Chapter 26: Temptations and Distractions

Damon

He felt more than heard that she was there. She was probably eying the bottles and wondering if he had slipped. But he did not. He held on like she told him to. She arrived not a moment too soon because his will was slipping and he was feeling himself slowly but surely on his way off that cliff.

He felt the abyss right underneath him, dark and ready to envelop him all over again. This time, he would most likely not be able to pull himself back up again. He would stay there waiting for it all to be over.

Now that she was there, he felt some of his strength returning.

"I didn't do it," he said to ease her mind.

She did not say anything but he heard her letting out a breath. Was it relief? Probably, but he needed to see her, look her in the eyes and determine for himself.

He raised his head and turned to look at her. She was still all the way by the door. Her face flushed and her eyes wide. Did she run all the way over here?

"I didn't fall back into old habits… even though every fiber in my being is screaming at me to get up and do it already," he explained not because she had asked but because he wanted her to know.

She took a step closer.

"Don't!" he said firmly holding out his hand warning her to stay put.

The fact that he had not yet succumbed to temptation did not mean he was not going to do it now. As big a temptation as it was to binge on bourbon, Elena was an even bigger temptation… no scratch that. Elena was the biggest temptation.

Promising her that he was not going to cross that line and trying to convince himself to only regard her as a friend did not change the fact that he fucking wanted her. His desire for her was never quenched and whenever he was this messed up, his head jumped to sex right away. Which meant that her getting closer was a very bad idea right now.

She looked confused but then looking at his face, her expression changed to being resolute. She gave him a pointed look and started walking closer anyway.

"No!" He felt the panic run along the length of his spine as he jumped to his feet and moved away to put more space between them.

"Damon, it's okay. Let me be here for you," she spoke for the first time since she arrived as she attempted to move closer again.

He moved away once more always keeping a safe distance between them. It was either that or he would no doubt do something stupid again. Maybe this time she would disappear from his life completely. He simply could not take the chance.

"Damon?" She was asking him to relax to let her help.

"I can't…" he said then stopped, struggling to find the right words to explain his dilemma.

"… I can't trust myself around you," he finally said.

She looked like she finally got it. She extended her arms toward him like she was trying to coerce a scared puppy out of the corner.

He felt like a scared puppy.

"It's okay. I trust you."

Her words were soothing but he was not convinced. He stayed right where he was, his back against the wall.

"Damon, I know you think you'll fall back into your old patterns but I know you won't. You're stronger than that and the proof is right in front of you." She pointed to the unopened bottles. "It's right there. See, you didn't fall."

"What makes you think I didn't?" He said and his voice was cold and calculating just the opposite of what he felt inside.

"You just told me," she said incredulously.

"I didn't start drinking but I called you," he said and he almost managed to put in a dash of contempt. Contempt for what he was doing right now to push her away. He called her begging for help and now that she was here, he was pushing her away.

Way to go, Salvatore.

"You are one of my patterns. You are a distraction from all the bad memories," he said and with every word, he saw the hurt in her eyes deepen. It was working then… Good.

"You know why, I came back to the yoga studio asking for a date after the night you left me there like a damn whore?" she did not respond. She just kept staring at him disbelievingly.

He went on seemingly unaffected. "…Because fucking you appeared to be a rather effective distraction and I was hoping for more." He laughed humorlessly. "I didn't know you'd make me work so hard for it. I mean, I've worked my ass off for months trying to finally get my reward but I'm starting to think it's not worth the hassle."

She inhaled sharply as if his words wounded her.

Why was he doing this? He started this whole thing trying to keep her away so he would not hurt her but somehow, his fucked up brain turned the whole thing upside down. He was hurting her anyway and if he was her, he would leave his sorry ass behind and never look back.

Elena

She could not believe the words coming out of his mouth. He was aiming to hurt, to shred, to kill and he would have hit target if he was not still standing in the corner with his back against the wall and his eyes latched onto her every movement.

His eyes told a different story, spoke different words, less harsh and asking for help. He was hurt, he was wounded and he was too good at spinning believable lies that confirmed his cruelty.

Well, she had the choice of listening to his words which meant she would leave this place and never speak to him again or listening to his eyes. She had always been better at reading him through his eyes anyway so her choice was made. She would help him. Not just because a part of him was asking her to but also because seeing him like this hurt her too.

"Fine, then you need a new distraction," she said and he clearly did not expect that telling by the surprised look on his face. Funny, how there suddenly was no trace of malice left in his expression.

"Come on, get your things. I'll be waiting down in the lobby." She turned around and left for the elevator.

If he needed her to keep her distance then she would keep her distance and give him space. She guessed that he would not feel the need to stay away when they were in public. Even he would not jump her right in front of everyone, although she never for a second thought he would have done it back when they were alone.

She had no idea if he would actually show. In theory, he could just ignore her and stay holed up in that corner all day but she had a feeling that he was coming.

Sure enough, after ten minutes, he stepped out of the elevator and walked with her as they made their way to her desired destination.

Damon

She would not tell him where they were going and he did not keep asking. Honestly, he felt a whole lot of guilty for his earlier outburst. He followed her silently as the thoughts kept churning in his head.

She hailed them a taxi and he remembered to open the door for her in his zombie-like state. His head was a big soup of confused mess. Throughout the ride, he kept trying to make sense of all his thoughts though part of him wanted to just ignore everything and do what he did best; try to seduce the beautiful woman sitting next to him. But it was broad daylight and they were in a taxi with a driver who kept throwing them curious looks in the rear-view mirror.

Halfway through the ride, Elena made a phone call telling someone, that she was on her way and she was bringing someone with her. He assumed that this someone was him but he was still not closer to finding out where they were going.

When the driver stopped in Brooklyn, two blocks away from her apartment, he gave her a questioning look but she just shook her head and smiled.

"Come on," she said as she took his hand and led him to wherever it was she was taking him.

The little lights of excitement in her eyes made him follow her without a complaint.

They walked for two more minutes and then she stopped in front of an old building. Three steps led to a door and above it a sign said Sommer's home for children.

A foster home? What the hell were they doing there?

He halted mid step, let go of her hand and crossed his arms instead. "What is this?" He demanded to know.

"We're here to see the kids," she said and smiled hesitantly.

See the kids… why? Why would she take him there?

"But why am I here?" His tone was less demanding and more shaken and a little confused.

She took a step closer and put her hand on his shoulder before she spoke. "You need a good distraction. I'm simply showing you mine."

Something told him to leave right then and there. Something told him that going in there was a bad idea and he was going to regret ever stepping foot inside but she was looking at him with that excitement in her eyes and he realized that he would follow her to the end of the world if she asked him to. He swatted his hesitation aside and followed her up the steps.

Elena

He was hesitant at first, very much so but then she saw that look of determination she liked so much back on his face and her heart did a victory dance inside her chest. She was going on a limb here and showing him something very important to her. It was actually the most precious part of her life.

This place and the people in it had the biggest part in getting her where she was now. She was able to get through college, get a job and set her foot on the path to achieving her dream because of this place and mostly because of the person greeting them in her office now.

"Damon, this is my aunt Jenna Sommers who runs this place after having singlehandedly built it from scratch."

Elena stepped back from hugging her aunt to let her great Damon.

"She likes to exaggerate, this one doesn't she?" Jenna said holding her hand out to Damon as Elena introduced him.

"Jenna, this is Damon Salvatore, the friend I told you about."

Damon stepped forward and took Jenna's hand seemingly to shake it but instead, he kissed the back of it and gave her one of his stellar smirks. "Somehow I don't think she's exaggerating this time," he said.

Elena held back a laugh at her aunt's temporary flustered state before she cleared her throat and composed herself.

"So this is the famous Damon Salvatore, huh?" Jenna said and motioned for them to sit down.

Elena saw a look flash across his face at her aunt's comment. Maybe he thought she meant his actual celebrity status. Then his smirk was back in place when she went on. "Elena told me about your talent. I'm sure we can use some of that here."

"Ah I'm sure, she was exaggerating," he said and sent Elena a playful wink. Then he turned to Jenna, "Just say when and I'll be there."

"So what made you turn to charity, Damon?" Jenna asked.

Elena had actually told her how he started, well not in detail but she knew that Elena was the one who introduced him to charity.

She was a little nervous about his reaction to that question considering… honestly though, she was curious to know his reason as well. Yes, she knew that he liked it and he had jokingly told her why before but she would like to know his real reasons.

"I guess, I like the honesty," he said and his answer surprised her because she had not expected him to give a straight answer. She thought he would say something sarcastic or arrogant and instead he said something thoughtful and maybe the most honest thing, she had ever heard him say to anyone else.

"…and of course I like the perks of my new hero-status," he added and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

She felt her cheeks heat up and it was definitely time to end this conversation.

"Jenna, can we see the kids now?"

"Of course. They've missed you and we have to introduce Damon."

She got up from her seat and went to the door rushing them on with her.

On Fridays, the kids had extra playtime in the evening. Tonight was one of those so they were all in the common room. Some were playing video games, most of the girls were on the floor holding Barbies and strewn around them were all kinds of clothes and little plastic shoes and things, all in Barbie size.

Elena had not stepped fully inside the room when a little whirlwind of pink clothes and honey-colored wild curls shot towards her and right into her waiting arms.

"'LENA!" She shouted happily and Elena could not resist kissing her on the cheeks when she saw the unfiltered joy on her face.

This was another reason for her attachment to this place. At three years old, Honey was the epitome of unconditional love and Elena's relationship with her was the most precious thing in her world.

She was an orphan. Her dad was a soldier, killed in Afghanistan before she was born and her mother died giving birth to her. She had no other family and she had already been through several places before she ended up at Jenna's when she was just nine months old. Then she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and her chances of adoption plummeted. Not a lot of parents wanted a diabetic baby so she had been here since. She needed special attention and her blood sugar levels had to always be in control for her not to get sick which meant that she had to go through several finger pokes a day to check her blood sugar levels and she needed insulin shots with every meal. Jenna had to hire someone new to mainly take care of her.

Elena tried to spend as much time with her as possible.

"How's my favorite, Honey?" Elena asked.

"I'm not Honey. I'm Anna," she said and pointed to her dress. Elena saw the dress she had gotten her a while ago because of her obsession with the Disney character. "I see, so Anna what are you up to today?"

"I'm save Elsa."

"Really, that sounds amazing, maybe we can help you."

"Okay."

Elena turned with Honey in her arms so they were both facing Damon. "This is my friend, Damon. Will you say hi?"

"Hi, Damon," she said softly, hiding a little in Elena's hair. She took a little time to warm up to people.

Damon smiled and came closer. He took her hand and kissed it. "Hello, Princess," he said and Elena could not believe it if she had not seen it. Honey giggled, her former shyness completely forgotten.

"So what do you think if I play Elsa and Damon plays Kristoff?"

She shook her head. "He can't play Kristoff."

"Why not?"

"His hair is not yellow." Well, Elena could not argue with her logic. His hair was definitely not yellow. "He can be Olaf," she said then and Elena laughed at the image her head conjured up of Damon with an orange carrot for a nose that he always kept losing.

"Who's Olaf?" He asked when she had put Honey back down and was about to follow her into the playroom. She could not contain her laugh as she explained his role. "He's a talking, singing and dancing snowman who keeps losing his carrot-nose and sometimes his head," she said and succumbed to another fit of giggles at the stricken look on his face.

This was going to be hilarious, she thought.

"Come on," she said and pulled him with her into the playroom.

AN: Thank you so much for reading and thank you guys for sticking with me and taking the time to review my chapters. It means the world to me.

I'm so sorry for the long wait. This chapter was very hard to get right and I needed it to be a certain way before I could post. I really hope that I succeeded.

Please be as awesome as always and review.

With love,

Mydarkside975