Sighing Tyler rubbed his eyes with one hand, while the other clung to the steering wheel. He had no idea how long he`d been driving. Or where he was going, for that matter. He`d just been driving, changing highways every now and then. At first he`d thought about going to the Apalachian mountains. Klaus hadn`t found him while he was there to break the sire bond. Maybe he wouldn`t find him now.

He knew that there would be a wolf-pack. They wouldn`t mind him staying for a while. But he would endanger them. And the last thing he wanted was for someone else to die at the hands of Klaus because of him. It was his fault that Klaus had killed those hybrids. They had trusted him and he wasn`t there when they needed him.

That they had only been there because of Hailey, that she had betrayed him as well, didn`t really matter. He shouldn`t have trusted her so blindly. It was his fault. And not only the blood of those twelve hybrids was on his hands. Chris death was his fault as well. Chris had trusted him, had let Tyler talk him into betraying Klaus and lost his life because of that. Tyler wouldn`t endanger any more lifes. He wouldn`t ask anyone for help and try to fend for himself.

That would be best. For him and anyone else. That way no one would be subjected to Klaus' wrath because of him. And Tyler wouldn`t lose another person he cared for. He had lost too many people close to him over the last few years and he didn`t know how many more losses he could survive, before he broke down completely.

The death of his father hadn`t been that hard. Their relationship had always been difficult. His father had made him feel inferior. Like he wasn`t good enough. No matter how hard Tyler tried, he never got a praise from his father. But his sudden and unexpected death was still a shock for Tyler. Even if Mason`s death had hit him a lot harder. He`d always gotten along with his uncle. Mason was cool. He was easy to talk to and he`d always treated Tyler like an equal. He hadn`t looked down him like his father. And then there was the whole werewolf thing. Mason had disappeared when Tyler needed him the most.

Back then he`d tried to play it cool, while in reality he was scared as hell. All the more after he`d seen the video of Mason`s transformation. He still remembered how disappointed he was in his uncle, who just vanished without leaving a note and wouldn`t even answer his calls. But finding out that Mason was dead and that Caroline had known all along hurt even more. It had taken him quite some time to understand why she had lied to him and to realize that she hadn`t just been there for him out of pity, but because she cared. Back then he had felt betrayed and utterly alone.

That was the main reason he had left with Jules. She had known Mason and she knew what he was going through. What it meant to be a werewolf. And she really helped him, even if she didn`t just do it out of the goodness of her heart. He had liked her. But she too had died. And for her death he felt guilty as well. She was in Mystic Falls because of him.

The death of his twelve fellow hybrids was worse though, since it had been directly his fault. But all that was nothing, compared to the pain of losing his mother. Their relationship had changed only recently. They had gotten closer after the death of his father. And after she had witnessed his transformation that one time, she seemed to view him differently, to understand him better. Tyler remembered their last conversation. He had told her about his plan to take out Klaus and although she had feared for his safety, she had also been proud of him. She had looked at him with pride and even a little admiration. And it had meant the world to him.

Had he ever told her that? Had he ever told her, that he loved her and that he was proud of her as well? He couldn`t remember. And now it was too late. Klaus had taken away his last remaining family member.

Now Caroline was all he had left. His beautiful, clever, strong, caring and sometimes irrational girlfriend, who was home in Mystic Falls, waiting for him to find a way to escape Klaus wrath. Caroline, who he had almost lost twice already. Both times because of Klaus. First when Klaus ordered him to bite her and he did it, because of that damn sire bond. And the second time just yesterday, when Klaus bit her himself and almost let her die, just to teach Tyler a lesson. Tyler knew that Caroline would be dead now if Klaus hadn`t fallen for her as well. Then he would really be completely alone.

Caroline was the only thing that kept him going right now. Knowing that she was alive and well comforted him at least a little. Even when he didn`t know when he would see her again. If he would ever see her again at all. He promised her they would find a way. But what if he didn`t? What if there was no way for them to be together again?

The thought of living without her tore at his heart. It made breathing difficult and brought tears to his eyes. Tyler pulled over, turned off the engine and took a deep breath. Then he got out of the car and walked a few steps. After leaving Mystic Falls he`d only stopped once and his muscles protested from sitting in the car so long. He had no idea where he was. Lost in the middle of nowhere, he mused. There didn`t seem to be a town or anything nearby. The empty countryside looked rather depressing, matching his feelings perfectly.

Without really thinking about it he pulled his mobile out. He`d turned it off, fearing Klaus might be able to track him if he left it on. Now he turned it back on, surprised that he had a few missed calls. Four of them were from Caroline. Anticipating the worst he listened to her messages immediately.

"I know I shouldn`t call you..." he heard Caroline“s voice. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears and Tyler was immediately worried. What had happened in the short amount of time since he`d left? He started pacing nervously, while he listened to her other messages. The trembling in her voice got stronger by the second. He could picture her clearly, sitting in her room with the phone pressed to her ear, trying not to cry.

Just thinking about it tore at his heart. He wanted to take her into his arms and comfort her. He wanted to hold her and take away her sadness. But there were probably hundreds of miles separating them by now. And to return to Mystic Falls would be his death. It just wasn`t fair! She needed him and he couldn`t be there for her. Angry he kicked a small rock, trying to surpress a scream of rage.

And then he heard her last message. Trembling he fell to his knees, tears burned in his eyes. There had been a time when he couldn`t stand Jeremy Gilbert. When he wanted to kick him whenever he saw him. But that was a lifetime ago it seemed. They became friends. And now Jeremy was dead. Once again Tyler had lost someone he cared about. Motionless he sat in the dirt next to the street, the phone pressed against his ear. Matt had left him a message as well, his voice trembling almost as much as Caroline`s. Tyler listened to his words, too shocked to move. Too shocked to even think.

Long after the last message had ended he finally turned off the phone again. He took a deep breath and got up slowly. And he made a decision. His friends needed him. Caroline needed him. Nothing else mattered right now. Spurred into motion by his own thoughts he practically ran back to the car, jumped in and started the engine. With screeching tires he drove off into the darkness. Back to Mystic Falls.