When I woke up, Tyler was already gone. At first, I thought he had left me again, but I found him in the bathroom, fresh out of the shower. I grinned, taking in my boyfriend's body. He rubbed his hair with a towel and smiled.
"Hey Care, did you sleep well?" He gave me a kiss.
"I did. Have you had breakfast?"
He put on a shirt.
"Nope. Wanna go and eat?"
"Yeah."
We went downstairs and I searched the fridge for something to fill our stomachs with.
"How are you feeling?" my boyfriend asked.
"Much better. I will never fully be over it but I think a part of me already knew."
He nodded, not asking any further questions. His thoughts were already somewhere else.
I cleared my throat to recapture his attention. "What have you been up to lately?"
"Ah, well, this and that. I've been helping out a wolf pack in Texas. To be honest, I actually wasn't planning on being home so soon, but when I heard of Bonnie's death, I had to come here and be there for you."
I placed food on the table and smiled. It meant a lot to me that he wanted to be there for me.
We ate, having a bit of small talk in the meantime. When we finished and I put away the plates, an image flashed in my mind.
"He broke up with me? Through you? After all we've been through?"
That was my voice. Why would I say such a thing? Tyler wouldn't break up with me. He loved me, more than anything else. Or so I wanted to believe.
"How long will you stay?" I asked, following a foreboding in my gut.
"I don't know yet. Depends on how you feel and on how my pack develops," he stated. "But let's not talk about such unimportant matters right now."
It wasn't unimportant to me, but I kept my mouth shut.
"Babe don't look at me like that. I'm here now! Let's enjoy our time, okay?" Tyler leaned over and kissed me again, this time with more passion and an intensity that made me melt into his touch.
"I missed you," he said after pulling back.
"I missed you too," I smiled.
"So, what do you want to do?" he grinned.
"Oh, there's sooo much. We could go bowling, to the cinema, have dinner, go party," I started excited.
He chuckled and stopped me with a hand gesture.
"Okay, okay, slow down, honey. We'll do it all. I just have to make sure I'm available for calls in case my pack needs me."
"Okay, no cinema then," I concluded.
"But we'll do the rest," he promised.
We started with bowling. I was glad I had a distraction for the day and spending it with my boyfriend seemed even better. Though he wasn't completely with me all the time. He kept looking at his phone, excusing himself when he received a call. I had to wait until he came back every single time and it got repetitive.
Annoyed, I started watching other people in the hall as they had lots and lots of fun. Distracted I got my phone out, thinking about chatting with Elena. But she was probably busy with Damon, having actual fun. Having his attention at all times. Unlike me.
No, it didn't matter. At least Tyler was back, and he had come only for me. What more could I ask for?
He finally returned from his call, and we could continue our game. He won easily, teasing me with his victory for the rest of the day. After we'd had dinner with my mom, she went to her nightshift, and Tyler and I made our way to my room.
Right after I closed the door, he looked at me with lust in his eyes. With incredible speed he pushed me against the wall and kissed me. It went on from there.
I heard him take leave in the middle of the night, taking a call from his pack. Uneasy, I shifted in my sheets. His warmth was missing next to me and I didn't like it. How was it that even though he was back, it felt like he wasn't here at all?
For some time, I waited for him. When he didn't return for over an hour, I went back to sleep without him.
The next morning, he pretended although nothing had happened.
"What are we doing today?" Tyler asked, pressing a kiss on my neck from behind.
"Well, I was thinking, you could accompany me to a shopping tour?" I said, hoping he'd say yes.
"Hell no! Can you please ask one of your friends to go with you?" He scowled at me.
"Okay, okay. I'll ask Elena," I sighed.
"I'll make it up to you with dinner this evening, alright?" He gave me a kiss. "Enjoy your shopping trip."
"Fine. But I'm expecting something good then evening!" I chuckled.
Elena and I left shortly after. She had agreed to go with me since Damon was busy with her brother anyways. We went to all kinds of shops, trying everything on and stuffing our bags. I didn't buy much since I was short on money. Around 4 PM, we decided to grab coffee and settled down in a small café around the corner.
"And?", my best friend drawled curiously. "What is it like to have Tyler back?"
"It's okay, I guess," I told her truthfully.
"That doesn't sound as excited as I was expecting." My best friend said as if this was highly disquieting. "What's up?"
"I don't know. It just feels different. He's been back for almost three days now but he always seems distracted. No matter what we do, he never fully pays attention to me," I admitted. "It's like even though he's back, he isn't at the same time, you know? A part of me feels like something isn't right. Like it shouldn't be like this. It feels like something's missing." A sigh escaped my mouth.
"He has been gone for quite a while. Maybe give him time to settle down," Elena suggested. "Everything will be back to normal in no time, I guarantee it!"
Her positivity was very infectious.
"Alright. I'll let him surprise me," I giggled.
"That's the spirit! Now, come on. If we still want to go to some shops before you enjoy a lovely dinner with your boyfriend, we'll have to hurry."
When I got back to my place, I was stunned at what Tyler had prepared. It was a candlelight dinner, with wine and everything. He spread his arms, patently proud of himself.
"I have to admit I am not the best cook," he laughed. "So I ordered Pizza."
I shook my head with a chuckle. It took away from the mood just a little, but I wasn't mad. Who didn't love pizza? It was enough, he tried his best.
We ate and laughed and actually had a good time. Maybe Elena was right? Everything would go back to normal.
The following day, we were invited to a party by a former classmate of ours. I took the opportunity to wear one of the newly bought dresses and took my time for hair and make-up.
"You look great," Tyler told me when I was done, hough he did not even look at me. Instead, he was focused on his phone.
I didn't answer, and I didn't think he noticed at all. Why had his return been so tantalizing and yet, left me feeling so distant and dissatisfied?
When we arrived, the party war already at its peak, blasting and lively. We joined right in, danced, drank, played games - all the fun things it had to offer. Everyone enjoyed the red drinks, the host had mixed himself, and I heavily suspected he had poured just a little too much vodka into it.
I took a sip and felt the alcohol trickle down my tongue, when suddenly, I pushed into someone. The drink splashed everywhere.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry," I apologized.
"No biggie," the boy laughed. "But dang, you ruined my shirt."
I looked down to see the damage and froze. The red drink had soaked the shirt over his chest, making it appear as if he'd been stabbed. A pounding banged against my temples and I took a shaky breath, trembling from a sudden urge to retch.
"Excuse me." I turned and made my way outside, Tyler right behind me.
"Caroline, what's going on?"my boyfriend asked confused.
Pictures appeared in my mind.
The Mikaelsons stabbed through the heart, dropping to the floor dead, killed by their own father.
Why was I seeing this? Tears started running down my face.
Tyler moved to embrace me, but before he even touched my skin, his phone rang.
"Sorry, I... I have to take this." He stepped back a tad and tapped to accept the call.
Slowly, the storm within my head settled and the images left my mind. It had felt too real again. This was impossible.
I grabbed my neckline and tugged at it, grasping for air. This had been the worst the images had ever made me feel. Almost like a panic attack.
A realization struck me, as I stood there, taking breath after breath to calm myself. Tyler had left me while I had been freaking out. He had left due to a phone call. A god damn phone call!
Anger took hold of me. Without awaiting his return, I stormed inside and downed ten drinks in record speed.
Tyler had left. He had not been there, not mentally at least, for the entire time he'd been back, and now, he had physically left me alone. While I had been in one of the worst states imaginable.
The alcohol pulsated through me and exacerbated my fury. How dare he? I had waited for him - for months, I had waited for him - and he repaid me with this?
I dashed outside. I would not wait for him again, not even at a party. I would go home and sleep and he could stay here and rot, for all I cared.
"Care, there you are. What's going on?"
Tyler was back. And just in time for me to unleash my rage on him.
"What's going on? Are you serious?" I growled.
"Okay, you're drunk," he sighed.
"Are you going to do something about it or will you leave for a phone call again?"
"Is this about me taking care of my pack? That's nothing I'll apologize for."
"I don't expect you to, Tyler. I get it. They're more important than me, even when I really need you! You know, if they really need your help, then why don't you just leave again to be there for them?"
"I wasn't going to discuss this until morning."
"What? You're actually going again?" My jaw dropped.
"They need me, Care," he explained.
"I need you too! I had plans for us! To go to college together and enjoy what we have here! But you don't care about that! If you leave this time, it's over! We're done, you hear me? You want that?"
He clicked his tongue. "You're making me choose?"
I nodded stubbornly.
"Fine. Then yes, I want that. I'm not leaving them to themselves, Caroline. You'll understand when you're sober."
"I don't need to be sober to understand that we're don't work anymore! We haven't for some time now!"
"Alright, fine! I can't be there for you, you're upset because of that, I get it. And I'm sorry. But I can't change it. Have you forgotten, I'm only here because Klaus allowed it? I don't want him controlling my life, Caroline."
"Leave Klaus out of this! What does that have to do with him ? You hate him more than you love me?" I lashed out.
"He killed my mother, Caroline! And my friends! So yes, I hate him. I can't change that! He'll pay for what he did! I am not going to be here just because he is tolerating it! That's not how I want to live my life."
"Then go!" I yelled. "Just leave. You don't want to be with me so what are you doing here?"
"Okay!" he snapped back. "I'm sorry. Goodbye, Caroline."
A second later, he was gone. And I was officially single.
A/n:
Hey guys,
guess what? I miscalculated the chapters and now accidentally have three chapters for today in order to have the story up-to-date with where I want to have it (meaning so I can upload the chapter I have scheduled for next week as planned). So because of my stupidity, you'll get three chapters today! Yay! You actually benefit from this, I guess. I'll upload one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Enjoy!