Damon and Elena got out of the tub a half hour later. They dried off and decided to cuddle on her bed. Elena wanted to ask Damon about Stefan. She didn't want Damon to go after Stefan and try to kill him or hurt him. She knew Damon would never forgive himself for that. "Hey Damon"

"Mmmhmm" Damon said with his eyes closed.

"What are you gonna do to Stefan?" Damon opened his eyes and sighed. "Well, Ill probably calmly ask him why he did what he did, and then hopefully he will say hes sorry so the both of us can go back to being the Salvatore brothers with their unshakable bond."

Elena perked up with joy "really!?"

"No, Im gonna hunt his ass down, and Im gonna beat the shit out of him and then Ill kill him."

Elena's smile turned into a frown "Damon, seriously?"

Damon rolled his eyes and sighed "fine..." Elena smiled thinking that his 'fine' meant he wasn't going to hurt Stefan.

"Ill won't torture him, Ill just go straight for the kill."

"Damon!" "Elena! He came into your room in the middle of the night pretending to be just so he could sleep with you. He is lucky, I won't torture his ass!"

"It doesn't matter what he did! I love you Damon! Im in love with YOU! Not him." Damon let go of Elena and sat up on her bed with his back to the headboard. Elena sat up and faced him.

Damon was filled with rage. "Why do you care if I kill him?"

Elena looked confused "what do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean, Elena!" Elena suddenly realized what he meant. "Are you saying that...are you...do you think Im in love with him?!"

"I don't see what other reason you still want him alive. I mean after what happened the smorning I thought you wouldn't care if he left town or if he got killed!"

Elena was in shock. She couldn't believe that Damon was asking her this. "No Im not in love with him! I can't believe you asked me that! And yes I do care if you kill him because despite of what he did, he is your brother, Damon! You would never forgive yourself for what you did."

Damon looked away from her and sighed "Im sorry, its just that...never mind forget about it." Damon started to get off her bed.

"NO! Im not gonna forget about it! What were you going to say Damon?!" Elena got off the bed and stood in front of him with her arms crossed.

Damon sighed, "I can't do this right now. I need to be alone for a while."

Elena's heart started to break in pieces. Was he breaking up with her? Elena was on the verge of tears "What do you mean?"

"Its just...concerns me how you didn't know the difference between him and me."

"Wait! Are you saying that I cheated on you?!" Elena couldn't hold back her tears. They kept pouring out of her eyes.

Damon looked away "Thats not what Im saying, its just...maybe we need some time apart so you can figure out if you still love him Elena." Damon turned to walk out of her room and out of her house.

Elena grabbed his arm. "Damon...no, I don't love him...I love you"

Damon turned to look at her "Yes you do. And its ok, Ill leave town for a few weeks so you can figure out what you really feel for him and then Ill come back."

"Thats a lie! You and I both no you won't come back if you leave!"

"Im sorry Elena, but I do think we need some time apart. I promise you, I will come back." He kissed her one last time and vamp sped out of her house.

Elena stood there alone clutching her chest. She couldn't take the pain anymore. She felt like someone was staking her in her heart over and over again. She lost too many people. She thought about ending her life, but then Damon would feel guilty because he thought it would be his fault. She also couldn't leave Jeremy, she was his only family. She slumped to the floor and still thought of ideas to make this pain go away. Suddenly, that pain turned into anger and rage. 'Forget about what she said to Damon about Stefan earlier. She was gonna kill Stefan herself'.

She left her house and marched around town looking for Stefan. She stopped half way to the boarding house. She remembered what she told Damon earlier about how he wouldn't forgive himself he killed Stefan. What if Damon never forgave her for killing Stefan? She sighed with frustration.

She perked up and got another idea in her head. She went to the Salvatore boarding house to look for Stefan. He was up in his room writing in his journal.

"What do you want Elena?" Elena sighed. "I came here to find out why you did what you did the smorning."

Stefan looked up at her. "Your suppose to be in love with me, not him."

Elena was getting more and more frustrated. "Stefan, I DID love you, now I love Damon. You need to understand that and move on."

Stefan laughed "Your not in love with him! The sire bond created that love!"

Elena gave him a 'how stupid can you be?' look "The sire bond broke when Damon died! It never created the love I have for Damon."

Stefan stopped smiling. "Your lying, your only saying that because you don't want to hurt him. You realized that the sire bond did create the love that you supposedly say you have for him. So you feel guilty. Your gonna pretend to be with him for the longest time and then do something to screw it up so he will leave town and come crawling back to me. You and I both know thats true."

"Stefan! You are unbelievable! I would never do that to Damon! I would never break up with him, and I certainly don't have any feelings or love for you anymore!" Elena was on the verge of ripping out his heart. She thought she was done with everyone holding the sire bond over hers and Damon's head.

"You would never do that huh? Is that why Damon came home completely angry and upset? He packed his things and left Mystic Falls already. My guess is because of what happened the smorning."

"What happens between Damon and I is none of your business! I certainly didn't do anything wrong and...you know what! Im done!...Im not going to engage in a conversation with you anymore. I don't want to talk to you, I don't want to know you, and I don't want to see you ever again!" She turned to leave Stefan's room and Stefan had a satisfied grin. He thinks he is getting through to her. 'She will be mine again in no time and I can go and rub it in Damon's face' he thought.

Elena ran into Damon's room. Sure enough, almost all of his things were gone. She sat in his bathtub thinking about how he promised he would come back. She sat in his bathtub until she needed blood.

She went down to the basement and got a blood bag.

MEANWHILE

Damon left town and drove down to Florida. He got several missed calls and texts from Elena begging him to come back home but he ignored it. He needed a break from her. They needed a break from each other.