Elena stared at the blank page of her diary like she had been for hours. She wanted to write, but she couldn't. So much had happened in the last few days, she didn't know where to start. There was a knock on her door, and her brows scrunched together. No one ever knocked and her aunt was with Mr. Saltzman, so she was home alone. Her feet carried her downstairs and she opened the door to allow a very drunk Damon to stumble in. "My god Damon," she said, sliding an arm around his waist after closing the door. "How much have you had to drink?" The smell was enough to almost knock her over but she ignored it.
"Not a lot," he slurred. "It makes me feel better."
It didn't surprise her that he had gotten totally drunk after what he had been through. She knew he loved Katherine, and he had to be devastated now that he lost her. She helped him to the kitchen and set him on a stool. "You're wasted," she said, softly, folding her arms. She longed to help him, but her own grief was so strong she couldn't really find it in her to care about anyone else's. "What are you doing here Damon?"
He rested his head in his hand, and didn't bother to look her in the eyes when he said his next words. "Want to say goodbye," he muttered almost to himself but she heard those words loud and clear.
She froze as she stared at his ducked head. "What?" She whispered. What else could she say? She had never imagined Damon leaving town. Even all the times he had said he was leaving, she was secretly relieved to see that he had chosen to stay.
"I can't do it anymore Elena," he said, lifting his gaze to hers, and she had never seen so much pain swirling around in his blue hues. "I try to do the good thing, and for what? No reason to stick around when it's never going to make a difference. Or to listen to Stefan bitch and complain about his life, when he's got everything a man could want."
He was very right on that point, and she detected the jealousy in Damon's voice. He usually kept his emotions to himself, and didn't allow his feelings to get in her way. But this time, he was being completely open and honest with her. She made her way over to Damon, resting a hand on his back. "Listen to me," she said. "I was awake this morning when you were talking to Stefan. I heard what you said." She placed a finger over his lips. "No, let me finish. You have done so much for me Damon. I see the good things that you do, and they mean something to me." She gently stroked his cheekbone wither thumb. "I want you here."
Damon stared at her for a moment and a small smile appeared on his face. "Why do I let you do this to me?" He whispered, leaning into her hand. He brought his hand up to hers, squeezing it softly. "How are you feeling?"
"Feel like I'm sleeping," she said. "That none of this is real." Then she remembered that Damon didn't know. "Jeremy overdosed. Aunt Jenna told me earlier. Found my empty pill bottle in the bathroom." She shook her head then remembered something else. "Oh god Damon," she said. "There was blood. A vial of some kind with blood in it, in the bathroom next to the pills. He could be a vampire."
"A very dangerous one, yes," Damon agreed, getting to his feet. She stared at him in shock for a moment as she watched him move through the kitchen with his natural grace. "Meet me at the boarding house."
"Where are you going?" Elena asked. "You couldn't even walk a few minutes ago."
"Wears off quick," he said. "Just meet me there. I'm going to find him and we can try to help him."
She bit her lip but followed him to the door. The place she wanted to go was to the house where Stefan was. She knew he had tons of questions for her and she knew he wanted her back. She just wasn't ready for that. "Please be careful Damon" she said, pulling on her jacket.
He gently touched her cheek. "I'm going to do my best."
She did not want to see Stefan. It would just be them fighting. But Damon wanted her to be here, so she would be safe and after wringing her hands nervously, she headed inside. She tried to calm her racing heart and just keep calm but it was hard. This wasn't going to be fun.
"Elena," Stefan said from the living room. "Didn't think you'd be here."
"I'm waiting for Damon," she said, folding her arms. He hadn't taken a step toward her, and she could see how bad she had hurt him. She didn't want to hurt him, just with everything else going on right now, she needed a supportive boyfriend, and Stefan couldn't do that for you right now. "He's looking for Jeremy who might be a vampire."
"What?" He asked in shock.
"I don't know the story," she said, shaking her head. "Hopefully we can help him." She had heard stories about new born vampires and she had seen what human blood to people. Damon was the only one strong enough to emotionally and physically help her brother.
"Not all vampires are like us," Stefan said.
"I know that," she snapped. "But I have to try." She knew he was just trying to prepare her for the fact that Jeremy could be a cold blooded killer and there wouldn't be anything they could do. But she was starting to notice more and more the difference in the Salvatore brothers. Damon tried to work on things with her, rather than just take care of it on his own without telling her.
"Elena I don't want to fight with you," he said, softly.
"I can't do this right now, Stefan," she said, dropping her arms. "I can't think about us." She didn't want to think about them right now. She wanted to help her brother and try to get everything else taken care of. She couldn't deal with the extra stress right now.
"And this is about Damon right?"
"Damn it, no!" She flared, taking an angry step toward him. "This is about me and your lack of trust all the time. I'm tired of it. Damon is going to be in my life. Get over it." Had she not made it clear that Damon was her best friend, but that's all he was?
"Wow," Stefan said, shaking his head. "You're not the Elena I feel in love with."
"No you fell in love with some Katherine replacement. Not the real me," she said, as the front door opened. "Jeremy!" Jeremy snarled and tried to break Damon's grip as he was hauled downstairs. Once he was locked up, her hands wrapped around the bars as she stared at her brother. She couldn't stand not being able to do anything. "Thank you Damon," she whispered.
"Feel like the babysitter," he muttered heading upstairs. "Every time we got to lock up someone for you."
Elena grabbed his arm at the top of the stairs. "I mean it Damon," she said, softly.
"I know," he said, touching her hand. "You have a very rough road ahead Elena. Might not even be able to help him."
"And what kind of person would I be if I didn't try?" she whispered. She stared at him for a moment and she felt her heart tug. "I'm going to go lay down." If she didn't lie down, she was going to fall down. Everything was catching up to her, but Jeremy was safe now and she could take an hour to sleep.
"Good idea," he said. "It'll be some time before Jeremy's calm." He watched Elena as she headed upstairs and he sighed. He needed a drink. A strong one.
