Fix You

Chapter 8

We end up at some boutique a couple towns over and I don't speak as we step inside. I can't help but to feel a little betrayed by Niklaus being buddy buddy with Stefan, so instead of expressing my feelings I choose to ignore him. I follow Rebekah inside, hands stuffed deep in my pockets while I pretend to browse. She looks at me over a rack of brightly colored, extremely short dresses.
"You know, you've never exactly being good at hiding your anger." She says and I let out a sign.
"I'm not trying to hide it. I'm trying not to talk to my brothers right now and he shows up with Stefan. You can't tell me you're not a little angry." I say and glance over at the two of them already sitting outside of dressing rooms.
"Stefan doesn't get to have an impact on my mood anymore." She says and I blink at her before nodding.
"Alright fair enough. But unfortunately, I'm ready to chuck a chair at his face so I can't say the same." I say and then watch the slow face of horror develop as she realizes just how short the skirt on the dress she's holding is.
"Modesty is all but gone, my friend." I say and lightly pat her hand before slipping away and then flopping into a chair by the dressing rooms.
"You're not trying anything?" Niklaus asks and I just give him a blank stare for a long moment.
"Nope." I say, popping the 'p', after a long while of just staring, hoping I unsettled him a little bit. I glance at Stefan, almost daring him to say something but he doesn't. We all watch as Rebekah takes a mound of clothing into a room. Niklaus looks at me, registering the fact that I'm dancing dangerously closed to extremely pissed off with him and decides to not push it any further. After a moment, I get bored of the silence save for the sounds of zippers and buttons and get up from the chair.
"Where are you going?" Stefan asks and I shrug.
"I dunno. Rebekah is going to be a while, I'll probably be back before she's done." I say and then dig my keys from my pocket.
"If I'm not back by the time she's done, just call me and I'll turn up." I say and toss them at Niklaus. I slide from the boutique and head down the street. I shove my hands in my pocket and read the different shops before settling on a bookstore. The little bell above the door dings, and a cat winds it's way in between my legs and the smell of old books comforts me.

After a surprisingly short amount of time, my arms are filled to near overflowing with books as I walk to the counter and set them down.
"You have a wide variety here." The lady behind the counter says as the bell rings above the door again.
"I had to fill in some gaps on my shelves." I say with a shrug as footsteps approach us. I go to pull out my card and before I can a card is slide across the counter towards her. I turn and stare at Niklaus.
"He's not paying." I say and pluck the card from the counter before handing her mine.
"I don't need you to buy things for me, Niklaus. It's not going to make me any less angry." I tell him as I'm handed my bags and my receipt.  I brush pass Niklaus and out the door, headed back for the boutique. My car comes into view and I can see Rebekah and Stefan already inside. I walk back to the trunk, Niklaus on my heels and manage to squeeze my books next to the plethora of Rebekah's bags.
"I take it it was a good day for you then?" I ask Rebekah as I slide behind the wheel.
"You could say that." She says as I pull away from the curb. The car is silent as we drive back,  it's almost an awkward silence.

I pull up in front of the manor not having said a word as light conversation picked up. Not because I'm really angry anymore, but now because I'm a little embarrassed in how quickly I let myself get angered.
"I left your bags in the back." Rebekah says and I smile at her.
"Thank you."
"I heard you're buying a house." She says with eyebrows raised.
"I needed my own space that wasn't a hotel room. And you know the doors always open if it gets to be too much here." I tell her and she nods knowingly.
"I suppose at some point I should talk to my brothers again." I say and lean my head against the headrest.
"It might be good for you to lay some anger to rest." Rebekah says and I nod.
"I know, I just can't help it sometimes. It's like they don't listen to me. They think they know everything that happened but they don't."
"Maybe it's because you never told anyone exactly what happened." Rebekah says and I wave a hand dismissively.
"It's your first day back, I'm not going to weigh you down with the tragic story of Serena Lillian Salvatore. Also, I can see Niklaus lingering and it's honestly getting to be a little weird. So you should probably head inside before he drags the both of us in there." I say and she laughs. I give her  a wave as she gets to the door before pulling away and heading back to my hotel.

I gather the bags of books, and then roll my eyes at the five or so shopping bags filled with clothes. None of which are black.
"Damn you Rebekah." I mutter to myself but I smile, it's good to not be surrounded by men who all think they know what's best for you. And no one understands that better than she does.