Breaking The Fixation

Chapter 8

Elena stirred on the bed and lay down on her side, pulling the covers over her bed up to her chin. A content smile claimed her features and she sighed at the welcoming warmth of the sun. Still half asleep, she reached out beside her to find Damon. Though, all her hands felt were empty sheets. Lids fluttered open and she squinted against the light, shielding her eyes with her hands. ''Damon?'' She hesitantly called out. No one answered.

Quietly, she slipped out of bed, stretching her sore limbs. She raked her fingers through her hair and began to make her way downstairs, only to stop halfway. Wait a minute, she thought. She was home. Not Salvatore Boarding House home. Home home. Gilbert resident home. Her brows knitted and she hopped the rest of the way down the stairs, peeking around the corner and into the living room. Bonnie was fast asleep on the couch.

Elena tiptoed over to her friend's side and gently shook her. ''Hey, Bon.. Wake up.'' Bonnie let out a small, plaintive groan. ''Elena, go back to bed. It's..'' She cracked an eye open to glance at her watch. ''seven in the morning.'' Her arm dropped back at her side and she closed her eyes again.

''Alright.'' Elena muttered beneath her breath. She'd figured Bonnie had wanted to talk about what had happened the other night. Oh well. She was sure at least someone would want to talk to her. ''I'm going to Damon's place for a bit.'' She said and turned around to head back into her room and change. ''Who's..?'' Bonnie murmured sleepily. Elena's forehead creased. ''Damon's.'' She repeated, but Bonnie had already fallen asleep again.

...

Rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, Elena waited impatiently for the door to open after having knocked once. The door opened a crack, and Elena immediately stepped inside. ''Damon, thank G-'' she started, cutting herself off when it wasn't Damon but Stefan standing in front of her. ''Oh, Stefan..''

Stefan gave her a puzzled look, the weight of his head canted to one side. ''What did you just say?''

''I said.. Damon, why?'' Elena blinked when Stefan grasped her arm, pulling her inside the house. He looked tense.

''Sit down.'' Stefan said and motioned toward the couch, meanwhile walking over to the cabinet with alcohol to pour himself a drink. His hands shook when he brought the glass to his mouth, gulping it back in one big gulp.

Elena raised a suspicious brow at his strange behavior and hesitantly made her way over to the couch to sit down, waiting for Stefan to join her.

He sat down on the couch opposite of her, elbows resting on his knees and hands clasped together. He remained silent for a long time before lifting his head, emerald hues searching chocolate-brown ones. It was obvious that he wanted to say something, but Elena never could've predicted the words coming out of his mouth next.

''Elena.. I don't.. How do you even know about Damon?''

She just stared at him, dumbfounded. ''I..'' She stammered and closed her mouth again, drawing in a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. What the hell was going on? ''How would I not know about him? He's your brother.''

''I know that,'' Stefan said, his voice seeming higher than usual. ''but I've never told you about him. I don't know how you. . . You're not supposed to..''

Elena shook her head. Nothing Stefan was saying was making any sense to her. What did he mean, he never told her about Damon? She remembered the day she'd met Damon crystal clear.

...

Elena rubbed the back of her neck, hestitating only for a few seconds before she pulled the string that hung next to the door. A ring sounded from inside the house, yet no one came to open the door. ''Come on..'' Elena murmured and knocked the door, blinking when it opened. It hadn't been locked.

She stepped inside the house, eyes wandering around the place. It was huge. Old persion rugs where spread out on the floor, almost everywhere she looked paintings hung on the wall. ''Stefan?'' She called out and moved further inside the building, unable to help but be curious. She knew that the Salvatore Boarding House was big, but it looked even bigger from the inside. ''Stefan?'' She once again called out.

The front door creaked behind her, and Elena turned around to see who had entered the house, but no one was there. She furrowed her brows and walked closer to look outside.

Suddenly, a big, black crow flew past her and she jumped, forcing herself to keep from screaming. She swore her heart skipped a beat. Elena whirled around, only to stand face to face to a rather tall guy. He was entirely dressed in black, his muscles showing beneath the thin fabric of his shirt.

The stranger gave her a little smirk as if he knew exactly what she was thinking, and he cocked his head to the side.

God, he was handsome.

It took Elena a moment to regain her breath, and she realized she'd had to explain what she was doing in. . . the mystery guy's house. ''I-I'm sorry for just coming in, but the door was..'' Her voice trailed off when she'd turned around to point at the now closed door. ''Open..'' Great, she thought. Now how was she going to explain herself?

''You must be Elena.'' The guy in front of her said. A tiny smiled tugged at the corners of his mouth. ''I'm Damon, Stefan's brother.''

...

''How is that even possible?'' Elena said. ''I met Damon here, in the house. You were there too.'' This was getting more ridiculous by the minute. Why did Stefan keep saying things like that to her? She knew that they'd never really gotten along, but she never would've expect Stefan to pretend like he practically didn't exist.

Stefan averted his gaze for a moment, shaking his head. ''No, Elena. You don't understand.'' When he met her gaze again, he looked sad. Almost. . . pained.

''Stefan, wh-''

''Elena,'' Stefan cut her off, his jaw tensed. ''You never could've met Damon. It's not possible, because Damon is dead.''