Stefan's pov:
Damon's here.. I feel happy and conflicted at the same time.. He's a good person, hell the best person I know.. He'll try to help me but he doesn't understand that that's only going to ruin everything for him and I just am not capable of being helped. We have an argument and as I'm speaking I start feeling light headed.. My chest is hurting and I can't breathe- all of a sudden my knees buckle and my legs just give up and I end up on the floor. Damon comes beside me and starts helping me but I push him away- I have done nothing to be deserving of the love he gives me. He should not have to feel the burden of trying to help such a messed up person. He can't fix me. No one can.. I am trying to breathe but my lungs feel as if they're on fire and my head's dizzy.. As I try to inhale deep breaths, my chest tightens and dry coughs escape my mouth and I can't stop... My eyes start closing and the last thing I feel is damon wrapping his arms around me and carrying me, bridal style, in his embrace.. I try to stop him but I don't think he notices because I know I must have not been audible and just when I try to stop him again I feel engulfed by the pain and feel myself passing out in his arms, which felt cold against my body, yet warm because of the compassion radiating through them. I go unconscious and All I know is pain and darkness.
Damon's pov:
I'm pacing back and forth outside the room because I can't bear looking at stefan lying helplessly, fighting for his life. There was no light in his eyes.. Just despair.. If something happens to me I'm not going to be able to forgive myself.. The boy looked so ruined.. My eyes water when I remember our conversation. How he was so utterly convinced that he should've died the day he was born and that would've fixed everything but that's not true.. None of the bad things that have happened are his fault, and if I haven't said it enough times, he doesn't know it. No matter how many times I tell him there's this voice in his head that tells him I'm wrong.. Because when he was little there was that very voice who told him everything was his fault and that has stayed with him.. Father's voice. How do you forget something like that and move on? He's the strongest person I know and I know he tried to listen to me , to believe that it wasn't his fault, who would want to live with that guilt.. But life never allowed him to forget, to move on. All of a sudden, Dr. Gilbert comes out of the room with a grim expression on his face.. Oh no.. Please let him be okay.. "You're his brother, right? " " Yes sir I am" I say a little too fast, unable to keep calm right now.. " I need you to sit down. " I do as he says but my heart's beating so fast.. Then I see elena run towards us, tears streaming down her face.. She seems so genuinely worried it makes me think something might have happened between stefan and her when I was gone. It was so evident they had feelings for each other. Anyone could see it. Anyone but them. And stefan being stefan, kept pushing elena away.. I hope everything works out because I know that girl makes my little brother the happiest. She sits beside us without asking for permission, like she has the right to know what Stefan's facing right now and in truth, she does. She has been there for stefan a lot and I know it. Dr. Gilbert starts speaking and i swallow hard. " Your brother smokes, a lot and I can see that he has barely gotten anything in his system since he left, except things Harmful to him. He has Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD , but that wouldn't be a problem because he is so young and I reckon he hasn't smoked for more than months, he'll have to stop obviously, the damage done to his lungs isn't a lot and it's not like that can be reversed but he would be alright.. " Oh no- I know about this disease.. He smoked so much in the past few months that he has developed the disease that chain smokers do.. But I'm a little relieved when I hear that not a lot of damage is caused in his lungs and that he'll be alright. I will help him and he's going to be okay " .. although ever since he slit his wrists, he has very little strength left in him and-" "w-what-" Elena looks at her father like he's the stupidest person she has ever seen and she doesn't know what to say "uh- I thought you knew that-" "I- he- no- he couldn't have-" Elena looks at me sympathetically.. " Damon.. I need to tell you something.. " She tells me how she found stefan barely alive bleeding to death in the park, drenched in rain, unable to move and took him to her father.. She tells me that he overheard a conversation between her and her father and left because he might have been hurt.. She's being completely honest and I respect that but it's tearing me apart .. She tells me he started smoking with nate after he left and she saw him once but thought that was a one time thing.. Nate I know him.. He was a year younger than me and I actually felt bad for him but when I hear he was the person who got my brother into smoking my blood boils and I get up, furious.. Elena understands what is going in my mind and she stops me telling me how nate actually cares a lot about stefan and how he actually had tears in his eyes seeing him in that state , like a brother. I'm sort of ashamed of myself when I hear that. She tells me that he tried finding him but couldn't and that she did too.. All this information is too much to take and I sink to my chair because my legs feel numb.. He tried to end his life because he thought I died.. I died because of him.. Father made him believe that.. My heart breaks and I can't stop the tears running down my cheeks.. I should've fought.. I shouldn't have gone.. What if Elena hadn't found him that day.. My mind forces me to think of the worst outcomes that could have come from this and I'm completely broken by the fact that the little boy who used to come sleep next to me because he wanted comfort felt so lost without me that he tried to end his miserable life.. We were responsible for all of that.. He was just a child that craved love and comfort, the familial feeling one feels with their family.. He wanted someone to be proud of him, to care for him.. I let him down.. "It's okay.. He's okay.. " Elena pats my shoulder comfortably, she's acting so mature right now .. I can't imagine what she must have felt like, when she saw stefan in that condition.. I can't even believe this i- HOW DID I LET THIS HAPPEN . I run fingers through my hair and pull at it because I feel like that's going to make all this go away- I don't want to believe that this is true- it can't be..he's my baby brother.. He's a child.. He can't do it.. I don't want to believe that his life actually was so bad that it pushed him so far over the edge, but I know it was and I know this is true.. GOD I WISH IT WASN'T. I want to kill father with my bare hands for ruining a 15 year old child's life so bad that he felt there was no other option that just ending it all.. It's my fault- I shouldn't have left- but I didn't have any other choice- I want to scream and break everything in sight but I cant , right now Stefan's my priority. He needs to be okay. I can't lose my calm right now.. God but my heart's breaking so bad and I can't stop my tears "Damon calm down.. " Dr. Gilbert said and I try to stop the fast beating of my heart and make it seem normal.. " He is very weak right now and .. Because of the blood loss.. He has very less energy. He needs to eat, and start trying to be healthy.. I'm afraid he needs help because I talked to nate about how many cigarettes he had with him when he left.. He had three packets and finished it all in a week.. I believe that's why be came back, to buy more.. He might have an addiction.. He's at the age where people get misled and choose the wrong path for themselves.. I've been told he's a great boy and I see it myself that he has the potential to be better. Help him. He's going to have a lot of trouble breathing but maybe in a few months , he'll be alright, given he completely gives up smoking." "I- he's going to be alright, right-" I say, wincing at how my voice was so shaky.. " I can't say for sure right now but I'll try my best.. His body is weak and all I can do right now.. I've put an oxygen mask on him and that will help him for the time being. I can't give him medicines right now because his stomach is most probably empty, because he has clearly lost weight since I last saw him. Make him eat something and I'm positive I'll be able to help him. He's sleeping right now. You can go inside. " I nod and I see Elena wiping her tears from the side of my eye.. She really does care about him.. She comes in after me, with soup in her hands .. I see stefan lying there.. He doesn't look any better, probably less pale, but just as weak.. He's mumbling in his sleep and raises his fist to hit the bed post, as usual, but I stop him.. As he feels my touch he opens his eyes and looks at me sluggishly.. Clearly tired.. The rising of his chest is so low that u swallow hard looking at it. "D-dam- 'lena? " He's being delirious.. "H-hurts-" He whimpers in pain and that confirms it. He's being delirious. He'd never admit to his pain if he was in the right state of mind.. He think he's burdening us with them. Once father got mad at him and threw his tea at his hand because he bumped into him by mistake.. He got burnt and couldn't stop crying but whenever i asked him if he hurt, or if he was okay, he always lied and told me it was all fine. But I saw it in his face, his eyes.. He was in pain. He couldn't sleep for days because that's how much it hurt him.. He used to come to me and beg me to let him sleep next to him and not tell father.. I told him he didn't have to ask, he could come to me whenever he wanted to.. He was afraid I'd hurt him too.. God.. He was only 6. What six year old deserves that?! Right now the 15 year old stefan looked the same to me, so young, so innocent, and so much In pain.. We sat beside him and Elena took his hand in hers, rubbing his thumb and I put my hand on his knee.. "Where does it hurt stef..?? " "do you need anything?? " We both asked him.. "M-make it s-stop please.. Chest h-hurts.. " He tried to raise his hand and point to his chest but apparently didn't have enough strength to do so, so just let it drop by his side.. "Stefan.. You need to eat.." He was actually hungry and nodded. Elena helped him get up and gave support to his back and he started leaning onto her, taking ragged breaths even with the oxygen mask.. He sat up and Elena made him eat.. I was just standing there uselessly because I was just so still in shock.. He wasn't even able to hold the spoon so Elena was doing it for him and he was guiltily not even looking at her.. Ashamed.. He spilled a bit of it and was very embarassed by it, repeated sorry maybe a hundred times.. I don't know how Elena didn't say anything about him running away.. Maybe because she didn't want him to get sad or maybe she, himself was feeling guilty for him running away, after all it was kind of her father's fault, even though the man was clearly sorry for it and apologized to me a lot, he didn't know.. I can't judge him, he just wanted good for her daughter, moreover he's treating a boy he barely knows for free.. He's a good man. "I'm sorry.. B-both of you.. I'm so sorry.. " "N-no stef- it's not your fault.. I know you heard- he doesn't feel that way you know.. He just didn't know you then.. He thought you were like- you know.. " She said sheepishly.. Embarassed. Stefan looked like he didn't have strength to argue with her as he opened his mouth then closed it, leaning closer to her, their foreheads touching.. Elena caressed his cheek and kissed him. It made me happy that they made each other happy.. Stefan smiled softly and turned towards me while a blush creeped on his cheeks. I chuckled at the sight.. I saw his wrist and took it in my hand, softly taking out the band-aid and when I saw his hand I felt sick.. It was sort of healing but there was a deep cut surrounded by several cuts.. My heart broke and a tear fell on his skin and he looked at me with a pained expression.. " S-sorry.. " And a tear fell down his own face.. "Shh.. " I wiped his tear. "What is happening to me..? " He asked after finishing the soup and I looked at Elena asking if we should tell him.. She nodded and I started telling him everything and by the end of it he had his head bowed down in embarrassment.. "I'm sorry for causing you so many troubles.. " He said barely in a whisper.. "Hey.. You didn't cause me any trouble.. Just promise me you won't smoke anymore.. " I requested him "Please stef.. " Elena said too.. he nodded "I'll try my best.. I'm so sorry.. " "Stop apologising stef.. It's okay.. " He buried his face in my neck and soon fell asleep.. Dr. Gilbert came in and I had to wake him up to take his meds, but he fell back soon enough. Everything will be fine. I'll make sure everything is fine.. That he is fine. He's my brother. He'll be alright. I have faith. We're going to be all okay.
Author's note : ok I don't know where I'm even going with this story😃✋🏻 but anyways I hope y'all liked it. Stefan and elena will be together now 🥺 Damon will try to make everything alright for his little brother <3 have a nice day and lyyyy. THANKS FOR READING AND LIKING THIS STORY UP UNTIL NOW 😩❤
