A/N: As promised, the next chapter.
Damon watched her very closely the next day, "Caroline, what exactly are you saying?" He felt like she just slapped him in the face. Break up? Really? Could she be serious?
She practically had tears rolling down her cheeks, "I'm annoying. I don't take anything with blind faith. People have to prove to me that they aren't out to hurt me before I'll trust them. I don't believe in soul mates. I think everybody has a hidden agenda. When I believe in something, I believe too strongly. I'm headstrong. I'm stubborn. I have to win at every argument I've ever had. I don't know how to let people have the last word."
"Caroline, why are you saying all this?"
"I'm showing you that I'm a bad girlfriend. I'm showing you that you should run away, before things get too intense between us. I'm – I need you to run away." She was practically whispering now, her cheeks moist with tears.
"What are you so afraid of?" Damon asked, coming closer.
"Everything! I'm afraid of everything."
"You named some of your traits. Let me name some, too. You're caring. You're independent. You don't let anybody boss you around. You do what you think is right, even if it wrong at the time. You're not too proud to apologize for things you've done that were wrong. You take responsibility for every one of your actions, even when you don't need to." He came closer, cupping her cheek. "You live by your own standards, not anybody else's. You will go head to head with somebody if they challenge what you believe. You would never think to hurt anybody. You're kind. You make me a better person."
Caroline reached up and pushed his hand away, "Really, Damon. I need you to walk away."
"Why is that, exactly?"
"Because I'm not worth it. I never have been, and probably never will be." She had tears in her eyes, "Please, Damon, just…just go."
"Because I love you, Caroline," Damon said, his voice breaking just like his heart, "I will do what you ask. But I'm not giving up without a fight." And with that, he turned and walked out, just like she asked.
-x-
It had been almost three weeks since he had talked to her. He kept calling her, but she wouldn't answer his calls. Elena told him to leave her alone, she'd eventually come around. Give her time, she said. Caroline doesn't listen to anyone and she does things her own way, in her own time.
During that week he had barely gotten out of bed, and when he did get out of bed, it was just to drink. He had brought a bottle of bourbon up to his bedroom, and never left it. He hadn't showered in days, and didn't want to see anyone. The most he talked to anyone was when Matt called, and that was just because of The Grill. Damon hadn't left the house in days; he just didn't want to go anywhere.
That morning, Damon was ready to just pull the blankets over his head when Elena came storming in. She didn't even bother to knock. She yanked open his curtains and that when he did pull the blankets over his head.
"What the hell, Damon?" Elena was angry. Damon uncovered his head to look at her.
"You haven't been out of this room in days. You need to go on, live life. Just because you had one fight with her - "
"She doesn't want me anymore, Elena. She doesn't want anything to do with me."
"Goddamn it, Damon, just listen to yourself! It's not you that she has a problem with!" Elena took a deep breath. "She has a problem with herself. She always has, and she probably always will. Those people in the system, they poisoned her mind. They made her think that she's not worth anything. Think about it. They wanted her to feel worthless, to feel like nobody loved her. They wanted her to roll over and die, but she didn't. She survived." Elena took another breath, "Damon, she thinks that you deserve better than her," Elena explained as calmly as she could.
"She's what I want –" Damon started, but Elena held up her hand.
"I already know all that. But it's Caroline. She's been brainwashed. She really believes what she says about herself – people fed it to her all her life, so it's what she believes. So, you need to get up, out of that bed, and go see her. Well, after you shower, of course, 'cause you're pretty disgusting."
Damon smiled weakly, "What happened to giving her space?"
"It's been almost three weeks. Somebody's got to intervene."
-x-
Caroline was pretty sure that Damon was going to be the death of her. He had look so hurt when she asked him to leave, but she needed him to walk away. She wanted to spare him hurt feelings when things got too intense. Sighing, she stood in the back room of her store, taking inventory on her materials. She just couldn't believe what she was feeling – it was like her mind was betraying her. She took a chance, but it was inevitable. People break up. They get married, thinking they'll live happily ever after, and then something happens. It could be just like Esther Mikaelson – she was madly in love with her husband, but he didn't feel the same way, so he left. He left her, heartbroken, to take care of five children, by herself. Caroline refused to be that.
She heard the bell above the front door ring, and it catapulted her from her thoughts. She went out in the front room and saw Klaus.
"What are you doing here?"
"Uh, the last time I checked, I worked for you," Klaus said, with a nervous laugh. "What's wrong with you?"
Caroline nodded silently. She didn't want to talk about it right now.
"You're avoiding, Caroline. What is going on inside your head?"
Caroline looked up at him, a tear sliding down her cheek. She wiped her face with the back of her hand, "Nothing. Not anymore."
"I heard you had a fight with Damon," Klaus said casually. Caroline's head snapped up.
"How – where did you hear that?" she asked quietly.
"Oh, just around," Klaus said, trying to be vague.
"Look, Nik, I don't want to talk about it right now," Caroline said, sighing. "I'm – I mean, I've got to go back and do inventory."
Caroline started walking towards the back room, but Klaus followed her. She could feel him behind her, so she spun around on her heels, "Stop following me, Nik. I don't want to see anyone right now."
"Caroline, you're being stubborn. Will you just please sit down and talk to me?"
Caroline sighed deeply before saying, "Look, Nik, I appreciate that you're my brother and everything, but I don't want to talk about it right now."
"Damon called me," Klaus said suddenly. Caroline almost went pale.
"He told me that you pushed him out. That you told him to run away. He told me that he wants to be with you, but ever since your little disagreement, you won't answer his calls and you're never home. Where exactly have you been staying?"
"I spend time here, and I've been playing roommate with Kol," Caroline answered hesitantly.
"Kol?"
Caroline nodded, "Yeah. Kol doesn't ask questions like what's wrong with my life. He just lets me be."
"And you've been staying in his one bedroom apartment?"
"He has a very comfortable couch," Caroline said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Look, Damon wants to be with you Caroline. I know you want to be with him, too."
Caroline was close to crying now, "I think I'm in love with him, Nik," she barely whispered, but Klaus heard her. His eyes widened.
"Then why are you pushing him away?"
"Because love doesn't last. I don't want to get hurt, and I don't want to hurt him. I don't know anybody whose love has lasted."
"What about your friend Elena? She's been with Stefan for years, right?"
Caroline just shrugged.
"I know what you're doing," Klaus said, following Caroline, even though she didn't want him to. "You're avoiding. You think that if you stay in your safe little corner that nobody can hurt you. Trust me when I say this, Caroline – the wolves, they will find you, no matter where you are. You can sit still, but they'll still find you."
"What are you trying to tell me?"
"I'm telling you that no matter where you are and no matter who you are with, bad things will find you. It's just what happens. Shit happens, and you can't avoid it, no matter what you do. So, hiding away and pushing Damon away isn't going to stop bad things from happening. It's just going to break your heart." And he walked out without another word.
-x-
Klaus was at The Grill. He went there to find Damon, because he had stopped at the boarding house, but Elena said that she sent Damon to work. He was driving her crazy. Klaus walked into the Grill and saw Damon, sitting at the bar.
Klaus took a seat beside Damon. Damon looked over, "You're not going to beat the shit out of me, are you?"
"Damon, I didn't like you when I first met you, but I admit now that I was biased. I was basing you on a reputation, and I didn't take the time to get to know you. My mother told me when you first came to dinner that night, 'Niklaus, it's just a reputation.'" Klaus sighed, motioning to Kol to get him a beer, "Now I've come to realize that you are the best man for Caroline. You took the time to get to know her, and you didn't push her into anything."
Damon shrugged, "She broke it off anyway."
Klaus shook his head, "Damon, I know Caroline. I know her better than anyone else, and sometimes I think I know her better than she knows herself. She doesn't want to break up with you."
"But she did."
"Listen to me. Caroline needs her space, but, more importantly, she's scared. In fact, Caroline is fucking terrified."
"Of me?"
"Did Caroline ever tell you I saved her life?" Klaus asked, and when Damon shook his head, Klaus continued, "Let me tell you a story. I had just gotten back from war, from a two year tour in Iraq, when I first met Caroline. I was wounded, and could barely walk, but one day, I happened to notice Caroline lying on the bathroom floor, wrists cut and she was practically bleeding to death." Damon watched Klaus closely as he continued, "She was fifteen years old, Damon. She had everything in this world to live for. I've seen people die, and I've saved a couple of people's lives. That is what it's like in war. I saved her life that day, and when I went to visit her in the hospital, do you know what she told me?"
Damon shook his head.
"She said, 'You shouldn't have saved me. I should have died.'" Klaus took a drink of his beer before sighing once more, "Now, most people would say thank you, but she was convinced that she was tainted, that she was dirty. She was fifteen years old, Damon. She was fifteen, and felt like she had nothing to live for. Part of me wondered why a fifteen year old girl would feel so hopeless, so I started to look into her past. That stuff is usually sealed, but my brother Elijah is a private investigator, and he's really good at his job. He told me what I wanted to know. Even by fifteen years old, she had had a hard life. Everybody abandoned her. Everybody used her up and spit her out. She had nobody she could trust – except for Elena. That girl is a godsend and I love her to death without even knowing her that well. The rest of my family, the rest of Mikaelsons, they know Elena well. Hell, my mother has Elena on speed dial. She's had her over to dinner several times. Elena even has my brothers' numbers and if anything happens with Caroline, she lets us know. She likes our family, and we just adore her. She's been so good to Caroline. It was then that I decided that I was going to be Caroline's big brother. I wanted Caroline to know that no matter what, I was going to be there for her when she needed me."
"What about your sister?"
Klaus sighed, "Rebekah is a totally different story. She and Caroline hate each other; they always have. Rebekah didn't like that my family took a liking to Caroline, and Caroline hates Rebekah on principle. Rebekah hates that my brothers feel that Caroline is our little sister. She's said more than once that Caroline is dirty, and I'm pretty sure that, when Caroline tried to kill herself that day, Rebekah was somewhat behind it." Klaus sighed, signaling to Kol for another beer, "Rebekah was a mean girl in high school." Klaus laughed, "Caroline's the only reason I even know that term, by the way. When I started protecting Caroline, I learned more teenage girl terms than I care to know. Anyway, Rebekah was furious that we let Caroline in, and she was even more furious when we took Caroline back after she tried to kill herself. We've had words over the years, but our family – my four brothers and my mother – we protect Caroline vehemently. She's very important to us."
"Why?"
"She's special, Damon. Can't you see that?"
Damon nodded, "Yes, I can. She's something extremely special."
"She's a fighter. She always has been, and the men in her life – aside from you – have always taken advantage of that. She needed a good man in her life to show her that not all men are scum of the earth. Mother was thrilled to death when you two started dating, and she still holds out hope that you're going to get back together. But here's my advice to you – don't push her. You can be persistent, send her flowers, flatter her, whatever, but don't push her."
"If she doesn't want me –" Damon started, but stopped when he noticed Klaus shaking his head.
"She does want you, Damon. It's hard to see at first, but she pushes the most when it's someone she cares about. You have no idea what she put my family through when she first came to us. She ran away, she snuck out, skipped curfew, got involved with the wrong people and dated the boys who would piss us off the most. But we never stopped loving her, and we never sent her away. Finally, she realized that we weren't going anywhere, and she started to ease up."
"You're telling me to be persistent."
Klaus nodded, "Very good. Show Caroline that you aren't going anywhere, no matter what happens." Klaus paused for a moment before adding, "Just don't turn into a stalker, or else I'm gonna have to do something about that."
Damon nodded, "Sure. Thanks for the advice, Klaus."
"I want what's best for Caroline. I've always wanted the best for Caroline. And you are the best thing for her. Please help her remember that."
A/N2: Please don't kill me. I promise, there is a method to my madness. It will all be explained soon.