What can I say

She hung up. Deep down, Elena knew this would happen. After all, Isobel gave her up when she was born and never bothered to look for her, she even made clear she wanted nothing to do with her. Still, Elena had hoped. She had hoped that Isobel would tell her that she wanted to get to know her, that she regretted giving her up. That hope was the one thing that kept her holding on. But now that hope was gone.

Elena looked around and couldn't bear to stay in that room anymore, she needed to get out of there. So she wrote Jenna a note she was going for a walk, and she quietly sneaked out of the house. She knew exactly where she needed to go – where she went every time she felt lonely and she didn't know what to do.

Damon was driving around. Without direction, without purpose, he was just driving. He needed time to think and this was the best way to proceed everything that has happened. He thought about Elena, Katherine and Isobel. Katherine had always been the point of his existence. She had been the woman he loved for over 145 years. She's the one who made him what and who he was now, and everything he's done since 1864 was for her. But since he found out all this time she had the chance to come to him and she never bothered to at least let him know she was alive certainly changed everything. Damon was hurt, angry, bitter. He wasn't sure he wanted to find her anymore. But he couldn't admit it, because wanting Katherine back has become a big part of who he was, the biggest part perhaps. And if he truly had lost that, didn't it mean he had lost himself? Damon Salvatore was confused. Then his thought went back to Isobel. That woman that was probably related to Katherine, maybe even knew her (he still thought Katherine had something to do with Isobel coming to him), a woman who chose to become a vampire, she begged for it. He never admitted it, but he couldn't believe she wanted it. Cause if he could go back, he would do anything to prevent being turned into a vampire. Not that he didn't enjoy life and all the benefits of being a vampire, cause hell he did, but still… Isobel, she chose to become a vampire. Damon couldn't figure out why, even though they had talked a lot about and he knew she wanted more from her life and she couldn't get it as human. But he still couldn't get it – she had a job she liked, a man who apparently loved her very much. And she had an amazing daughter. Elena. Damon couldn't help but feel terrible when he remembered the bitterness in her voice, the hurt in her eyes. In the last 145 years, Damon Salvatore cared for two… "people": Katherine and himself. He had no respect for human life, he didn't care about humans and nothing and no one mattered to him. But Elena, she was different. She managed to break through the walls he had build around himself and gained his trust, and he really cared about her, more than he wanted to. She was the one and only person he never wanted to see hurt, physically or emotionally. Yet, he hurt her himself and he hated himself for that.

Damon was still driving and still thinking, mostly about Elena. He was near the cemetery when he smelled it. This was a smell he could never mistaken: it was the most appealing blood he has ever smelled and he knew exactly whose blood it was. He turned at left and hurried to the cemetery, knowing that the smell was coming from there.

Elena reached her parent's gravestone. She needed her dad to assure her everything was going to be ok. She needed her mom to hug her and kiss the top of her head. She needed them desperately, but she was all alone. She began crying again and she slid down on the ground. She hit her elbow and it began bleeding, but she didn't feel the pain, she was already hurting terribly. She just stayed there and cried her heart out, not being able to move. It was all too much. The car accident, Jeremy's drugs, the whole vampire thing, her falling in love with Stefan, the truth about him and Damon, all the lies, Vicky's death, her resemblance with Katherine, the tomb, finding out she was adopted, learning her mother was turned into a vampire by no one other than Damon, and Isobel hanging up on her… Elena couldn't take it any longer, she felt like her heart was going to explode.

Suddenly, she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. Just before she turned to see who it was, she heard a familiar voice, which now sounded worried.

"Elena, what the hell? Are you ok?"

What a joke?! He of all people was asking her if she was ok. He, the reason for almost every bad thing in her life…

"Get off me! It's none of your business, so just leave me alone, Damon!"

It was dark, but she could see the slight relief in his eyes she stood up, even if it was to get away from him. She turned around so she wasn't facing him, she wasn't sure if she could hold it in her if she was facing him. She then heard him telling her he wanted to take her home. She turned around to face him now. How dared he?

"You can't tell me what to do or not to do. How dare you even talk to me after everything you've done?! And what are you doing here, are you stalking me now?"

She looked him in the eyes that didn't have the usual cocky spark. Instead, they seemed a bit darker, but right now, Elena couldn't care less.

"Why in hell would I be stalking you? I was driving around, and then I… I smelled your blood and came to…"

But before Damon could finish and explain to Elena that he wanted to make sure she was ok, she interrupted him, more upset than he has ever seen her.

"To what? To compare it to my mother's blood? Would you turn me too, or would you just suck me dry and leave me body rotten here?"

Damon looks at her and sees pure hate and he just doesn't know what to say or do. Then, he sensed not human presence. There were vampires, at least two of them. The first thought that passes through Damon's mind was "I have to get her out of here.". So, he grabbed Elena from behind and shut her mouth with his hand. He silently whispered to her:

"You need to be really quiet for your own good. I'll let you go, but you have to be silent."

She knew she had no reason to trust him. He was murderous, selfish, evil. But somehow, she knew that for some reason, he didn't want her dead. So she nodded and he released her.

"What's going on?" Elena whispered.

"Vampires. At least two. And we have to go. Now."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!"

Damon was going insane. He knew she was more than angry with him, she probably hated him with all her heart, but this was about her life. So, he was in a blink once again insanely close to her, this time facing her.

"Yes, you are. There are vampires here. And as you know, most of us, apart from St. Stefan, are monsters. Vampires drink blood. Human blood. Vampires don't care about the human, except for the delicious smelling liquid running through the veins. And trust me, your blood is the most delicious thing I've ever smelled. And right now, you are bleeding and the smell is so tempting no one would be able to resist. If we don't leave, those vampires will rip your throat and suck you dry in a minute. I will get you out of here, even if it's under protest. So it will be better if you are with me on this."

Elena was a bit shocked. She wasn't prepared for a speech like this from Damon. It sounded like he really cared… No, she wouldn't do it again. She wouldn't believe he cared again, for her hopes to be shattered by the next news on who he killed. Elena looked him in the eyes and knew this look. She knew Damon was going to take her home anyway, so it was probably for the best to cooperate with him. She just sighed and Damon got the hint. He felt so relieved, cause with every second that passed, the danger for Elena got bigger. He could feel at least four vampires by now, and they were getting closer, so they needed to hurry.

"Close your eyes."

Elena didn't want to, but she knew Damon wouldn't let it go. She closed her eyes and she felt he picked her up in his arms. Oddly, she doesn't feel uncomfortable. Yes, she's angry with him and so, but somehow, he made her feel safe in his arms. It lasted just seconds though. In less than 10 seconds, they were by his car and he had put her down and opened the door for her. They got into the car and had a silent drive to her house. When they reached it. Damon said that it was probably for the best if he took her straight to her room, cause otherwise she might wake Jeremy or Jenna. Elena knew he was right, so he let him pick her in his rams once again and in a second, she was in her room. Damon gently put her on the bed, then he walked towards the bathroom.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To get alcohol and bandage for your elbow. Your wound needs to cleaned and bandaged."

"I can take care of myself. So, feel free to leave."

Before she could say even a word more, Damon was right next to her with her medicine chest. He gently pulled up her sleeve and began cleaning her wound.

Elena looked at him. She knew this must be hard for him, to be so close to her blood and still to resist it, especially after what he told her in the cemetery, that she smelled more appealing than most of the people. She wondered why he wasn't killing her. After all, she was just some human, and it would hurt Stefan. But on the contrary, he was always trying to save her. Even after a lot of thinking, Elena couldn't think of another reason for him to do so than the fact that he truly cared. She didn't know the reason, if it was because of her resemblance to Katherine, or because she understood him better than most people, but he cared. That's why she needed to know.

"Why?"

Damon knew Elena wanted to know about Isobel, but he didn't want to tell her the truth, because he knew it would hurt her. He would hurt her. Again. And he didn't want that. So he said nothing, just continued taking care of her wound. He eventually finished and said:

"It will hurt for a day or two, but no serious harm is done. Just don't overstrain it for a couple of days."

With these words, he stood up and walked to the window. When he's about to leave, he tells her without turning around to face her:

"If I knew you back then, and I knew she was your mother, I wouldn't have done it."

He was about to leave. But Elena needed answers. Answers no one but he could give her.

"Damon…"

He turned around and their eyes met.

"Why did you turn her? Why didn't you just killed her?"

Damon was surprised Elena knew, and he wondered how she learned, but it wasn't important after all.

"It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me and I won't let you leave until you tell me and I want the truth."

Damon looked at her, knowing she's gone through enough, and the truth probably would be too much right now. And for the first time in over a century, Damon felt guilty about hurting someone. So, instead of giving her the answers she wanted, he said:

"Just let it go, Elena. Isobel doesn't deserve you."

Elena realizes he doesn't want to tell her, but she had to know, only then she would be able to move on.

"You owe me at least the truth, don't you think?"

Damon looked at her and sighed.

"A few years back, she found me. She knew a lot about vampires and was desperate to learn more. I was surprised with her obsession with vampires, and I gave her the answers she wanted. After that, she asked me to turn her. And I did. I stuck with her for the first few weeks, and I haven't seen her or heard from her since.

Elena's eyes filled with tears once again. So that was it. The whole truth. Isobel never wanted her, never cared for her. And she chose to become a vampire. Once again, Elena felt like her heart was going to explode. It was hard even to breathe. She looked at Damon, whose expression was… She couldn't quite name it. And she was thankful for what he did for her that night and for telling her the truth, but she needed some time.

"I'm sorry, but I really need to alone right now."

Damon looked at her one last time and he thought that this girl better and he wished he could help her. But he couldn't. Cause he was Damon Salvatore. He at least hoped Stefan would find a way to do it.

Elena looked down, trying to stop the tears, when she heard something she couldn't believe.

"I'm sorry."

She looked again at the place when Damon was supposed to be standing, but she saw he had already left. She sighed. She knew he wasn't sorry for turning Isobel, or for putting it in the face of her husband, cause he didn't care for neither one of them. She knew she was sorry he hurt her.

Elena was still upset and angry with him, how could she not be?! And she still knew what he was capable of, and that he wouldn't change completely. But she knew something else too. She knew that they had something and it was more than an understanding. And she knew she'd forgive him. Not today or tomorrow, but she would.