Vincent finally stopped. Klaus spat out blood, sliding to the floor, bleeding all over. His breath was ragged.
“I’m sorry,” he breathed, groaning at the intense pain surging through him.
Two or three ribs were probably broken from the brutal hits. Blood trickled down his lips and nose. He was a mess, marred with his own blood and bruises.
“Get out before I kill you. And stay the fuck away from her,” Vincent growled.
Sucking in a breath, Klaus forced himself up. Vincent clenched his fists, tears falling from his eyes as his best friend staggered past him.
Klaus gripped the table for support, his gaze meeting Morticia’s, who was in tears.
“Klaus,” she mouthed, her lips trembling.
“Don’t worry about me,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I’ll get myself treated and reach out… I promise.”
Morticia shook her head, tears streaming freely. “You can’t just leave like this. You’re hurt, Klaus. Let me-”
“Don’t,” Klaus cut her off, his voice firm despite his battered state. “I don’t want you getting into more trouble with Vincent because of me. Stay here, please.” He forced a weak smile, wiping at the blood on his lips. “I’ll be fine. I’ve had worse.”
Her heart ached, seeing him like this. She wanted to scream, to tell Vincent this wasn’t fair, but the icy look in her brother’s eyes made her hesitate. Klaus gave her one last look before limping toward the door.
“Go to your room,” Vincent said to her, his voice low. Guilt flickered in his eyes but vanished as quickly as it came.
“You had no right to do that to him!” Morticia snapped.
“No right?” Vincent glared at her. “You’re my sister, and all I’ve been doing is protecting you-from harm!”
“He won’t hurt me. He’s changed, and I love him! He loves me, and I’ve seen signs of it,” she yelled.
“He doesn’t do love, Morty. He breaks girls’ hearts like it’s a fucking hobby. You’ve seen it-trashing women like he’s throwing out used condoms. There’s a lot more about him you don’t know. A lot more!” His jaw tightened. “Changing in just a month? Sounds like a joke to me. He’ll take advantage of you.”
“He won’t! Why can’t you try to see that? You claim to know him, but you don’t know shit!” she shouted, her voice rising. “And you can’t choose whom I choose to love just because you’re my brother.”
Vincent sucked in a huge breath. “I’ve been betrayed before, Morty! Do you know how hard that broke me? And for what reason? Because I was too good! Too good, Morty! There’s no such thing as love-especially not from a fuck-ass guy like Klaus!” If there had been a wall beside him, Vincent would have punched it.
“He’s your best friend!” Morticia shouted.
“That’s the point! He was my best friend. My fucking brother, the one I trusted. He crossed the line. You both did!”
Morticia fought back tears.
Vincent continued, “You’re my sister. I can’t let you go down a path that will break you. I don’t want you to make a mistake.”
“Loving him is not a mistake,” she argued. “I’ve loved him since I was twelve. I love him, Vincent, just accept that fact. He does too. So please don’t ruin this. Klaus wanted to tell you after you returned-we didn’t mean for you to find out like this.”
Vincent sighed. “You don’t know him…”
“No, you don’t,” Morticia cut him off. “And I don’t think I can stay here. I need to find him.”
“Morticia,” he stepped forward.
“Don’t try to stop me or follow me. If you do, you’ll never see me again. I’ll disappear and I mean it,” she warned. Her words seemed to work because he stopped in his tracks.
As she dashed out, Vincent groaned, sweeping his hair back. His head pounded from all the chaos.
The doorbell rang, disrupting his thoughts. He wiped his tears and headed to open the door.
His gaze fell on a familiar figure.
“Nica?”
–
Simon smirked as his men delivered the report of the fight between Klaus and Vincent. Someone had been watching Vincent’s home and had spotted Klaus, injured.
Just as he had anticipated, the pictures must have triggered Vincent’s suspicions. He likely caught them in the act. Simon wondered about Klaus’s current state.
He knew Vincent’s nature, and Klaus would have taken the brunt of it.
Klaus was wounded and vulnerable-time to strike.
Simon’s eyes met Dimitri’s across the room. She sat in the corner with a glass of wine swirling in her hand, a smirk on her face.
Welcome to your doom, Klaus, she thought, sipping her drink.
–
“Hey, Vince,” Nica fidgeted with her fingers, not expecting Vincent to be the one to open the door.
“Hey. What are you doing here?” Vincent stepped out, deciding to find Morticia after dealing with Nica.
“Old Evan told me you’d returned with your family.”
“Alright. Do you need something?” he asked, trying to keep his voice even.
“Yeah… I mean, I want to tell you something. Something really important,” Nica said, nervousness swirling in her gaze.
“I’m listening,” Vincent mumbled. Nica didn’t notice the vein that bulged at the side of his jaw.
“It… it’s about that night,” she started, and his gaze darkened.
He sighed. “I told you not to talk about that again.”
“But-”
“But what!” His voice rose slightly. “If I were sober, that never would have happened. I was drunk, Nica and you could have pushed me away since you were sobber. What now? Does that night make you want me?”
Nica was taken aback by the coldness in his voice.
“No,” she shook her head. “It’s not like that. I know you were hurt in the past by Sienna-”
“Please don’t mention her name,” he cut in sharply.
“Vincent, I love you,” she said quickly. “I’ve loved you for a long time. I just needed to tell you that I’m-”
“The fuck are you saying? Love?” Vincent chuckled bitterly. “Why is today so damn crazy?”
“I mean it, Vince. Please, I-”
“Stop it. I’ve had enough.” His eyes turned cold, and his words hit Nica like a punch to the gut. “You’re more than just a woman throwing herself at a man who clearly doesn’t want you. I don’t want to go through this again. Your gender taught me a lesson.”
With that, he got into his car and drove away, leaving Nica standing there. Slowly, her heart shattered until it became hard to breathe.
Tears dripping down her face as she held her stomach.
–
Klaus leaned against the seat of his car, clutching his side as pain radiated through his ribs.
He drove through the cold, empty streets with no destination in mind other than the beach to clear his head. He knew he needed a hospital, but something stopped him.
He needed to figure out a way to fix the mess he’d created. He was almost at the beach.
He’d do anything to prove to Vincent that his love for Morticia was real… even if it killed him.
Just as he turned onto the next street, a bright light blinded him from the right side of his window.
For a fleeting moment, his eyes caught a huge truck speeding toward him.
Before he could process anything, the truck collided with his car in full force.
Klaus’s car tumbled several times before finally coming to a stop, upside down.
A low, pained groan escaped his lips as he slowly regained consciousness. His eyes fluttered open, his vision blurred by blood.
Thanks to the seatbelt, he was still intact, but his condition had worsened. A shard of glass had pierced his waist.
Removing the seatbelt, Klaus managed to crawl out of the car, inch by painful inch.
He heard footsteps. The truck that hit him was a short distance away, its headlights still shining. A figure stepping toward him.
Klaus struggled to keep his eyes open, but he knew he’d lose consciousness soon.
He couldn’t die like this.
“Well, well, well… look what we have here.”
Shit!
Why did that voice sound so familiar?
Klaus tried to look up, but the figure placed a boot on his head, pinning him to the ground.
“How have you been, Klaus?” the guy asked. Klaus cursed under his breath. Who the fuck had released this bastard?
Only one person came to mind.
The figure removed his boot from Klaus’s head and crouched down. “Oops! Looks like someone’s about to pass out. You look like shit.”
He grabbed Klaus by the hair, forcing him to meet his gaze.
“Wimp-” he chuckled. “Let’s see who the wimp is now, Klaus. First, I’ll enjoy draining the life out of you. Then, I’ll take the girl you stole from me-Morticia.”
Klaus’s gaze darkened, but before he could respond…
Jamie slammed Klaus’s head against the ground, knocking him unconscious…