Author's note: I honestly couldn't wait to post this chapter! I personally enjoyed working at it more than the last ones and I can't wait to see what you guys think about my work. I have to say that I'm sorry about posting the last chapter and then temporarily deleting it. I was in a hurry to post it and I didn't see a few spelling mistakes until after I updated the story. Hope that it didn't inconvenience any of the readers. I would also like to say how stunned I was to see my inbox full of notifications concerning my story - I'm very thankful to all of you who added my story to their favorites list and I'm truly happy that you are enjoying my story. I'm also a bit nervous since all of you guys are reading my work... If things work out well, I'll be posting another three chapters before Season 3 actually starts. If not, I hope I'll be able to post at least once a week. Anyway, I'll keep you updated. I almost forgot - this chapter's title is inspired from Lee Ann Rimes' beautiful song - "How do I live". Enjoy chapter 4!

Disclaimer: As much as I would like to, I do not own the Vampire Diaries. My story centres around the characters of the TV show that belong to their rightful owners (TV script by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec) and of Vampire Diaries series written by L.J. Smith. I also do not intend any infringement upon any music that might inspire chapter titles or parts of my story.

4. HOW DO I LIVE

As Damon closed his bedroom's door, leaving Elena alone to take a shower, he felt incredibly furious and ashamed at himself. The fact that he had bitten Elena the day before he would eventually learn to accept – it had been an honest mistake from his part; he realized that Elena's words had been true – he couldn't have made the difference between the girl and her evil doppelganger in the state that he had been. And she had already forgiven him, which made him extremely relieved. But feeling the need to reach out and kiss Elena every five minutes while he was near her – well, Damon simply couldn't accept that, let alone get used to it. Last year he would have felt that having such feelings towards a girl would make him weak and a complete disgrace to the vampire race – that pretty much covered the way Damon had felt about Stefan when he found out about his brother's feelings for Elena. But now, no matter how much Damon tried to find an excuse to make him love Elena less, he simply couldn't find one – well, except for the fact that he was betraying his brother.

Damon was suddenly pulled out of his reverie as he heard someone knock at the front door. That was strange – none of the people he knew would knock – they would just barge in uninvited. He was at the door in less than a second, but surely enough, he wasn't simply imagining it. Alaric, Vampire Barbie and – Tyler? – were standing on the porch, waiting for Damon to invite them in. They all looked a tad embarrassed to be at the Boarding House at 9 o'clock in the morning. The vampire was surprised, to say the least.

'I can't say I haven't been expecting you guys, but what happened to the string quartet?' At Damon's words, Alaric suddenly burst into laughter. Damon was referring to Bonnie, Jeremy, Caroline and Alaric as being 'the string quartet'.

'Well, it's a long story…' Alaric said between giggles before he was abruptly interrupted by a weeping Caroline. 'Oh my God, Damon… I'm so happy that you're fine!' the girl jumped and frantically wrapped her arms around Damon's neck, sobbing in his chest. That took Damon completely off guard – he honestly looked as if he were in shock. Tyler couldn't help but grin at his reaction.

It took Damon a minute before he could compose himself and he hesitated before he patted Caroline on the back. 'Yeah, I'm happy too, Caroline… I just hope you're not planning to choke me to death any time soon.' Damon's comment sent Caroline sobbing even more, which in turn only intensified the terrorized look on Damon's face. 'Only you could be cracking jokes after you've almost died.' the girl cried.

'Yeah, well, I hope you didn't come for round two, 'cause I don't think I'll be the one who's put down this time.' Damon told Tyler with an edge of resentment in his voice. It seemed that Tyler had caught that, 'cause his face turned slightly red at Damon's words.

'He won't do anything, Damon, you know that… And please don't be mean!' With that, Caroline released Damon from her iron-like embrace and wiped the tears from her eyes. 'Now, where can I find Elena?'

'She's upstairs taking a shower. Did you –'

'Already taken care of… Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I'm going to see my best-friend.'

'Caroline!' Damon shouted after the vampire. She was standing in the middle of the hallway waiting for his response, clearly pissed by the interruption.

'Just... be gentle with her – she's pretty messed up right now…' Caroline's features visibly mellowed as she took in Damon's words.

'Don't worry, I will. I know what I'm doing.' With that, Caroline was already gone - which left Damon with a human school teacher who happened to be his friend and with a seemingly pained werewolf who had almost killed him. Well, he was in for a ball today.

They made their way to the living-room where Alaric suddenly stopped and turned towards Damon, looking somewhat uncomfortable. 'I'm really happy that you're ok, Damon…' Unlike Damon's earlier reaction to Caroline's feverish hug, the vampire felt truly touched as Alaric friendly patted him on the back. He couldn't find the words to say something more than 'Thanks a lot, Ric…'.

As Alaric took a seat on the couch, Damon was left standing next to a distressed Tyler. He seemed to be internally fighting, nervously fidgeting with his hands, before he turned to face Damon.

'Hey, man… I wanted to apologize.' It took a few seconds before the vampire answered in a sincere voice.

'What for? I'm fine now – I survived, that's the most important part.' Damon was now pouring some scotch in three glasses.

'Yeah, I can see that – I can't say how relieved I am that I didn't kill you. And I regret what I've done – I'm really sorry, it's still hard for me to control the transformation. I honestly didn't want you to get hurt.'

As Damon lingered upon Tyler's words he turned around holding a glass of scotch in his palm and handed it to Tyler. 'I believe you, wolf. I get it – I've been there, done that. I know how hard it is to keep control.' These words made Tyler look dumbstruck. He had been expecting to hear much worse than that from Damon – he had probably been wrong about him the whole time. Strangely enough, he couldn't hold any grudge against him, although he had killed his uncle Mason.

'Thanks, man… I appreciate it.'

'No hard feelings…' Damon sincerely said. Once they were all seated, it suddenly dawned on him that he hadn't asked them something really important.

'So, tell me… where's the little witch and the Lord of the rings?' Tyler kept his eyes to the floor as he heard Damon's question. Alaric smiled at Damon's choice of words, but his smile didn't reach his eyes.

'What's going on?' the vampire asked with a puzzled look on his face.

'Well… How bad do you want to hear the story?' Alaric reluctantly asked.

'Why are you asking me that?' Damon asked with one eyebrow going up in confusion.

''Cause you're not going to like it at all…' At that same second Damon heard the shower upstairs go off and Elena walk into his room to a weeping Caroline.

It took Elena ten whole minutes to make Caroline stop crying. It seemed somewhat unfair, for she should've been the one crying, but, strangely enough, Elena was glad that she hadn't broken down at the sight of her best-friend. She wouldn't have thought that Caroline could cry as much as she had just done – it seemed that since she had become a vampire, Caroline had gone over the edge in that department. However, Elena was immensely happy to see her friend – they hadn't spoken like this since before Caroline and Tyler had been kidnapped for the sacrifice and Elena was more than grateful that Damon had saved the two of them just in time.

'So what happened with Tyler and you after Damon saved you guys?' Elena was sincerely curious to find out how things had developed. She was in for another ten minute story of how Matt and her ran through the woods and wounded up alone at the Lockwood mansion. And at the peak of the story i.e. when Tyler tried to attack them, but failed to get in the house, Elena couldn't help but catch her breath. She couldn't understand why she still had these reactions – by now she should have grown immune to such things. As Caroline told her of the kiss that she and Tyler had shared the day before, Elena actually had a happy smile on her face.

'God, Caroline… I'm so happy for you – I really am. You two deserve it.' Elena said as she held Caroline's hand.

'I'm so happy as well, Elena. I mean, I still feel guilty about Matt and everything that happened with us, but I really like Tyler. Still, I'll have to deal with Matt eventually, 'cause he knows about all of us and I don't think he's handling it too good. But I'll take things slow. Slow is the right thing to do in this case, right?'

'Definitely…' Elena said in a flat tone. Something in Caroline's story was starting to bring her thoughts back to Stefan and it hurt like hell. So she quickly pushed his image out of her head and instead told her friend 'Thanks a lot for the clothes and toiletries you brought, Car'. You're a lifesaver.'

Caroline's cheeks suddenly got flushed at Elena's words. Seeing her friend's confused expression, she hasted to clarify everything.

'Well, I just brought them here. Damon was the one who called me to say that you would be needing these eventually. Well, he called Bonnie at first, but then she asked me to stop by your house and pick these up.' Elena suddenly felt a warm tingle under her skin as Caroline's words sank in. Damon had done this? She just couldn't picture him calling Bonnie and asking for toiletries and clothes for a girl. Also, Elena wondered how Damon could still think of something so insignificant while he was dealing with all the drama in their lives. Elena would later thank him for taking care of her like this.

'Well, he's very…attentive.' Elena finally said.

'Yeah…he's a very good friend to you, isn't he?' Although Caroline didn't intend it, Elena could feel the hidden sense behind her words – she simply thought it better to ignore it.

'Yes, he is… Umm, Caroline?'

'Yes, Elena?'

'Did you say that Damon called Bonnie first?'

'Yeah, he actually did.' The vampire said in a very natural tone.

'So why isn't she here with us? You said that Alaric and Tyler are with Damon downstairs, but… I don't get it – why didn't Bonnie come?' Elena asked, carrying a puzzled expression on her face.

Caroline seemed as if she was completely taken aback by her friend's question, which made Elena realize that something wasn't right. The vampire's reaction only lasted a fraction of a second and then Caroline composed her face very well, but Elena hadn't missed her hesitation. 'She's with Jeremy.' Caroline simply stated.

Elena was now the one to be taken by surprise 'Oh, ok – that makes sense…but what is she doing with Jeremy at ten o'clock in the morning?'

This time Caroline didn't hesitate. 'He wasn't feeling very well and Bonnie went over to see how he was doing.'

'I don't understand… what's wrong with him? Is he sick?' Elena's voice now seemed a bit alarmed.

'Yeah, he woke up feeling bad. After Bonnie went over to see him, she called me and said that he had the measles.' Caroline's face was sad as she said the last words.

'Hmmm, measles… Measles? Are you sure?'

'Yeah… I mean, Bonnie was positive – her father recently had the disease and she said that Jeremy had the exact same symptoms.' As Caroline took in Elena's distressed face, she continued.

'He'll have to stay at home for about ten days, I think. And, from what I remember, you're not allowed to see him during this period, 'cause you never had the measles, right? But don't worry, Elena, ten days are going to pass in a blur, you won't even notice. And with everything that's happened, you'll most certainly enjoy this time to rest.'

Elena breathed in and out trying to compose herself before looking her friend straight in the eye -'Why are you lying to me, Caroline?' The vampire's expression suddenly changed from confidence to distrust, but then went back to its former rigidness. Her voice came out a bit offended. 'Elena… I'm not lying! I'm telling you the truth…'

'Really?' Elena seemed furious. ''Cause, from what I recollect, and I do remember correctly, Jeremy had measles when he was eight years old.' Caroline now seemed caught completely off-guard.

'So you'd better start telling me what's going on, because I don't believe a single word you've said.' Elena was now standing in the middle of Damon's bedroom and she was truly enraged.

Damon was still downstairs with Alaric and Tyler, discussing about the possibilities of bringing Stefan back. They had already covered the topics of Jeremy's outnumbered death experience and then the strange things that he had started seeing i.e. the dead vampires, leaving Damon with another big hole in his chest, as he realized that Elena wouldn't forgive him this time. He had been lucky the first time, when she had understood the episode with him biting her, but they were now talking about Jeremy – her brother, her only living family. Damon had thought about keeping this episode from Elena for now – she was already such a wreck that he didn't know how she would react concerning the present situation. He wasn't too hopeful though – it didn't look good, no matter how he analyzed the situation. But he knew that Elena treasured the truth more than anything in the world, so he couldn't even comprehend the idea of hiding such a fact from her.

Damon had been closely eavesdropping on Elena and Caroline's conversation this whole time. He had a momentary desire to rip Caroline limb by limb given the fact that she had been stupid enough to open her mouth about Bonnie at the wrong moment. He was sure that Elena would most certainly figure the lie out. Although he had foreseen it, Damon was still taken aback from the intensity with which Elena screamed at Caroline.

'He's my brother, Caroline! Didn't any of you think that I had a right to know?' Damon then heard vampire Barbie mumble something incomprehensible, before Elena burst into flames again.

'I don't care that you thought that I couldn't take it. This has nothing to do with Stefan being gone! Yes, he left – but that doesn't mean that the world revolves around this single event.' At these words Damon felt a bit more light-hearted, although he couldn't quite understand why. 'This is Jeremy we're talking about… Where is he, Caroline?'

'Excuse me?' the vampire seemed to be getting smaller by the second as Elena's fury grew stronger.

'Where is my brother, Car'?' Elena tightly said as she was shaking her head, feeling her eyes fill with tears. 'I want to see him… Tell me where he is.' As she received no answer from her friend, Elena shot to the door, decided to go look for Jeremy. Caroline, however, stopped Elena in her tracks by blocking her way.

'I can't let you go looking for him, Elena… You're still too weakened – you need some rest.' Although Caroline's voice hid shame and worry towards her, Elena wasn't impressed at all. Instead, she simply exploded once again.

'Caroline Forbes, you get out of my way or I swear to God that I will jump out the window just to get out of this house!'

That had apparently done the job. At first, Elena thought that she was imagining the scene, but it was for real – Caroline, reduced to silence, retreated out of Elena's way, looking hurt and angry at herself. Elena wouldn't miss this chance – it was now or never. So she fled to the door, opened it and was relieved to see herself in the middle of the hallway with no Caroline on her back. But Elena's happiness was short-lived. Before she could reach the stairs, a figure appeared in front of her face with the speed of light, almost causing Elena's heart to enter a tahycardic state.

A taller and fiercer-looking Damon was standing right in front of her, inches away from her frozen body. He seemed to be trying to compose his voice as he pierced Elena's eyes, making her completely forget why she had been running in the first place. He was standing so close to her that Elena felt his breath on her face and shuddered from the feeling. His voice came out all shaky, as he was clearly trying not to lose control while standing next to Elena.

'Where do you think you're going?'

Elena suddenly jumped out of her reverie and her previous fury kicked in. 'I'm going home.' she tightly said. Damon stared at her for a second frowning before he started in a demanding tone.

'No, you're not. Now turn around and go right back where you came from.'

Elena couldn't believe her ears – Damon was now telling her what to do? She knew that she would regret the words, but she felt them leave her mouth before she could do anything to stop them.

'NO! I said I was going to see my brother. You know Jeremy, don't you, Damon? Of course you do – he's the person who died twice because of you… And given the fact that you his this from me hardly puts you in the position of giving orders.'

Damon's eyes looked as if they had been cracked. Elena couldn't believe that she had actually said those words. She didn't mean them, she would have never meant them – 'cause they were simply a profanity. She understood what had happened, she knew Damon wasn't the one to blame, he was sick when those things had happened. It hadn't been his fault – he was innocent, he was a good man. But all of the hatred, sadness and despise that she'd been gathering up inside of her had simply exploded like a nuclear bomb. She had said those words for she knew that they would hurt him – that was what had happened. She had wanted to hurt somebody as bad as she had been wounded. And Damon was unlucky enough to be there when she couldn't keep all of those feelings inside anymore.

Elena couldn't look at him – the moment she had the courage to look him in the eye, she was unpleasantly surprised to find a look of resentment and fury plastered on Damon's face. He looked as if he would never talk to her again – the realization made Elena wince, a fact which didn't pass unnoticed by Damon. She was astonished to feel herself hastily picked up by the vampire and the next second she found herself once again in Damon's bedroom. Caroline was watching the two of them as if she was afraid even to say something. Feeling that she was unwanted, she silently left the room in high-speed – which left Elena alone with an angry Damon.

The vampire was shaking with rage – he couldn't believe what had just happened. He thought that Elena and him were on way better grounds than this. 'But hey, that's what happens when you're responsible for actually killing the girl's brother – twice. Get over it.' But he simply couldn't – he felt more than hurt. If it had come from anyone else, he could have easily gotten over it, but this was Elena who had pinned him to the ground like that. Strangely enough, he couldn't help but feel more love-struck than he had ever been. 'God, I must be losing my mind…'

Elena could see that Damon was trembling with fury. But she was too afraid to even say something, let alone approach him. She had never felt so guilty in her entire life – not even when she found out that Stefan had run away with Klaus. That episode seemed meaningless compared to the damage that she had now done to Damon. He was never going to forgive her – she could feel it. The memory of his hurt face was the only thing that she could see, whether she kept her eyes closed or open. God, why did it have to be like this with the two of them? They were the best of friends, they enjoyed each other's company, but a stupid episode like this would always come between them and Elena couldn't stand it anymore. It was like a freakin' rollercoaster – up and down, 24/7. She remembered the other times when she had hurt Damon – when she and Stefan had betrayed him because they didn't want to open the tomb; and there was always the time when she had lied to him in order to get her hands on the book on Katherine's history from the University of Duke. Elena caught her breath, remembering what Damon had told her then on the porch of her house:

'You used me today.'

'You had information about Katherine that I needed.'

'I thought friends don't manipulate friends… You and Katherine have got a lot more in common than just your looks.'

Elena couldn't feel her legs anymore – Damon had been right. The realization made her feel weak and like a traitor. She said in a feeble voice 'Damon…', but was shocked to feel the air around her literally move and in less than a second Damon was standing right in front of her, wearing a mask on his former enraged face. He was holding Elena's arms in an iron-steel grip and his voice came out tight and firm, as if he were talking to a naughty child.

'Now you listen to me, Elena, and you listen good. I don't care how much you want to see Jeremy! You are not going to leave this house – not today and definitely not without me. Given the fact that Stefan is gone God-knows-where and that sheriff Forbes now knows that you're friends with a bunch of vampires, you are not going to take one foot out of this house alone. I wouldn't normally act like this, but you're clearly not thinking straight at the moment. And plus, apart from vampire Barbie, who, by the way, clearly has a weakness for you, I am the only one who can take care of you. And I'll be damned if I let you go wandering by yourself in town after all the effort that both my brother and I have put up so as to keep you safe. You're probably not going to like it, but, from now on, I'll be staying with you day and night, just to make sure that you keep away from any trouble. I almost lost you and I am not going to let that happen again. Did I make myself clear?'

Elena felt the tears start rolling down her cheeks. She tried to speak, but couldn't, so she simply nodded while staring into Damon's eyes, feeling mesmerized by their light blue color. His words were reverberating in her head, making it hard to think straight. Until this very moment, she had never actually realized how much Damon really cared about her. He had jumped in front of her to take an arrow in the back and he had stood up to Elijah a number of times, and these actions should have been the best proof of his feelings for her. But she had never heard him say the words - not with such intensity. Elena sensed that all of the feelings regarding Damon that she had kept inside were now bursting out of her chest, making it impossible to breath.

Damon thought that Elena was going to faint – her face had become a light shade of blue and he could hear her breathing dangerously slowing down by the second. He realized that he had probably scared her, so he quickly let go of her arms, taking a few steps back so that she could see that he wasn't going to hurt her. His head was swirling and the scene was too much for him; he turned around to face his bedroom door so as to let Elena calm down. How could he be so insensitive? This girl had suffered so many losses in the last days and the realization that her brother could have died as well had probably taken her over the edge. He still felt hurt because she had yelled those accusations at him, but Damon couldn't say that he didn't understand her. He wanted to hold her tight, make her look him in the eye and tell him right there and right in that moment how she really felt about him. But the love he felt for her stopped him from bringing that scene to life. If only Elena would let him help her and be there for her without pushing him away…

Damon flinched as he felt Elena's body clinging to his back and her hands going round his waist, gently embracing him. He hadn't heard her move an inch and he was completely shocked to be taken by surprise like that. It took him a few seconds to readjust to the position that he was now in. The moment he sensed his favorite strawberry flavor emanating from Elena's skin, all hell broke loose inside of him. It took every drop of his power not to turn around, pin Elena to the ground and kiss her.

Elena was trembling with fear as she desperately hung to Damon's back. But, strangely enough, it wasn't the normal kind of fear that she should've felt as she was trying to apologize to an angry vampire. No, that wasn't the case at all – the reason she was so anxious was because she feared that Damon wouldn't even want to listen to her, let alone forgive her. Elena realized that their relationship had always been based on words and never enough on true, palpable proof of their feelings. So, in a desperate moment, she had decided that she was going to try this in a different way – she was going to show him how much she needed his forgiveness through gestures and not through words. Instead of listening to her inner voice who was telling her to back off, she continued to stay clinged to Damon's now frozen body. Elena could sense that the vampire was extremely tense, but after a few seconds of hard and loud breathing, she could feel Damon's muscles release the former tension. Elena suddenly felt Damon's fingers grab her arms in such a gentle way as if they were only feathers, and then he lightly broke her tight embrace.

'Damon…' Elena knew that she sounded needy, but somehow she didn't care anymore – she needed to tell him everything she felt.

'Damon, don't push me away… Not now – after everything that we've been through!' Elena felt disappointment overflow her as she saw that Damon hadn't moved an inch; he looked as if he would forever remain in that position – with his back facing her and his palms clenched into tight fists.

'Damon, please look at me!' Elena was now begging – she knew that she should've felt embarrassed for the way she was acting, but she simply couldn't stop. The fact that Damon wasn't even willing to look her in the eye was driving her crazy. She wiped the tears from her face as she tried again.

'I'm sorry, Damon… I'm so sorry for what I said – I didn't mean it, I was so mad about everything that has happened lately.' The vampire still remained in his position.

'I know I told you that I was fine this morning, but I lied – I'm a complete and utter mess… But I guess that you already knew that, didn't you?' Still no answer from him…

'Because you know me so well, Damon… Sometimes I feel that you know me better than I know myself.' Silence...

'That's why I need you to understand why I was so unfair with you. I never meant to – I promise you that I'll never act like this again. You don't deserve to be treated the way I do – you deserve better than someone like me.'

Elena felt her head swirling as she hadn't received any sign whatsoever from Damon. Her voice came out so soft-spoken that she could barely hear it herself.

'I'm sorry that I'm such a disappointment – I'm even worse than Katherine…' Just as she was about to turn around and give up, she saw from the corner of her eye that Damon was moving.

Elena took courage in both hands and lifted her eyes to where Damon was standing. She felt her heart skip a beat as she saw the vampire slowly turning towards her. Elena was now completely shocked as she took in Damon's face – she had never seen his eyes so pained as they now were. He looked at her as if he was seriously questioning her mental health. Elena felt the air change and Damon was in front of her in less than a millisecond. He was piercing her chocolate-eyes, making it impossible for her to look away. His voice was the same as a few minutes before – demanding – but, unlike earlier, he gently took Elena's face in his palms, waiting for her to calm her breathing.

'Don't you ever say that again!' Elena felt her head swirl as she felt Damon's breath on her face.

'You are nothing like Katherine – not even a bit.' He shook his head as he started caressing Elena's face.

'You're always so selfless and kind and you feel the constant need to protect every living thing except yourself.' Damon took a deep breath before he continued.

'If you were worse than Katherine, I wouldn't be here standing in front of you like this – I would've been long gone by now.' Elena had completely calmed down and was now carefully listening to Damon's words, savoring each and every syllable that was coming out of his mouth.

'There's nothing that I have to forgive – I understand, Elena. I know it might seem like I don't get a lot of things, but I know what you are feeling right now. And you can say it out loud if you want to; that's the beauty of it - you don't have to hide or pretend that you're ok. Not when you're with me…'

Elena felt as if she was standing completely naked in front of Damon – she couldn't comprehend how he could read her so well, but instead of being ashamed and reserved, she felt safe and understood. A shiver went down her spine as she felt Damon's eyes piercing hers – God, how could he make her want to tell him everything just by looking in her eyes? She didn't feel obliged though – no, it was her desire only to tell him these intimate things. She felt her bottom lip tremble…

'I miss him, Damon…' There, she had said it – it was out of her system. Elena had never been the kind of girl who opened up to somebody that easily – she was lucky enough to have been able to talk to Bonnie and sometimes to Stefan. But Damon… the way he made her blurt out the truth was beginning to make her feel weak and fragile. She couldn't stop though – she had to spill it all out.

'And…every time I remember Katherine's words, I can't help but think that he left me.' Elena saw Damon try to react to her words, but she didn't let him.

'He left me here all alone. And I know that he did it to save you – I would never want it any other way, because I care about you so much… But Stefan left me here without looking back.' By now, Elena's eyes were filled with fresh new tears. She wondered if she would ever stop crying.

'He abandoned me, Damon…' Elena said between sobs.

The moment Damon saw the girl's pink cheeks filled with tears, he gently picked her up and seated himself on the bed whilst holding Elena like a small child in his lap. Her head was buried in his chest and her arms were clinging to his body as if she never wanted him to let go of her. Damon could feel her body tremble with every new sob, her heartbeat accelerate and he could even sense the salty taste of her tears. He wished that he could kiss away every shred of pain and every tear that would eventually be shed by Elena. He wanted to tell her that she was wrong about Stefan, that he would be coming back because he loved her so much, but something inside of Damon couldn't let him lie to her. It was his brother's fault that Elena was in this state and Damon was now also fighting with the growing feeling of resentment towards Stefan and his impulsive humanitarian actions.

'He didn't have a choice – he wouldn't have left you if there had been another way.' Damon felt Elena shudder so he simply tightened his embrace.

'Don't hate him for what he did – it was what anyone would have done for their brother or sister.' Damon realized that he hadn't specifically included himself in the sentence. But how could he? He knew for a fact that he would always choose Elena in favor of his brother, no matter what. He gently grabbed the girl's chin and slowly directed it to his face.

'But don't worry – we will bring him back, Elena. I promise you that I will do everything in my power to bring him back…'

Seeing Elena's empty eyes made it even harder for Damon to stay away from her. He gave her an assuring look and then bent down so as his lips to gently kiss her forehead. When he drew back from her face, he saw Elena's eyes open and felt her shaking worse than before. Again, he felt so helpless that he couldn't help Elena with more than just his words, but this time he simply held her tight in his arms, letting her cry her heart out. Damon didn't care that he wasn't the brother she was crying about. He didn't care that he had just promised her to bring back Stefan – the only man that had taken away two of the women that he loved. He didn't care that Elena would never have the same intense feelings for him as she nurtured for his brother.

The only thing that mattered was that he could once again hold the love of his life tight in his arms just like this…

I haven't done this until now, but I would really appreciate it if you could review this chapter. It would help me understand what your feelings towards my work are and if the style of writing is good enough. Thanks in advance. :) Until next time!