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It shouldn't have been as hard as it was for Eden to get Damon out of her mind. He was annoying and persistent, bringing up memories that she'd been too long suppressing. Hell, she barely even knew him but what she did know was that no one had ever gotten under her skin so quickly, so easily.
She paced around her home, the comforting confines of her safe place not seeming to be able to ease her back into the peace that she harbored before the all ruining destruction of Damon Salvatore had danced his dark hair and silky words into her head.
The pacing only lasted another five minutes before she had the keys to her car clutches tightly in her hand as she stomped her way out the home. She needed to clear her head, rid herself of the painful memories of her brother but his face kept thrumming against the back of her eyelids with each blink.
Bright smile. Blink.
Arms that wrapped around her in the tightest of hugs. Blink.
Blood, so so much blood. Blink.
His screams, loud and deafening begging her to make it stop. Just make the pain go away. Blink.
She snapped out of it when she nearly ran a red light, a car honking furiously at her as it swerved out the way to accommodate her reckless driving. Eden took deep breaths, her hands shaking on the steering wheel as she struggled to regain her composure and suppress her thoughts like she'd been doing for so long now but it was a can of worms that had already been opened and all over her worst fears were wiggling their way out with no hope of returning them all safely.
Pulling into a parking lot of a diner she rested her head in her hands, her green eyes closed, tears burning before making their exit and racing as fast as they could down her freckles cheeks and dropping on her bare thighs in fat puddles. The southern drawls of country music fluttered around in the background, the sad lyrics relating to heavy to the point where she switched it off hastily, anger causing her to do so much harder than she intended.
The breakdown was heartbreaking to watch, the palms of her small hands beating down hard on her steering wheel, tears falling down her face and loud, ugly sobs passing her swollen lips so intensely she had to gasp for breath to keep the oxygen flowing properly through her lungs.
Gentle tapping on the window was what interrupted her, but instead of seeing the raven haired vampire, she was greeted with another—someone with worried brown eyes and a child gripping her hand tightly.
Quickly trying to fix herself, Eden rolled down the window halfway. "Yes?"
"Is everything okay in here? I can call the police for you?"
"No, no cops. I'm fine, it's just been a rough day that's all. Thank you for asking but I should probably get going." Five shaky fingers forced themselves to properly put her car in reverse to leave when she hit someone, a loud gasp escaping her mouth until she saw the familiar leather jacket wearing alcoholic.
The passenger side door was opened and occupied before she could comprehend what had even happened. "Damon, what the hell?"
"Do you know how long I've been looking for you? I went back to your house to find you gone."
"Town isn't that big, you'd have reached me eventually."
Damon stopped himself from throwing her a sarcastic comment when he noticed the state of her. Eden was in obvious distress, her hair messy and eyes puffed up, her lips were swollen and dry and the tight grip she held on the wheel was the final giveaway that she was here for other reasons besides eating. "Are you okay?"
Sucking in a deep breath, hiding away whatever she was feeling in a split second—something she'd seen her brother do a multitude of times when he was still around. It was like she'd turn into a completely different person right before Damon's eyes, the vulnerability she was showing just moments earlier locked away in a cage and thrown carelessly away before anyone could see them there in the first place. "I'm fine, what do you need now?"
"I was bored and you are the most entertainment I've gotten in a while."
"I'm not a television show for you to watch, Damon. If you want something to do to occupy your time why don't you go fine that girlfriend you were talking about and fix whatever was broken."
It stabbed him like a stake to his heart hearing her harsh words, he'd completely forgotten about Elena in Eden's presence. Now that her name had been resurfaced in his mind all he saw was brown hair and burgundy brown eyes. "That won't be happening, I told you she wished me away, never wanted to see me again and as a man with some dignity I won't go beg."
"Yes you will," Eden monotonously retorted back, her car backing up and turning out of the diner parking lot and onto the open road. "If you love her like you obviously do, you'll put your pride aside and find some way to get her back."
"What if I don't want to? What if I've found interest in someone else?"
"Then stop indulging your curiosity before you ruin a good thing. There's a reason you fell in love with her and don't let some other girl screw up someone you've given up so much for."
One thick brow raised on the vampires accord, watching Eden with sharp eyes. "How would you know what I've given up for her?"
"I've been in your mind before Damon, I've seen how you feel about her, it was so intense I was sure it was me in love with that girl. She's very pretty, seems a little emotional but you could probably use some feeling to balance out your lack thereof."
Shaking his head in disagreement, he leaned further into his seat. "Honestly, I could use a little less."
