Two Lost Souls

Come away with me

When she opens her eyes, she's disoriented for a second, until the previous night comes back to her and she sighs contentedly, comforted by the warmth beside her. She feels his hold on her tighten as soon as he notices that she's awake and she gradually becomes more conscious. One of her hands has slipped underneath his Henley during the night and is resting against his stomach, the smoothness of the skin there sending pleasant tingles up her arm. One of his hands is at her hip, his touch almost burning her through the material of her tank top. He's holding on to her as if afraid that she's going to run as soon as she regains her senses, and she frowns when she realizes that this might be exactly what he's thinking.

She can't have that now, can she?

She stirs and stretches to get rid of the remnants of sleep, making him release his hold on her, but makes a point of resuming her previous position as soon as she's done. After a few seconds, she feels his arms come back around her tentatively, and her lips curl up into a small smile. Baby steps.

"Did you sleep at all?" she inquires quietly.

"No."

She just nods. She was expecting as much. She tends to ward off sleep as much as she can since she got her emotions back, fearing that the nightmares will come as soon as she closes her eyes. But her exhaustion always ends up winning the fight. She wonders how long he's going to be able to function like this.

"Caroline, I..." He trails off, and she looks up at him curiously from her comfortable position against his shoulder. "Can we talk?"

"We should," she sighs.

She frowns when his reaction is to let go of her and stand up from the bed. A strange, foreboding feeling settles in the pit of her stomach as she sits up to watch him, trying to figure out what he's about to say that has him looking so unsure.

After what seems like an eternity, he starts, "I want to thank you for last night. I know how hard it must have been for you and..."

"Stop," she cuts in firmly, suddenly furious with him, knowing exactly where he's going with this.

He's about to push her away. She just knows it. Well, if he thinks she's going to let him, he's in for one hell of a surprise.

She opens her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, but then she hears a few small sounds coming from downstairs and she reconsiders. There is a lot she needs to say to him, and a lot she needs to hear from him, and she doesn't want to have this conversation while his siblings and her best friend are most likely hanging on to their every word.

"How about we take this somewhere a bit more private?"

At his nod, she looks around her room, finding her shoes in a corner, and she slips them on while he does the same. Falling asleep fully dressed might not be the most comfortable, but it has its advantages.

She then takes a few minutes to brush her teeth and pull her hair up in a ponytail, hearing him leaving her bedroom to get to his. When she gets out of the bathroom, he's back by her bed, looking more composed, the faint smell of blood surrounding him. When was the last time he'd fed? She knows that being an original and a thousand years old, he doesn't need as much blood as she does to survive, but still. She can't remember smelling it on him in a while. She had assumed that he had fed on that girl he brought home, but now that she thinks about it, she's not so sure. And Rebekah said that he didn't feed when he went on his killing spree.

He must have just raided the fridge for one or two blood bags, and she can only imagine the death stare he gave the others to make them all refrain from talking to him since she didn't hear a word from them.