Chapter 29

Pulling over, Damon turned off the engine. Lena was exhausted. They'd been on the road for a couple of hours and she couldn't feel some specific parts of her anatomy. She also hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the night before.

After their episode at the arena yesterday, they'd checked into a hotel for the night where they'd made sweet, passionate love after eating a feast meant for kings. It'd cost money but it was worth it.

For some reason, Lena didn't feel calm. There was this uneasiness hovering over her head, constantly poking at her senses. She looked to Damon beside her, but his beautiful smile did nothing to relieve her tension. It was there, and it didn't show any sign of easing up.

Still, her lips gave him a smile then leaned forward to kiss him.

"I'm so glad we had this little trip. Let's do it again," he murmured against her lips.

"Yeah, definitely. Just try not to steal me away next time. I love to be conscious when I step into a car." She winked at him, then turned to push the door open.

Lena breathed in the evening air as she stood waiting for Damon to join her. Seconds later he was by her side and they were walking into the big house. A chorused shout from somewhere inside the house reminded her that today was indeed Ella's birthday and the celebrations already started. Perfect.

"Ready?" he asked when they got closer.

Chuckling, Lena rolled her eyes. "I've been here before you know. I don't need a vote of confidence."

“I know.”

The door opened almost immediately Damon turned the handle and before she knew what was going on, Lena had her hands packed full.

“Leeeeeeenha!”

Tiny arms wrapped around her neck, making her stagger back a bit. Laughing, she held the girl closer. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

“Thank you. I've been waiting!” Ella whined.

“Sorry. Your uncle kind of held me up for a while. Besides, it was only yesterday he told me about it. Crazy man, your uncle.”

Ella leaned forward to slap Damon's arm.

“Ooow!”

“Oh please, don't 'ooow' me.” She gave him a look.

“Hey, don't think you're the only one who gets to spend time with her.” he mumbled sheepishly, rubbing at the spot she hit on his arm.

“And I didn't even get to buy you a present.”

Ella turned to face Lena. “I don't mind. You're here. That's what matters. Now we can be pretty together.”

Chuckling, “As much as it pleases me to hear that, tell you what. I'll take you shopping on Friday and we'll buy anything you want. Anything at all. In fact, I'll buy you the entire store. What do you think?”

Ella beamed, “Neat.”

“Great. Now I have to share my girlfriend with my niece. How lovely.” Damon rolled his eyes aggressively, earning him a look from Lena. What a kid he was.

“Wait.” A tiny gasp. “Girlfriend?” Another gasp. “You're getting married?!”

Lena's eyes widened, “What?”

“Maybe,” Daniel said smugly, as he made his gracious exit to the living room. Lena stared after him with a piercing glare. The man definitely had guts, alright. And who said she was going to marry him? He was obviously daydreaming. Nothing else could warrant such nonsense talk. Lena didn't know when or how Ella managed to smuggle herself out of her grip and she only realized it when the little girl ran away screaming “I'm going to have a new aunt!”

Lena face-palmed. “My God.”

Walking into the living room, she was hit in the face with different smiles. Some cheeky, some broad, and others cocky. It was refreshing to see all of them again in the same room. The last time had been memorable. “Good evening, everyone.”

“Good evening, Lena,” Chris replied with a smile.

“Oh, Dad, stop it. What's with the formality?” EJ complained. “Chipmunk, been a while, hasn't it? You completely forgot about me.”

“Elvis, you know you're not as nearly as forgettable as you might think.”

Snatching a warm hug, EJ rested his head on hers. “I'm glad you're okay,” he whispered in her ear before letting her go.

Lena thought he was too handsome for his own good.

“Welcome, dear.” Claire smiled warmly. “What's this I hear about you becoming my daughter in-law?

Damon snorted.

EJ chuckled.

Lena scowled.

“It's nothing.”

Claire noticed the glare Lena sent to Damon and relaxed. “Whatever you say, love. But know this; you're always welcome here. Always.”

“Yes!” Ella chipped in. “Auntieee”

She drew the words and surprisingly, it got a small laugh out of Lena. You couldn't find a more cheerful child than Ella. “What are you doing here anyway? Don't you have little kids your age to play with? I thought I heard noises upstairs.”

“They're coming from my room,” Ella responded, frowning. Her pink dress made her look way too cute.

“Why aren't you with them, sweetheart?”

EJ gave a loud snort earning a slap on the head from Sophia.

Ella adjusted the shiny tiara on her head. “They're all stoopid.”

“Ella!” Anne gasped as Chris laughed. Claire facepalmed, obviously tired of the little girl's mouth.

“It's true, though. I mean, all the girls wanna talk about is princess stuff and Disneyland and the boys go off all the time about video games and comic books. It's so annoying. I mean, why can't we talk about something else? Something new?”

Lena's eyes widened. In all honesty, the girl was too smart for her own good. She was seven but had the brain of a twenty-year-old. She looked at Damon who shrugged and gave her a 'don't look at me I have no idea' look. She held out her hands to the little girl who walked right into it. “Oh, sweetheart.”

Her gaze shifted to everyone present in the room whilst stroking Ella's hair. Didn't they find it absurd she didn't have friends her age? Lena was sure those kids upstairs were either classmates or people she went to school with. There were so many adults in the room, so many adult figures in her life she'd gotten used to them. It made the prospect of bringing a child into the world seem all that better. If not for anything, someone for Ella to spend time with. Just to feel like a child again.

Many people don't even know what it feels like to get loose and release their inner child. She certainly didn't want Ella to grow up serious and stern. She wanted her to experience life, make mistakes, get into trouble, get a boyfriend, make new friends.

“Will you play with me, Leenha?” Her big round blue eyes stared up at her and Lena wondered how possible it was to even say no to her. Not that she wanted to.

“Of course, I will, sweetheart,” Lena said whilst stroking her hair.

“Awwwn,” the entire room chorused, earning an eye roll from Damon.

“But first you have to play with your friends.”

“But...but why?” Ella whined. “They're boring.”

“I know. That's why you have to do it. Be strong.”

“Okay.” A small pout took over her features.

“Oh alright, come on. I'll take you,” EJ offered, getting up and carrying her in his arms.

As they watched them leave, Damon thought it was weird how very responsive Ella was to Lena seeing as they'd only met a couple weeks ago. Ella was stubborn just like the rest of the Specter family. She wasn't one to listen to anyone, ever.

After a few minutes of silence, Chris spoke up. “Where is Gabe, anyway?”

“Yeah,” Sophia chimed in. “He left a couple of hours ago to go pick up that new girlfriend of his, Caroline.”

Caroline? Lena's eyes shot up. Gabe went to pick up Care? Damn.

“I'll try calling,” George said, pulling his phone out and swiping at the screen. “No answer.” he said, shaking his head.

“Maybe he's just caught up in traffic,” Anne suggested.

“Or maybe they took a detour. Let's just wait for them. I'm sure they'll be here.”

They all decided to spend time eating and playing family games. A few rounds of Charades made everyone realize how very bad Claire was at guessing. Sophia and Damon won every time it was frustrating. George wasn't really a good partner but he wasn't as bad as Claire. Lena was thankful for that.

At almost midnight, two hours later, Damon's phone rang.

It was Gabe.

He answered on the second ring.

Lena watched him from the corner of her eye.

His exterior changed, hardened. “What?” he roared, catching all the attention to himself. “Whoa, whoa, calm down. Just calm down alright? Speak slow."

He listened for about a second then froze.

Lena instantly became alert. What was happening?

“Fuck.”

Damon turned to meet her eyes. Pity swirled around in his eyes, his breathing picking up speed.

“It's Caroline,” he muttered. “She's dead.”