Rebecca looked at all three of them, holding back tears, "I swear to you all, it's not what you think."
Caroline scoffed, "Oh so you didn't sell us out? You didn't set all this up so Mason could kill my husband? I must've understood Mason, just now."
She shook her head, "No! I-I didn't have a choice, Caroline! He was-He was going to kill Stefan if I didn't help him!"
Caroline turned away from her and held her breath to stop herself from screaming at her while Nick went to Rebecca, "Why didn't you say anything to us?"
"I couldn't…I didn't even really help him…I just told him where you'd be. That's it."
"That's helping him, genius!" Caroline yelled at her in anger, Nick gave her a disapproving look, making her anger flare, "Don't you dare get after me for being angry with that backstabbing bitch!"
"Hey, let's calm down a bit." Stefan said while Rebecca looked down and Nick went to Caroline and put his hands on her shoulders.
"I get you're angry but calm down. She's just Rebecca." Nick tried to reason with her. "We can trust her, remember?"
Caroline shook her head, "No, Nick. We can't trust her and I won't trust her. I learned my lesson; I trusted Mason before. I thought he was a friend just like I thought she was. Turns out my judgment sucks because they both stabbed me in the back and sold me out to the person trying to put a bullet into my head and into yours."
Rebecca shook her head, "No. I didn't want you guys to get hurt."
"What did you think he was going to do; talk to us about forgiveness and the weather?!" Caroline shouted at her while Nick backed off, not knowing who to actually agree with.
Stefan stepped in between the two girls when he saw Caroline start to come towards Rebecca with her fists clenched, "Look, she said it herself, she didn't have a choice. You can't be mad at her for something she had no control over."
"I actually can because I would never do what she just did to us!" She yelled, moving around Stefan to face Rebecca.
Rebecca made the mistake in speaking, "You told Nick even though Mason said he'd kill him if you did, you can't be mad at me for choosing the exact opposite of what you did, Caroline. All I did was protect the man I love."
Before either one of them could say anything else, Caroline slapped Rebecca so hard that it made Rebecca stumble into the wall. She would've hit her again, but Stefan stood in front of Rebecca while Nick pulled her back.
"Caroline calm down, she didn't have a choice." Nick said while holding Caroline back, "She's still my sister, so stop it. She wouldn't hurt us."
"Are you serious right now?" She asked him, pushing his hands off and staring at him while Stefan stayed in front of Rebecca.
Nick shrugged, "He manipulated her. She wouldn't do a thing to bring us any harm. It was one honest mistake." He was angry with Rebecca, yes, but she was his little sister and he knew that she wouldn't hurt them.
"One mistake that nearly got you killed, Nick!" She shouted at him, "She sold us out!"
"I didn't mean to. I had no choice, Caroline. I was scared and I-"
"You don't think I was scared?! The man showed up the night before my wedding and left a bruise on me! He showed up at my wedding and forced me to dance and threatened Nick! I was scared but I never helped him."
"Well that's where we differ. He was going to kill Stefan, I had to protect him. I know you're mad but like Nick said, I didn't have a damn choice in this."
"Yeah you did. The choice was him or your brother and pregnant sister in law. You chose him. But of course, I really shouldn't be surprised." Caroline said while leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
Stefan was the one to answer her, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, just saying, I should've known I couldn't trust her. She was the one that helped Michael and Mason kidnap me. She was the one that helped them keep me locked away. She was the one that stopped Nick from freeing me. She was even the one that told Mason where we were honeymooning. I should've known." She explained while staring at Rebecca with a hateful glare, making her cry. "Now, Becca, I'd like for you to leave my house and tell Mason I said hi."
"Caroline." Nick scolded.
"What?! I'm wrong to want her to leave? I don't want her here!"
Rebecca nodded a little, "Nick it's fine…I'll go."
"No! You're my sister and I believe you when you say that you didn't mean to hurt us. I've known you long enough to know that you'd never betray us. You're not going anywhere."
"And I'm your wife. As my husband I kinda expect for you to support me here." Caroline said through gritted teeth.
"Well I'm sorry, Sweetheart, but I still trust my sister." He said, a hint of regret in his voice. "I know you don't understand it, but she's my sister. You're overreacting in this. This is what he wanted! He wanted us to turn against each other and choose sides."
Caroline sighed and nodded slowly, "Right. Well you just did, Nick. So, I'm leaving." She said before grabbing her car keys and walking out of the house.
She barely made it to the car before she felt his hand on her arm, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going home to see my dad. Maybe he'll be kind enough to understand where I'm coming from." She said, opening the car door.
"Don't turn this into a fight between us. She made a mistake Caroline. She's just a girl, she's scared out of her mind and he got into her head and manipulated her. We can't throw her out and fault her for it."
Caroline turned to him and he was slightly shocked to see her crying, "I know it wasn't you locked up in a basement with ropes cutting into you and I know it wasn't you that watched your mother die in front of you and we all know it wasn't you that got shot or smothered but could you at least be a bit more supportive? Yeah she's your sister but I'm your wife. Ya know, the one that this man is terrorizing."
Nick stared at her, not knowing what to say. She shook her head and got into the car, "But sorry, I forgot. He's your brother." She said before slamming the car door closed and driving away.
"Dad?" Caroline called out as she walked into the house, closing the door behind her and locking it. "Dad, are you home?" She heard the TV playing in the living room and walked in.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Elijah said while standing up from his place on the couch.
The wind got knocked out of him when she ran to him and hugged him. "I just…need a hug." She said, holding back tears.
Wrapping his arms around her, he sighed, "What happened?"
"Ha! What the hell didn't happen!?" She shouted exasperatedly while pulling away from him, "Mason fucking showed up, tried to shoot Nick and I told him I was pregnant so he wouldn't kill Nick and he went all psycho; acting like this kid is his. He leaves and we call Stefan to tell him what the hell just happened and he brings Becca and they show up and she looks as scared and pale as a soon to be exorcised ghost. She gets this phone call and I answer and guess who's on the line?! Mason! Going on about how they have to reschedule because I ruined their fucking plan in killing Nick!" Caroline ranted as she paced back and forth in front of Elijah.
"Wait!" He stopped her and put his hands on her shoulders, "What do you mean their plan? Rebecca…Rebecca is working with him?"
"Apparently she had no choice in the matter. She told him where Nick and I would be tonight and what time we got home, he was just there waiting for us because she told him. She says that he told her if she didn't help him, he'd kill Stefan so Nick isn't blaming her but I sure as hell am. Oh! And she tells me that she did the opposite of what I did, she actually protected the man she loved from Mason, unlike me." Caroline stopped to take a deep breath, crossing her arms, she looked at her Dad, "Oh…Did I mention I hit her?" She asked a bit sheepishly.
"No you didn't…And Nick doesn't blame her for working with Mason and against you?" Elijah asked, trying to assess everything.
She shook her head, "No. He got after me for being mad because I don't understand that they're still siblings and he still trusts her. But come on! I trusted Mason in the beginning and that got Mom killed!"
Elijah sighed, "I know…but you also…didn't exactly grow up with Mason like Rebecca and Nick grew up with each other."
"Oh please do not tell me that you are going to fault me for hating her right now."
"No. I'm not choosing sides at all…Think of it this way; if it was Mason telling you he'd kill Nick if you didn't tell him where Rebecca and Stefan were…would you tell him?"
Caroline sighed and shook her head, "No I wouldn't…I can't choose between any of you, I just can't. That's not something I can do. Losing Mom made me realize that this dysfunctional family is all I have. I wouldn't betray anyone in this family and I thought I wasn't the only one."
"I can understand that…I think you're the only one in this family that thinks that way. If I'm being honest, I'd choose to protect and save you in a heartbeat. I think you're that way because you're the one that suffered the most."
"Rebecca and I went through the exact same things…We feel the same guilt and sadness and trauma every day but we deal with it differently, I guess." Caroline said while looking down, "Am I wrong for being angry and not wanting to see them?"
"No. I'm pretty sure I'd be the same way. As it is I do feel pretty angry at her. She could've handled this differently." Elijah shrugged.
Caroline sighed, "Yeah she could've…If Nick calls, tell him I don't want to talk to him, okay? I'm gonna go up to my room and try to sleep."
He nodded, "Okay. But Caroline, did Mason hurt you?"
Shaking her head, he answered, "No. He hugged me after saying we were having a baby."
"Why would he say that?"
"I don't know. I was trying to figure that out when Mason called Rebecca…Anyways, I'm just gonna go to bed. Night…" She said before leaving the room and walking upstairs.
Elijah ran a hand over his face, feeling the worry grow in his heart as he thought over the overload of information his daughter just heaved at him.
Playlist:
Breaking Benjamin - I Will Not Bow