A Way Out

Chapter 8

“Have you talked to him since he got back?” Bonnie asked Matt as he set down her and Elena’s drinks.

“Not much,” he replied, “He told me a little about where he’s been, what he’s been doing but that was it.”

“He was obviously doing something...” Elena murmured as she sipped her Coke.

As Matt returned to the bar, Bonnie and Elena again levelled their eyes at the hybrid sitting there conversing animatedly with a pretty brunette. Tyler Lockwood had blown back into town a few weeks ago, with the brown-haired girl on his arm.

“As much as I miss her, I’m almost glad Care isn’t here to see this,” Bonnie said, “Wolf?”

“Oh, definitely,” chuckled Elena, “I can smell her from here.”

As if on cue, the door to the Mystic Grill then swung open to admit the daily lunch mob. From across the room, Damon Salvatore caught a glimpse of golden hair among the hungry masses that looked familiar. Upon focusing his vampire sight, he tapped his brother, who was lining up a pool shot, on the shoulder. When he straightened up, Damon was smirking.

“Stefan, you gotta see this,” he said almost giddily, “Barbie is about to beat Ken’s ass.”

The last thing Klaus expected or wanted to first thing in the morning was his brother all over the werewolf carrying his child.

But there it was.

Okay, maybe all over was an exaggeration but still. It wasn’t a pleasant sight. Klaus was about to step into his kitchen for a morning blood bag when he saw Elijah holding Hayley to him and kissing her tenderly. One of Elijah’s hands was on her back, drawing her in, while the other rested on her cheek. They immediately broke apart when Klaus entered the room. Hayley scurried off, looking abashed, leaving Elijah to feel the lash of Klaus’ tongue.

“Can you never pursue a woman I haven’t, brother?”

“Niklaus,” said Elijah, softly, a warning tone in his voice.

“The youngsters of this time, I believe, would call her my…’sloppy seconds.’

Klaus didn’t even have time to laugh at his own joke as Elijah rushed him and slammed him against the wall. This was a ferocity Klaus hadn’t seen in his big brother for centuries. Elijah was always ever the cool, calm, collected one. Klaus realised with a sinking feeling that the werewolf had gotten under his skin.

“DO NOT speak of her in that way!” Elijah growled at him.

After that, Elijah seemed to realise his angry outburst and let go of his brother.

Stepping back, he said tiredly, “She is carrying your child, Niklaus. If for no other reason than that, she deserves some respect.”

“It looks like you’re giving her enough respect for the both of us…” Klaus retorted.

Elijah hung his head and closed his eyes, breathing deeply. After a minute or so, he looked up at Klaus. His face the impassive mask it ever is, he speaks in a calm tone.

“Niklaus, we both know that the reason you have so much anger toward the girl is not so much for anything she has done as it is your reaction to fear.”

Klaus guffawed. “I am the Original Hybrid. Nothing scares me.”

“You fear what you do not understand and what you cannot control. You could not control this pregnancy, you can barely understand it and chances are, it will only become more complicated in the coming months. You know this.”

Klaus’ facial expression had turned to one of annoyance before he turned away from Elijah and went to the fridge. Elijah continued.

“You are always so busy being the terrible Original Hybrid that you tend to forget that you are also a man, Niklaus. And right now, you need to be a man and take care of your responsibilities. The child in Hayley’s belly is yours. You need to start acting like it.”

Klaus slammed the fridge door shut and whirled on Elijah. “So I’m supposed to be loving and supportive and fawn all over her just because she’s pregnant. I never had feelings for her. I never wanted-“

“No, you are supposed to take care of her because she is carrying your child. You are supposed to find a way to talk to her because you two are going to become parents,” Elijah cut him off.

As his brother left, no doubt to find Hayley, Klaus’ phone chirped. He pulled it from his pocket to check it.

 Caroline scanned the bar through the throng. She saw Elena and Bonnie sitting at a table together, having a drink. She saw Damon and Stefan playing pool. She saw Matt behind the bar working. Looks like everything was exactly as she had left it.

Then she saw Tyler at the bar with the new girl. Well, that’s new, she thought. A ghost of a smile tugged at her lips as she remembered how she would have reacted to the sight before she abandoned her emotions. Her jaw would have probably dropped, followed by the forced cheery smile, to bely the aching hole that would have opened in her heart. She would have made some lame excuse to go home and cry herself a river, accompanied by her best friends, Rocky Road and Gone With The Wind.

Now, she felt nothing but mild curiosity about who the girl was. On her trip down, Caroline had wondered how to play it with her friends. The truth was out of the question. None of them had forgiven Klaus for his past transgressions and they certainly wouldn’t be pleased she had turned her humanity off. She briskly made her way over to Bonnie and Elena’s table, pasting her old, sunny smile on.

“Bon! Elena!” she cried happily.

“Oh my God, Care? You’re back!” Elena said as she and Bonnie got up and wrapped Caroline in a group hug.

Even when they pulled out of the hug, they kept their hands around her waist.

Bonnie spoke first. “We were so worried. You weren’t returning any of our messages or calls and we didn’t know where you were or what you were doing or how you were…”

Caroline looked at her two friends, then looked at the floor, a sadness crossing her face. She answered solemnly.

“I just had to get away, you know,” she said, sniffling a little, “It was so hard after my mom died. I kind of had to leave it to get past it.”

The girls were silent for a while, then Elena tucked a flyaway piece of hair behind Caroline’s ear tenderly.

“If anyone knows how tempting it is to run away after losing a parent, it’s me. We just wish we could have been there for you.”

Caroline grasped both girls’ hands in her own, squeezing, and said, “You were.”

Bonnie, wanting to bring some lightness to the conversation, interjected, “So what have you been up to since you left?”

Caroline realised they had fallen for it and relaxed. “Nothing exciting really. I was really just bouncing from town to town. I wanna know what’s been happening here.”

She looked over at Tyler and nodded her head in his direction. “You could start with that.”

Bonnie and Elena squirmed uncomfortably. “We haven’t spoken to him since he got back,” said Elena.

“-but he’s been around town with her ever since. We’re sorry, Care-“ apologised Bonnie.

Caroline cut her off. “No, don’t apologise. If anyone owes me an explanation, it’s Tyler.”

She broke away from them and began to make her way to the bar. She had just taken out her phone when Bonnie pulled her back.

“Do you really think this is the best way to do this?” Elena asked uncomfortably.

“Relax,” said Caroline, smoothly, “I’m just going to say hello.”

With that, she turned around and resumed her walk to the bar. As she walked, she quickly sent a text message.

I NEED YOU TO SEND ME SOMETHING ASAP, BABE. DON’T QUESTION IT, JUST TRUST ME…

END OF CHAPTER