Chapter 15

Damon flinched when he heard the front door slam. He grabbed his drink from the coffee table and was surprised when he felt something stab his skin. He let the broken glass fall to the floor.

He knew he should run after her, smooth things over, continue to try to convince her that he cared. But he was angry, he was furious. How dare she destroy herself? How dare she hurt herself? It was killing him. Seeing her like this was physically painful.

He ran to the basement and grabbed a blood bag, downing it quickly before hurling the empty packet at the wall.

Elena ran down the dark road, cursing herself for letting Damon drive her.

She should have known it wasn't real, how could she have let herself believe that Damon really cared? How could she have let herself be that stupid? He wanted the sweet vanilla Elena that was a complete antidote to Katherine. He didn't want her, this broken, pathetic teenage dropout. Why would he?

Her hear stuttered when she heard a car coming down the road behind her, the headlamps flooded her with light and she shrank into the side of the road, trying to make herself smaller than she already was.

"Elena?"

"Ric?"

The car pulled over beside her and the passenger door was flung open.

"Get in." Ric said firmly.

She hesitated, looking around. Deciding she really had no other options she climbed into the warm car and gave Ric a weak smile.

"What were you doing out here alone? It's dangerous at night Elena." He said, his eyes not leaving the road, as they drove away.

"I know." She replied softly, leaning her head against the window.

He glanced at her, opened his mouth to say something but didn't comment.

The short drive was awkward and filled with things left unsaid. Elena was relieved when they pulled up outside her house. Ric spared her a slightly wistful glance as she clambered out, but drove off without a word.

Damon groaned in frustration when Elena's phone went to voice mail again. He shouldn't have let her go. He should have run straight after her and gotten her back into the house. He cursed loudly, sending a char flying across the room on his way to the door.

He grabbed his jacket and walked to his car. She couldn't have gone far, she was on foot; he would catch up with her easily. It made sense that she would head for her house, so Damon began to drive slowly down the road, scanning the sides for any sign of her.

Elena ran upstairs, tears were pricking at her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She stripped out of her jeans and sweater and raided her closet, throwing clothes all over the place until she found a suitably slutty skirt. She paired it with a strap top and scooped her hair into a ponytail. She quickly wiped at her face and reapplied her mascara before grabbing her purse and slipping on her heels.

She knew a place where people didn't want vanilla Elena. They wanted the girl she really was; cruel, cold and worthless. She almost laughed at that. She was worse than Katherine.

She drove fast to her haunt in town, not even bothering to look at the bouncer as he waved her through.

She felt sick to the stomach as she looked around the grotty club. She swallowed and made her way to the bar, this is what she deserved. She whispered as a mantra to herself as she order a double scotch, neat.

Damon cursed when her house drew into sight. Her car was missing. She must have gotten a ride with someone, there was no way she could have walked that fast.

He tried her cell again and resisted the urge to crush his phone in his hand when it went straight to voicemail.

"Damn it Elena!" He yelled.

He tried to think about where she might go. She was upset and angry, she would want somewhere to escape from her feelings, to pretend she was fine.

Damon's dace hardened and he slammed his foot onto the accelerator.

"Wanna go somewhere quieter?"

The guy was brutish looking, in his late twenties, handsome enough in a skinhead sort of way.

She considered a moment before nodding and grabbing his offered hand. Maybe this would be just what she needed to get her mind off Damon, off feelings.

The guy tugged her out back, into the alley behind the club. He pressed her roughly against the wall, his breath hot on her face as he leaned closer. He began to roughly manhandle her, shoving a hand under her top to knead her breasts. She struggled briefly, not liking how out of control she felt.

"Stop." She muttered. "I changed my mind, stop!"

He chuckled in her ear.

"I don't think so sweetheart." He murmured.

He yanked her skirt up around her waist and she writhed against him, unsuccessfully trying to kick him.

"Stop it. Let go of me!' She cried.

Damon scanned the crowded room, searching for her familiar face. He caught sight of a petite brunette on the other side of the room but when she turned around she had blue eyes and a fake tan. He groaned in frustration, trying to sense Elena anywhere.

"Stop it. Let go of me!"

He froze for a brief second before racing towards the sound of her scared voice. His blood was boiling with a mixture of anger and fear. He burst into the alley and quickly took in the sight of Elena pinned helplessly against a wall, an over tattooed and over muscled man leaning menacingly against her.

He growled low in his chest and yanked the guy back by his collar. Elena gasped at the sudden movement and fell in an ungainly heap to the floor.

Damon hurled the miserable being against the far wall and smiled in satisfaction when he heard something snap.

He walked until he was standing over him.

"You do not touch Elena and get away with it, you filthy perv." He spat, bring his boot down hard on his hand.

The man cried out in pain and Elena flinched. She hauled herself off the ground and approached Damon cautiously.

"Just leave him." She muttered. "It's not worth it."

Damon wanted to kill this disgusting waste of space, he wanted to rip him limb from limb for hurting Elena. But he glanced at the human girl, shivering in ridiculously inappropriate clothes and sighed. He was completely incapable of saying no to her.

"Fine." He snapped, kicking the guy hard in the ribs for good measure.

He walked towards Elena but she backed away.

"Just go. I can get myself home." She said stiffly.

Damon felt his anger boiling over.

"Damn it Elena! What are you doing?" He yelled, causing her to flinch.

She set her jaw and glared at him.

"Go away Damon!" She shouted, turning to walk back to her car.

He followed her, catching her arm and swinging her around to look at him.

"I want to help you. How many times do I have to say that? I am not going to sit around and watch you destroy yourself!"

"What I do is nothing to do with you." She spat, unable to meet his gaze.

His grip on her arm tightened.

"Yes it is Elena. Seeing you like this hurts me. When I found you that night in your bathroom…I couldn't breathe…the thought of…"

She looked up at him, her walls softening for a second.

She felt herself grow weaker and instantly shut it down. She could not let herself feel. None of it was worth it.

"What's your angle Damon? Why not let me in on your diabolical plan?"

He groaned in frustration and let go of her. She began to hurry away, her eyes fixed on the ground.

"They loved you, you know." He said suddenly.

She stopped.

"Jeremy, Jenna, your parents. They loved you so much. How do you think they would feel if they could see you now? It would hurt them too. They would want you to get better, to try to live again."

Elena turned slowly, the ache in her chest almost unbearable.

"Love doesn't exist Damon. It isn't real." She said firmly.

Damon's face twisted with the pain of those words. He moved towards her and cupped her face with his hands, looking into her eyes.

"Yes it does." He said passionately.

She tried to look away from his gaze but he held her in place.

"It does exist Elena." His voice was soft.

She felt tears trickle down her cheeks, Damon wiped them away and she looked up at him with eyes full of confusion and vulnerability.

"How would you know?" She asked, her voice quivering.

He looked at her steadily.

"Because I feel it."

"Who for?" She asked skeptically.

He gazed at her and wrinkled his brow slightly, in that way he always did when he was being completely sincere.

"For you."

Sorry it was such a long wait :( Hope the chapter was worth it!