Until This Lie Do Us Part

Chapter 13

Elena wasn't sure what exactly got thrown up on the counter and paid for, seeing as how Stefan was in such a hurry to get out of the store and the mall. She did know that the 45 minutes it took to drive back to the Boarding House was the longest 45 minutes of her life. His too probably. At every stoplight, he would curse under his breath when he would be forced to stop. She noticed he was going over the speed limit at certain points during their drive home as well. She rested her head against the window and thought about why she couldn't do this – be with him like that – even though she had practically told him she wanted him. He would hate her for changing her mind so suddenly. She reminded herself that it wasn't because she didn't want to be with him. It was because she couldn't.

Stefan skidded to a stop in the driveway and turned the car off. He grabbed all of the bags and made a quick run for the door to unlock it. He turned around, expecting Elena. But she wasn't there. She wasn't in the car anymore either. "Elena?" he asked, sticking his head out of the door. "Elena!" he called out.

Elena sucked in the cold air as she made her way down the trail that led to the barn. It had been dark the first time she had been down it, but she figured she was heading in the right direction. She could barely hear Stefan calling for her with the trees all around.

When she saw the barn come into view, she felt relieved. She wasn't a fan of the woods, having gotten lost once when she was younger on a camping trip. As she came into view, Cash threw his head up upon hearing her approach. His greeting sent Ben running from the other side of the barn to greet their visitor as well. Elena carefully crawled over the fence and into the pasture as the two furry animals came trotting her way.

Elena stared at them with determination to not run. Ben reached her first, his nose pushing on her hand, obviously looking for a treat. Cash approached her as well, nudging her arm. When Elena didn't move, they both stood there and looked at her. "He's not going to hurt me" Elena told them. Their ears flickered forward and Elena wondered if they knew what she was talking about. "I'm tired of waiting for him to hurt me" she added. It did nothing but bring her stress. But then again, it was her way of protecting herself. Derrick hadn't hurt her in the beginning either. He had gained her trust first.

Elena reached out and pet their noses. "You guys are kind of cute" she said, a small smile appearing. When she heard footsteps behind her, her smile faded. "I'm sorry" was all she said.

Stefan climbed the fence and jumped over, coming to stand beside her. "You don't look so terrified of them anymore" he said, giving Cash a pat on his face, knocking away some dried mud on his face.

"I know they won't hurt me" Elena replied, continuing to pet Ben.

"But you still don't believe that I won't" he said.

Elena could hear the disappointment in his voice. "Do you remember how I said that things were pretty good between me and Derrick in the beginning?" she asked.

Stefan glanced over at her and nodded. Though the mention of his name made him tense the muscles in his body. "Yeah" he told her.

"I didn't sleep with him right away" she said quickly. "I wanted to make sure he was the guy I was meant to be with. And when I finally thought that, and slept with him, everything changed" she said, taking a small shaky breath as she remembered everything that happened. "It's like he thought he owned me after that. And that's when he started getting angry. And jealous. And ..." she said, not wanting to finish.

Stefan reached down and intertwined his fingers with hers. "You don't have to finish. I get it" he said. He had to admit that he was feeling like more of an ass the more he got to know her with all the pressuring and joking he was doing. He could see his breath as he spoke, reminding him that it was cold out. "Come on. Let's go back to the house" he said, turning to leave. He stopped when he realized that Elena wasn't coming.