A/N: Hi everybody. Thanks to all of you who are still reading! Please review, favourite and follow. It means a lot! One last chapter left after this one.

Chapter Fifteen: Apologize

Her eyes fluttered open. Her neck was killing her. Her back, too. She blinked a couple of times and sat up. She cringed and wiped the drool from her face with the back of her hand. Attractive.

She looked around the room confused. It only took a second for everything to make sense, but she didn't have enough time to think before-

"Are you done drooling on my bed, Elena?" the deep voice echoed from the bathroom.

Damon came strolling out with nothing but a towel around his waist. He combed his fingers through his dark, wet hair, pushing it off his forehead.

"What time is it?" She barely squeaked out.

"12:30am," he stated simply, "And I think you should go back home," he suggested, though it didn't sound like a suggestion.

Elena sat up straight, remembering why she was here in the first place.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was - I was just waiting for you."

"I don't understand why. I have nothing left to say to you, and I don't care to listen to whatever it is that you have to say to me. So I suggest you go before some not so nice words come outta my mouth...words that I know you don't want to hear." He walked over to his dresser and opened one of the drawers, pulling out a pair of boxers.

Elena sat up straighter than before and cleared her throat. "I'm not leaving."

"Well, I want you to leave and this is my house," he turned around to look her straight in the eye, "So leave."

"No," she challenged, standing up from the bed, pretending like her legs didn't wobble a bit - she wasn't fully awake yet. "I'm not leaving until I say what I came here to say…what I need to say."

He sighed heavily and turned back around, slamming the drawer closed. When he didn't say anything, she figured that this was her one chance.

She opened her mouth to speak and down went his towel. She blinked, but wasn't able to get the words out. He bent over to step into his boxers and Elena had to close her eyes. Focus, Elena! This is the moment. You screw this up and you'll never get the chance to beg him to take you back.

"Damon, I'm sorry," She stated simply. She sighed heavily before opening her eyes. His back was still to her, but at least he wasn't distractingly naked anymore.

"I'm sorry that I treated you like shit...again. I was just," she slammed her eyes shut, "so hurt. I was so confused and my whole world was crumbling in around me. Everything I thought I could trust...Stefan, you, my heart...I was just so unsure of everything and it got to me and I just didn't understand why you would lie to me!"

He started walking back to the bathroom, picking a comb up off the dresser and avoiding her eye contact. He was probably fully ignoring her at this point. She couldn't blame him.

"Wait, not lie!" She called out, her voice louder while still standing in the same place. She hoped he could hear what she was saying from in there. "I know you didn't lie to me. I know you just...you wanted to protect me and you didn't think that it was any of your business to tell me what Stefan was doing. I understand that now. I didn't before, but I've thought about it. It really wasn't your place to tell me about Stefan. I wasn't dating you, I was dating him and he was cheating on me and I was too oblivious and trusting and just too good at looking the other way when my doubts came around."

She heard him drop the comb on the bathroom sink's counter. She titled her head a little to see if he was even sort of listening to her. She couldn't tell.

"And I'm sorry that I slept with Stefan and then slept with you and pushed you away. I know how you feel about - well at least how you used to feel about me and I know how much that must have hurt you. And I'm sorry that I said the things that I did, even after you had taken such good care of me...after how you always take care of me."

Her voice started to crack and she had serious doubts about whether or not she could actually continue in trying to get her point across before breaking down. He still hadn't emerged from the bathroom yet, but she really wouldn't be surprised if he had his fingers in his ears, or if he had sped out of the room without her even noticing.

"I'm sorry for being jealous and freaking out on you when I saw Katherine kissing you downstairs that one time." The tears started to form in her eyes as she paused. "And I'm sorry that I've been ignoring how I feel about you." The tears were out in full force now. She could feel them running down her face in hot streaks. "I'm sorry that I wasted so much time with a guy who's wanted someone else and had been too afraid to admit it to himself. I'm sorry that I took away the time we could have had together with trying to get farther away from being with you."

She closed her eyes. She felt dizzy. She tried not to fall over as she kept going.

"And I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness," she sniffled, "and at this point I don't even think that I deserve to be happy, but I just thought that you should know that I love you," she squeezed her eyes shut tighter, if that was even possible. "I think a part of me always has. But most of all, I just want you to be happy, Damon. Regardless of whether that's with me," she swallowed hard, "or with someone else."