A/N: Thank you all for the encouraging reviews! I'm so excited to begin this story :) Without further ado, Chapter One of "Meet Me On The Horizon"! Follow me on twitter for story progress, updates, and discussions: jrdrgzxo
Elena entered a store with an armful of shopping bags from DIOR, Christian Louboutin, and Chanel. Elena was scanning the racks and sighing with each article of clothing she passed on.
"Can I help you with something Miss?" A young sales associate asked. Elena politely smiled but when she looked to the sales associate, she was afraid of what she saw but never lost her composure. The sales associate eyes were pitch black, as if they were hallowed out from her head. Elena swallowed her fear and managed to find something to say.
"Do you have a children's section? I'm expecting my first child," Elena said quietly. The sales associate beamed and clapped her hands together in a slow motion and then placed her hand on Elena's stomach, which made Elena extremely uncomfortable.
"Congratulations….Motherhood must be so exciting. Your husband must be elated as well." Elena just nodded and looked around the store to see if anyone else had just witnessed what Elena just had.
"Yeah… I'm sorry, I have to go actually. I'm suddenly feeling tired. Thank you for all your help." Elena left the store as quickly as possible without looking back. She wanted to get the Hell out of there. Something was very off about that woman but Elena decided to dismiss it. All though the hotel was only two blocks away, Elena's feet were starting to hurt and swell due to her poor choice in footwear.
"Ugh, I won't be able to wear cute shoes until after I give birth I guess." Elena muttered to herself.
She waved her arm out to get the attention of a taxi and with that motion, she felt a sharp pain from her uterus and a tearing sensation from underneath her dress. Elena looked down to her feet and saw blood dripping down her leg and shortly after, a crimson circle started to appear on her pelvis. Elena was immediately struck with panic and fear. She crouched over and was gasping for air, her moans and sobs were horrid yet no one bothered to help her. Everyone that walked past her ignored her pleads. Elena was in fetal position on the sidewalk and kept bleeding as someone stood above her. She couldn't make out the face just yet since a white light coming from behind the person, blinded her vision; but judging by the stance, she knew exactly who it was.
"You left me, remember? You couldn't stay. He was my best friend and you married him. Why didn't you pick me? Why wasn't it me? What did I do? You're trapped, Elena. You're never getting out." His voice was muffled and monotone but clear as day to Elena. His green eyes were dull and lifeless.
Elena didn't understand what Stefan was doing there or how he got there but she felt instantly better anyway.
"Stefan…. Help me. Please, help me." Elena croaked out. Stefan turned his head sideways in slow motion and cynically smiled. His eyes never left Elena's pelvis. Elena looked at Stefan with a confused and contorted expression and was starting to become scared. Stefan slowly turned to walk away from her and her heart raced and now a river of blood was coming from between her legs.
"No! Wait, please, Stefan. Come back! Come back!" Elena yelled as she felt the life inside of her slip away. But immediately after, all the sensation and pain was gone, Elena found the courage to look at the sight and screamed in horror as she looked upon her unborn child.
Elena jolted up from the bed and gasped quickly as she looked around her surroundings. Elena was in her hotel room and Elijah was sleeping soundly next to her. Elijah stirred when she lifted the blankets off of her to make sure she wasn't actually having a miscarriage, she sighed with relief when the sheets were clean.
"Elena… are you alright? You're shaking and you're sweating." Elijah sat up and took Elena's sweaty face in his hands. Her hair was matted and sticking to her forehead. She was still breathing heavy and she was feeling a wave of nauseous but she just nodded her head yes.
"I just had a bad dream, that's all. It was just a dream." She answered. Elijah nodded but never let the concern leave his eyes. He inspected Elena's face once again and got up to get her a glass of water.
When he came back Elena was in the bathroom, washing her face with cold water to shake off the anxiety she was feeling. Elijah waited for her in the doorframe of the bathroom. She shot him a small smile but he wasn't buying it.
"Look.. Elena, about earlier… I just wanted to apologize for what I said. I know what I did was wrong and what I said was even worse but I'm under a tremendous amount of pressure and the last thing I need is for you to leave me. Please, please just stay. If only for the end of the day, I just need you here for my first race. And if you feel still feel like you want to go home, you can." Elijah said with a sad tone and Elena placed her hands on her hips and was contemplating what Elijah just said.
"What you said and did was very wrong and hurtful. This isn't an opportunity to prove me wrong though, so don't get any ideas but, I forgive you. I guess I didn't realize how stressful it must be for you… I will stay until the end of the day." Elijah smiled and closed the space between them and planted a kiss on her forehead. Elijah took Elena's hand and led them back to bed.
"Are you nervous about today?" Katherine asked Stefan as she traced his abs while they lie naked in bed together. Stefan exhaled and raised his eyebrows.
"Nah, not really, to be honest. I mean, it's the first race of the season so it's not like it counts too much. But I am confident I'm going to place well." Stefan answered casually, trying to cover up the internal panic he was feeling.
"So… have you looked at the roster to see who's competing tomorrow?" Katherine asked with a coaxed tone. Stefan furrowed his brows and turned his head to Katherine with a puzzled look.
"No, I haven't. Why? Should I be concerned about who's competing? You know I don't look at the board until the race is over." Katherine nodded as if she actually cared about a word Stefan had said.
"No reason… I was just wondering if Sebastian was going to participate this season, his face isn't in the best condition for photo ops right now." Katherine sneered a laugh and Stefan groaned with disgust. He threw the sheet over his legs and got up from bed. He pulled a pair of slim fitting jeans on and a white t-shirt.
"You should be more considerate of what you say about people, Kat. He has third degree burns all over his body. He's lucky to be alive. Every time we get on the track, we have a 20% chance of dying. That could have been me - would you have liked people saying that about me? I don't think so." Stefan scolded Katherine and she just rolled her eyes.
"Don't be so morbid, darling. You need to lighten up a little," she swayed over to Stefan with the bed sheet wrapped around her but Stefan declined her offer. He turned away from Katherine and grabbed his leather jacket, helmet, and motorcycle keys.
"Where are you going?" Katherine called out, "I just ordered room service!" Stefan kept walking and didn't answer Katherine.
I need to stop doing that, Stefan thought, I need to stop using her.
Stefan entered the lobby and noticed the time on the wall. It was around seven in the morning so Stefan had a few hours to ride around Monaco until he had to be in the pits for the race. Stefan entered the underground garage of the hotel when he noticed a black Porsche 911 sitting in a space, Stefan was immediately flooded with a memory of Elena.
"Stefan?" Elena looked up to him as they were sitting in the park underneath the Eiffel Tower, in France, while enjoying a light picnic together. Stefan smiled down to his girlfriend and waited for her to continue.
"When you become a famous Formula 1 driver, can you build us a beautiful stone home with a white picket fence? And with a beautiful garden surrounding the entire house? And with vines climbing up the front of the house so it looks like something out of a fairytale? Of course we would need to have a beautiful pink door since it's my favorite color and to accent the peonies that will be in our garden. And we also need to have a long and winding driveway that leads to our garage that holds a black Porsche 911. Oh! And we also need a spacious backyard for when we have children. I want lots of children Stefan, three is the minimum. Ideally, I want two boys and a girl. I really like the names Alexander, Benjamin, and Harper." Elena was beaming when she finished her rant and Stefan held her tighter in his arms. He put his lips down to her ear.
"When I become a famous Formula 1 driver, I will build you the home of your dreams and give you as many children as you want. I think Alexander, Benjamin, and Harper Salvatore has a nice ring to it. Whatever else you'll think of for our future, I won't deny you of it. You're my life now, Elena." Elena leaned up to Stefan and kissed him with passion and sighed with content at their plans.
"I love you Stefan, don't ever let go of that." Elena promised. Stefan kissed her forehead again.
Stefan was ripped out of his memory when the alarm of a car when off. He looked over to the blaring car and decided to tell the Valet about it.
"Hey man, someone's car alarm is going off. You should go check that out." The Valet nodded and left his post to access the situation. Stefan took notice of the logbook on the desk. Stefan nearly threw up when he saw a familiar name scribbled on the paper.
"Michaelson, Elena" Stefan muttered to himself and was in a state of disbelief. He was right all along. He had definitely seen her in the hotel lobby. Elena was staying in the same hotel as him, all though he didn't know why, he felt happy just knowing she was near him. The last time they saw each other was 5 years ago and that was the night they called it off for good
"Are you ready?" Elena yelled out over the crowd to Elijah. He stuck his thumbs up and smiled widely at his wife. She couldn't help but smile too when she saw how happy Elijah was in his car as he was getting ready to take his place on the track. She loved the rush of being in the pits with all the other drivers, she also enjoyed all the food they were serving too. Elena stayed near the pastry station and talked with another Formula 1 driver's wife. They just chit chatted about nonsense when the announcement was made for the drivers to get to the track. Elena waved Elijah good-bye and wished him luck.
"So.. are you going to stay or not?" Marcy asked. Elena looked with uncertainty at Marcy and then to the track.
"I don't know Marcy… I really would love to go home and see my family but Elijah needs me here with him. I still have until tonight to decide. I know Elijah and I constantly fight but isn't that what married couples do? I mean, I would be concern if we weren't arguing." Elena laughed and Marcy just nodded in agreement.
"Tom and I are getting a divorce- too much arguing in our marriage. I'm just here because I have to be. We don't want the press to know. We can't even stand to be in the same room as each other. After this season, I'm out. Moving to California to stay with my sister for a while until I figure out what to do." Elena smiled apologetically at Marcy.
"I'm sorry to hear that Marcy, if you ever need to talk, you know where to reach me." Elena expressed her sympathy and a moment of silence was shared between them.
The race was just about to begin when Elena heard a familiar laugh bellow from behind her. She turned around and gawked at who she saw.
She stood with poise and sex appeal as adjusted her hair. Katherine was wearing a seriously tight dress that accented all of her curves and was charming every man that stood around her. Elena couldn't believe she was standing right in front of her.
"Katherine?" Elena excitedly asked out loud. Katherine turned her head to Elena with a look of false surprise washed over her face.
"Elena? Oh my god, Elena!" Katherine walked over to Elena with swaying hips and Elena met up with her halfway. They hugged and stood apart examining each other's appearance. Katherine had a smug look on her face while Elena was still humble.
"Wow, Kat, you look so great!" Elena complimented Katherine and she smirked.
"Thanks, I would say the same about you but… you look like you let marriage get the best of you." Elena laughed and rolled her eyes.
"Oh Katherine, you're too much. I'm actually expecting!" What Elena really wanted to say was, "You dumb bitch, I'm not fat, I'm pregnant!" But Elena was more polite than that. Katherine looked to Elena's stomach with wide eyes and a contorted mouth.
"And so it seems…" Katherine examined Elena once more.
"What are you doing here?" Elena asked. Katherine crossed her arms smiled mischievously.
"I'm here…. Because of business. My father is sponsoring of the drivers." That wasn't a total lie – Katherine's dad is on the board for Ferrari and Ferrari just so happens to sponsor Stefan. Elena took it with a grain of salt because she was just happy to see an old friend.
"What are you doing here?" Katherine asked with zero interest but Elena was happy to answer anyway.
"I'm here for Elijah. He came out of retirement this year and he really needs the support so.." Elena trailed off when Katherine clicker her tongue.
"You always were a good person Elena. I gotta run, why don't we meet up for drinks later? Hmm? You can have a seltzer water but I'd like a nice Martini to cap off the day. Catch you later, E." Katherine left Elena to herself. Elena was truly happy about their reunion but she felt a little awkward talking to Katherine. Katherine went to high school with Stefan and Elena. Elijah, Matt, Caroline, and Klaus went to high school with them too. They were all one big happy family until the night Elena and Stefan fell apart.
The cars were off to a roaring start and Elena cheered on Elijah from the pit. She watched her husband zoom past driver after driver, he was off to a good start. And then all of the sudden, a driver, number 17, caught up with Elijah and past him with miraculous speed. Elijah was now in second place and it was almost time for a tire change, Elena wasn't worried but she was curious as to who the driver was. She knew almost everyone participating in the race, except for this driver. Elijah's car rolled up and he was yelling at his pit crew to hurry up with the tire change.
"Come on you guys! Get a fucking move on!" Elijah was rushing for his tires to be changed because behind him was number 17, almost ready to take his place on the track again. Elijah's tires were done and he immediately shifted into sixth gear and was in first place again. Elena could see number 17 furiously yelling at his pit crew to hurry up. The driver flipped his visor on and immediately got back on the track. The driver looked to his right and got a small glance of Elena. Elena got a small glance of the driver's eyes which are sharp green with dark eyelashes and prominent eyebrows. She had only seen a pair like that before and that's when she immediately realized it was Stefan Salvatore.