"We can bring back everyone! Jeremy, Alaric…"

Bonnie and Caroline's arguing voices were just noises and everything was starting to blur. Oh my god. Jeremy is dead. The ring was never going to work on him again. We failed to get the cure so he didn't fulfill his destiny which meant he was still a hunter. Which meant that the ring wasn't going to work. Which meant that I was all alone, with no one. My last loved one was dead.

And then the phone rang.

"I'll get it," I said blankly getting up from my seat.

"No, Elena don't worry about it," Matt began but I cut him off.

"I said I got it."

"Hello."

"Hi Elena? Its April, uh April Young. Look, do you know where Jeremy is I've been calling him but his phone keeps going straight to voicemail."

I could tell everyone was honed in on our conversation.

"Jeremy…Jeremy can't come to the phone right now because…He's dead. Jeremy is dead."

I didn't even wait for her to reply – I hung up.

I could hear the stillness behind me. Caroline stood up in her chair, "Elena…" I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I can't do this. Not here. Not now. I pushed my way out of the kitchen, past Stefan and Damon who both tried to stop me and ran up the stairs and into Jeremy's room.

I approached his bed. Meredith had covered his body with a blanket. I reached out to pull it back but I hesitated. "His muscles are already rigid, Elena. In a few hours he will begin to bloat and his skin will discolor and he will begin to smell." she had said. I pushed the thought out of my mind and slowly pulled the blanket from his face. I gasped taking in his face – it was pale, ghostly white – he actually looked dead.

I heard footsteps approach behind me and turned to see Damon standing in the doorway. His eyes were so sad. They were so sad for me.

"He's dead." I began. "He's dead Damon and he's been dead this entire time and—" That's when the smell start to hit me and I grabbed my nose. "Oh my god how long has he smelled like that?" I could sense that I was starting to lose it, my voice braking, my hands trembling.

"Hey, talk to me. I can help you." Damon said as he slowly approached me. I swallowed back my tears. "We-uh- we have to take care of his body. Just bring him down and put him on the couch."

"Elena, why don't we just talk about—"

"Just bring it down!"

I ran down the stairs and saw Stefan and Caroline in the kitchen, no doubt they were listening upstairs. "Where's Bonnie?" I asked.

"Matt took her home, we thought it was best."

"OK I guess we'll have to do this the old fashioned way." I said as I started rummaging through the kitchen. I tried my best to single all my energy on my search. I can't fall apart, it'll just prove that I'm so weak. I can't be weak.

"Looking for something, Elena?" Caroline asked. Then I found the lighter fluid and started pouring it all over the kitchen.

"Elena!" Stefan cried as I moved into the living room pouring more fluid as I went. "There's nothing here for me anymore Stefan! I don't want these sketches, I don't want this X-box." I said kicking a controller onto the floor. Picking the Bourbon up from the shelf I said, "Sure not gonna need this Bourbon anymore now that Alaric's not here to drink it. I mean unless you wanna bring back every supernatural creature." I moved towards Damon. "Would you? Would you Damon? I know you want your drinking buddy back. I wouldn't. Does that make me a bad person?" I poured some Bourbon onto Jeremy's body and the couch. I pulled his ring off and tossed it to Damon. "He doesn't need that anymore."

"Elena stop it you're scaring me!" Caroline yelled. "What are we supposed to do with the body Caroline?" I poured some Bourbon on the picture of Jeremy and I. "I mean there's no room in the Gilbert family plot." I smashed the picture and bottle into the fireplace and struck a match.

"Elena wait" Stefan pleaded.

"There's nothing here for me anymore Stefan! This house is filled with the memories of the people I love that have died. I mean, how can I? How am I supposed to? I don't even know what—OW!" The match had burned my finger and as I dropped it Damon sped over catching it in his hand.

But in that moment, that burn. For that one second my mind was pulled from everything else as my finger throbbed in pain. And in that moment, I felt sweet relief.

"Elena," Damon whispered. "I need you to calm down."

I looked up at him blankly filled with confusion and awe at my new discovery. I could tell he was troubled by my sudden silence as he looked at me with caution. He carefully took my shoulders and drew me into his chest, holding my head against his chest. I closed my eyes breathing in his smell. "I'm sorry." I whispered. "I don't know—"

"Its ok Elena, you're going through the unimaginable." He said.

I pulled away from him and turned to Stefan and Caroline. "I guess we should clean this place up."

"Are you sure you're okay to do that? Two seconds ago you were gonna burn your house down." She started. "I mean, I'm glad you changed your mind! But…" She looked frantically to Stefan and Damon.

"Elena, why don't you go home with Damon and rest. We'll call Meredith and have her take Jeremy and Caroline and I will stay and clean up." Stefan said moving forward to touch my face.

I nodded. "Okay, let's go Elena." Damon said as he took my hand and lead me out the door.