The sky was clear and bluer than ever, wind blowing, engulfing in her golden locks, her hair was waving on her back, when she rested her head on the passenger seat. She loves everything about summer. The colors, the bright sky, the fresh and warm air surrounding them, she would never miss things like that. And a road trip on such a beautiful day was the cherry on top of the cake for her today.
"Someone is enjoying the sun!" Stefan commented and turned on his right to look at her smiling face.
"Pretty much." He couldn't see her eyes because of the sunglasses on her, but he was sure they were brightened with her glow. He stared at her for a second and smiled.
"You are excited to meet your mom?"
"Of course I am. It's been so long, since I was here. I am sure the town is all dead without me." He laughed at her, shaking his head.
"Why not!" his laughs started to falter away, stiffening his body a little, and when she sensed it, she looked on the corner of the road. Mystic Fall! The welcome board was wide and clear, when they were crossing the border. All of a sudden, it hit him, like a big stone. He was in Mystic Falls, the place he promised himself he wouldn't come again in his life. And nothing was a dream.
Her hands automatically reached on top of his hand, resting on the hand-break. She circled her thumb on the back of his hand, like she always does.
"Are you… okay?" He nodded slowly, clenching his jaws, he turned around to look at her and smiled a little.
"I am fine. It's just, it's been so long to see these streets again. And it feels-"
"Scary?" her voice was slow but was filled with concern.
"Yeah." He looked her frowned face, worrying about him, and he wanted to take away any kind of tension away from her mind. "Hey, we are not here to worry about me, okay?"
"Okay." She gave him an understanding smile. "Besides, if we didn't go inside my house in like one minute, my mom will think that we are in some grave danger."
It was like the mother sensed her daughter's presence, and she was on the door, even before she ring the bell.
"Mom." She jumped into a hug, squeezing Liz in her arms.
"Sweetie, I missed you."
"Well, I missed you more." After a long mother-daughter embrace, they separated from each other.
"Hey, Stefan." Liz smiled at him, who was still waiting outside, smiling, and waiting to get invited in.
"Hey." He greeted back, and took a step inside the house.
He had met Liz once or twice, when he stayed in Mystic Falls, but this was the first time he came in her house. He looked around the house, his eyes following the series of photo-frames, hanging on the walls. Every corner of the house shouted the name Caroline Forbes, and he laughed softly at the thought.
"I will go and freshen up, mom will show you your room." He opened his mouth to talk, but Caroline was already on the stairs, moving her luggage in her room.
"I will show you the guest room."
"I hope it is fine." Liz turned with a confuse look. "I mean, I told Caroline that I can stay in a hotel, and-"
"You are most welcome here Stefan. I know, how much you mean to my daughter."
"I just… don't want to be a burden on you."
"Stefan, I knew you even before you were my daughter's friend. And, I know how much you used to take interest in the community service in this city. Your father has done a lot of charity for this town's people. No Salvatore can be a burden to me."
Stefan wanted to smile back at her, but he couldn't. How could he? After knowing every dark and deep secrets about his family, all these admiration were mocking him on his face.
"However, I hope everything is fine between you and Damon." He didn't reply anything. "I hope, he knows you are here, in the town." Liz didn't wait for his answer and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Things were not fine, and he knew they will never be fine again. He would never be able to let himself talk to his brother. Last time he did, it was when Damon and Elena came barging into his life back in Columbus, without any notice. Feels like ages ago to him. The day when all his wounds were cut open again, exposed to the world.
He didn't want to think about him or Elena, and after a long drive, he was tired and just wanted to rest. Thus, the moment he fell on the bed, a second was enough to get into a deep sleep.
"So…" Liz was hovering around her room, when she came out of the shower.
"Mom, you have no idea how much I have missed my room, and my shower."
"You live in an apartment of your own." Liz pointed out.
"It's not the same. That's not home. Because you aren't there." Caroline kept her head on her lap, while Liz stroked her hair lightly.
"But, Stefan is."
"Well, yeah. But he is my friend."
"And?" Liz prompted.
"And what?"
"Caroline, I am your mother, and I know you. And if my daughter brings a guy for a stay in our house, the guy about whom she can't stop talking day and night, I can come to a conclusion how important that person is to you."
"Well, he is important, because he is my best-friend."
"Is that what you call each other?" her question confused Caroline, and she sat up.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing…. Stefan is a good guy. And I can see why you care about him."
"Yea, he is. His heart is really pure." Liz had an understanding smile on her face, knowing her daughter, and what her heart wanted.
"I am sure, you both will see the things, once the fog will clear out."
"What do you mean?"
"You will know when the time will come." Caroline was tired to solve any kind of puzzle, and thus, she opted for closing her eyes, and fall into a bliss of her dreams.
Bonnie was clearing one of the table in the Mystic Grill, when she sensed a tap on her shoulder. When she turned around, she sighed in exhaustion.
"What do you want?"
"What? No hello, no "nice to see you" for me?" Damon made a mocking face on her.
"You know that there is nothing nice in seeing you." She said while wiping the table with the wet cloth.
"Very funny. I need your help." She raised an eyebrow at him. When Damon comes with a request for her, it turns into a disaster for her.
"I know that Caroline is coming to town today, and according to the gossip you girls do, I know my brother is coming with her."
"so?"
"so, I want you to deliver a message to Caroline….. for my brother." Bonnie wanted to laugh, thinking that it was a joke. His face was saying otherwise.
"What was he doing here?" Matt asked Bonnie, when he saw Damon leaving the Grill.
"Seems like I have a message to deliver." Bonnie was still staring at the door, because the message looked simple to her, but his grave face was telling her the opposite of it.
When he opened his eyes, the sun was already up in the sky, brightening his whole room. He rubbed his eyes, and realized he was still in the same shirt, he was wearing last night. He came out of the room to have some coffee, when he found Liz leaving.
"Oh you are up." Liz was on the door, when she looked at Stefan.
"Yeah, I am sorry, I got up late today."
"Oh, that's fine. Looked like you were really tired. You didn't even wake up yesterday for dinner." He realized that he had slept for almost eighteen hours.
"I apologize for that." it wasn't even a day, and he was making a bad impression on Caroline's mother. He cursed himself for that.
"Oh, don't worry about that, Stefan. Although, Caroline tried to wake you five times at night, and three in the morning."
"Oh, that doesn't sound good." He chuckled, remembering how cranky Caroline becomes sometimes.
"You will be fine."
Stefan's eyes were wondering all over the place, going up to the room on the upstairs.
"She isn't home right now." Liz answered him, like she read what was there on his mind.
"Oh." He was a little disappointed.
"She will be back in a while." Liz told him while observing his reactions. He smiled at her and nodded.
"Anyways, I will be heading to work now. There is breakfast in the kitchen. You can have it."
The silence prevailed the house, surrounding Stefan, who was still standing alone, in the house. He looked around, his eyes still getting adjusted to the air around him. There was a picture of three little girls, making faces on the camera. He took the frame in his hands and looked at the faces of two brunettes and one blonde. His smile widened, on the seven year old Caroline. The blonde curls, and the princess crown she was wearing, she was glowing the most. He touched her nose on the photograph, circling it for a while.
"I am baaaack." He jumped a little on Caroline's voice, and kept the frame on the table.
"Hey… morning."
"I hope you had a good sleep."
"Yeah, I had." She went into the kitchen to put the grocery in the fridge, and he followed her.
'So, what's the plan for today?" he asked her casually.
"We can go the carnival today."
His smile started to fade away on the suggestion. One of the place Elena and him shared their dates. How can he forget their kiss on the ride, the day he realized that how much in love he was with her. He thought, remembering those moments won't hurt much anymore. But, there was still a little part of his heart that needed to be mend.
"Hello, back to Earth." He heard her saying, and snapped out of his thoughts.
"I am sorry, my brain went somewhere else."
"Look, we can do something else too, you know."
"No, I mean, we can go to the carnival."
"Are you sure?"
"I am." The ringing phone broke their conversation.
He didn't try to hear the conversation, but her face was losing some of the color, and he wanted to know the reason behind that.
"Everything fine?" he asked coming slowly into the living room.
She looked at him, thinking for an answer. "Uh, yeah. Everything is fine."
"Who was on the phone?"
"Mrs. Lockwood. There is this charity event today, and one of the box was misplaced. So, mom asked me to take it to their house." Stefan nodded once. Mrs. Lockwood was Tyler's mother. Although Caroline never talked about him, when he was in the town, he had heard the rumors about their break up, and how messed up it was.
"I will come with you." He didn't want her to there alone.
"No." She said suddenly, with wide eyes. "I mean, you don't have to come. Relax in the house. And it won't take much time."
"Caroline, its fine, let me take a quick shower, and then I will come with you. Okay?" he looked at her sincerely, and she couldn't deny his request.
Mrs. Lockwood opened the door of the big mansion, when they knocked the door.
"Hello Mrs. Lockwood." She greeted her with a smile.
"Hello Caroline. I didn't know you are in town." Her eyes moved to where Stefan was standing. He gave a shy smile to her.
"If I am not wrong, you are Stefan Salvatore, right?"
"Yes, Mrs. Lockwood."
"So you are visiting your family too." Stefan opted for a smile, and dodged the question. "Good for you. You guys can come on in."
Stefan looked at Caroline, whose eyes were locked on the staircase. He could hear her uneven breaths, when her eyes moved from one thing to another.
"Stefan, can you come over there for a second." Mrs. Lockwood asked him. Reluctantly, he left with her, leaving Caroline alone in the hallway.
Caroline was roaming in the hall, looking at some of the charity stuff, they were setting up for the afternoon event.
"What are you doing here?" the stern voice came from her behind.
"Mrs. Donovan!" she smiled at the woman.
"What? Are you thinking that what a woman like me doing in a charity event. FYI, I can be involved in such events too."
"I never said that Mrs.-"
"Oh, so you still haven't dropped your act yet."
"What do you mean?"
"Your act of being all nice, with all this fake smile on your face." Caroline never realized she still hated her.
"This is not fake, Mrs. Donovan."
"Oh, sure it isn't."
"Have I done something wrong?" For all those years, she didn't try to ask her, but now she wanted to know the reason behind the hatred. "Why do you hate me so much?"
"Caroline, I don't hate you, I just hate the pretending game you and your mother play."
"I am not pretending anything."
Mrs. Donovan laughed sarcastically.
"That's what you tell yourself? I am glad that some senses were knocked into my son's brain, and he didn't go too far with you in any kind of relationship." The happy mood she was having in the morning, was started to diminish.
"We can't keep this in the auction, Stefan." Mrs. Lockwood handed him a jewelry box, which contained a blue stoned necklace. Stefan had seen that necklace before, the intricate and delicate design on the periphery of the stone. It belonged to his family.
"I talked with Damon, and I think the box was misplaced. I thought Damon was coming to take this back, but it's good that you are here."
"Thanks…. I, uh, I will return it." He wanted to skip the part where he had to meet his brother, but his fate had never played well with him.
Caroline was setting her table, when she found it. The beautiful wooden box, with such a delicate artistry on it. When she opened the box, her eyes glowed even more, when she saw the blue stoned necklace. The box was snatched away from her.
"I was just looking."
"Do me a favor and stop looking at my stuff." Damon said with a little irritation in his voice.
"I was arranging my stuff, and I found this. And I thought it is for me. Is it my gift?" her smile was filled with expectation.
"Why do you even try to think with that thick head of yours? It's not any gift."
"Then what is it?" she tried to look calm, keeping away the tears developing in her eyes.
"It's a clue."
"For what?"
"That is not a business of stupid people." He kept the box in his leather jacket.
"I am not stupid, why are you treating me like this? I do everything you ask me to do. I talked to that lady, and invited her to the party last night, like you told me to." She tried to take his hands, but he shook it away.
"But did she came?"
"She was being stubborn. And anyways, how does that matter. The party was a blast."
"Yes, you were right. You are not stupid." The bright smile came on her face again when she heard him.
"You are not only stupid, but shallow, and fake, and dumb, and oh yeah, stupid." Damon walked away from her. She could hear the roaring of ignition in his car. It stung her more than she thought it could. Everyone used to call her shallow, it wasn't new, but suddenly it started sink in, that the only thing deep in her life were her insecurities.
He went back to the hall, looking for Caroline, who was talking to Matt's mom. Caroline looked like she was punched in the guts, with the pain clearly reflecting on her face.
"That's the problem with you Forbes. You all are fake."
He heard her saying that to Caroline. When he reached there, Mrs. Donovan was on her way out of their sight.
"Caroline?" he approached her, his muscles tensed for the last thing he heard.
"Yeah?"
"You… okay?"
"Yeah, what can happen to me?" She laughed, and smiled at him. But, he knew her happy face, and he could see the broken smile on her face.
"Caroline!" He didn't joined her in the smile. He looked at her and she knew what he wanted to ask. She took a sigh.
"I am just being nostalgic, because of the memories you know."
"Caroline… you don't have to pretend with me, you know. You can tell me anything." He wanted to tell her that whatever it was, she could trust him.
"It's, just that… it's certainly not healthy to meet your ex-boyfriend's mothers at one place." She laughed lightly.
"Mothers?" He was confused at the plurality of the word, and then the realization struck him.
"My relationship failures, you know… Matt and Tyler."
"Caroline-"
"We should go now, their event is going to start anyway."
"Hey." He blocked her way, and took her hand in between his. She turned her face down, her blonde hair falling on her face. There were traces of tears in her eyes, and she didn't want to show her weakness to him.
He took a step closer to her, and tuck her hair behind her ears softly.
"You are anything but fake Caroline. To tell you the truth, you are the most realistic girl I have ever met. So, never let anyone get into that head of yours." His thumb circled around her cheek, wiping away the wet tears that decided to fell away.
"Thanks."
Their looks were intense when Bonnie interrupted them.
"Bonnie. What are you doing here?" Stefan took his hands away, which were resting on her cheek.
"I have to talk to you, both of you."
"What happened Bonnie?" Caroline's attention was on Bonnie now.
"Damon… came in the morning. To give a message…. That, your father is coming to town today." Bonnie looked at Stefan, whose eyes were looking far behind her.
"You are a little late in giving that information." He could clearly see his father, well dressed in Armani Suit, and standing out in the crowd. Guissepe Salvatore was never the man who personally used to attend such events. Stefan's jaws were clenched when their eyes met each other.
"Well, well, look who came to visit." Guissepe came and stood in front of them.
"What are you doing here?"
"I have a house here, Steffy. The one you call your house." His eyes moved towards Caroline, and crooked smile came on his face. "Or did you forget about our presence because of the lovely friend of yours."
He could clearly see his father scrutinizing Caroline through his eyes, and the blood inside his veins started to boil. Like a reflex, he took a step forward, making a shield around Caroline.
"I am not visiting anyone, because I don't have any place here which I can call a house, Dad." He took Caroline's hand let her out of the Lockwood mansion.