To Change or Not To Change: Time Traveling AU

Chapter 14: Where Does the Good Go?

Four weeks went by without a hitch. Things seemed to have calm down. The only thing that seemed to be any trouble was Grayson. Damon left her grieve and he let her have his shoulder to cry on and his chest to cuddle into. Elena knew she was a lucky girl and that Damon must have questions about the future, but, he hadn't asked any of them.

It was a Friday night. She had just spoken to Jenna who was staying with her boyfriend Jason at his house, and Jeremy had sent a text stating he was going to be at Matt's again tonight. Elena was left home alone. She sat on the couch, thinking over everything that had happened in her life.

When, she heard some stumbling.

"Dad?" she asked.

Grayson stood in the doorway and stared at her. She could see him thinking and how his eyes hardened. Elena swallowed her nerves as her father stared at her. She hadn't been alone with him since before Miranda died. And as he stared, she seen an emotion she never expected to see in his eyes before.

Hatred.

Grayson hated her.

Elena bit back her tears. "Daddy-"

"I'm not your father," Grayson said, his voice bitter and cruel. "I would never father the cause of my wife's death."

Elena whimpered, "What-"

"She was supposed to be home, she was making cookies, Elena. She was home making cookies and was worried sick of you! You aren't worth worrying about you!" Grayson yelled at her. She took it because she knew he was grieving and drunk. "She left to go find you and ended up on that damn bridge and died! MY WIFE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU STUPID BITCH!"

Elena cried out as Grayson launched for her. She had never seen her father so upset before. Where was the calm, caring, funny man that was her father? This man was a monster. She tried to run away from him but Grayson grabbed her arm and she fell, crying out in pain. She had cut her knee from falling, and there was some blood. Grayson pulled her to him and then she cried out because he had punched her.

Grayson didn't stop as Elena cried out- he kept hitting her until he became too tired. "You aren't worth this," He spat at her. "You worthless bitch, get out of my house and never come back! OR I WILL KILL YOU!"

She pulled herself up, rushing out of the house like there was something chasing her- which there sort of was. Once out of the place she once called home, Elena collapsed to the ground as she tried to fight back her tears.

Elena hadn't grabbed anything of hers; she had simply run from that house. She tried to catch her breath as she stared at the ground, dirty tears rolling down her cheeks. She wiped them away and noticed blood. Her right eye was beginning to close up and she knew that meant a black eye. She knew she had to get up- she couldn't give up, she couldn't give up now. She had traveled back in time to see Damon and now her life was falling apart. But, she was stronger than this. She had to be.

Without you, I feel broke.

Like I'm half….of a whole.

Without you, I've got no hand to hold.

Without you, I'm torn.

Like a sail in a storm.

Without you, I'm just a sad song.

I'm just a sad song.

Elena looked up and turned to look at the house that had been her home for so many years. It was scary to think it was still standing, that she hadn't burned it down when Jeremy died. Jeremy wasn't dead. But Miranda was….

She pulled her body up and stood on her feet. She knew she couldn't hide in the shadows while time kept moving forward. One foot in front of the other, Elena told her mind. Her body responded and she walked forward.

Elena didn't know where she was going, but she ended up at the Grille. She saw Matt, and she wanted to demand boozes. She needed them. She needed to forget what had happened. She needed to forget that her father had hit her.

Yet, she left.

Elena didn't want to see Matt. She needed to see Damon.

It seemed only a blink of an eye and then she was standing in front of the boarding house. Her cheeks were stained with tears mixed with her blood, her clothes muddy from when she fell to the ground and her knee was scraped. She didn't knock on the door.

Elena just pushed it open, and yelled out, "Damon!"

She needed him. Yes he could be mad at her all he wanted to be, but she needed him. She could hear footsteps. And then, there he stood. Damon was in utter shock at the state of his Elena. "Elena-"

The brunette threw herself into his arms. Sobs racked her body as she trembled.

"Elena, what happened to you?" Damon asked.

She couldn't speak.

She couldn't breathe.

She couldn't stop shaking.

Damon gave up on trying to get answers from her and pulled her to a couch in the main room. He sat down and then she sat on his lap, his arms wrapped safely around her. He gently rocked back and forth a few times. Finally, she asked for some boozes and Damon gave it to her. Once she had drunk a few glasses, she felt a little calmer but still very upset.

"Can…can I stay here?" Elena stuttered, "My…my… da- err…Grayson…he umm kicked me out…"

Damon was shocked by this news but he nodded. "You're always welcomed here Elena," His anger boiled for that man. "Can you tell me why he kicked you out?"

Elena looked away, her hair falling into her face. "It's because I killed his wife…"

"You did not kill Miranda Gilbert, Elena. She died from a crash on the bridge." Damon said as he cupped her cheek, making her look at him. "Remember?"

Tears flooded her eyes once more, though her right eye was already turning a darker color, so Damon fetched a frozen bag of peas for her. Once she had calmed down once more, and she settled into his arms once more, cuddled into him. "In the future…or my first past…my mom and dad died before," Elena whispered to Damon. "They died in a car crash on that same bridge…they died because of me."

"Now that isn't-"

"It is though, Damon." Elena interrupted. "I had gone to a party in my 10th year. I was drunk so I called them to come pick me up. But instead….they died. And now my mom was looking for me because I was out late that night and she's gone and died too!"

Damon tried to calm her shaking body. He kissed her head. "You didn't kill either of your parents- future wise or now wise. Understand?"

"I got so many people killed in my timeline…" Elena admitted.

He tilted his head sideways. "I highly doubt that."

"My parents, my Aunt Jenna, Caroline, Bonnie, Alaric, Jeremy…" Elena rambled. She realized she shouldn't have said any of this. "I shouldn't have said that…"

"You didn't get any of those people killed. They're all here aren't they? Though, I don't know who this Alaric guy is…" Damon trailed off.

Elena actually laughed. He looked at her bewildered. "It's funny, ya know. You don't know him and neither does he- but the thought of you two not friends? It's so strange!"

Damon kissed her cheek. "I'm friends with this Alaric guy?"

"Mhmm hmm…." Elena hummed, "The best of friends!"

She was very drunk.

"Who else am I friends with in the future?" Damon asked, figuring this was the only time he was going to find out.

"Well….there's me, officially. And Alaric….aaaand Stefan…aaaand Matt, wait, you hate Matt…." She rambled, and he gave her a funny look. "Matt killed me." She stated. She giggled, "And then he slept with the woman who helped kill me…"

"You die in the future? Then how are you here?" Damon asked, completely and utterly confused.

Elena waved her hand in reply. "'Cause we had this friend, Meredith Fell. She was a doctor who gave her patients vampire blood to cure them. Weird right? But anyway, I had gotten earlier that day or something so Mere gave me blood- your blood actually…." Elena explained. "And then I died 'cause Rebekah got in the way of my car and Matt was in the car- I was dying on the bridge where my parents died- so I made Stefan save Matt instead of me. People have tried to kill me so many times; it must have been the right time, right? So there I was dying in the water when I drowned. And then the next thing I know, I came back as a vampire."

Damon was really starting to hate this other timeline. He kissed her head as he tightened his hold. "You're very brave,"

"Stefan and I use to date, ya know. I use to really hate you and I thought you were a monster- but you showed me that dark doesn't always equal bad and light doesn't always equal good. You killed my brother a few times too. You even tried to change me into a vampire by force. But my real dad John saved me." Elena giggled drunkenly. Damon looked shocked. "Didn't I tell you? I'm adopted."

He kissed her head. "Anything else I should know?"

"I'm helplessly in love with you," Elena tried to whisper to him. "I had to come back in time…ya know why? 'Cause you died…."

And there it was the reason why Elena had come back in time. And Damon stared at the woman he was slowly falling for, confessing her love for him, and telling him he died all in the same moment. He blinked and looked down at the hurt, drunk woman.

Elena had fallen asleep.

I die? And Stefan got the girl originally? God Elena, you gave me more questions than answers! Damon thought frowning. But he held her. He kissed her head. "I'm hopelessly in love with you too, Elena Gilbert-or-whatever-your-name-is."

How was THAT? I feel like a sober Elena wouldn't tell Damon anything, but a drunk, hurt Elena? Yeah she'd spill the beans. So Damon knows. How is this going to affect the fates? Just saying she was from the future killed Miranda. Who is it going to be next? PS: Don't forget to review please!

Nerdy~

PSS: Congrats to tvd1992! She won the contest! Yay! :)