Until This Lie Do Us Part

Chapter 10

Elena focused in on the clock once again and sighed. Two more hours until she would have to go back to Stefan's place. At least she had a two hour ride home to try and figure out what she was going to say to him.

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Stefan sat in his chair, facing his fireplace in his room. It was dark in there, except for the light that the fire gave off. He finished off his drink – scotch on the rocks – and set the glass down next to him.

He had woken up to find Elena gone. Probably not gone, gone. Her stuff was still in her room, but her schoolbag was gone. He couldn't remember what days she had class. He had never bothered to pay attention. He hadn't learned really anything about her. His only goal was to put up with her for six months so he could get his money. It never occurred to him that Elena might have a past. And not a very good one either.

Stefan closed his eyes and let his head fall back, listening to the crackle of the fire. A few more drinks and he would be at ease with everything.

A creaking door opened slowly, causing him to lift his head and open his eyes. It was his door. As slowly as it opened, it closed even slower. Soft footsteps could be heard coming his way. And then she was there, standing still, facing the fire with him.

Elena did some thinking on the bus ride home. A lot of thinking. "His name is Derrick" she began, speaking quietly, yet confidently. Stefan felt his body tense. She was going to tell him. "I met him a few months after my parents died. My brother was still in the hospital, going through rehabilitation after the car accident" she explained. "The money to pay for his hospital stay and all of the therapy had run out a month earlier, so I had to sell our family's home and give up my college fund. I moved in with my best friend, Bonnie, and her family."

Elena looked over at Stefan briefly to see if he was listening. He appeared to be, though his face never changed. "And then I met Derrick" she sighed. "He was in my statistics class. Charming, understanding, everything that a stupid, naïve girl would fall for" she said. Stefan could hear the disgust in her voice. "Anyways, I fell for him hard. I was such an emotional wreck and I wasn't thinking clearly. Ended up moving in with him in his place in the city. Bonnie begged me not to, but I didn't listen. Because I was so sure that he was going to take care of me. I needed him to. My brother took Bonnie's side and I ended up getting in this huge fight with both of them."

She paused for a moment, thinking about the fight. It had been terrible for everyone. "Everything was really good between Derrick and I for a while" she said, remembering. "He even asked me to marry him and I said yes." Stefan heard her take a deep breath and knew what was coming next. "And then we got into our first fight. I don't even remember what it was about. I think it was about me having plans for the weekend. Anyways, we started yelling and before I knew it, I was on the ground, grabbing my face."

Stefan's right hand clenched tightly shut. Elena looked down at her own hands nervously, wondering what Stefan was thinking. The silence after a while made her uncomfortable. "He told me that if I told anyone, he would make it twice as bad the next time. I didn't tell anyone. But it kept happening" she admitted, reliving his exact words over again.

She noticed that both of Stefan's hands were now clutching tightly to the armrests of the chair. "It took me a year, but I finally left. I waited until he went to work one day and then I packed my bags and I left. I took a leave of absence from school so he couldn't find me. And I ran for almost a year until he graduated and would no longer be on campus. I eventually had to tell my brother and my best friend, and then beg them to let it go, to not do anything about it. I had successfully avoided Derrick for a year. I didn't need them finding him." Elena knew perfectly well that her brother would have made him pay, most likely with a severe beating. And Bonnie would have gone to the police, though Elena knew that would do no good.