I'll be There for You

Chapter 14: Overdue Confrontation

Hayley stomped across the floor, intent on making a phone call and then it dawned on her as she pulled out a phonebook. She did not have enough money to go to a lawyer. And she couldn't go to the police. Or maybe she could. Klaus' name was not on the birth certificate. He didn't know for sure that Hope was his? How could he? Then her mind began to wander to darker places. What if Elijah had been using her this whole time? He had a DNA test done, gave Klaus the results and they'd been waiting for the opportunity to snatch her daughter from her? Was she losing her mind?

Hayley slapped the phonebook closed and left the apartment. On her way out, she ran into Josh. "Josh, I need a ride," she told him. She wasn't in the mood to be polite.

"O-kay." Josh nodded. "Everything okay? Where's Hope?"

"I found a different babysitter and I'm late to pick her up," Hayley told him. Part-lie, part truth. Klaus seemed to think he was babysitting, Hayley had a different, less legal name for it.

"Where are we going?" Josh asked, glancing at Hayley once they were inside his car. Hayley gave him the address. "Huh. I think Davina's boyfriend lives there. I thought you didn't like him."

"I don't," Hayley snapped. "That's why I want to get my daughter."

"Right." Josh seemed nervous as he snapped his belt buckle into place. Glancing at him, Hayley suddenly wondered if he knew something, too. What if Kol told Davina about Hope's parentage and Davina told Josh? Now, she knew she was becoming paranoid.

Josh pulled up in front of the compound and Hayley jumped out, not bothering to thank him and ran to the gate. A burly man held up a hand, stopping her in her tracks. "Name?"

"Hayley Marshall!" Hayley snapped. "They know me."

"One moment, ma'am," the man said, he spoke into a walkie-talkie. "There's a Hayley Marshall here."

"Let her in," Elijah's voice sounded.

The guard opened the gate. Hayley strode through the gate. Elijah came down the side staircase, unbuttoning his jacket and she did not feel the usual mixture of desire and giddiness that she usually felt when they were in the same space. "Elijah," she greeted him before heading past him. She did not have time for whatever he was about to say.

"Hayley, wait," Elijah's hand wrapped around her wrist, spinning her around to face him.

"Elijah, I do not have time for this. Klaus has my daughter," Hayley hissed, bringing her face close to his. For a second, her eyes hesitated on his lips but she would not give into her feelings for him. Her daughter was all that mattered to her right now.

"Hayley, listen to me," Elijah demanded, tightening his grip on her.

Hayley glared up at him. "No. I want my child," she growled, yanking her arm away and running up the steps.

Having no idea where Klaus could be, Hayley walked down the first hallway she found. Bedrooms. Some of the room doors were closed while others stayed open, as if they were waiting for their occupants to return momentarily. They might; Hayley didn't know. Her main concern was finding Hope and leaving, never to return.

"And this, my darling is going to be your room," Klaus' voice echoed down the hall and Hayley felt her irritation find a new high. Stomping down the hall, she found Klaus with her daughter on his hip, showing her a room with a canopy bed for a little girl, a painting of New Orleans on one wall. The room was elegant and might have made Hayley smile under other circumstances.

"Hi, mommy," Hope called to her, waving.

Klaus turned, his expression wary but Hayley could see the anger bubbling underneath. He would fight her. And he could, if he wanted to, but he wouldn't win, unless he wanted to lose the life he'd built for himself. "Hayley," he greeted her. "I was just showing our daughter her new room."