Gravity

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.

Another chapter again?! I just couldn't wait to post this one...hope you like it...

October 7th 2013

Monday 8.00am

Mystic Falls

I was given one whole week to 'settle back in' and get 'back to normal' before my principle wanted me back in school. Apparently one week was more than generous, but now it was time to continue on like nothing has ever happened. It was time to go back to school and catch up on everything that I have missed.

It was time to leave the sanctuary my bedroom has turned into and to be thrown in amongst the lions and vultures.

It was time to be whispered and gossiped about, to be laughed at, and bitched about.

The old Elena would have been terrified right now.

I'm not that girl anymore.

I search through my draws to pull out an old necklace chain, I slide my ring through it and my eyes fall closed as I press a soft kiss against it. I'm not quite ready to lose it yet. I slip the necklace over my head and let the ring slip between my breasts out of sight.

My little secret.

"You okay?" I'm broken out of my thoughts by my brother who is standing in my doorway with a small smile on his face.

I nod silently.

"It's okay to be nervous, you know? Actually I'm kind of nervous myself." He chuckles lightly but I don't return it. "Elena, it will be okay. I mean sure you might be the main topic of discussion but you know more than anyone that it will pass eventually."

"I don't care what people say about me." I reply bluntly and I mean it. I don't, not anymore.

"Elena," he sighs "It's okay to be afraid."

"I'm not afraid, Jer." I look up at him seriously. "I'm mad. I'm mad that I have to go back to school and pretend that everything is okay when it's not."

"Are you mad that you're back here at home with your family?" there is a bite to his tone that puts me immediately on the defensive.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?" he questions as he steps into the room. "You don't want me to talk to you like you're not a porcelain doll? Mom and Dad may be walking on eggshells around you, too terrified to say anything that will upset you in case you run away again but I'm not. I won't treat you any differently than how you deserve to be treated. You left, Elena. You did. Maybe you should be the one to try and make things up to us." He snaps at me sternly before turning around and leaving the room, slamming my bedroom door shut behind him.

I blink shocked, not at all expecting that outburst to come from my little brother but I do know that I deserved it.

I sigh loudly and finish packing my bag. It's time to face the music.

"Hey," I walk straight into Zach's apartment without knocking. "Where have you been? I've been trying to get in touch with you for the last week."

Zach looks up at me as he sits on a stool at his kitchen counter, a bowl of cereal in front of him. He shrugs casually as he takes a mouthful. "I've been keeping my head down."

"Any reason?" I close the front door behind me.

He shrugs again without replying.

"You know that Elena Gilbert is back, don't you?" I ask cautiously, making sure to watch his every move.

Zach gives nothing away. "Yup. I heard. News travels fast in this town."

"What do you think about that?"

He shrugs again. "I don't know. I don't really care. She's a Gilbert."

"She's Damon's girlfriend."

"Ex-girlfriend, from what I gather."

"Have you spoken to him?"

"Who? Damon?" he questions and I nod at him while rolling my eyes. Of course I mean Damon and he knows it. "No, I haven't."

"Why not?"

"The kid probably has enough people bothering him right now, he doesn't need me either." He tries to sound casual but this time I hear the tension in his voice. He stands up and puts his now empty bowl in the sink and starts to wash up.

"Detective Gilbert paid me a visit the other night."

He freezes and I take a step forward.

"Oh yeah, and what did that bastard want?" he asks without turning around.

"He wanted to know if I knew anything else about what happened the night Vaughn was killed."

Zach slowly turns off the tap. He clutches the kitchen counter tightly. "What did you say?" he asks slowly, his back still turned to me.

"I said what I told him six months ago – that I didn't know anything about what happened that night."

"Good." I watch as his entire body sinks in relief and I take another step forward.

"Then he asked about you."

He tenses again. This time he turns around, a frown on his face. He does not look happy. "Why?"

I shrug casually. "Beats me."

"What exactly did he say?"

Again I shrug. "He just wanted to know if you knew Vaughn." I tell him casually and his frown deepens.

"And you said…"

"I said that you two used to hang out sometimes." I reply simply and his eyes widen.

"Why the hell would you say that?"

"Why not?" I reply. "It's the truth, right?"

"When the hell did you start telling the truth to a cop?"

"I didn't think it was a big deal? It's not exactly a secret." I hit back. "Besides, I think he was just snooping for more evidence to send Damon down. Now that he's been arrested, he's going to have to go to trial and I imagine Gilbert is going to be the one who wants to send him down for good. He's probably just building up his case."

Zach stares at me for a long moment. "Yeah," his eyebrows scrunch together "Probably."

"Anyway, I just thought that I would give you a heads up. I gotta go to school, I'll catch you later?"

"Yup." He nods before pulling out his cell. He marches off towards his bedroom before I even get a chance to leave.

I let my casual façade fall. I didn't want to believe it but I think Detective Gilbert might have been right. Zach definitely knows more to this story than he is letting on.

I ignore Caroline and Bonnie's texts telling me to wait for them in the parking lot. I know that they just want to make this day easier for me, to support me, but this is something that I need to do alone.

When I walk inside, heads immediately turn in my direction. The stares are long and the whispers are loud but I keep my head held high as I walk towards the school reception to pick up my new timetable.

I ignore it all.

"Miss Gilbert," the school secretary looks up at me with wide eyes as I enter the room.

"Good morning Mrs Hudson." I reply awkwardly. "Do you have my schedule ready?"

She nods, stares at me for another long awkward moment before rummaging around her desk. "Here you go." She holds it out for me. I take it and send her a fake smile before quickly leaving the room.

I let out a sigh of relief when I see my first class is History with Mr Saltzman. "Thank God," I mutter under my breath. I keep walking but come to a sudden stop when I realize where I am in the school.

I see a young oblivious freshman stood at the locker that used to belong to Damon. He probably has no idea who used to own that locker. I take a deep shaky breath, for the first time since I woke up this morning I don't feel strong.

I fiddle with the necklace wrapped around my neck – suddenly it feels like it's choking me.

It sinks in that Damon will never step foot in this hallway again.

He never even got to finish his senior year and graduate. He never will.

I blink back the tears which sneak up on me and quickly take a detour to the girl's bathroom. Suddenly I don't feel like I can do this alone anymore.

"Well, did you do as I said?"

I roll my eyes at his demanding question before I even fully climb into his car. I slam the door shut after me, looking around with my eyes to make sure nobody is around.

"Well?"

"Yes." I answer in annoyance. "I told him exactly what you told me too." Detective Gilbert nods silently and reaches over into his back seat and pulls out a laptop, I watch as he fiddles around with it, shoving what looks like a memory stick roughly into the USB port. "I don't know why you wanted Zach to know that you were asking questions. Shouldn't you be wanting to keep your interest him low key?" I ask seriously because his methods are confusing to me.

I still can't believe I'm actually sitting here helping a cop.

"I wanted to scare him." Gilbert answers simply and I roll my eyes.

"Trust me; it would take a lot more than that to scare my Uncle Zach." I scoff, feeling slightly defensive of my uncle. It took me a couple of days to agree to this, I still don't quite believe that Zach is involved but I would do anything to get Damon exonerated, and unfortunately this seems like the only way to do it.

"Not if he has something to hide." He grins as he turns the laptop to face me. I look at it puzzled and look back up at Grayson.

"What?"

"He call someone while you were there?"

I frown confused. "Yeah…well…as I was leaving he went on his cell."

"Ah you Salvatore's are so predictable. I tapped your Uncle's phone." He smirks despite my glare at the family insult. "You recognize this number?" he questions me, pointing to the digits on the screen.

"No." I shake my head. "Should I?"

"You should if you want to help your brother." He clicks into a different link and my eyes widen as it brings up a profile. "You recognize him?"

"Yeah." I nod slowly. "That's Connor Jordan. He's one of Vaughn's guys."

"Yup. He's now also my number one suspect." He grins in triumph and then frowns. "After your brother, of course."

I scoff and roll my eyes. "Of course," I mutter coldly but I try to hide my smile. I feel like we are starting to get somewhere.

We are interrupted by the ringing of Gilbert's phone and I let out an annoyed breath as he answers.

"Detective Gilbert," he barks commandingly down the line and I roll my eye at his arrogance. "Ahuh. Already? Okay…I'll be there soon. Don't do anything until I get there." He hangs up and turns to face me.

"You spoke to your father today?" he questions me.

I frown and shake my head confused. "No…"

"I suggest you go home and do so."

"Elena, there you are!"

I sit still in my spot behind the old bike sheds. The same spot Damon used to hang out at when he was skipping class or he wanted to have lunch outside away from the crowds.

"We have been looking for you all morning!"

I look up to see Caroline and Bonnie rushing towards me, concern on both of their faces. "You missed history." Bonnie says softly as they sit down on the grass beside me, one on each side.

I shrug and wipe a tear from my eye.

"Oh Elena," Caroline sighs loudly and they both wrap their arms around me. "It will be okay."

"No it won't." my voice cracks. "It will never be okay."

"Things will get better," Bonnie runs her hand up and down my back soothingly. "It just takes time."

"The more time that goes by, the longer it's been that the love of my life is locked away in a dirty prison cell for something he didn't do." More tears fall down my face. "I just…I feel so lost. I don't know who I am anymore," I let out a sob. "I don't know who I am without him."

They shuffle closer and hold me tighter as a cry falls from my lips. I didn't want to be like this. I didn't want to be weak.

"He won't even speak to me." I let out another sob, my entire body is shaking. "I've tried calling the jail in Portland but nobody will let me talk to him. He won't call me, he won't write to me. How could he do this to me? I love him and it hurts, it hurts so much." I can't stop the cries from escaping my lips.

I just want the pain to stop.

"We love you, Elena." Caroline tells me softly. "I know it's not the same, I know we can't say anything or do anything to make this better for you but we love you. We're here. The last six months have been so hard here without you, you're our best friend and there wasn't a second that went by where we didn't think about you." She presses a kiss to my temple.

"We're here for you, Elena." Bonnie agrees, resting her head against my shoulder. "We've got your back, no matter what."

I feel myself break down.

I don't know if I will ever be able to stop crying.

I walk quickly through the police station. My heart is pounding. I have been waiting a long time for this moment and now it's finally here.

"Where is he?" I ask a colleague who knows what I'm talking about immediately.

"Interview room one." He replies quickly and I nod, tapping in the code to get through the doors and heading along the hallway with purpose.

"Detective Gilbert." Sheriff Forbes steps in my way before I can enter the room. "A word, please."

"Not now, Liz."

"Grayson." She says with warning. "When you go in that room, you need to remember that you're not sitting there as a father. You will be sitting there as a police officer. You need to be one hundred and ten percent professional."

I roll my eyes, my legs bouncing. Dying to get into that room. "I know how to do my job, Liz."

"Well you just remember that, okay?" she says seriously before opening the door.

I step inside and I freeze.

I've been waiting six long months for this.

"Mr Salvatore." My voice echoes through the silent interview room. "I've been looking forward to this one."

Damon sits still, his head low. He looks different from what I remember. The cops wouldn't let me see him in Portland; they say I was too emotionally attached.

They were probably right.

For the first time in years I see him for what he is – a kid. The thought takes me aback, because I have never felt so much hatred for a person than I have for this eighteen year old sitting across the room from me. He took my daughter away from me and I will never forgive him for that.

I see Liz come in from the corner of my eye, shutting the door behind us and taking a seat. I stand still for a long moment, attempting to stare Damon down but he refuses to make eye contact.

"Let's just get this over with, shall we?" his lawyer next to him mutters. I pull out my chair and stretch my knuckles.

"Gladly."

Liz rolls her eyes and switches on the tape.

"Interview commencing Monday October 7th 2013 at 10:23am – present in room are myself, Sherriff Elizabeth Forbes, Detective Grayson Gilbert, suspect Damon Salvatore and his attorney Matthew Rowland. Mr Salvatore, you have been arrested on the suspicion of murder, evading arrest, fleeing justice and assault. Before we get started how do you plea?"

He raises his head for the first time since I walked in here and he looks at me straight in the eye.

I blink, slightly taken aback by his appearance. Gone is the cocky arrogant kid who used to love pushing my buttons. His eyes are hollow. Dead.

Broken.

He doesn't break my gaze.

"How do you plea, Mr Salvatore?" Liz questions him again but he still doesn't look away from me. His dead eyes stuck on mine.

His mouth slowly opens and he speaks unflinchingly.

"Guilty."

"What the hell is he playing at?" I storm out of the interview room, Liz quick on my heels.

"Wait Grayson, I'm confused, he's pleading guilty - isn't this what you wanted?"

"Not like this," I swing around to face her. "There's something not right. That's too easy. He's up to something."

She looks at me like I've lost it. "Maybe he's just finally coming to terms with that he's done."

"You know this means this won't go to trial now, right?"

"That's why you're mad?" she asks me in disbelief before pulling me into another room for privacy. "Look Grayson, I don't think you should be on this case. You're too attached. It's too personal for you what with everything between him and Elena and your history with the Salvatore's."

"No!" I shake my head furiously. "You don't get it. I have a feeling that something isn't right here." I run my hand through my hair in frustration. "That wasn't how that interview was supposed to be!"

"How exactly did you want it to go? He basically confessed in there! That counts as a result in my eyes."

"He barely said a word! The words he did say were lies." I shake my head. "He said he couldn't remember what happened! How can someone not remember shooting someone?"

"He also said he was intoxicated. You know fine well that it's possible that he blacked out and lost his memory of what happened that night. His prints were on the gun; his car was found abandoned in the area. Also, he ran. All signs pointed to guilt and now he's pleading guilty."

I shake my head. "It's too easy."

"He turned himself in, Gray."

"Elena is convinced he didn't do it." I tell her seriously.

"Elena loves him," Liz argues back staggeringly "Of course she won't believe he did this."

"No. She knows he didn't do it. Somethings not right. Trust me, I want to send that kid down more than anyone, I hate him. But you were right with what you said earlier, right now, I'm a cop first and my cop instinct is telling me that there is more to this story."

Liz shakes her head tiredly. "What else can we do? We can't help the kid if he doesn't want to be helped."

"Well luckily the son of a bitch has people on the outside who are determined to save his sorry ass." I mutter coldly, not believing that I am even considering helping a Salvatore never mind actually doing it.

"What does that mean?"

"I've got his brother Stefan helping me. We found something this morning that links Zach Salvatore to Vaughn."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Liz looks at me in disbelief. "You're practically asking me to pull you off the case, Gray!"

"I'm not saying that I believe Damon is innocent. He could very well be telling the truth and you're right, the fact that he ran points to guilty. His prints were on the gun, and his car was found in the area. You are absolutely right. If you asked me two weeks ago if I believed that was enough to send the kid down without looking back – I would have said hell yes, lock him away and throw away the key. However for the last week, I've been trying to find even a snippet of something that would suggest otherwise and I've found things that I completely missed the first time around."

Liz looks at me curiously.

"Like what?"

"The footprints found that night…there were three sets of them. Four if you count the victim."

"That…doesn't prove anything."

"No maybe not but two came from the kitchen in the back and one from the front entrance."

"He could have had visitors earlier on that night – that's not plausible evidence."

"The coroner ruled that Vaughn had been dead for at least one hour before the cops showed up."

"Okay?"

"Neighbors reported seeing a guy in a hood running through their back yard mere seconds after the police showed up. The description matched Damon's, so why would Damon still be at the house one whole hour after he killed Vaughn?"

"Who knows," Liz throws her arms up. "Maybe he was freaking out, and was trying to clean the place up from his prints."

"Without cleaning the murder weapon?"

She frowns silently. "You really think he didn't do it?"

"I don't know." I admit honestly. "All I know is that I have a broken daughter at home who is completely devastated and I owe it to her to at least try to find out what really happened that night."

Liz stays silent, her mind clearly running through a billion different possibilities.

"This won't be a quick fix." She tells me seriously. "If Damon pleads guilty, the case will be closed right after his sentencing."

"I know."

"We would need to do this off the record, under the radar."

I smile at the use of the word we.

"I know."

"This could take months, years even."

I smirk. "I know."

"You're going to push me into early retirement, you know that right?"

"Ah you love trying to solve a good puzzle, Forbes; it will be just like the golden olden days."

"Great," she rolls her eyes before handing over Damon's case files. "Well then I'll let you get started with the paperwork."

I let my body sink in relief as the final bell rings signalling the end of the day. After an emotional morning, Bonnie and Caroline convinced me to go back to class. They reminded me that I'm on my last chance with the principle and skipping class on my first day back isn't going to do me any favours in the long haul.

They were right, of course. So I pulled myself together and headed to my next lesson of the day and then the one after that, and the one after that.

I ignored all the stares.

I ignored all the whispers.

I ignored all the snarky comments sent my way – all the giggles that came after them.

I ignored it all.

I decline a lift home from both Caroline and Bonnie, opting to walk instead. I need to have a moment of peace, a moment alone before I have to go back home and pretend that things are back to normal again.

Luckily my after-school catch up classes don't start until next week, the principle wanted to give me a week first to 'settle back in' – there goes that line again.

I hang around until the school clears up, missing the after-school rush to ensure that my walk home is a quiet one and not a one interrupted by other kids on their route home, whispering about me, shouting things at me.

I walk out of the main school doors but jump when a taller body steps in my way. I take a step back and I freeze when I see Stefan Salvatore staring back at me.

I gulp nervously. I haven't seen him since I came back. He is probably the closest thing to Damon but he's a complete stranger to me.

"Damon's back in the state."

My heart starts to pound hard against my chest.

"He was transferred to Mystic Falls station." My mouth falls dry, my hands start to shake.

I need to see him.

I need to see him now.

I go to push past Stefan but he grabs my arm to stop me.

I look at him furiously, some not so very nice words are on the tip of my tongue about to escape my lips but he stops me before I can speak.

"You're too late. We both are. He's been moved to United States Penitentiary, Lee. He's going to be officially charged and sentenced at the end of the week."

"What?" I feel my breathing quicken. "How can he be sentenced without a trial?" I shake my head furiously. "That doesn't make sense."

Stefan grits his teeth, his jaw clenched angrily. "He's pleaded guilty."

My heart sinks into my stomach. "No…"

Stefan nods silently. "I guess that's it, huh?" he sounds defeated. My eyes are stinging with tears and I feel like I can't breathe.

Stefan's concerned face is the last thing I see before I black out.

To my darling Elena,

Writing this letter is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I've had so many attempts to send you this, I don't even know if this will make it to you. I hope that it does.

I'm writing to you from my new home, you should see it – it's great! It has four walls, an en-suite toilet and sink and even bunk beds – very retro!

My cell-mate isn't so bad. His name is Chuck and he's in here for armed robbery amongst other things. He mostly keeps himself to himself and I'm cool with that.

I suppose I should stop procrastinating and actually get down to what I wanted to say. I am sorry to do this to you in a letter, yet another cowardly act on my part. I hope you don't hate me too much by now.

First things first, I need you to stop sending me visitation requests. I can't see you, Elena. It's too damn hard. If I see you, I will never be able to let you go. The prison guards would probably have to shoot me to get me to stop holding you in my arms and nobody wants that, right? So please, Elena, stop making it so hard to turn you away. It hurts every single time.

Secondly, and this is probably going to sound a bit hypocritical right now, but I need you to stop writing me letters. You need to move on with your life, Elena. You need to concentrate on school and graduate and then go to college. I made a mess of my life, and for a little while I made a mess of yours too. You need to let me go and move on. You will never be happy if you keep holding on to me, holding on to what we had. That part of your life is over. I know it sucks, trust me, I know, but you don't understand, Elena, you have so much more good coming to you.

The best part of your life hasn't even happened yet. You have a future, a chance to make something of yourself. You're going to be great, whatever it is that you choose to do. But you can't do that if you're still holding on to me.

Promise me that you're not going to sit around waiting for me – I'm going to be away for a very long time. Maybe even my whole life. Please Elena, I need you to live your life. Knowing that you are out there on shut down will make this so much harder for me. Go out and enjoy yourself – I want you to be happy. Promise me that you will be happy?

One day you're going to meet a guy – urgh ;) – and he is going to sweep you off your feet and you will fall head over heels in love with him. You'll get married and you'll create a family of your own with lots of cute little Elena's running around the place. You were born to be a mother – that is something I would never have been able to give you if we kept on going like we were. A baby on the run just wouldn't have worked.

I promise to love you forever, that is something which will never change. I made a choice when I turned myself in – I made a choice that I would never be able to take back, even if I wanted too. I don't regret it. I need to face my demons, I need to own up and take responsibility for my actions.

I'm sure you know this by now but I pleaded guilty. I've been sentenced. There is no going back now. I may not have killed Vaughn, but I was responsible for Megan, no matter what you say – that is how I feel.

I made a choice to protect you. Please don't let it be for nothing.

One more thing before I go. I need you to stay away from my family - all of them, especially my Uncle Zach. They are bad news and will bring nothing but trouble to your life. You're a Gilbert, you were never meant to mix with us Salvatore's. So please, no matter what happens, you stay away.

I love you, Elena. I love you so much. Please stay safe and please, please be happy.

Forever yours,

Damon S.

I hope you're all not too mad with Damon! The reasons behind Damon pleading guilty will be answered eventually!

The next chapter is going to have a time jump! It's time to move on to the next part of the story!

Thank you again for reading, and a big thank you for all the reviews for the last chapter – it's the reason I managed to get this one finished and posted so quickly.

Please don't be shy to drop a review – I love reading your thoughts!

Thanks again, until next time!