Endless Souls

A Confession

"You have to kill your doppelgangers."

""What? Why?"

"It's you or them."

"Fine." I pick Elena up and go out to the car.

"Elena? Can you hear me?"

"Damon." I brush a strand of hair behind her ear and her eyelids flutter open.

"What happened?"

"We gotta go to Albany."

"Why?"

"Because we have to kill our doppelgangers."

"You agreed to that?!

"It's you or them."

"Damon, they're people! Innocent people!"

"So are you! And no matter what, I'll do whatever it takes to save you!"

"Damon-"

"I'm going to Albany with or without you."

"I'm going." I nod and she climbs in the car.

"What are we gonna tell Ember?"

"That we are going on a romantic getaway to Albany."

"Okay."

We head back to the house to pick up a few things. Ember stands in the kitchen making breakfast.

Elena's POV

"Where the hell have you been?!?"

"We just went out for a drive. Dad and I are in a rough spot so we're going to Albany for a while for a romantic getaway."

"Okay."

"And I gave permission for Elizabeth to go camping with Quinn and Wendy."

"What?!? You're kidding me. You did not give my daughter permission to go camping!"

"Come on Em. She'll be fine. She's a big girl and she can protect herself."

"Mom! She's still my daughter!"

"And you're our daughter."

"I hate you! You make my life a living hell and and screw everything up! I wish you weren't my parents!" With that she storms upstairs. Tears fill my eyes and I turn off the stove. I jump when I hear the door slam. I go upstairs to pack. Damon follows me, but instead goes up to Ember's door. I put some of mine and Damon's things into an overnight bag. I get in the shower, letting the hot water beat the stress from my back. the door opens and a figure steps in.

"I was wondering when you were going to join me." I turn around to see- Stefan?!?

"What the hell?!?" He pins me against the wall and looks at me in a bad way- in a lustful way.

"It's time for me to get what I want."

"Stefan stop it! It'll never be you I love Damon!"

"There was a time when you said it would always be me."

"I was never in love with you!" He pulls away and looks at me. I step out of the shower grabbing a towel and going into the bedroom, Stefan following me.

"What you don't know is after I met Damon first I met him again. He told me he remembered me but I didn't remember him. He asked me out on a date and I said yes. After that he wouldn't return my calls or texts so I decided I would move on but I could never get him out of my head. Then I met you. You fell for me instantly but I didn't with you. I figured out that I was in love with Damon. It was easy. Then when before you got to the boarding house, we agreed to forget we ever met. But I still feel guilty."

"For what?"

"I used you to get to Damon. I knew without Katherine he would fall apart and I wanted to help him pick up the pieces. He fell in love with me but because I felt guilty I told him it would always be you. When we went to Georgia I had a moment of weakness. That was the first time I kissed Damon."

"What about Denver."

"We slept together."

"Only once?"

"No."

"Why are you telling me this?!? How many more ways can you rip my heart out?!?"

"I'm trying to make you understand that I'm always going to love Damon. I always have, and I always will." Damon comes in.

"What the hell are you doing in here?"

"He tried to sleep with me." Damon pulls me into him and shoots daggers at Stefan.

"You're crossing dangerous boundaries, brother."

"Apparently you did too."

"I never did and I still don't force Elena into anything. She chose me. The universe for god's sake chose us. This is what she wants. She chose to sleep with me, become bed buddies with me, be with me, be a vampire, to keep our baby, to marry me, to not turn it off when I died, to be faithful to me when I was dead, to still be with me today through everything. I give her a choice. I don't force anything on Elena because she's the woman I love, the mother of my 2 daughters, my 3 sons. Through everything I put her through she decided to keep trusting and loving me. She's not a prize. She's free to make her own choices. With you she's on a leash. To you she's still that miserable human girl that lost her parents and couldn't make a choice. I love the strong beautiful woman she is today. The woman who will stay loyal to me even when we fight. She's the love of my life. With you she's just a caged bird." I look up at Damon and Stefan leaves the room with hurt and guilt on his face. Damon looks down at me. I look at him with shock and awe. He strokes my face with his thumb.

"I. Love. You. Never look at me like that because I'll always defend you."

"Shhh. You said enough."