At Twilight (TW/TVD Crossover)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Caroline spent her first fortnight in Beacon Hills exploring. Starting with the rambling McMansion she currently occupied.

She explored every square inch of her aunt's house. Every floor, every room, and every nook and cranny she found.

She tried to rein in her hopes of finding anything that might help her understand who her aunt was, what she loved, and what made her happy.

The properties in Nashville and Colorado were both void of any personal touch. Of anything that made a house a home. Anything that might help Caroline feel a kinship with the woman who changed her life forever.

She was shit out of luck here too.

Not a single letter, picture, or hell, even a receipt for a store or restaurant Sophia frequented seemed to exist in the house. The cavernous closet in the master was empty when she finally unpacked her boxes that Wednesday.

She tried to keep the disappointment at bay and not let it eat at her. After all, the attorney had warned her this might be the case.

In the meantime, Caroline decided to create the home her aunt hadn't. With so many outdated rooms, she had enough projects to entertain her for a long while. She was excited to add bits of her personality and taste to the house instead of living in a 2000s Architectural Digest mausoleum.

She'd started looking online to find bits and pieces in her excitement, deep diving on Pinterest every night before bed. She hadn't pulled the trigger on any purchases yet, cautious about potentially exposing her home and address to a stranger when she's not home to compel them. Unfortunately, that wouldn't have been sustainable in the long run anyway. The next best option Caroline could see was opening a P.O box at the post office in town and having all of her packages delivered there. The added benefit of having a reason to go into town a few times a week was alluring.

When Caroline wasn't familiarizing herself with her new home or plotting on Pinterest, she spent time scouring the forest surrounding the property. She dedicated herself to learning the ins and outs of the dense thicket of trees that stretched miles and miles in every direction, eventually reaching the edge of town.

Fortunately, the curious feeling of being watched hadn't returned since the first day. And yet, the wolf's scent lingered in different pockets throughout the woods.

One warm afternoon while exploring, she stumbled upon what had likely been a beautiful home. It was now an abandoned, burnt-out decrepit shell, toppling towards one side. His scent was especially dense around the dilapidated building and the surrounding land. She steered clear.

On the 10th day in her new town, Caroline started going stir crazy. She had not exchanged words with anyone besides her mom and Klaus to check in on her first day.

An extroverted social butterfly to her core, she needed human interaction - and she couldn't say she wasn't excited to settle down and start over in a town where she's unknown. Have the chance to make connections again. And with how little she'd found in her search of the house, she would probably have to prod her new neighbors for any tidbits about her aunt. That wouldn't be possible from the reading nook in her bedroom.

A trip to the grocery store made its way to her light to-do list as looked down at the almost empty chips bag in her grip. She could even stop at the post office and open that P.O. box. She dumped the last bit of chips into her mouth and moved to get up.

Caroline paused mid-chew and chuckled ironically at her reality: grocery store shopping and running errands were the extents of her social calendar. She'd had a more exciting social life as a teenager in small-town Virginia.