Hello again! Thank you so much for all of the feedback, it totally blew me away. I hope you all like this next chapter!
I still don't have a beta or a cover, so please let me know if you'd be able to provide either and I'll love you forever.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize.
Using all of her vampire strength, Caroline sat on her suitcase and tugged the zipper right around. When it finally reached, she let out a sigh of relief. She had never been a light packer – she had to take half of her closet for an overnight stay at her Dad's, just in case of emergencies. Now that she was leaving town to somewhere she'd never been before, full of people she didn't know and she didn't even know how long she would be staying for? She'd stuff –pressed and folded- just about all of her possessions into two very crammed suitcases. She wasn't taking any risks on anything with her packing. Actually, she had been in quite the panic about it since she'd dragged her dusty suitcase out from her the bed. Of course, she'd been obligated to give it a wipe over - there was no way in hell she was travelling with a filthy suitcase, thank you very much.
But, now, she was ready. Her small suitcase was prepared by her door, whilst the larger suitcase sat on the bed and she silently thanked God that she had the supernatural strength. As she jumped off the top of the suitcase, she took one final look around her room to make sure she wasn't missing anything. Maybe she was thinking too much but, hey, she never denied that she did that a whole lot. She just wanted this trip to be perfect. Most of all, she wanted to know if there was a possibility of a life for her in the Big Easy. A possibility of a life with him one day – but she was trying to not get too far ahead of herself. Failing miserably, but she was trying.
There was one outfit laying across her bed, the one she'd picked out for her journey. The outfit was just a simple red dress and a black leather jacket, with matching heels. Part of her wanted to impress him, but the other part of her knew that she didn't need to dress up to impress him. Actually, she was hoping that he would just be pleased to see her there. Her plan was to just compel herself into the first decent hotel that she came across until she found him and he let her stay with him. Whether than plan would run completely smoothly or not was definitely another thing, but it was the only one she had that didn't include awkwardly calling him and asking him for his address. Besides, that would totally ruin the element of surprise thing she had going on. She didn't want him to know he was going until she was already there, right in front of his eyes. If she spoke to him before then, she would over-analyze everything and probably unpack her bags. No, she was not going to let her own silly insecurities get in the way of this. She knew how he felt for her, how strong his feelings were, and she knew that he wanted here there because he'd told her so. However, that didn't change the fact that she wanted to see how he really felt about her actually being there... In one of his favourite places in the world, just to see him.
Obviously, she wasn't going to tell him why she was there. At this point, there was no way that anything romantic could happen between them. She wasn't ready for that and she actually wondered whether he was ready for it. After all, he had spent over a thousand years as the all evil hybrid. What would he be like in an actual relationship? With a girl he'd known for barely even a couple of months? As far as she was aware, she was the first girl for him in a very long time. That scared her a little bit, really, all of the not knowing. She knew him, she understood him, but there were so many parts of him that he hadn't let her see yet.
Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she moved to change into her outfit. She applied the last of her make-up she had out, before packing that away and tying her hair up in a loose ponytail. With one last glance around her childhood room, she smiled and wondered how long it would be until she was back standing in this room she was now leaving behind. So much had happened to her in this house, in this town, was she really ready to throw it all away on an off chance of a new life?
It was pretty sad, she realized, that she was.
Not for him, oh no. She wasn't packing up every last reminder of her human life and leaving town for him. She was doing it for herself, because she needed it. She couldn't stay there any longer than she had to; even though she knew that her friends needed her. Wasn't it about time that she got to be the selfish one? Didn't she deserve some freedom by now, some control over her own life?
So, no, she wasn't leaving because she wanted to run off into the sunset with the big bad hybrid. Sure, she was going to him, but he was the only one who had ever offered her the world. He was also the only one that she trusted enough to give it to her.
She was leaving this entire place behind, because she had to embrace her eternity. She was saying goodbye to all of the memories, because she didn't know how many more bad ones she could add to the collection before she eventually snapped. The blonde didn't want to spend years chasing around after other people, making sure everyone was okay when they never gave her a second thought. She wanted to ditch the small town and, okay, she didn't know how long it would be for. Maybe she'd be back in a week crying over how stupid she was, or maybe she'd be happy starting over in New Orleans.
That was a risk she was willing to take.
As she pulled her suitcases out from her bedroom, she stopped anxiously as she heard a car approaching. Instantly, she knew that it was just her mom getting home from her shift at the station. With everything that had been happening recently, every little thing seemed to put her on edge.
She had yet to inform her mom about her plans to ditch town and head to New Orleans, so it was the moment of truth. She hated the fact that she was leaving her, especially in a town with so much death and destruction. Her mom was just a human; she was so fragile against the supernatural. No gun was going to protect her from a vindictive vampire or scheming witch or impulsive werewolf. She could get her neck snapped before she even knew she wasn't alone, which shook Caroline to her very core. She didn't know what she would do if something happened to her mom. The fact that she wouldn't be around to stop it from happening would only make things worse.
What she was doing was selfish, she knew that. It was out of pure selfishness, leaving her mom behind in a town packed with supernatural activity just so she could escape from it.
She couldn't do it.
Could she?
No, no – she had to. She couldn't stay in Mystic Falls; the town would end up destroying her eventually. It was simply selfish for her to even want to leave it behind, but what choice did she have? The town exhausted her and she could only stay in her usual fix-it mode for so long before she lost her damn mind. At this point, her mom was the most important person in her life but that didn't change the fact that she needed to get herself out of Mystic Falls. It wasn't going to be permanent anyway, just a short getaway to clear her head. She wouldn't leave her mom alone for too long. If she did stay away, she promised herself that she would always check in on her every now and again. Whilst her mom was still around, she wouldn't stray too far away from Mystic Falls.
Even the thought of Liz not being around forever terrified her. Caroline would never die –not naturally anyway- whilst her mom had just a couple decades of human life left.
Leaving the suitcases leaning idly against the wall, she sucked in a deep breath as she heard her mom climbing the porch steps.
The door opened and Liz immediately eyed the suitcases, before her eyes flashed up to meet her daughter's in confusion.
"Hey, Mom." She sighed, offering her a soft smile. More than anything, she was nervous about her mom's reaction to her leaving town. Caroline wasn't even considering telling her the entire story – she didn't really need to know that she was going to find Klaus. For some reason, she didn't think her mom would have the best reaction to her eighteen year old daughter running off to an evil thousand year old hybrid.
"Caroline..."
As Liz hesitantly approached her, Caroline's nerves continued to soar. The pair of them had developed such a great relationship and it was the mother/daughter bond that she had always craved growing up. Their relationship was stronger than it had ever been, and now Caroline was leaving all of that behind.
But, she had convinced herself that it was the right decision. A selfish decision, but it was still the right one. She just hoped that Liz would be able to find it within herself to understand that.
Her mother's support meant the world to her, so she could only hope that she would be okay with her sudden decision to pack her bags and flee the nest.
"So, um, I need to talk to you about something." She lifted her shoulders, nervously nibbling her lower lip in anticipation. "I'm leaving town, mom."
Liz's face fell and it was obvious that she was taken aback by her daughter's confession. She probably hadn't been expecting it, but hey, she was more than sure that more shocking things had happened.
"What?" Liz questioned, shaking her head to show her confusion. After a few seconds of silence, she started to walk towards Caroline. "Well...where are you going?"
"New Orleans." Caroline replied, hesitantly. She let out a breath as she realized that their conversation wasn't going half as bad as she'd been expecting it to be, but there was still more than enough of time for things to take a turn for the worst.
"Why are you going to New Orleans?" Liz asked, her 'brows furrowing together.
"No reason." Caroline lied after a few seconds of stalling her reply, as her lips curled up into a very light smile. She didn't really want to go into details, she just wanted to get the goodbyes over with and get going. Otherwise, leaving would be that much harder for her – even harder than it already was.
Liz eyed her suspiciously, but didn't seem to be questioning her answer out loud, which Caroline was extremely grateful for since it was definitely no secret how bad of a liar she was. Liz nodded, silently walking past her daughter and making her way into the kitchen. With a sigh, Caroline followed, consumed by the guilt and concern. Apparently, they'd reached the part of their conversation where things took
"Mom..." Caroline called quietly, nervously crossing her arms across her chest as she followed Liz into the kitchen.
"Hmm?" Liz mumbled, turning back around to face Caroline with a clearly-forced smile.
Caroline sighed again, dropping her arms as she walked over to her mom and enveloped her in a loving embrace. She felt Liz's arms slowly drift tightly around her back.
It was quiet for a couple of moments again, neither of them needing to say anything to the other. Unsurprisingly, it was Caroline that eventually broke the comfortable silence.
"I know it's out of the blue, Mom." She muttered, her eyes shut as she rested her chin on Liz's shoulder. "But I need this and I need you to be okay with this. If I stay here any longer, I'll go crazy. I want to get out there and, besides, it's not as if it's forever and I'll visit all the time. Really, I will, I promise."
She pulled back to look at Liz, dropping her arms down to grab hold of her mother's hands as the pair fought back tears. Liz nodded, forcing a lovingly supportive smile which Caroline immediately returned.
"Go... Go to New Orleans. Don't worry about me; you need to go out there and grow up on your own."
"Why don't you come with me? To New Orleans?"
"Oh sweetie, this town needs me. I can't just go running off."
"I'm sure New Orleans could use the best Sherriff around. Never know, you might just meet some hot guy to sweep you off your feet."
Both of them chuckled, despite Caroline's words being said in a completely serious tone of voice.
Caroline turned around and headed back out into the hallway towards her luggage, Liz following closely behind. She picked up her handbag from the small counter and flung it over her shoulder, idly pushing a loose stand of blonde hair behind her ear. Grabbing hold of the two suitcases, one in each hand, she inhaled deeply and smiled at her mother. She wheeled the cases down the hall and opened the door, before rolling them shakily down the porch steps towards her car.
After packing them away in the trunk of the car, she slammed it shut. She walked back around to Liz, who was currently standing with her arms crossed and blinking back tears as she watched on in silence.
"I'll come back and visit soon, I promise." Caroline assured, wrapping her arms around her mother just as she had moments ago in the kitchen. "I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, honey," Liz replied, and Caroline knew that she was smiling even if she couldn't see her. "Now, go, go on. What are you waiting for? Get out of here."
Again the two laughed, Caroline feeling a stray tear roll down her cheek as the two separated for the final time. She quickly swiped it away with the back of her hand, shaking her head.
Apprehensively, she stepped backwards to her car and climbed into the driver's seat. She gave her mom one final wave as she fought through the tears, and pulled out of the driveway.
As she drove away from the only home she'd ever known, she continued to battle against the tears behind her eyes that were still threatening to spill. Her hands were shaking on the driving wheel, but she managed to get herself under control by the time she got to the town sign.
She started to think over the decision she'd made, and could only hope that she was finally making the right one.
Welcome to New Orleans!
When she finally reached that sign the next day, she couldn't have been happier. After around three hours of driving the night before, she'd stopped at a cheap motel in North Carolina. She had left the motel in the early hours of the morning to begin the long drive ahead of her to New Orleans.
Finally, she had arrived.
The plan was to head to the first hotel that she found and have some time to herself. She'd had more than enough time to think whilst driving, but a warm bath and a comfortable bed sounded like the very best option that she had. She needed some rest and some blood, because there was no way she was confronting Klaus on no sleep and an empty stomach. Uh-uh, no way.
To put it simply, she was completely drained.
Luckily, there was a decent-looking bed and breakfast just as she drove into the state. It was pretty late, but Caroline still hoped that there was a room available – and that she could actually afford it. If not, she'd be forced to compel herself a room because she was that desperate.
Pulling into the small car lot, she shut down the engine and headed into the reception area. There was a little old lady behind the counter, who looked up with a welcoming smile as Caroline came through the door. She didn't deny that she probably looked a mess after such a long drive, but that was the last thing on her mind.
She approached the front desk with a smile, asking if there happened to be a room available and letting out a sigh of relief when the elderly lady confirmed that there was. It also helped that she could legitimately afford a night or two at the place so no compulsion would be in order whatsoever. Which was always a plus, because she wasn't too fond of using mind control unless in serious emergencies.
So, whilst the woman went to organize the room for her, Caroline went back to her car to collect her luggage. She was paranoid; she was not prepared to leave all of her belongings in the trunk of her car when in a city she wasn't at all familiar with.
A few minutes later and she was, at long, in her room. It wasn't big, but it was enough. It was just a small room with a bed and a wardrobe, with an en-suite.
She wasn't going to unpack all of her luggage considering she didn't know how long she would be staying there for, so she just left her suitcases as they were against the wall. But, she pulled out a tank top and a pair of cotton shorts to sleep in and shoved her clothes into the suitcase.
With a sigh, she switched off the lights and climbed into the –thankfully comfortable- bed.
She was in New Orleans and tomorrow, she would find the man she came looking for.
Okay, so no Klaroline or even Klaus in this chapter! But, it's coming, I promise. ;)
Thank you so much for reading! If you have a moment to drop a review, I'd really appreciate it.
Also, just an annoying little reminder that I would like to get a beta and a cover graphic for this so I'd be very grateful if anyone would be interested! You can follow me on tumblr at forbesalvatore.