Dangerous Minds

Chapter Twenty-Two

A/N: Hey all! I am so happy that so many of you are still enjoying this story. I'm finally back into writing and updating my stories. So, hopefully you all won't have to wait so long now until I update again! :)

Dangerous Minds : Chapter Twenty- Two

Stefan

When Damon and I were younger and in our teens that we'd never really dreamt of doing this job. Hell, I had wanted to be a fighter pilot and travel the world. Even throughout my training at Quantico I had wanted to work within the Central Intelligence Agency. I wanted to be someone else so badly during those years that I drown myself into my work that I became so career focused, nothing else mattered. I remember the first two years were the hardest because I was still getting used to the idea of my brother raising my daughter as his own. I hated him for it. Watching him parenting my infant daughter was like a bullet to the heart every single day, that eventually I gave up my rights and paved the way for her to be Bonnie and Damon's fully.

Damon and I hadn't talked in months during the first few months that he and Bonnie were fostering Addison and it only became worse when the adoption went through. The first few years after Elena left, I was scrambling to pick up the pieces of my deteriorating life. That time left a lasting impact on me for years to come.

Closing my eyes as I lay in the darkness of my bedroom seem to always bring up these unforgotten memories that haunt my very soul. I wish I could turn back the clock and change so many things, yet there are a lot of things that I know need to stay the way they are. I guess you can say my biggest regret is giving up my little girl and watching her being raised by my brother and his wife. Yet, Bonnie and Damon are two of the best people that she could have ended up with. I still regret not being more involved with Addison's development and her life though. I think I'll always regret that.

Pressing my cold palms against my face, I rub them vigorously. I can't shake this emptiness and guilt. My mind races as I turn to my side and close my eyes, all I can seem to picture is a young and smiling, foolishly beautiful teenage version of Elena Gilbert. I feel myself drifting into a light sleep as I get a clearer picture of her. She's got a peach colored dress on, extending out her hand to me and telling me that it's okay, that I should come with her. The darkness can be a bit startling when your mind comes to a revelation of sorts. "Come with me, Stefan. It's alright." She encourages, grabbing a hold of my cold hand as she giggles and I catch a glimpse of myself in the reflection of a store front window. I look about the same, just much younger and less stress ridden. I'm eighteen years old again and so is she. We're two carefree teenagers, in love and with no cares in the world. We stop at a park bench and she sits beside me, placing her head against my shoulder, the cool summer wind blows her dark brown hair around and I inhale her scent, realizing how much I've been longing for her.

As quickly as the carefree mood became apparent, it changes when Elena grabs a hold of my hand tightly and she leans towards my lips whispering ever so softly. "You'll never forgive me for what I've done. I know that. But, I can't stop now, Stefan." Her eyes are glazed over with tears when she leans into me and kisses my lips, hungrily and feverishly, she kisses me. I pull her closer and closer- never once wanting to let her go. One of her palms is pressed against my chest, the other hand is pressed against mine as she moans into my mouth before pulling away. My left hand caresses her cheek and my eyes lock onto her as she smiles at me and just as I open my mouth to say something, anything at all.

Everything, including her. Every single thing, fades to black and I'm pulled back into the cold darkness again. Gasping for air, I wake up in a pool of my own cold sweat. Another dream, another tormenting memory of the girl that I had thought would be mine forever. However, life never seems to really give us everything we want and it never seems fair. Rubbing the sleepiness away from my eyes, I glance over at my alarm clock as it reads 2:30am in bold red letters. It's probably too late to text my brother. But, something tells me that he's not doing much sleeping either. Opting to call him instead, I pull myself out of bed and stumble into the living room, my iphone glued to my ear the whole way.