Silent Prayers

Chapter 4

Elena nodded, hoping to be convincing. "Yeah" she answered, giving him a small smile.

He could tell right away that she was overwhelmed, by the way she sat by herself in the room, having not unpacked one thing. He understood what she was going through. He had experienced something similar at one point. "Do you want to go do something fun?" Stefan asked, figuring it would be a nice break for her.

Elena's eyes slowly came to life. "Yes" she said, relieved that he had offered. She didn't want to unpack right away, and she didn't want to sit in an empty room full of boxes either.

"Feel like going for a swim?" Stefan asked. "I just checked and the pool is empty" he added. Elena looked so much happier at that moment and he was glad to know he could help her in some way.

"Give me five minutes to change?" Elena asked.

Stefan smiled at her. "Sure" he said, backing away from her door.

"Maybe ten. I don't know which box I put my swimsuit in" Elena told him. She heard Stefan laugh as he walked down the hall to his room. Elena quickly shut her door and went to work opening all of her boxes, guessing which one had her swimsuit.

It was about ten minutes exactly when Stefan saw Elena again. "Ready?" Stefan asked, looking up from his phone to find Elena walking towards him in a white cover-up dress. She had put her hair up in a high ponytail and wore black flip flops that matched the black bikini she had underneath. He was too busy staring to have heard her answer. "Huh?" he asked, tearing his eyes away from her body and looking at her eyes instead.

"Yes" Elena repeated. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder that had her sunglasses and sunscreen.

"Great" Stefan said, standing quickly. "I grabbed you a towel" he said, handing her one of his navy blue ones.

"Thanks" she said, hugging it against her as she followed him out of the apartment. "Can we take the stairs?" Elena asked as they walked. She preferred the stairs for the workout.

"Sure" Stefan told her, bypassing the elevator and opening the door for her that led to the stairwell. "I've got a lease agreement that you'll have to sign" he mentioned as they finished one flight of stairs and started descending down the next. "Then we can stop by the front desk and get you a key."

"Thank you, Stefan. Really. For everything" Elena told him. "You're being entirely too generous." She honestly didn't know what she had done to deserve his help.

Stefan smiled as he walked with her. "You're welcome" he replied. He was so excited to be able to help her. "I really want you to feel at home here, so, feel free to move things around, redecorate, whatever you want" Stefan told her. He really wasn't set on the layout of his apartment.

Stefan opened the door for her again and they stepped outside onto the pool deck. "Maybe I can decorate my room a bit" Elena said. It was kind of bare in there.

"That room really could use it" Stefan agreed with a smile.

"It's a nice room though" Elena said, making sure that he knew how appreciative she was. "I'll think on it" she told him.

They picked out lounge chairs sitting in the sun and dropped their towels on them. There was now an older brother with his little sister in the pool, but they were at the shallow end. "It's never this empty on a weekend" Stefan mentioned.

Elena watched the brother help his sister. She wouldn't have minded a crowded pool as long as everyone was happy and having fun. "Do you need sunscreen?" Elena asked, pulling out the spray on stuff she liked to use.

"Nah" Stefan said. "I don't burn" he told her, peeling his t-shirt off.

Elena eyed him closely, not quite believing him. He had paler skin than she did, but she didn't know him well enough to hassle him about it either. She also tried to pretend that he didn't have the best looking body that she had even seen in person. Elena slipped out of her dress and gave Stefan a view that he was sure would be burned into his memory for quite some time. Then she sprayed herself down. "Can you get my back?" Elena asked, holding out the bottle and lifting up her ponytail.