Jeremy swallows at the response before he shakes his head again. "Leave and have to run forever? It's not much of a life, and you had a full proof plan." Until he was betrayed, and it's not Tyler's fault even if he knows he'll always feel that way, think that way.

He knows, because he'd feel the same way.

He has felt the same way about things other people would say aren't his fault, were out of his control, but he needs that blame to a certain extent to hold on to some false sense of control.

Jeremy stares down at his drink, thinking of Chris, thinking of Stefan in that cave with that freshly turned murderer, thinking of how it felt nearly killing his sister, how he completely blacked out to something else.

"No, no one should," he says quietly, staring out at the water though he half wonders if they'll ever get choices. They break those bonds, and people still end up dying around them one after the other.

It scares him what grows across his skin, what it carries, what it means, what it feels like because he doesn't always know if what he's feeling is his own, but...

"Still. Thanks for doing what's right. Not many people can do that lately either."

And he's including himself within that group.

For the choices he's made, for Chris.