A/N: Dearest Readers, my sincerest apologies for waiting so long to upload this chapter. I have been swamped with school, babysitting and interning this past year with little time and energy to write. Coincidentally enough, I received an anonymous review this morning asking me to continue. Bet you didn't think I'd update so soon huh? In order to make up for this delay, I made this chapter longer than others. I hope you enjoy!
"I'm sorry I left you alone Elena," Stefan said with a pained expression on his face as he stepped towards her.
"Get away from me, I don't want to talk to you" Elena hissed, glaring at him as she took a step back.
"I take it you're still angry at me" Stefan said stiffly as he stopped in his tracks, his previously concerned expression erased from his face and was replaced with a menacing stare.
"You think I'm angry at you? I hate you Stefan. You're dead to me." She replied coolly.
"It was a mistake, you know that." Stefan responded, his anger building up with each of her declarations. "Besides, it's in the past. Get over it already. He's not the only person you've lost. People die. You of all people should know that," he added.
Stefan's heartless statement felt like a slap in the face to Elena. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes but she regained her composure as she stared at the man she once loved.
"A mistake?! You murdered him!" she shouted. Her resolve was crumbling with each passing word that she spoke, but she still held back her tears. She refused to cry and show weakness in front of the vampire who murdered her little brother.
Stefan's presence and Elena's accusations forced her to think back to the terrible night when her brother died.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
When Stefan joined Klaus' entourage, the hybrid decided to test Stefan's loyalty by having him kill innocent human beings and drink their blood. The test led Stefan to spiral into his old habits and it wasn't long before the Ripper had manifested over him. He was soon killing dozens of innocent people across Virginia.
For weeks, Elena tried to bring Stefan back. She begged Damon to help her with Stefan, and after a few snarky comments and several eye rolls, she finally managed to get Damon onboard the "Save Stefan" mission.
During that time, Stefan was cruel to Elena. He had even gone as far as threaten to throw her over Wickery Bridge and let her drown if she did not leave him alone. Despite his actions, Elena was bent on bringing Stefan back to his normal self.
One evening, she decided to stay home alone to study for her exams. School was a distraction from all the blood, death and supernatural events that happened after she met the Salvatore brothers. She was nearly at her breaking point on trying to help Stefan and needed some distance from him, studying was an excuse for escape.
She was studying in the living room when she heard a knock at her door. She sighed as she put down her Physics textbook and went to open the door.
She saw Stefan standing there; his blood red eyes were cold and murderous. Elena's mind screamed at her to lock the door and call for help, but Stefan was too quick for her and he forced himself into the Gilbert residence.
"What's wrong Elena? You don't want to see me?" Stefan asked, as he feigned a hurt expression.
"Stefan, you need to leave. Now. I'm trying to study for my exams," Elena said, she did not want to seem afraid in front of him but her facial expression gave her fear away. She hoped her lame excuse would somehow convince Stefan to leave.
"I just want to spend some time with you Elena. You never worried about school until now, I think you should take a break from studying," he replied as he slowly stalked towards her. His fangs appeared as he advanced towards Elena, which made her slowly back away but he soon had her trapped in a corner.
At this point, she was extremely afraid. Before, she didn't believe that Stefan would ever hurt her. Now, his recent actions made her fear for her safety. She quickly scanned the room, hoping to find a way to escape.
"Do you know how tempting you smell? How you make my throat burn every time you have even the smallest paper cut? Just a few drops of blood send me over the edge. Before, I would have to restrain myself because I "loved" you." Stefan snarled into her ear, saying it as if it was the vilest thing he had ever tasted.
Elena whimpered as he pulled her closer to him. Stefan smirked, enjoying the feeling of power he had over her.
Elena closed her eyes and gulped a breath of air, as she tried to find a way to escape from Stefan's painful grasp on her. She screamed as she suddenly felt him sink his fangs into her neck before sucking her blood.
"Elena!" Jeremy shouted as he walked into the house and saw Stefan drinking Elena's blood. He quickly grabbed a stake and stabbed Stefan in the chest with it. It was too late when Jeremy realized that he had missed Stefan's heart. .
Stefan snarled as he removed the stake that was protruding from his body. He grabbed Jeremy and sucked the blood out of him before snapping his neck. Time seemed to slow down as Elena watched her brother's lifeless body fall to the ground.
"Jeremy! No! No! No! Please!" Elena screamed as she scrambled over to him. She lifted his arm but the antiquated ring that guaranteed his survival was missing.
Elena panicked as she frantically searched him for the ring and broke down in sobs when she realized that he was gone and there was no magic ring to bring him back from the dead.
"Elena, I –" Stefan began.
She looked up and through her tear stained eyes she saw that Stefan was there, watching her. All the love that she had for Stefan was gone and was replaced by a profound hatred.
"You…you…murdered him!" she screamed at him.
"I didn't –" Stefan said before he was cut off again.
"You killed him! Leave! I never want to see you again Stefan!" Elena shouted as she stood up and slapped him.
Stefan's eyes turned dark once more as he snarled and shoved her against the wall in a fit of rage. Elena cried out as her head hit the wall hard.
She struggled to regain her balance but she kept her eyes focused on Stefan's movements, afraid of what he might do next. His eyes displayed no remorse for his actions and by the time Elena blinked, he had disappeared into the darkness.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Now here he was, standing before her several months later. He had the same menacing expression in his eyes, erasing any sincerity in his previous words. Elena held back her tears; she refused to let Stefan see her in a vulnerable position.
"We have some unfinished business, Elena. Because, you see, I thought you and I were still a couple. Now I come back into town and I hear that you've moved on from our relationship and moved in with my older brother. Not only that, you got rid of my gift. I thought it meant so much to you," Stefan said in a cool tone as he thrust out the locket. He had completely disregarded Elena's accusatory outburst.
"I don't care what you think anymore Stefan. You're dead to me." Elena said in a hateful tone, anger overpowering her fear. The loving boyfriend was gone and replaced by a cold hearted killer. She could never love him again after what he had done.
Her courage built up along with her anger as she shouted "Damon would never hurt me the way you did. I will never love you again. I love him."
Stefan growled and slammed Elena against the wall before shouting, "You're mine!" She whimpered in fear as he brushed his fangs across her neck. He chuckled in an icy tone. Elena's mind flashed back to the past, visions of her brother falling to the ground kept replaying in her head.
"I love this. The way your heartbeat picks up in fear, your adrenaline making your blood rush through your veins. I have waited so long for this moment. Last time, your annoying little brother got in the way, now there will be no more distractions," he said in a chilling voice as he inhaled her scent.
"Go to hell" Elena said venomously.
Stefan laughed once more as his fangs ripped through her neck, causing Elena to cry out in pain. He roughly grabbed her arms and pulled her closer to him; she could feel the bruises forming as he tightened his grip on her. He was desperately sucking her blood, as if trying to quench an insatiable thirst.
Her screams that were filling the air began to fade and her vision began to fail. Her surroundings became a blur as Stefan continued to suck the life out of her. The last thing she heard was a loud bang followed by Damon's voice.
Damon pulled Stefan off Elena and flung him across the room, sending him crashing into the wooden pillar that supported the roof. Stefan quickly recovered from the crash and grabbed a poker from the fireplace.
"I leave and you take my girl? That's a little low, even for you Damon" Stefan said as he walked towards Damon.
"She isn't your girlfriend anymore Stefan and you'll never hurt her again" Damon said in a dangerously low tone as he tackled Stefan before he had a chance to stab him with the poker. Stefan pushed Damon off him and hurled a broken piece of the pillar towards him, piercing Damon's stomach.
Damon groaned in pain as he quickly removed the stake from his stomach when he saw Stefan advancing towards him with another wooden stake, intent on stabbing Damon again.
Damon quickly got up and snapped Stefan's neck before he had a chance to stake him in the heart. Stefan dropped to the ground, out cold. Damon picked up the stake, wanting nothing more than to kill his brother before he saw Elena hunched over in the corner of the living room from the corner of his eye.
She was nearly unconscious and her face was deathly pale but he could still make out a faint heartbeat. Acting quickly, Damon dropped the stake and bit his wrist before feeding Elena his blood.
Elena soon grabbed his arm and was drinking his blood on her own. He finally relaxed when he saw some color restore to her face before picking her up and taking her to his bedroom.
"Where's Stefan? I need to save Jeremy," Elena mumbled, still delirious from the attack as Damon set her down on the bed.
"Don't worry about him Lena, you're fine now." Damon replied as he brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face.
"No! Not me! Jeremy's not fine! I need to save him!" Elena repeated as she weakly tried to fight against Damon.
"Elena, I need you to stay here and sleep. Relax and dream about a nice vacation," Damon said as he looked into her eyes, compelling her. Elena merely nodded at the command before she closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.
Damon sighed as he sat beside her and watched her sleep. He couldn't help but smile when he saw a small smile form on Elena's face. He wanted to stay with her and hold her but he had to deal with his dear brother downstairs.
By the time he had entered the living room, he saw that Stefan had vanished. He went to close the front door that had been left wide open.
"Not the mahogany door," Damon grumbled as he noticed that Stefan used a dagger to attach a note to the door. He removed the knife and the note before walking back inside and shutting the door behind him.
Once inside, Damon opened the piece of paper and read: She will always be mine brother. One day you will let your guard down and I will take her.
"If my little brother wants to fight me for Elena, he'll have a fight. He's not getting anywhere near her again," Damon thought as he crumpled the paper and threw it into the fireplace before making his way back up the staircase.
Damon relaxed when he entered his room and saw Elena peacefully sleeping. He made his way over to her and gently stroked her cheek before lying down beside her in bed.
"I may not be the perfect man for you and I may not deserve you but I know my brother sure as hell doesn't. I will fight to protect you Elena, I always will." Damon said as he gently kissed her forehead and fell asleep.
Thank you for reading! Please review!