Im so sorry for the super long wait! Things got busy, then I got kinda sick :( i promise i wont wait that long to update again. Hope you guys can forgive me and enjoy the chapter! This story will probably end at 40 chapters so things will pick up soon before the finale! :)
Chapter 28:
Mari rushed down the street, her purse swinging wildly against her side as she ran. She had gotten a call, in the middle of the night, from her younger brother. His voice was uneven, shaky even, and he explained how their father had been arrested after a neighbor witnessed him strike their mother in the front yard.
Pushing through the glass doors to the police station, she walked around aimlessly until she found her mother and brother sitting in two chairs outside of an office. Her mom had a bruise under her eye, and it enraged Mari.
"You came," her brother beamed, jumping up to give her a hug quickly. Her mother stayed seated, eyes moving in every direction except for Mari's. It hurt her inside that her mother chose to shun her just as her father had. She tried to understand things from her mom's perspective, but it was hard. She was her mother's first and only daughter, yet she had chosen to cling to old hatred. Witches were supposed to hate vampires, so her mother hated what she had become.
"Of course I came. You told me you needed me." She ruffled her brothers hair lovingly and kissed the top of his head. "I've missed you so much. I tried to come home, but dad chased me away. He told me to never come back."
"He did?" Her brother frowned, imagining the violent ways in which his father likely delivered that message to Mari. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she reassured him. "Im better than I have been in a long time." She had people on her side, powerful people, who cared for and loved her. Mari felt stronger than she had in years. Her father didnt scare her anymore.
"Disgusting," her mother muttered, standing up suddenly. She walked to Mari and reached up. Mari tried to step away from her mothers sudden motions, but her mom caught her collar, tugging it down a little to reveal fang marks along her neck and shoulder. "This is not what I wanted for you."
"Mom," her brother tried to step between them. "Please."
"No, it's fine," she put her hand on her brother's shoulder. "Mom is a little old fashioned. But I hardly think her opinion of the men in my life matters when she refuses to divorce that drunken asshole she's married to." Mari was not usually someone who spoke her mind, but she didnt have to live there anymore. She didnt have to be afraid.
Her mother raised her hand at if she was going to hit Mari, but her hand was stopped before it ever got close by another that extended from behind Mari.
"Well, this is certainly not the way I pictured meeting Marigold's family," Klaus' voice passed by her ear. She turned to look up at him, and he quickly released her mother's hand. Mari's mom quickly stepped back eyes wide, a scowl on her lips, then hurried down the hall away from them.
"Klaus, what're you doing here?" Mari asked, cheeks flushed. Klaus raised an eyebrow at her, then turned his attention to the younger boy beside Mari.
"Hello, my name is Klaus," he extended his hand politely. "You must be dear Mari's little brother. She talks about you often."
"Hi," her brother said a little awkwardly, shaking his hand. "You're the vampire, then. The one she went to work for." His mother had ranted and raved so spitefully over Mari's decision to work for the "original family." Their mom had left witchcraft many years ago, but she still told them about it. She told them about all of it, beginning as fairy tales when they were kids, and turning into dark truths as they got older.
"I suppose so, though she is not under employment anymore. She is a part of the family. As are you." Klaus was charming when he wanted to be. He was easy to like when he put on that cocky grin and spoke so elegantly. "If you ever need anything, you know how to find us, I'm sure. We are not hidden."
"I do. Thank you." Her brother smiled a little, and it was clear that he had fallen for that charm, just like she had not too many months before. "For now, I'm just going to look after Mom. As much as I want to see you, Mari, it's probably better for you both if you leave for now."
"Call me soon," Mari pleaded. "Let's get lunch or something when you're not in school. I miss you."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll call," he promised, waving her off. "I better go check on her. Go home. Try not to worry about us too much."
"That's impossible," she sighed, waving goodbye. "Take care. Don't let him get away with anything anymore. Okay?"
"Okay," he nodded.
Mari was relieved to be home, but she was also very worried about her family. She flopped down on Klaus' bed, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. For awhile now, she had been lost in the flurry of emotions and events that were taking place that she forgot about why she came there to begin with. To protect her family. That's what she wanted.
While she cared less and less about helping her mother who refused to help herself, her brother still needed her. Even if he denied it, she wanted to help him somehow. He refused to leave their mom, however, which was a problem.
"Elijah overheard your phone call," Klaus said as he came into the room behind her. "He was concerned about you being around your father. He has been known to lash out at you." He sat on the bed beside Mari. "Are you alright, love?"
"I am," she sighed. "I'm sorry you had to see that. She wasn't always like that. Over the years, she lost her fight. She absorbed the violence around her, and she just... she submits to it. To him." Mari looked over at Klaus. "Thank you. I'm glad you were there."
"If she wasnt your mother I might have killed her for trying to strike you," Klause frowned. "The desire to protect you is becoming more and more like a primal urge. Instinct, even." He reached over to run his hand over her hair gently. "You don't deserve such abuse."
"I don't have to see them anymore," Mari shrugged, pushing herself upright to sit at his side. "I just have to get my brother out of there, somehow."
"When he turns eighteen, Elijah has a permanent suite with your brother's name on it. We will help him."
"Why does Elijah care so much about helping me when he doesnt want me here?" Mari asked before she could stop herself. Klaus smiled a little, bringing his gaze up to hers.
"He does not blame you, Mari. He does not hate you. He fears for his family, but he respects what we decide. As we have decided to take you in, to be with you, our family accepts your family's problems as our own. We protect our own."
"My parents think you're all monsters," Mari snorted. "She couldnt be more wrong."
"Don't underestimate our wickedness, love," Klaus grinned over at her. "We are not heros, no saints. We have killed many, and will kill more to protect this family. Without remorse. Without hesitation. Being with us is being in danger."
"Somehow I feel safest with you," Mari shrugged her shoulders. "I feel stronger than I used to be. I stood up to my mom today for the first time. I was so excited, I didnt even care if she hit me. I felt like I had finally won."
"I can get rid of the marks on your throat if you wish."
"I don't." She shook her head, "They can stay for awhile. Im not ashamed of what Im doing. I love you, Klaus." Mari laid her hand over his as she leaned up to kiss him softly. "Feeding you is a part of loving you. I want to do it." After a moment, she pulled her shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor. She threw her legs over his lap, straddling him, then brushed her hair away from her throat.
"Mari, you don't have to prove anything to me."
"Just feed," she said, burying her fingers in the hair on the back of his head. "It's okay."
Klaus kissed the skin of her neck softly before revealing his fangs. He scraped them gently over the skin, to tease her, to see if it would get a reaction from her. He was a little surprised to feel her shiver in his arms, and even more surprised to hear the sigh.
"Mari, have you grown to enjoy this?" He asked, brushing his lips against her throat. "What a naughty, masochistic thing you are." She was breathing heavily now, ragged. He smirked to himself, then bit into her soft flesh as carefully as possible.
Mari wouldnt admit that she liked it, that being close to them, intimate, excited her, even if it involved them drinking her blood. She was all in, belonged entirely to them. Nothing Elijah said, or her parents said, would be enough to convince her she should leave. Klaus and Kol were drugs, and she was addicted, even though she knew that addiction could be deadly.