Hello all :) Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments and the new followers! They make me smile every time I read them or see them on my emails. Here's a surprise update, this chapter was already written, so I decided to go ahead and edit it a little and post it. This chapter indeed has more warnings. It's a big chapter for Elena & Damon both, so I felt the need to update. Can't keep you guys waiting for a long time!
Be still & know that I'm with you,
Be still, be still & know; when darkness comes on you
And colors you with fear and shame
Be still that I'm with you & I will say your name.
Elena saw immediately her life flash before her eyes. The fear quickly entered her as she looked her attacker. Derek raised his voice making her feel like nothing except a toy. She was thrown onto the ground with all of Derek's might. She was scared, screaming to the top of her lungs, but no one heard her. Only the torment continued as she felt his grasp around her and his nails painfully digging into her chest.
The blood began to ooze from her wounds, as she winced at the continuation of pain. "Derek," she screamed in agony. "You don't have to do this." She whimpered at the intense situation she was in.
"Who does he think he is, firing me?" he said grabbing Elena recklessly causing her more hurt.
She tried with all her strength to push Derek away from her, but Derek was too strong for Elena. Elena uncovered her face to view him beginning to send excruciating pain through her body.
"Elena? Where are you?" a soft voice called from down the hallway. It was Damon, and in that tiny moment, she needed Damon Salvatore. His voice disappeared slowly, but she knew he was coming to find her. At least, she was holding on by a prayer.
With all the strength she had, she called out for her savior. "Damon!" she screamed in distress still trying to push Derek off of her body.
As Damon arrived into the conference room, he gasped and quickly went into another mode: the hero.
"You fucker," Damon snared as his fist met Derek's face. Damon's voice was full of anger. Derek was thrown across the room almost immediately. He fast paced toward him and smirked. Damon picked Derek up by his collar and shoved him against the wall. Damon's blood boiled in rage. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he growled sending darts of hate as he stared at Derek.
"How dare you fire me; I have no reason to be fired," he argued against Damon.
"Well if you didn't have a good enough reason a minute ago, you sure do now," Damon snarled, throwing him, sending Derek flying across the room.
"You pull that shit again; I promise-I will kill you," Damon roared walking toward Derek.
"Is that a threat or a promise?" Derek heavily breathed.
"You got a lot of balls asking me that," Damon retorted. "Now get the fuck out of here," he yelled. With one more blow, Derek seemed incoherent. Damon sighed staring at Derek's body lying on the floor.
"Damon," she choked out his name. He heard her whimper. Was he too late? She was weak. He looked at her: the torture. Damon had things running through his head, but number one was never leaving her alone. Why did he have to leave? After everything, he felt bad. Of all things, he shouldn't have left her. He could kick himself in the ass for leaving, but now he had to pick up the pieces.
"Elena," he ran to the other end of the conference room, seeing scars and slowly formed bruises. Damon kneeled next to her as grimace set in his face. As for once in his life, the beast showed compassion. He couldn't leave her there. Elena needed help, even if it was from the hungry shark. "Let me take you home," Damon demanded.
As he turned one last time, Derek had vanished. Damon furrowed his eyebrows, turning his attention back on Elena.
She was helpless. Elena had no strength to fight back. She slowly nodded. Damon removed his jacket, and placed it around her body. He picked her up from the corner of the room and carried her cautiously.
"Damon..." she muttered. Her voice was incredibly weakened.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he cooed, opening the glass door, pushing it with his back. He walked down the hallway, holding Elena close. He found his SUV nearby, and laid her carefully in the backseat. He closed her door, and hurried to the other side.
The drive to her home was long. It was supposed to be short, but it felt like ages had rushed away. Damon watched, as Elena slowly became detached from the world. He watched perky Elena disappear.
As Damon kept a close eye on Elena, the whole ride to her condo; he felt horrible. If he hadn't left; this never would have happened. It was painful to see Elena in this state of mind. Tragedy struck which sent Elena in a horrific shock. Damon's face was full of grimace once again.
As they finally came to a stop, Damon reached over to his driver through the window. "Thank you for the ride, I'll call you if anything comes up," Damon replied to the driver before exiting the car. He hurried to the other side to help distraught Elena out of the car.
"Upsie daisy," he grumbled lifting her out of the car, then slamming the door with his foot. He searched Elena for her keys, which were nestled by her cell phone in her purse. He pulled the set of keys out and finally pushed her door open after unlocking her condo's door. Damon laid Elena gently on the couch.
"Elena, do you want me to help you clean up?" he asked softly getting down on his knees in front of the couch where he had sat her.
She shrugged, still pulling his jacket around her, facing the back of her couch. No noise was made, which put fear in Damon, that she would be this way for the rest of her life. It was a catastrophe. "Elena, you know you need to before you go to bed," he reminded her. She caved soon after with a slight nod. She seemed dazed and disordered at this point of time. He accepted her quietness as a yes to him helping her.
"I'm going to run you a bath okay?" he smiled in a caring tone. She nodded, turning back over, curling into a ball. Damon found himself in a battle against good and evil. For once, Damon wanted to be the heroic man to save the damsel in distress for her. There was a hold on her that he was experiencing; something he had never felt before.
Thoughts ran through his head of what he could do to make her as comfortable as possible. He wanted to. After he started the warm bath, he walked quickly down the hall back to where Elena was. He knelt down and whispered to her. "Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you?" He gazed at Elena's limp body. She tried to sit up, which made her cringe.
"Alright," he acknowledged she needed his help. He placed his arms under her, picking her up from the couch.
He entered the bathroom, and helped Elena out of the stained clothes. He sat her gently into the warm bath, and began to roll his sleeves up. "It's just water, soap might burn," he shrugged. She forced a half-smile. He found a wash cloth on a nearby shelf, and dipped it in the water. He nursed her wounds like they were his own. He rubbed softly around the cuts from Derek's nails.
Elena winced at the pain and thought of everything she had just experienced. "Shh," he soothed her as he cleaned the blood off her chest.
"Thank you," she murmured in a low octave. For once in this whole experience of being with him, she thanked Damon, something he would never expect from her.
Damon cracked a half-smile.
"Elena, darling," he softly whispered bending down one knee next to the tub. He cooed her softly making her feel safe. Damon strived for that in this moment.
He rubbed her back down, and then traveled up to her neck, cleaning every inch of her body. He was gentle.
"Are you ready to get out?" he asked.
She nodded reaching for him. He smiled, "Can you stand up for me just for a sec?" he asked. She hobbled up. "Grab onto me, if you need help," he said. She remained silent. He wrapped a soft towel around her body, knotting it in front, and then picking her up bridal style. He patted her dry softly as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Now the blood is gone," he smiled trying to light the mood, while looking up at her as he was still kneeled in front of her. She was in pain, and Damon knew it.
He laid her carefully on her bed. "Here are your pajamas," he smiled handing her the clothes. He removed the towel from around her, and dried off her feet. She slipped her shirt on and the bottoms too. Damon pulled the covers back, as she slid underneath them.
"Here, I brought you some Advil, might take away the pain," he laid the two pills on her side table, and a glass of water. He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her leg softly.
"Now, I need to go home, I'll check on you later," he said getting up from her bed shortly after. He turned around and stared into her.
Suddenly out of the blue, Elena showed emotion, and grabbed his hand with all her might. "Please stay," she whispered softly. Damon turned around quickly, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. Stay? Him? This was a new one for him. Her eyes looked as if she was completely traumatized.
He didn't question her reply to the silence, although he wondered. "Ok," he answered her plea.
He kicked off his shoes, and sat next to Elena. He gently wrapped his arms around her. Damon held her. It wasn't about the sex for either of them. Elena felt the only way to catch herself from falling to pieces, was to cling onto Damon from the fear. She was shaken up. Her whole world had come crashing down and she couldn't think of another reason to not hold on to him. The intimacy of them was like fire.
She held him as if there was no tomorrow, as he did the same. He never wanted to let her go. The sparks between them, were damaged, but quickly rekindled even in their darkest hours. Damon was probably the worst thing for her, but at the same time; he was the best. Things were different now. Elena curled up next to him, clenching at his clothes.
In that moment, Elena showed strong emotions. She cried. He watched as Elena lost it in his arms. He stroked her hair gently. "Shh," he cooed.
He showed compassion, something Damon Salvatore wasn't in to these days, but Elena changed that. Damon knew it was only temporary. He wanted her to need him, and he wanted to need her. In the same actions, he didn't want her to know. He never expected this; a moment to bring them together, and make their bond stronger than he ever imagined.
After taking the Advil finally and washing it down with the glass of cold water, she finally fell into a deep sleep, wrapped in his arms. He felt protective in this moment, and that's exactly what he intended to do through the night.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it's a short one, but it's a filter of the bond between Damon & Elena. Also, as Damon said, his compassion is only temporary. I enjoy writing the dominant, controlling Damon of who he really is. Hopefully, an update won't take me long, I need to edit chapter 7, so it will be soon.
love you all xo
lexi