CHAPTER 28&
"Next time, you drive your own damn car!" Caroline screeched the brakes to a halt and glared over at Klaus, willing him to exit her car as quickly as possible.
"So there'll be a next time then?" He asked with a seductive tilt of his eyebrows. What was wrong with him? Why didn't he get the message that she hated his guts? She frowned at him. He shot her a lazy smile as he opened the door and stepped out causally, as though being given a ride by her was a daily occurrence. He began to walk away slowly when a question burned in her mind. She had been curious about it all day and she just had to ask.
"Klaus!" She called, staying in her seat. He turned around moving to her window looking inside with a delighted expression. "Why did you help us today? I mean, we wouldn't have found that shop without your happy little grapevine people."
"I need Elena to make more hybrids. You know that, love." He said simply, but that didn't cut it in Caroline's opinion. She shook her head.
"You didn't need to come with us. I'm sure you could have stayed at home and got your hybrid slaves to go and retrieve her for you, so why didn't you?" A delighted look spread across his face and she sighed in exasperation at him. It didn't look like he was going to respond so she pushed.
"Well?" She said, crossing her arms in front of herself as a shield against his gaze. His expression changed to one of deep thought and consideration.
"You were upset." He said quietly.
"What?" She asked incredulously. He looked at her intensely and gave a tight smile. Could this be a genuine facial expression from him? He hadn't seriously travelled to another state with her and Stefan, by means of a hugely uncomfortable emotional rollercoaster, simply to take her mind off of her own feelings of guilt and regret. He wasn't capable of that kind of selfless act.
"You know how I feel about you Caroline. Why does it surprise you?" He was speaking sincerely. Caroline suddenly wasn't sure where to look, as she felt herself flush under his gaze. He was the bad guy, she couldn't let him make her feel like this. She couldn't let him get under her skin! Sensing her discomfort he leaned back from the window to give her some space.
"It's always easier to have someone to focus your hate on, than to deal with your own feelings. People need someone to blame. It's what makes being the bad guy so easy." She watched as he bowed gracefully to her and took his leave - leaving her staring numbly after him. What was she supposed to think of that? She continued to watch him walk away as her mouth fell open in shock. He turned as he stood in his doorway and smiled at her again.
"Night love."
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"I think we need to test that." Elena said confidently, although she could feel her insides begin to quake at the very thought of trying to test out whether she had broken this bond or not. What if the pain came again? She couldn't let Damon see the fear, she had to convince him that they could do this. His face was blank as he looked at her, no emotion betraying his calm exterior. He was preparing himself for failure or something worse.
"I don't want to hurt you anymore." He whispered softly.
"We have to try this Damon, otherwise we will never know if this will work." Elena squeezed his arm as she spoke. He looked pained once more and nervous.
"What did she do to you?" He asked quietly, nervously. Elena blew out a breath unsure of whether she should give him all of the dirty details. He would be so angry and hurt. He had obviously overheard some of the details from the conversation Stefan and her had had in the bedroom just before. She patted the seat beside her, motioning for him to sit down which he did begrudgingly.
"She was trying to help me. I really believe that Damon." He snorted but she persisted. "She played over lots of scenarios where I had to resist what you wanted me to do. If I couldn't…"
"Then she made you think I'd hurt you?" He offered, swallowing hard.
"Not exactly." She looked up at him, feeling very unsure of how he would take this confession. He frowned in question. She took his hand in hers and he looked down at their entwined fingers. It was always easier to calm him down if she could touch him. The chemistry between seemed to be just enough of a deterrent for rage, to allow her to make her point before he exploded.
"The spell worked through creating hallucinations. It was the only way I could feel like it was real enough that I could respond instinctively." She said gravely, carefully watching his comprehension take hold as his face tightened and his hold on her hand became a grip. His eyes were burning and he tried not to look directly at her.
"I hurt you in these hallucinations." He said, with a controlled anger that she knew was ready to boil over.
"It wasn't really you." She put her other hand on top of his and tried to soothe his anger by stroking the back of his hand. He lowered his head, still maintaining his expression and tight hold on her hand.
"It was real enough that you believed I would hurt you." He looked up at her again and this time there was pain. She felt her heart palpitate as she blinked nervously. "How could you believe I would do that?" She didn't know what to say. He had done lots of things to hurt her in the past – killing Jeremy, what he did to Vicki, forcing his blood upon her…the list went on and on. He seemed to know, yet again, what she was thinking and his shoulders slumped slightly but visibly enough for her to notice.
"If you thought I was capable of something like that, why the hell are you here?" Back to angry again. She sighed as he stood up abruptly, snatching his hand from the vice like grip she had on him. This wasn't going well. He moved back to the fireplace with his back turned towards her again. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to fix this.
"I'm sorry." She whispered feeling deflated. She knew he would never hurt her physically, but those hallucinations – they had been so real, it had been hard to fight the fear. He didn't understand, he hadn't been there. If he had lived through what she had the past few days then he might have lost a bit of his mind too.
"Sorry to interrupt." Stefan coughed lightly as he appeared in the foyer. Damon and Elena both looked over at him blankly. "Bonnie called. She wanted to know if you are alright Elena." He handed Elena her cell phone and cast a look over at Damon, who had turned back to the fire again. Elena looked over at Damon longingly, but she knew that he had shut down for the moment. She couldn't push him too hard or he would run. As she rose to leave the room to call Bonnie, she caught a sympathetic glance from Stefan as she passed him. She didn't know how to feel about Stefan right now. He had forced Damon's hand and therefore forced her to take drastic action of her own, but he had saved her from the witch too and held her this morning while she was terrified. Her stomach rumbled uncomfortably with all of the conflicting raw emotion she was feeling. When did things get so complicated? She missed just being a girl in love with a guy and finishing her senior year. How warped and alien her life had become since those carefree days. If only she had someone to talk to who would understand, but everyone judged.
She walked outside, trying to take a breath as she did so. The tension in the house was so thick and full of recrimination that she felt like she had forgotten what it was like to breathe unrestricted. She dialled Bonnie's number and waited.
"Elena, are you ok?" Bonnie sounded concerned but relieved too.
"Yeah, I'm fine Bonnie, thanks to you." Thank god for locator spells.
"Well, it wasn't just me this time, but I'm glad you're ok. I was so worried because I couldn't come get you. I'm so sorry Elena, but Jeremy needed my help."
"You don't have to explain Bonnie, you're saving my brother from his supernatural hunter urges. I can't begin to thank you enough for that." Elena smiled and she could tell Bonnie was too. Elena pondered for a moment. "Thank god for locator spells." Elena gave a slightly nervous laugh.
"And the hybrid grapevine." Bonnie added.
"What?" Elena asked dumbfounded. What was she talking about?
"They didn't tell you? Once we knew you were in New Orleans, Klaus send the word out and got one of the hybrids to find you."
"But, there weren't any hybrids. Stefan, Caroline and Klaus found me." Elena's mind was wheeling, trying to grasp what Bonnie was talking about.
"Yeah, but the hybrid found you and told them where you were so they could come get you."
"Why didn't the hybrid just come?" Elena asked suspiciously. If the hybrid had found her, when did he find her and why hadn't he interceded? Had he found her long before he told everyone where she was? Bonnie seemed to pause, unsure of how to respond. There was something she was missing.
"Bonnie?" Elena probed. Bonnie sighed.
"I have no idea Elena. I never understand what Klaus's motivations are, but maybe Caroline might have some idea." Bonnie's tone was strange.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know, nothing." Bonnie sighed again.
"No, it's something." Elena probed again.
"It was just weird watching the two of them. I couldn't help feeling like maybe there was something going on there."
"Between Caroline and Klaus? Bonnie don't be ridiculous, we all know he likes her but she would never be interested in him. He's the one who caused all of our problems." Elena puffed, feeling exasperated but defensive of Caroline's moral grounding.
"You didn't see them Elena. I know Caroline would never intentionally go there, but…" Bonnie paused, "never mind, forget I said anything. I think I'm just feeling paranoid." They both sighed.
"I'm sorry for what happened Elena. Caroline told me what happened between you and Damon." Bonnie was back to being concerned again. Elena's heart stopped for a beat as she realised that probably everyone knew what had happened by now. Of course they would. Great. Elena shut her mouth and clenched her teeth, feeling vulnerable and annoyed.
"Caroline feels terrible for how she behaved. She knows how wrong it was to force both of you apart." Elena grunted unconvinced. "Why didn't you come to me? Maybe there's something I could do to help break the bond?"
"I didn't have time to think it out properly Bonnie. Stefan forced our hands and then Charlotte tried to kill me. I just…" Elena closed her eyes feeling the impending pang of tears forming. She still hadn't had the time to fully process everything that had happened yet. All she could think about this morning was getting to Damon.
"I know, I'm sorry. Elena you know you can call me right? I mean I know we haven't seen much of each other lately but I love you. You're my best friend and I'm worried about you. This transition has changed you so much…"
"Everyone keeps saying that!" Elena snapped, cutting Bonnie off. Bonnie paused again surprised. "I'm sorry. Everyone keeps trying to blame everything on my transition but I'm still me and I know who I am. I have changed but it's been my choice."
"You mean, he's been your choice." Bonnie asked gently, without judgement. Bonnie Bennett, who hated Damon Salvatore with more cause than anyone else was giving her the benefit of the doubt.
"I think I love him Bonnie."
"I will do everything I can to try and find something that will help Elena." Bonnie said with conviction.
"Thanks. I haven't tested whether it is broken yet."
"You won't know until you try." Bonnie comforted and Elena resolved herself to test it now, whether she had to drag Damon away from the edge of proverbial sulking or not.
"Thanks Bonnie. I'll call you later."
"Elena?" Bonnie sounded just as Elena was going to hang up. "Give Caroline a call will you? She needs it."
"Ok." Elena gulped. Caroline had already apologised and cried all the way home from New Orleans, but Elena couldn't help but feel like the tears were for Caroline's own comfort and guilty conscience. She didn't feel as though the gravity of how hurt Elena had been had been fully understood. She needed some time to think about it. Right now she had to finish this confrontation with Damon and then she would decide what to do with Stefan and Caroline.
She turned and walked back inside the boarding house, but Damon was gone.
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