WOUND

Elena's POV:

The tortures...the pain I was feeling... Antonio... Antonio...he held my face to his chest, calming me down. My head banged with so much pain and hurt and I wondered why this had to be happening to me... blood was splattered everywhere and I couldn't stand the sight of it. I remembered my father, the texts, the rumours about me. The critical... Antonio... poisoned me...the man that I trusted, tried to kill me. My eyes watered... I was losing my mind... I had to get away from here...

I got up from the table and stumbled out of the room.

I ran as fast as I could but tripped and fell to the ground. The room spun, and I fell before I began crawling towards the door. To open it was a problem, I reached for the knob and tried to get up but my legs were weak. I turned, to see Antonio sitting on a chair as he stared at me. He slightly tilted his head as he looked at me. My body weakened and my shoulders dropped.

"Antonio... Antonio, please don't."

"Drink it."

"Antonio, you can't do this to me. The rumors aren't true and you know it." I pleaded with him but it only caused his eyes to harden. Tears dropped from my eyes as I stared at him. I couldn't believe this was the man that I fell in love with.

"I said..." His voice lowered in a foreboding manner. "Drink. It. Elena."

"Elena!"

I jerked up from my sleep and noticed Derek was sitting at the edge of the bed, staring at me with concern.

"What's going on? You were shaking. Nightmare?" He asked and I looked up.

"Antonio..." The moment I called his brother's name his eyes hardened.

"Why do you keep calling his name?" He questioned. And from the way he spoke, I could tell they didn't have a good relationship.

"He...he tried to kill me," I said and his eyes softened. "I looked around and saw blood, there was blood on the floor, just blood of the people he'd tortured...blood. I felt weak...I couldn't move. And he told me to drink a bowl of poison."

"Derek..." I called weakly.

"I'm here Mia." He pulled me closer to him. "I'm sorry for all the bad things he did to you. And the pain he caused you. I'm so sorry." He whispered into my hair.

"I can't believe he poisoned me."

"I know, I know it's okay."

The memories of Antonio's betrayal and the torture I had to endure haunted me. I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart. Was that who he was to me? Someone who tortured me? Was he the reason for the scars on my back? I felt Derek hold me tighter as though he was trying to shield me from my internal pains. I found myself wanting to ask questions, but I felt comfort and safety. I leaned into it and reasoned with myself. How was he able to capture me? For how long? Why did he try to poison me? I racked my brain, but all the memories were blurry. Glimpse of memories flashed in my head and they were all familiar but I couldn't remember any of it. They all went as fast as they came.

"If anyone does as much as touches you again Elena? I swear they'll die." Derek assured me. "Look at me, look at me." I turned towards him and he lifted my chin so I was staring into his eyes. "Elena." My eyes were blurry with fear at the moment. "You are safe, with me. Damon touches you, he dies." He growled. "You hear me." The darkness in his tone sent thrills down my spine. My gaze narrowed but his eyes were still, like steel, they were focused on me as though they could read my worries and fears. "You're safe." He assured me again and I tried to calm myself down. He held me to himself for minutes and I found solace in his warm embrace. I loved the comfort it brought me. I felt his lips on my forehead and after some moments, my tears dried up. He was still holding me before his phone began to ring. We both turned to it, while he picked it up and put it to his ear.

"Abort mission."

"What?" I heard Augusta through the phone.

"You heard me."

"Is her again isn't it? Derek, why are you doing this to me?" I heard a click and knew he hung up. I didn't say anything because I was too weak to speak but I had so many questions to ask Derek and he seemed to notice because my eyes were not relaxed.

"You seem to have questions for me." He stated causing me to wonder if I was that obvious.

"Why do you hate your brother so much?" I asked. After all the research I had done till this day. "Did you kill your parents?" It was an innocent question. I wasn't scared of him in any way. I just wanted to know. But I noticed the way his body tensed and his grip on me tightened. Not enough to choke me though.

"Why are you so curious?" His voice had gotten darker and it sort of made my fear rise a little because it made me believe I'd gone too far. But I tried to calm myself down.

"I just thought you might need someone to tell everything to. From what I've observed so far, you bottle up a lot of your emotions even when you wish to let them out. It makes me wonder if your hatred towards your brother caused it, or perhaps you were misunderstood, or perhaps..." I hesitated. "Your parents' death." I completed. "I mean no harm. I don't know what it is that you've been through. But I know it's a lot, and no one has tried to understand you. Not even you."

I released myself a little and looked up at him. His eyes were still but they weren't looking at me. Then slowly they met mine and I tilted my head slightly. Even though his features were void of emotions, I could tell he was battling internally with them.