Heal Me

Chapter 23

Evangeline could not believe her eyes: Damon had not lost only one member of his family, but two. Now she knew... seeing those two gravestones, she realized everything and yet so little:

How did they die? Who exactly were they?

Seeing Damon's pained expression and the tears in his eyes, she knew that he still loved them very much. And watching him made her feel his sorrow and desperate grief... it hurt; it hurt her whole being so much she almost chocked up on tears. It was as if this side of Damon was a poisonous vine to her, crawling up her whole body and finally creeping up to her heart, wrapping it in sharp, thorny wires and tugging at it violently, wildly. But if she felt this way, she did not want to imagine what Damon was going through.

He let out a hot breath, forming a little cloud of steam in the November air, and sat down on the cold, withered grass. Evangeline did the same, crossing her legs and staring at her lap, patiently waiting for him to answer her unspoken questions. They stood like that for a minute or two, everything in a complete silence, a heavy, unbearable silence that preceded many tears and many heartwrenching and flesh-ripping emotions that were meant to be eventually let out. And so, she finally heard him sniff his nose and exhale, which made her slightly turn her head towards him and watch how he wiped dry his wet cheeks. And although she had never seen him cry -as he had hidden it from her that time on the small hill, where he captured her in his strong, warm arms and soothed her-, it did not come as a surprise to her.

Although she could not understand his pain, she wanted to.

And in that moment she realized just how right she was that day when she had met him for the first time: he was sad, he was deeply suffering and she had to help him... they had to be better friends that this.

Damon took a deep breath, as if to encourage himself, and spoke:

"Hi Caroline..." he croaked and laid two roses in front of the smaller gravestone. Evangeline peeked up at him and saw his forced smile and watery eyes; he looked as if he was going to break down sobbing any minute now.

 "Hi... mom..." he murmured, his gaze directed on the other plaque, and put the remaining three roses next to it. Her eyes instantly widened and her lips parted in shock.

Edith was his mother? And... she died. Damon had lost his mother, the woman who gave him life and who loved him more than herself...

So that was what he could not move on from... that was why he was still grieving.

"Damon..." she barely whispered, looking at him as if to say 'I'm sorry.'  

"Do you want me to give you a moment?" Evangeline lightly put her left hand on his shoulder and let her thumb rub very small, comforting circles on the black sweater he was wearing.

Black clothes, almost black roses...

How come she did not think of it?

"I want you to meet someone..." he continued, completely ignoring her. "This is Eva. I have only known her for two weeks..."

Evangeline was staring at him, still moved by what she had just found out, and she didn't know what to say or do. She never went to a funeral and none of her family members had died yet; she was new to this whole mourning thing yet she could feel Damon's regret and sadness running through her veins as well.

"But she made me feel a bit better, mom." he slightly choked up on his tears that were slowly but surely invading his whole face. Evangeline's head snapped up at him the instant those words rolled out of his mouth and smiled compassionately. She did make him feel better... she did ease the pain, as she wrote in the letter... she did mend his heart even if just a bit.