I laid on Stefan's bed and stared at the ceiling until my eyes dried. I still found their method of protecting me entirely unfair - I was a grown woman for gods sake - but I was starting to understand where they were coming from. The tears that sprouted downstairs formed only when it dawned on me that what they were saying was true; Katherine would never go away. Until Stefan and Damon did something with her, I was going to be stuck with this shadow lingering over me.

I flopped over onto my stomach and buried my head into the pillow. One thought bounced around in my mind: What now?

I still wanted to leave this house. I still wanted to get into my car and drive. I still believed that not having the Salvatore brothers in my life would be better for me.

A strange pang resonated in my chest at the thought of them not being there. I sighed and let out a small groan. I knew what was happening to me. I was starting to have feelings for these men; for these vampires. As much as I fought with them and told them I didn't want them in my life, I knew that it was untrue. I had even tried lying to myself. Granted, I absolutely did believe that my life would be safer with them gone – something I owed to my parents – that's not what I really wanted.

It was the usual game of my heart disagreeing with my head.

But overall, one thing was for sure: I was emotionally attached to the Salvatore brothers. And more surprisingly, those emotions were stronger for the one I had just met.

They wanted to protect me even when I didn't want them there. They stayed even when I tried pushing them away. Those actions deserved some compassion, didn't they?

Realizing all of this, however, changed nothing. As soon as Katherine was out of the picture, Damon and Stefan had to go as well. I had to push aside the emotions, hide the way I felt from the Salvatore's, and do what I thought was best for me.

With another groan, I rolled over to my side. My thoughts were confusing and disconnected. It was giving me a headache.

Just then, there was a small knocking at the door. My teeth automatically clenched together. Now was the time to force those emotions away. I needed them to understand that our feelings no longer mattered.

The door creaked open. "Elena?" Stefan called quietly. I closed my eyes and remained silent. He stepped inside with a small sigh and shut the door behind him.

"What do you want?" I asked coldly, my eye still shut. Sooner than expected, the bed jostled beneath me and a portion of the mattress lowered under his weight. I looked over at him, less then a foot from my feet.

"I came to check on you," he responded softly.

"Well, here I am. I haven't run away," I said and closed my eyes before adding, "Yet."

He groaned. "Elena, I wish you wouldn't try again. You're just making it more difficult." I let out one sharp, short, humorless chuckle and he groaned again. "And I wish you wouldn't do that. I'm not your enemy, Elena. I'm only trying to help you."

Time to play my part. "By kidnapping me?" I opened my eyes to look at him again.

"If that's what you want to call it, then yes."

"Well, aren't you such a hero, then?"

He scooted closer to me on the bed and reached out for my hand with his own. "I don't want to hurt you anymore, Elena, I really don't. I want to make this all better for you." I looked up into his eyes and instantly regretting making contact with the smoldering green orbs. "I still love you, Elena, and I don't think anything is going to change that."

Slowly, I pulled my hand from his and pushed up to a sitting position. I looked down at the bed. "Stefan, I can't," I whispered. "I can't love you anymore," because I love your brother, "because it just isn't what's right for me."

He stood up and started for the door. Halfway there, he turned back to me. "I'm going to prove to you that when all this is done and over with, it'll be okay to have me in your life." With that, he left the room.

I dropped down onto my back again and inhaled deeply. I had a feeling getting through to Damon and Stefan was going to be more difficult than fighting Katherine.

It had been 15 days since I first met Damon in Stefan's living room; 14 days since my first sexual escapade with Damon; 13 days since I lost my jobs and home because of Katherine; and 12 days since the first time Stefan locked me in his room.

It, surprisingly, only takes half a month for a life to be destroyed. I would've guessed longer.

I had spent a majority of the past two weeks sitting in Stefan's room staring out of the window. It wasn't because I was locked in any longer, I knew they started leaving it unlocked the fourth day I was here, but because there was nothing and no one I cared to see downstairs. Stefan and Damon would occasionally step in and try to spark a conversation, but I always either responded with a short, to-the-point answer or not at all. I was still very angry that I was being kept there and my emotions dealing with love had been locked up with the key thrown away.

We quickly fell into a sort of routine: around 8 AM I would wake up and find an assortment of breakfast items spread out on the desk (I hardly ever touched any of it), I would go shower and take care of my – what Damon liked to refer to as – "human responsibilities" while the breakfast was cleaned up, and then I would go back and sit in Stefan's room and either do nothing or read a book until noon. Around noon, one of the Salvatore brothers would bring me something for lunch – 2/3 of the time it was take out – and embark on another failed attempt at having a conversation. When I finished what I wanted of the food, they would take it away. Dinner came around 7 PM. Sometimes Damon or Stefan would stop by before 7 to try and talk again, but usually I was alone between lunch and dinner. Then when my dinner was taken away, I would "go to bed," which actually meant I stared at the ceiling until midnight or later until sleep finally drifted over me.

Overall, I lived a very boring life in the Salvatore home. I think Stefan and Damon left me alone so much because they were trying to do whatever it would take to make me happy, and so far I had more than expressed my desire to be alone.

I hadn't heard anything about Katherine. I was beginning to think she had moved on to bigger and better things than ruining me, but Damon and Stefan stayed wary so I didn't lose all hope that one day she would barge in and finish me.

I found myself thinking that way a lot. I started fantasizing the thought of death; morbid, I know, but when you have nothing else to think about other than how your life has become just a few shattered pieces that are in danger of being further destroyed, death starts to sound fairly nice. Death starts to sound peaceful and freeing.

So far this morning, I had been awake since 5 AM. I watched quietly as Stefan brought in the breakfast, set it up, and left. When I finally climbed out of the bed at 8, I decided that today I was tired of the routine. I had been in this room for 2 weeks. I was ready to go outside.

I quickly went through my morning routine and changed into day clothes, then gathered up all of my frustrations as a source of courage and marched downstairs. When I walked into the kitchen, I found Damon sitting in a bar stool, staring out of the kitchen windows. He swiveled around in his chair when he heard me approach and his eyes grew slightly wide at the sight of me.

"What are you doing?" he asked brusquely.

I folded my arms over my chest. "Good morning to you, too," I responded.

He narrowed his eyes and I could see the distrust behind them. "Good morning, Elena," he said slowly. "Now what are you doing?"

I bit down on my lower lip for a second. "Can I not just want to come downstairs to say hello?" I finally asked. He narrowed his eyes even more and tilted his head. I sighed. "I want to go outside."

Almost immediately he shook his head and turned back around. "No."

Instinctively, I threw my arms down by my side and balled my hands into fists. I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down, I was walking a very thin line between throwing a temper tantrum like a child and presenting my wants like an adult. After a few deep breaths, I unraveled my clenched fingers and moved my hands to my hips. "Damon," I finally started, "this is not a request. I'm telling you I'm going outside." A light, throaty chuckle sounded from Damon and I felt my face turn bright red. How dare he laugh at me! I crossed my arms again and headed for the back door. Abruptly, Damon had me pressed against the kitchen wall, his palms resting on the wall on either side of my head. I forced myself to look away from his mesmerizing blue eyes.

"You're so cute when you're angry and trying to take control of things," he smirked.

"Fuck you," I sneered, half surprised that such a crude remark was escaping my lips. I usually shied away from such language.

"I'm sure you'd like to," he replied with a raised eyebrow. I glared up at him and he laughed again before dropping his hands and taking a step back. "Why do you want to go outside, Elena?"

"Because I'm tired of being inside," I answered in a mocking, lofty tone, indicating that was a stupid question to ask.

"Stop being so snide, love. It's definitely not flattering on you." I rolled my eyes. "So, where do you want to go outside?"

I quickly thought up an answer because, honestly, I hadn't thought past the back yard. "The park." I watched as the muscles in his jaw tightened and released as he thought over my answer.

Just then, I heard footsteps on the tile I turned to see Stefan entering the kitchen. He slowed as he saw us and I watched caution creep over his face. "Elena? What's going on?" he asked warily.

Damon stared at me for a few more seconds before turning to Stefan. "She wants to go outside."

Stefan shook his head and looked at me with sadness in his eyes. "Elena, you can't."

I rubbed my eyes with my thumb and index finger. "Why do you two think you can make all of my decisions?" I asked with exasperation.

Stefan sighed. "We're just trying –"

"To keep me safe. Yeah, yeah, yeah," I finished for him, dropping my hands back to my hips. I looked at both of them. "I need to go outside for a little while. I'm so sick of being stuck in this house waiting for…something to happen! What if she never comes, guys? You're going to keep me locked up there forever?" My voice was on the verge of entering shouting range as I became more frustrated.

The two men exchanged looks for several moments before Stefan sighed. "Okay," he said, defeat obvious in his tone. "You can go outside."

"To the park," I clarified with determination in my voice.

"Then we'll have to go as well," Damon said, turning to look at me. "Either you can go outside here and be alone, or you can go to the park and we can go along. Think of us as…bodyguards," he smirked.

"I prefer the term babysitters," I responded.

An hour later, I found myself strolling down the quiet path of the local nature park. The sound of the leaves crunching beneath my tennis shoes and the wind ruffling my hair relaxed me more than I would've ever thought. Stefan and Damon both walked approximately 30 feet behind me, but it was easier here to pretend I was alone; all I had to do was stare straight ahead and never look back.

DPOV

Stefan and I kept quiet as we followed Elena; mostly because we wanted her to feel like she had some privacy, but also so that we could better listen to our surroundings.

I found it difficult to pay attention to all of the things happening in the forest as I watched Elena. I was captivated by the way she moved; how the wind would lift her silky brown hair; how every now and again, she would lift her face to the sky with closed eyes and simply enjoy the sun on her creamy skin.

I heard Stefan clear his throat and I couldn't help but grin. Of course he would notice how I looked at her. I ran a hand over my face and through my hair before finally tearing my eyes away from her and looking out into the trees.

"Hey, guys," Elena started and both Stefan and I turned our gazes to her. "I need a few minutes," she said and pointed to a small house-like structure tucked away between some trees.

I glanced over at Stefan then back to her. "You can't wait until you get home?" I asked. I didn't like the idea of her being out of my sight for even a few minutes. She pressed her lips into a thin line and gave me a hard look that very clearly said she could not wait. I sighed and looked down at my watch. "Five minutes."

"Ten," she corrected. I looked up at her. Give them an inch and they want a mile.

"Ten," Stefan said beside me. "Go ahead." I resisted the urge to glare at him. It appeared that we were playing the good cop-bad cop game.

She nodded and I watched as she twisted her fingers together in a fidgeting motion. Was she nervous? She looked down for a few seconds, then back up. "Where will you guys be?" Yep. She was definitely nervous. I pointed to a bench near us. "Right here on this bench." She nodded again before turning and going into the bathroom.

Stefan and I walked over to the bench and sat down.

"Why do you have to keep staring at her?" Stefan asked.

I laughed. "Jealous?"

"Of what?" he scoffed.

I looked over at him. "Don't act like you don't know that she would pick me over you."

His jaw tensed for a moment. "If you haven't forgotten, Damon, she's currently not picking either of us."

I nodded. "Currently." I was positive that she would eventually decide to choose one of us, after all of the Katherine stuff was over with.

We both waited quietly for Elena after that. Exactly 7 minutes later, the bathroom door opened and she stepped out. I furrowed my brow slightly. She had apparently scrunched water into her hair as it was curling slightly and she now had it all thrown up into a long ponytail.

She looked at us, nodded once, and then started down the trail again. Stefan and I both stood and followed after her, maintaining the appropriate distance.

We walked until the sun was starting to set and Stefan and I agreed that we no longer felt comfortable with keeping her out. "Elena," I called out to her. "It's time to go home."

She stopped walking and turned back to us with a sly smile that made me uncomfortable. "Meet me there?" she asked sweetly.

Before I could ask what she was talking about, she took off with inhuman speed into the forest. My head jerked around to Stefan and his face held all of the shock I felt.

He spoke just one word: "Katherine."

Authors Note: As my beta pointed out, this was probably predictable and I knew it would be. She always tends to show up when she's not wanted, huh? :)

Please review and tell me what you think. (Reviews help me write faster AND better.)

I will hopefully have Chapter 11 up in the next few days.

For updates on the story and other random bits of stuff, follow me on twitter: APhobiac or go to my blog: writingtoberemembered(dot)blogspot(dot)com

Thanks so much to my beta!

See you guys next chapter.