Previously on I've Been Roaming Around:
As she stood there crying in the pouring rain, she felt a firm hand grab hold of her arm. Taking a slight intake of breath, she turned her head to see who held her. Stefan stood there, sympathy and pity in his eyes. His hair, as well as his clothes was getting soaked from standing in the rain.
"Caroline." He tried to speak over the booming thunder.
"Leave me alone please." She sniffled.
She released herself from his grip and took a few steps forward, only to have Stefan move in front of her. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders, which prevented her from going anywhere.
"Caroline-"
"Stefan." She interrupted. "Please, I need to be alone."
"But I don't think now is a good time for you to be."
"Well I think it is!" She snapped. Her voice boomed over the thunder. "So please, just do what I wish and leave me alone."
"Caroline, at least let me drive you back to our place."
She shook her head, stubbornly. "No, I think I'll just walk. I need to think about things."
Tears slowly slid down her cheeks as her voice cracked. Stefan looked at her and knew he wasn't going to win this.
Giving up, Stefan moved out of her way. "Okay."
She walked past him, and kept on walking. Stefan stared after her. He got in his car and followed her, until she bolted off in a vampire speed run, causing him to lose her. She ran as fast as she could, tears mixing with rain falling down her cheeks. Her life was a complete mess right now. How did it get like this? How did she let this happen? Her mother didn't remember her. Her own mother didn't know who she was. The tears fell harder, she had no one. Caroline was the only one left, she had no family. Her father was somewhere in California with David, and her own mother didn't know who she was. Her life was so confusing and it was a mess. Her relationship with her family was crumbling. Her relationships with her friends were rekindling, with Jeremy and Damon, and also with Jenna and Bonnie. But Stefan, she didn't know what kind of relationship they shared. Was it romantic? Or just friendship? It seemed more than just friendship, the way they looked at each other, the little moments that they shared. He was caring and loving. She shook her head and pushed on, her legs felt numb but she kept on running.
…..
The tears fell harder and she collapsed to the ground, sobs escaping her lips, uncontrollably. Her stomach hurt as she gasped for air, she curled up and held onto her knees and cried. Mud clung in her hair and on her clothes. Her clothes were soaked right through. She sat up and leaned against a tree, her tears had subdued for now. She fiddled with the ring on her finger, and then the dreadful thought crept up into her mind. What was left for her to live for? Nothing. She would stay here till morning and once the sun came out from the horizon, she would remove her ring and wait for nature to take its course. Yes, that's what she would do. But then she thought about everyone she'd be leaving behind: Jenna, Bonnie, Jeremy, Damon and Stefan, even her mother. And she couldn't do that. Not after everything everyone had just been through. She felt tears fall down her cheeks and she shook from her sobs and how strangely cold she felt. She didn't know how long she sat there crying, but it had now gotten dark. Her chest heaved as she breathed in air, trying to fill her lungs with the cool sensation. Her body shook. She was cold. Her arms felt numb and so did her legs.
"Caroline?" A distant voice called.
"Stefan!" She croaked her throat was raw and sore.
"Caroline?" His voice was still distant but he sounded closer than before.
"Over here!" She tried to yell but her hoarse voice wouldn't let her.
"Caroline?"
She saw him now, his dark silhouette. "Stefan!"
He then heard her. Her voice croaked his name and he turned around and followed her scent.
"Stefan, Stefan, Stefan." Caroline mumbled.
She rocked back and forth, her arms wrapped around her knees, as she tried to conserve some body heat. Although it wasn't helping, she couldn't stop shaking.
"Caroline!"
She heard his voice and it sounded relieved. She soon felt his strong arms wrap under her knees and around her back. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder. He was so warm.
"Shh, Care. I got you, I got you."
She was so cold, and her body felt limp and weightless in his arms. How could he have let her run off like that? If he had followed her, than she wouldn't be like this. He clutched her shaking body closer to him, trying to keep her warm. With his vampire speed he took off in the direction of the boarding house. While he ran sheets of rain hit against his face, blurring his vision. He made it to the boarding house in minutes and swiftly opened the door with his foot. He walked in, Caroline still shaking in his arms. He noticed a figure walking down the stairs and looked up, it was Damon. He had a look of confusion and concern cross his face.
"What happened?"
Stefan held Caroline closer to him. "It's a long story."
Damon walked over to him. "Here, give her to me, I'll bring her upstairs. You go change into something dry."
Stefan nodded. "Okay. Uh Damon," Damon turned toward his brother. "Keep Jeremy away, I don't want him to see her like this."
Damon nodded in understanding. "I will."
Stefan went upstairs and into his room. He quickly discarded his soaking wet clothes and put on a dry pair. He ran a hand over his face and then through his wet hair. How could he let this happen? Why wasn't he with her? He never should have let her run off, not in the emotional state that she was in. He promised that he would not let anything happen to her. How could he not have been there for her? How could he have broken that promise? She had relied on him. And he let her down. How could he have let her down?
... {live}...
Damon brought Caroline up the stairs, he carefully walked towards one of the guest rooms; not wanting Jeremy to hear. He opened the door and started to walk in, until he heard the library door beside him open. He sighed. Jeremy.
"Is that Caroline? What happened? What's going on?" He questioned.
Damon didn't answer and he kept walking into the room, Jeremy followed.
"Damon." Jeremy said firmly. "What's going on? What happened to her?"
Damon carefully placed Caroline down on the bed. He turned to Jeremy with a distressed look.
"Damon, what happened?"
Damon sighed. "I don't even know Jeremy. Stefan hasn't told me yet."
The sound of heavy footsteps had both men turning in the direction of the open door. The footsteps sounded down the hall in their direction and Stefan appeared in the door frame, a shocked look on his face.
"Jeremy." He looked at Damon who just shrugged. "What, uh, what are you doing in here?"
Jeremy took a couple strides to reach him. "Stefan, what happened?"
He gave a worried look at Caroline, who was lying on the bed, still slightly shaking. He took a step towards her.
"I'll explain everything downstairs."
He turned and looked from Damon to Jeremy.
"Alright, we'll be downstairs."
Jeremy left the room, leaving Stefan glaring at Damon.
"What?" Damon asked annoyed.
Stefan pointed towards the door. "Keep an eye on him Damon. I mean it, Caroline's all he has left."
Damon nodded in understanding. "I know Stefan."
He turned and left the room. Stefan sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair. He moved towards the bed and sat down beside her. He stared at her, caressed her cheek and brushed her hair off her face. She shook against his touch.
"Stefan." She murmured, stirring in her sleep.
Stefan moved closer to her and lay down beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed his hands across her cold arms, a gesture to warm her. He felt her instinctively move closer to him, she fit perfectly molded into him. He laid there with her till she stopped shaking. Once in awhile he would place soft kisses on her arms, cheek and in her hair. He would whisper sweet words of encouragement in her ear, and things like how he will always be there and he'd never leave her again.
"I'm sorry." He whispered against her ear. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."
His lips brushed against her ear. Stefan lightly kissed it before getting up and walking towards the door. He turned and gave one last glance at her, a soft smile on his lips. He closed the door behind him, letting her get some rest. He walked down the stairs and anticipated to be bombarded with questions from Damon and Jeremy. He saw them sitting on the couch. Jeremy was the first one to stand once he noticed Stefan.
"What happened? What's going on?"
Stefan sighed while he ran a nervous hand through his hair.
"Uh-" He let out a nervous laugh before clearing his throat. "We went to go visit her mother and it wasn't a good day. Liz didn't recognize her. And Caroline-" He paused and shook his head. "Caroline was so broken. I felt so...I understood what she was going through." He looked down. "After Liz didn't recognize her, and started yelling for a nurse. Caroline stood and ran out. I went after her and tried to help her. I tried to be there for her and she told me to leave her alone. So I did, and then I came back here. I waited for her to come back, but she was gone for a little too long and I got worried because of the storm. So I went out to look for her. I looked for awhile and I was unable to find her, until I saw her. She was shaking, and soaking wet and cold. She had her ring in her hands and the sun was starting to rise. I picked her up and she felt so limp in my arms." He paused and looked back up at Damon and Jeremy. "And for a second, for a split second I thought I was going to lose her. And I didn't know what I was going to do."
There was a silence in the room as Jeremy and Damon took in the information.
"Stefan, you can't beat yourself up about it. Care is fine. We didn't lose her." Jeremy said reassuringly.
Stefan nodded. "I know, but I just..." He trailed off. "I made a promise to her and that promise was broken."
"You can't always keep your promises baby brother."
Damon's voice spoke for the first time since leaving the guest room. The sound of his voice had Stefan and Jeremy looking at him intrigued.
"But," Damon continued. "You just need to let her know that you're still there for her. You need to let Caroline know that she's not alone."
Stefan nodded. "That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'll prove to her that I'll never let her down again."
... {love}...
A/N: Hey! What did you guys think? : )