Hello, my lovely readers. I hope you enjoy the chapter but I know that there is chance that some readers may not. Oh, and this is the year of heartache. On with the show…
Chapter 30: Reasons to Hate My Father
The next day I woke up from the best dream I had had all summer. It had been awful at first. My candle had blown out and then darkness began to consume me. Then my light, my Caroline came back. Yawning, I lifted my head and then blinked rapidly. "Caroline?" I could only stare at her stupidly. How was this even possible?
"Hi, Nik," Caroline replied with a wide smile as she snuggled into the pillow on her side of the bed.
"But how did you get in?" I asked her.
Caroline nodded toward the open window and then I remembered the ladder that Damon used to get inside my room during the time that he had been banned. "Niklaus," Mother called, opening the door. She looked shocked to see Caroline laying in my bed and then I heard an angry shout from down the hall.
"What in the God's name were you thinking?" Father was shouting. I jumped to my feet. Caroline and Mother followed me out into the hallway to find Elijah in his pyjama bottoms and Hayley in one of his shirts. They were holding hands as my father paced in front of them.
"Father," Elijah called and Father whirled to glare at him. "She was thrown out of her home. She has nowhere else to go."
"Therefore you want her to stay here? Under our roof? And I assume you want her to stay in your room, Elijah? Is that what you think? That I am so stupid that I would allow my fifteen-year old son to begin to shack up with his pen pal. Are you both insane? Do you know what will happen if someone finds out about the two of you? I will not allow this, Elijah. I am going to call the authorities. She will be placed with a foster family," Father declared before walking away from them.
Hayley was sobbing in Elijah's arms. "Lijah, I can't go into the system again. Please, I can't. No one wants a teenager and the people who do… Lijah, you have to find a way to stop him. Please!" Hayley was pleading and for once I felt sorry for her since I had first heard about her.
"Hayley," Mother called. "I will try to talk to him. Maybe there can be something done."
"Thank you, Mrs. Mikaelson," Hayley whispered, drying her eyes with the back of her hand.
"We'll talk when I'm done with your father," Mother told me sternly.
"What's going on?" Caroline asked me, staring down the hall at Hayley. "Does Katherine know about that?" She folded her arms and looked disapprovingly down the hall at Elijah and Hayley.
"They broke up," I told her. I was just so happy that my Caroline was back that I didn't really care about anything else.
Before I could think about what she was doing Caroline marched down the hall and stood in front of Elijah and Hayley. "My mother is the Sheriff," she informed Hayley who gulped and her eyes widened as more tears pooled. "Maybe she can help you find somewhere to live," Caroline finished and I smiled. That was my Caroline. Kind and selfless.
"It's not that easy. Nobody wants to take care of a kid who's almost grown," Hayley explained to Caroline.
Frowning, Caroline looked down the hall at me. Then she seemed to think of something. "You can live with me and my mom. She's always complaining about how much babysitter's are, and look, you're old enough to watch me. And I'm an only child. I always wanted a big sister."
Hayley's jaw dropped open. "What?" She began to cry again.
"Everyone I know has siblings but me. Now, I'll fit in," Caroline informed Hayley. "And my mom will agree because she's always working so it's not like she'll be doing much."
Hayley looked at Caroline not speaking for a moment. "Are you sure that your mother will take me in?"
"Sure, now that I'm home she's got to have something to curb her boredom and she hates teenagers. So, this will be good for her." Caroline told Hayley with an innocent smile. Walking over to Caroline's side, I smiled up at Hayley who looked worriedly at Elijah who was rubbing her arm.
"It will be alright, Hayley," Elijah promised her, pulling her closer to him.
Then there was a loud cry from Henrick's room. "The baby," Caroline whispered, her eyes glowing. A second later as Caroline ran off to answer by baby brother's wails the doorbell began to trill. It was as if someone had pressed their hand to the bell.
"What's going on?" Kol asked, dragging his body into the hallway. He yawned and blinked up at us before sitting down on the floor and trying to go to sleep.
Bekah was the next to come out of her room. She came into the hallway and began to yank on Hayley's robe until the teenager picked her up. "Why are you here?" Bekah asked Hayley.
"Rebekah," Elijah shook his head disapprovingly at our sister's bluntness.
"Nik," Damon yelled from downstairs.
"Elijah," Katherine yelled and then there was the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Damon and Katherine appeared in the hallway with Elena. "Elijah?" Katherine whispered, staring at Hayley with a look of hurt and anger.
That was when Finn came into the hallway and walked into Henrick's room. He came back out with Henirck in his arms and Caroline at his side. "Caroline!" Elena and Damon shouted and then there were more footsteps coming up the stairs.
"Caroline!" Liz Forbes shouted, looking angry. Then she looked at Elijah and Hayley. "Oh dear."
Before another word could be spoken everyone jumped when Father shouted. "Elijah, downstairs. Now!" Elijah grew pale as he looked around at the rest of us. I had never seen my eldest brother look as worried in his entire life as he did at that moment. He began to walk down the stairs stiffly when I came to stand by his side. Giving me a wary smile, he continued to walk down with Hayley hurrying to stand by his other side.
"It's my fault," Hayley was whispering quietly. "I should have left you out of it. I'm so sorry, Elijah."
"It's not your fault, Hayley," Elijah was telling her when we came to find Father glaring at the two.
"Elijah, you are grounded until I feel that you can behave like a young man of your station," Father was saying. He looked at Mother who was sitting in a chair close by, her hands folded in her lap. She looked distant while he spoke. "Hayley, you will board a flight and return home today. There the authorities will see to your welfare."
"But…" Hayley began, then trailed off. She began to cry quietly.
"I do not want you to ever have contact with my son again," Father ordered Hayley who was beginning to cry harder. "Now, get dressed and get out."
"NO!" Elijah shouted, his face turning red.
"What was that, boy?" Father asked Elijah, coming to stand in front of him. "You are a child. You have no idea what you are doing. Fortunately for you I do. And I am your father and you will obey me!" Father thundered.
"Mr. Mikaelson," Liz called, gaining my Father's attention. "Do you want to explain to me what is going on around here?" She looked not like Caroline's mother but like she was on duty. This worried me. I had watched the news. Kids were not supposed to do the things that I thought my brother might have been doing with Hayley. There were cases where boys my brother's age went to jail. I didn't want Elijah to go to jail.
"I am handling the situation, Liz. Thank you," My Father said like he did when he was talking on the phone to an employee. She did not like the way that he was speaking to her. I could tell because she stiffened and her eyes narrowed. Liz rarely gave me a look like that. But I had seen her give that look to many adults.
"Mikael," Liz replied. "This is my town. And it's my job to say whether something is being handled or not."
"I came home late last night after attending another one of Carol Lockwood's events with Esther. If I recall correctly you were there so you should know," Father informed the Sheriff. "We came home and I talked to Niklaus before going to bed. There was no sign to me that we had out of town visitors. However, this morning I got up to find this girl in my son's bed," he waved a hand in Hayley's direction and Katherine snorted.
"Okay. Were they?" Liz lifted her eyebrows and then looked at my Father. I think they were trying to say things that they did not want the younger children to understand. I was genuinely shocked that they were talking about any of this in front of us. My Father would tell me later that is was discussed in front of us to make it clear that there are consequences to one's actions.
"No," Father admitted and Katherine looked relieved. "But they were not decent either."
Liz stared at Hayley and then Elijah. She did not look happy as she watched the way that they stared at the floor. Katherine was also watching them intensely like she expected them at any moment to confess to a horrible crime they had committed.
"If this is made public then there would have to be a court case and lots of paperwork," Liz was saying as she examined my brother.
"But you can make this go away?" My mother asked Liz, her eyes wide as she looked at her friend.
Sighing, Liz looked at my parents. "I can't simply make things go away because of my personal feelings."
"We didn't have sex," Hayley blurted out and then blushed hotly. "We slept in the same bed last night. My parents threw me out. I told my dad that one of his drunken friends came on to me and he hit me. Called me a liar. Then he told me to get out and keep going. He said I was a whore." Beginning to cry again, Hayley seemed shocked when Katherine came over and hugged her.
Father just stared at the two teenage girls and I could tell that he was not happy. "I am sorry to hear that, Hayley, However, I still do not want you in my home."
Liz was shaking her head. "If what she's saying is true then she's a victim, not someone who should be punished."
"I'm not punishing her," Father defended himself. "I am simply making it clear that I do not wish for the girl to spend time in my home with my son."
"That's not fair, Father," Elijah yelled.
"Life is not fair." Father yelled back. "The sooner you figure that out, the better. I am tired of trying to prevent you boys from becoming parents far before your time. You have no idea the misery that can be accompanied with getting a girl pregnant and seeing your dreams dashied to smithereens." Then he seemed to be startled out of his speech when Mother got up without a word and left the room.
"Oh, my," Liz whispered.
"Mom," Caroline called, coming to stand in front of her mother. "Mom, I told Hayley she could come live with us."
"Caroline…" Liz began, staring down at her daughter, looking miserable.
"That is ridiculous," Father spoke up again. "The girl is going back to her own state. She is not going to stay here in Mystic Falls."
Liz' head whirled and she glared at my father. "How dare you?"
"What?" Father's jaw dropped as Liz went over to put an arm around Hayley.
"I will talk to the people in your area and we will figure out what the situation is. Until then you are welcome to stay in my home for as long as you want," Liz told Hayley who sucked in a shuddering breath.
"Thank you, Sheriff," Hayley murmured.
Father flung his arms in the air. "You are a fool, Liz."
"Better a fool than a tyrant," Liz snapped at him.
Father glared at her. "I would suggest, Sheriff, that you take your girls and leave my house."
Hayley handed Bekah over to Elijah. "Bye, Elijah."
"This is wrong, Father," Elijah was arguing with Father as I walked with Caroline to our front door. We clung to each other in a long embrace.
"I'm going to come over today and we're going to play," I whispered into Caroline's ear.
"Okay, Nik. Don't be long," Caroline whispered back as Elena and Katherine walked past us and out the door. When I let go of Caroline, Elena took her hand and they walked away together. I did not know that it would be another four months before I would be in the same place as Caroline. Otherwise I probably would have held on to her for a little longer.
Walking back into the other room, I came to stand before my Father. He was still arguing with Elijah. "This is ridiculous," Elijah was yelling at the top of his lungs after he had set Rebekah down on a couch. "Why are you being so unreasonable? Not all of us make the same mistakes."
"No, you are trying to make whole new ones," Father argued. "At least your Mother was bringing some kind of income with her. If you were to get that girl pregnant do you know what she would bring to this family? Nothing."
"What is wrong with you?" Elijah bellowed. "Do you have no feelings? Is it all about money for you? Well, I know all about how well you have been managing your money. You're nothing but a criminal." Elijah's chest was heaving when he finished and then he seemed to realize that he had gone too far.
Father simply stared back at Elijah, "You went through my paperwork, did you, Elijah?"
Elijah looked at the floor before muttering. "Yes."
"Speak up. I can't hear you?" Father demanded. Crossing the space between them, he came to stand in front of my brother.
Staring up at Father, Elijah straightened his posture. "Yes, I did. And I know that you are not paying your taxes. What are you thinking, Father?"
Father chuckled humorlessly. "Would you like to know what I know, Elijah?" Father asked, staring down at my brother with a joyless smile. "Young Miss Marshall is a liar. Do you know why I know this?"
Elijah's face flushed. "No."
"You had yet to empty your trash bin, son," Father told him and then Elijah began to stare at the ceiling. "Do not lie to me again," With that he turned his back on Elijah. "Go to your room." Staring at me, Father did not look happy. "Niklaus, you need to get dressed and pack your things."
"What? Why, Father?" I asked, feeling ice fill my stomach.
"I did not cancel your appointment to begin boarding school tomorrow. We do not want you to be late, now do we?" Father informed me and my world began to spin.
"What?" I shouted.
"Do not be difficult," Father told me as Henrick began to wail.
"No," Bekah began to wail causing Henrick to wail louder.
That was when Kol decided to come down the stairs. "What's going on?" Kol asked sleepily.
"Father is making Nik to go to boarding school," Finn explained, staring at me and placing his hand on my shoulder.
"What's that?" Kol asked.
"It's where all of you will be if you don't straighten up," Father snapped. "Go. Now!" Father told me.
I stared at him, feeling quiet fury building inside me. "Come on, Nik," Damon called. He took my arm and began to pull me toward the stairs. "Let's get you ready," I stared at my Father as Damon pulled me away. My siblings followed us upstairs.
"Everything will be fine, Nik," Finn reassured me. "We'll see you over the holidays and I swear I will talk to Father as often as possible to try to change his mind. We will get you home."
"You can't leave me," Bekah wailed, clinging to my knees. "Please, Nik. Don't go away."
"He's not going to leave us," Kol whispered, placing his hand on her shoulder. "He can't."
"It'll be okay," Damon told me. "Now, get ready because this does not go well in your favor if you argue. I know. This is the kind of thing my dad would do. The more you argue, the worse it gets."
When my bags were packed and I was walking out the door, I remembered that I had yet to tell Caroline. She thought I was going to come over. "Father, we have to go to Caroline's. I have to say good-bye."
"Niklaus, you will find that in life there are many things to disappoint you. Trust me, son, you will understand when you're older and you will thank me." Father told me, locking my door from his side of the car so that I became a prisoner in the vehicle.
'Good-bye, Caroline,' I thought, feeling tears begin to stream. 'Good-bye, Damon. Good-bye, Dare Club. Good-Bye, Mystic Falls.'
I do hope that after reading this chapter that you do not abandon this story but I respect the decisions of my audience as I hope they will respect the story that I'm trying to tell.
We'll start with the Klaus thing first. Yes, Klaus is leaving and since this story is from his perspective we're leaving with him. We'll be meeting some familiar faces and some new if you're unfamiliar with TO. That is a spoiler in case you can guess who that might be. In case you're worried Klaus will be having lots of visits from his MF friends. Caroline will be visiting him in as many chapters as possible and Klaus will come home once and while.
One reason for this new phase is that there are too many characters for me to keep track of. The other major reason is that this latter half of the story is building toward the finale of the story. Trust me everything that has happened and will happen are building toward an explosive final chapter. So, I hope you continue to tune in.
The only thing I will say in defense of my use of Hayley in this story is that this is AU. Therefore I can rewrite Hayley into whatever in the devil I want her to be. That means that I can find the redeeming qualities of a character that was not introduced to TVD in the most positive of lights. So, if you hate her, then go right ahead but please understand that she serves a purpose in this story and that purpose it is not to be the character who wrecked a relationship because Elijah and Kat who broke up. I did not write the break up scene because this is Klaus' story. Therefore things happen that Klaus does not know about until someone tells him: like about Hayley's dark past that will come back to haunt her sometime in the future.
If you got through this note please leave me a review, a pineapple and let me now if there are any boys that have not shown up that you would like to see at the Klaus' new school from either TVD or TO.
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing: Alexis2106, xXAncientXx, redbudrose, CB4389, elijahlover, pleasesaycaroline BSLover1812, Heidiionanita (for both reviews), klaroline4everlove and (Yes, I will just give another two weeks. Got too many things to do for school).
Peace,
LL