Through Rivalry Comes Love

Chapter 35

Elena finally shut her phone off for the night. The more messages and calls she got from Stefan, the guiltier she felt for ignoring him.

It wasn't that she was angry with him for questioning her innocence. She just wasn't sure how to talk to him because she wasn't sure what in the hell she was going to do about her situation. She needed time to think and she couldn't do that with Stefan around.

Aside from taking her and running across the border, there really wasn't much that Stefan could do for her. A law had been broken and no judge was going to have mercy on her. At least probably not a lot of it. Neither of them had enough money to hire a good enough lawyer, at least not without crippling the company even more and driving them both into dept.

If she was angry with anyone, it was with Gregory. And she planned on giving him a piece of her mind when she got the chance.

But right now, she was content sitting at the bar, nursing a beer. She hardly ever drank beer, but it seemed appropriate. It could have been her last beer for quite some time. There we quite a few patrons in the bar and a few had tried to talk to her, but the fact of the matter was, she wasn't going home with any of them so they lost interest.

By age 30, Elena wanted to be married. She wanted to be married to someone who loved her unconditionally. By age 32, she wanted to start having children.

And if she went to jail for embezzling, she knew she could kiss all of that goodbye.

Elena checked her watch and saw that it was nearing ten at night. "They say a storm is coming in Miss" the bartender said, wiping off the counter. "You better think about heading home soon" he said, giving her a kind smile before turning to make someone else's drink. Elena sighed. Sooner or later, she was going to have to go home. A storm definitely was coming, but it wasn't the weather that terrified her.

When Elena did walk off of her elevator, she saw someone sitting in front of her door waiting. Definitely not someone she expected to see. "Bonnie?" Elena said, walking towards her. Bonnie looked up at Elena who knelt down in front of her. "Is everything okay?" Elena asked, seeing Bonnie's tear-stained face.

Bonnie looked so sad, but she attempted to smile for her. "I just needed someplace to clear my head" she said, really having no idea why she came to Elena's apartment. They were newly acquainted friends at best.

Elena held Bonnie's sad eyes for a second before slowly nodding her head. "Would you like to come in?" Elena asked her.

Bonnie smiled, feeling more tears run down her face. She quickly wiped away at them and nodded. "I would" she said, standing up. Elena quickly unlocked her door and let them both inside. "I'm sorry I'm such a mess" Bonnie apologized.

"Don't apologize" Elena told her softly. She had grown to like Bonnie a lot in the short time she had known her. "Can I get you something to drink?" Elena asked, taking her jacket from her and hanging it up. "Coffee? Tea? Something on the rocks?" she asked, smiling slightly.

Bonnie smiled too. "Tea would be wonderful. Thank you" she told Elena.

"Here, make yourself at home and I will go and start the kettle" she told Bonnie, ushering her over to the couch.

Bonnie sat there in silence, looking around Elena's living room. It was a nice place. Much nicer than the apartment Bonnie had lived in first before she lived with Damon. Her place had been so bad in fact that Damon had insisted she move in with him less than two months into their relationship.

Bonnie glanced to her left and saw a framed photo on an end table next to the couch. She picked it up and examined it. It was a photo of Elena and Stefan. And Stefan looked ridiculously happy. Happier than she had seen him in she didn't know how long.