Forever Yours

Shame

A cold breeze swept through the bedroom from the open window and nipped at Caroline's nose. She fluttered her eyes and gazed around the room.

It was a complete mess.

The leather chairs were knocked over, pictures littered the floor, and vases were smashed to pieces.

Oh my God, she thought to herself. What have I done??

She turned her head slowly to look over her shoulder. There lay Klaus, eyelashes fluttering from the dreams swirling in his mind. He was sound asleep.

Caroline was quiet while she climbed out of the bed. She found her clothes on the floor so she slipped them on. She walked to the door and went out without making a sound.

She ran to her bathroom an checked the time. It was 11:45 am and she looked like a complete mess. She still had to meet Bonnie for lunch at noon. So she ran a brush through her tangled blond curls an slipped on a pair of jeans, black boots, a black blouse and a blue overcoat. She splashed water onto her face and silently slipped down the stairs and out of the house.

She walked quickly down the neighborhood towards the busy streets of London. Children played in the streets in Christmas clothes and had bright smiles on their faces. They smiled as if there wasn't a single problem in the world. No guilt. No shame. Nothing like that.

She exited the neighborhood and walked into the streets of London. As Caroline reached the bustling crowd she quickly slipped through the maze of people. She saw Cafe Rio in the distance and glanced around. Snow covered almost every store or rooftop as far as she could see. Big Ben was just around the corner. The magnificent tower said the time read 11:55.

Caroline reached the small cafe and opened the door. Instantly a wave of heat hit her face. A makeshift heater sat in the corner to warm up the customers that were piling in. She looked around and spotted Bonnie in the corner, waiting for her. She walked over and sat in the seat across from her.

"Hi Bonnie!" Caroline said. "How are you this morning?"

"Hey," she replied with a smile. She suddenly stopped and a look of confusion crossed her face. "Morning, you say? Caroline, it's noon. You never sleep past 9. What's up?"

"N-nothing," she stuttered. She silently thanked her lucky stars that Bonnie couldn't see her blush because she was a vampire.

Bonnie gazed at her suspiciously but luckily she didn't push it.

Caroline silently sighed a breath of relief and fumbled with her fingers underneath the restaurant table. She avoided Bonnie's eyes and stared out the window. Snow fell and rested on outside streets and fences.

Caroline cleared her throat and finally met Bonnie's eyes. "So," she started," tell me EVERYTHING about the past few years. I haven't seen you in FOREVER!"

Bonnie chuckled and smiled, eyes shining brightly. "Not much. I just have been spending so much time with Enzo lately with the wedding and all of that stuff." She rapped her long fingernails on the table and smiled. "I mean, there was that huge spell that I did for Enzo so he could be human..." There was a pause as Bonnie spaced out for a moment. She blinked and went back into her story, "Otherwise, I've been having the time of my life with him!" She grinned and blushed profusely.

"Well that's great, Bonnie! I'm so happy for you. You deserve it. You really do!" She reached forward and held Bonnie's hand. She didn't realize how much she actually missed her best friend over the past few years until then.