Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Vampire Diaries.

It's like time is moving in slow motion, even though she just slammed me back against the hallway wall faster than I could blink. Memories swirl in the fog in my head.

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I wake up with a jolt and wonder where I am.

Then I remember it's a different time now, a different place. I am a different man than I was before.

I live in Mystic Falls, Virginia. I'm a history teacher at a high school. My wife is dead. No, worse than that, she chose to give up her humanity and become a monster. When she came back, I… I wanted to believe that there was something left of the woman I once loved, but there wasn't.

Isobel, my beautiful Isobel, forsook her life and emotions so that she could chase down a dream of being what she devoted her life to studying. I loved her obsession with it. I loved her, more than life itself, but I can't deny what's right in front of me.

I can't take my eyes off of hers.

This is it, this is the compulsion where she makes me forget about her, or makes it so that I don't care that she left me to live among the undead.

The world is fuzzy now… all I can focus on is her face… and the words she's speaking to me. They're burrowing their way into my brain even though I can't really hear or understand her.

I can't move… she's… she's gripping me here. Paralyzing me.

"I wanted this. I needed this. This is my mistake. And I'll regret it forever."

Sadness. I feel her sadness now, because of what we've both lost in each other. I lost her and she lost herself. She hates what she became…

"Goodbye Rick."

No! My mind screams, but she's gone. Isobel is gone, and… I shouldn't look for her anymore… she's gone and I'm sad but I know I loved her, and I know I should move on.

The hallway is cold and sterile under the fluorescent lights. I slip the ring my loving wife gave me back onto my hand, and I slowly move away… my back hurts… I should do something about that.

But for now, I have a secret to keep, and a town to protect, I need to… though I'm not sure why.

Honestly, what else could I do? My wife is gone.