Chapter 23:

Mari was just getting out of the shower, running a clean towel over her hair in an effort to make it dry faster. It was late, and she was getting ready for bed. She was wearing a tank top with no bra underneath and a pair of boyshorts that hugged her tightly.

Almost as soon as she stepped back into her bedroom, she heard her door open. Mari looked up immediately, tugging the tank top down a little to cover as much as she could in case it was someone who shouldnt see her in such a state. Luckily for her, it was Kol.

"Kol, wh-what are you doing here?" She asked in confusion. He had vanished for awhile, all day to be exact. Mari could tell from the tears in his eyes that something was very wrong. "Kol?"

He rushed to her suddenly, grabbing her by the bottom and lifting her. Kol pulled her legs around his waist, and he pushed her up against the wall. His fangs pierced her throat with ease, in a hurry. She let out a gasp, but she didnt protest. She held onto his shoulders.

"Kol, what is it?" She questioned him. "What's wrong?"

"Please don't speak," he growled as he bit into her shoulder. She could feel blood dripping from the wound he abandoned even as he drank from a new spot. Something was most definitely wrong. Mari grabbed his shoulders tightly and began to push.

"Kol, wait a minute. Talk to me."

"I said don't speak," he growled louder, slamming his hand against the wall behind her. She yelped in surprise, her eyes widening at him and his sudden anger. Mari took her bottom lip between her teeth. She pushed harder on his shoulders,

"Kol put me down."

"Shut up, Mari," he said much softer, biting into her throat again, a little lower than before. Each wound bled and went untouched. It was dripping down her arm now, down her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut. He was starting to hurt her now; his bite was too rough.

"I said put me down!" She shouted desperately, hitting his shoulders with as much force as she could put behind her fists. Her outburst startled Kol, and he stepped away, dropping her to her feet. She wobbled a little, but used the wall to hold herself up.

Once she straightened her back to stand in front of him, she reared her hand back and smacked his cheek with her palm, though it didnt phase him in the slightest. She held her hand over the wounds in an effort to stop the bleeding.

"Mari," he panted. "Mari, I..."

"You what?" She demanded to know, anger lacing her tone now. "What's wrong with you, Kol? Why would you do that to me?" Mari lifted her hand away, frowning as she realized her palm and fingers were covered in crimson.

"I needed to forget," he started to cry. "I needed it to be a dream, Mari, but it isn't. It's a bloody nightmare." He stepped away, bringing his hands up to his face. He seemed so volatile, so hurt by something. It worried her for his sake and concerned her for her own.

"Kol, calm down," she panted, leaning back against the wall again. "I dont know what you're talking about. I cant help you if you dont tell me what it is."

"It's you," he scoffed, pausing his pacing to look at her. "It's Davina." Mari's eyebrows furrowed at the sound of her name. She had thought that it was settled with Kol over his grieving Davina, but he was bringing it up again. "Marcel... Thats idiot took Rebekah and used her to bring back Davina."

Mari found herself wishing it was a dream. Davina couldnt really be back from the dead. It made no sense. However, she knew deep down based on Kol's reaction that Davina had to be back. Mari wondered what would happen now that Marcel had succeeded.

"What will you do?"

"I don't bloody know," he groaned in frustration, running his hands back through his hair. He was panicking, and the longer he panicked, the dizzier Mari got. "I loved that girl, I still..." Mari knew exactly what had to be done in order to ease the guilt that was eating away at Kol.

"Go to her, then," Mari told him. Kol's eyes widened as he stared at her in disbelief.

"What?"

"I said go," Mari said, firmer this time. "You love you. You never stopped loving her. I'm not going to hold you back from being with her so go. Find out if she's what you want, if it's the same as it was before. Don't worry about me."

"Mari, i can't leave you like that."

"Kol, I want you to leave!" She snapped angrily, her own tears slipping down her cheeks. "Get out of here. Please. Just go." She didnt want to see him in so much pain over Davina, over her. It was painfully obvious to Mari that Kol's pain came from the decision he was being forced to make. The only way to help ease that pain was to make the decision for him.

"Mari, I love you."

"I know, but not enough," she sniffed, bringing her hands up to wipe her eyes. "If you loved me enough, this would be simple for you. So go. Please. Go back to her."

"No, I-"

"Leave!" She screamed, snagging a pillow from the bed and throwing it at him. "Just go already! Dont make this hard, Kol." He stood there for a moment longer, with so much pain in his eyes. It killed her to see that, to see him suffering so much. Mari would do anything for him, anything to make that pain stop, even if it meant she had to push him away.

Finally, when he realized that nothing was going to convince her to change her mind, Kol disappeared from the room. Just like that, it felt like it was over, he was gone. He had wormed his way into her heart overtime, and it only made it that much worse when he left. When she forced him to leave to make it easier.

Mari slid to the ground, sobbing. She rested her elbows on her knees so her shaky, bloody hands didn't dirty anything. The small droplets of blood continuously oozed from the bites Kol left behind. She told herself to go take care of them in the bathroom, but she couldn't move. All she could do was weep for the love she'd lost.

After several minutes passed, Mari's door creaked open again. She looked up, part of her hoping it was Kol, that he had decided he would stay with her no matter what. It wasn't Kol, however, it was Klaus. A comforting face in the moment.

"Oh, love," he breathed, surprised to see her in such a state. He walked to her slowly, and she immediately dropped her face to let her blond waves hide her flush, tear streaked cheeks. Klaus knelt down in front of her, using his thumb to tilt her head up forcefully. "You're so pale." He brought his thumb to his teeth and pricked it with one of his fangs. He smeared his blood over her wounds so they would heal. "What happened, Marigold?"

"He's gone," she cried, burying her face in her hands again. "He's gone, and it's my fault." Her sobs rocked her body, and Klaus knew, just by the sound of her wails, exactly who and what she was talking about.

"No, darling," he said softly, sitting back on his rear. He grabbed her hands and pulled them from her face. "You didn't do this." Klaus lifted her by her waist, bringing her into his lap and against his chest. He cradled her as she cried, gently running his fingers through her damp, messy curls. No words were going to be enough to calm her aching heart. Not much could.

He held her until her sobs ceased, turning into sniffles and soft whimpers. Eventually, she sat back to look up at him. Her hands balled into fists against his chest, grabbing handfuls of his shirt as she clung to him for dear life.

"Please don't go anywhere. I can't lose anyone else," she begged with her eyes wide and doe-like. Klaus took a deep breath, brushing his thumb over her cheek to wipe away a stray tear.

"I'm not going anywhere, love." There was a time not too long before that he wanted Kol to end the relationship with Mari, so that Klaus didn't have to share.

However, after seeing the damage that was done over Kol's leaving, he wanted to go knock some sense into his younger brother, to plead for him to return to Mari. Klaus wanted so desperately to see her smiling again. He decided right then and there that he would do everything within his power to make her happy again.