"Oh my god! No wonder Elijah was so upset with me!" Elena exploded suddenly, launching up from the bed to pace the length of the room. "You're saying that he just found out we were destined to be together, and I told him to go to hell!"
"You actually-"
"No, I didn't actually tell him to go to hell!" Elena snapped over Marcel, rubbing her brow with her hand. "I might as well have done! I didn't realise that was what it meant! I'm just so tired of being manipulated that I took it out on him! He thinks I've pushed him away and I might have lost my damn soulmate!" She ranted, pacing the length of the bed quickly.
Even with Marcel's advanced hearing, he was having trouble keeping up with Elena as she ranted, continuing to mutter to herself as she kept walking, covering her face with her hands.
"Oh my god, and you, how crushed would Elijah have been if I'd have slept with you! Marcel I'm so sorry! I don't even-"
"Elena, breathe." Marcel instructed, appearing in front of her and grabbing her by the shoulders to stop her pacing. "Just breathe for a second, Elijah will understand; you didn't realise what it meant, it's okay."
Elena stared at Marcel, her chest heaving slightly as she tried to reign in her racing thoughts. "Marcel, what do I do now?" She breathed, shaking her head. "I don't know what to do."
"We'll figure something out, Elena, it's gonna be okay." Marcel said softly, holding back his confusion as he reassured the girl in front of him, not sure about her sudden flash of emotion.
Elena looked around the room suddenly, searching for something. "I need to-" She cut off suddenly, clapping her hands over her mouth. "Jeremy's dead." She whispered behind her hands. "Oh my god, Jeremy's dead." She cried, Marcel catching her as her knees buckled under her and she fell to the floor, her tears falling readily.
Elijah was roused from his book by the sound of hurried pounding at the front door of the plantation house. He closed his book with a frown, putting it aside as he stood from his chair and left his study, making it to the stairs in a blur as the other occupants of the house came from their rooms, Hayley still rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"What the blazes is that?" Rebekah asked, she and Klaus both moving to the top of the stairs as Elijah reached the bottom.
Elijah wrenched the door open, his composed mask falling from his face at the sight of Elena cradled in Marcel's arms.
"Marcellus?" Elijah asked, his siblings arriving behind him with similar looks of confusion on their faces. "What happened?"
"She turned it on." Marcel explained softly, looking down at the girl in his arms sadly.
"Come in." Elijah said instantly, opening the door wider for Marcel without any hesitation, shutting it behind him before turning back to the pair of vampires.
"She fell asleep about ten minutes ago." Marcel murmured, gently passing Elena over to Elijah when he saw the expression on the normally aloof Original's face. "She was pretty distraught, kept talking about her brother."
Elijah nodded, taking in the information as easily as he'd accepted Elena, looking down at her when her fist grabbed a handful of his shirt in her sleep.
Marcel cleared his throat slightly after a moment, passing a jacket and clutch off to Rebekah and smiling slightly at Elijah and Elena. "It's late, I'll leave you guys to look after her."
"Marcel," Elijah murmured, stopping him in his tracks as he headed towards the door, "thank you."
Marcel nodded, offering Elijah another tight smile and letting himself out of the house, shutting the door softly behind himself.
Elena woke up slowly, confused and dazed. The last thing she remembered was falling apart in Marcel's arms, but this didn't look like the Compound; it looked more familiar.
She was in her room at the Plantation house. How the hell had she gotten there?
She rolled over with a soft sigh, startled when she realised Elijah was sat in the armchair in the corner of her room, a book in his lap. He was asleep, his head resting against the back of the chair, but Elena imagined he hadn't meant to fall asleep.
Maybe if she was quiet enough she could sneak away from here? Run to the ends of the Earth to spare Elijah anymore pain from her face.
She hadn't even managed to sit up fully before the rustling of the duvet woke Elijah. He sat up with a startled gasp, blinking owlishly as he took stock of his surroundings.
"Elena." He blurted, his voice husky from sleep until he cleared his throat and tried again. "My apologies, I did not mean to fall asleep."
"It's okay." Elena said softly, pulling her knees up to her chest as she looked at Elijah, suddenly very aware of the scant dress that her duvet had fallen to reveal. "Why are you here?"
Elijah blinked. He went to open his mouth before changing his mind, taking a breath. "Of course, my apologies." He murmured again, standing from the chair he was in to leave.
Elena realised with a start he thought that she didn't want him there, blinking away her confusion she whispered to his retreating back. "That's not what I meant."
Elijah paused at her door, hand on the doorknob, his shoulders sagging as he let out a breath. "Then, I must confess I don't understand what you did mean." He said softly, not turning around for a few long moments until he realised Elena wasn't going to say anything.
She patted the bed beside her when he finally did turn around, shuffling over to one side to make more room for him. While his back had been turned, she'd darted to the wardrobe in the corner and plucked out one of the suit jackets she'd stolen from him, not really sure why he'd let her keep them.
Any resistance Elijah had melted away at the sight of her hunched on her bed, his suit jacket wrapped around her, swamping her tiny frame. Her formerly flawlessly styled hair was tangled and the half that had been tied up was falling down; her makeup was smeared, and she had remnants of mascara under her eyes, from the crying or the sleep he wasn't sure. All the same, Elijah thought she looked beautiful.
She was pained and broken, and Elijah longed for nothing more than to hold her in his arms and protect her from any more hurt, but she wasn't his to defend. She'd made that clear.
Despite it, he found himself perching on the side of her bed, cautiously pulling his legs up beside him, his shoe-clad feet dangling off the edge to avoid dirtying her sheets.
He found himself even more surprised when she reached out to place her hands over his, though she avoided his eyes when he looked up at her.
"I didn't mean to say I don't want you here." She said softly, staring at where she covered his hand with her own. "I just don't understand why you are." She shook her head when he opened his mouth to speak, smiling slightly when he snapped it shut obediently, understanding her need for more time. "I have been…awful to you, and yet, you've been nothing but kind in return."
"Elena-"
Again, she shook her head, stopping him short in his tracks. "I don't know what I've done to deserve such kindness and respect from you, Elijah, especially now, but all I can do is thank you. You've looked after me when I didn't deserve it, and it means a lot."
"I wouldn't be anywhere else, Elena." He said softly, turning his hand up to hold one of the ones she covered it with. "You deserve every ounce of compassion that I and this world have to offer."
Elena let out a soft, shuddering breath, closing her eyes as a tear fell free, sliding down her cheek slowly and splashing onto her hand.
"What happened?" Elijah prompted gently, running his thumb across the back of her hand. "Why did you return to your emotions?"
"I didn't mean to." She admitted, letting out a soft laugh. "It wasn't a conscious choice…it was kind of like…a bunch of dominoes falling." She shook her head, closing her eyes with another laugh. "That's the only way I can describe it. More and more built up, and at Marcel's last night, I guess the dam broke."
Elijah didn't say anything, waiting for Elena to continue or prompt him to talk.
"Elijah, I-I can't even look at you, how am I supposed to face anyone after how I've acted?" Her final words were choked, a product of the tears that sprung to her eyes and force their way out. She stifled a sob, allowing Elijah to shift them and pull her against his side, enveloping her in his arms, an encompassing sense of comfort that she didn't deserve.
The two remained in near silence for a few minutes, the only sound the intermittent sniffle or sob from Elena. Elijah held her firmly, leaning his chin on the crown of her head as she wept, occasionally rubbing her back with his hand softly.
"Bonnie and Caroline are here," Elijah murmured eventually, listening to the conversations downstairs, "they want to see you, I don't think they know about your humanity."
"I can't." Elena denied quickly, pulling away from Elijah to finally look him in the eyes. "Elijah, I can't deal with them now, I can't, I-"
"It's okay." He interrupted, sensing the quick downward spiral about to happen. "I'll send them away, you don't have to do anything you don't want to."
"Thank you." Elena murmured to the vampire who was already disappearing down the stairs to explain the situation to the two girls from Mystic Falls.
Elijah wasn't gone long, but by the time he returned, the book he'd pretended to be reading until he fell asleep was set outside Elena's door, and upon trying the handle, he found the room to be locked. The sound of the shower running would have had the desired impact if it had been a human at Elena's door, but Elijah could still hear her sobs, only slightly muffled by the running water.
With a soft sigh, he collected his book and turned away from the room, willing to leave Elena alone for now if that was what she wanted.
"Can I talk to her?"
Elijah sighed, studying the two figures in front of him. Davina was resolute, her chin held high, daring him to tell her no; Marcel sat beside her, masked concern bleeding into his features. He was less resolute than the young witch, but that didn't mean he cared any less.
"She hasn't left her room for nearly three days." Elijah said softly, letting out another soft breath. "She barely eats, I had to threaten to break the door down and force blood down her throat before she would take anything we left her."
Davina and Marcel shared a look of worry briefly, turning back to Elijah after a second.
"What are you saying?" Davina asked, folding her hands together in her lap to hide her nervousness.
"You can try and talk to her," Elijah allowed with a soft nod of his head, "but don't be surprised if she doesn't listen."
Davina nodded solemnly, standing from the couch at the same time as Elijah stood from his chair, ready to lead her to Elena's room.
Elijah sighed when they reached her room, bending down to retrieve the empty glass of blood from the floor. "I don't know if she actually drinks it," he admitted, rolling the glass between his hands slightly, "she could just pour it away. I suppose I just hope that she doesn't." He explained at Davina's confused look, smiling sadly. "There isn't much else I can do."
With another glance towards Elena's door, Elijah disappeared, leaving Elena and Davina as alone as he could, in spite of his enhanced hearing.
"Elena?" Davina asked quietly, knocking at the door. When she received no reply, she turned around, sitting with her back to Elena's door and her knees drawn to her chest. "Marcel told me what happened." She said, resting her chin on her knees. "We're worried about you…Elijah's worried about you."
Elena still didn't reply, and Davina let out a soft sigh, closing her eyes as she took in a deep breath, using her magic she could sense that Elena was awake, so at the very least, she wasn't talking to herself.
"I don't know what you're going through, but I know how it feels to hurt the people you care about, I can't really offer much advice, except that…the people you care about are still here for you, Elena. They still love you." Davina paused, clearing her throat slightly. "I haven't known you with your emotions, but you were still kind to me, and if you're like that without your humanity, then you must be the most incredible friend with it."
Elena wiped away tears, swallowing a sob as she returned her hand to wrap around her knees; she leant against the door, fighting any urge to open it.
"We're all here for you, Elena." Davina reminded quietly. "I understand not wanting to face the people you think you've hurt, but you haven't hurt me, or Marcel, we're both here if you want to talk."
Davina nodded to herself when she still heard no reply, standing up and turning to face the door, leaning her forehead against it. "Okay, I'll leave you to your space," she smiled to herself, closing her eyes, "you know where we are if you need anything."
Davina lingered for a moment longer before turning and heading downstairs, unaware of the sobbing coming from the doppelganger on the other side of the bedroom door.
HisSecretLover18: There won't be a romantic relationship between them, don't worry! That kind of wrote itself in and I liked it! Thank you so much!
Guest: They didn't at all! I think between the tension in the room and Elena's reaction, everyone just kind of assumed that she knew what was going on! Marcel's turned out to be more of a character and a best friend to Elena than I'd planned on! He might, although, Marcel might see that as a bit of an invasion of privacy, he's still a tad old fashioned!
Guest: Thank you so, so much! That means so much to me! Thank you for the chefs kisses as always! Thanks! :)
Guest: Oooh I'm glad! Thank you!
midnight-writer97: Thank you so much! This is definitely an Elejah story, don't worry! I'm glad you like the escapade! It wrote itself and I thought it fit in really naturally, especially for the hand with her emotions in this chapter! She's definitely heading that way ;) Full disclosure, I forgot too! I remembered while writing, so I slipped them in before I could forget again! XD Thank you so much!
Thank you all for your reviews, I'm glad I had this chapter prewritten because work has really taken it out of me this week! Your reviews have given me a little reason to smile every time I get one through! I've just finished the next chapter, so that's one's ready to go when I decide to post it! Let me know what you're hoping to see!
Until next time
~ I x