Written for Klarosummer Bingo 2019 on tumblr. Prompt: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?
I want to make this very clear: Caroline is sharing her story at an NA meeting and in that story, she references child abuse, domestic violence and prostitution. Her story is how she recovered from her past and built herself a beautiful life. While this story could be true, it is not based on a specific person. It's a story that could be heard in recovery rooms all around the world. This is based on years and years of being in recovery and working in addiction treatment. I hear stories like this everyday because it happens every day. Bad things happen, but people do recover, and this story is about life after addiction.
Klaus Mikaelson was the most powerful director in New York City and Caroline Forbes would have done anything to be in his summer play. Every year, Shakespeare in the Park in Central Park drew thousands and thousands of fans from all over the world, and this year Klaus was the director. Not only was he directing, he had adapted it to a musical. Mikaelson meets Shakespeare: it was the big time. He was the big time. He was charming, gorgeous, brilliant, beyond wealthy… and a walking disaster. Caroline was intimidated to say the least, but she was determined to be his perfect Ophelia.
This summer was all about "Hamlet." Something about the tragic Danish prince thrilled him. It was full of the angst and betrayal he grew up with. As a child, he had no control, forced from one rehearsal to the next and beaten when he missed a note. He hated feeling that small and powerless. As a director, he ruled the world. He liked ruling the world. His world. The stage had been his life since he was old enough to run lines.
Klaus began as a childhood actor starring in several local productions upstate. His big break came when he played Gavroche in "Les Misérables" on Broadway to critical acclaim at age seven. The next year he played Oliver in an iconic revival, bringing such sweet sorrow with his rendition of "Where Is Love" that audiences wept. As he got older, he played in starring roles night after night, year after year. He had private tutors and graduated twelfth grade at 15 in order to attend Julliard, where he graduated at 19. His final role won him his first Tony award at age 21, originating the role of Nik in the musical hit of the decade, "The Originals," an epic tale about the loss of innocence, the heartbreak of betrayal and the enduring love of family.
Growing tired of musicals, he began writing and directing his own plays, the first of which was a global success, establishing him as a major player behind the scenes as well. However, with his growing fame came the pressure to continue his upwards climb. He wrote day and night, but it was never enough. His agents wanted more and more of him until he had nothing left to give. His days were eighteen hours long for months at a time without stopping. He fought the exhaustion with energy drinks and espresso for as long as he could.
Soon enough the day came that he broke down and accepted his agent's suggestion to see a doctor about Adderall. He had been an actor his entire life. Pretending to have ADHD was the easiest role he'd ever played. After four months, however, even that wasn't enough. The lead in his newest play found him falling asleep at a party and offered a solution: cocaine. Klaus was hooked from the first line. By his 24th birthday, he was smoking crack in his Range Rover behind the Gershwin Theatre on opening night.
Klaus hit bottom that night. Backstage, he fell to the ground clutching his chest as his body went into cardiac arrest. He was rushed to the hospital where he had a double bypass. When he woke up, he went down to Florida to recover at the renowned Hanley Foundation under the assumed name "Stefan Salvatore." He was in and out of the institution several times before he was finally able to put his addiction down for good… or just for today, as they said in the rooms of NA. He had been lucky. While his heart attack was well known, the reasons behind it were kept confidential. Hanley was very discreet. A week prior he celebrated his second anniversary sober at the age of 27. He was back on top, courtesy of the twelve steps and his sponsor, Marcel.
Speaking of taking steps, Klaus needed to wrap up auditions if he wanted to meet his sponsor uptown for their nightly meeting. It was anniversary night tonight and several people would be sharing their stories, one from out of town. There was something raw about an unscripted soliloquy such as a personal story that drew him in. It was real. He packed up his things and started for the door when a small voice called his name from the stage.
"Mr. Mikaelson? I think you forgot about me, Sir," Caroline lilted from the stage.
Klaus rolled his eyes, turning back to face her. He was struck by her beauty immediately. There was something about the way she held herself that seemed familiar… Brushing it off, he projected to her from center orchestra where he had his desk setup. "Sorry, sweetheart, but I've plans for this evening. Come back tomorrow."
As he started for the door, she called after him. "Wait!" He turned to face her, surprised that she would be that disrespectful to the director. He said he had to go, so why wasn't she letting him? "Please, stay. I waited all day yesterday and the day before. I was promised an audition today," she said authoritatively, hand on hips.
"The world is full of broken promises," he replied hastily, reaching for the door. To his shock, the little blond pixie skipped over to him and grabbed his arm. "Excuse you? Is this your attempt to win my affections? I hate to break it to you, but you're failing as miserably as that outfit," he sneered. At the look on her face, he sighed. "Alright, I shouldn't have said that. I apologize. As an amends I'll let you audition, right here, right now. But make it fast. I have somewhere to be," he said, looking at his watch.
Caroline's face lit up. "Thank you!" She practically bounced up and down. He rolled his eyes and gestured for her to get on with it. This was her chance! She traveled all the way from Virginia for this. Given, she hadn't planned on doing it right there in the orchestra section, but it was now or never. She took a deep, steadying breath.
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day," she began.
"No, no, no, stop right there. Why does everybody think they need to audition for Shakepeare with a bloody sonnet? Do you know how many times today I've heard comparisons to summer?" he said, tossing up his hands and rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Tell me you've got something else. A monologue. Go."
Caroline's eyes widened in panic. What the hell was she supposed to do now? "Umm… I… uh…"
"Um, I, Uh, is not a monologue, love. Try again or leave," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He really needed to go.
An idea striking her, she tried again. "Ok! Ok, I've got one. Ok." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she began Sarah's lines from "Nothing Is Ever Lost." "Listen Jenny, you're my sister, my only sister. We shouldn't act this way toward one another. Even though we fight, there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. I know life is tough and things don't always go the way we dream them to be…but let me tell you something. You have the power to change things, you have the power to grab life with everything you've got and do everything in your power to change the things you aren't happy about."
When she stopped for a breath, Klaus cut her off. "Really? Sarah?" Klaus asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow. "Do you even know what it is she's trying to say?"
Caroline answered quickly, "Of course I do. She's talking to her sister about change and- "
"And nothing," Klaus finished, opening the door. "Listen… what was your name?"
Caroline gulped, afraid of where this was going. "Caroline F-"
"Listen, Caroline. I don't believe the words you are saying because it doesn't sound like YOU believe them. What do you know about change? About overcoming? I look at you and I don't see someone who has ever had to struggle for anything. Your hair is perfect. Your nails are perfect. You have not so much as a pimple, and you expect me to believe you know what it is to have lost everything? When has a little girl like you ever had to change a damn thing about your perfect little life?" he scoffed.
Caroline glared at him, hands on hips. Who gave him the right to tell her she knew nothing about loss and change? If only he knew what hell she clawed her way out of. The bastard! "Excuse me, but I know EXACTLY what it is to overcome. Who the hell do you think you are?"
Feeling his control slip, he wheeled on her. "I'm Klaus Mikaelson!" he spat at her. "And you should thank me because right now I'm the man doing you a favor. Give up this acting dream for the time being. Go out and figure out who the hell you are and what it is to have suffered, and then try that monologue again when you have a fucking clue what you're talking about. Goodnight!" He walked out the door and started his way up the carpeted stairs to the lobby where his car would be waiting outside.
Caroline raced up the stairs after him. "Mr. Mikaelson, please!"
Opening the door to the street, he tossed over his shoulder, "Caroline, you're beautiful, but if you don't stop talking, I will kill you." And with that he was gone, and she was left alone with her dreams dying at her feet.
Tears began to leak down her face as she watched his car pull away. She had blown it. She had come all this way and it was all for nothing. Well, not for nothing. She had tried. She had tried and she had failed but trying was what she had come here to do, and she did it. Sighing, she wiped her eyes dry and ran her fingers through her hair and she walked outside and down to the subway. She stood at the window and watched through the plastic glass as the tunnel sped past.
Caroline got off the subway and headed to the church she picked out earlier in the day. She didn't know anybody in New York City, but she knew where she could go and feel entirely at home. New York was a big city and there were a hundred people in the room when she walked in. She took a seat near the back and held her head down as they all recited the Serenity Prayer. When the chairperson asked if anyone was celebrating an anniversary today and wanted to share their story, she was one of three who raised her hand, having set it up in advance. Today was a special day.
When it was her turn, Caroline walked up to the stage and stood behind the podium. "Hi. My name is Caroline, and I'm an addict."
"Hi, Caroline," the room repeated.
"I have to tell you all, I've never been to a meeting this big, so I'm a little out of my element here," she began. Most of the audience nodded politely and a few clapped a few times to urge her on as the room chorused her welcome. "I'm from a small town in Virginia called Mystic Falls, not that anybody has ever heard of it. My story isn't really any different than anybody else's story. My mom was the town sheriff and a great mom, while I had her. She died when I was nine, right in front of me. My dad was an alcoholic, but not the recovering kind. He was the abusive 'I'm-drunk-so-I'm-going-to-take-it-out-on-my-wife-and-daughter kind. They fought a lot," she shared, pausing to take a breath and run her fingers through her curls. "He came home extra drunk from The Grill one night and crawled into bed with me, and not for the first time. Mom came home and found him on top of me."
She stopped again and closed her eyes to take a deep breath, gulping. "She was pretty tough, being a sheriff and all, but he was vicious when he was angry. He hit her when she ripped him off of me. She shoved him back. They were screaming in each other's faces. I don't remember what they were saying. I wrapped up in a blanket and hid in the corner. He hit her with my Sailor Moon night light until she stopped fighting." Another breath. The audience listened without a sound. "God, I've gone over this so many times, you'd think it'd be easier, you know?" she remarked sadly. "Anyway, he went to prison and I went to foster care. I'll skip the gory details, but let's just say there were some other bedtime visits made to me during those years. I'd run away and they'd find me and send me somewhere new. Rinse and repeat. I ran away for the final time when I was fifteen.
"I made my way to Richmond and then life really started kicking my ass. I didn't have any money or any friends. I slept behind a dumpster a couple of times. Classy, right?" The audience laughed at her joke and it helped ease her tension. "Then I met this amazing guy. His name was Damon. Long story short: not so amazing. Got me hooked on meth and heroin and before I knew what was happening, I was locked in a basement with two other girls. Use your imagination as to what he kept us for. Eventually, he was a jackass to the wrong guy and that was the end of him. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," she smirked.
"By then I was over eighteen, so no more foster care for me. I went back to the streets, doing the only thing I knew how. My life pretty much sucked. Then one day I'm on my way to the needle exchange and this guy is getting mugged in an alley, right? I should have just kept walking, but my dumb ass threw itself right into the fire. It wasn't my first fight by a long shot, but it was my last. I had so much rage in me then, more than I could ever know what to do with. I walked right up to this punk and got right in his face and told him to fuck off. Not my brightest moment.
"The jackass pulled a knife out of his jacket pocket and stabbed me right in the gut. I could tell by the look on his face that he never meant to do that. He froze, and I used that moment to rip the knife out and stabbed him right back. My aim was better, I guess, because he died. His name was Kai Parker and I killed him. I didn't find that out until I woke up from surgery. Apparently, I passed out from the blood loss. I woke up in the hospital and there was this guy, the getting-mugged-guy."
She flashed a genuine smile at the memory of her savior. "His name was Enzo and he saved my life that day. He showed me his arms and I could barely see them, but I knew what the tiny little dots were because I had so many of my own back then. Brought me to my first meeting and convinced me to give this recovery thing a try. That was five years ago today." A few people let out a whoop and others clapped. "Enzo and his wife Bonnie took me in. I detoxed cold turkey on their couch and let me tell you: it SUCKED. I almost didn't make it, but one of them stayed with me 24/7. I got my first real job as a waitress at a karaoke restaurant. But don't worry, we don't serve alcohol," she winked. "It sounds lame, right? But it was so much fun! I started singing and I loved it. I lost myself in music on my journey to find myself. That's what led me here to New York City, actually. I came to audition for this big-time director, but he blew me off. It's ok, though. I've learned that when someone is mean to you, it's usually because they're just not a very happy person. I prayed for him to find peace like I have while we said our opening prayer.
"The last five years have not always been easy, hardly, but they've been MINE. I have my own life today. I'm not in a corner, or a basement, or an alley. I'm here in New York City!" She threw her arms out to her side, laughing with genuine joy in her heart. "I'm going home tomorrow to Richmond where I now own half of that restaurant. Bonnie went on to become my sponsor and best friend. When Enzo died in Afghanistan, he left the two of us some money and we used it to buy the restaurant. Every waitress or waiter we hire comes from the program. It's our way of giving back. And when I get back to my hotel, the first thing I'm gonna do is get on the phone and tell her that I did what I came here to do." She paused, wiping away one of the tears that had fallen during her tale.
"I didn't get the part today, but five years ago I got my life, and that is more than any unhappy director could ever give me and something no one, no matter how famous, can ever take away." There were a chorus of "Yeahs!" around the room, which made Caroline smile. "I'm calling today a success. I came here tonight because even though I'm far from home, I know you're all my family. And you know what? I still have the scar from five years ago." She lifted up her blouse and stepped in front of the podium to show it off. "I call that my lucky scar now because it reminds me of where I've been… but it doesn't dictate where I'm going. Thank you for listening," she finished. The room burst into cheers as Caroline took a seat with the other two celebrants a few feet behind the podium, facing the audience.
The speaker thanked the three anonymous faces for sharing and opened up the floor. A man a few rows back raised his hand and the speaker asked him to stand. Caroline looked up, recognizing the accent. "My name is Klaus, and I'm an addict." The room welcome him. "I'd like to thank you for your stories. I'm glad your day was a success, Caroline, and I congratulate you on your anniversary." Caroline smiled at him and nodded her head and he knew just by looking at her that he would find no anger, just the peace she wished for him. "I wish I could say my day was a success. I gave in to my character defects today. I was arrogant, cruel, and judgmental. I'm ashamed to say I did not give a person, a beautiful and special person, the respect she deserved, and for that I owe an amends." He looked at her in the eyes as he spoke, and it was as though they were in the room alone. She shook her head slightly from side to side, telling him he owed her nothing. He felt his heart clench at the strong woman before him, so full of light.
Klaus cleared his throat before continuing. "However, in the spirit of focusing on the positive, I do believe I cast the lead in my new musical… if she'll accept the role from a bastard like me." Caroline beamed at him and he smiled his dimpled smile back at her, defects and all.