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Hi guys! I hope all my American readers had a good Thanksgiving.
I know I'm totally not allowed to sit with you guys anymore cause these sweatpants are all the fits me right now. :P
Anyhoo, I finally got a little back into this story and I'm hoping - that's the key word in all of this - that I can keep it up and not leave you guys hanging so long again. With the school semester coming to a close, I'm planning on getting back into the writing groove again. Just know that, at the very least, my thoughts are always with writing. That said, happy reading and here's hoping I'll be back with the next one shortly!
And as always, thank you guys for being sweethearts and reading, following, favoriting, reviewing. Keep it up!
PART 6
Caroline blinked, horrified. "Wh – released? As in, parole? Like for good behavior, or what?"
"Released as in she is currently walking this earth a free woman and every second I waste here is a second closer to her taking Henrik away from us."
She swallowed in fear of his tone and the intensity of his glare was searing into her own gaze. She nodded silently and he turned away from her unapologetically, heading in the direction of his brothers. Numbness tingled all over her body and she held her wrist, at a loss for what to do or how to feel.
Klaus, on the other hand, was a whirlwind of emotions, each one tugging him in different directions. Anger, heartache, fear, shame, and a disappointment he was refusing to acknowledge. This was why he never wanted to open himself back up to opportunities like kind-hearted Kindergarten teachers. Every time there was a hope for something better on the horizon, fate would come ripping it away.
This time he was interceding. He stopped halfway to Elijah, fists clenched at his sides. His brother was giving him a curious look but he turned his attention back toward Caroline, heaving a heavy sigh through his nostrils. He walked back to her and she was frowning in confusion.
"I know you want to help but I'd rather you weren't involved in any of this," he told her, keeping his voice low. He knew she wouldn't take that lying down, so he picked her hand up, cupping it between both of his, and coated it sweetly, "I'll reach out to you once things settle down. I promise."
Her eyes were sad but there lay an intriguing understanding in them that had him questioning just how tragic her tragedies really were. And if he'd ever have a chance to find out.
She licked her lips and spoke softly with a somber smile, "You have to say, 'you have my word.'"
His laugh was more of a sharp exhale but it didn't reach his heart. He dropped her hand to cup her face instead, leaning so his forehead rested against hers. Her eyes closed and he followed suit, listening to the shakiness of her breath. In the darkness he let himself memorize the softness of her skin, the shape of her face and the way she turned into his palm so her lips could press against it, a reminder of the 'good' in his world of bad. He would hold that kiss in his hand for as long as he could, a driving force to help him cope with the ordeal they were about to face, head on. He held it as he walked away from her, unable to bring himself to look back again for fear that he might not be able to leave. Elijah held the door to the school open for him and he followed Henrik out, still clutching in his fist a hope that he might one day be able to return it to her.
Mystic Falls, VA 8:35 p.m.
It had been hours since parting with Klaus and Henrik, and the question of whether or not she'd see them again hung in the air. Caroline had stayed in her empty classroom long after the janitors had come to clean. She didn't touch the books that still sat in front of Henrik's empty seat, or answer the chirping melody humming from her phone every so often from a friend, a colleague, or otherwise. She sat at her desk in rigid numbness until the silence became overbearing, and so she drove.
It was close to six o'clock when she left, her car the last lone occupant of the lot. She didn't veer off into any particular direction. She wasn't ready to go home yet. There she'd be forced to confront her emotions, liable to cry her eyes out over yet another man walking out on her. Even if it was circumstantial.
She just kept driving - anywhere, everywhere - without the radio, without a purpose, but with many many thoughts. What did it mean now that their mother had been released? And how did an almost murderer get off those kinds of charges? Was she innocent? Was she still a threat to her children? What was going to happen to them? Why couldn't she do anything to help? She hated feeling powerless, hated that she had to feel anything at all, especially for Klaus. Her mother warned her, so did her own heart but she was stubborn and didn't like to be told not to do something. Part of her wanted to storm over to the mansion and demand they let her help. The rest of her knew better.
By eight, she couldn't hide anymore. She reluctantly made her way home, fully prepared to drown her woes in ice cream and tears, but when she got there something else was waiting for her. As she approached the door to her apartment, she heard an unfamiliar tune of whimsy coming from within. She opened her door cautiously and learned the song was coming from the TV, and a certain someone was perched on her couch. Her heart pounded and for a brief moment she stood rooted to her spot, not sure what to do or who to call.
His head was half hung, his hair covering part of his face, and his little sneaker bumped continuously into the coffee table.
"Henrik?" His head snapped up and he stopped kicking, his eyes wide and fearful. She shook her head, too confused to think straight. She dropped her keys and purse on the console table and started to walk over. "How are you here right now? How did you get in?"
He shifted to lift his legs up to curl into himself, his knees hugged to his chest and his chin on top, giving her irresistible puppy eyes. "I don't wanna leave," he told her. His voice was thick and as she got closer she could see tear stains.
She frowned, crouching down to his level, and started to reach out to him when he flinched. She stopped, remembering his aversion, and retracted the gesture, moving to sit beside him on the couch.
"Did you come here all by yourself?"
He looked down without answering, staring at the ground in front of him. "Nik said we have to go away," he started sniffling, shaking his head as his lower lip began to quiver, "but I don't want to go. I wanna stay here." Tears rolled down his cheeks and he chewed his lip to keep himself from sobbing. She watched him hurriedly wipe away his tears, as if he was afraid she would scold him for crying. "Can I stay with you, Miss Caroline?"
"Aw, sweetie. You know I love hanging out together, but that's not up to me."
His lower lip pouted even more and she even heard a little whimper before he ducked his head to his knees and wrapped his arms around his head. His whole body began to shake with tiny sobs. If her heart was capable of shattering into a million pieces, it totally was right now.
A movement behind her caught her attention and she looked over her shoulder to see her mom standing in the doorway between the living room and kitchen. Her expression was one she'd seen countless times but her mother's concern could wait.
"Tell you what," she told Henrik. "How about I make an exception? Just for tonight."
He peeked up meekly, still sniffling as more silent tears streamed. He sucked his lower lip in and nodded.
"Why don't we go into the kitchen and you can help me make some hot chocolate? With little marshmallows in it," she lilted her voice to entice him and held her hand out in offering.
He looked at it carefully, then, as gingerly as possible, laid his hand over hers and let his fingers grab onto her palm.
Mikaelson Mansion 8:45 p.m.
"Finn's going to murder you when he gets home," Kol singsonged, the smile on his face adding to the migraine that pounded against Klaus' temples.
"He's the least of my worries right now."
"He should be your biggest worry." Elijah walked into the living area to join his brothers, his expression stern. "After me."
Kol sat up as Rebekah followed him in. "Did you find him?"
She shook her head with a frown, slumping on the couch with him. "We drove all over town. No one's seen him."
Klaus sighed. "Of course not. They're all too busy looking for other children wandering in the night."
"This is a joke to you?" Elijah peered incredulously. "I don't have to remind you how this will look in court if it gets discovered that our five-year-old brother has gone missing on our watch."
"Missing?" Kol snorted. "I think, at the very least, we can agree he's run away. Not that I could blame him."
"It's your own bloody fault for treating him like a child," Rebekah accused Klaus.
"He is a child, Rebekah!"
"We all know how smart he is, Nik. This isn't the first time any of us has run off. He's probably learned by your example."
Before Klaus could object, Elijah held a silencing hand up. "Rebekah is right. I do not blame you for Henrik's disappearance, however you could have handled yourself better. You took him out of his comfort zone, just as he was beginning to adjust. You essentially dragged him away from a place he felt safe without so much as a word as to why. How did you think he was going to react?"
Klaus was stoically quiet. "I suppose I should have told him we were going to Disneyworld, then? Soften the blow with a little fib for his benefit. That's how this family functions, isn't it? Lie for a lie?"
Rebekah's eyes rolled. "Stop being so dramatic."
"What matters now is not who is at fault," Elijah continued, "only that we need to come together and find our brother."
Kol glanced between the two of them with doubt. "And then what?"
"And then we leave," Klaus answered, his voice quiet but firm.
"You mean we run. Like cowards." Rebekah scoffed, pressing her lips together in agitation. "We don't even know where she is right now."
"We know that she'll be coming," Elijah pointed out.
"So let her! What can she do to us? Nothing. She's not Mikael. She's not the man who abused his children."
"But she's the woman who let him." Kol's bitter voice surprised them all but he said what they all were thinking.
She shook her head, eyes glistening as she glanced from brother to brother to brother. "Even if we leave, even if we get as far away as we possibly can, she'll just keep coming. You know it, and I know it. You think she'll let the bloody case go as far as a trial before she snatches him back?"
"What do you propose we do, then, Rebekah?" Klaus zeroed in with a dangerous glare. "We should just willingly surrender him to her? Give our brother to a convict? I'm sure that would be best for our little Henrik. Hell, why not just let him be raised by wolves?"
Rebekah got up and met his glare with her own. "Has it ever crossed your thick skull that some of us might want to stay?"
Klaus peered at her curiously, then switched to Kol who looked away, and Elijah whose carefully guarded expression was telling enough. His gaze lowered as he realized he was fighting a losing battle.
"I tire of running," she confessed. "I want to live a normal life, and so do you. Admit it. Somewhere deep within that black heart of yours, you want to stay too, or you wouldn't have had this house built."
The room was silent but for a sudden vibration. Klaus pulled his phone from his back pocket and glanced at the screen, reading Caroline, then angrily hit the 'reject call' button.
"This house was built with our family in mind. Yes, I wanted us to be able to settle down and finally be done with the tragedy, and the uncertainty, and the fear that follows us. I had hoped that we might finally find some peace after a trying three years. That Henrik might be able to live the life a child, that Kol could finish a full term at college. That you could graduate and continue your life, and be – happy. I naively thought all of our troubles were behind us, but do you know what comes of these childish dreams, Rebekah? Nothing." His nostrils flared, the fury flowing through his blood like rapid fire. "It's time to grow up, little sister, and stop believing in fantasies."
He walked away from her, making for the entryway when she whipped around, fists clenched.
"No. I won't," she challenged.
"Rebekah," Elijah started.
"If you all want to continue living in denial and misery, fine, but I won't follow suit. I don't care if she comes bursting through here tomorrow. This is our home and I won't be forced out of it."
"Neither will I." Kol stood too, determined to stand by his sister. "I'm not afraid of our mother."
Klaus stared them down, enraged. "Then by all means! The judge granted you two your freedoms, so stay here and await your beloved mother's arrival. I, on the other hand, will find our brother and continue to protect him, seeing as no one else seems to understand the imminent dangers about to befall him."
"We all want what's best for him, Niklaus," Elijah argued.
"Do you? Because as it stands, no one seems to understand the insanity of this entire situation!"
"You want to talk insanity?!" Rebekah laughed. "Isn't the very definition doing the same thing, repeatedly? Like running away over and over?"
"I – will – not – subject him to the likes of a woman who sympathizes with a madman!"
"The only madman here is you!"
The silence that came over the room was long and cold. Tension rippled through the air like electric currents waiting to spark into flames. When it came to their father, there was a fine line that no one dared to tread.
Elijah squeezed the rim of his nose, jaw clenching. "That was too far, Rebekah."
"Nik..." Her voice was a breathless panic as she scanned his face for any trace of relent. "Nik, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."
He slowly raised his contemptuous gaze to her, speaking in a low, almost growl. "You want to keep likening me to him, I'll gladly play the part, sweetheart." His lips curved in an icy sneer. "After all, we're both murderers in our own respects, aren't we?"
She blinked in fear, shrinking back from him before turning away and hugging herself, shrouded in shame.
"We're losing focus," Elijah tried to diffuse. "Our attention should be on Henrik and finding out where he is. We can go at each other's throats later."
Klaus' phone buzzed in his hand again and he huffed a frustrated breath through his nose, answering harshly, "Caroline, now is not - "
"He's here."
Caroline's Apartment 8:55 p.m.
She hung up the phone, wringing it between both hands. In ten minutes time Klaus would be there and she would have to somehow convince him to keep from breaking her promise that his brother could stay the night. Under usual circumstances she would have no problem, what with her persuasive nature. Now, she wasn't so sure. What she was sure of was that it would be much easier than answering to her mother for their current situation, her mother who was lingering by the doorway, waiting for her to trudge over and face the inquisition.
Henrik was sitting at the island, seemingly calmed down and blowing on his mug of cocoa. It was now or never. She begrudgingly walked over to her mother, keeping her eyes trained on him the whole time. Liz waited her out briefly before taking the plunge.
"What exactly have you gotten yourself into?"
Caroline sighed, clutching her phone tightly before turning around. "Mom, I can handle it."
"Oh really? Then do you want to tell me why this little boy was wandering around by himself in the dark, trying to get to you? You're lucky I saw him."
"I know."
"I picked him up, asked him if he was lost and if he needed a ride, and do you know what he told me? He wanted to go to school because that's where Miss Caroline was."
She frowned, her heart warming and breaking at the same time. "It's complicated, mom."
"How complicated?"
"Just...I'm not sure if I can talk about it with you, okay?"
"Well you're going to have to. You're harboring a fugitive little boy."
"God! Do you have to make everything sound ten times worse? It's not like I told him to run away!"
"Why is he coming to you at all?"
"Um, because he's my student? And I'm sure there's a good explanation, what with everything going on." Liz raised a brow and she scoffed, shaking her head. "You know what? Forget it. Clearly you just want to judge me. You'll just throw it in my face like you have been with everything else."
"I am just trying to look out for you."
"I can look out for myself! I'm a big girl and I don't need you to keep playing Officer Mom over my life!"
"Miss Caroline?" Henrik had turned to face them, chewing his lower lip nervously. She gave her mom a look then sighed, going over to sit with him.
"Hey, what happened to all your marshmallows?"
He frowned at his mug then up at her. "Is she mad at me? Your mommy?"
She paused then looked over at Liz, giving her an 'I told you so' pointed look. "No. She just doesn't understand is all."
"Are you in trouble?"
"Well, that's the good thing about being a grown up. Even if your mom, or dad, or brothers or sister try to tell you what they think is best, you don't have to agree. You can decide for yourself what's right and wrong."
He slowly smiled. "I can do that when I grow up?"
"Uh-huh. As long as you make good choices. It's good to listen to what they say but it doesn't mean they're always right."
"Like how Kol always says if cross my eyes they'll get stuck." He proceeded to do just that, making Caroline laugh.
She laughed. "Hey, I can do that too." She did and his smile broadened.
He looked behind him at Liz. "Can you do it too?"
Caroling glanced at her mom nervously, and Liz hesitated, but the big brown eyes won her over. She walked in to sit with them, smiling wryly. "Who do you think taught her how to do it?" She crossed her eyes and then puckered her lips like a fish, making him giggle.
"I can't do that!"
"I can," Caroline teased, mimicking her mother. He tried too, making a kissy face instead and they all laughed. As it died down, his laughter became a yawn.
"Ooh, I'll bet it's past your bed time," Liz noted.
He shook his head vehemently. "I'm not tired."
"Why don't we get you settled into the room, at least? I think Caroline's got some stuffed animals still hiding in there."
"Grown ups can have stuffed aminals?" His surprised voice followed her out in the hall and Caroline couldn't help but grin. She started to collect their mugs and clean up and just as she'd set them in the sink, a knock at the door signaled her. The one time he isn't late. She shook her head and rinsed her hands before going to answer the door.
"Where is he?" he demanded, brushing past her into the house, looking this way and that, scouring the room wildly.
"It's okay." She followed closely after him, careful to dodge his abrupt turns. "Klaus!" He turned around and she held his arms, trying to ground him. "Hey. He's okay."
"I want to see him."
"He's down the hall with my mom. She's tucking him in." She grabbed his arm again as he started make a run for it. "Just wait!" He did and she sighed, then gestured to the couch. "Sit."
He gave her a weary look but capitulated, throwing his hands up as he did, glancing up with an impatient look.
"I know things are a bit messy in your life. And I'm not judging. Everyone has their secrets and that's fine, under normal circumstances. But coming home to your brother on my doorstep is not normal."
"Caroline - "
She held a finger up. "I'm sure this isn't the way you wanted things to go between us, but it doesn't matter anymore." Her arms flopped and she took a seat, turned towards him. "It's too late to keep me out of the loop, Klaus. You need to tell me everything."
