His arms tightened around her a little more, almost involuntarily. He could hardly remember a time when their lives weren't filled with death. Once it had rolled into town, it had never left again. And now it was happening in Lawrence, too. The whole apocalypse was centering on Death and this ring business that he didn't really understand, but that felt all too familiar for his liking.
And now Elena was gone. He'd literally lost her twice now. They both had, from their time. It had been hard the first time around. Awful. But this was somehow even more painful. Maybe it shouldn't have been. Maybe he should have just been grateful that he'd been able to spend more time with an Elena who was human, and at least moderately happier than she had been in Mystic Falls.
But all he felt was bitter and broken. And no amount of alcohol or coffee or even hugs was going to rid him of those feelings. At least not anytime soon. They were all just temporary fixes. Like their lives in general. Temporary. Fading and vanishing into whatever came next. The "other side" was what Jeremy had called it once. And it hadn't sounded like a pleasant future.
"I'm tired," he murmured, exhaling slowly but not pulling away from her. Wasn't she tired, too?