Hey everyone!
I wanna thank all of you for your support of the first chapter. Your reviews, favorites, and follows mean a lot to me. As a writer, it is always satisfying to know that others like my writing.
Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. I don't like Jackson's character at all so writing him wasn't easy to do, especially without turning him into an asshole. But, I managed. lol. Also to make this chapter work out, I took the liberty to change a few details that happened on the show.
I hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters sometimes. I only own the plot.
Chapter 2 - Can Not Go On Like This Anymore
When Hayley arrived home later that day, she was surprised to find that it wasn't Jackson waiting for her. It was his grandmother. Jackson had actually sent his grandmother to talk to her, she couldn't believe it. For someone who said he loved her, he was acting real cowardly. Why didn't he come talk to her himself? Did he get a feeling over the phone of what Hayley wanted to talk to him about and just did not want to face her? Even if he did, though, it didn't give him the right to act like a coward.
Mary spent quite a bit of time trying to convince her to go talk to Jackson and fix things, something that answered her previous question to herself. Jackson had gotten a feeling of what Hayley wanted to talk to him about. He probably thought by sending his grandmother could change her mind and convince her to fix things between them. Deep down Hayley knew she didn't want to fix things, but at the same time she did not want to hurt him either. The least she could do was go talk to him and sort things out.
Hayley almost caved and went to the bayou since based on what Mary told her Jackson refused to come back there, but before she could she heard something and realized that something was going on across the street. Her instincts kicked in the moment she heard that Elijah was in trouble. Her sudden fear had kicked her into overdrive and without a second thought about it, ignoring Mary's words that were trying to keep her from going to help, she leapt from her balcony to his. She was glad she did. He was fighting off three or more guys at once, even an Original had something to worry about there. After helping Elijah with the guys that were attacking him, she barely had a second to think anything before Marcel appeared and drove a dagger into his back.
"Elijah!"
She could hear the broken sound of her voice as she called out his name. Her heart suddenly felt like it had been broken in half, the pain had been unbearable. That had been the moment when she was sure Elijah was the right choice. She knew that he was an original and that he couldn't be killed, yet when she witnessed him get daggered, which would have killed a normal person, Hayley knew without a doubt that the right choice was Elijah. He was the one that she couldn't bare to think of living without. It wasn't a possibility, but it was the thought that meant something. Hayley's decision was set in stone from that point on and nothing would change that. Davina had been right, Elijah was the one. He was it for her.
~TheRightChoice~
It was already the day after Christmas and Hayley still hadn't found the time to talk to Jackson and to explain everything that was going on. Davina was still waiting for Hayley's answer so that she would know what her next move was, but Hayley wanted to sort everything out with Jackson and Elijah before she told Davina her decision. She owed Jackson and Elijah explanations before anything happened. Otherwise, things were sure to get even more crazy than they already were between the three of them now.
After dealing with crazy Rebekah and having to listen to her extremely painful truth bombs the night before, Hayley knew that she couldn't let anything else get her in way. She had to explain everything and end things with Jackson as soon as possible. Hayley didn't want to unintentionally put Elijah through anymore heartbreak and pain than she already had. She had to fix things and she had to fix them fast.
Hayley put Hope to bed for the night and walked out into the living room area where Jackson was sitting on the couch waiting for her. Now was the right time to do this. It was time for them to settle things and start working towards moving on with both their lives. Hayley walked over to the couch and sat down next to him, leaving some space between them.
"I take it you already know what's coming?" Hayley asked rhetorically, being the one to start their conversation, not making eye contact.
She didn't love him like he loved her, but she still loved him as a friend. It was just as hard breaking this particular type of news to a friend as it was to someone who was more than that.
"We can make this work," he said, looking at her.
Hayley sighed, playing with her hands in her lap. "No we can't," she insisted, shaking her head.
"Hayley, it doesn't have to be this way," he argued, reaching over to put his hand over hers.
"Actually it does," she told him, snatching her hands away. "I don't love you like I should in order to stay in this marriage any longer than I already have. I was only staying for the pack, and maybe even a little for you...but only because you're my friend and I didn't want to hurt you," Hayley explained as she finally looked up at him. "After talking to a friend of mine, I finally realized that you deserve better," she continued when he didn't say anything to her. "That I deserve better," she added as an afterthought.
"Hayley, please," Jackson pleaded.
Hayley shook her head, refusing to cave. Her mind was set and nothing was going to change that. "Don't waste your breath. Nothing you say or do is going to make me change my mind. We both deserve better and if I have to be the bitch who finally puts her foot down and makes sure that is what happens, then so be it. It's time to stop living in this sham marriage universe. We both deserve to be with someone who loves only us and loves us for who we are, not for who someone told us that we were."
Something changed in Jackson's eyes. "Is this about, Elijah?"
"You knew it from the very beginning and you still married me," Hayley answered without giving him a direct answer.
Jackson stood up and began pacing in front of her. "I should have known."
Hayley couldn't agree more. The signs were all there. He asked her about it before they got married and he should have known that her feelings for Elijah were too strong to ever change. She would not stop feeling what she was feeling for Elijah, not ever.
"Elijah deserves better just as much as we do. This whole time, I have been hurting him," Hayley said, trying to keep her voice from breaking. "I can't hurt him anymore than I already have."
"Is that the only reason you're trying to end this?" Jackson asked, pausing mid pace.
Hayley scoffed at this question. "No, of course not. How could you even suggest such a thing?!" she exclaimed, jumping up from the couch. "He may have been a deciding factor in my decision, but it's not all because of him. I just told you why I was doing this and the main reason has nothing to do with him."
"It sure sounds like it," Jackson told her sounding more harsh than he probably intended to.
"Well, I don't mean for it to sound like it," Hayley said truthfully. "I just think that we both deserve so much better than being stuck in a marriage that takes away our chances of being truly happy."
Jackson reached forward to grasp her arms and this time Hayley didn't snatch herself away. "But I am happy! I'm happy with you and with Hope."
Hayley shook her head, sighing. "Because you've had the thought of me forced into your brain since you were born," Hayley informed him. "You don't really love me at all! You only love the idea of me. I deserve better than that! And you deserve the chance to go out into the world and find someone who will actually love you and not just be with you for the pack."
There was a moment of silence between them.
"Now that you mention it, what about the pack?" Jackson asked as a last ditch effort to try and get Hayley to change her mind.
His question suddenly reminded Hayley of something that instantly made her feel a bit angry. God help him if he had known about this all along.
"Did you know?" Hayley asked as she quickly pulled away from his grasp and moved to the other side of the coffee table.
Jackson raised an eyebrow, not sure what she was referring to. "Know what?"
Hayley looked him dead in his eyes and answered, "That my true feelings for you never mattered at all."
"What are you talking about?" he asked, honestly clueless.
Lucky him for honestly not knowing the truth.
"I don't love you like the ritual called for to work," she answered him, crossing her arms tight against her chest. "Yet, it somehow works. As it turns out, you think you love me and that's why it works even though I don't love you back. All the ritual really needed was the strong feelings that one of us was feeling for the other. Nothing is that easy, I should have known that there was some sort of consequence of trying to take the easy way out."
"I don't believe that. It's not possible," Jackson insisted, shaking his head in disbelief.
Hayley shrugged her shoulders. "Well believe it because it's the truth," she replied. "There's a spell that will allow for the bond between us to be turned into a link to you and since no one will ever be able to convince you that you don't really love me like you think you do then as long as you're alive the pack will still be able to channel my power," Hayley explained to him.
Jackson didn't say anything.
"We just can not go on like this anymore." Hayley sighed. "Tomorrow you can move back to the bayou and Hope and I will move back in with Elijah, Klaus, and Freya."
Jackson still didn't say anything and sat down on the couch with his face in his hands.
"I'm sorry," Hayley said, apologizing sincerely as she took of her wedding ring and placed it on the table.
It hurt her to make him feel this way, but she knew it was the right thing to do. They couldn't continue living a lie like this. More importantly, she couldn't. It wasn't fair to anyone to go on like this. Despite feeling bad about it, which was understandable considering everything, she knew she was making the right choice now. The pain she was feeling now that she'd ended things with Jackson was no where near as bad as what she had felt when she had to think of what it'd be like if Elijah was no longer in her life.
Now that was a pain that she never wanted to feel again. She was almost a hundred percent positive that if she ever had to deal with losing Elijah for good...she would never be able to recover from it. Other than Hope, Elijah was the one person in her life that she could never even dream of living without. That very fact was the reason why Hayley was and always would be forever grateful that Elijah was an Original and could not be killed.
So, there you have it! Chapter 2! Please be sure to leave me a review and let me know what you all thought of the chapter! I hope to have the next chapter posted ASAP for you all!