It hurt. So bad. He couldn't breathe. Every time he tried, it came out as choked attempts to suck just the tiniest bit of air into his lungs. Every part of his body hurt. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't see clearly. His sight was blurred and he was in a haze. A panicked hitch escaped his lips and ended as a tiny, pained sob.
"Damon," he called out weakly, desperate for help. He reached down, trying to grab the phone from his pocket. Stefan screamed as a massive pain shot through his arm. He didn't want to keep going, but he knew he had to if Damon had to find him. He screamed again, agony filling his voice as he finally slid his phone out of his pocket.
He took some shallow breaths, trying to keep himself from crying. It was helpless. He let out a loud cry and unlocked his phone. Pressing the name on the display, that he was almost certain said, 'Damon.'
As the pain blurred his sight again, he held the device to his ear. It buzzed a few times, and Stefan thought Damon wouldn't pick up, making him sob uncontrollably.
"Damon's phone." Damon's cocky smile could almost be heard through the line, but the sarcastic act immediately dropped as he heard Stefan sobbing on the other end.
"Woah, woah! Stefan. Hey. Stef, tell me what's going on. Where are you?" Damon asked, throwing his leather jacket on. Stefan wasn't able to answer right away. He just cried in pain for a while and Damon was almost scared that Stefan hadn't heard the question.
"Stef-"
"O-Old... S-Salvatore p-property," Stefan gasped out. Damon promised him that he was on the way. Stefan already begged him to not leave and Damon wasn't even there yet. Damon tried to reassure him, that he was coming to help him. He knew he had to hang up. He would be able to run faster without a phone in his hand.
"No," Stefan cried as the line went dead. He sobbed, thinking that he was screwed. He was gonna die out here. All alone.
When the pain almost couldn't get worse, and Stefan was on the edge of consciousness, someone dropped on their knees beside him.
"Hey! Stefan! Look at me!" Damon called out, slapping his little brother's cheek lightly to make him focus. "Stefan! Stef! Open your eyes and say something! Come on!"
Stefan could hear him distantly. Yet he couldn't figure out, who the voice belonged to. He stirred awake, seeing the blurry, dark-haired figure leaning over him.
"Damon?" He questioned weakly and Damon nodded. Damon apologized over and over as he threw Stefan over his shoulder, making the younger vampire cry out in agony. He ran with Stefan. The pain kept Stefan present. He couldn't fall asleep with it there.
"Hurts... Damon." The protests were weak and Damon responded with shushing sounds, making Stefan quiet. When Damon finally reached the boarding house, he slowly lowered Stefan onto the hard floor. He examined Stefan's body, finding six bullet wounds.
"Damon..." Stefan whimpered.
"It's okay. I've got you," Damon said, pressing his fingers into the first wound, making Stefan scream and cry. Damons eyes watered as Stefan squirmed and tried to push Damon's arms away. He struggled more and more for each time the process was repeated.
When all the bullets were finally out, Damon cradled Stefan against his chest and ran his fingers through the dirty blonde hair. Stefan whimpered in fear.
"Shh," Damon whispered. "It's all over now. Don't worry."