Chapter 9

"I am so sorry"

"You...smashed...my car!?" he stood on the side of the road staring at the crumpled mess before him. His hands were on his head as he pushed them through his hair

"I really didn't mean to –"he held a hand to her face as he tried to comprehend what just happened. He took a deep breath as he composed himself

"It's fine, honestly. There's nothing you can do now" she did feel a little bit guilty, it was partially both their faults but she couldn't help feeling like it was more her fault than his. She grabbed her handbag out the front seat with a bit of a tug and went back to her place beside him.

"I'm really sorry" she repeated making sure he understood how very sorry she was

"Seriously, it's fine"

"Are you just saying that cus you're worried that if I keep bringing it up, you're gonna cry?" he put a hand to his head but pointing to the road ahead of them

"Just walk" she had to avoid bursting out into laughter this was just too good. She tried muffling laughter before he spoke again from behind her

"How much? I'll pay for the damage" he stopped making her slow down to wait for him as he began to smile

"€100,000" her laughter stopped. Instead she could hear him chuckling. That was equivalent to almost ten plane journeys to Paris and back. She began to rummage in her purse as he just looked at her in surprise

"Well I can give you €20 and a sweet?" her shoulders slumped as he chuckled taking the sweet

"Keep your money, love" They were walking side by side as she stared down at her feet watching them. If a moment could be any more awkward, this was definitely that moment

"We're not far now" he was right, it was almost minutes before they reached a side path that seemed to lead to a kind of forest like area. She could hear birds chirping as they went further and further. It reminded her of something out of a fairytales the way there were vines hanging from the branches and wrapped around tree trunks

"It's beautiful" she whispered as she shuddered when he grabbed her hand from behind him. Pulling her along a small stream as they balanced on a wooden branch

"If you think this is nice, wait until we actually get to the place" this wasn't it she thought as lead her into the trees. She saw as the sunshine shone through the leaves in the trees, the way the rays covered the ground in front of them.

Klaus pushed away some branches from in front of them leading to an empty patch. She could hear the trickle of water as it gradually increased getting stronger. She gasped as they reached their destination

"Are we behind a waterfall?" he nodded as she looked up watching as the water gushed down before her eyes. He was right this was better than the other bit. It was magnificent. He brought her down to a cut off tree stump and sat her down as he stood up in front of her

"We used to play here, right in this spot. Pretending that we were pirates looking for buried treasure, not many people knew about this place. It was like our own secret hide- away" Caroline's eyes scanned the rockery behind her, as the dainty flowers crept out of the cracks, creating an aroma in the air. She tried to imagine the times when they played her. She stared into the distance imaging a smaller Tyler laughing as he played with the eye patch on his face

"I wonder if –" he hesitated looking at a patch behind her as he raised a finger to his lips "Hmm"

"What?" he chuckled as he frowned walking behind her. He wiped away some of the vines on the rockery behind her she watched as his muscles clench. She couldn't help but stare

"It's still here" his voice brought her out of her day dream as she looked up at his face then to where he was looking. She couldn't see anything but a bit of dirt and rock

"I don't see –"he pulled her arm, pushing her in front of him so her back leaned on his chest. His arm rubbed against hers as he pointed to the rock. He moved forward, whispering in her ear from behind

"Look Closer" she squinted trying to make out what he was looking at. She could faintly see writing, it had faded over the years but now that she found it she could roughly make out what it said

"Brothers forever" she said as her voice softened, whispering the last bit "Tyler and Klaus" She reached out touching the bit that said Tyler she fought back the tears. Just thinking that Tyler was here and that was his writing.

She turned around facing Klaus, forgetting how close the two of them actually were. They're chests touched as they're faces were inches away from each other. Klaus looked down at her as she locked eye contact before laying her hand on his chest and pushing him away

"Thanks for bringing me here" she moved past him as he was no on the other side of the room. Her arms were crossed over her chest; she could still smell his cologne on her. Why did she feel always moved away when they got close? Why did she find being close to him so uncomfortable?

"It's alright, love. I think it was time you knew more about Tyler" she thought so too. She felt like she was missing information that was important about Tyler...and Klaus "You remind me so much of him. I see why he loved you" he smiled as he looked at her dainty face, as he feature glistened in the sun shine

"He didn't love me, Klaus" she sighed "I know you mean well but don't try and replace Tyler with me"

"I'm not –" she continued, ignoring his attempt to defend himself

"If we're going to live in that house we need to start making it ours and not tread around like he's gonna come back Klaus, cus he's not" she ignored how hurt he looked, all this reminiscing was going to drive her insane. She had to start admitting that Tyler was using her and she couldn't pretend that what they had was real.

She was getting too wrapped up in Paris and Klaus; she had to remember what she was here for.

"First thing tomorrow we're got to start selling his stuff"

© Ms Zola, Oct 2012