The yellow sunlight streamed in underneath her slowly opening eyelids. She opened them all the way and stared out through the window. The curtains fluttered in the breeze. Elena wondered where Stefan was then remembered. Katherine had told her that Stephen had completely given himself to Klaus. And then she had kissed Damon. A feeling of guilt and pain began to seep its way throughout. Why did I do that? Pity. That was the simple answer to a small mistake. Without a doubt though she knew that Damon would be by to talk about it. She had felt bad about leaving after, but Alaric was there to help and Damon was asleep. She just couldn't be there anymore.
Elena didn't quite know what to do with herself. Klaus was off somewhere completely unstoppable, Stefan had let go, and Damon almost died. There was nothing she could do to help anyone. She sat down on the cold floor and felt a tear roll down her cheek. Jenna was dead. John was dead. Everyone around her just seemed to die. Maybe she was the issue. She stood up and realized that she was the one person that everything bad seemed to happen around. She was the one to blame for all the pain. Elena reached up to the top shelf of her closet and grabbed the dusty old purple backpack from the 7th grade. She looked around grabbed some photos, money, clothes and her car keys. She opened Jeremy's door and saw him sleeping, his ring securely on his finger. Elena closed his door than her own. She tip toed past the sleeping Alaric and walked out the front door, turned on her engine and started to drive.
Damon woke up in his bedroom. The pain that had racked his body for several days now was gone. He pulled up his shirtsleeve and saw the bite had disappeared, so had Elena. He knew why. Damon hoped that she would come by later in the day. He walked down the steps and realized no one was home and then remembered why. "Stefan" he thought, "what have you done?"
Elena pulled up to an old motel on the side of the freeway. She had been driving for eight hours and could barely keep her eyes open. Her feet felt heavy and she walked up to the front desk and asked for a single room. She presented her I.D. and found herself on the second floor overlooking the sleazy Mexican food joint across the street. A bar fight was happening outside and loud cheering was coming from within. She was too tired to care and without changing, fell onto the bed and closed her eyes.
Damon waited all day to see Elena walk through the front door and call out his name with that disapproving tone she always did. But she never appeared. Beginning to worry he called the Gilbert home and got Jeremy on the phone. He said he didn't know where she was and figured she may have gone out to clear her head somewhere. Damon knew that was acceptable under the circumstances, but he wanted to talk to her. Damon ran over to her house and let himself in to her room. He looked around and realized her most prized things were gone. He looked into her closet and saw the missing spot on the shelf he had always noted just in case. In a flash he jumped out the window and got back to the boarding house. He then grabbed his car keys and started to drive.
Damon drove the entire night, snacking on blood bags and listening to bad 70's music. He finally caught her sent at an old motel.