“Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to go back to.”
-John Ed Pearce
I sigh as I finally pass the 'Welcome To Mystic Falls' sign. Smiling and crying as I pass the places that hold so much memories.
'Why did I come back here?' I ask myself. Everything reminds me of him. I shake my head trying not to think of the man who hurt me. Inhaling deeply and exhaling, trying to keep from crying.
Finally, I reach my childhood home. The place that reminds me of my dead parents and of him. I step out of the car and walk up the steps to the door, but pause to take everything in.
Before I could even knock, the door is thrown open by my Aunt/best friend Jenna.
"Elsa! Oh my gosh, you're finally here. Are you okay? How was the drive? Are you hungry? Tired? Oh my gosh! What about the baby!? Is he okay? I knew I shouldn't have let you drive! I am such a bad pe-" She panics, but I cut her off by pulling her into a hug.
"Jenna! We are fine.. Quit freaking out, ok?" I tell her, smiling as she nods. I look behind her only to see a handsome man standing there. "Who is this, Jenna?"
She looks confused before turning around, "Oh! That is my boyfriend Alaric. Alaric this is my niece, Elsa." He flashes me a smile and steps forward extending a hand.
"Nice to meet you, Jenna has told me a lot about you." He says, laughing. I ignore his hand and pull him into a hug instead making him gasp in surprise.
"Sorry, I'm a hugger." I laugh, his face holding a hilarious expression. He just smiles and shakes his head.
Jenna suddenly grasps my arm and yanks me into the house, "Come in, you must be tired and hungry. I'm gonna show you your room and then Ric is going to grab your things. Then, after you clean yourself up we are going to the grill to eat. Ok? Ok."
I just smile and laugh at her rambling, "Oh, I've missed you so much Jenna." She stops talking as we sit on the bed and hugs me.
"Me too, Elsa. Your parents would be so proud of you." Jenna mumbles.
I frown and look down, "Proud? More like disappointed. I mean look at me, pregnant and alone. Can I be anymore pathetic? I mean my own husband left because of how disappointing I am. If I were him I would have left me too. Who wants someone who isn't good enough? And that's me. I'm never good enough Jenna!"
Tears are streaming down both of our faces as Jenna shakes her head."You are far from being a disappointment Elsa! Your parents always talked about how proud they were of you. That you found someone that loved you and how you followed your dreams. And I know it hurts that Mason left but it is NOT your fault! Understand? It is NOT your fault!" She exclaims, rubbing my back. I just continue to cry, the pain and tears I have been holding in for so long finally being released.
"It hurts Jenna, it hurts so much. Everyone leaves me! My mom, dad, and Mason did! And now I'm pregnant... I don't know if I can do this!" I cry, she just rubs my back. I hear a thud and quickly stop crying. As I wipe my tears away, I look up to see Alaric standing in the doorway.
"Uh, sorry... I have your things." He explains, scratching his head awkwardly. Jenna and I look at each other and start laughing while he just stares, confused. "What? What did I say?"
Through my laughter I tell him, "You're so adorable Ric. Jenna is one lucky gal." Alaric looks towards the ground blushing as Jenna stops laughing to playfully glare at me.
"Anyway, get ready. We're leaving in ten minutes." She calls, dragging Ric out the door. I sigh and walk towards my suitcase to find an outfit. Then, I quickly walk into my ensuite bathroom to freshen up.
After I pull on my clothes, I run downstairs to see them waiting for me.
"No running! Especially with heels on... Do you know how dangerous that is? Elsa you're pregnant. Let's just go." Jenna sighs, making Alaric and I stifle laughs.
T I M E S K I P
I step out of the car and stare at the building of the Mystic Grill. So much memories in one small place.
"Hey, you'll be ok. I'll be with you. Ok?" Jenna tells me, rubbing my back. Alaric stares at us confused but let's it go. I nod towards Jenna and start walking to the doors.
Alaric opens the door for us like a gentlemen making us both smile. I stop once everything comes to view. It seems like time has slowed and all I can see is the memories I had with all the people I lost. The times I came to have dinner with my family. Or to eat lunch and play pool with him.
Everything just hit me at full force. But before I can fully come to terms with it, something slams into me making me stumble. I look down to see my baby sister with her arms around me.
I smile widely and squeeze her in my arms.
"El! It's you! Oh my gosh, I'm not hurting the baby am I? I've missed you so much!" She exclaims, tears glistening in her eyes.
"Elena, look at you. My baby sister is all grown up! So beautiful!" I compliment her. She just blushes and giggles. Then once again, someone slams into me. I look down only to see chest. When I look up, I see my baby brother.
"Jer-bear?" I ask, making sure it is him. He nods and flashes me his signature goofy grin. "Jeremy?! Oh my gosh. The last time I saw you, you were shorter than me!"
He laughs heartily and squeezes me in a bear hug. "It's called puberty Luna. You know when you grow? Your voice changes or maybe even your di-" I quickly cut him off, groaning in disgust.
"Ok! I get it Jer!" I cry, scrunching my face.
I then lead everyone towards a booth but before I could sit Elena grabs me, "El, there is someone I want you to meet." I give her a confused glance but nod anyway. She leads me towards the bar, where two men are sitting and talking.
She clears her throat making them both turn towards us. My breath catches when my eyes lay on the most gorgeous man I have ever seen. His icy blue eyes and raven hair literally makes my heart beat out of my chest.
I quickly stop staring, only to notice he is staring at me with his mouth open.
"El, this is my boyfriend Stefan and his older brother Damon." Elena introduces, making me smile at the sound of his name. Damon.
Stefan smiles and sticks out a hand, "Hi, it's nice to meet you." I ignore his hand and pull him into a hug.
"It's nice to meet you as well Stefan. My name is Elsa but you can call me anytime," I wink jokingly, making him blush and Elena to laugh. But I notice Damon glaring at his brother making me confused, "I'm just kidding, you can call me Luna."
Stefan seems to notice his brothers glaring and he shoots him a look of confusion.
"You may call me Luna as well or Elsa. Whichever works." I tell Damon, pulling him into a hug.
He snaps out of his glaring and freezes as I squeeze him. I also see Stefan and Elena tense up but brush it off. Finally, he wraps his arms around me and hugs me back making our siblings eyes widen in shock.
"It's a pleasure to meet you beautiful." He smirks, making me blush and internally swoon. Elena and Stefan both stare at us worriedly.
"Well, we were going to get some dinner. You guys wanna join?" I ask them, gesturing towards our booth. Stefan nods but Damon shakes his head making me frown in disappointment.
"Well Jenna isn't a very big fan of mine." He quickly explains, catching my frown.
"Well, I'm not gonna leave you here alone. So either you join willingly or I drag you there by your ear. Which would you prefer?" I threaten, placing my hands on my hips. They all stare at me in shock, "Well?"
He laughs and gives in, "Ok. I'll come beautiful." I smile and grab his hand but quickly let go when I feel shocks run through me. I ignore it and lead them towards the booth.
They pull up chairs, seeing as there is no room. Jenna and Jeremy stare in confusion and anger while Alaric looks worried.
"Jenna, Jeremy. Be nice. I asked them to sit with us, ok?" I say sternly, making them nod reluctantly.
Before anyone could speak a waiter walks up to take our order. "Matty?" The waiter looks around in confusion but smiles when he sees me.
"Luna? Hey! Wow, it's been so long. How are you? Where is Mason?" He asks, making everyone except Stefan and Damon stare at me, worried. My heart breaks all over again.
However I cover up my sadness and smile, "Uh, I'm great Matty. Got a bun in the oven.. But Mason is still in Florida." He looks at my stomach in shock along with Stefan and Damon.
"Wow, congrats Luna." He says, before taking our orders and such.
"El, are you ok?" Elena asks quietly. I look at her as tears fill my eyes and shake my head. I quickly stand up and walk out of the grill, ignoring their calls for me.
I walk towards the park across from the grill and sit on a bench. Tears fall down my cheeks as I think about everything. My parents died, my husband left me, and I am pregnant. Then I met someone who made me forget about him. For a little while that is..
I'm snapped out of my thoughts when someone sits beside me. I turn my head to see Damon. I quickly hide my face in embarrassment.
"Hey, you don't have to hide. It's ok to cry.. I know it's hard especially with you being, you know." He whispers, pulling my face up.
I smile at him, "I have cried too much. It's time for me to be stronger now." He stares at me for a second but exhales and nods.
"Wanna talk about what's wrong?" Damon asks, after a moment of silence. I sigh but decide to tell him everything.
"When I was a little girl, there was this boy who pushed me into a sandbox. He made me so angry but he became my best friend. We grew up together but as time went on our feelings grew into something more. We started dating in our senior year. He then proposed to me on our 4 year anniversary. Got married a few months later. And everything was amazing.. He was the love of my life, everything I could ever want. We made it past the first year, which they call the hardest. And I thought we were happy but I guess he wasn't. Nothing could prepare me for the heartbreak I would have to face. I came home to find all his things gone and a note. He met someone else, someone he fell in love with. Katherine, I think. Anyway, a few months later I found out I was pregnant. Now here I am." I finish my story as another round of tears pour out.
By the end of my story Damon is seething with anger. His hands are clenched in fists, making me worried.
I take his hands into mine making his head snap towards me, "Hey, it's okay. I'm okay. I have my family, they're all I need."
"You have me too." He whispers, making me smile widely.
• • •
Edited
2047 Words