BEFORE

Chapter 32

"I thought you don't drink?" I ask him and cross my arms.

"I don't. Until now I guess. Don't try to patronize me, you're no better than me" he snaps and takes another swig. I can't deny that being near him, even in his drunken state, breathes life into me. I have missed the feeling Stefan gives me.

"I never said I was better than you. What made you drink now?"

"What does it matter to you? Where's your boyfriend?" His eyes blaze into mine and the emotion behind them is so strong that I am forced to look away. If only I knew what that emotion was, hatred I suppose.

"He is back in my room. I just want to help you Stefan" I lean a little over the table to reach for his hand but Stefan recoils from my touch.

"Help me?" He laughs. I want to ask him why he was calling out for me if he is going to continue to be hateful but I don't want to throw Ian under the bus, again. "If you want to help me then leave"

"Why won't you just tell me what happened to make you break all of their stuff?" I look down at my hands and pick at my fingernails.

He runs his hands through his hair. "My father decided to just now tell me that he is marrying Abby and the wedding is next month. He should have told me long ago. I am sure perfect little Ian knew."

Oh. I hadn't actually expected him to tell me so I am not sure what to say. "I am sure he had a good reason not to tell you"

"You don't know him, he doesn't give a shit about me. You know how many times I have talked to him in the last year? Maybe ten! All he cares about is his big house, his new soon to be wife and his new perfect son" Stefan slurs and takes another drink.

I stay quiet. "You should see the dump that my mom lives in. She says she likes it there but I am sure she doesn't. It is smaller than my dad's bedroom here! My mom practically forced me to come here for university to be closer to him and we see how that worked out" he takes another drink.

With this little bit of imagination he has given me I feel like I can understand him so much better. His father left him and his mother, came here for some reason, and now he is marrying another woman. Stefan must be hurt, that is why he is the way he is.

"How old were you when he left?" I asked him and he eyes me warily but answers.

"Ten. But even before he left, he was never around. He was at a different bar every night. Now he's Mr. Perfect and he has all this shit" Stefan says and waves his hand towards the house. Stefan's dad left him when he was ten, just like mine. Any they were both drunks, we have more in common than I thought. This wounded and drunk Stefan seems so much younger, so much more fragile.

"I'm sorry that he left you guys but.."

"No, I don't need your pity." He interrupts.

"I am not pitying you, I am just trying to.."

"Trying to what?" He cuts me off again.

"Help you. Be here for you" I tell him and he smiles. It's a beautifully haunting smile and I know what is about to happen.

"You are so pathetic. Don't you see that I don't want you here? I don't want you to be here for me. Just because I messed around with you doesn't mean I want anything to do with you, yet here you are leaving your boyfriend who can actually stand to be around you to come here and try to help me. That, Lena is the definition of pathetic" he says using air quotes. His voice is full of venom, just like I knew it would be.

"You don't mean that" I ignore the pain in my chest as I look at him. I think back to a week ago when he was laughing and tossing me into the water. I can't decide if he is a great actor or a great liar.

"I do though, go home" he tells me and raises the bottle to take another drink. I reach across and snatch it from him and toss it in the yard.

"What the hell?" He yells but I ignore him.

I walk towards the door and he steps in front of me.

"Where are you going?" His face is inches from mine.

"I am going to help Ian clean up the mess you made and then I am going to leave" my voice comes out much calmer than I feel.

"Why would you help him?" The disgust in his voice is clear then he says him.

"Because he, unlike you, deserves for someone to help him" I say and his face falls. I should be saying much more to Stefan, I should scream at him for the hurtful things he just said to me, but I know that is what he wants. This is what he does, he hurts everyone near him and he gets a kick out of it.

He steps out of my way and I go inside. Ian is crouched over picking up the cabinet and Stefan stayed outside.

"Where's the broom?" I ask and Ian looks up at me with a smile.

"Right over there" he motions and I find it.

"Thank you for everything" he says and I smile. I begin sweeping up the glass from the smashed dishes. There are so many. I feel terrible for Abby when she comes home to find all of her dishes gone. I hope they didn't have any sentimental value to her.

"Ouch!" I gasp as a small piece of glass digs into my finger. Droplets of blood fall onto the wooden floor and I jump up to reach the sink.

"Are you okay?" Ian asks and I nod.

"Yea, it's just a little piece, I don't know why there is so much blood" I tell him. It really doesn't hurt that bad. I close my eyes as the cold water runs over my finger and I hear the back door open. I snap my eyes open and see Stefan standing in the doorway.

"Elena, can I talk to you please?" He asks. I know I should say no but something about the redness around his eyes makes me nod. His eyes look to my hand and then the blood on the floor.

"Are you okay? What happened?" He says and walks towards me.

"It's nothing, just a little glass" I tell him. He was just calling me pathetic, now he is acting concerned about my health? He is going to make me crazy, literally crazy, as I'm locked in a padded room. He reaches for my hand and pulls it out from under the water. Even when he touches my arm I feel the electricity. He frowns and let's go, walking over to the cabinet.

"Where are the Band-Aids?" He asks Ian and Ian tells him they are in the bathroom. Within a minute Stefan is back with a Band-Aid and he grabs my hand again. He wraps it around my finger gently and I stay quiet. Ian looks as confused as I am by Stefan's actions.

"Can I talk to you, please?" He asks again.

"Yea, I guess." I answer. I know I shouldn't but since when do I do what I should when Stefan is involved? He wraps his hand around my waist and leads me outside.