Elena was sitting quietly on the chair with a cup of steaming coffee in her hand but it was doing nothing to calm her nerves. Damon's room was right in front of her and Meredith's voice was still booming in her head, ripping her cells slowly, and making her insane with each passing second. She was trying so hard to remember what had happened on the day of the accident that she felt she would burst her veins.

"Stop thinking so much, it's giving me an aneurysm." Jeremy chided her. He too was sitting with a cup of coffee in his hand and like her, his too was untouched.

Elena felt like throwing the cup on someone and rip the whole place apart with everyone in it. She was feeling so angry, so vulnerable and so empty that if she found out who drugged her, she would cut his head, light him up on fire and dance around his charred body.

"How can someone do this to me Jeremy? What was my mistake? What did I ever do to him to deserve this?" She whimpered, as her brother held her hands.

"Trust me sister, if I get my hands on that fucker, I'll rip his every organ and then feed it to him. But why do you think it's a he? It can be a woman too." Jeremy asked curiously.

"Alaric and the others kept referring to the attacker as he so I guess he is a man but why does that matter? He ruined my life and now he is ruining Damon's too. Why is this happening to us Jeremy? I just want a normal life. Is that too much to ask for?" She sobbed, putting her head on her brother's shoulder for support.

"I don't know. I guess God is testing us. Have faith Lena and have some hope. I believe good days are coming soon. We just have to be patient." He said, patting her head slowly as he kissed her forehead.

Elena became quiet after listening to him. Maybe he was right, maybe he was wrong but if this was really a test from God then all she hoped was to come out of it safely with Damon and everyone else. She didn't have the strength anymore to hear about anymore deaths.

"Jeremy, you promised me you would tell me about Damon and me. I wanna hear it now." She asked.

Jeremy sighed.

"Are you sure? Why does it even matter? Look at your memory loss as a boon Elena. You can start fresh. You can get away from all this drama and start a new life. You are only 21 years old and here you are in a hospital worrying over a man who doesn't even give a shit about you."

Elena's eyes widened.

"What? Jeremy please tell me. I need to know. I am begging you brother please." She closed her eyes as tears started falling down her face.

Jeremy couldn't bear looking at his sister like this, so broken, so low. He hugged her tightly.

"I'll tell you everything if only you stop crying. You know I can't see you like this."

Elena gave a feeble smile too him as she wiped her tears with her sleeves.

"Elena, Damon and you …. You both were engaged."

Ok …. I think I need to get my ears checked. Did he just say the word engaged?

"Wh… what?" She asked again, thinking that her jumbled up brain was playing tricks on her.

"You both were engaged. As in you both were planning to get married." Jeremy explained softly as seeing his sister's face turn bluish slowly was scaring him a bit.

"I should just ask him to stop talking. I can't listen to this anymore." Elena thought.

"Elena, say something."

"Yeahhhhhh …. Right now I am really focusing on keeping my brain intact so I would refrain myself from saying anything but you please continue." Elena closed her eyes, bracing herself for the truth that would fill the missing pieces of her life.

"Ok. Well you two met at Alaric's wedding. He was a womanizer and still is if you ask me and you were an angel, my sweetest sister. You two didn't hit it off at all but then slowly he carved his place in your heart. Then you guys got engaged and you were oh so happy and then one day you caught him in bed with Andie the whore. You came running to us all heart-broken. It was then we found out that you were just a bet for him. Stefan had dared Damon that he should propose to you by the end of Alaric's wedding and he did." Jeremy said.

Deep breaths Elena …. Deep breaths. Just keep your calm. Maybe there is more to this.

"So then what happened?" She asked.

"Then you spent the whole night getting drunk in a bar. You called me and I asked you to stay there and let me drive you home but you were so depressed and angry that you got in the car by yourself and then…." Jeremy's voice broke in the end.

Elena didn't even know how to react. She didn't know what to do, what to say, what to…. Fuck she was so lost right now.

"Jeremy can you give me a minute please?" She whispered.

"Are you …. Are you sure?" He asked her back. With the state she was in, he didn't want to leave her alone.

"Yeah I just need a moment with myself alone. It's a lot to digest and I need …. I don't know what I need anymore. I …. how can …. Why would he do that to me Jeremy? Was I a bad person? Was I …." Elena broke down. She just couldn't keep it in her anymore. It was too much. The pain … it was eating her from insides and she thought she would just die any second.

And on top of that, she didn't who to blame for her condition.

On one hand was Damon who she loved very much. She would have done anything for him, she would have gone to the ends of the world for him but for him…. She was just a bet. A bet that he had won and nothing else.

And on the other hand was a stranger who had ruined her life just because she was associated with Damon. Wasn't that funny.

Oh she was paying a huge price for love. For love that was pretty much unrequited.

Jeremy could see that hi sister was on the verge of losing it and it was all Salvatore's fault. The man had done nothing except make their lives a living hell.

He hugged her tightly as she kept sobbing, chanting why again and again.

"I am gonna kill Salvatore I swear. And I'll make it very painful." He vowed to her.

"Jere…. Jeremy please…. Leave me alone for now." She begged her brother but he only hugged her tighter.

"Don't shut me out sister. You are not alone."

But Elena didn't want someone right now. All she wanted was to be alone to sort her thoughts out or else she would go insane so she begged Jeremy once again to leave her be and this time thankfully, he agreed.

As soon as Jeremy left, Elena got up and walked towards Damon's room. She peeked through a small window and saw him still attached with his tubes, all unconscious, looking helpless. Even after hearing all the things from Jeremy, she still couldn't hate him. She still wanted to be there when he woke up, hug him, kiss him and touch him. She wondered if her past-self was still in love with him even after catching him with another woman.

Elena chuckled. Past…. Present. She didn't even know who she was anymore. She had no clue and somehow …. the person in front of her was responsible for this and still she didn't hate him. How is it possible to love someone so much that even after he had ruined her life, she would still do anything for him?

Elena Gilbert…. you are one fucked up lady.

She started walking towards the café, her head aching with too much of information and she needed copious amount of caffeine to wash it down.

It was 2 at night so the whole place was deserted except for a few people. Guess they were there too like her to cope with the pain. Too bad cafes didn't sell alcohol.

While waiting for her coffee, she felt someone standing behind her but didn't turn around for she was pretty sure it was either Stefan or one of the Mikaelsons who had come to feed her more lies.

"Elena …." Stefan called her in a feeble voice but she didn't answer. She was done listening to them … to all of them.

"Please …. Just give me one chance. You owe it to Damon."

Stefan bit his tongue as soon as he realized what he had just said. Elena turned around, her eyes red with both anger and tears.

"I OWE IT TO HIM?" she screamed and pushed Stefan with such a force that made him stumble a few steps backwards.

"That man played with my heart, turned my love into one of his jokes, betrayed me in the worst way possible and you say that I owe him?" She yelled and Stefan dropped his gaze down because he knew her every word was true.

"I loved him Stefan…. I still do. But he never did. Before accident I was a toy for him and after accident, I became a liability that he just had to take care for to ease his guilt and you say I owe it to him?" She sobbed while tears flowed from his eyes too.

"I lost my memories, my whole life, my everything because I was in love with him that was pretty much unrequited and you say I owe it to him? How dare you say that? How can you say that?" She started beating his chest again as he just stood there for he knew there was nothing that he could say that would pacify her.

"He never loved me, cheated on me with Andie, brought her back to the house and continued sleeping with her while I was in the same house and you have the nerve to say I owe it to him?" She continued hitting him but something snapped in Stefan when she uttered the last line.

"What did you say?" He asked again, hoping that his ear had played some trick on him.

But Elena kept on crying, uttering something that was pretty much incoherent.

"Elena, listen to me." He grabbed her wrist and made her look into his eyes. "How do you know about Andie?"

She looked at him as though he had gone insane.

"Why do you care? Damon forgot to share her with you?" She spat back. She knew she was going to regret the entire thing she was now saying in the future but she was too angry to give a shit.

"No Elena, you can't know about Andie. You didn't even know her." Stefan said, looking horrified.

"What? I … caught them cheating on me. That's what Jeremy told me." She said but Stefan shook his head.

"You did but you didn't know her Elena. You didn't know her name." Stefan answered.

"Then how…. Are you lying to me again?" She asked, looking very confused.

Her head was spinning again, she was again being played and she didn't even know what to do, who to believe. Her insides were screaming in frustration and all she wanted to do was put a gun at her temple and finish it all off. But one word from Stefan and everything became blank.

"Damon."


"Rebecca was standing in front of the magazine stand, her favorite Cosmopolitan in her hand, a new issue that she didn't have a chance to read when she was interrupted by her annoying brother.

"What are you doing here?" Kol asked and she just rolled her eyes in response.

"I have a magazine in hand and I am looking at it. Put two and two together brother and you'll find out what I am doing."

Kol smirked.

"You know saying 'I am reading' would have taken a lot less time and a lot less energy."

"Yeah but it would have sucked out all the fun." She said, putting the magazine down. With him there, no way in hell she was going to finish reading it. Might as well entertain him.

"Where were you guys? All of you just disappeared and I hate to be alone with comatose Damon and Judgy Bonnie. PS I would take comatose patient over judgy Bonnie anyday. The girl just creeps me out." Rebecca shuddered while Kol laughed.

"I don't know … she is kind of hot."

"Ewww … she is Jeremy's girlfriend plus she looks crazy." She pointed out.

Kol gave a leery smile.

"Crazy girls are best in the bed baby sis." He said, earning a disgusting look from his sister.

"Wow … too bad none of them stabbed you while you were sleeping. Where are others?"

"Ummmm …. Elijah is with Alaric doing God knows what. Klaus is wasting his time charming Caroline and I am here wasting my time with you. And Stefan has gone to talk with Elena."

Rebecca sighed, flopping down on one of the hard wooden benches.

"Poor Elena, seeing Damon like that must be so hard on her. And on top of that all the lies and misinformation. No wonder she needs caffeine every ten minutes."

Kol looked at her skeptically.

"So Elena is not with Damon right now?" He asked and Rebecca shook her head.

"No, she has gone to the café to get some coffee."

"Ok then … Bonnie is with him right?" He asked again.

"No … she is … I think she went with Jeremy somewhere. What's the matter?" She asked as her brother took out his phone looking very worried.

She had never ever seen Kol look worried in her life so when she saw him freaking out, she knew something was wrong.

"What's the matter Kol? Who are you calling?"

But he didn't reply. He just dialed a number and as soon as the person picked up the phone, he just said one word…

"Damon."


Stefan had never been so afraid in his life than he was now. Not when his mother died and they all had to relocate to New York to start a new life, not when Daniel Stump had punched him in junior high breaking his nose, not when Damon had caught him smoking, not when he found out that his father had died but now …. At this very moment, he was truly afraid.

As soon as he realized that Damon's life might be in danger, he ran …. He ran towards his brother with just a prayer for his safety in mind.

"Stefan what's happening?" Elena cried behind him, but he didn't answer.

Please let Damon be ok …. Please. He kept chanting.

Elena ran behind him, not knowing what was going in his mind but when had he uttered Damon, her heart froze.

As they reached Damon's room, they found others there. Some looked shocked, some confused and some plain angry. The doctor was there, trying to pacify everyone but it clearly wasn't working.

Stefan ran towards Elijah as Elena just stood there, taking the scene in. She knew something bad had happened and perhaps that's why she was scared to go and find out. She had heard enough bad news in one day to last her for a life time.

She saw Stefan clutching his hair as he fell down on the floor, she saw Klaus sitting next to him, consoling him, Shane and Elijah were there yelling at the doctor and the nurse who looked really confused and Kol was standing there with a crying Rebecca clutching his jacket.

Elena didn't have the strength to go there and find out what had happened. She didn't want to know what had happened. She wanted to go to sleep and dream of a place where she and Damon were together… like a happy family, living in a beautiful house. She wanted a world like that … not a world where Damon was in a hospital battling for his life and she with her memories wiped off.

Rebecca spotted Elena standing at the end of the corridor and ran towards her, enveloping her in a hug.

"What … what is happening?" Elena asked, her heart beat slowing.

"Damon is …. He is missing."


"When you love you should not think you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course."
Kahlil Gibran