Abrasion (Mikaelson)

Chapter 22: Regret

Evangeline POV:

THREE MONTHS LATER

The past few months had been relatively peaceful, not much had happened. Klaus had been normal, well abnormal for Klaus. He was nice, he was overly caring, we hadn't fought a single time. Hayley had been sweet to me, I could almost consider her a friend at this point.

Klaus had been silently plotting his takeover of the city, he hadn't mentioned it to me at all but I heard him in his office a lot and what else would he be doing? His job was taking down Marcel.

It wasn't until one night when that cycle, which I had grown accustomed to, was broken but one Original Vampire at the door. "Klaus!" Her voice ripped me from my sleep and I was immediately out of bed. "Come out and tell me what you've done with our brother, you narcissistic, back-stabbing wanker."

Elijah. I stopped in my tracks, she was here for Elijah. The original brother I had let rot in a box within the clutches of Marcel for months whilst I got back together with Klaus. I couldn't face her. Now that she was back though I couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt about having simply let this pass, which was followed immediately by a sense of overwhelming dread. When Elijah inevitable awoke, what would I say to him? The man who had always protected me and I had simply let him rot.

I sat back down on the edge of my bed, grabbing my phone from the nightstand. After having deleted all of Damon's crap from it, there was only one photo left in the gallery. A picture of Elijah. It had been taken when he'd brought me to the compelled hotel. He was wearing a suit, per usual Elijah fashion, and he was in the middle of talking. When I'd taken it, I had laughed. He'd asked what was so funny but I didn't show him. He would have made me delete it.

My eyes began brimming up as I continued to look at the picture. "I'm so sorry." I whispered, quickly tossing my phone off to the side. It was too late and I felt my chest tighten, the tears beginning to fall from my eyes. "What have I done?"

"Evangeline?" I didn't know how long it had been when a voice had interrupted my sobbing, I quickly wiped my eyes and looked at the person. Rebekah. "Oh my god, what happened? Why are you crying?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, it's nothing. Where's Klaus?"

"He's gone out with Marcel again." She told me, taking a seat beside me on the bed. "What has he done to you?"

Rebekah placed one of her arms around me, pulling me comfortingly to her side. "He didn't do anything to me." I replied, for the first time it was true. This was my fault, I couldn't even blame Klaus this time. "I'm gonna go out, I'll back."

I stood up and grabbed my coat from the chair. Rebekah tried to stop me but I ignored her and kept walking to the exit. I couldn't accept her comfort after what I had done.

-

I wandered the streets well into the night, just thinking about all the things that had brought me to this. Everything that had happened since 1864 when this all began, when I was still innocent. Looking back I could hardly recognize myself. Just a girl adored by her brothers, her father, her mother. A happy family. That's how it all began, that's how it always begins.

If you had told me back then what I would have become, I'd have been insulted. Yet here I am, wandering on the streets in the dark, nearly two centuries from where I began.

A few minutes later I found myself wandering into a bar, and in minutes I was drowning my worries in bottle after bottle of liquor.

-

Third Person POV:

It was a little past midnight when Klaus arrived back home, where he found Rebekah seated in one of the parlor chairs. She looked up at him when he entered, her eyes filled with something Klaus had come to recognize. Contempt.

"What did you do to Evangeline?" She hissed at him, she had been festering in the sight of Evangeline crying alone in her room for hours since she had run out.

Klaus was stunned at the accusation, he hadn't done anything yet he was being immediately accused. "I didn't do anything to her, where is she?"

"She went out." Rebekah replied.

Klaus grew tense, recalling the last time Evangeline had run out on her own. The call he'd received when she was passed out on the counter of a bar. He took out his phone, prepared to dial her number but he was stopped by Rebekah. "She left her phone in her room." She told him, shocked when Klaus took off up the stairs.

He found Evangeline's phone laying face down on the bed. Picking it up he hoped it might be able to tell him what was wrong, but he hadn't expected this. A picture of Elijah, it was the only one. Klaus felt his blood boil and he tossed the phone across the room, where it hit the wall before landing on the floor.

Klaus could guess what had happened, Evangeline had heard Rebekah's concern for Elijah. Her guilt had gotten to her, it was guilt. That's what he kept repeating to himself.

He let out a sigh and sat down on the bed, running his hand over his head. Klaus could only hope Evangeline would come back safe, he wouldn't be getting a call from anyone this time.

-

Evangeline POV:

I stumbled into the hotel, giggling under my breath as I made my way to one of the lobby couches. It was morning now, the sun illuminating that sky which had only served to make my growing headache increasingly worse. There was a half finished bottle of tequila in my hand which I placed off to the side on a coffee table as I laid down on the couch.

In my drunken haze I had brought it on myself to begin asking people on the streets if they'd seen a stuffy old guy in a suit. It had resulted in some weird looks and the discovery of more than one stuffy old guy in a suit, none of them were the one I was looking for.

I sat staring at the ceiling of the lobby for a few moments before I felt my eyelids become heavy, and I was passed out on the couch.

-

Third Person POV:

"A week!" Klaus shouted as Rebekah who sat in the chair before him, she was used to this now. He'd done this everyday since Evangeline had disappeared. "She's been gone a week! Why did you let her leave?"

Rebekah scoffed. "Let the poor girl have her space, she's probably out somewhere blowing steam. She did, after all, spend an entire summer with you. She's earned a vacation."

"She left her phone here." Klaus muttered under his breath. "She could be in trouble, and you just let her go no questions asked!"

Rebekah shot up from her seat, she was beginning to get annoyed by her brother's accusations that she didn't care for Evangeline's safety. "She was upset! She wanted fresh air and probably some space from you, with the way you're acting right now I think it's safe to assume you haven't let her out of the house much."

"She never wanted to go out until you showed up here!" Klaus shot back, pointing an accusing finger at his sister. "What did you say to her?"

"I didn't say anything to her!" Rebekah raised her voice. "She was crying her eyes out alone in her room when I went to say hi! If anything, you did this!"

-

Evangeline stood outside the front door, her hand raised up to tap her knuckles on the wooden frame. She took a deep breath, clutching onto the edge of her t-shirt as she waited for the door to open.

When it did she was pulled almost immediately into a hug, a hug so tight she could practically feel her rib age giving in. "Evangeline." The man sighed as he continued to squish her in his grasp. "I'm so glad to see you again."

Evangeline smiled, returning the hug with an equally bone crushing one. "It's good to see you too Damon, I missed you."