Silent Prayers

Chapter 59

"Mom" he managed to get out after a few moments.

She stood there, her dirty blond hair loose around her shoulders and her fingers shaking slightly. "Hey sweetheart."

Suddenly, he was six again, frozen and helpless before the woman who was supposed to be his mother. The woman who was supposed to love him and take care of him, protect him and nurture him.

The woman who was supposed to choose him, but who chose drugs and men every time.

The woman he was supposed to hate, and yet, he didn't feel anything. Not at the moment, anyway.

"I know ... I know you're probably surprised to see me" she said quietly, looking up at him momentarily and then back down at her hands.

Stefan shook his head slightly, still trying to grasp the fact that she was standing in front of him. He hadn't seen her in over 15 years. He gripped the door a little tighter to keep himself upright. "How did you find me?" he asked.

She looked up at him again nervously, fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt. "You weren't in the phonebook. Your brother is, and I thought ... I didn't know you would be here. I was going to ask Damon where I could find you" she explained.

Stefan wanted to ask her why she thought Damon would tell her anything, but he thought better of it. Instead, he thought he would ask her why she had shown up, but Elena's presence behind him startled him.

"Stefan, who's at the ..." Elena said, forgoing her question as she walked up behind Stefan and saw the woman he was talking to on the other side of the door. The woman that had the same dirty blonde hair and green eyes as Stefan.

Before Elena could say anything else, the woman was digging in her pocket and pulling out a piece of paper.

"I'm in town for a couple more days" she said, handing Stefan the paper with a phone number and the name of the hotel she was staying at. "I'd really like for us to grab coffee or ... I'd like for us to sit down and talk" she told him.

Stefan did not know how to respond, and she didn't give him time to think of a response before she turned and walked back to her car, getting in and leaving.

Stefan looked down at the paper in his hand and studied the phone number. A cell phone, he thought. He was so focused on the paper that he jumped a little when he felt Elena's hand on his arm.

"Hey" Elena said quietly. Sympathetically, like she knew what was happening and wanted to know if he needed to talk about it. Talk about the fact that his mother had shown up on the doorstep after 16 years.

He couldn't talk about it though, at least not right then. "We should hurry and get ready, if we're going to meet the realtor" Stefan said, shoving the piece of paper in his pocket. "I'll go get the kitchen cleaned up" he stated, walking away and leaving her in the doorway.

Elena shut the door and leaned against it as she watched him disappear into the kitchen. The last thing she wanted to do was push him to talk, but she knew he would keep his thoughts and feelings to himself otherwise.

XXXX

They were touring house number three, Elena thought. She was not completely sure, having lost track. She could hear the realtor's voice, but she was not processing the words.

She knew Stefan was not hearing any of the information either. She had caught him numerous times staring off into space, furrowing his brow as if his thoughts were torturing him. Maybe they were.

"Thoughts?" their realtor asked, turning to face them once they arrived back in the living area.

Elena touched Stefan's arm, causing him to startle slightly. He lifted his eyes and looked up at her. "The house?" Elena asked, doing her best to try and answer the realtor's question.