The One Who Saved Me

Chapter 18: Decision

Seeing the sign for Mystic Falls was relieving. The sooner Elena got back to the Salvatore Boarding House, the sooner this whole mess would be over.

"How are you going?" Elena asked Damon, who's left hand was firmly gripped to the wheel.

"I'm tired and I just want a massive bottle of whiskey." Damon honestly answered.

"Well, according to maps, we're only a few minutes away." Elena smiled, holding his hand. After a while, Damon pulled onto the Salvatore property, sighing.

"Time to face the brother." Damon stood out of his car, Elena following him.

"Elena!" Elena looked at Stefan, who had opened the front door, his arms engulfing her in the biggest hug.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!" He hugged her, kissing her cheek. He missed her and he hoped that she missed him.

"I'm okay. We're okay." She smiled, giving him a gentle kiss.

Elena walked inside, happy to see the inside of the house again. She had missed it.

"What? I don't get a 'hello'? Wow. What a brother you are, Stefan." Damon smirked, heading straight for a bottle of bourbon.

"Hello, Damon." Stefan laughed. Feeling left out, Damon walked out of the room, hoping not to be involved in whatever conversation Elena and Stefan would have.

"So. You wanted to talk...about the kiss?" Elena spoke, responding to the text that Stefan had sent.

"Yes. Bonnie told me about the kiss. She couldn't keep it from me." Stefan seemed upset.

"I'm sorry Stefan. It happened after Damon exposed his feelings for me." Elena revealed, Stefan sighing.

"What did he say, exactly?" Stefan asked, forcing Elena to recount the conversation between her and Damon.

"No need to be sorry, Elena. But, Stefan has made me feel guilty for having these feelings for you. There are things that I feel guilty about, like not giving a eulogy at my mother's funeral, becoming friends with the Sheriff of Mystic Falls just to protect myself, even using Caroline for my own selfish reasons. But there is one thing that I will never feel guilty about, and that is having feelings for you. I will never feel guilty about loving you. Which means I will never feel guilty about doing this..." Damon prepared himself to be slapped in the face, but instead, his lips met Elena's.

"He kissed me and...I didn't stop him." Elena spoke, putting her head in her hands.

"In my defence, I only made him feel guilty about his feelings because he promised me an eternity of misery. I was just paying back the favour." Stefan admitted.

"You don't need to defend yourself. He had feelings for someone who was already in a relationship with someone else. You're technically the victim." Elena smiled, holding Stefan's hand.

"Do you love him?" Stefan asked, wanting a normal answer.

"Stefan-" Elena responded, Stefan stopping her.

"Do you love him?" Stefan repeated his question.

"I used to. Not anymore." Elena spoke, Stefan clearly not happy.

"Bullshit!" Stefan hadn't sworn like that before, especially not in front of Elena.

"You love him, Elena! You clearly have feelings for him, but you're lying to me, and you're lying to yourself." Stefan argued.

"I love you, Stefan. It has always been you. Yes, I had feelings for him before, but I never acted on those feelings because I love you, because I didn't want to stop loving you!" Elena stood up, now angry at Stefan.

"Caroline was right. Damon always gets what he wants. That includes you." Stefan revealed, confusing Elena.

"What? Since when did you and Caroline talk?" She asked, Stefan standing up.

"While you and Damon were on your little adventure, Caroline came over to talk. She told me that I'd end up losing you, because from what she knew about Katherine, that's always how it worked. I lost the things that I love because Damon wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. And she was right." Hearing Stefan speak, it was making Elena cry.

Feeling an urge to feed, Elena ran up to Damon's room, slamming the door shut. She didn't run into Stefan's room simply because she didn't want to be constantly reminded of a place she had been so many times before, especially when she knew that she and Stefan wouldn't be together after the fight they just had. She found the stash of blood bags in Damon's drawer, ignoring whatever was in the drawer that she looked through. After consuming an entire bag within minutes, Elena threw it across the room, falling back against Damon's drawer, feeling all of her emotions.

Elena felt anger. She felt angry because Stefan was right. She had feelings for Damon that not even Stefan himself could deny.

Elena felt sadness. She felt sadness because she knew that after tonight, Stefan's feelings toward her might have changed.

Elena felt overwhelmed. She felt overwhelmed because she had just lost her boyfriend and she couldn't change his mind no matter what she did.

Crying her heart out, Elena felt a pair of hands wrap around her torso. It was Damon. He calmed her to the point where she stopped crying. Placing his lips on her forehead, he lifted Elena off the floor and onto his bed, letting her relax. Once tucking her into his bed, he laid down beside her. They had never been this close before, let alone this vulnerable. Elena felt safe near Damon. She felt loved and protected with his hand rested around her waist as she laid on his bed, trying to prevent more tears from spilling.

Rolling over, Elena's head moved to his chest, his lips kissing her forehead.

"It's okay. You're okay." Damon whispered as he smiled, happy that finally something might happen between him and Elena.