Salvatore Boarding House
[Elena sits by the fireplace, reading her dad's journal. Damon walks in. He looks thoughtful.]
Elena: It's weird. Even as a kid, there was something about that basement that creeped me out.
Damon: Sure you want to give yourself nightmares reading that thing? [He sits in front of her and hands her a cup of tea.]
Elena: And I remember my dad talking about this little girl. I think he was talking about my roommate Megan. Look. "January 1999. Saw Megan King today. Megan is seven years old. She suffers from a congenital heart defect with a life expectancy of two months. A single injection of vampire blood appears to be an effective life-saving solution." That's why Megan had a picture of my dad on her phone -- because he saved her life.
Damon: A hundred pages of horrific torture, and you find the one happy passage.
Elena: My dad used his research to save people, Damon, children, families.
Damon: Yeah. And dissected vampires along the way. News flash, Elena. You are a vampire. I mean, do you honestly think that he would sit here and see you as anything more?
Elena: I don't know. He was my dad. I can't not defend him. [Damon stands up.]
Damon: [He starts walking away from her, not facing her.] No. I know you can't because you do it for me all the time.
Elena: I'm not defending you. I'm not defending your decision to kill Aaron's entire family, to go out of town and kill the aunt while we were still together.
Damon: [He turns around to face her.] So why are you still here? I'm bad, Elena, I am bad for you, so why wouldn't you have run away from me as far as humanly possible?
Elena: [standing up and getting close to him]Because I love you, Damon, because I chose you, and because I stand by my choice.
[He thinks for a moment.]
Damon: Well, now I'm choosing, and I'm choosing to let you go.
Elena: What? No, Damon--
Damon: I am choosing to not have to think about how you must feel every time some ghost from my past comes into our life. I'm choosing to relieve you of having to defend me for every awful thing I've ever done.
Elena: Stop acting like I'm perfect. Damon, I've done horrible things, too. You think I'm gonna stand here and judge you after I find out that you've been tortured for five years?
Damon: (Shouting.) Stop defending me! (Composed.) I won't change who I am. I can't...But I refuse to change you.
[Elena looks around, in pain. Damon walks out of the room. Elena tries to shake the pain away, but she starts sobbing and sits on the couch to cry.]
