5

Elena

"Get in. I insist," Damon said, his tone firm yet gentle. It wasn't that I was scared; I was mostly apprehensive and unsure of what I would do. I licked my lips nervously as I scanned the deserted street back and forth, as though another car or perhaps a bus would show up and take me home. But I knew it wasn't possible.

Taking a deep breath, I exhaled slowly before opening his car door and sliding into the plush leather seats. The car smelled like him—woody and rich, with a hint of expensive whiskey and pine.

As I settled in, a memory flashed in my mind: a veiny, large hand adorned with a wedding ring and another with a crest-bearing ring, pouring whiskey into a glass filled with ice. The hand then lightly shook the glass, distributing the chill of the ice, before lifting it up to a bearded chin.

"Elena!" Damon's voice snapped me out of my reverie, and I turned to look at him, wondering what had happened.

"Are you all right?" he asked me. I felt like he had asked me that too many times already that day, and I couldn't help but feel ashamed. I looked down at my fingers, fidgeting with the threads of my threadbare t-shirt, trying to pull myself out of my thoughts.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, my voice barely audible. "Just some things that I'd rather not think about."

"Memories?" he inquired gently.

I shook my head, lying about what I was experiencing. "Just dreams. Sometimes I remember them at times like this. Sometimes it's a smell or a word that triggers it. But I'm fine. I'm sorry," I apologized again, feeling the weight of my emotions pressing down on me.

Choosing to keep my eyes down, I didn't see where Damon had stopped the car until he spoke again. "What's wrong?" he asked, his tone soft yet probing. "Why are you so jumpy? I'm not going to hurt you."

Blessed Virgin, save my soul. 

That statement sent jolts down to my aching core as he looked at me with so much burning intensity. I wanted to speak, but no words could form in my throat, making me look like a fish out of water. I shook my head, hoping to catch some words rattling around in my brain, but to no avail. This man managed to make me sound stupid and look stupid. I took in a calming breath, filling my nose with his glorious scent. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

"I didn't know you fought," I said.

"And I didn't know you liked to frequent dark places that smell like sweat and blood," he shot back at me.

"Fair enough. I do it because... I go there because it takes my mind off things. It takes my mind off the fact that my life isn't going as I wanted it to."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked in a deep rumble.

I shook my head, not trusting my words after hearing the depths of his voice. "I'm looking for someone," he said. "I promised her family that I would find her if anything happened to them... that was over 8 years ago."

"That must be hard," I said.

"It is," he confessed. "But I'm sure I'll find her. I mean... it can't be so hard to find one girl that ran away to Rome all by herself, am I right?" He chuckled at his own joke. "Ran away to Rome," I repeated. I remembered the time when I did. I remembered a time when my hair was long, and I cut it just so I could afford a boat ride and several hundred Euros. I shook my head, trying to clear the memory and not really live the moment again.

"Is everything okay?" he asked me. "Is it one of those things that you mentioned?"

I nodded my head in approval. He started the car again, and we began to move. We remained in a comfortable silence until we reached my familiar neighborhood.

As we reached the familiar building that housed my apartment, I pressed him again, "You didn't answer my question. Why do you fight? It doesn't seem like you need the money so..." I gestured to his car and his watch.

"So why do you do it? Or are you some kind of desperado?" He laughed at my last statement, and I realized how much I loved the sound.

"No, I'm not a desperado. I just... it keeps me grounded," he said.

"It makes me feel. I come from a world where you don't have to feel. Feeling is dangerous in my line of work. Even when you feel pain, you bask in it. When you're happy, if anyone knows, you could wind up dead in a few hours. If you're in love..."

He turned to look at me, his eyes slightly glowing in the darkness of his car. "They might just take it from you," he said solemnly.

His words brought me into another scene. A woman dressed in a vivid blue gown with dark red hair and smiling eyes appeared in my mind.

She turned to me, her words muffled by the distant sound of a gunshot. She grabbed my hand with a frantic face and ran with me up a flight of stairs and then another, our footsteps echoing against the marble.

She took me into a room and put me under a table. I couldn't hear her words still, but she placed a hand over her mouth, covering it, and then ran back out.

"Elena?" Damon asked again, pulling me out of my reverie.

"Yes?" I said quietly.

"Are you okay?" he asked again, concern etched on his handsome features. I smiled and waved my hand, dismissing his question.

"So, how did you afford all this?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

With a funny look on his face and a raised eyebrow, he chuckled and then spoke. "Let's just say that I walked into it."

"That's... very wonderfully explained," I said, rolling my eyes playfully.

"Don't blame me, you're the one that tries to evade my questions," he teased. "I'm just concerned. Are you really okay?" he asked again.

I knew that and gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine," I said.

"So, will you tell me about who you're looking for?" I asked.

He exhaled and leaned his head back against the headrest of the driver's seat. Adam's apple bobbed up and down in an almost inviting way. "No," he said. "Maybe later. It's getting late. Go home, Elena," he said.

As I climbed up the stairs that led to my apartment, I couldn't shake the way his tongue rolled over my name. I wished he would call me something else. But I would have to accept this one for now.

At this moment, I didn't realised that the secret I had hidden for many years would soon be uncovered by this mysterious man. Destiny will thrust me into another enormous whirlpool.