#or try to let them know their mom he drove them across country to gamble

[veone]

I love Kina writing her as an adult is different. I still view her as the talkative a little naive baby sister of nick. She’s was always tagging along with him and exploring the city and hanging with his freinds. Learning about little stuff and I feel like as she got older and Nick got older their relationship got a bit strained, on Nick end it was mostly because his ex was isolating him and he wasn’t coping well with some stuff so he went from speaking to her nearly everyday to going weeks and then months with no contact. She was in her early teens at this point and he’s moved out so she was kinda alone for the first tine(not really she was living with Stefan and that her dad he loves her but it’s different. Her moms in jail her actually dads fars away and her brothers ignoring her) nick was one of the only people who really got her and they shared a lot with each. That her best friend I think their getting back to that close relationship but because nick kinda distanced himself for nearly five years she grew a lot more close to their mom in that time and she keeps her updated on the little she know of his life. She not judging but Yuka is and nick already avoid speaking to her as much as he can so when they did click again and talked at a point Kina made a little comment to Yuka and the next time Nick spoke to her she berated him for it. I don’t think Nick ever told her not to talk to their mom about him. He should she doesn’t really get why he doesn’t talk to their mom much. She think he’s selfish and hates having all their conversations with her mom be about how nicks “a fucking ungrateful embarrassment” baby girl is working on being a doctor and her mom like how my stupid son before asking about her day. Yuka does use Kina achievements to make Nick feel bad though so theres that to.

[wanderlust-in-nyc]

klaroline drabble. I know it’s been a while. AH/AU and it’s in Vegas baby! No beta. 

Caroline watched the numbers in the elevator increase. She sighed when it stopped and stepped out. She walked down the hallway to the room and knocked. She had done this for 94 days. She only had 26 days left according to her calculations. The door opened and the man standing there smiled. Caroline smiled back and walked inside. She had been in this room before. It must have been day 37. It had wonderful views of the city and the water fountains. And on cue they started, along with the music. She already knew what song it was, it didn’t matter. She had 1 one with this man. She turned around and placed her purse on the table.

“Shall we get started?” Caroline asked walking close to him

“Would you like a drink?” Klaus asked

“Sure”

Klaus went and poured her a drink and handed it to her. She took a sip and noticed he was staring at her. Maybe he was trying to read her the way she was trying to read him. She could tell he had money, the clothes he was wearing, the way he carried himself. The accent hinted that it could be old money.

“Is there anything in particular you would like?” Caroline asked

“Humor me for a moment. how does a girl such as yourself get into this business?” Klaus asked

A head case. Someone who wanted to get into her head, probably to demean her and make her cry. Maybe wants to take advantage of her. Some men were really into role playing, she just had to figure out what he wanted.

“Small town girl, had big city dreams.” Caroline answered

“I’ve seen you for the past few months. Always on the arm of someone new”

“I’m the new girl”

“Except you’re spoken of very highly”

“Can’t survive in this business if people don’t like me”

“Though what I can’t figure out, is why you let your idiot boyfriend do this to you”

“I don’t have a boyfriend”

“Oh drop the act love. I’m not as dumb as your usual Johns. I saw you months ago perform, you were a singer on stage, and then suddenly you’re arm candy, and now this. How did your boyfriend talk you into this?”

“I’m not really into role playing”

“He owes $500,000. You’ve been working to pay it off. You could command a higher price, a much higher price, except he keeps gambling while you’re working. Do you know how much he owes now? Almost double”

“What do you want?”

“The question is what do you want? Obviously you don’t want to be doing this for the rest of your life, so why are you?”

“Look, I don’t know who you are-”

“Klaus”

“Fine, Klaus, I don’t know what you're getting at here”

“I just want to know what he said to you to manipulate you into this. He’s your boyfriend, correct? So how does he let other men touch you?”

“Screw this” Caroline said as she walked towards the door

“Well the idea is to screw me, but you’re walking in the wrong direction”

“Whatever weird head game you’re into, I’m not! So find yourself someone else!”

Caroline opened the door and found a large man standing there, blocking the door. Caroline backed away.

“Close the door sweetheart, I merely want to talk” Klaus said

Caroline closed the door and turned around.

“Were you not making enough as a singer?” Klaus asked

“I was making a decent amount”

“Then what happened?”

“He thought he could win, so he gambled everything, I mean everything. Even my car that I drove here in. He lost it all. And this is Vegas. Not 80’s Vegas where they break your hand, and take your fingers. Here they prosecute you and there’s actual jail time, Present day Vegas does not like to be messed with.”

“I fail to see how it’s your problem”

“I don’t turn my back on the people I love”

“It doesn’t seem like he loves you, I mean he keeps gambling and the debt keeps mounting. There’s no escape from this”

“Thanks Sherlock”

“Let me ask you this then. If you could pay off his debts, would you leave him?”

“What?”

“Would you leave him? Would you finally live your life and follow your dreams? Instead of putting your life on hold for his?”

“I…”

“You….”

“I don’t know”

“Well when you do know, let me know alright? While this has been fun, I have a meeting to get to”

“But”

“The money’s on the table”

Klaus got up and opened the door. His bodyguard greeted him and they walked off. Caroline stood there confused and then looked for the envelope with the money in it. She opened it, saw the money and quickly left.

Caroline was being lead into a conference room. Apparently this John had an office fetish. She sighed and sat down on the chair. The door clicked open and Caroline got up. She could hear voices and walked slowly towards the door. She recognized one of the voices.

“Look I’ll get straight to the point. Your girlfriend, the pretty blonde, I want her” Klaus said

“She’s a working girl, you can book her” Tyler said

“No, you’re not understanding. I want her. I will pay off whatever you owe, and in return, you’re going to convince her to be mine”

“Like a girlfriend?”

“Something like that. I want her, you have her. Give her to me”

“I can’t just give her to you. She’s a person you know”

“And you convinced her to be a whore. How is this any different? Convince her”

“Fine, let me talk to her”

Caroline stepped away from the door. She couldn’t believe what she just heard. How Tyler could just betray her like that. How could he just trade her so easily. She tried not to cry, but the reality of it was that Tyler didn’t care about her.

Caroline went to meet Tyler in the casino. He was having a drink at the bar when she showed up.

“Hey babe” Tyler smiled

“I thought you weren’t going to drink anymore” Caroline said

“It’s just a drink ok? Anyways, I kinda got some great news”

“What?”

“Some rich guy wants you as like a girlfriend”

“For how long?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s enough to pay off everything, and then we can be free”

“How can we be free if you just sold me to some random guy”

“It’s not some random guy. He’s like rich, and British”

“So? How do you know he’s not going to sell me to someone else?”

“You’re being paranoid”

“No I’m not! It’s my body! How do you know he doesn’t want to tie me up and hang me upside down from a dungeon or something? Or bite me till I bleed?”

“Stop it”

“No! You just sold me to some guy you don’t know just so you can get out of debt. YOUR DEBT! Because you kept gambling everything away!”

“You wanted to come here! You wanted to do this!”

“I wanted a fresh start!”

“By what? Singing next to the slot machines and old people!? What kind of dream is that?!”

“It was mine! And I was happy with it!”

“Just do this for me, just one last time”

“I heard you, you didn’t even fight him on it! You just gave me away!”

“Don’t be like this!”

“NO! I’m tired of this! I’m tired of all of this!”

“What are you going to do? Go back to your mom’s with your tail between your legs?”

Caroline picked up his drink and threw it in his face. She stormed off, leaving him at the bar.

Caroline stepped into the familiar room again. She saw Klaus sitting in a chair looking out the window.

“Hi” Caroline said

Klaus turned his head and saw her standing there.

“He convinced you, I see” Klaus said

“No, he didn’t”

“Then why are you here?”

“I’ll give you the girlfriend experience”

“I’m sensing a but”

“The money you were going to use to pay off his debt, I want it”

“I’m intrigued”

“I want it”

“And you can have it”

“So how long do I have to do this with you?”

“Have a drink first”

Caroline sat down in the chair across from him. She saw there was a drink already on the table. She picked it up and took a sip.

“What will you do with the money?” Klaus asked

“I’m not sure, but definitely get the hell out of this city”

“Would you continue singing?”

“Maybe, I’m not sure. Maybe go back to school”

“What were you majoring in?”

“I didn’t declare a major yet. I really didn’t know what I was doing back then”

“And you have a better idea now?”

“Something like that”

“I hope you find what is you’re looking for”

Klaus finished his drink and stood up. Caroline stood up quickly, setting her drink down.

“Finish your drink love. This concludes our arrangement”

“What?”

“I have to fly out, but you are free to do whatever it is you choose. The money has been transferred into your account.”

“Wait! Why are you doing this?”

“You remind me of someone, someone that wasn’t having the best luck, someone who was hopeless trapped. And all they needed was someone to just help them. I hope we meet again sweetheart”

Caroline reached out and placed her hands on his shoulders.

“Thank you” Caroline said before kissing him

Caroline had made it a rule not to kiss her Johns. She felt it was too strange and intimate. But Klaus wasn't a John. Klaus showed her her freedom.

5 years later

Caroline was walking through New Orleans, she had finished school the year before and was currently exploring the country. She heard music coming from somewhere. She walked towards it and walked into a bar. It was jazz night. Caroline swayed with the music. She felt someone stand next to her looked over.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Klaus asked

“I think I just did” Caroline answered back

Caroline’s hand reached for his, their fingers entwined and she swayed with the music, resting her head on his shoulder.

[melissalfinch]

Crushed Falcon by Melissa L. Finch Prologue Elusive Comprehension

An excerpt from my historical/fantasy fiction novel in progress

The carriage creaked and jostled when it met each bump on the road. It had been assigned to deliver myself, my five trunks of belongings and the two gritty-faced men I had hired for help from the train station in Portland, Maine to my new inherited home on Pine Street which I had inherited from my grandmother upon her recent passing. The year was 1909. It was the end of August. William Howard Taft was elected as our nation’s 27th President earlier that year. The weather was heavy with humidity from the low gray clouds that blanketed the sky, bringing on a mild heat, around 77 degrees Fahrenheit. It was in the late afternoon. The sun would not set until around 7:30pm that evening. There was a relieving cool breeze that stirred the leaves of the trees that surrounded the neighborhood. I do not think I could ever forget this day. So clear is it, yet only like a vivid dream.

I do not recall the names of the two men who accompanied me, but our encounter is not very relevant. I recall feeling very stiff with nerves during our 45 minute travel sitting so close together. Their smirks delivered the message to me that they knew of my uneasiness and it brought them some kind of amusement. They had most likely been drinking whiskey the night before because I could smell it on their pungent breaths. As I was jostled about and pushed too closely beside them, feeling the sides of my legs pressed against theirs, I felt like a fool for agreeing to hire these men, who most likely engaged in gambling and various forms of bootlegging. Besides help was probably already out in the front yard waiting for my arrival. I tried my best to look out the window and not think of the likely predicament I had put myself in of being robbed, beaten or something else unmentionable.

I had not been to the house since I was a small child visiting my grandmother, who it had recently belonged to. I had very few memories of it, but the few I had, were recalled with warmth and comfort. I think I remember the kitchen most of all. My grandmother loved to bake me oatmeal raisin cookies. I usually only ate hers. All the other oatmeal raisin cookies I tried always caused me great disappointment. After my family and I moved from Portland, Maine to Boston, Massachusetts when I was 5, Grandmother would often mail those cookies to me. I loved them even though my father insisted they were too dry and hard due to their travel. Sadly we stopped seeing her as often once we moved. Grandmother had passed away just 6 months prior to my inheritance. She had left me her beautiful home and grateful housekeeper Jeanette Kingsley. Jeanette had been with my grandmother nearly their whole lives. She had been my grandmothers maidservant as a teenager, being about ten years younger than my grandmother. Jeanette was there for my grandmother when my grandfather passed away in 1898 and she was there beside my grandmother when she breathed her last breath. I knew that the housekeeper would hate to leave the big beautiful house she had spent so much time in. Jeanette was well into her 50s when I moved in and I knew how hard it would be for her to start over and find work in another household. I knew Jeanette could be just as stubborn and fussy as my grandmother; hence their great friendship. In addition. I didn’t like the idea of living there all alone, so I welcomed her company.

Jeanette Kingsley came out to greet me with enthusiasm. She was a short round Negro woman that smelled like honey and peaches. I wasn’t sure if she had just finished baking peach pies for the whole town or if it was a permanent fragrance that emanated from her pores from spending so many years in various kitchens. She wore a simple dark brown dress with a white apron with yellowing eyelet trim, her hair pulled back in a country patterned kerchief. She gave me a big tight hug. “There you are Miss Sylvia! Oh it’s been too long!” she was breathless with affection. “And I’m so glad you hired some help.” She smiled gratefully at my two hooligan escorts. “My cousin Sammy was gonna come over with Ralph but Sammy’s wife went into labor this morning and Ralph gone done and got himself a real bad cough again. Poor Judy’s gotta take care of him and their four brats now! Oh! But never you mind them. I forgot you don’t know one of these damn fools I’m talkin’ about!” She let out a cheerful melodic chuckle that could only belong to the voice of a regular Sunday church singer like herself. I really couldn’t recall the last time I even saw Jeanette. It had to be over 15 years. The last time I had seen Grandmother was when I was a child. I was 27 when I moved into her home.

My moving men kept their good manners to the best of their ability. Tipping their hats to me after I paid them what we agreed upon at the train station, they went on their way after unloading my four trunks containing my belongings. As they rode off in the hired carriage I couldn’t help but feel ashamed of myself for assuming the worst of them, and suspecting their intentions, when they honestly just wanted to make a little extra living after they saw me disembark from the train, alone and flustered in the big bustling station, struggling to get the attendants to be careful with my trunks which held my clothing, a small amount of jewelry and books, photos and a few other heirlooms. The one with a golden-colored mustache even briefly leaned out the window of the carriage and waved back at me. I could hear them laughing a little as they rode off, most likely making fun of me and my suspicions.

Jeanette broke my distracted fixation on the carriage as it drove off with a loving nudge of her elbow. “Don’t you wanna go take a peak inside? I know ya gotta be itching to run up that staircase.” I gave her a smile, feeling a surge of relief and excitement.

My father and other remaining relatives of course thought I should be getting married and have a husband to buy me a home, a much grander home than this one, no doubt, but after I reached 25 with too many courtships having ended sourly, too many accounts of tender affection and romantic words mistaken for something that would last longer than whenever the next new young lady came of age or entered our social circle, or when my young gentlemen suitors grew perplexed by my opinions and too many words. I would hear the household and other relatives gossip bitterly about me becoming a spinster. It was a very sad and tearful day when Grandmother passed, but when I found out she had willed me her house, a spark went off in my mind and heart. I could get out of Boston and it’s disappointments and heartbreaks. I could get out of the house I grew up in and away from my mother’s ghost who haunted me since I lost her when I was seven years old. Grandmother kept in touch with me as I grew up without a mother. She was really one of the only relatives I was close to on my mom’s side. I often wondered how different my life would have been if she had raised me, feeling some kind of debt to my mother, her daughter, who we lost to a bad flu epidemic. Grandmother would often write letters to me when I was heartbroken over another failed courting, “With every end, is a new beginning,” she would write in her pretty cursive.

My father was not happy when I moved back to my birthplace in Maine, even though I tried to explain that it would be a fresh new start and I would find some way of making him proud. I assured him that my childhood ballet classes would not go to waste and that I would try to seek a career teaching ballet. It was only natural of me to desire a career in which my talents would be used. I had always loved music and the performing arts so much.

When I did leave, many other relatives, including my Aunt Agatha, a nanny, Ms Goviard, along with several maids which included Emma and Tabitha who would tease me profoundly, were all disgusted, especially that I left shortly after my father developed a suspicious cough. Aunt Agatha, Father’s sister would say how I would feel so awful later if something happened to him without me being there to care for him, and that it was completely disrespectful to him, after all he had done for me. I wasn’t sure if such words came out of his mouth or not, nor did I care much. Yes, it can be interpreted as being rather cold, I’ll admit, but my father and I were never close. We had our differences and could very seldom, if at all, compromise. Often I think he didn’t care what I did, just as long as it didn’t weigh down on his name. He was clearly upset that I was the only child being a girl. He wanted the Monbrook name to long outlive him, but he would most likely be very disappointed.

Besides, my father’s house was filled with help, who could provide better care than I was qualified to give. That’s how it always was. Without a wife and mother, my father hired all of the help he could get. I was raised by maids, nannies and housekeepers. I think they were all in a tiff because they just didn’t want be left alone with his grumbling old self.

My grandmother’s large spacious, two story house with an attic and a small basement had five small bedrooms upstairs. The place was still completely furnished from my grandparents life together. Jeanette directed me to the room she thought I’d like the most. It didn’t belong to my grandmother. That was the room, Jeanette stayed in. This one was kept for my cousin Olivia who lived there for a long time before disembarking to London with her wealthy business husband Ryan. All of this Jeannette filled me in on with scandalous excitement. My new bedroom had a great big four poster dark wooden bed with light blue bedding. A large armoire stood against the wall across from the bed near the door. A dainty ivory colored crochet doily covered the top. An inviting rocking chair was situated beneath a tall open window with thin white curtains billowing from the breeze. I stood before the window to catch the view. I looked to my left to see a smaller more simple house with an unkept yard and in desperate need of a paint job. I looked to the right to see another house a bit further away painted a dark brick red color. Most of the houses in the neighborhood on Pine street were built fairly close together. I hoped my privacy would be insured but that my neighbors were courteous and welcoming at the same time. The curtains from the window in clearest view, quickly flashed close. I thought I caught a glimpse of a blur of a redhead escape exposure. Apparently my new neighbors were just as curious of me as I was with them.

For my first night Jeanette made me a fantastic dinner of grilled chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes. I insisted that she did not have to do all the cooking. I would help out, too. We ate together and she busied herself talking about the gossip in her family and how she disapproved of this and that. I could tell it had been a while since she had had anyone to talk to and she was very happy to have me there. I also enjoyed her good-spirited chat.

I think I completely forgot where I was when I first woke up the following day. After all, I had spent the same 22 years of my life in the same house. I could hear Jeanette humming in the kitchen, most likely cooking some breakfast. I spent the afternoon unpacking and getting organized as I did with the next two weeks. I wanted to be respectful to my grandmother’s home and keep some things as they were, but Jeanette kept saying, “This is your house now. You do as best you see fit.” The first thing I wanted to do was get new bedding for my bedroom. As pretty as the blue was, I always fancied having peach and lavender accents.

It must have been the middle of the second week living on Pine Street when I awoke from my deep sleep to the sound of a child's screams and primordial wails. I sat up in a flash, jumping out of bed to find out where these cries were coming from. It was very late at night. I was home alone that day. Jeanette had warned me that she most likely would not be home until possibly the next morning because she had been hired on as extra help at the Andrews dinner gala. The Andrews were a family I was very well acquainted with. I had not been invited to the affair even though they knew I had recently moved into town. I shall explain my estranged relationship with them later.

A loud crash followed these cries and then there was no more. Only faint feminine sobs could be heard. Then there was silence. I was briefly tempted to call out for Jeanette, hoping I had slept through her return home, hoping she would quickly apologize for dropping something in the bathroom to wake me, but that still, dull silence confirmed I was indeed completely alone in the house, and that disturbing noise had come from outside, from one of the neighboring houses.

For half an hour I sat in my rocking chair under the window, ignoring the chill of the merciless long past midnight breeze. By now we had entered September. Autumn was drawing near. The moon hung high and bright in a clear sky, bright enough to shine light down on the brick red colored house to the right of me. There was a dim orange colored glow from an old kerosene lamp lighting up one of the windows. After 30 minutes or so, it was snuffed out and then the house was still and quiet. The same house whose curtains stirred from the redhead watching me the first day I moved in.