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Ch.25

I fumble as I pull my phone out of my back jeans pocket and my fingers shake so badly that I click the wrong contact three times before finally clicking Charlie's name. I hold the phone up to my ear, heart racing in my chest and I'm praying that nothing has happened to him.

I stand ear my car but keep turning around and around, looking frantically for any sign of Klaus. Charlie answers the phone with a gruff, "Hello?"

My knees start to buckle with the relief but I lock them before I can fall. "Dad, are you okay?" I ask quickly.

"Bells? Yes but why do you sound funny kiddo? Are you okay? Bella, tell me that you are okay, please."

I swallow hard and ignore the tingling pain in my shoulders and wrists. "I'm fine dad, I was just worried about you."

Charlie exhales heavily over the phone, "I'm fine Bells. Now tell me, why are you worried about your old man?"

I shake my head and lean back against my car. Even if Charlie is fine now, he can still be hurt later and I have to find Klaus quickly before that can happen. "I just had a nightmare but I have to go now dad. Lots of homework, you know?"

"I understand Bells but call me again soon, okay sweetheart? I love you." Charlie says and I feel myself relax even more from his words. Knowing that he is okay and loves me makes my nerves about him hating me for putting myself in danger just fade away."

"I love you too dad, I'll talk to you later." I say and hang up only to immediately search my contacts for Klaus' phone number.

I go through all my contacts twice before I realize that I don't have his number. The only way I ever spoke to him was when I bumped into him around town. I groan angrily in frustration and take a moment to just think everything through.

If I can't find Klaus in the next four hours then I will have to resort to desperate measures and call Elijah. I didn't want to involve him because I thought that I could handle everything on my own but I can't keep a six hundred-year-old vampire from killing my family because I'm just human. Elijah would be able to get a hold of Klaus and get him to help me. Even if Klaus still won't help, Elijah could always threaten Katherine himself.

Now that I have a plan other than just running around like a chicken with its head cut off, I feel better and not as caged in. I hurry to climb into my car, pull out of the Grill's parking lot and start to drive systematically through town. First I drive do all the streets that run east to west and after that, I start to drive down all the roads that run north to south.

It's on one of these north to south streets that I catch sight of a familiar blonde head walking in the town square from my rear view mirror. I cut a completely illegal U-turn and race to park against the sidewalk. I scramble out of my car and sprint after him. Thankfully Klaus is moving at a human pace so I can catch up to him but I still call out his name, "Klaus!"

Klaus stops and turns to me just as I am within feet of him. I slide to a halt and start to fall on my butt but Klaus grabs me by the elbow. He steadies me and looks into my eyes deeply as I catch my breath.

"What's wrong Bella? Did something happen?" He asks and I nod frantically.

"Katherine, she-" I manage to get out but Klaus cuts me off.

"Katherine is here? Where is she? What does she want?" Klaus says and looks around, as if Katherine would be watching us. But of course she wouldn't, not when she can possibly get her freedom.

I shake my head, "Katherine is not here at this moment. She kidnapped me this morning and threatened my families' lives if I didn't give you a message."

"What's the message then?" Klaus asks me calmly while I'm a panicked mess because my families' lives are on the line.

"What type of Cure would be so important for Katherine to threaten my parents' lives Klaus?" I ask angrily even though I know exactly what the Cure is for. I don't want him to know that yet and besides, I am angry that Katherine is using my love for my family to get what she wants.

Klaus looks at me in silence and I wait patiently for a few moments until the anxiousness gets the best of me. "Klaus, answer me! What is so important that she has to kidnap and threaten a human just to deliver a message to you?" I shove his shoulders angrily but he is stone and doesn't move.

I take a step back and a deep breath to calm my temper before saying quietly, "Why didn't you try harder to compel me?" I ask, but it isn't just directed towards him. I also direct it to Elijah and Kol in my thoughts, if Elijah had compelled me to forget about Kol and the entire vampire thing I would've never gotten involved with the supernatural. If I would've forgotten the supernatural I wouldn't have taunted Stefan and wouldn't have had Klaus following me which would've made Katherine find a different way to give Klaus his stupid message.

"If I hadn't done this stupid exchange my life would've been more normal than it is now. I wouldn't have been attacked by a crazy new vampire with her emotions shut off, I wouldn't have gotten the attention of an Original and my family would still be relatively safe." I mutter to myself, not realizing that Klaus has been listening.

"But if you hadn't done the exchange, you would never have tried for your dreams and would never do anything that you truly want." Klaus says, somehow knowing exactly how I feel without me saying anything.

I narrow my eyes at him, "What good is having your dreams when you have no family to share it with?" Klaus flinches at my words and I'm confused for a moment until I rethink what I said. I guess Klaus could take my words as a jab against his family situation but I didn't mean it like that.

"I-I didn't mean for that to sound like it did," I try to hastily explain but Klaus has moved onto a different subject.

"What message did Katherine want you to deliver me?" Klaus asks as he folds his hands behind his back and looks at me in a composed manner.

I sigh and rake the fingers of my good hand through my hair and am about to speak when Klaus' hand darts out and grabs my forearm. I glance down at his fingers and then up to his eyes which are locked onto the red and raw skin around my wrist that has finally stopped bleeding. "Did Katherine do this?" Klaus asks in a low and dangerous tone that causes shivers to run down my spine.

I nod and Klaus clenches his jaw and says firmly, "She will die before the week is up."

"Uh…" I halt his train of thought, knowing that he should know what Katherine wants in return for the Cure before he decides to kill her. "That will be a problem. You see, Katherine said that if you want the Cure then you will leave her alone for the rest of her life or you will never see it again."

Klaus gives a dark chuckle, "And why would she think that once I have the Cure, I won't continue to hunt her down?"

I shrug my shoulders, "I don't know, maybe she is hopping for your word or just thinks that you will feel generous."

Klaus rolls his ice blue eyes, "Then she must be forgetting a few important points in her old age. How did she even get close enough to talk to you?"

I sigh and reluctantly explain, "She pretended to be Elena and was apologizing for her behavior when she knocked me out and kidnapped me. I was just released about an hour ago."

My eyes widen as I realize that an hour of my precious time has already been used up, probably more. I take in a deep breath but it doesn't ease the sudden pressure that seems to be squeezing my lungs. I press one hand to my chest and try to rub the pressure away.

"Bella? Are you okay?" Klaus asks, his blue eyes wide in concern and he takes a step closer to me. I can't answer him because my throat is closing up and all the air that was in my lungs has suddenly disappeared.

AN: Cliffy! Tell me what you think in a review and I'll send you a sneak peak!