I woke up really early the day after Jenna and John's burial. I put on dark denim shorts, with a green tank top and grey sneakers, pulled my hair into a bun and went to school. Although it was Saturday, the principal was doing me the favor of letting me take my finals that morning. I hadn't had the time to study, but the exams were finished in three hours and fairly easily. After thanking the principal for taking time that morning to help me, I went back home, to finish packing. Half of my stuff was in boxes and the living room furniture was covered by white sheets. Caroline had texted me about going to the Gone With The Wind screening in the town's square, but I wasn't in the mood, and wanted to finish packing that day. I wondered if I should tell everyone before leaving or calling after I was gone. Calling after leaving was probably better since that way they couldn't convince me to stay and goodbyes wouldn't be personally. I hoped their summer would be better than mine.

"Bella"

I gasped and jumped around. Stefan was entering through my window. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly trying to slow down my heart. He looked around frowning at the boxes and bags by the closet.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Planning on going somewhere?"

I sighed and nodded biting my lip.

"I'll start my summer earlier… I need vacations. Don't tell anyone for now, please" I said.

He seemed unsure but nodded.

"I need your help"

"Stefan, I'm really busy. Sorry. It will have to wait, whatever it is…"

"It's Damon" he said. I turned to face him with a worried frown. He got my attention. "Tyler bit Damon"

I stared at him, hoping he would tell me it was a prank. My eyes filled with tears as he only stared back at me. Dammit. I had left Damon in the woods after rescuing Caroline… I should have known he wouldn't leave. He had his mind set on killing Tyler, and I should have known he wouldn't listen to me and try to do it anyway. I should have dragged him away by the hair. I turned and grabbed my grimoire and other books about witchcraft.

"He told me not to tell you or Elena…" Stefan said watching me.

"Where is he?"

"Home. I need your help to find a cure" he said pleadingly.

I remembered Rose-Marie. We hadn't found a cure. According to Jules there wasn't one.

And then I remembered when I saw her, after I died the night of the sacrifice. Rose had told me to help Damon. I didn't understand, with so many requests of help and messages to give, I had barely paid attention to her. Now it made sense.

Damon's attitude at the graveyard the day before also made sense. He was saying goodbye.

"Where was he bitten?" I asked running downstairs.

"The forearm… it's spreading slowly" he said following me out of the house.

"The information in my grimoire says that the infection spreads slowly, but once it gets to the heart, the process is fast… It makes sense, Rose was bitten in the shoulder, closer to the heart, and she…"

"Died in one day" he mumbled.

I nodded and gave him the keys of my car. Stefan drove as fast as my car could make it, and I was grateful for it. I had to see him. I had to find a cure. I refused to let him die. I flipped through spells, and for a moment my mind went to the bounding spell Bonnie put on John and Elena. It couldn't work on Damon since he was a vampire. There had to be a cure. Nature had balance. Everything had to have its opposite. The werewolf bite had to have a cure. Would Elijah know? And if he did where we could find him and would he help? He was never Damon's fan.

I got out of the car as soon as it stopped in front of the boarding house and ran inside.

"Damon!" I screeched.

I flung him across the room, away from the sunlight, and Stefan blurred past me. As he held Damon down, I closed the curtains and grabbed his ring. I slipped it in his finger and he groaned, rolling his eyes at us.

"Are you insane?" I snapped.

"Not yet" he said and glared at Stefan. "You promised you wouldn't tell"

"I promised I would find a cure" Stefan answered standing up.

He helped Damon up, and against his will, dragged him to the basement. He put Damon down on the cot in the cellar and went to get a blood bag. I sat with Damon, and winced as he coughed blood. I knew he would soon be in pain, and I wished I could be there to take it away.

"I… I have to go, sorry. I'll come back with the cure" I said.

"You and Stefan are delusional… Be rational. There is no cure" Damon mumbled.

"We'll find one" Stefan said entering the cellar and extending a blood bag to Damon.

"You should start saying goodbye" Damon said.

"Never" I said standing up.

"I called Ric, he'll come to keep you company" Stefan told him.

"You mean babysit"

"Yes, so you won't do anything stupid again"

Damon rolled his eyes and Stefan sighed before leaving. I pulled Damon's hair out of his forehead, my worry rising as his skin felt warmer than it should be and slightly sweaty. He leaned into my touch, and held my hand to his cheek.

"Don't go" he whispered.

"I have to, Damon" I said with tears threatening to fall.

"What if I'm gone before you come back?"

"You won't. I'll come back with a cure and we'll laugh about your behavior in a week… You'll see"

"Bella…"

"I will find a cure. Even if it's the last thing I do" I promised.

I walked out of the cellar before he answered and Stefan quickly locked the door. Damon banged on it.

"No! Let me out! Bella!"

"Sorry" I whimpered.

"Don't do anything stupid!" he screamed.

"I won't"

But our definitions of stupid could be different.

"Bonnie, I need your help" I said and glanced at Stefan on the passenger seat.

"What happened?" she asked worriedly.

"Meet me at the abandoned witches' mansion?"

She agreed and I hung up before she asked again what was going on. I knew she wouldn't be very willing to help Damon, so I was stalling on telling her what was wrong.

"Bonnie will talk to the spirits… They've been around for a long time, they must know something" I said.

"Couldn't you do it? Bonnie isn't Damon's fan" Stefan said.

"Bonnie can do it more easily, since her ancestors died there, she has a deeper connection"

"But you could do it… if you wanted?"

"Yes" I sighed. "But I'm trying not to use my energy now, I might need it later"

"Bella, you can't do anything stupid to get the cure…"

"It's Damon" I said and we got into a quick stare contest before my eyes went back to the road. "I'll do anything I need to. Wouldn't you?"

"Yes, but he's my brother, and I cursed him to this life" Stefan said. "I'll do whatever we have to, but, Bella, please, don't get yourself in danger"

I nodded although I wasn't promising anything. Stefan sighed, knowing I would still do whatever I thought necessary. I parked the car, and Stefan waited outside for Bonnie while I went inside the abandoned mansion. I lit the candles we had left there from the night of the sacrifice, and looked around, hoping the spirits would help us. Bonnie came in slowly, eyeing me. I begged her with my eyes to help me, and she hugged me as my tears started to fall down.

"Shh… I'll help. For you" she whispered.

"Thank you" I squeezed her.

Stefan and I stood back as Bonnie sat on the floor surrounded by candles and whispered something my human ears couldn't catch. The flames went up, and the air seemed ticker. I could hear whispers, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. Some were in languages I didn't know. Then everything stopped, and Bonnie slowly stood up. She frowned at us, not with concern or anger, but like she didn't quite understand what was going on.

"Bonnie?" Stefan asked.

"Shh" I said and inclined my head. "It's not Bonnie"

"Hello, Mr. Salvatore" Bonnie said.

"Emily" he breathed. "Thank God… Can you help us?"

"We need a cure to a werewolf bite" I said. "For Damon"

"Everything happens for a reason. Maybe Damon deserves this fate" she answered calmly.

"You don't know a thing about him!" I snapped and Stefan held me back by my arm. "Give me the answer!"

"Bella, calm down" Stefan said softly.

"Traitor" Emily said with narrowed eyes. "You should never help a vampire. You should help keeping nature's balance!"

"You helped Katherine" Stefan pointed out

"She threatened me, it's different" she said glaring at him. "I am sorry, Mr. Salvatore, but I refuse to help your brother… He deserves death"

"Please" I cried. "Please, don't… I need the cure"

She just blinked at me and as the candles lit again, Bonnie fell on the floor. Stefan went to help her up and she seemed a bit shaken up.

"Are you alright?" Stefan asked her.

"Yeah… Did she say anything?" Bonnie mumbled.

"No" he said and shot me a look.

Bonnie looked at me and her frown turned into a worried one.

"They refuse to help us because we have been helping vampires, they're mad" she said. "But… I heard something"

"What?" I asked desperately.

"The key to the cure… it's Klaus"

"We have to go talk to him" I said.

"You can't, he's dangerous" Bonnie protested.

"I don't care!"

"I'll go" Stefan said.

"No. I'm not letting you go alone… First, Damon's life is at risk already, I don't want yours too. Second, I can be more convincing than you to get the cure from Klaus"

"You should tell Elena before you go… I don't want to keep a secret from her and she should know what is going on" Bonnie said.

"He asked me not to tell" Stefan mused as we looked around for Elena.

"He's dying. Although she's your girlfriend, don't you think he should be with who he loves?" I asked. "We'll find a cure, but she should be with him"

"You should be with him"

"You all seem to forget what we had was nothing compared to what he feels for Elena" I grumbled.

"In his mind" he said and I frowned at him. "Bella, it's so obvious"

"I've been told" I said turning away.

"He chooses not to see. He's blinded by his obsession. You should stay with him"

"And do what when he starts to hallucinate? When he asks for her? No. I need to get the cure"

"Why are you leaving?" he asked. "Because of him?"

"Coming back from the dead has a price… I need to pay it" I said. "I have stuff to do..."

"But you will come back? You will be safe, right?" he asked with a worried frown.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. I'll be back in time for Elena's birthday" I smiled. "I wouldn't miss it"

"Why are you doing this, Bella?" he asked with a sad smile. "Damon gave you so many reasons to walk away"

"I'm doing this for the same reason I stayed every time. I'm doing this for the same reason you are and for the same reason he turned into a vampire… I'm doing this… Because I'm selfish" I shrugged. "I know things would be much better if Damon was gone… Not many people would miss him. But I would. So much. So I'm being selfish, ignoring all my instincts and others' advices to let him go, let him die… Because I can't. I can't lose him, Stefan"

"You love him"

"Why are you doing this?" I asked standing on my tiptoes to see over heads. "I mean, he's been antagonizing you… With him gone you wouldn't have to worry about Elena and his feelings for her"

"Damon's feelings for Elena have helped me keeping her safe so many times I can't be much bothered. And he is my brother, I can't let him die" he said.

"You love him even though he pushed you to… this life?" I asked frowning.

"What? No, I cursed him…"

"Yes, I know you made him complete the transition, but… He made you the ripper. He made you lose control, back in the 20's…"

"He told you?" he asked shocked.

"He told me many stuff, most I think he regrets telling me" I gave him a small smile and pointed out our friends "There is Elena"

We walked to them, and once I greeted Jeremy and Caroline, I sat down on the blanket. Stefan whisked Elena away to tell her what was going on.

"What's up?" Jeremy asked with his mouth full of sandwich. "I saw you at school this morning"

"Swallow first, and chew with you lips shut" I said rolling my eyes.

"Better?" he asked smiling once he did what I asked.

"Much. I was at school because I needed to solve some stuff with my documentation" I shrugged.

Caroline's head snapped and I saw she was staring at Stefan and Elena with a frown. She turned back to me with a shocked expression.

"What…"

I shook my head at her, and my eyes glanced at Jeremy. Thankfully he was too oblivious, focused on picking pickles out of his sandwich. Caroline gave me a worried look and I gave her a small smile so she would understand I would be fine. I got up and said I would be right back, and joined Elena and Stefan. She was almost crying, looking terrified at the prospect of Damon dying.

"I… He came to my house this morning and asked my forgiveness saying he needed. I didn't give him" she stammered. "Oh, God"

"It will be fine" I said. "We'll get the cure, and you'll have time to consider forgiveness"

"A cure?" she asked frowning.

"Klaus has it, the witches' spirits said it" Stefan said. "We'll talk to him"

"It's dangerous" she said although she wasn't protesting.

"If he wanted to kill me, he would have by now… He wants something from me and I want the cure from him" Stefan said.

"And, I can still hurt him if he chooses not to cooperate" I said.

"You died last time you tried to kill him, Bella!" Elena snapped. "Don't be stupid"

"He'll give us the cure, willing or not" I shrugged.

She stared at me with a deep frown.

"You should go to the boarding house" Stefan said. "Ric is with Damon but…"

"Yeah, yeah. Of course. I'm going right now" she said nodding and looked at me pleadingly. "Please, Bella. Come with me? He needs you"

"I need to get the cure"

"I'll go with Stefan, stay with Damon"

"No" Stefan said.

"No. I don't want you in danger… And Klaus thinks you're dead. I want it to stay like that, Elena" I said.

She agreed, asking us to be careful, and went to get her stuff to go to see Damon. I was more relieved knowing she would be with him. Damon wouldn't do anything stupid, and she could sooth him better than anyone if needed. Stefan and I went to Alaric's apartment, and the door was unlocked. Stefan went in first and I quickly following him, both tiptoeing around.

"Well, well, finally visitors" Katherine said standing up from the couch. "I was getting bored… And thirsty"

Her face changed, and Stefan pulled me behind him. I didn't need his protection though, and threw her on the wall. She glared at us as she stood up, and with a hand on her hip she arched an eyebrow.

"I should have been able to leave" she said. "What the hell went wrong on that stupid plan?"

"Elijah betrayed us" I sighed.

"You trusted Elijah? Klaus' brother? Oh, god, you're so stupid" she rolled her eyes at us.

"Where is Klaus? And Elijah?" Stefan asked impatiently.

"I haven't seen any of them. Klaus left for the sacrifice, and still didn't come back"

"We need to speak with him" I said. "We need the cure for a werewolf bite"

"Damon is still alive?" she asked surprised.

"Like you care" I snapped.

"Well, he was good in the sack when human, I could have some fun with him again while waiting for… you" she said giving Stefan a flirty smile.

"I won't fall into your web of lies ever again" Stefan said. "Do you know what the cure is?"

"No… Believe it or not, I actually do have a heart. If I knew the cure, or had it, I would have given some to Damon"

I scoffed and she glared at me.

"No, if Stefan needed you would have given to him… Damon? No" I said.

The door opened and we all turned. Klaus smirked at us.

"Well, hello, dear visitors" he said.

"Bella" Elijah said surprised, standing at the doorway. "Thank god, you're okay"

"Not thanks to you!" I snapped.

"I'm so sorry" he said frowning. "I never wanted to hurt you…"

I looked at him accusingly and he extended me an envelop.

"Please, take it"

I walked to him, passing Klaus with a glare, and grabbed it from him before quickly going back to Stefan's side. I didn't open the envelop, I didn't want an audience.

"What do you want?" Klaus said irritably. "Katerina, get me a drink"

As an obedient puppy she did as he said. I rolled my eyes at him, he seemed pleased to have a slave.

"We want the cure for a werewolf bite" Stefan said. "The witches said you had it"

"For your brother" Klaus said and rolled his eyes. "He tried to ruin my plans and you tried to kill me, why would I give it to you?"

"Let's negotiate then" I said.

"It will have to wait"

"We don't have time" I snapped.

"Well, make time. I have to keep my word to my brother, reunite our family" he said walking into the bedroom.

"I'm really am sorry, Bella, but once my family is together…" Elijah said.

"He killed Blaire" I reminded him in a hiss. "He tried to kill me!"

"The elixir…"

"Had nothing to do with her survival" Stefan glared at him. "You promised us"

"I will get my family back" Elijah said frowning, trying to make us think he was right in some level. "I knew you would be safe if I took Klaus away… I am going to come back, Isabella, we can do what we planned for your summer, after I'm reunited with my family…"

"And you will" Klaus said.

I gasped as he blurred to Elijah and Elijah grunted as the silver dagger.

"No!" I cried.

Stefan held me back as Elijah started to dissect. Klaus calmly stepped back and Elijah fell on the floor. Stefan's hold tightened on my arm as I tried to run to him, to help him.

"Bella, the cure" Stefan whispered in my ear.

The tears in my eyes slowly dried as I remembered Klaus had the cure to save Damon's life.

"Katerina" he said as Katherine hesitantly handed him a glass of bourbon. "Get more for our guests"

Klaus told us to have a seat, leaving Elijah's body in the foyer like it was nothing. Stefan tugged on my arm and I took my eyes from Elijah to follow him and Klaus to the kitchen. We sat in the barstools by the counter, and Katherine poured us drinks, watching everything.

"Sorry, but my brother is a fool to think he could cross me and be forgiven… My siblings can't be awoken, not yet. We're not in the best terms and I am at disadvantage on numbers" he said with a smile.

"The cure" Stefan said going straight to the point.

"I won't give it to you for free" he laughed.

"Do you even have it?" I snapped.

"You should keep your nerves in check if we're going to negotiate" Klaus said. "And yes, I have it"

I stared at him, not quite believing his word. He grabbed Katherine and pulled her to him harshly. She screamed as he bit her neck and Stefan and I watched as she started crying. The wound healed, but the infection quickly spread, the skin around where she had been bitten tuning an unhealthy shade with the veins starting to stand out.

"Now, watch and learn" Klaus said grabbing her again.

She fought with him but he was too strong. He bit his wrist and forced her to drink his blood. When he pulled his wrist away, there wasn't anything on her neck. She touched it and stared at us with shock.

His blood was the cure. And we couldn't just take it. He was too strong, Stefan and Katherine wouldn't be able to take him down. He would have to give it to us.

He told Katherine to go get a vial, and when she came back he filled it with the blood pouring from his wrist. He capped it, and pressed a towel on the bite to stop the blood while the wound healed.

"Let's make a deal" he said playing with the vial. "You killed Greta; a witch might be useful to me in the future"

Stefan glared at him and gave me look. He seemed torn between letting me agree or not.

"I have some stuff to solve…" I started.

"I don't care" Klaus said.

"The spirits told me to solve it. My powers are at risk" I glared at him. "I can't follow you around like the slave puppy Greta was… Well, she was a bitch, actually"

"You have some fire in you… I like it. Blaire was dull" Klaus said chuckling. "In the many centuries I lived, and with the many witches I've known, I learned one thing. I witch always keeps her promises, a witch's word is one of the most valuable things… Don't you agree, Katherine? Emily was loyal?"

"Yes, she was truthful to her word" Katherine mumbled.

"See? They can find loopholes on their promises, but they always keep them" Klaus said. "So…? Do I have your word you will help me when I ask, and that you won't ever try to harm me?" he asked smiling.

"Bella" Stefan mumbled.

"I swear my loyalty to you, Niklaus, whenever you need it. I will help you, and I won't harm you" I said seriously.

"Look at that… You must really care for that Salvatore. I thought you would hesitate, after all it is your job to kill me"

"Give us the cure" Stefan said.

"I am sorry for you, Bella" Klaus said, almost sincerely. "As my brother must have told you, the story repeats… As Blaire, you will always love a vampire who loves a Petrova. Sad, really"

"The cure" I snapped.

"And that takes us back to Stefan, who according the equation of the story… Would be me, the bad brother"

"Shut up" I mumbled.

"Elijah does kill people, but compared to me, he was never evil" Klaus mused. "As you and Damon… Because although you feed of animals now, let's face it, you are way worse than your brother. Sorority girls killed during sex are nothing compared to what the Ripper did" he smirked.

"I'm not like that anymore" Stefan said.

"Yes, and that's quite a problem to me" Klaus said.

"Give us the cure and leave town. Here's my phone, call it when you need me" I said writing my phone down on a small notepad.

"Who said I would give you the cure?" Klaus laughed.

"She gave you her word" Stefan snapped.

"Not enough"

"What do you want?" Stefan growled.

"You"

We stared at him and I realized Klaus must really be insane.

"What?" I asked.

"See, you might not remember, but we were friends once" Klaus said gesturing for Katherine fill his glass. "Back when you were fun to be with, the Ripper"

"I don't…" Stefan mumbled, frowning with confusion.

"I compelled you to forget… Anyway, we were friends… And you could be very useful to me"

"No. You have me, that's enough" I said.

"I have the cure, I decide its price" Klaus said.

"Fine, what do you want from me?" Stefan asked.

"Stefan, don't" I whispered.

"You will come with me and help me" Klaus said.

"You have my word" Stefan said standing up.

"Oh, not so fast" Klaus chuckled pulling the vial with his blood out of reach. "I trust a witch's word, not a vampire's… Besides, you aren't of any use to me now"

"You just said…" I scowled at him.

"As you are now, you are not useful. The Ripper? That's the kind of vampire I would make a deal with" Klaus said. "Are you ready for a decade-long bender?"

"I'm not that person anymore" Stefan said, almost pleadingly.

"Too bad. You were a good wingman" Klaus said uncapping the vial.

"No!" I snapped as he poured the blood on the floor.

"Stop" Stefan said.

Klaus smiled, put the cap back on the vial, and walked to the fridge. He threw a blood bag at Stefan, and he caught it, staring at it with a worried frown.

"Drink it, until it's finished. If you do everything I say, Damon lives" Klaus said.

Stefan took a deep breath and looked at me before ripping the bag open. He swallowed hard, and his eyes changed. I looked away as he started to drink it. Klaus seemed satisfied while I prayed Stefan's self control could endure that. He pushed the empty bag away. He took deep breaths and his eyes slowly started to go back to normal. But Klaus threw another bag on the counter in front of Stefan and came back to his seat with his arms full of blood bags.

"Continue" Klaus said putting all the bags on the counter.

"Please, don't" I cried.

"Alright, but Damon doesn't get the cure" Klaus shrugged.

"Fine" Stefan mumbled reaching for a bag.

"Katerina, get me another drink" Klaus said leaning back against the counter appreciating the show.

I watched as Stefan slowly lost control.

"Please, it's enough" I cried.

I looked at the almost twenty empty bags of blood thrown around the kitchen. Stefan was breathing heavy as he reached for another bag.

"No" I stopped him grabbing his arm.

He looked at me but instead of his eyes going completely back to normal, they got worse and he stared at my neck hungrily.

"Hmm… Yes, fresh, warm and flowing blood is much better. Blaire was sweet… I almost got diabetic" Klaus joked.

I hissed as Stefan's grip on my arm tightened.

"Stefan" I cried.

He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me closer although I tried to push him off. I didn't want to hurt him with my powers.

He snarled as I cupped his face.

"Stop. Come back, for Elena, Damon… please, for me" I begged.

He pushed me away, shutting his eyes and the veins slowly started to disappear.

"Very good" Klaus said. "Blaire also had this… gift of bringing the best out of my family, me included… Until I found out she was scheming against me"

"If you were good she wouldn't have to" I said.

"Anyway… Stefan? I'm waiting" Klaus taunted playing with a blood bag.

"I won't drink anymore until you give us the cure" Stefan said.

"You have a choice. You can remain in Mystic Falls or you could come with me, embrace who you really are and save Damon. What do you want?"

Stefan sighed and got another blood bag. Klaus called Katherine and she obediently called.

"Take the cure to Damon and come back right away" he said. "Take Bella, make sure she gets there safe"

"I'm not leaving without Stefan" I said.

"Then, are you coming with us?" Klaus asked.

"No. Bella, I'll be fine, go. Go! Damon needs the cure" Stefan said desperately. "Make sure she gives Damon the cure"

Katherine rolled her eyes at him as she took the vial from Klaus. I stared at Stefan, not willing to leave him there. But he pleaded with his eyes for me to leave. I knew my presence was not helping at all, since cold blood bags could be resisted while my pumping blood was driving him insane. I nodded, and taking my things, I followed Katherine out of the apartment. She took my car keys from me, and drove like a bat out of hell – and ironically, she was a vampire driving away from her personal hell. I looked at the time on my phone every two minutes, knowing that Damon should be really bad by then.

"Damon gave you vervain" I said to Katherine. "You won't go back"

"Of course not. I would rather stake myself, at least I would die quickly and painlessly – almost. Klaus would make my life a living hell, punish me for escaping him for five centuries"

"You will leave town" she arched an eyebrow at me. "I mean it, Katherine. Leave us alone. We can't deal with your shit right now"

"I'll be going as far away as I can as soon as possible and not because you asked so nicely" she rolled her eyes.

She made a sharp turn to the boarding house, and skillfully parked the car. I almost ran to the door while she walked calmly.

"Hurry" I snapped.

"I don't think they are in a hurry" she smirked.

I frowned at her and ran inside the house. I searched in the basement but no one was there. When I came back upstairs, Katherine was going upstairs. I ran past her to his room and heard her scoff. I burst through his door and stopped in my tracks. I felt Katherine come to my side and I looked from her to the bed, not fully believing my eyes. For a moment I had hoped she was playing mind games with us again.

"Thank you" Damon croaked against Elena's lips.

Elena gave him a sad smile, but Katherine laughed before her lips touched his again. Elena pulled away and looked at us with wide eyes, shocked at getting caught.

"Look at that. Shouldn't you be thanking me? I brought the cure" Katherine said playing with the vial. "Or Stefan? Who got in so much trouble to get it? Or... little savior witch here, Bella, who gave in to a lot so she could save you?"

I blinked as she mentioned me, and took the vial from her.

"Where is Stefan?" Elena asked as I approached the bed.

"He couldn't come…" I mumbled.

"Do you even care?" Katherine taunted.

"Katherine" Damon groaned.

"Shh" I whispered uncapping the vial.

"Bella" Elena mumbled, "I…"

"Don't." I said putting the vial against his lips. "Drink it, Damon, it will make you better"

"Bella" he croaked.

"Drink it, please"

He gulped down the whole vial in less than three seconds. It took a minute for him to fall asleep peacefully, the wound on his arm healing. I sighed with relief and put the vial away.

"Stefan isn't coming back" I said. "He's paying for the cure. He sacrificed everything, including you, to save Damon"

Elena stared at me with shock and sadness.

"At least you'll have Damon to keep you company" Katherine said. "It's okay to love them both, I did… But I didn't hurt anyone close to me in the process"

She turned and left.

"Bella, I'm…"

"Don't say you're sorry, Elena" I scowled at her. "You are not. You were fully aware of what you were doing, and the consequences it could bring. You thought no one would know, and you don't regret it. So, no, you are not sorry for kissing him. You are only sorry for getting caught"

She grabbed my arm as I stood up to leave.

"Please, Bella… I don't know why I did it…"

"I won't tell Stefan"

"I never wanted to hurt you"

"But you weren't thinking about me, were you?" I shrugged. "It's fine. He always made it pretty clear he preferred you… I just thought you would have thought twice before stabbing me in the back!"

She blinked in shock and I wiped the tears away from my cheeks angrily, yanking my arm from her hands, and walked away.

"Wait!" she cried running after me.

"I don't want to talk it out, Elena!" I snapped. "Leave it alone for now. Please"

"What about Stefan? What is he doing? What did you have to do?"

"Klaus wants his help with some stuff… He's going out of town with him"

"What about you?"

"Nothing for you to worry… You should go, Damon might wake up and he'll need blood" I said.

"I thought I was going to lose him" she cried and I paused at the front door. "I couldn't… let him die without… I don't know. I'm confused, Bella. And I am sorry for hurting you; you're my best friend… You and him are perfect for each other; you two should be together…"

"But that doesn't stop you from feeling something for him" I finished. "It's fine, Elena. We are doomed to do this, over and over… In five centuries, our descendants will do this all over again… I just had hoped you wouldn't be like Tatia or Katherine"

I walked out when she had no answer.

Dear Elena,

I'm sorry for leaving without talking to anyone first. I knew you would try to convince me to stay and I can't. I have to leave. But I will be back in time for your birthday. Tell the others I will miss them, and that I'll keep in touch. Keep an eye out for Jeremy and Bonnie, bringing someone back from the dead and coming back from death it's not as simple as they make it seem. Bonnie was breaking nature's balance in a way and it will have consequences on both of them.

About that night… I am sorry for my harsh words. I had spent the day trying to get the cure, it was very stressing and what happened made me snap. At the wrong person. It's not your fault. I don't blame you for anything. As you said, we are best friends. We are family. I know you would never do anything to hurt me, and I'm sorry if I hurt you with my words. We are doomed, Elena, it seems we are not responsible for making our own fate. Destiny seems to like to play games with us.

You also need to realize that Damon will never let you go. Don't let me get in your heart's way. If you choose to be with Damon, I will be happy for you. He will be happy, and he can be a perfect suitable man when he wants to.

And don't worry about Stefan. He is not coming back, at least for a long time. I have to keep in touch with Klaus, report to him, and he will contact me. I'll talk to Stefan, make sure he is okay. If I find a way to get him back to you, I will, Elena, you have my word. I would ask you not to look for him, but I know you will. The fact that you are alive is still a secret to Klaus, and it's better this way. So let Damon search for them if you really need to.

It's useless to ask you not to worry, I know that. You are always worried. But don't stop your life, Elena. We never know what is coming, regrets shouldn't be carried.

I'm going to Europe for a while. Elijah gave me a whole trip, everything is paid for.

Before leaving I talked to a lawyer and went to the city hall. I transferred my house's contracts to Alaric. His apartment is not safe anymore; too many have been invited in. It's a safe house, in case you need it.

I'm sorry for leaving in a hard time, but I have something to do.

I'll keep in touch, I swear.

Love,

Bella.