here. Though it's the first time something like that happens," Elena finished her drink, lost in her thoughts.
"Hello, are you listening?" Damon waved a hand in front of her eyes, bringing her out of her reverie.
"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Elena raised an eyebrow, suddenly feeling bad for not paying attention to Damon. She was so rude sometimes.
"I said that if I were your boyfriend I wouldn't have listened to you and I would've stayed here if you really wanted to have one more drink. He couldn't have anything important to do at this hour, right?" Damon's brow arched and she thought about it for a second. What if he was right? Why was Dylan's friend more important than her, his girlfriend, and why did he hurry up to go and see him?
She suddenly didn't know what to say to him. His words really made her think about the whole situation. Her head snapped up and she smiled kindly at him.
"You know, Damon, I am really tired. I should get going. Thanks again, I'll never forget what you did for me," Elena looked from her wallet and pulled out a twenty. Damon's hand wandered to hers and took the bill. His hand traveled further to the one little pocket of her dress and crammed it inside.
She followed his movements nervously and felt a shiver running through her body as his hand pushed against her skin when cramming the bill inside her pocket. He didn't have to touch her skin for her to feel that his fingers were soft, that his fingerprints would make any skin tingle under their touch.
"This one's on me. Maybe you'll have the chance to return the favor," he pulled her out of her own head and pointed to the door. "I'll drive you home," he announced and she quickly shook her head.
"No, it's okay. I'll take a cab. You've done enough for one night," Elena nodded her head slightly like agreeing to her own statement.
"Come on, Elena. Let's go," Damon insisted and pulled her out of the bar and faster than she could protest she was standing in front of a black Range Rover and he was opening the door for her.
"I really should take a cab. I live on the other side of town," Elena complained even though she knew she would feel more comfortable with him, her savior, than a strange taxi driver.
"Get in the car," Damon ordered and when she finally decided to give up and get in the car, he closed the door behind her.
A few minutes later, he was driving towards her house while she was giving him directions. Occasionally, her glance wandered to his face and she stared at his soft features. She knew it wasn't a right to do, checking him out. Not only did she have a boyfriend but Damon was a total stranger. Who knew what he planned to do next. Maybe he too was like the guy at the bar. She mentally cursed herself for thinking that poorly about him. He had saved her. How could he be that awful himself? And then she was reminded that no person could ever truly know another. In fact, no person can truly know herself.
There was a time when she didn't know who she was anymore. The first few weeks after her parents' death were some of her darkest. She would spend time locked in her room, looking at pictures of them, only to remind herself that she caused their death. She could never forget how young they were and how much more they had yet to live. And then, one day, she decided to make it easier for Jenna and her brother, to stop them from looking at her and thinking that she was the one responsible for the loss they all suffered. The pills didn't help her. After she swallowed them, she felt like she was going to sleep forever and that felt good. She wouldn't be able to dream about them anymore, she would be able to finally rest. But then Jenna came and found her. Unfortunately, the doctors managed to save her and she was brought home where the familiar memory of her parents haunted her again.
As the pain got more intense day after day, she thought she should end this once and for all. That day should've been her last one and she should've died when she ripped through her veins with a knife, watching the life drain out of her with tears rolling off her cheeks and dropping onto her wounds. It stung but not like the feeling of guilt. Three days later, she woke up in a white room, isolated from the outside world. When Jenna came to see her, she told her she would have to stay there for a few months, that it would be good to her. Her aunt didn't understand that she didn't want anything good for her. She just wanted the peace only death could offer her.
Moments later, the car stopped and she looked around. She was home. She took her purse and turned to Damon whose hands still gripped the wheel, probably waiting for her to get down and leave.
"Thanks. For everything. You're a good guy, really," Elena finally established and she flashed him a smile.
"You're welcome, Elena. But I'm a good guy because you don't know me," he winked and smiled back. "I guess I'll see you around," he concluded and with that, she opened the door and watched him drive off before she walked to the door.
What was that supposed to mean? Of course he was a good guy. He helped her tonight and didn't want anything in exchange, like most people would have. Or maybe he was right about what he said and he only seemed nice because he was a total stranger. She doubted that she would see him around. New York was a big city and it was a once in a million chance they would bump into each other again.
Elena slowly opened the door and snuck inside, walking over to the kitchen. The lights were off but Jenna, who was drinking some water in the corner, scared her. She turned on the lights and narrowed her eyes.
"God, Jenna, are you sleepwalking?" she asked and walked to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of juice.
"Sorry, I didn't think you'd be home so soon," Jenna shrugged apologetically and put the glass down on the counter.
Now she was happy that she had wiped the mascara off her face. What would Jenna have said if she'd seen her like that? She would've had to tell her what happened and that would've only made her worry. And telling would cause drama with Dylan too.
"It's okay. It's not so early. Jenna, it's 2am. Are you okay?" Elena asked, walking closer to her aunt to look at her. She didn't look so good. She was pale and her pupils were dilated.
"Yeah, it's just a headache. It will pass. I just took an Advil. Go to sleep, I'll be up in a few minutes," she explained and smiled softly before waving at her.
The night wasn't as turbid as she thought it would be. After she was tucked in her bed, she immediately fell asleep, letting her mind rest after a tumultuous day and an even more tumultuous night. She allowed herself to sleep in so when she woke up it was 10am. Luckily, she didn't have a full day ahead of her. In fact, she only had plans to hit the gym with Caroline. But it was necessary that she had a good rest. She knew she would need to listen to Caroline's rambling through the entire gym session.
"Elena!" Caroline squealed after seeing her and ran towards her, pulling her into a hug but this time releasing her a few seconds later. "Okay, so tomorrow we're going out," she announced happily.
"Slow down. We are going out?" Elena could only imagine what she was about to say but that didn't stop her from asking.
"Yes. You, me, Stefan and Dylan. Oh, and his asshole brother," Caroline's face twisted when mentioning the word 'brother'. "I don't know why he has to bring him."
"Stefan has a brother?" Elena's brows arched as she asked. How did Caroline not mention that to her earlier? Maybe she forgot. "You didn't tell me anything about that."
"Because there's nothing to say about the man. He's an asshole and I hate him. So I'm not wasting my breath to talk about him, okay?" she snapped and before Elena could say something Caroline raised her hand to silence her. "No, do not ask me about him," she warned her friend.
"Okay, whatever. It's not like I care," Elena scoffed and walked to the treadmill, starting to run like there was no tomorrow.
"What's gotten into you?" Caroline asked as she looked over to Elena to see her working her soul out on the treadmill.
"Nothing. Tell me about you and Stefan. I know you can't wait," she demanded and stopped the treadmill. She sat on an exercise ball and drank from one of the water bottles.
"I thought you'd never ask. So, there's not much going on except that he officially asked me to be his girlfriend and of course I said yes. I'm going to meet his father next week. I'm so excited. I'll be in front of Giuseppe Salvatore, can you imagine?" While Caroline ranted about her love life and the awesomeness of meeting the wealthiest man from New York, Elena's thoughts wandered to Damon and what he had said about Dylan. She began to question again Dylan's hurry to leave last night.
"That's good, yes," she finally responded to her friend who was nervously tapping her fingers on the bouncy ball.
"You sure you're okay, Elena?" Caroline asked again as she threw daggers at her friend, who was totally in her own world instead of gushing over the exciting news.
"Definitely, yeah," she nodded her head and stood up. "Let's go take a shower. We'll go have coffee after," Elena proposed, trying not only to take herself from obsessing over last night but also to satisfy Caroline's thirst of gossiping about everyone and everything.
The day seemed to slip away rather fast, even if she had to listen to Caroline talking about how gorgeous Stefan was, how hot he looked naked, how his kisses made her skin ignite or how good he was in bed. She listened to everything she said and nodded, sometimes smiling and sometimes laughing at how silly her friend could be at times.
When she finally got home it was already dinnertime and she had promised to have dinner with Jenna and Jeremy that night.
"Hey, Jenna," she greeted her aunt who was happily sitting on the couch, watching TV.
"Elena, hey. I ordered pizza and we have beer. It's just the two of us tonight. Jeremy's spending the night at his friend's place trying to finish a project for school," she explained, not looking much at her, but rather excitedly watching her favorite characters on the television.
Elena frowned and shook her head, trying to get Jenna's attention. "There's no project to finish, right?" she finally realized that Jeremy lied to her. It wasn't the first time though, so she should be used to it by now but it seemed like Jenna was always caught up in his web of tricks.
"No, not at all," she nodded and sat on the couch next to her. "So, how have you been lately?"
Jenna shrugged her shoulders. "Fine, I guess. Just doing what I got to do," she said, turning to look at her niece.
"I'm sorry, Jenna. I've been so busy lately with school that I didn't even ask you how are you or how everything is going at work," Elena apologized. It was the first time since she lived with Jenna they didn't have time to talk or go out together. It was unusual but she knew it was going to happen more often once she got a job.
"It's okay, Elena. I know. It's over now. Work is fine. I was just promoted last week. Now I'm actually a nurse," she said proudly and smiled widely.
"Oh, that's so great! Congratulations," Elena leaned forward and hugged Jenna, squeezing her back softly. "You should've told me, we could've celebrated," she said, winking playfully.
"I figured it wasn't time for celebrating, you know..." she didn't finish her sentence. Elena already knew what she was going to say. It wasn't time for celebrating because just the last week was her parents' death anniversary. It marked five years since they died because of how stupid she had been. Her face dropped to the ground as she nodded slightly in agreement to Jenna's words.
"I understand. Anyway, I've wanted to talk to you about a job. You know I told you I want to get one. Well, I've applied for one and I'm waiting for a response but if I get it, I'll have to get a place of my own. The job is in Brooklyn," Elena explained and she hoped Jenna wouldn't mind if she moved out on her own. It would be good for her. She was 22 and she was ready to start her own life. Get a job, earn money, live alone, be promoted, finish her book, publish it, be recognized for her work. That was the course she wanted her life to take.
"Oh..." her aunt struggled for words but she seemed to be at a loss. "Well, that's good for you, Elena. It's time to do something for you and I'm sure this will be a good thing. However this will work out for you, you'll always have your room here waiting for you," Jenna smiled but it didn't seem real. She knew her aunt was happy for her, she always would be. It was probably the fact that they were also talking about her parent's death that made her upset or the fact that she was used living with Elena.
"I haven't been hired yet, Jenna, so I'm not leaving just yet," Elena placed a hand on Jenna's. "I will always be here for you when you need me. And as for my brother, he can stay with me sometimes," she smiled, very fond of the fact that Jenna understood her. She knew how the thing with dreams worked. She had always dreamed to be a doctor. After her sister's death she had to take care of them and so she didn't have time to finish college. Instead, she was now a nurse. Even if she seemed to be content about what she was doing, Elena knew that deep inside, she regretted the fact that she hadn't accomplished her dream.
"Of course. Let's forget about all that for now and just finish the show, okay?" Jenna's gaze wandered back to the television and Elena couldn't help but shake her head. It was amazing how understanding her aunt seemed to be about her leaving to move by herself to the other side of the city.
For the next hour they watched their favorite TV show while eating pizza and drinking beers. Elena had missed that. She promised herself that even if she moved out, she would come by weekly to spend time with Jenna, just like they were now, the two of them, talking about life, about Elena's future, while having a beer.
Finally, she went upstairs and started to get undressed, putting her clothes in the hamper. She slowly moved to the shower and stepped inside, turning on the water. It was warm and it was brushing her skin softly. The stream of water fell against her skin, warming her cold body, running from her long silken brown hair to the swells of her breasts. She extended her hand and grabbed the shampoo bottle, pouring some in her hand. She slowly started to wash her hair, closing her eyes and humming a song.
"Mommy, mommy!" the little girl screamed from the bathroom.
"I'm here, darling. What's wrong?" a tall, brunette woman peeked in to check on her little girl.
"Can you wash my hair with the strawberry shampoo, please?" an adorable smile stretched across the girl's face.
"Oh, Elena, when will you wash your hair by yourself?" her mother joked and poured some pink shampoo in her hand.
"But mommy, you're the only one who knows how to wash and brush my hair. Daddy said you're the best," Elena's lower lip stuck out to form a little pout.
"I know sweetie but one day you'll have to wash and brush your own hair," her mom said, while washing her daughter's hair.
"But I don't want to!" Elena kicked her foot against the wall of the shower.
"But Jeremy is little and does it himself," the woman raised an eyebrow and watched her daughter's reaction with surprise.
"But Jeremy has ugly hair," Elena snapped.
"Miranda, your daughter's got one heck of a personality," Elena's father said as he watched them. Both Elena and Miranda burst into laughter, giggling at the man in front of them.
Elena laughed at the memory and wiped away the single tear rolling down her cheek. She barely noticed that she had spent a lot of time in the shower and her skin was shriveled. She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her body.
A few minutes later, she was tucked in her bed with a book in her hands. Gone With the Wind had always been her favorite and she couldn't even count how many times she's read it. She couldn't get enough of Rhett and Scarlett. Their love was perfect; they were made for each other. Their tumultuous love was what made them so perfect. It was like every part of her fit with every part of him, like a puzzle. It was the kind of love everybody dreamed about but very rarely got it. But Elena didn't dare to dream about finding a love like theirs.
When her phone vibrated on the bed next to her, her head snapped up and she immediately thought of Jeremy. He was supposed to be at a friend's, doing anything but a project for school but she never really knew where he really was. With shaky fingers, she took the phone and stared blankly at the screen.
A single tear rolled down her cheek and she remained there, frozen, thinking about something she'd only dreamt about.