Caroline sat on one of the leather seats, her hands clenching against her knees. She was scared, shaken up by what happened a few hours ago. I took the glass of blood, added a shot of vodka, and handed it to her with a small smile.

   "Thanks," she softly said, grabbing the glass. She took a careful sip and let out an emotionless laugh. "I'm still shaking." She took another drink.

   "What happened?" Stefan asked as he arrived. His arms were wide and brows furrowed in curiosity, a face he seemed to have a lot.

   "Go ahead, tell him," Damon encouraged. "You're gonna love this."

   "I saw Katherine today," Caroline began.

   "Where?"

   "At the Grill." She looked scared. "I just stopped by to gawk and quasi-stalk Matt..." She began to speak about the small conversation she and Matt had, which made Damon groan.

   "Skip the teen drama and get to it," he said.

   She rolled her eyes and then glanced back at Stefan. "Then I had to pretend to to use the bathroom, even though I didn't really have to go because I'm a doofus. I was washing my hands when Elena walked in, but it wasn't Elena. When I tried to leave, she stopped me. She said that I needed to deliver a message to you three."

   "What was the message?" Stefan asked, leaning slightly closer to her.

   Caroline took another deep breath. "She wants the moonstone, or she will rip this town apart until it rains blood."

   "Tell him the rest," I told her, standing and beginning to pace with my arms crossed.

   "Tonight, at the masquerade ball."

   "She wants to do it in public," Stefan guessed. "Killing Mason threw her off guard."

   "She's running scared," Damon mused. "What she did to Jenna was desperate. She's running out of tricks."

   "We can't underestimate her," I sighed. "We have to play this smarter than her."

   "Can we just give her the moonstone so she'll leave?" Caroline asked, a mixture of annoyance and fright in her voice.

   "No, Katherine's not getting dick," Damon snapped. "I've had it. I'm gonna go to the masquerade ball and I'm gonna kill her, tonight."

   "You're not gonna kill her," I said, looking over at him.

   "Don't give me that goody-goody crap," he groaned. "I have enough of it with Saint Stefan!"

   "You're not gonna kill her," I repeated.

   "Oh really?" He marched to where I was. His face was inches away from mine, his eyes slightly closing as he glared at me.

   A small smirk spread around my lips. "Because I am."

   "Oh, so now you want revenge?" he mused, a small smirk around his lips.

   "Oh, sweetheart, I've wanted revenge ever since she killed me," I said, the smirk still visible around my lips. "Maybe before that."

   "Okay!" Stefan stepped between us, stopping whatever fight was going to arise. "I'm going to text Bonnie. We'll need her help."

    While we all waited for Bonnie to arrive, Alaric came. And he seemed to have a tail following him since Jeremy came as well. He had a bag filled with weapons, and spread them all on a table. It was an array of weapons, some that I have seen and some that were Alaric's very own inventions. After he spread them out and began to show them to Damon and I, Bonnie arrived. 

   That was when Alaric began to show a weapon to everybody. "This works with compressed air. The trigger mechanism is up here. I have two of these in a different size. For you, I recommend this." He pulled out a band with stakes. "It fits nicely under the jacket sleeve. You use the trigger when you're ready." He demonstrated how to kill a vampire, which caused me to take a step back at the sudden attack. "You... You wanted me to show you how to kill a vampire."

   Alaric showed us the different techniques he had learned over the years on how to kill vampires. He even taught us how he made his stakes, which didn't look as complicated as I thought it was. In fact, it was very simple and precise. 

   "Are you sure you don't want me there tonight?" Alaric asked, glancing at Stefan, Damon, and I. He mostly looked at Stefan.

   "No," Stefan said for all of us. "I need you to stay with Elena. I don't want her to know about this."

   "Okay," Alaric sighed. "Well, I'll make sure she doesn't leave my sight."

   "Alright," Stefan nodded and crossed his arms, glancing at everyone around the room. "If anybody wants to back out, I'll understand."

   "Yeah," Damon cur in. "Cold feet speak now. I don't want this going wrong is someone chicken's out. Caroline."

   "I won't," she defended, making a face. "Look, she killed me. Fair's fair. As long as there's no werewolf running around."

   "Oh, I took care of Mason," Damon mused, a small smirk around his lips. 

   "As long as Tyler doesn't kill anybody, he won't turn," Jeremy announced, nodding.

   "Bonnie?" Stefan looked at her. "Are you with us?" We all looked at her, anxiously waiting for an answer.

   She hesitated. "But no one gets hurt."

   "Except Katherine," I cut in, a small and playful smile around my lips. "She gets a stake through her heart."

   The ball was filled with people of all ages, the majority of them adults with masks covering half of their faces. It wasn't a full out ball where people wore big and puffy dresses with dull colours and designs. The dresses in front of me were short and styled differently on each woman. Mine was short as well; I wore a red floral backless lace cocktail dress and black heels with a lace mask over my eyes. It was simple yet classy, perfect for the masquerade ball.

   I walked down the stairs with a glass of whatever alcohol they were serving. Damon and Stefan stood in the middle steps, and I joined them with a loud exhale. "Haven't seen her," I said as I took my stance in between them. "She must be avoiding us."

   "Are you sure you can do this?" Stefan asked, looking down at me. 

   "What kind of question is that?" I rolled my eyes. "Stefan, I'm sure I can do this."

   "Just making sure you don't back out last minute," Damon said, crossing his arms. 

   "How about you?" I asked him, raising my brow. "Can you do this, Damon?"

   "Who are you talking to?" he smirked.

   "You loved her for over one hundred and forty-five years," I stated, glancing at him before I looked back the throng of people in front of us. "You can hesitate."

   "I won't hesitate, Clara," he said immediately after I finished talking. Damon's blue eyes collided with my green ones, and there was an unspeakable connection that passed through us; it felt uncomfortable. I was the first one to look away. 

   "Okay," I nodded, licking my lips. "Stefan."

   "Hmm?" He looked at me and raised a brow. 

   "Let's dance," I smiled. I handed Damon my glass, then grabbed Stefan's hand and capered us to the dance floor. 

   As soon as my feet touched the floor, I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck. His hands moved to my waist. A slow song began to play, and we moved slowly to its rhythm. We swayed slowly, side to side, chest slightly pressed against each others. It felt strange dancing with him. I had done it numerous times, but that was when we were humans and our fathers wanted to push us together. Back then, we would laugh and speak about things that made no sense. But that was when we didn't think about danger, when we were alive and well and enjoyed our days to the point where we didn't want them to end.

   At this moment, while moving slowly to the song with Stefan, there was another feeling swimming inside of me. Back then, I was happy. But, now, I felt as if there was more than happiness. It began at my stomach and moved its way up my throat and to my lips, creating a smile. 

   "I heard you and Damon that night," he said, breaking the silence between us. 

   "I can say the same about you and Elena," I smiled softly, almost as if I were apologising for their fight. "It was... It was brutal."

   "It was bound to happen sooner or later," he sighed. "Katherine almost killed Jenna, and she's bound to kill someone else that's close to Elena."

   "And her sadness will bring you pain," I finished for him. "Katherine's trying to hurt the both of you, not just her. It's obvious."

   "What about you and Damon?" he suddenly asked, raising a brow.

   "There's no us, Stefan," I forced a small smile. "There's only Damon and I, separate."

   "Are you sure?" He lowered his voice as he spoke, almost as if he wanted no one to hear our conversation. "Clara, you were engaged to him."

   "Over one hundred and forty-plus years ago," I asserted. "It was a long time ago, Stefan. My feelings for him faded with time; I bid my farewells."

   A small smile spread around his lips. He pushed me away, still keeping a hold on my hand, and then spun me around before pulling me back to his body. His lips pursed as he widened his eyes, making a face. I looked down and let out a small laughed, playfully rolling my eyes. "You haven't lost your touch, Mr. Salvatore," I teased, smiling. "It seems that you still know how to dance."

   He softly laughed. "I never lost my touch, Miss Forbes."

  "Isn't it enough that you already have one Salvatore?" Elena's voice rang through my ears. I stopped dancing, and turned to see Katherine standing behind me with a teasing smirk around her lips. 

   "Katherine," I sighed, crossing my arms. "You must love lying since you do it too much." I knew it was a horrible come back, but she irritated me to the point where I couldn't think straight.

   "Hmm," she shrugged. She turned to Stefan with a small smirk. "Dance with me."

   "No," he answered immediately.

   "Fine," she shrugged. "Then tell me who I should kill. Him? Hmm, she looks delicious." She grabbed a strawberry from a passing waiter and bit into it. 

   "Go," I told Stefan quietly, pushing his lower back a bit. "We can't have a death in front of all these people."

   Stefan hesitated, but then pulled out his arm for Katherine to take. She smirked in my direction and took it, turning to walk the other way. I rolled my eyes and walked away, grabbing a glass of whatever alcohol was passed by waiters and downed it as if it were a shot. When I laid the glass down on a table, someone took my hand and began to lead me away. I turned to the owner, only to see a mop of black hair and the strunctured chin of the man I had known too well. In a sudden moment, I remembered how he used to pull me pver to dance at the balls in 1864.

   Damon held on tightly to my hand, a big smile on his lips as we sauntered between people. He glanced back at me, and laughed. "Come on, Clara!" His voice was like honey, sweet and tart. "You're going to dance with me!"

   "I don't want to dance!" I laughed, trying to pull my hand back. "Damon, please, no!"

   "Too bad," he grinned. His arm was draped around my waist as his other hand held on tightly to mine. The blue eyes that resembled the bright summer sky stared into mine. Together, I thought we were the perfect scenery. He was the sky, and I was the grass. His smile, his eyes, his very own presence made me warm. Damon was my very own piece of Heaven, and that made me grin.

   "Why are you smiling?" he asked, raising a brow. "Am I making you smile so much, Clara?"

   I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Pursing my lips as I tried not to smile once again, I looked down. "Maybe," I teased, looking back into his eyes. "You just make me feel warm."

   "I'll take that as a compliment," he chuckled. "After all, I make you feel warm on a cold October night."

   "Clara!" I blinked several times and glanced up to the face that was mere inches from mine. Damon stared down at me, a curious expression on his eyes. "You done or are you still dreaming?"

   "I was doing no such things," I lied, rolling my eyes. It was then that I noticed the familiar feeling of his arm around my waist and his hand on mine; we were dancing. "Why are we dancing?"

   "So we can hear what Katherine is doing," he said, looking around. "She's with Stefan, no? Something interesting's bound to... And there it is."

   "I wasn't listening," I muttered, frowning. "What did she do?"

   "Of course you weren't," he sighed, rolling his eyes. We stopped dancing and turned his head to the right, as if he were watching someone. "She killed someone."

   "It's only been an hour and a half!" I groaned, throwing my head back. He began to march away, and I followed behind him. When he sped, I followed. We ended up finding Stefan standing anxiously by the stairs, his hands on his waist. He motioned us to follow him by tilting his head to the side and going up the stairs.

   "I put the body in the trunk by now," he said, his eyes darting to the sides.

   "We'll dump her when we get back," Damon said, almost as if it were nothing.

   "This is exactly what I didn't want, Damon!" Stefan groaned, laying his hands on his shoulders and looking at his brother. 

   "Stefan, it's collateral damage," Damon tried to explain, still acting as if it were nothing.

   "Right, which is why we need to call it off," Stefan said.

   "What?" Damon and I chorused in surprised.

   "Who's hesitating now?" Damon mused. "Hey! Don't do this to me! That woman ruined all of our lives, she destroyed us!" He looked into our eyes, the anger as visible as its icy colour. "Tonight it ends. We can do it together. We got each others backs, alright?"

   Stefan and I looked at each other, and then looked back at Damon. "Alright," we chorused. 

   Damon nodded. He took out his phone and began to type immediately. "I'm telling Little Gilbert that it's his turn." He put the phone back in his pocket. He pulled out a stake and handed it to me, smiling with his lips closed. "A stake for the lady."

   "I don't know why wasn't I able to get one of those stake bracelets," I groaned, twirling the stake between my fingers.  "Instead, I get this boring old stake."

   Damon rolled his eyes. "Boo-hoo, Clara. Now, you're coming with me." He grabbed my hand and began to pull me to the closet. "Stefan."

   "I know," Stefan called with a sigh. 

   "Good," Damon smiled, closing the closet door. I leaned against the side and closed my eyes, tightening my grip around the stake. Holding it felt dangerous, it felt almost as if it were accelerating. I felt adrenaline, something I haven't felt in a long time, fill my very being. "Don't look too excited," Damon teased.

   "Shut up," I sighed, opening my eyes. He was close to me, his chest slightly pressed against mine. I could hear my heart in my ears. It was the only thing I could hear.

   "You should calm down," he smirked. "If I can hear your heart here, imagine Katherine hearing it from out of the room."

   "Which room is it?" I heard Katherine's voice hiss. 

   That was when my heart quickened. I closed my eyes, and silently counted to see if my heart would stop beating so wildly. Why was it beating like that? Was it because Damon was so close or because Katherine was about to enter the room? Before I finished counting to ten, someone's lips collided against mine. I kissed back without thinking, tangling my fingers in his hair. My mind didn't bother with the consequences of kissing Damon, just like it didn't when we first kissed when we were humans. I didn't care about Katherine, or about anything else that wanted to destroy or did destroy our lives. Maybe it was Damon's lips against mine that caused me to calm down.

   "Hello, Katherine," Stefan's voice rang in my ears.

   I pulled away from Damon, surprised. Slowly, I glanced up into his eyes. He was staring down at me. I saw the sky in his eyes; the warm summer sky that happened in the middle of July was in his eyes.  They were clear and beautiful, and I just wanted to keep staring into them. When he looked away, I looked at the door.

   "You don't really think that you can kill me with that now, do you?" Katherine said, the smirk evident in her voice evident.

   "No," Stefan sighed. That was when Damon opened the door and opened the door, the compressed air weapon in his hands. "But he can." He pressed the the trigger and shot Katherine in the back. The stake dug itself quite deep, making her take a step forward and let out a groan. She tried to stand, but Stefan hurried to her and dug the stake to her arm. He pulled the stake out and tried to stake her again, but Katherine pushed him back.

   Damon stepped forward and pulled the stake from her back, and tried to dig the stake to her back. She fought back. It was a mess of seeing Damon and Stefan on the floor, or one of them. I held on to the stake in my hands, watching her. When she was about to stake Damon, Stefan held her back. That was when I stepped in. I raised the stake and marched to her, eyes glaring into her very soul. She stared at me, almost scared. The look in her eyes caused me enjoyment. I laid the stake over her heart, and smirked. 

   "Finally," I breathed, looking into her eyes. "Bye bye, Katherine." I began to push the stake in.

   "Stop!" Jeremy Gilbert's voice rang around the room. "You're hurting Elena! Everything you're doing to her is hurting Elena!" I immediately pulled out the stake, which was thankfully an inch deep. Katherine smiled as Stefan let go of her.

   "You think you three are the only one with a witch by her side?" she asked. "Wrong. And something tell me that my witch is better than your witch." She grabbed the stake from my hands and began to twirl it around. 

   "Jeremy , go check on Elena!" Stefan commanded. "Make sure she's okay. Go!" Jeremy ran away. 

  "Let's all make sure poor Elena is okay," Katherine pouted. "Just a little bit more pressure." She pressed the stake to her hand and slid it down, causing blood to arise. She takes the stake and points it to her stomach, staring at all of us. "This is really gonna hurt."

   "Wait!" I called out, slightly reaching to her. 

   She looked at me and smirked, tilting her head to the side. "Aww, how can you care about little Elena when she's taking every precious moment you can have with Damon?" She turned and  sat down. "Okay, so, how about that moonstone?"

   I took a seat on one of the chairs and crossed my arms and legs. If I was to be stuck in a room with Katherine, I might as well be comfortable. I closed my eyes and leaned back, exhaling from my nose. From in front of me, I could hear Katherine tapping her heel against the carpet. 

   "The four of us together just like old times," Katherine said. "The girl who loved the brother that loved me too much, and the brother that didn't love me enough."

   "And the evil vampire slut who only loves herself," Damon finished, pressing his hand against the invisible force that kept us from exiting the room.

   "What happened to you, Damon?" questioned Katherine. "You used to be sweet and polite."

   I opened my eyes and glanced at her. "Oh, that Damon seemed to have died a long time ago," I answered for him, closing my eyes again.

   She chuckled. "Good. He was a bore."

   "Oh, why don't you three stop antagonizing each other?" Stefan asked, irritation in his tone.

   "Where is the moonstone?" Katherine asked, countering Stefan's questions.

   "What do you want with it?"

   "Does Elena enjoy having the both of you worship at her alter?" Katherine mused, smirking.

   "That was really desperate, Katherine. Don't you think that we can see right through you?" Stefan sounded as if he wanted to win in the small questioning game that they were having.

   "So it doesn't bother you that Damon's in love with your girlfriend?" I snapped my eyes open and looked at her, seeing the horrendous smirk on her red lips. She looked at me, and smirked. "Oops, I said too much."

   "Oh, stop it," Stefan groaned. 

   "Or what? You'll hurt me?" She stood up. "Come on, Stefan. Everything that I feel, Elena feels. So, go ahead." She turned to look at Damon. "Or better yet, kiss me, Damon. She'll feel that too."

   "You know, this whole Mason thing has me a bit confused," Stefan changed the conversation. "Why a werewolf? The moonstone can break a curse that would help them destroy all vampires, so what's in that for you?"

   "Sorry about your pet wolf," Damon piped. "Probably should have kept him in a tighter leash."

   "I'll have to remember that for next time," she smirked. "He's not the only wolf in town."

   I tapped my fingers on my arm and stare at her, tilting my head to the side. Katherine was playing a game, a dangerous game that involved the stone.  I took a deep breath and stopped, sniffing something sweet. On the back of my tongue, I could taste the lingering smell of blood. It was all around me; it was faint but I could still taste it.

   "Damn it!" Damon groaned from the door. "Where is that witch?"

   "We can play charades," Katherine chimed in.

   "You bargained the moonstone," Stefan suddenly said.

   "What are you two mumbling about over there?" Damon asked, turning with a glass of scotch.

   I stood and circled Katherine, my arms crossed. "When you struck a deal with George Lockwood, to help you fake your death, you told us that you gave George something that he needed. It was the moonstone, wasn't it?"

   "Good for you, Clara," she smirked. "Two plus two... And it would have worked except that people found out that I wasn't in the tomb." She turned to glare at Damon. "Thanks to you, by the way. Have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?"

   Damon raised his glass in her direction. "Hmm, you and me both, honey."

   "Why do you..." Stefan began. "Why do you need it back?"

   "I love you in a suit," Katherine changed the conversation. "So dashing."

   "What were you doing with it in the first place?" Stefan continued to ask questions, which were obviously not going to be answered.

   "You're wasting your breath, Stefan," Damon sighed.

   "Unless it wasn't yours to begin with," he continued. "In 1864 you faked your death. Who were you running from, Katherine?"

   "In 1987 you were in Chicago, at a concert of all places with that wench, Lexi." Katherine seemed to have a knack of changing conversations whenever she didn't want to answer one of Stefan's manyy questions. "Come on Stefan, don't look so surprised. Of course I checked in on you over the years. You were standing in the front row, dancing all night. You were watching Bon Jovi and I was watching you."

   "Who were you running from?" Stefan repeated.

   I ambled to the table that was filled with the scotch, and poured myself a glass full. Damon stared at me, surprised. I raised my glass in his direction before taking a long drink and leaving half on the glass. 

   Katherine let out a breath from where she was standing. "We're missing the party," she sighed. "I'll have one of those."

   Damon stopped pouring himself scotch and rolled his eyes. "Right away Miss Katherine," he mimicked the voice of a servant boy. After he served her the drink, he handed it to her.

   "Thank you," she said, grabbing the drink. She took a sip. 

   Suddenly, I felt myself be held against something with something against my neck and my arms being held back. "No, no! Damon, don't!" Stefan's voice rang.

   I opened my eyes to see Damon in front of me, a stake raised inches away from my chest. His eyes were wide, surprised, his mouth slightly open. I stared up at him, the utter surprise of the top of the stake pressed over my heart causing me to shake. A small tear slid down my cheek, and I wished I could wipe it away.

   "Yes, Damon, please," Katherine teased from behind me. She was the one that was holding my arms, holding me in front of her in a form of protection. "Push that stake a little bit more."

   Damon's eyes shifted from mine to my side. "The second the spell is lifted, I'm gonna drive a stake right through your heart," he spat at her.

   Katherine chuckled. "God, you're hot. When did you get so hot?" When Damon let go of me, she did as well. I moved away from them, standing in the opposite direction. "Don't worry. Clara will be there to protect me."

   "Katherine." A new voiced joined in. We all turned to see a woman holding the moonstone, her arms crossed. "The spell in this room as been lifted. You're free to leave."

   "Thank god," she breathed, rolling her eyes. She walked to the woman.

   The woman held the moonstone out to Katherine. "When I hand this over my debt to you is over."

   "Done."

   "I owe you nothing," the woman said, trying to make Katherine understand.

   "I said done," Katherine groaned, irritated. "Give it."

   "I wouldn't do that," Damon warned.

   The woman glanced at him, but gave the stone to Katherine. When she closed her hand around it, she began to choke. "You should have told me another witch was involved," the woman spat at her. "She's a Bennett witch, Katherine, but I'm sure you knew that."

   "Wait, Elena!"

   "Elena's fine," the woman assured. "The spell's broken. She'll heal quickly. Bonnie's with her." Katherine continued to suffocate. The pleasure of seeing her on the floor filled me with excitement. I looked back at the woman, who looked at all of us apologetically. "I apologize for my involvement." She glanced at Katherine on the floor before walking away. 

   "Go to Elena," I told Stefan, looking down at a passed out Katherine. "We'll... We'll take care of her."

   "Clara..." he began.

  "Go!" I snapped. "Go to her. We know you want to see her and what not." Stefan stared at me for a few seconds, and then jolted out of the room. I sighed and crossed my arms, looking down at Katherine. "So, so we finally kill her?"

   "I have a better idea," Damon said. He took Katherine from the floor and threw her over his shoulder. 

   His idea was to put Katherine in the tomb under Fell's Church. It was were the other vampires were since 1864; the other vampires that burned at the Gilbert building when I came back. Damon threw Katherine through the door, and then threw the moonstone next to her. I walked out of the tomb, hugging myself from the sudden chill. 

   "Hey..." Damon's voice danced behind me. I stopped and turned. He was inches away from me, but it felt as if he were even further. "I want to apologise for..."

   "For almost killing me?" I finished for him, raising a brow. "Uh, don't worry about it. Happens to all of us."

   "Clara..." he sighed. 

   "I said it's okay!" I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Damon, it's okay."

   "You were afraid of me," he stated, frowning. "You were scared... You thought I was going to kill you."

   "The stake was pressed right here." I pointed to my heart as I stared at him. "I thought you were going to kill me; do you want me to be happy that you were going to kill me?"

   "You were afraid of me," he repeated.

   I took a deep breath and quickly glanced at the ground. "I think you would have killed me if Stefan didn't hold you back," I softly said. "I think the rage blinded you completely, or maybe you also want me dead."

   "No!" He quickly stopped my words by pressing his hands on my cheek and making me look at him. "No, Clara, I don't want you dead."

   I pushed his hands away, and left them on mine. They were cold, but there was also a sense of warmth on my palm. "Please don't touch me."

   "Why not?" he asked, stepping closer. "You didn't mind when we were in the closet, when I kissed you."

   "I didn't realise what I was doing," I defended my actions. "I should've, though."

   "Clara, don't do this, okay?"

   "I... I need to get away from you, Damon," I decided. "I can't be close to you anymore; it's too painful because my feelings for you are there even though I don't want them to be. These feelings, this love that builds inside of me, is so consuming. It fills me up, but it also tears me down to the point where I feel my insides crumbling."

   "Clara, don't," Damon pleaded, laying a hand on my cheek. "Please."

   "I mean, most people don't taste that kind of love. At least I tasted it once, right?" I forced a small smile, feeling tears down my cheeks. It seemed that I had a knack of crying whenever we had a conversation. But, cold I be blamed? Our conversations were filled with feelings that I wanted to feel no more, feelings that arose once again the moment he saved me from the fire.

   "Clara..." Damon cleared his throat and leaned his face closer, his forehead brushing right against mine. "I have so much to say to you. I want to begin at the beginning, because that is what you deserve. I want to tell you everything, without leaving a single detail."

   Long ago, there was something in me, but now that thing is gone. I cannot cry. I cannot care. That thing will come back no more. I pushed away from Damon's warmth and took careful steps back, all while shaking my head. "I'm gonna move out," I told him. "I'm gonna get a house. I'm going to push myself away from you, Damon, because I just can't... I can't any more. I can't continue to feel like I have you back and then I don't." I took one last look at him, and turned to walk away.