Silent Prayers

Chapter 18

He was thankful for the pain medication, because it had put Elena to sleep within an hour of taking it. She had been crying when he had left her room. He had sat outside her door with his head tipped back against it, listening.

Damon Salvatore was a fixer. But he could not fix what had happened. And now his little brother was sitting in jail, waiting to be transported to an impatient alcohol recovery center. Damon's lawyer had recommended one in particular where Stefan would get the best treatment possible. At a price, of course. But when Damon thought about how badly things had gotten, he knew that a private resort-like treatment center would be best. And it was just outside of Charleston about an hour or so.

The one thing Damon worried most about was Stefan refusing treatment and choosing to go back to jail. No one could force Stefan to take the better option. Damon was putting all of his faith in the psychologist at the treatment center, praying that the stranger could somehow convince Stefan that he needed help.

Damon's phone buzzed in his pocket. It was his father, returning Damon's call from earlier that morning. Damon had been vague in the voicemail, but had asked for a return call as soon as possible. "Hi, Dad" Damon said somberly. He closed his eyes and rubbed at his forehead. Damon listened to his dad ask if everything was okay, and that was all it took. Damon could not remember the last time he had cried, but he was crying now. "No, everything's not okay" Damon said sadly. He went on to explain what had happened.

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Damon woke with a start, blinking back exhaustion. He winced at the cramp in his neck from sleeping against the door in a sitting position. Sometime after the painful phone call with his dad, Damon had fallen asleep, too tired to get himself to his bed. He also did not want to be too far from Elena, just in case she needed something.

He could hear her crying as he hurried to get up. "Elena?" he asked softly, knocking against her door. He let himself into the room, now lit by the morning light coming through the window. Elena was lying on her side, her hair now in a messy ponytail as she stared lifelessly at the wall.

He sat down on her bed carefully and placed his hand on her leg. "Are you in pain?" he asked quietly. "Does your wrist hurt?" he asked. He could go downstairs and get her something for that.

"Everything hurts" Elena cried softly. "I ... I just don't ... understand what ... what happened" she said, sniffling. How could this have happened?

Damon sighed, long and hard, running his hand through his messy hair. He stared at her for a long moment, trying to decide how best to tell her. "I'm going to go and make some tea. And then we can talk. About Stefan" he told her, standing up and leaving quietly.

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Elena was lying in bed, exactly how she had been since she had returned from the hospital earlier that morning. She had no idea what time it was, but Damon had been gone a while making the tea. She suspected that he was taking as much time as he could, avoiding having to talk about some of the ugly things that were troubling his younger brother. But she waited patiently.

It was like time was standing still, forcing her to relive that one night where Stefan had ... had accidentally hurt her. Elena refused to say her husband had attacked her, because that would make him a monster. She hadn't married a monster. It just hurt her to know that the last moment she had spent with him had been one of the most terrifying. She had the broken wrist as a reminder of what the man she loved was capable of.

Sleep was not coming easy for her, because every time she closed her eyes for too long, memories of Stefan would come back to her. Good and bad. But both were painful.