CHAPTER ONE:
Welcome Home

      Water, it was such a heavy thing that forced itself upon Samuels chest and lungs. He could feel the pain of it all, as he cried out for help.

The agony of the water slamming harshly into his face made him panic, as he tried to find any way out of it all. He never did believe he'd die so young.

Today, he thought he'd feel normal. That Jenna would gift him a single moment of happiness, a trip to the beach where they'd run along the sand.

Getting it stuck in their hair, they'd splash water at one another and laugh for hours. It's all he ever wanted, just one day where he felt; normal.

Jenna woke him early, insisting he get dressed and ready, he never felt such happiness when they appeared at the beach. It faded, when she left.

He could still see her eyes, the way she looked at him as he ran into the water. She claimed she would watch, and swim later when she felt better.

The first wave that hit him, hurt the most. He cried out his lips screaming Jenna's name. However he didn't see her upon the sand.

He called and called, begging for her to return and help him escape this pain. He cried as he felt himself getting exhausted. The water filling his lungs at a rapid pace.

"J-Jenna!" his lips shivered as he felt his eyes slowly closing. He was going to die.

He felt arms wrap around him, dragging him onto the shore. "Are you alright?" the voice was silent and soft, "I don't think he's breathing".

He could hear the loudness of other voices "leave him be, it's not our problem". The person who hovered over him huffed with annoyance.

"He was left here all alone, surely he didn't intend on being caught in the water" he felt a pressure on his chest. He could feel the water slipping out of his lips slowly; air!

He gasped so loudly, coughing as the air slammed into his lungs. He blinked so fast only seeing who had saved him for a splint second.

She was beautiful, he watched as she faded away. His eyes closing once more as he passed out. He didn't remember, who had took him home.

He just remembered his parents looking disappointed with him. He didn't argue with them, he didn't tell the truth about what happened.

He just faded away into a dark void, and soon he just felt blank. It was an endless loop of nothing, and it never went away.

—

The Gilbert house, was completely silent. Which in this case it was normal for the small family. Ever since the tragic death of Miranda and Grayson, the family all became quiet, all blank.

Elena Gilbert sat beside her window, her pen writing neatly onto the pages of her diary. Every time she would mess up, she'd sigh.

She couldn't bring herself to just set the diary down and attempt it again tomorrow. She'd likely sob if she stopped writing her thoughts.

The soft sound of a door opening made her frown. Jenna had fallen asleep an hour ago. Claiming she had a meeting in the morning she couldn't miss.

Jeremy was stuck inside his room, blasting music into his eardrums so they'd burst. No one else would just willingly walk inside the home.

Elena stood up setting her diary neatly onto her desk before walking out of her room. She felt nervous when she heard footsteps in the kitchen.

Part of her wanted to just turn around and lock herself inside her room until morning. But the steps got louder and she could hear the fridge opening.

She walked down the steps quietly, making sure she didn't make any noise or accidentally trip. Her eyes locked on the kitchen, where Samuel stood.

He looked different since she last saw him. He leaned into the sink yawning as he drank a bottle of beer, that was likely old.

He didn't seem bothered by it, he paused looking up at Elena who had stopped at the last step. She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Sam, I didn't know you were coming back" she spoke quietly not wanting to wake up Jenna. He let out a weak breath setting the beer onto the counter.

"I missed mystic falls, which is ironic seeing I left because I didn't wanna be here anymore". He set his bag down onto the floor watching Elena closely, she seemed quiet.

Last time they saw one another it was before the accident, and she was always going on and on about her life. Samuel wouldn't attempt it, but he loved hearing about everything.

"I hope I didn't wake you up, I tried being quiet when I came inside". He pushed his keys into his back pocket "No, I was already awake".

She wiped the smudged ink on her fingers onto her sleeve. "Before I forget, I got this for you" he grabbed his bag opening it.

"I was in New York for a little bit, before I went to California. I saw this and thought you'd like it". He pulled a stuffed giraffe out of his bag.

Elena smiled softly "you remembered" she grabbed onto it "yeah, when you accidentally threw your old one into the bonfire. You thought it'd come back".

"I was eight" Samuel laughed "and you cried for the rest of the night, also you were nine". He put his bag over his shoulder walking towards the steps.

"I'll see you in the morning, I'm gonna take a shower then probably sleep". Elena watched as he disappeared going into his room, he closed his door.

—

Samuel got dressed setting his empty bag into his closet before walking out of his room. He could hear the soft voices of Elena and Jeremy.

Although the boy seemed annoyed as Elena kept asking him if he was okay. Samuel ignored the bickering between his siblings as he grabbed the coffee pot from Jeremy's grasp.

The boy looked stunned at the sight of Samuel, his tallness making him feel uneasy. He pushed his headphones out of his ears, letting them dangle.

Samuel grabbed a random coffee mug "when did you get here?" he looked up at Jeremy. "Last night, you snore really loud by the way".

Jeremy's cheeks turned red with embarrassment as Samuel patted his shoulder before walking towards the living room. Jeremy couldn't help but smile.

He had missed the company of Samuel, the boy was always the one making sure his siblings were happy. Samuel turned the tv on drinking his coffee "animal attacks, gosh this place is going down hill".

He changed the channel looking at Elena and Jeremy who stood in the kitchen waiting for the coffee to finish once more.

"Don't you two have school?" he looked at his watch then back at the duo. "Bonnie's picking me up, she'll be here soon".

Samuel smiled at the mention of Bonnie, the duo were practically best friends. Even if Bonnie claimed they were like brother and sister.

He hadn't spoken with her for a month, the girl getting busy with school and her family. The sound of a horn entered the air. Elena walked towards the door quickly.

"Tell Bonnie I said hi!" Elena closed the door behind her Samuel looked at Jeremy with a stern expression. "You're gonna be late" Jeremy shrugged his shoulders.

Samuel rolled his eyes standing up from the couch and grabbing his car keys. "Come on, I'm driving your ass too school, and you better stay there!".

Samuel walked outside turning slightly "I mean it Jeremy, you can do whatever the hell you want, but you're going too school".

Jeremy sighed deeply getting into the car, Samuel drove down the road. "Why did you come back?" Samuel looked at Jeremy slightly.

"Missed home I guess, figured why not just come back, see how everyone's doing and what not". He tapped his fingers along the steering wheel.

"I didn't think you were gonna come back, Jenna said you didn't want too be around us anymore". Samuel huffed "that's not true, I'm the one who was gonna watch your sorry assess, but then she stepped in and took over".

"I didn't know that" Jeremy open the door when Samuel stopped it in front of the school. "I figured Jenna didn't tell you guys, she kinda hates me".

Jeremy saw the distress hidden in Samuels eyes. He didn't say anything, he just got out the car walking into the school. Samuel sighed to himself the blank feeling hovering over him.

—

Samuel had spent the entire day bored out of his mind. He cleaned his room, watched a movie and even took a nap but none of it helped him at all.

He hunched over the counter slamming a knife roughly down onto a carrot. The door opened and Elena and Jeremy both walked inside.

Jeremy running up the stairs into his room, while Elena walked into the kitchen. "What are you making?" Samuel looked at Elena.

The knife hovering in the air as he moved it about while he talked. "A salad, I spent months on the road eating junk food, now that I'm back home. I can finally make real food".

He slammed the knife into the carrot again. "Well I'm meeting my friends at the grill, just gotta change real quick before I go".

She ran up the stairs Samuel setting the knife down at the sound of knocking on the door. He opened it looking at the boy with confusion.

"Uh, who are you?" the boy let out an awkward laugh "Stefan Salvatore, is Elena home?". Samuel nodded "she's changing, feel free to come inside and wait for her. It'll be a minute".

Samuel walked back into the kitchen cutting more carrots aggressively. The door opened and Jenna walked inside "Samuel, I see you're back".

He didn't look at her, but he knew she was glaring at him. "Yeah, came back last night" she set her bag down weakly "could've called, told me about it".

He sighed to himself as he started rinsing the knife off. "I have everything handled here, you didn't need to come home". The knife shifted slightly the cold water hitting Samuels hand making him pause.

Jenna's voice kept nagging at his ears, his body zoning out as he felt himself drowning all over again. The feeling hit him harshly making the knife slide across his palm.

"Shit!" he dropped the knife hissing out in discomfort as he placed his bleeding hand against his chest. He grabbed a towel wrapping it around the wound quickly.

Samuel leaned into the counter watching as Jenna walked up the stairs, not caring he hurt himself. He was used to it at this point. He didn't understand why he ached for Jenna's approval.

The woman would always dislike him, he didn't know why. But it was just something that often made his mind drift away into the void.

He couldn't remember much of his childhood, just that Jenna was always showing him just how much she hated him. His parents hated him more and more as the years went on.

All because he latched out whenever Jenna would come over. He'd scream and shout over and over again. Until the woman was forced to leave.

But now, she was here forever. His parents dead, and his head still fuzzy from all the trauma he didn't wanna remember anymore.

He knew Elena remembered it all, but she never said anything about it, he'd probably latch out. Samuel didn't realize he zoned out until he felt the cold fingers of Elena gripping his hand.

"What happened?" he blinked looking down at her "the knife slipped, I'll be fine". He moved past her she let out a slow breath "why don't you come with us to the grill? Maybe just hang out for a while".

He saw the desperation inside of his sisters eyes, her hands nervously shaking as she looked at him. He knew she was remembering something from there childhood. Something very bad.

He felt the pain of the memory slipping into his mind, making him feel uneasy.

"Sure, just let me bandage this real quick" he ran up the stairs going into the bathroom. His breathing heavy as he slammed the door shut behind him.

He pinched his eyes closed as he leaned into the sink hearing the distant sound of Jeremy's music. He let out a weak whimper as he slammed his hands over his ears.

He could hear the loudness of Jenna's voice slamming into his ear drums making him scream. He felt dizzy as he slammed his fist into the mirror.

He could hear the loudness of ringing in his ears as he fell to his knees his breathing slow as he looked at the blood staining his hands.

His mind screamed at him as the door burst open, he couldn't focus on anything his vision blurry.

"Sam!" he felt someone touch his shoulder. He could hear the sound of Jeremy running out of his room, likely to see what the loud noise was.

The ringing stopped making him let out a breath of relief as his shoulders slumped downwards. The weight shifted off of him slightly, however it wasn't completely gone. He felt the lingering of it.

He didn't speak, his mouth refusing to even open and form words. He could see the silhouette of Jeremy in the doorway. Elena sat on the bathroom floor in front of him, her hand still on his shoulder.

For a moment it was silent and Samuel let himself relax, until the weight slammed back down on him. And he felt himself fading away slowly back into the dark void.