Silent Prayers

Chapter 3

He felt something hit his face and when his eyes opened, he saw Damon staring down at him. Damon was grinning as he smacked Stefan with the pillow again. "Damon, what the hell" Stefan groaned, feeling pretty damn exhausted. Stefan rolled over and ended up rolling off of the couch he had passed out on just a few hours earlier.

"What time did you get in?" Damon asked, sitting down on the coffee table and looking down at his brother.

Stefan yawned. "Four this morning" Stefan answered. He had driven straight home after dropping Elena off at her house. "I'm really tired, and why aren't you working?" Stefan asked. He was regretting giving Damon a key to his place because it gave Damon the freedom to drop by whenever he felt like it.

Damon smiled. It was true. He worked a lot, even on Sundays to keep his construction business flourishing. Although Damon was the owner of his own business, he still put in the long hours that his employees did. "I was hoping to spend the morning with my little brother" Damon stated.

Stefan placed his arm over his face, blocking out his brother in hopes that he would leave. "I'm tired" Stefan sighed.

Damon laughed. "Maybe if you weren't up half the night driving your girlfriend home" he teased.

Stefan rolled his eyes, fighting back a smile. "She's not my girlfriend" Stefan reminded him. She was just a girl he really, really liked.

Damon grinned. "Okay" he said. He knew Stefan liked her, so he planned on giving him a hard time about it, like any older brother would. "I suppose I'll get back to work then" Damon told him.

Stefan's cell phone began ringing as Damon walked past the table. Damon picked it up and studied the number. "Who is it?" Stefan asked sleepily.

Damon smiled. "I'm not sure. But it is a Virginia number" he replied. Stefan jumped up from the floor as fast as he could and reached for his phone. Damon pulled it out of his reach, much to Stefan's displeasure. "If you answer right away, you'll seem desperate" Damon informed him.

Stefan reached for the phone again, hearing it continue to ring. "I am desperate" Stefan stated. "Give it." He wanted to talk to Elena more than anything else at that moment. Damon struggled with Stefan for a bit, placing his hand on Stefan's face to keep him from getting the phone. They ended up on the floor, wrestling with each other. By the time Stefan got the phone from Damon, the phone had stopped ringing. "Damnit Damon!" Stefan cursed, looking at his screen with the missed call. He had Damon pinned down to the floor.

Damon laughed, which irritated Stefan. "Did she leave a message?" Damon asked.

Stefan looked at his screen again and saw that there was, in fact, a voicemail. "She left a message" Stefan said calmly, still holding Damon down. Then Stefan's eyes lit up. "She left a message!" he yelled, getting up off of his brother and pacing the length of his living space. "How long do I wait before I call her back?" he asked, opening the voicemail and putting the phone on speaker so Damon could hear too.

"Hi Stefan. This is ... Elena" she said, sounding really nervous and really adorable. "I guess you must still be asleep, but I wanted to call and thank you again for taking me home last night." There was a short pause before she spoke again. "I would love it if you could give me a call back ... when you have time. So ... I will talk to you soon I hope" she said, before the voicemail ended.

Damon looked at Stefan, and both were smiling. "I think it is okay to call her back now" Damon chuckled, getting up and slapping Stefan on the shoulder.

Stefan waited until Damon left before he called Elena back. The phone rang a few times before he heard her quiet voice. "Hi" he said. "This is Stefan" he added quickly, then closed his eyes, feeling stupid because she probably knew that.