Sackcloth and ashes

ch.5

He's wandering around her room for no particular reason, careless about the amount of noise he's making

She sighs, burying her face in her pillow

"Don't you have anything better to do at six am"

"I love watching you sleep".

She laughs, getting up.
"You can't be creepy and, cheesy"

He scoffs, flopping on the bed,
"Oh come now Love, today's the big day"

She fakes a gasp,
"You're finally leaving my house?"

She proceeds to throw the pillow at him,

"Get up i need to make the bed, also be an adult and i don't know make us breakfast or maybe just leave town,
preferably both"

"You know Hayley, i find it absolutely admirable, the way you keep lying to yourself and all"

The urge to roll her eyes is enormous,
"What's that now"

He walks towards the drawers pulling out the necklace he had gifted her

"You keep going on and on about how you loathe me, how much of an inconvenience i am to you yet..."

She looks away, embarrassed

"The truth is, you couldn't walk away from your past,
To the extent where you'd keep the very much eloquent items i have gifted you"

"Oh would you just get over yourself, it's literally one necklace and i only kept it because i didn't know what else to do with it"

"So you chose to keep it this close to you for seven years?"

She sighs,

"You know what? I don't even need to explain myself to you of all people,i have to take hope to school"

"I'll take her"
He speaks casually.

"Fine,at least you'll serve another purpose other than ruining my life"

Her smile fades the moment he opens his mouth

"You haven't told her yet"

"Told her what?"

"That i am her father"

She swallows,

"Well... she's seven, i don't think she's exactly ready for this conversation yet"

He walks closer,
"Is that so? Because I'm beginning to think you're the one who isn't quite ready to accept the fact that she's my daughter as much as she is yours"

And his nettling self righteousness has really started to get on her nerves,

"Maybe you're right, maybe i don't want to rush into telling my daughter that you're the man who abandoned us for years, i don't know maybe i also don't want her getting her heart broken when you inevitably get bored and leave again"

She flinches when he throws the necklace across the wall

"Jesus Christ get it into your head Hayley! i want this family more than anything, that little girl is all i have left"

She's quick to match his ire

"Listen I don't know what had you crawl back to us after seven years but whatever it is find a better way to handle it than using my daughter as a way to compensate for the shit you've done, you will never,ever get even close to becoming a decent person and it's for the better if you try to make peace with that"

She's reaching for the door handle when she freezes

"I killed him"

She turns around slowly,her stomach in knots

"What're you taking about"

Awkward silence fills the room for few seconds

"Elijah"

She stayed tight lipped, waiting for him to elaborate

"He sold me out to Marcel in exchange for getting our siblings back"

She knew of Klaus's feud with Marcel from the short time she spent with him in new Orleans, so she asked the obvious question

"And how did he get a hold of them?"

He slightly grins and it disturbs her

"I handed them over, as a token of my good will"

"Why?"

"Let's just say my former protégé got to be at the top of the food chain for a while"

Though she has no idea how drastically the city has changed after she left, the thought of Klaus murdering his once most trusted sibling and closest ally is disturbing to say the least

"Is he the reason you came back?"

"Perhaps ,
But i do wish to do justice to you, and to our daughter"

She absent mindedly nods

"I really hope you know what you're doing Klaus, for everyone's sake"