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Broken, by Seether

"The worst is over now and we can breathe again
I want to hold you high, and steal my pain away
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight
I want to hold you high and steal your pain

'Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away."

A/N: This chapter contains a paragraph with violence. Please heed the warning!

(Stefan)

I would've never thought to find my brother in such a desolate condition. Weak, starved, filthy, caked with his own dried blood...

The sight made my blood boil. Whoever had done this to him would pay for it, no matter how long it would take to get him!

Elena could barely contain her tears and I also had a hard time not to cry. She lifted his head gently and supported it while I opened one of the blood bags Caroline gave to me and poured it down his throat.

Tyler stood guard at the gate in case Damon would try to bolt. After a few seconds, his instincts kicked in and with a growl he yanked the bag from my hands.

"Easy, brother", I tried to calm him, "we've got enough for you."

Handing him one bag after the other, Elena, Care and I could literally watch his body rejuvenate and he sat up on the bedstead.

After the fourth bag he sort of regained his control and I motioned at Tyler to go upstairs to look after the Corey witches and Damon's son.

Searchingly Damon looked around.

"Where's Brannon?" he asked.

„Is that his name? He's upstairs with Jessica and Abigail", Elena replied.

With a sigh, Damon leaned to the wall. "Is he okay?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, he's hungry and cries at the top of his lungs", Caroline explained with a broad smile.

She had been upstairs in the meantime to get some portable lamps.

Relief spread across his face and he closed his eyes.

"Thank God", he breathed.

"Damon, what happened here? Where is Helen?" I pressed.

He opened his eyes and stared at me with an unsettling intensity.

"How much cruelty can you bear, Stefan?" he asked.

I gulped. This coming from Damon meant he must've have literally gone through hell, but I needed information.

"As much as you want to share, brother", I whispered and put my hand on his forearm.

He shook his head, his empty gaze falling to the floor.

"Bree's brother had two months to excel at torturing every inch of my body and Helen had to watch it all." His voice was barely a whisper.

For a moment, I nearly got sick with rage and clenched my fists. We had survived quite some challenges, but this... this exceeded it all!

Damon sat cross-legged on the bedstead and looked down on his hands.

"After a while, I really thought I would lose my mind... Reuben bled me dry... on a regular basis, but that wasn't the worst..." He drew a shaky breath.