a/n: So...just take a deep breath and remember that you love me :)

TWENTY-ONE

In the time that it took me to blink, Isobel sent me spiraling through the air and I landed backwards on the trunk of Damon's car. The impact was big enough for me to leave a dent and even as the world began to spin, I could only think of how angry he would be that his car had been damaged. By the time I could see straight, Isobel filled my vision as she loomed over me, her hands clutching my shirt to lift me up. I waited for her to do something, anything, other than just stare at me with her fangs out and eyes darkened in bloodlust. In less than a second, her fangs retracted, but she remained where she was. "You should have let the Salvatores die in the fire."

Her voice was icy, sending chills down my spine. "You should have burned with the others."

Her eyes widened just a fraction before she smiled slightly and pulled me up by the front of my shirt. "That's no way to talk to your mother."

"You're not my mother," I snapped and managed to slam my fist into her side.

It caught her off guard just long enough to let go of my shirt. I turned to run, only to slam into Katherine. She had her hand around my throat and began to squeeze. My hands went to up to try and pry her fingers off of me. When my vision became hazy and I saw black spots, she threw me to the asphalt like a rag doll and placed a foot on my chest to keep me down. I didn't even bother to fight her off as I gasped for air and rubbed my throat. "I thought I told you to take her away from here," she said coldly, looking over me to Isobel.

"I just took her from the church," Isobel replied in the same tone.

"If she's too much trouble, kill her," Katherine suggested and pressed down on my chest to show she had the upper hand. She stepped back and smiled sweetly at me. "Take that ring off before you do," she added before she turned and walked back the way she came.

I rolled over onto my side, grabbing the vial from my pocket as I went. I took the top off and placed my thumb over the hole despite the fact that my nerves were beginning to get the best of me. She stood at my back and leaned forward to smile at me. "If you had taken the hint and walked away from them when your father and I told you to, none of this would be happening," she said, crouching down so she was more on my level.

Having Damon's blood in my system was giving me a better sense of my surroundings and I was very glad that she didn't seem to realize what I was preparing to do. As she moved her hand to my shoulder to roll me onto my back, I swung my legs as fast as I could in a makeshift roundhouse kick and knocked her down. I sat up on my knees and took my thumb off of the vial and dumped the vervain onto her face. She screamed and raised her arms up for cover and in a matter of seconds her face and her hands were covered in blisters to varying degrees. It made my stomach churn, but I got to my feet as fast as I could. "Elena!" Damon shouted from the back of the church.

"I got her! Katherine went to the front!" I yelled over the rain as it began to pick up.

He looked reluctant to do it, but I had already started running to the tree line behind the church. I looked over my shoulder to see Damon taking off and Isobel was in the process of healing and coming after me at the same time. I didn't know exactly what I was going to do, but my plan was to lead her away from the church and it seemed to be working. I dodged trees left and right, amazed at my ability to jump over the roots when necessary and somehow not to fall in the process. At least this far into the woods the rain wasn't as noticeable because of the vast amount of trees.

I heard a snarl from my right and as I turned to see what it was, something hit me and sent me flying into a tree. I groaned and pushed myself up onto hands and knees having fallen to my stomach. I turned my head to see a wolf stalking towards me, snapping and growling all the way. "Damn it Tyler!" I hissed and he lunged for me. I waited until the last second before I dropped back to my stomach and I heard a loud crack as he hit a tree. I rolled away as he slid down, knocked out cold but still in wolf form. "Sorry," I muttered.

"You will be," Isobel said from above me and lifted me to my feet.

I watched as the last bit of her face healed before my eyes and she rolled her shoulders in satisfaction. "You don't get a say over what happens in my life."

"Yes, I do. I always have, Elena," she snapped, letting go of me.

We both began to circle each other cautiously. I wasn't going to run, but I was planning on reaching for the dart in my boot soon. I shook my head, "You gave up that right when you gave me away."

"You had a much better life than I could have ever given you."

"It was a great life until you showed up." Her eyes hardened at that. "If you hate Stefan and Damon so much, why did you seek him out to turn you?" In order to work up the nerve to actually kill her, I needed to keep her talking.

"I don't have to explain my life to you."

"You had everything, including a loving husband who was there for you even after you left him. He dropped everything to find you, refusing to believe that you were dead."

Her eyes darkened and her jaw ticked with sadness and anger. It was the first time I had seen any sort of emotion from her other than hatred and cruelty. "Alaric was too good for me."

"Tell me something I don't know," I muttered.

That angered her even more, her eyes hardened to ice, throwing daggers in my direction. "A man like that would have never married a woman who had a child before her sixteenth birthday."

"So you figured you would end your guilty conscious by turning into a vampire?" I asked. "That was a stupid plan." She stilled to the point where she looked like a statue before her face took on the cruel yet playful look it was accustomed to. "Shutting off your humanity doesn't make the guilt go away."

"What do you know about it?" she snapped, her smile draining away.

"I know enough," I said, catching movement from the corner of my eye, signaling that Tyler was coming out of his current state of unawareness.

She shook her head, drawing my attention back to her. "Wrong answer, Elena," she said softly and I saw her body tense a split second before she lunged in my direction. For some reason, she hadn't attacked using her increased speed, giving me the opportunity to duck and grab the dart out of my boot. She looped an arm around my waist and forced me to the ground before getting on top of me. I went to stab her in the side when I had a clear shot, but blinked in surprise as my hand turned up empty when I hit her. Before I could figure out what happened, I gasped at a sharp pain in my stomach. She slid back and rested her hands on her thighs, looking down at me with surprise in her eyes. "You should have just stayed away," she breathed before leaning in to take my hand. She removed my ring and set it just inches out of my reach.

I continued to gasp for air, crying out in pain when she removed the dart and positioned it over my heart. I felt the sharp tip pressing against me and my head began spinning. If she pushed down, I would only come back as a vampire thanks to Damon. She picked up on the fact that I wasn't as scared for my life as I should have been and my body turned to jelly as she began to lift the dart away from my body. Something caught my attention and I looked up just in time to see Stefan coming at her with a stake. "No!" I yelled, but it was too late.

The dart dropped next to my shoulder as Isobel's skin began to turn an ashen grey. Her body became rigid, her face a mask of surprise and horror as she slowly fell on top of me. In a matter of seconds, she was dead and her corpse pinned me to the ground, applying pressure to my already aching body. Stefan pushed her off of me and jumped back as I grabbed the dart and aimed it at him having pulled myself up into a sitting position. It was empty now, in my system, but he didn't know that. "Elena," he whispered in what sounded like a plea.

I reached for the ring and slid it onto my finger. I felt it when the wound began to heal itself and pulled myself to my feet to face him. "You killed her," I breathed. My entire body was on its last nerve, trying to hold myself together. "You killed her," I repeated, taking a shaky step forward.

He held his hands up in surrender. "She was going to kill you."

The dart dropped from my hands due to my trembling body. "I thought you were on the same side? Katherine's side," I spat.

He shook his head and ventured a step forward. "I don't want you dead!"

"If that were true, you wouldn't have left me!" I fired back, using every last bit of energy to remain standing. "Especially not to be with her."

"I left to protect you."

"What?" My heart thundered in my chest, filling my ears along with the rain that filtered through the trees.

"She came to me, said that she was here for me; that I had been her choice all along and you had run off with Damon. I knew that wasn't true, but she would have killed me if I didn't go along with her game. I came to the hospital and yes, I was a little shocked to see you with Damon, but I was so relieved to see you were alright."

I shook my head rapidly, a tear sliding down my cheek. "No..."

"I was counting on Damon's feelings for you so that he would stay close and protect you. He's stronger than I am and he knows how she thinks better than I do," he admitted, hanging his head.

"Why didn't you just tell me this at the hospital!" I raged.

He looked up at me, at a complete loss for words. He shook his head once or twice and took another step forward. "I know I should have, but I'm telling you the truth. I don't love Katherine. Elena, I love you."

My legs buckled and he shot forward to grab me. He held me to him tightly, showering my face with light, barely there kisses. He whispered small reassurances that didn't quite reach my ears before his lips found mine. All the background noises fell silent, the only thing I could focus on was Stefan and his kiss. I closed my eyes against tears that cascaded down my cheeks to wet our lips. It felt wrong and my heart raced as I realized why. It wasn't the first time this realization had occured, but it renewed it, making it stronger and more real. I shoved him away and he stumbled back in surprise. All the weakness in my body vanished and I felt stronger than I had since Founder's Day when this whole mess had started. "I don't love you Stefan, not anymore. Things have changed."

His jaw dropped as he studied me. "Elena, what-"

I reached into my other boot and pulled out the stake. I stared at him and dropped it to my feet. "Did you sleep with her?" His jaw snapped shut and his eyes hardened with shame. I nodded and felt a sense of calm over the fact that his unspoken answer didn't affect me the way I had imagined it would. "Do yourself a favor and get out of my sight before I change my mind and lodge that stake in your heart."

"I needed her to believe me so she wouldn't go after you!"

"It's nice to know that you couldn't trust me to be around your brother, but you can run back to your ex and do whatever you please with her. I mean it Stefan," I said sternly and glared at him. "I never want to see you again, hear your voice, or you name. If I do, I will make sure it's the last time. Understand?" I said coldly.

His eyes burned and his body was rigid as my eyes lingered on him for a moment before I turned my back to him. The wolf was no longer by the tree, nor was Tyler's body, making my half-run back to the church a cautious one. I felt a weight being lifted off my shoulders when I realized Stefan wasn't coming after me as I thought he would. As I approached the back lawn of the church, I noticed the small gathering of the Council members, but no sign of Damon. "Thank God," Alaric said, pulling me to him in a bear hug.

"Is it over?" I asked, my words sounding muffled against his soaked shirt.

He released me and nodded. "John and Damon found Katherine in front of the church, compelling Bonnie to do some sort of fire spell to burn it down despite the rain. John shot Bonnie with a dart and it killed Katherine's sway over her. The three of them took her down."

"Isobel's dead," I said flatly.

He bit his lip, but nodded. "Stefan?"

"I couldn't do it," I admitted. "But I told him I never wanted to see him again," I added and peered around him to see a few Council members doting over a passed out Tyler.

"He appeared here like this. I'm assuming he changed," Alaric said and I confirmed it with a nod.

I looked around and then back at him. "Where is Damon?"

"John took Bonnie home and I thought Damon went to find you."

My eyes widened in fear. "When?"

"A few minutes ago. He said he was going to get you and took off in the direction you just came from."

"He wasn't there," I breathed. "Can you take me to the boarding house? Now?"

He nodded and we took off to his car parked somewhere out front. I drummed my fingers on my lap while Alaric raced through the rain to get me there as fast as he could. I racked my brain trying to remember if I had seen Damon's car at the church before getting into Alaric's. I used his phone to call Damon, but it went straight to voicemail each time. Alaric had barely come to a stop by the time I was halfway out of the car. "Elena!"

"Wait here!" I shouted before slamming his door and racing up the front porch, bursting through the door. "Damon?" I called out, listening for any sign of movement. I checked the main rooms downstairs before running upstairs and throwing open his door. "Damon?" I called again and stopped dead in my tracks at the sight of his bed.

I took small steps, feeling lightheaded as I got closer. There was a note on the bedspread. My hands trembled as I picked it up and read it. I'm sorry, -D. I read it over and over again, hoping more words would magically appear. I turned and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the empty space above the note in my hands, jumping as a tear hit the paper. I let it slip out of my hands and I looked up to the bathroom. My things were stacked neatly by the entrance and I took only a few steps towards them to realize his closet was bare.

Everything was gone.

Damon was gone.

For the first time since I had met him, he lied to me. He had given me a speech on how he would never leave and yet he was gone. I was never going to get to tell him how I felt for him.

I had gone from having both Salvatores to neither; just like Katherine.

I wiped a tear from my face and straightened up. It was his choice and I refused to cry over it. With that, I grabbed my things, and headed back to Alaric's car, forcing myself not to look back.