Chapter 37

My girlfriend

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Elijah asked.

Hope shook her head.

"Not really."

They were sitting in the car. Elijah had parked it near the ruins. Hope was grateful that he had brought her here. It was very quiet and peaceful. She was leaning to the window. She couldn't look at him. Thankfully he didn't try to pressure her. He just handed her a handkerchief.

"Thanks", she murmured and dried her eyes. This was so embarrassing. "Listen, I would really appreciate if you wouldn't mention this to anyone." She tried her best to sound calm.

"No, of course not", Elijah replied.

"Thanks. And you don't have to worry; I'm not usually like this."

"Why would that make me worry?"

Hope snorted.

"I'm sure you don't want anyone crying on your shoulder and I'm not going to do that so you can relax."

Elijah was quiet for a moment.

"Feelings are not a weakness", he said quietly. "And I would never use your feelings against you."

Hope felt like crying again.

"I don't know…I just can't do this…"

Elijah placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You can trust me, Hope. Please tell me what's wrong"

"Me", Hope said before she managed to stop herself. "I'm wrong. I left her here."

"What do you mean?"

"I left Grace here to be abused and…" She couldn't finish her sentence. "I failed her, Elijah. I should have been there to protect her."

Hope couldn't see Elijah's face but she could sense his body tensing.

"Listen to me", he started determinedly. "What happened to Grace was terrible but it wasn't your fault. You were a child…"

Hope laughed bitterly.

"No, I was selfish, I only cared about myself. I didn't try hard enough."

"Hope…"

"The truth is that I don't have anything to offer. Not to her or to anyone else. Your brother was right, it would be best for anyone if I leave…"

"Kol said that?" Elijah interrupted her. He sounded angry.

Hope shook her head.

"It doesn't matter; the point is that he was right. I shouldn't be here…"

In a next second she was sitting on Elijah's lap. He was looking straight into her eyes.

"You are not going anywhere and that's final."

Hope was completely stunned.

"Are you giving me orders?" she asked trying to decide was that amusing or annoying.

Elijah pulled her closer and kissed her.

"Yes and for once you are going to obey me."

Hope stared at him.

"What…If you think for a second that I'll…"

He silenced her with another kiss. She couldn't bring herself to push him away. But she wasn't going to let him control her, no matter how amazing kisser he was.

"Why would I stay?" she asked.

He looked very serious.

"Your sister needs you, no matter what you think. And…I don't want you to go."

Hope looked into his deep brown eyes. In that moment she knew that she didn't stand a chance. Oh no. Why did he have to be so damn fine? She touched his cheek.

"Maybe I'll stick around. But no promises."

Elijah smiled.

"I apologize for acting like my brother. Perhaps I have spent too much time with him lately."

Hope couldn't help but smile.

"Don't worry about it. To be honest, that whole "I'm the man and you will obey me" thing was kind of sexy."

"Really?"

"Sure, as long as you don't think that I would actually obey you."

Elijah laughed.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

...

Kol was in an excellent mood when he walked in the living room. Klaus was sitting on the couch sketching something.

"Good evening, brother", Kol said cheerily.

Klaus looked at him.

"Well, someone is certainly in a good mood."

Kol grinned.

"Yes, I had quite a…busy afternoon."

Klaus chuckled.

"Well, well, did my little brother finally get lucky?"

Kol pretended to be shocked.

"How can you ask me such a vulgar question?"

"Good for you", Klaus said smirking. "I have to ask, how was it?"

"I'm a gentleman, my lips are sealed", Kol replied.

"Right. I hope she didn't burn you too badly."

"She didn't burn me at all."

Klaus started to laugh.

"Ouch. Well, I'm sure it will go better next time."

Kol stared at him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked annoyed.

Klaus smirked.

"Well, I recently had a conversation with your girl's sister about this and according to her the whole reason why it's so difficult for their kind to have sex is their body's reaction when they're really turned on. They are on fire, literally. So, if that didn't happen to your girl…"

"That's ridiculous", Kol interrupted him angrily. "She definitely enjoyed it."

Klaus looked amused.

"If you say so."

"Yes, I do say so", Kol said and walked out. He was very annoyed. Klaus was probably just jealous. He didn't get anywhere with that blond baby vamp. But still… He remembered her words.

"We need more practice…"

Kol wanted to be sure. But there was no way he would ask Grace's sister about this. Who then… Before Kol had time to finish his thought, he saw Elijah approaching him. This was perfect, if anyone could give him an answer, it was Elijah. He looked even gloomier than usually though.

"Hey, Elijah…"

Next thing Kol realized was that he was lying on the floor. Elijah had just punched him.

"What the hell…" Kol started angrily.

"That was for upsetting my girlfriend", Elijah stated calmly and walked away.

What the hell was going on around here?

"Hi there", Hope said smiling when she walked pass him. She was heading to Grace's room. Kol sighed before he stood up. This was just great. His good mood was definitely gone.