AN: I'm sorry that it took so long for me to update! I started a new job last week and school has been kicking my ass :( Thanks for the reviews! As always, I appreciate them so much lovelies! And if you follow this, please review and let me know what you think!

I know it's been a while since we've heard from present-day Bonnie and Damon, so let's see what's goings on. Brace yourselves.

Bonnie stepped out of the shower, wrapped Damon's towel around her svelte frame, inhaled his cologne and relaxed in its caress before wiping the stray tears from her cheeks and making her way into the bedroom that they shared.

Dr. Smith left more than four hours ago, leaving Bonnie alone with her thoughts and agreeing that it would be best if she returned within a week to check on the couple's progress, which Bonnie knew would be little to none. It was already a quarter past midnight with no sign of Damon.

She dropped the towel, sighing as it pooled around her feet and reached into his drawer, grabbing one of his signature black V-necks and slipping it on. She ran her fingers along the staircase, counting each step as she made her way down them, towards the bar and poured a glass of bourbon. 'This should do for tonight.' She murmured to herself, throwing the liquid back, not even wincing as the liquor burned the back of her throat. Compared to the pain she was in, the burn of the dark whiskey seemed minuscule. She poured another glass before returning to her bedroom and sliding between the dark sheets. She took another look at her pone, hoping that there would be a missed call or text from her husband; she frowned when she found none. That was a bad sign.

It wasn't unusual for them to walk away from each other during a heated argument but this felt completely different. Usually, when one of them walked out in anger it was with the unspoken understanding that they would return but now, she wasn't so sure. There was no promise in the wind because she had broken her own promise to always be honest with him and it made her feel like shit. Like a villain.

Closing her eyes, she focused on the connection they shared. It was so strong, so potent, she couldn't explain it. Even miles away, she could feel him. Anger. Rage. Sadness. Emotions seeped from him and into her consciousness as she pushed harder until she felt - nothing. He kicked her out, blocking her from venturing into his mind, from feeling his pain. He was hiding from her.

Picking up the phone, she decided to call him instead. The phone rung five times and just as Bonnie was about to give up and disconnect the line, he answered. 'Damon Salvatore's phone.'

'You answered.' Those weren't the words that she intended to say but her mouth was moving at a faster pace than her mind. She was surprised that he even answered the phone after severing their connection.

'I didn't check the caller ID,' He slurred. 'Note to self, block from mind and phone.'

Was he drunk? 'When are you coming home?'

'That's for me to know and you not to worry about.' Yep. He was drunk.

'Damon, it's after midnight. We need to talk.'

'You've done enough talking for today?'

She heard a woman's voice in the background followed by the sound of an obnoxious laugh and sat up in the bed, switching the lamp on. Damon was crazy, yes but he wasn't crazy - or bold - enough to cheat on her. Was he? 'Where are you?'

'Relax, Miss. Bennett,' His laugh was almost as obnoxious as the woman in the background. 'Can I have some time to think? I believe that I deserve, at the least, time.'

Bonnie winced at the use of her maiden name and took a deep breath. 'I am sorry, Damon. I should've told you from the beginning. I just-'

'- I left home to avoid this conversation. Don't make all of my drunken efforts for naught, Bon.'

'I just need you to know, Damon. I never meant to hurt you. I didn't think-'

'You're right!' His voice rose before he cleared his throat and continued. 'You didn't think. We are bonded, Bonnie. You are literally my other half, the piece that completes me, and you hid this from me for how long? Three years?'

'And do you see why I didn't tell you?'

'Bonnie, how could you-' His voice broke and Bonnie felt herself crumbling with it. 'What would I have if something happened to you?'

And then it clicked. He wasn't mad that her plan left Elena dead or even that she hid that information from him; he was mad that she planned to kill herself in the first place. There was a stifling ache in her throat as she managed to choke back a sob, unable to speak. 'Damon, come home.'

'If you would've died, Bonnie I-I wouldn't have been able to go on. I would've burned the world down looking for a way to get you back. I would've lost my damned mind. Did that not matter to you?'

'Of course, it mattered, Damon-'

'You mean the world to me. You are my world, Bonnie. Don't you understand that? You are it for me.' He bit out, one word slurred into the next.

'I know, baby. You mean the same to me and I'm so sorry that I hid this from you for so long. Please, come home so we can talk.' She heard the woman's laugh again, this time closer than the last and she frowned. 'Who is that?'

'Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie,' He slurred before whispering. 'Mio prezioso amore.'

'Damon, come home.'

'I can't be around you right now, Bonnie. I'm sorry.' Damon stated simply before disconnecting the call. Bonnie growled, throwing her phone against the wall and running frustrated hands through her hair as she began to sob freely.

Bennett-Salvatore

'How about you come back to my place?' The brunette whispered, pressing her breasts against his shoulder no sooner than he had hung up the phone. He shuddered under the woman's touch as his wife's small, gentle hands came to mind, causing a wave a guilt to rush through his veins.

'No, thank you.' He turned from the woman and motioned for the bartender to refill his glass. 'Another one.'

The bartender, an older woman with fire-red hair, hesitated a moment, holding the bottle of bourbon to her chest and eyeing him suspiciously. 'I'm cutting you off, Blue. That was your tenth glass.'

'I didn't ask you that, mother.' Damon growled and leaned closer to the woman, examining her name tag. Laurelle. Not only did she favor Lillian, her name was too close for comfort. 'Look, Laurie. I've had a bad day. Give me the damned bottle and let me vent.'

Laurelle, clearly compelled, stared at Damon for a moment before opening and closing her mouth in confusion. She grabbed the bottle of bourbon and sat it in front of him. He offered her a weak smile before taking the bottle from the table and refilling his glass. 'That's a good girl. Now, let me tell you about my wife. My beautiful, idiotic, selfless, wife.' Damon slurred, watching the amber liquid settle in his glass. 'She's so- Bonnie.'

Laurelle smiled. 'Is that her name?'

'Fitting, right?'

'I was thinking something along the lines of Beautiful, Idiotic, or Selfless.'

'Those are her middle names.'

Laurelle laughed but continued to listen, wiping the bar as she continued to probe. 'And what did this wife of yours do? Cheat on you with your brother?'

'That's ironic but no,' He laughed. 'She did something so- maddening and lied to me about it. Can you believe it? For three years, she's lied. Even had my brother in on it.'

'Harsh.' Laurelle leaned against the bar, motioning for him to continue.

An hour and two bottles of bourbon later, Damon was too drunk to even remember why he was at the bar but he was burning for the comfort of a woman's touch. All reservations he held before his second bottle disappeared and a determination fueled by pain had taken the place of guilt.

He didn't even flinch as he threw back the last of the liquid and stood up from the bar, placing a one-hundred-dollar bill where he sat. The corner of his mouth ticked up as he turned to the woman that had been staring at him across the bar all night. She was beautiful. Her lips were as full as her breasts and painted red. She bore a black, leather mini-skirt with heels higher than his IQ at the moment and he couldn't look away.

Logic should've stepped in.

Hell, God should've stepped in but Damon was too far gone.

His eyes drifted to her neck and then back to her lips. 'What's your name?'

She smiled back. 'Whatever you need it to be.'

Bennett-Salvatore

Bonnie sat, knees to chest, in the middle of the bed, waiting for any signs of Damon. The night had come and gone, the sun was beginning to come up as she glanced at the clock on her nightstand, checking the time.

6:36 AM.

'Don't overreact, Bonnie. He's probably at the boarding house or Ric's.' She whispered to calm herself. She talked herself out of using magic to find him once he severed their connection and calling Stefan to check the boarding house just seemed so selfish, so she decided to wait it out.

Sleep wouldn't come to her, not when she was use to the safety of his arms wrapped around her every night. Even when they weren't together, his arms had always been the ones to calm her. He was her comfort zone and without him there, she had no choice but to watch the clock.

6:41 AM.

She growled in frustration. Five minutes. 'Really?'

She exhaled heavily before she crawled out of bed, tiptoeing over to her now cracked iPhone and dialed Stefan who, luckily, picked up on the second ring.

'Bonnie?' He questioned, his voice laced with sleep and Bonnie instantly felt bad. She wanted to hang up, roll over, and die. 'What's wrong? Are you okay?'

'I'm fine,' She lied. 'Were you asleep?'

'You're calling at six in the morning, of course not,' Stefan chuckled and she could hear him whispering to Caroline in the background. 'Caroline says good morning.'

'Tell her that I'm going to call her in a second,' Bonnie sighed. 'I'm sorry for waking you.'

'It's no problem. What's up?'

'Have you spoken to Damon or is he there?'

'I haven't spoken to him since yesterday and I haven't heard anyone come in. What's wrong?'

'Nothing.' She exhaled, crossing the boarding house off the list and trying to remember Ric's new phone number.

'Bonnie.'

'Seriously, it's nothing, Stef. Just an argument.'

He sighed. 'Either you can tell me or I can get Caroline on the line and she can worry you to death.'

'Oh, Stefan. You know you're the worrier in your relationship.'

'True,' He laughed. 'Now tell me what happened.'

'He left during out counseling session and hasn't been home since.'

'Have you tried calling him?'

'Yeah and I spoke to him.'

'Is he okay?'

'He was at some bar getting drunk off his ass to avoid me and while I was trying to get him to come home, there was a girl in the background. Do you think he would—'

'He wouldn't.' Stefan interjected. Stefan knew that Damon was capable of a lot of things, especially when provoked, but hurting Bonnie was something that he couldn't see his brother doing.

'I hurt him, Stef,' She sighed. 'I really, really hurt him this time.'

'I doubt that it's something that can't be worked out.'

'I told him.'

Stefan didn't have to ask Bonnie what she was talking about because he already knew. He figured Damon would find out soon but he hoped that his elder brother would take it better than expected. Clearly, he was wrong to hope so. 'Bonnie—'

'I feel horrible—' Bonnie heard Damon's car pulling in to the driveway followed by the sound of his car door closing and shot to her feet. 'He's home.'

'Do you need us to come over?' Stefan asked, concern evident in his voice.

'No. Tell Caroline that I'll call her later. Thanks for answering, Stef but this is my mess and I will fix it.'

Bonnie disconnected the call and made her way to the bottom of the stairs just as Damon was opening the door to come in. The cool morning air hit her bare arms and legs, and she crossed her arms over her chest to keep warm. 'Where have you been?'

Damon hadn't noticed Bonnie standing at the base of the staircase so the question caught him completely off-guard. He stumbled for a second before looking up at her. The moment he looked at her face, the guilt he pushed to the back of his mind came rushing forward. He couldn't tell her the truth, he decided that in the car, it'll kill her and possibly him, so he decided to lie. 'The boarding house.'

'You're lying. Where were you last night, Damon?' She stepped on to the floor in front of him and walked over to where he stood, examining him carefully. Her fists clenched as the unfamiliar scent of cheap perfume filled her nostrils and her stomach turned as she noticed the trace of lipstick beneath his ear and on the corner of his mouth. She shook her head in denial, voice cracking a bit and lifting an accusatory finger. 'You didn't.'

Damon shifted his weight from one foot to the next, unsure of what to tell her. 'Bon, come on-'

'You spent the night with another woman.'

'Listen to me, I can explain.' He rushed, taking a step towards her.

She moved out of his reach, the anger she hid no evident in her features. 'Don't touch me!' Bonnie turned and ran up the stairs, two by two, straight into the bedroom where she pulled one of her suitcases from their closet.

'Bonnie, what are you doing?' He questioned, following her closely.

The smell of perfume was becoming overwhelming, making it harder for her to breathe as she threw whatever she could get her hands on inside of the suitcase. The knot in her throat was doubling in size and she felt like she was suffocating. She needed to get away from him. She felt herself breaking but she needed to hold it together, at least until she got out of the house. If she broke now, Damon would be the one to put her back together and she couldn't let that happen. Not now.

'Stop!' Damon growled, grabbing her arm and pulling her body towards his.

Bonnie snatched out of his grasp and sent a wave of energy towards him that sent him flying into their bedroom wall 'Don't. Touch. Me.' She bit out every word, each one laced with more venom than the last.

Struggling to stand, he attempted to take another step towards her and couldn't. He was paralyzed, her magic cementing him to the floor beneath him and locking his joints. Now he was having a hard time breathing, he felt like she was crushing his lungs. He noticed the veins beginning to protrude from beneath her eyes. 'Bonnie, please-' He felt the hurt and rage seeping from her consciousness into his and realized that she had knocked down the wall keeping her out. 'Listen to me, please.'

'How could you, Damon?'

'I didn't do- It's not what you think, I promise. I fed from her and that was it.'

'You are covered in her perfume, Damon!' Bonnie screeched. 'You have lipstick on the corner of your mouth and your collar. Do you think that I'm stupid?'

'I didn't cheat, Bonnie!'

She scoffed. 'This is a new low, Damon. Even for you.'

'I'm low? You've been hiding the biggest secret from me for three years and I'm the only wrong one in this? Fuck that! Yes, I lied about being at the boarding house but let's not forget the reason that I was even out in the first place. You've been lying for years. You're the reason that-' He screwed his mouth shut.

'Sat it, Damon.'

Damon closed his eyes and bowed his head. 'I'm sorry.'

'I'm the reason that Elena's dead. I've had to live with that every day for the past three years and I couldn't even tell you, my best friend,' She choked out. 'I've hated myself for this. I've beat myself up over it but not anymore.'

'I didn't mean it, Bonnie- I-'

'Yes, you did but it happened, Damon. I can't take it back and I don't regret it. I don't regret choosing you.' She took a step towards him and put her finger against his chest. 'I don't regret sacrificing myself for you. You were my best friend.'

Damon grew quiet, staring at his wife, suddenly unable to formulate a coherent sentence. 'Can you listen to me for a moment? I didn't cheat. Please, let's talk.'

'I tried to talk to you last night and you didn't even have the decency to come home!' Bonnie tugged a pair of sweat pants up her legs and ran her trembling fingers through her hair, putting it into a ponytail. 'Want to know how I know that you weren't at the boarding house? I checked. I couldn't sleep without you here and I was willing to go there and work things out but now?' Bonnie chuckled.

'I'm here, Bonnie. Talk to me.'

Bonnie's fists clenched at her side and Damon felt his throat tightening. 'What's done is done.' She let Damon's throat go and he felt his entire body relax and go limp as he fell to the floor, gasping for air. 'I'm leaving and I hope that whatever bitch you spent the night with has a big enough trash can for the both of your garbage asses. When I come back, you and your shit need to be out.'

'No!' Damon wheezed, struggling to get to his feet. 'You can't leave me, Bonnie!'

'Goodbye, Damon.' She said pulling the ring from her finger and placing it on to the bed. She walked over to where he stood and placed both hands on his chest before whispering. 'Sleep.' And watching him fall in a heap to the floor.