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The creaky sound of a rusty door echoed through the basement. This was not the best way to wake up from a nightmare only to find yourself in a worse reality.
Caroline got out of bed and, closing Klaus's jacket around her body, tried to see who was the newcomer. She hoped it was Bettie. Even though she was one creepy woman, the idea of someone else involved in this story terrified her even more.
If it was just one desperate to get revenge mother, Caroline hoped she could talk her into letting her go. She was just an innocent bystander, just like her daughters were. This was her only chance.
She wondered what Klaus was doing. No matter how much she tried to listen to the noises around her, no sounds came from the other room. He was either completely immobile or ... oh god ... had he escaped and left her there alone?
Caroline felt the cruel claws of doubt gnawing at her heart. Panic was a few heartbeats away. How could she be so stupid? She should have kept an eye on him. The bloody hybrid had probably escaped during the night. She was now completely alone, at the mercy of a crazy woman.
The rage building inside her chest made her reckless. The only thing she wanted now was to kill him. No gentle stake through the heart, no sir. Painful torture for hours and hours, vervain and wolvesbayne tea for the brute and then ...
She couldn't control herself and his name escaped her lips laced in venom and hatred. "Klaaaaaaauuuuuuuusssssss".
"Yes Caroline?" the gentle whisper came from behind her, close enough to make her jump like she had been stabbed.
The relief she felt when she saw him standing right next to her was so intense that she almost ran into his arms. Those incredibly beautiful blue grey eyes were now looking at her, no emotion showing on his handsome face.
She should have known better than to jump to conclusions like that. He would never ...
"I ... for a moment I thought you had left and abandoned me here all alone." she mumbled feeling guilty for her previous thoughts.
"You should know by now that I would never abandon you to such a fate." he said solemnly. "But then, why would you rely on an enemy?"
She didn't think calling him an enemy would end up hurting his feelings. She had called him names hundreds of times before, why did he pick the worst possible moment to feel offended? Not that it mattered, she didn't need him. She was perfectly able to protect herself.
"You're right, you mean no more to me than any other monster I've met in my life. I am sorry to have considered even for a moment that you were something more." she turned to look now at whoever had entered the basement and was watching silently their little encounter.
Klaus's jaw tightened to a point that he could hear his teeth grinding. She was unbelievable, one minute looking at him as a savior, the next reducing him to a piece of garbage on the sole of her boot.
For a moment the wolf inside of him wanted to punish her for her insolence, but that was only a lapse in self-control. He ignored the mixed feelings the blonde beauty caused him.
"Hello Bettie." He called to the witch who was silently watching from the shadows. "I trust you slept well last night despite the fact that you will soon come to realize what a huge mistake this is."
Klaus was standing in the middle of the room now, Caroline on his right and Bettie a few feet away.
Today she was dressed in a floral dress with a red light jacket on top of it. She would look like a normal middle-aged woman to anyone who saw her on the street. No one could guess at the evil intentions under that innocent look.
"I see you have lost none of your charms." she said to Klaus enjoying teasing him. Oh, she would take her sweet time in making him suffer like she did.
"This is something between me and you. Let the vampire go." Klaus didn't think it would work, but he had to try nonetheless. Caroline might push him to the edge, but he couldn't bear the thought of her being hurt.
The Vampire? Seriously? Now she was just a no-name vampire? He would pay for this.
"Excuse me, but this vampire has a name. C-A-R-O-L-I-N-E." she spelled the name like she was talking to four-year olds. God he was so infuriating.
Damn, couldn't she keep her mouth shut for a change? Klaus knew that Bettie was no fool and Caroline would end up paying for his sins. She was just too stubborn to play along with him.
"A name that is insignificant to me." He replied with superb indifference.
This caught Caroline unprepared. It was like he was a totally different person. Was his ego hurt so much that he was paying her back? Stupid man.
"Now why would I do that? Our little blonde friend seems to be your weakness." Bettie concluded.
"What do you want from us except for showing up like a pervert while we're sleeping?" Caroline snapped at the witch. She was done playing.
"An impatient and arrogant one. Tsk tsk tsk ... I thought you were more sophisticated with your women Klaus." A peculiar smile made Bettie's face look like she was in pain. Probably she had forgotten how to smile, she had no reason to anymore.
"Everyone makes mistakes. Call it boredom. I had nothing better to do in this small hell hole of a town." he replied nonchalantly. "Lets get down to business, shall we? What do you want?"
Caroline hated it when people talked about her like she wasn't even present. She had a bad feeling about this, so she kept her mouth shut.
Klaus looked relaxed and even bored, but Caroline could sense the tension in his broad shoulders. He could fool Bettie, but not her. Not that she was an expert on him really.
"Oh I see." Bettie said with a pensive look on her face. "So she means nothing to you?"
"Not really. Just another pretty face." He hoped he was a good actor.
"So you wouldn't mind me doing this." She said and in the blink of an eye Caroline was screaming. She held her head with both hands, unable to breathe through the inhuman pain. She slammed on the bed writhing in agony for what seemed like a century.
Klaus summoned all the self-control gained from a millenium of practice just to stay still. He wanted to rip the witch from limb to limb. Caroline's screams were like daggers to his heart. But if he wanted to save her, he should stay out of it.
"No, I don't mind. It's just that I can't stand the squeaking and the screaming. But hey, don't let me spoil the fun." He added without even a glance towards the suffering blonde.
Bettie was surprised. She believed that Klaus would run to Caroline's side to protect her. Not that he could do anything to stop the pain, but it would show that he had feelings for the girl.
Yet here he was, looking like he didn't even notice her presence at all. Was he bluffing to confuse her or did he really not care about the girl? His expression was unreadable, his eyes burning with a fire she no longer feared. She had nothing to lose and they would see if it applied to him as well.
The pain stopped just as abruptly as it started. Caroline was left panting on the bed. Tears fell from her eyes without her realizing it.
He left me here in pain. He doesn't care about me. She couldn't tell what hurt the most: the spell from the damn witch or his rejection.
It shouldn't have come as a surprise. He was an emotionless monster who finally confessed his love for her. And all she did was reject him. Then why did it hurt so much being rejected in return? He wasn't her knight in shining armor, she didn't let him be.
Bettie made a move towards Caroline's direction. "I am sorry dear. It seems there was a fault in my plan." She sighed dramatically and produced Caroline's cell phone from her pocket.
Caroline grew tense, unable to predict what Bettie would say and do. All she knew was that she felt lonelier than ever.
"I was watching you all these months and I would've sworn there was something between you two." She leaned on something they couldn't clearly see and continued talking all the while weaving the cell phone like a toy. "That's why I thought to use you to get to him."
Klaus's heart sank. He could tell his little act didn't work. He still hoped to find a way.
Bettie continued to talk to Caroline, a predator's look on her face. "That's why I called Elena and told her that you left town with your lover, Klaus."
She paused to let the dumbstruck girl process what she had just told her. Her words were more efficient than any spell, she could see it from Caroline's expression.
"You did what? How could you fool her? Elena would never believe that I ran off with him." She couldn't even bring herself to say his name.
Klaus remained silent. He knew how much Caroline cared about what others thought of her. She would never forgive him for ruining her relationship with her best friend, even if it wasn't his fault.
"I am a witch, I can do whatever I want." She pressed a little button and Caroline's voice filled the room.
Caroline heard her own voice telling with a matter-of-factly tone to Elena that she would finally embrace her true desires. She wanted Klaus and she would have him, nothing else mattered.
Her eyes were so wide in surprise that she thought they would pop out of their sockets. The witch had recorded the conversation and Elena seemed to have believed her. They had exchanged a few harsh words and Caroline burst in tears when she realized what her friend would think of her.
Klaus had killed Jenna and Caroline had told Elena that it wasn't her problem. She loved Klaus and she wanted to see the world with him. Even if it was Bettie that said those words, Elena had no way of knowing it. She believed she was betrayed by her best friend.
Caroline's heart would have stopped if it was still beating. Ever since Klaus came into their life, they had been nothing but pawns. He didn't care who got hurt in the process. He didn't care for her. The witch was wrong, yet the damage was done.
"My friends will never believe it. They will come for me." she said more in a vain attempt to convince herself rather than the witch.
"Are you sure? Cause I don't see any calls on your cell phone. Just a message from your mother. But even she got tired of you it seems."
Caroline had been wondering if her friends would notice that she had been missing for nearly two days now. She imagined the gang gathering at the Salvatore boarding house and making plans to rescue her.
But now she wasn't so sure. If Elena had thought she was talking to her, they didn't have a reason to search for her. They might even be happy to get rid of the original hybrid. She felt so alone, so insignificant at that moment. Even her best friend couldn't tell the difference.
So they all believed that she was a selfish creature that would only care to satisfy her lust. That would explain why there had been no attempt to save her.
Ohhh how much she wanted to die. No no no, she wanted to kill the only one responsible for this. It didn't surprise her that the hatred she felt for Klaus was suddenly multiplied like a fire spreading in a field. He always stirred in her such strong emotions. She used to be confused about her feelings but not anymore.
Klaus closed his eyes for a minute. God only knew how much he wanted to hear those words from her lips. But now he knew it would never come to pass. His dream was shattered by her tears.
When he looked at her, all he could see in those eyes was pure loathing. He'd rather be blind than witness such despise and hate where he only wanted to see love.
"I'll leave you two love birds to catch up." Bettie said and left the room laughing in amusement. Her plan was simple genius.
"Well played witch." Klaus said. "You just destroyed me. Now you will meet evil me. That's a promise."