As she heard the words come out of Caroline's mouth, she knew. Bonnie not seeing her meant more than just not seeing her; she knew Bonnie wouldn't forgive her. Bonnie didn't want to see her right now, and Elena wasn't sure she ever would. Caroline shut the door, leaving Elena in the doorway, hurt and shocked, but she wasn't the least bit confused as to why. She understood Bonnie. If anything, she respected Bonnie more than anyone in the current moment, even if it had come out of Caroline's mouth, the words belonged to Bonnie. And she needed to hear them.
She was the reason. Solely Elena. She could no longer pretend it wasn't any longer. Elena Gilbert was the reason her friends were hurting. She had caused all of their pain, their tears, and she was the reason their loved ones died. She wished that it had never had happened, that she didn't have to be the doppelganger. Elena didn't want to keep causing the people she loved pain, and she knew what she had to do.
She had to leave Mystic Falls; and she couldn't leave word of where she would be with anyone. She had to protect her friends and face her life on her own. She didn't feel guilty for leaving; she felt guilty for staying. Leaving was the only option that crossed Elena's mind as she trekked back to her house in the dark. She was leaving, and she had half an hour to do what she needed. She wouldn't allow herself to stay longer. She needed to let them move on with their lives.

As Elena reached her house, she took in its dark nature. Ric wasn't home. Jeremy was in Chicago. Jenna was dead. This wasn't just a house. It was a museum of the people she loved. The people that had left her; that she had made leave her. It contained her memories and her fears, but most importantly, it held her heart. It was where she grew up. It was where she was happiest; with her family. When she had a family.
She walked through the halls of the house running her hands along the wall as if to memorize this moment; commit it to memory. Her eyes saw everything, seeing it for the last time, and she felt her eyes sting and her heart get heavier. Of course it would always be her house, it was in her name, and it would undoubtedly always be her home, but she had to find a temporary one. She had to find a lot of temporary ones for her plan to work.
Elena opened the door to her room and her eyes searched it, half expecting Damon to be there, laying over her bed with her bear on his lap. A smirk on his face. But she quickly tried to stop herself from thinking of him. She hurt him, too. After all he had done to protect her, this is all she could give him; protection from her. Even though she knew in her heart that it had, and always would be, him, she couldn't say it. If she said it, it became real. If she said it, there would be no return of the Stefan she once knew. But she didn't want Stefan for her; she wanted him for Damon. Though he would never admit it, she saw how much he truly loved his brother. She wouldn't be the one to take Stefan from him. But as she allowed herself out of these thoughts, she knew she was stupid for even thinking Damon would be here. No one would be tonight; just her. And it would only be her for a short twenty-five more minutes.

Elena's hands flew to her closet to grab her clothing. She could take most of it, along with her shoes. She threw her fully-loaded duffel onto her bed and walked into her bathroom. She grabbed what she would need, and then, as her eyes caught the picture of her and Jeremy laughing taped to the top of the mirror, she took that, too. She took her duffel to the car as she put the belongings from the bathroom in it. And then made her way back up the stairs for another trip of her things. She took her journals and her pictures; they were her most personal things, and soon, they would be the reminder of why she has to stay away. It was to protect them. She just had to keep reminding herself of that. She had to be strong, for them. She could let her heart break when she disappeared into the night. Only then, would she let herself break. And only then would she try to finally cut her emotions off; or try to, at least.
She had made several trips to fill her car with her belongings, and as she walked in for the last time, she glanced over her room to make sure she left nothing she would need. And, at last, she grabbed a pack of paper and a pen and wrote her goodbyes.
The first was to Ric. It contained a simple, but meaningful thank you. She only asked him of one favor: to watch over Jeremy. She said she would never be able to repay him for what he had done for her and her family.
Elena wrote Bonnie and Caroline's letter together. It stated the words "I'm sorry. You were right: It is my fault. Please forgive me." Tears dropped from Elena's eyes as she went on to the next letter.
"Jeremy. I am sorry to leave you with nothing but an empty house. You're strong; the strongest I know. You can do this. You will survive this. You survive everything. Thank you for a lifetime of memories, and thank you for being my brother and loving me. I love you."
Elena folded Jeremy's up with the other two. Their names were on the outside. Elena looked down to the next blank page: "Stefan. I know that if you could take it all back, you would, just to protect the people you love. Please understand my leaving. I am protecting you from the dangers that find me, and most importantly, I am protecting you from myself. You will always be my friend. We were never meant to be anything more. That much is clear to me now." She folded it up, and placed it in the stack.
Damon's letter. The hardest to write, because she owed him so much. She owed him more than leaving in the middle of the night. She owed him more than just a letter. She owed him an explanation, but not like this. "I know while you are reading this, you will feel anger, and if your heart were able to beat, it wouldn't be able to be contained in your chest. I know that you are the first to know that I am gone, because I know that you are the one that pulls my blanket over me in the middle of the night. I feel like I owe you the most, Damon. I owe you much more than I will ever be able to offer you. I am sorry for the pain I have caused you. You have trusted me, loved me, and protected me; now it is my turn to protect you. You deserve much better than a girl who breaks your heart. You will find her. I promise." She stopped writing, and picked up the pen. Tears were wetting the page. "I will always love you. It was al…" The sound of the wind blowing caught her attention. It was way past her time to leave. She had stayed twenty minutes longer than she had planned. She placed Damon's letter over her heart, then placed it on top of the others. As she wrote in words on the next black page she left it on her desk in front of the letters. "Please forgive me"

It was time.