A/N: Enjoy all and thanks so much for reading. :)
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Remember Me- Chapter Six
"What have the last few years been like for me?" Elena took a deep breath, placing her hands into her lap as she looked out towards the front lawn, smiling at all the roses that she pictured Audrey planting in front of the home that her and Stefan shared together. She couldn't be in the same room beside him. But, she could be here with him. It was safer. They weren't sitting too close to each other, yet she could still feel his eyes on her as she spoke in a soft tone.
"They've been hard. After I left you and Ben, I was a mess. Stefan," She paused, turning her head towards him for a brief second to explain further. But, Elena stopped herself. Because how could she ever explain what was really going on in her mind? How could she explain how broken she felt? He'd probably never understand.
"Hey," Stefan paused, placing his hand on top of hers as they sat down on a bench in the front lawn. Audrey wasn't home for another two hours and it was nice, sitting with Elena like this. It was familiar.
"I forgive you, alright? And, I understand because I was a wreck for a long time after you walked out the door. Believe me, Elena. I don't ever want you or I to feel like that again." He told her, gripping on to her hand and exhaling heavily as they sat in silence for a long time.
Finally, Elena spoke. "She makes you happy, I can tell." The space between them was closing in as she leaned her head against his shoulder and he held on to her hand still, not wanting to lose the warmth of her fingertips curled into his palm.
"I'm sorry if my being with her upsets you. I just..." His voice broke, clearing it and opening his mouth again to start over. Stefan wanted to explain. "I tried raising Ben alone for so long that I'd forgotten what it was like to be around people my own age. It was just Ben and I almost every day and every night for the last few years. Damon and Katherine were getting sick of me being alone. So, then Audrey happened."
Stefan turned his head towards Elena and gave her a weakened smile. "I wasn't even looking for her, Elena. I didn't mean to fall in love with her because for so long I had been in love with you." He added on, releasing her hand as she bit down on her lower lip and glanced away from him, turning her back to him. "I loved you so damn much. But, you left me. You left me broken, bruised and battered. Elena, you left me when all I ever wanted to do was give you and our son the whole damn world." Stefan told her with pure honesty, watching her body tense up as she sniffled and then Stefan watched as Elena jumped up from her seat, crossing her arms over her chest and with tears in her eyes, she stared at him.
"I couldn't understand how you could love me after everything I had done to you? All those times I had tried to push you away and you still came back. It was you, Stefan. It was you who changed my life and made me a better person. I wanted to be good for you. I wanted our whole lives to be full of endless possibilities and for our son to grow up knowing how much we loved him." Her body was trembling as the tears cascaded down her cheeks. Stefan stood up promptly, maybe it was more so out of habit than anything else. But, his hands were on her face, wiping away the tears as he stood in front of her.
"I can't love you anymore. Not the way that I once did." His heart broke, even though he knew that she was right. They weren't the same they had been all those years ago. Time had changed things and it had certainly changed them. He leaned in without saying a word, leaving a light kiss on her forehead.
"I know. We put each other through hell and I'm sorry too. So, you're right. We can't love each other the way we used too. But, we can still be friends. Best friends, even. For the sake our son." He said, watching as she nodded and then fell into him, sobbing.
Stefan rubbed her back as she cried into his gray colored shirt, feeling each tear drop soak into the fabric. He held her tightly as she whispered into his ear. "I can't just be a friend to you, Stefan. That's never going to work."
He took a step back, holding her out towards him at arms length. "We can still try. I know that it's going to be hard because of our history and our past together. But, Elena. It's better than not having you in my life at all. I can't go through that again. I can't lose you again." He told her, hearing her inhale deeply as she buried her face into the curve of his neck, inhaling sharply before she said in a voice above a whisper. "Okay. I'll try. I promise that I'll try."
"All I'm saying is that you can't be sleeping with my brother!" Klaus shouted at her, slamming his fist against the table in front of him as Lexi blinked her eyelashes at him. She was terrified.
"I-." She began to say as Klaus turned his back towards her, exhaling heavily. "This is going to be really bad for business and if the tabloids find out. I swear to god, Lexi..." She cut him off, getting up from her seat and standing in front of him to get her point across.
"Klaus, I'm in love with him. Please, everything is going to be fine." She said simply, hoping to sway him in the best way possible.
"We don't need more scandals or people talking. Didn't Stefan and Elena's little love affair teach you anything?" He asked, hearing Lexi let out a deep belly laugh. "That was years ago, people don't even remember that anymore." Klaus argued with her. Lexi rolled her eyes, she remembered it well and she was pretty damn sure that everyone in the nation who followed nearly every move that the Salvatore family made still remembered everything regarding it. Stefan and Elena had been front page news for weeks.
"That's bullshit and you know it." Klaus shook his head. "Lexi," He sighed, straightening out his suit and the red tie around his neck before preparing to leave. "You and my brother have nothing on Stefan and Elena's scandalous love affair. Believe me, love. This might sound harsh, but neither one of you aren't as important as they once were."
Lexi's eyes grew big as she took a seat in one of the office chairs. She was stunned. Klaus stood near the door, ready to leave. But, it wasn't before she stopped him once more. Asking him something that no one had really asked or thought of at all. "Does Audrey know how much Stefan was in love with Elena? She does know how important they were to each other and how much she really matters to him?"
Klaus shrugged his shoulders, glancing down at the floor as he said in a soft tone. "I don't know. Honestly, I would hope she does. Because, they're getting married soon and that will make for one really awkward wedding moment if she doesn't know."
"You're tense." Caroline said with a soft smile later in the day, straddling his back as Klaus laid on the bed and groaned.
"It's been a hell of a day." Klaus replied with a sleepy tone. In between dealing with Lexi and Kol. He had meetings and financial deals to sort out and he was exhausted. "Has it?" Caroline teased, pressing her body against his a bit more in a playful manner as she kissed the side of his face, suddenly feeling her body hit the mattress as he spun around and before she could blink, Caroline was underneath him.
"But, coming home to you every single night makes things a million times better." He smirked, caressing her face with the back of his hand as he leaned down to kiss her lips. Caroline pulled him closer, running her fingers underneath his shirt as she felt the warmth of his skin and heard him sigh out a breath. However, just as things began to get a little hotter and heavier in their bedroom. They heard the front door slam downstairs and Elena yelling out Kai's name.
"What the hell is going on?" Klaus asked his wife, watching as she too got up and wrapped her robe around her waistline, attempting to fix her hair and open their bedroom door as Elena walked up the stairs in a panic. "Please tell me that he isn't gone. Please." She begged, her hands were trembling as Caroline tilted her head to the side and remembered what had happened between her and Kai just a few hours before.
"He's been outside for hours. Probably fell asleep out there. I think he took a book and a blanket." Caroline commented, hearing Elena thank her quickly and then rush downstairs as the backdoor closed loudly behind her.
Klaus leaned against the wall behind him and closed his eyes for a moment. Caroline placed her hands against his cheeks, slowly lowering her hands towards his stomach and leaning her body into him. "When is she going to realize that she isn't supposed to be with him?" Klaus laughed a little, pulling Caroline closer to his body as he kissed the top of her head and she exhaled heavily. "I don't know." She softly said, thankful that she wasn't in Elena's situation. Caroline knew that even though she didn't want to admit to it, that the brunette was still regretting ever letting Stefan go.
"Can we talk?" Elena asked, slowly making her way towards Kai who was sitting in front of a fire pit, reading a crime novel that she knew he liked. "Busy reading. Sorry," He began to say as she made her way to the seat next to him, taking a seat quietly next to him and folding her hands on to her lap.
"Kai, don't do that. Look, I'm sorry about earlier." She said, running her left hand her face, hoping that he'd notice she was wearing the ring that he had given her. Elena smiled a little when he did in fact notice it. "Nice ring. The guy who bought it for you must be a real catch." He sarcastically commented, finally turning to face her as he licked his bottom lip and noticed her blood shot eyes. She'd been crying on the way back to Caroline's and it broke his heart a little.
"What happened with you and Stefan? What made you two break up for good? What really happened in Portland between the two of you" He asked her out of nowhere, flat out. Kai knew most of the story, although there were some things that she hadn't been clear about.
"You don't want to hear this." She told him, watching as he disagreed with a shake of his head. No, he did in fact what to hear it. He wanted to hear all of it.
"Fine." She inhaled sharply before she said "We argued a lot towards the end. But, I loved him. Stefan wanted to fix me when I thought that nothing was wrong….Kai, you know this. Why are we talking about it again?" She asked him, grinding her teeth together in frustration.
"What happened, Elena!" He demanded. Truth was that he wanted to find out one important part. Yet, he wanted her to get to it slowly.
"I left our son in the apartment by himself for hours because he was crying! Okay! I put Ben's life in danger and that was the last straw for our relationship! Stefan came home from work to find me sitting on the kitchen floor sobbing and clutching Ben. He was freezing because I had left the window open too. I had…." Her voice trailed off as the emotions came back and she finally stammered out. "I had neglected him for three hours and I just let him cry all alone in his crib. Okay? I left the apartment to get some air without taking my newborn with me. When Stefan found out. We argued and the next morning, I realized that my disease was taking over everything. So, I wrote a letter and I left him with Stefan."
There was a long silence between them as Elena wiped away her tears and then she added in. "I still haven't forgiven myself for that. I hurt them both and I'll never forgive myself for that. Even if Stefan's forgiven me." Kai was quiet and then he glanced over at her while asking one last question. "Do you still love him, Elena?" The question floated around the dead silence between them for a while. But, deep down she knew the answer.
"How could I not. We have a son together, Kai." He felt her hands on top of his as she nearly begged him to understand. "I still love him. But, I've moved on from what we once had and so has he. Stefan's happy with someone else and I'm happy for him. Listen to me, I promise that Stefan and I are just friends. He's better off without me. Ben and him truly are." Leaning back, Kai pulled her towards him as he kissed her forehead and wrapped them up together in the blanket he had thrown over himself. "Okay." Was all he said as he glanced up at the clear night sky. His overreacting was just stupid he thought. He needed to trust her more. Besides, Stefan was engaged and Elena was now too. They were over what they once had...Weren't they?
"Catch me up to speed with things. So, what's happened since I've been gone in drought stricken California?" Damon asked Katherine as she cleared the dishes from their late night dinner.
Katherine leaned down, grabbing his plate as his hand stopped her, leaning forward and whispering softly. "Are the kids asleep?" She nodded, noticing the mischief in Damon's eyes growing.
"Come here. I've missed you." He told her, watching as Katherine giggled a little and went around the table, taking a seat in Damon's lap. He wrapped his arms around her. "So, what's been going on?"
He could tell something was bothering her. But, she had been avoiding the topic the whole time during dinner. Damon could smell the red wine scent on Katherine's breath as she spoke. "Let me see," She paused for a moment, scratching the top of her head.
"Lexi's sleeping with Kol Mikaelson. But, you already knew that one. Your brother and Elena decided to just be friends. Which we both know won't last. And, Caroline has been trying to sway Klaus into making her something big in Lexi's design firm. Honestly, that's the only thing that makes sense since Caroline went back to school after she left that bartending gig and got her degree in interior design." Damon pulled Katherine closer as he rested his chin against her shoulder. "So, aside from all that. How are you doing?" He questioned, kissing her cheek as he felt her tense shoulders relax a bit and she turned to face him.
"I'm alright." She lied. The truth was that Katherine was worried. She was concerned about Stefan and how the return of Elena was affecting him. She knew nearly everything there was to know about their past history and she remembered damn well for how long Stefan had hurt while she was gone.
"Liar." Damon quickly said, picking up on the tone of her voice. Damon rubbed her arms, kissing her shoulder as he sighed. "Tell me what's wrong?" He urged.
Katherine finally broke, locking her brown eyes on to his blue gaze as she said. "Elena being back isn't good for anyone, Damon. Especially your brother. Believe me, someone is going to be hurt all over again and it's not going to be Elena. Honestly, I can't watch his heart break over her again..." Katherine's voice trailed off as she remembered all the times that she had to be the one to help Stefan pull himself together. She had vowed that no matter what she'd be there for him, to help him pick up the pieces after everything around him came crashing down. Katherine had vowed to stand by him no matter the cost because she knew he would have done the same for her too.
"It's not going to happen like that again, Katherine. He's moved on and so has she. Besides, Stefan and Audrey's wedding is in three weeks." Damon commented in a nonchalant tone, feeling Katherine push his arms away from herself as she got up and gawked at him.
"They're getting married in three weeks?" She asked him once more, as if she hadn't heard him say that the first time.
Damon nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah, he didn't mention it?" Katherine shook her head. Come to think of it, Stefan hadn't mentioned anything at all about the wedding much. He had just said that things were being arraigned and that he'd let everyone know once a date was set. It was all such short notice.
"Well, he asked me to be his best man this morning." Damon smiled, watching Katherine's eyes glance down at the ground as she smiled a little. "That's great. Honestly, I just hope it all goes well and that nothing ruins such a great day for your brother." She said softly, taking a seat across from him while she thought about how Elena was going to feel once she got the news. Stefan was marrying someone else in three weeks. Stefan was marrying Audrey in three weeks and surely for Elena, it would be painful to watch.
"Is Elena invited?" Damon shrugged his shoulders to her question. "I don't know if she is or not. Honestly, I think it would be too strange if she was."
Katherine sighed, locking her eyes on to Damon. "They have a son together, Damon. A little boy who is going to be getting a stepmom. Elena needs to be there too. I think that it's only fair."
He shook his head, quickly disagreeing. "Katherine, I don't think she does. Not after all the stunts she pulled in Portland."
Katherine watched Damon get up from his seat as she stood in front of him and nearly stared him down. "She needs to be invited to the wedding, Damon. If you don't mention it to Stefan. I sure as hell will. She's his ex fiancee and Ben's mother. She needs to be there whether we like it or not. It's the right thing to do." Katherine urged, reminding herself that if Damon wasn't going to bring it up when they both saw Stefan. She certainly was. Elena needed to spend some more time with Ben and the wedding seemed like it would be the perfect opportunity to do just that.
A/N: Repeat after me...ELENA GOING TO THIS WEDDING WILL NOT BE A GOOD THING...Now, wait for it. ;)
Until Next Time!