Thanks to all of those who reviewed! I'm really interested to hear your thoughts on this chapter because I don't think a lot of you expected it to go this direction. I love hearing from you guys! :)

Music

An Ending (Ascent) - Brian Eno (Rebekah & Elijah)

Such a Fool - Band of Skulls (Elijah driving/leaving)

Point of Disgust - Low (Seeing Hayley)

Elijah was in his room, packing the very few necessities he would need. He was done with this wretched town. His family had fallen apart. Their mother wished them dead and one of his siblings had a death wish. This wasn't what a family felt like. It was time for him to move on. Everything that mattered to him had been thrown to the side, for what? For nothing.

He left Hayley to kill Klaus and when given the chance, he failed. He got his family back but under the worse circumstances possible. It didn't matter where he was going, as long as it wasn't Mystic Falls.

"And where are you going?" Rebekah's voice fluttered into the room.

"Anywhere." He replied without looking at her.

"So I was right?" She sat on his bed watching him move about.

"Right about what, sister?" He inquired.

"It is a girl. Just not Elena." Elijah stopped what he was doing and turned to stare at his sister. He was judging to see if she was just throwing crazy ideas out there of if she truly already knew the answer. "Klaus told me." She added.

Never underestimate how fast information passes throughout a family, especially one full of vampires with sensitive hearing. Elijah didn't want to talk about it anymore. The one time with Elena was more than enough for him to handle in a lifetime. And even if he did, the last person he'd want it to be with is his sister.

"There's no point in torturing yourself any longer, Elijah. Honestly, you're turning into Stefan Salvatore." Rebekah said as she stared at her nails. But her brother raced in front of her, making sure she knew how serious he was.

"Why do you care, Rebekah?" Elijah growled. He was getting sick of everyone talking to him about her. "Ester was right. All my talk of virtue, when it suits my needs, I kill, main, and torment. Even today, I terrorized an innocent."

"Elena is hardly innocent." Rebekah hissed.

"And I used your hatred for her to get what I wanted, wielded you like I would a sword, my sister." He said, ashamed of himself.

"You did it to protect us, Elijah, and rightly so! We deserve to live, we are better than they are." Rebekah defended her brother's actions. The same one's that were causing him so much self-hatred.

"Are we?" Elijah questioned. "Mother made us vampires, she didn't make us monsters. We did that to ourselves. That is why I can't go back to her. Don't you understand? She is good, all I do is corrupt her humanity and put her in danger. I promise, she is probably continuing the life she was always meant to. Everything is better for her if I'm not there."

Rebekah stared at him for a moment. He was pacing now, everything he was saying caused him to be worked up. She waited for him to calm down for a moment so he heard every word she was about to say.

"Maybe you're right, Elijah. But just do yourself a favor. If you want to leave Mystic Falls, fine. But if you go anywhere, go to her. See if she's as happy as you believe she is. And truly ask yourself if she's better off without you. But if you see something surprising, don't be too foolish to admit that both of you would be better off in each other's lives."

Elijah looked at her closely. His eyes narrowed, wondering what game his sister was playing. "Why are you telling me this? You hate humans. You think they are weak and that they're only purpose is to be fed on." He asked skeptically.

Rebekah's tone changed from demanding to honest and soft, an uncommon thing for her. "You ignored your morals to save us tonight, Elijah. All of us bring out the worst in you. I'm trying to make up for the damage we caused."

Elijah gave her one last look before grabbing his small bag. "Good-bye, Rebekah." He quickly left the room. Rebekah heard the front door open and close, followed by a car driving away on their long driveway.

It was half a day's drive to get from Mystic Falls to Chicago. Elijah planned on cutting it in half with the speed he was going in. With his vampire vision, cops wouldn't be a problem. And if for some reason they were, compulsion always came in handy. He knew exactly where to find Hayley. Over time, he had kept close track of her, knowing her location in case anything happened. She stayed in Chicago, as he knew she would, choosing to go to one of the many colleges in the city.

Six hours had passed, and finally, Elijah was in the city limits. It was strange being back after such a long time. He'd refused to come back to Chicago after what he did to Hayley. The temptation to see her would have been too great. And every place he went here, he was reminded of her in some way.

Since the long drive started late in the evening. He got to the city still quite early in the morning. Hayley lived in the city now, under what circumstances, he didn't know. But he had found the address and expected she would just be getting up. The plan was to follow her, which Elijah was not fond of. But he promised himself that he would keep his distance and only watch her, never interacting.

He waited in his car for her. His human emotions were all over the board. Hayley had not been so close to him since the night he'd compelled her. Elijah's emotions were confusing him about what he expected with what he wished to see from her. He expected her to be happily in love with some human boy, a college sweetheart of some sort. But what he wanted was so different. The selfish part of him hoped she was happy but had no significant other. He never realized how much he was asking for.

It was still too early for her to be up. That was why he was completely unprepared when he saw the back of her locking her door before walking down the stairs to the sidewalk. He cautiously got out of the car to follow her on foot. For the first 5 minutes of trailing her, Elijah was in a daze. He felt like he was in a dream. This wasn't real; she couldn't possibly be standing so close to him. But once his mind finally grasped that this really was reality, he started taking everything in. Her hair was cut into a messy bob, barely able to graze her neck. She walked in high heeled, dark grey, leather boots that went up to her knees. And she wore an oversized military jacket with a crème infinity scarf. Besides the haircut, physically, she hadn't changed that much. Hayley was still the tall and lean girl he'd left. But he had yet to see her face. He'd kept so far behind her that he hadn't got a good glimpse.

Hayley turned into a coffee shop, and Elijah took it as a perfect time to get close without alarming her. In the pit of his stomach, he hoped for some reason Jonas & Luka's spell didn't work. That Hayley remembered everything, only waited for him to come back to her. But his mind inserted reality where it was needed.

"Can I have a vanilla latte please?" His eyes closed a second at the sound of her voice. He got in line behind her, hoping he'd be able to control himself.

As she moved across to wait for her coffee at the other side of the counter, Elijah took his chance to watch her. There were shadows under her eyes that weren't there before. Her eyes had lost the glow from her unyielding charm. And it looked like she hadn't smiled in days. Unexpectedly, her gaze caught Elijah's. If people's deepest desires came true when they were most wished for, Hayley would have shown immediate recognition, a sign that she truly hadn't forgot. But they didn't live in that world, for as soon as she caught his gaze, she turned away again.

Once again she walked into the crisp and cold air of the city, on a mission to get somewhere specific. Elijah presumed she must be late for something; she kept looking at her cell phone to check the time. Perhaps it was another art class she was taking. But Elijah stopped in his tracks as he saw the building she was going into. Hayley swiftly walked into a psychiatrist's office. What was she doing in there? Was that where she worked?

Elijah waited outside for her to leave before he walked into the building. Her scent still lingered and he followed it around the building until he ended up at a front desk of some sort.

"Hello. I was wondering if there was a Hayley Raymond who works here." The older woman at the front desk did a double take, away from her computer, at Elijah. It took her a few moments to register what he'd just asked.

"I'm sorry, we can't share that information." She said apologetically.

Elijah leaned in close, locking eye contact. "It's very important that I find out." He compelled her. The waiting room was empty except for a child, probably waiting for a parent, who wasn't paying them any attention.

"Hayley is a patient here." The receptionist said in a monotone.

Elijah felt sick. This was nothing like he had anticipated. He turned back to the woman, continuing to compel her. "Who is her consultant?"

"Dr. Arch." She quickly replied.

"What room will I find her in?" He quickly asked. She gave him the room number and Elijah turned to find it immediately. As soon as he walked into the doctor's office and saw no one was in there but the two of them, he didn't waste time. He instantly compelled her.

"Tell me everything about Hayley Raymond's case." He stood as she sat watching him with a dazed look in her eyes.

"Hayley has been diagnosed with severe depression." Her voice spoke freely but her body was rigid. "Her case is very unusual and unique. When I first met Hayley, she had extreme symptoms of grief. It was as if she had lost someone dear to her but the confusing part was no on in her life that had passed. We tried every type of antidepressant but nothing seemed to work. Then there was her case of insomnia. She said she's had trouble sleeping ever since she could remember. Mentally and emotionally, she can hardly get through days and nights without some form of medication."

"How did she cooperate with getting treatment?" Elijah asked. He'd just realized that Hayley would never agree to therapy. Her stubbornness and independence would certainly not allow it.

"Her parents threatened not to pay for her college tuition if she didn't come to sessions twice a week. I didn't agree with the terms but after meeting Hayley, I worry what would have happened if she hadn't been forced. She can be quite difficult during sessions. Hayley doesn't believe she has a problem and makes it very clear that she hates coming to in. I think it's frustrating for her. She doesn't understand what triggered her depression. Furthermore, her only support system is her sister and her friends who are all away at different colleges."

Elijah was still, comprehending all the information. It was all because of him. Although the memories were taken away, her body still went into remorse and depression. Everything he predicted and hoped for was completely mistaken. He had left her alone all this time to deal with the mess he'd caused. Elijah was lost. Where was he supposed to go from here? No matter what he decided, he was hurting Hayley in some way. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't she just be happy without him? The only thing he knew right now, was that he wasn't leaving any time soon.

Thoughts? Concerns? Review. :D

Oh btw, in case you were curious... picture Dianna Agron's short hair cut for Hayley's. Every time i try to add a fucking link, it does't work.