Crumbling Hearts and Shattered Minds

Chapter 13: Brought Into The Daylight

Stefan POV

I sat there next to my comatose brother, elbows on my knees and hands fiddling nervously with each other.

I was no longer sobbing but the tears still streaked down my face.

Though I felt nothing.

It was that horrible part after a broken hearted crying were you felt numb. We're nothing existed outside of the dull after ache of shattered hope.

I sat like that until I heard multiple sets of footsteps come in the front door. I quickly sat up and dragged my sleeve under my eyes, trying to wipe away the emotions as well as the tears.

"Stefan! Are you okay? Rick told us what happened when we came in." Elena said while coming to put he hand on my shoulder.

Not wanting comfort, I dodged out of her reach and stood up. Elena took the hint and stepped back into the group.

"Yeah. I'm fine... Umm did you find anything?" I asked as I stuffed my hands in my front pockets.

The looks that the group gave me told me that they didn't believe it for a second that I was fine.

"I may have found something. I'm not sure it'll help though." Bonnie said as she stepped forward out from behind Elena and Caroline.

"Just tell me. If there's anything that'll remotely help Damon, I need to know." I said while looking strait into her dark brow eyes.

She gave me a look of sympathy and opened a book she had tucked under her arm, as if looking to make sure she had the information right.

She looked back up but wouldn't meet my eyes.

"Okay. So what is happening to Damon, the bruises and marks that shouldn't be here, that you say healed over a hundred years ago,"

I nodded my head, urging her forward.

"They did heal. Vampires heal themselves naturally, something to do with self preservation, same with humans. but vampires still have to want to live. They still have to have the will to live, in order for them to heal. But with Damon, all the guilt and self hate, all his self preservation instincts have been broken. His guilt tore at him until he hated himself, until he started believing that everyone and everything was better off without him. So his will to live was destroyed, which stopped the healing. As for the marks, on the phone you said they were from a beating that Damon took back in 1860?" I nodded, my heart clenching more with every word.

"Who beat him, Stefan?" I froze.

I didn't tell them what Giuseppe did to Damon. I didn't Want to tell them. That was strictly between Damon and I.

But I knew I had to if I wanted to get my brother back.

"Our father. He's the one that would beat Damon." I said while reverting my eyes from everyone in the room.

"What? I just thought Giuseppe shot you." Elena said while shifting from foot to foot.

"He did shoot us. But before that he beat us. Well, beat Damon. Any beating that I was in for, Damon threw himself to the lions for me, so to speak. It started after our mother died when I was 4 and Damon was 11. After she was gone, Giuseppe just snapped." I said while watching everyone's reactions.

"That's horrible. Who could do that to an 11 year old?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know. But I know that I don't regret killing him." I said flatly.

"Why did you're father beat Damon this time? The time that his injuries are from, I mean." Bonnie asked while flashing a sympathetic and understanding look towards unconscious Damon.

"We went to the lake with our his knowing and with out any one else. He didn't really care for our safety, he was just concerned that it would make him look like a bad father for letting his children out of sight." I said recalling that day perfectly in my mind.

"Okay. Now that I know that, I think I know why Damon is reliving this particular beating." She said while looking back at me.

"Why?" I said, growing inpatient, wanting my brother to be okay right now.

"His father is the cause of his self hate, for his self preservation failing. And you took him to the lake today, so he must have seen Giuseppe there. His mind automatically connected the beating to you, your father, and the lake. It was a coincidence that it was this beating." Bonnie said as if it explained everything.

"What? I still don't get how he has these injuries." I said while running a hand through my hair and then motioning angrily.

"Because, he can't heal, his healing abilities are connected to his will to live. If he no longer has the will, but in fact would rather die, his will starts going backwards. So instead of healing..." Bonnie faded out

"he starts reliving injuries that his mind connects to memories that he's reminded of." I finished for her.

She nodded.

The group looked exasperated and started fearing the worst.

"But..." Bonnie said the one word that demanded everyone's attention.

"I think we may be able to help restore his will to live. If not normally, than mystically." She said with a hopeful smile.

I let out a breath that felt as though I've been holding for the last week, and I let a mirror of Bonnie's hopeful smile spread on my face.

The hopelessness that I felt earlier, completely gone.