꧁ 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 ꧂

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HANNA HAD BEEN THE ONE TO FIND GRACE A FEW MINUTES AFTER SHE HAD COLLAPSED. She wondered what the loud bang noise was and went down to investigate when she saw grace unconscious in the middle of the courtyard. Her eyes widen as she rushes over to the woman, kneeling down beside her. "Grace?" She asks as she shakes the woman but gets nothing in return.  "Oh, my god. Grace?" Hanna tries again but once she realized the girl was knocked clean out, she started to yell. "Someone help!" Hanna calls out loudly as she looks around the courtyard.

"Hanna, what is it?" Hayley asks as she walks out from the dining room but she stops in her place when she sees that Hanna was knelt over grace. Elijah and Klaus follow Hayley out, both noticing the scene in front of them.

"I just found her like this." Hanna admits as she had her hand on graces arm. Elijah was the first to rush over as the other two were more in shock.

"Grace?" Elijah asks as he bends down, shaking her lightly. "Can you hear me?" He questions, bringing his hand to her neck, checking for a pulse. He was just glad to know she was still alive.

"Get her inside." Klaus states as he stands over them. Elijah glances up at him before picking up grace and rushing her inside. They get to her room, placing her on the bed

"What's going on?" Hanna asks, being the last one to follow. Hayley shares a glance with Elijah and Klaus before turning to the young girl.

"We'll figure it out, Hanna. Just go get some water." Hayley suggests and Hanna nods, leaving the room. As soon as she leaves, Hayley turns back to the originals. "What the hell is this?" She asks, wondering what could have happened in such a short time span.

"I don't know." Elijah admits as he shakes his head, observing the girl who was unconscious.

"Can't you guys figure it out?" She asks them as she crosses her arms against her chest.

"You act like we can magically find out what happened to her." Klaus snaps back at the woman. They were all frustrated but she couldn't just spit out stupid ideas.

"Go inside her mind. I mean, you can see whats happening to her at least." Hayley suggests as she really didn't know what else to do. Elijah thinks about if for a second.

"We could try, Niklaus." Elijah states as he stares down at grace.

"Fine." Klaus says with a sigh as he knew it was an invasion of privacy but right now, it was the only plan they had. "But if she gets mad, it was your idea." He states as he wasn't going to purposely put himself back on Graces hate list.

"Ill take the heat, I don't care." Hayley says as she just wanted to help Grace. Klaus sighs before moving over to Grace, Elijah going on the other side. They both put their hands on her shoulder, closing their eyes.

It was a few seconds before they saw flashes from inside the girls mind. It was mainly a blur for a moment, a bunch of memories passing through. "Please, stop!" They heard a young girl say and they could see a small Grace trying to fend her father off.

"You really think I don't love you?" Dylan asks a teenage grace with a frown on his face. Grace only scoffs as she shakes her head, tears in her eyes.

"I don't believe you ever did." She replies to the man who seemed to get angry at her.

"Mommy, help me!" Grace didn't look more than nine as she was dragged to her room by her father as he mother sat on the couch and simply ignored her cries.  "Mommy!" She screams loudly.

"I'm Hayley." A young Hayley says as she holds out her hand.

"Grace."

Klaus and Elijah come back from her mind, both of them taking a second to register what they had just seen. They look at each other, neither of them really knowing what to say. Hayley though was waiting impatiently for them to say something.

"What happened? What did you see?" Hayley asks as she looks between them. Klaus clears his throat as he looks away from Elijah.

"It seems that our mother has trapped her in an cycle of her past. Different memories on a loop." Klaus explains to Hayley who furrows her eyebrows, not quite understanding why Esther would do that.

"Memories?" She questions and Elijah nods his head.

"Some from when she was a child, some from when you met. Some.." Elijah trails off as he grimaces lightly, he couldn't bring himself to say it. But he didn't need to say anything for Hayley to understand what he was referring to.

"The good thing is, it doesn't look like what Elijah was trapped in. It should wear off in a few hours." Klaus states as he looks down at grace, resisting the urge to stroke her cheek with his hand.

"So, she'll be okay?" Hayley asks them, feeling reassured.

"Yeah." Klaus says with a nod and Hayley let's out a sigh of relief. "Physically, at least." He admits, not knowing how graces mental state would be affected by this.

"What do you mean?" Hayley questions and Elijah sighs as he looked down at the floor for a moment before connecting with her eyes.

"Well, if we're seeing those memories, chances are, shes reliving them."

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HAYLEY HAD SAT BY GRACES BEDSIDE, waiting for the woman to wake up from her dream like state. Klaus had told her to get some rest and that she'd be up in the moment, but Hayley didn't want her waking up all alone. Luckily she did stay up because grace had started to regain consciousness a few hours in. "Hey, sleepyhead." Hayley says as she notices the girl start to open her eyes. Grace brings her hands up to her head, letting out a groan.

"Agh, my head hurts." Grace admits as she squeezes her eyes shut for a moment. "What happened?" She asks once she looks at hayley. Hayley sighs as she clenches her jaw a bit.

"Esther happened." Hayley tells her and grace only furrows her eyebrows, not recalling the events. "You don't remember?" She asks and Grace tries to think back to what might have happened.

"I think I remember, going out the compound and talking to somebody..." grace trails off, not seeing a thing. "It's all blurry." She admits with a sigh and Hayley nods her head.

"Esther attacked your mind but luckily you got away quick enough for it not to do any serious damage." Hayley explains to her and grace couldn't help but roll her eyes. Of course Esther came for her.  "Were you having a nightmare?" She asks as she couldn't help but notice the flinches the girl made during the night.

"More like a revision of every single moment of my life." Grace corrects her as she didn't have any recollection of the previous night but when she was asleep, she remembered everything vividly.

"I made you some eggs, get something in your stomach." Hayley says as she grabs the plate beside her that she had just made.

"Thanks." Grace replies as she takes it from the girl.

"You had me so worried."

"I'm fine." Grace assures her as she could see the concern In Hayley's eyes. "What time is it?" She asks as the curtains were drawn so she couldnt tell if the sun was rising or not.

"Early. About five am." Hayley answers her.

"Shit." Grace mumbles as she rubs her eyes. It didn't feel that early but it also did. "Did you stay with me the whole time?" She asks once she looks back at her sister. Hayley just shrugs her shoulders.

"It was only a few hours." She admits, not thinking it was that long to be waiting around. Grace groans as she rests back against the pillow.

"Can we get rid of that bitch, please?" Grace asks as she desperately just wanted to send Esther back to where she came from.

"Trust me, I want her long gone." Hayley agrees as Esther had definitely crossed the line, first coming for her daughter and then her sister. "Heard anything from your dad recently?" She asks, wondering if Robert had dared to make another move. Grace stares back at her, simply shaking her head although it wasn't true.

"Paul told me that Ann left with a bag, he doesn't know where." Grace states, she really did feel bad for Paul, he didn't deserve to be treated this way. But at least now, he can get on with his life and not have Ann messing it up.

"Let's hope somewhere far far away." Hayley pipes up and Grace scoffs, shaking her head.

"I could never get so lucky." She admits with a sigh. If only her parents knew how to leave her the hell alone.

"Just get some more rest, okay?" Hayley tells her as she brings her hand over to run it through graces hair.

"I love you, Sugar." Grace tells her as she nudges the girls shoulder. Hayley laughs lightly as she smiles back at her.

"I love you too."

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GRACE HADN'T FALLEN BACK ASLEEP, she could barely close her eyes without getting flashes from her past. So, instead she had been up for the past two hours, just reorganizing her closet. She was going to send for the rest of her things as she truly had no intention of moving back to New York. Grace just had to find a way to break the news to Jenna. It wasn't going to be easy, that she knew for sure since the girl was already avoiding her calls.

A knock on the door makings her turn her head towards it. She sees it open and Klaus peeks his head inside. "Can I come in, love?" He asks as he meets her eyes and she only runs a hand through her hair.

"Yeah." She replies with a nod, crossing her arms over her chest and walking over to him. Klaus closes the door behind him.

"I'm glad to see you're up." Klaus admits and Grace just moved her eyes to the floor for a moment. "Hayley told me you don't remember much about what happened." He says, having ran into Hayley before heading up to see her.

"She told me Esther attacked me." Grace states with a sigh as she still couldnt remember much from the previous night.

"My mother is quite inventive, I'll give her that." Klaus says with a sigh as he felt horrible that his mother had decided to go after Grace. She was never meant to really get involved with it.

"I'm fine." Grace assures him and she was fine mostly, she just had to be able to kick her memories back to the back of her mind.

"I know that, love." Klaus replies with a sigh. "It's just, when we were trying to figure out what was wrong with you, Elijah and I went into your mind." He explains to her and she furrows her eyebrows for a moment. "It must not have been easy, reliving all of it again." He says cautiously and grace understood what he saw. Grace gives him a gentle smile.

"Nik, I promise you, I'm back to normal. As normal as one can be when they're involved in the world of the supernatural." Grace says as she rubs her arm with her hand.

"I'm really sorry." Klaus apologizes but grace shakes her head, walking up to him and taking his hand in hers.

"It wasn't your fault." Grace assures him, not wanting him blaming himself for something that his mother did. She lets out a sigh as she takes a step closer. "I just don't want to talk about it right now." She admits as she runs her eyes over him. "Or think." She adds as she moves closer. "Or do anything.." As she speaks, she brings her lips to his ear, a sly smirk on her lips. "But you." She finishes, planting a kiss in the nape of his neck. She felt Klaus' hand rest on her hip and it didn't take long for him to grab her chin in order to move her back and smash his lips against hers.

Grace instantly kisses him back as she wraps her arms around his neck. He grips her hips, speeding her against the door. Grace moans lightly as she grips the locks of his hair before she moved one off of him in order to reach for the lock on the door. She barely got it locked before Klaus was pulling her against him, his hands gripping at any piece of her body they could. Grace kisses him for a moment longer before pulling away briefly.

She lifts her shirt over her head, Klaus following in suit before she moves back over to kiss him once again. His hands move down her, gripping her ass for a second before lifting her up. Grace was caught a little off guard but is able to stable herself using his shoulders.

He speeds them to the bed, resting her on it before moving on top of her. Their lips connect again as Klaus brings his hands to her bra. But instead of taking it off like a normal person, he just pulls sharply causing the band to snap. Grace gasps as she pulls away from him. "That was my favourite bra." She whines as he moves his lips to her chest. He chuckled against her skin, his hands pulling down the shorts she was wearing.

"I'll buy you however many you want, love." Klaus tells her as he leaves kisses down her stomach before moving back up her body. Grace bites her lip as she looks down at the man.

"You can't buy my off." Grace retorts as her hand moves into his hair, gripping it lightly. Klaus smirks, bringing his lips back up to hers and kissing her deeply. Grace sighs into it before he pulls away for a moment.

"Maybe I can find some other way to make it up to you then." Klaus says as his hand moves in between her thighs and Grace let's out a moan as he slips one finger inside of her.

"Fuck.." she mutters as she lets her head fall back. Klaus begins to kiss her neck as he thrusts his fingers inside of her. Grace gasps, griping Klaus' hair. He hears the whimpers falling from her lips which makes him increase the pace. It lasted for a few more seconds before he felt her hand around his wrist. "Nik, please." Grace pleads as her other hand grabs his chin, making him look at her. Klaus leans in, kissing her with passion as he moves up her body, his hand going to her hips.

Grace unbuckled his belt, pulling down his pants as she continues to kiss him, deepening it. Klaus grips the skin of her thighs, resting one of them on his waist. Their lips move faster together and Klaus settles himself between her legs, his hands rubbing her thigh. Grace pulls back from the kiss for a moment.

A moan leaves graces mouth as Klaus thrusts inside of her. He trails his finger along her side, moving it up to her chin. He uses it to turn her head back to him, their lips meeting. Grace whines into the kiss as she wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him ever so closer to her.

As Klaus starts to quicken his thrusts, grace wraps her legs tighter around his waist, her fingers playing with the locks of his hair. Their lips moved together passionately as his fingers dug into the bones of her hip. Klaus moves one of his hands to her thigh, moving it higher on his body.

Grace grips his hair tightly which earns a sharp groan from him. Smirking at her accomplishment, she only deepens their kiss, her foot rubbing his leg up and down. Klaus brings his hand up to her throat, clasping it around but not putting any pressure. Grace suddenly let out a high moan as he hit a certain spot inside of her.

As he deepens his thrusts, Grace let's out a long moan as she reaches her hand out to grip the bed sheets. Klaus moves his hand down her thigh, rubbing it and squeezing it before moving it in between her legs. She kisses him intensity, her knuckles turning white from holding onto the sheets.

Grace couldn't help but let her head roll back, biting her bottom lip as loud moans escape her mouth. Klaus only moves his lips to her neck, leaving heated kisses along her skin. She could feel him increase the intensity of his thrusts which makes her legs squeeze around his waist. Grace drags her fingers along his back as she felt her eyes roll back for a moment. Klaus grunts lowly as he nips at her ear lobe.

"Nik!" She moans out loudly as her mouth parts open, her eyes squeezing shut. Her head falls onto his shoulder as her body starts to relax. Klaus thrusts for a few more seconds before stilling inside of her. He groans as he holds his weight up over her before rolling off and onto the bed.

Heavy breaths came from both of them as they just laid, staring up at the ceiling. Grace turns her head, her eyes scanning him for a moment before she moves her body over to him. She entertwined their legs as she lays halfway on his chest, staring into his eyes. Klaus tilts his head, his hand going to her bare back. Grace strokes his cheek, leaning down to press a soft kiss to his lips before pulling away. He smiles gently, his fingers running circles along her back.

She scrunched her nose up as they just continued to stare at each other. Klaus squints his eyes as he watches her for a moment. She only smirks lightly, raising an eyebrow. "Are we having a staring contest, love?" He asks her, amusement in his tone. Grace laughs as she shrugs her shoulders.

"Maybe." She replies and he only smiles brighter as he gazes up at her. Their eye contact lasted for a second longer before Klaus grabbed her waist and flipped her over causing her to gasp in shock. "Hey, that's cheating! That's cheating!" Grace whines as she hits his chest. Klaus only smirks at her as he presses soft kisses to her cheeks. Grace pretended not to like it until she couldnt fight the smile on her face. Klaus lands his lips on hers, his thumb gently stroking her chin.

"Grace?" She pulls away from klaus at the call of her name. Grace furrows her eyebrows as she looks towards the door. "Are you in there?" Hayleys voice chimes as she knocks on the door. Graces eyes widen as she sits up on the bed.

"Shit." She muttered as she leans down to grab her shirt. "Yeah, just one second!" Grace calls out, hearing the twist of the doorknob but luckily she had locked it.

"Why is the door locked?" Hayley questions as she tries the twist is again. Grace brings her hands up to her hair, trying to think of something.

"Get in the bathroom." She states as she points over to the room. Klaus raises his eyebrows at the girl who was frantically looking around for her clothes.

"I don't think us sleeping together is a big deal." Klaus admits as he sits up on the bed. Grace sighs as she tossed his boxers at him.

"Maybe not to you." Grace mutters as she quickly puts on some shorts, fixing her hair so it didn't look to frazzled. "And it's not just us sleeping together, it's.." She trails off with a sigh as she gives him a pleading expression. "Just get in the bathroom." She tells him and he holds up his hands in defence. Smiling, he puts on his boxers before walking over to the bathroom.

"Grace?" Hayley says again making Grace turn towards Klaus to make sure he was inside before moving to the door. She takes one final glance before opening the door just enough for Hayley to see her. The woman smiles and is about to say something when she stops herself. Grace could see that she was analyzing something.

"Why are you sweating?" Hayley asks in a confused tone as she looks over the woman. Grace looks down at herself before clearing her throat.

"I just went on a run to clear my head." Grace lies as she puts a smile on her face. Hayley just stared at her for a moment, pursing her lips.

"Oh." Hayley says, not really sure whether to believe her or not. "Well, I just wanted to see if you were okay. I'm headed to the Bayou to see Jackson." She explains to the woman who nods her head, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Did you want me to come with you?" She asks as she leans against the doorframe.

"I know you hate the woods." Hayley teases her before hearing something drop inside the room. Grace only tightens her smile as she moves the door towards her. "Is someone in there with you?" She asks as she tries to peek her head in but grace stops her.

"Nope." Grace denies with a smile on her face. Hayley squints a little bit but decides to let it go.

"Okay, well. Text me if anything happens." Hayley tells her and Grace nods her head, leaning against the door.

"Will do." She replies as Hayley takes one last glance at Grace before hesitantly walking away. Grace shuts the door, resting her head against it for a moment before she turns her head to Klaus. He had a smirk playing on his lips with an eyebrow raised as he walked towards her.

"Running?" Klaus teases her and she rolls her eyes playfully as he stops in front of her.

"Shut up." She mumbles,  hitting his chest and he only chuckles before wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him. Grace puts her hands on his shoulders, tilting her head slightly. She smiles before leaning him, kissing him softly.

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GRACE WALKED DOWN THE STAIRS, hearing a conversation in the dining area. She had no doubt it was klaus still trying to convince Finn and Kol to switch sides. "She has been searching for Rebekah, since the day she returned." Finn states with a smirk on his face. Grace rolls her eyes as she reaches the table, standing next to the man.

"Did the thought ever cross your mother that maybe, just maybe, Rebekah hates her as well?" Grace asks him curiously as she raises an eyebrow at him. Finn turns his head towards her with a scoff.

"I don't think your opinion really matters. This is a family discussion." Finn tells her and Grace just glares at him, bringing her fingers to his chin to roughly lift his head up to meet her eyes.

"Well, the second your mother attacked me, I became part of this discussion." Grace snaps at him before letting him go.

"She what?" Kol asks with furrowed eyebrows, looking towards his brothers before looking at Finn.

"You didn't heed her warning. She gave you time to leave town."  Finn retorts as he shrugs his shoulders. Grace scoffs as she glared at the man.

"You know, just because she gave you life, doesn't mean you have to follow her around like a lost puppy." Grace tells him as Finn acted like he shouldn't have a life of his own. "I mean seriously, it's pathetic." She mutters with a roll of her eyes.

"My mother is not yours. She cares for-"

"She killed you. Turned you into vampires in the first place and from what I've heard, she tried to kill you all again when she came back the first time." Grace points out in an annoyed tone. Obviously, Esther didn't care for them as much as she said she did.

"She was trying to set things right." Finn denies and Grace could just stab him in the eye right now.

"Or maybe, she's just a selfish, psychotic bitch." Grace retorts as she shrugs her shoulders. Finn only rolls his eyes but Kol sits up straighter.

"Look, I followed mother's orders because she brought me back." Kol states as he looks around the room before his eyes land solely on Grace. "But if I was devoted to her, I would've gotten rid of Davina. But I didn't." He says and Grace only squints at him, clenching her jaw.

"Are you seriously trying to use Davina as a way to buy sympathy?" Grace asks him, not giving into his way of creating a connection.

"I care for her, Grace. I do." Kol says but Grace couldnt tell if he was being genuine or not. It was better to not indulge him.

"I don't think she likes you very much anymore." She retorts as she presses her lips together.

"Maybe because you guys kidnapped me and probably took the white oak." He points out with a scoff and Grace only looks towards Klaus who nods his head. "Can you please tell her, it wasn't me?" Kol pleads and grace leans down towards him with a smile on her face.

"Sorry, not my problem." Grace says as she pats his shoulder before turning to look at Klaus. "I'm good with Elijah's plan." She admits as she really didnt care if they tortured their brothers to death. She hears Finn scoff from behind her.

"My brother's have really rubbed off on you." Finn mumbles and Grace raises her eyebrow as she slowly walks over to him.

"You don't even know me." Grace points out with a smirk playing on her lips as she discreetly picks up one of the butter knives. "I'd say the amount of horrible deeds that you have done, deserves a little torture to make up for it." She states before slamming the knife down in between his fingers. Finn flinches slightly before glaring at her.

"I've done nothing wrong." Kol pipes up and Grace only lets out a laugh as she tilts her head back.

"Maybe I just want to torture you for being a creep and stalking me." She points out, her smile wiping off her face as she simply gives him a deadly stare. Kol stutters, clearing his throat as he puts on a nervous smile.

"I can explain that-"

"I wouldn't unless you want me to cut out your tongue." Grace retorts as she really couldn't stand the sound of his voice right now. She turns her attention over to Klaus and Elijah. "I'm gonna go find Hanna." She tells them as she starts making her way to the exit. "Have fun." She says, patting their arms before leaving.

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GRACE FOLLOWED KLAUS TO TALK TO FINN, mainly because she was bored and there wasn't anything else to do. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts so she just tagged along. Klaus opens the door to the ball room, smirking as he looks over at Finn. "Ready to embrace your new life of freedom?" He asks as he waves the key up as he walks towards Finn.

"I'm already free, brother." Finn retorts and grace groans as she rolls her eyes. She understood now why they didn't like him very much.

"I swear, if he says that one more time." Grace grumbles as she shakes her head. Klaus smirks down at her before looking back at Finn.

"You're aware our mother cares nothing for you?" Klaus asks him curiously as he raises his eyebrows. Finn only smirks as he tilts his head.

"Niklaus, I assure you my mother loves me. She loves all of her children. We would not exist without her sacrifice." Finn states and Klaus just scoffs, grabbing graces arm and beginning to bring her back to the door. "Do you even know the truth?" Finn calls out causing Klaus to stop dead in his tracks. "That she was barren. And she grew so desperate for a family that she begged one of the most powerful witches in history for help. Her sister, Dahlia." He starts to explain and grace glances at Klaus who was just listening intently with his eyes set in front of him. "Of course, Dahlias price was high. She agreed to make our mother fertile but in exchange she sought the firstborn as sacrifice." Graces eyes widen as she looks back at Finn who was simply staring at Klaus. "Having no other choice, our mother gave away our beloved Freya." Finn tells him and Klaus turns his head to his brother, shaking his head.

"Our sister died of plague." Klaus denies and Finn scoffs.

"Esther have her away!" Finn's voice was more loud and firm, trying to get his point across. "Think about that. The pain. The grief." He says as Klaus begins to walk back over to him.

"If what you say is true. Than death is far too delicate a fate for her." Klaus says, his voice calm but vengeful.

"She loves us more than you realize." Finn states and Klaus only scoffs as he turns away from Finn for a moment, clenching his fist as he tried to stop himself from completely decapitating him.

"And is love the reason she wanted my child dead?" Klaus asks him and Finn only shakes his head.

"She was trying to protect you from Dahlias curse." He retorts and Grace knew Klaus was angry, she could see it in his eyes.

"What curse?!" Klaus shouts as he turns to his brother. Finn doesn't react to his brothers risen voice, only answering the question calmly.

"Dahlia demanded the firstborn of every generation. Had your child lived, she would have payed the price." Finn starts to explain to them and Grace slowly turns to Klaus, their eyes meeting. So, Hope was in more danger than they had realized, not just from Esther, but Dahlia too. "And if anyone had tried to protect her. Dahlia would come and destroy us all." He tells them and Klaus just glares at him before turning and storming out of the room.

"Klaus!" Grace shouts but the man was long gone. She let's out a sigh before moving her eyes back to Finn. "How much of your little lie is true?" She asks him as she crossed her arms against her chest.

"It's not a lie." He denies as he didn't even have a sly smirk, which made Grace realize that maybe he was saying the truth. Yes, kidnapping and trying to kill Hope was a bad move but it seemed they just didn't want Dahlia to come back.  "And you'd be stupid if you didn't take it seriously." Finn states as he stares back at Grace. The blonde only squints her eyes before shaking her head. Turning, she walks towards the door in order to follow wherever Klaus went off to.

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HAYLEY WALKED INTO THE COMPOUND, her brain racking with a million thoughts as she searched for Grace. She needed to confront her about something. Something that her father had just said. Hayley was simply walking down the street when Robert had approached her. He was mainly saying how Hayley stole Grace away from him and saying that they both deserve to go to hell. Hayley was so close to just ripping his head off, but decided to leave that to Grace. But as she went to walk away, he said something else. Something that stuck with her. And that she was unable to just shake off as him being an asshole.

Walking into the living room, she saw grace standing by the desk, moving some papers around. Grace turns her head, smiling lightly before going back to what she was doing. Hayley stops in her place, clearing her throat as she fiddles with her fingers.
"I just saw your dad." Hayley states as she stares at Grace. The blonde was slightly taken off guard as she had no clue why Robert would care much to talk to Hayley.

"My dad?" She asks, confusion in her tone and Hayley was more stern than anything so she couldn't tell through expressions.

"Yeah."

"Why did he go see you?" Grace questions as she crosses her arms against her chest. Hayley only sighs as she shakes her head.

"That doesn't matter." Hayley admits as she walks over to the girl. "I don't know what he said was lies and what wasn't.." She states as she trails off for a moment. Grace rolls her eyes, looking around the room.

"Anything my father says is lies." Grace states, knowing her father probably just tried to tell Hayley a load of bullshit.

"What happened to Dylan?" Those words hit Grace like a ton of bricks. She froze in her place, her eyes widening in the slightest. Grace just blinked a few times, trying to process the question that she was asked.

"What?"

"Dylan." Hayley states again. "What happened to him?" She asks curiously, placing her hand on her hip. Grace clears her throat, pressing her lips together.

"Why would I know that?" She asks, faking confusion but Hayley could see right through it.

"Grace." Hayley says and Grace just stared back at her, shrugging her shoulders.

"Look, whatever my dad said to you, you should take it with a grain of salt." Grace points out as she turns away from Hayley.

"This isn't about him. This is about you." Hayley corrects her as it didn't matter who told her what happened, it's the fact that Grace didn't. "Did you kill him?" She asks after a second, hesitating. Grace just stared back at her, trying to keep her face neutral but it was slipping. Hayley shakes her head, a hurt expression on her face. "Why'd you do it grace? Why on earth would you do something like that?" She asks, wondering what could've pushed her to kill someone, especially so young.

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to."

"I need to know."

"You need to know?" Grace retorts, her tone sharp as she glared at the woman.  "I didn't just do it on a whim, Hayley. I did it for you, for me, for my family. I was protecting us. It wasn't something I did lightly. Trust me on that. I'm not proud of how I got us here but I'm proud I got us here. Hayley, you're a hybrid, and I know me killing someone is hard for you to accept-" As she explains, Hayley cuts her off.

"No, I understand killing someone. I've killed people. But you.. You didn't say anything to me. And you made me believe that you-"

"I never said I was a good person. I never made you believe anything, I just omitted something from you. Which is in my right to do so." Grace explains to her as she really didn't do anything wrong. Hayley let's out a sigh as she shakes her head, her eyes full of hurt.

"You're my sister. I need to believe you're a good person. Especially after everything in our lives went to shit, especially after I turned into a hybrid." Hayley retorts as she takes a step closer to the girl who scoffs, nodding her head. Grace pokes her tongue inside her cheek.

"That'd be nice, huh, if it would be that simple? Nothing's ever simple, Hayley. Especially not now. You wanna know why I did it? I don't think I ever felt that I had another option." Grace did what she did to survive, she would never apologize for it.

"You can always not murder. Not murdering is an option. Do you even feel remorse?" Hayley asks, trying to hold eye contact with the girl but her eyes kept moving to the ground.

"Remorse?" Grace asks, her eyebrows raising for a moment as she thinks to herself. She didn't care that he was dead. It was the same way if her parents were to die, she wouldn't feel an ounce of remorse for them. "No." She admits as her eyes move some the floor. "Guilt." She felt guilty for taking a life, especially when she was young. Grace didn't understand what she had really done so she felt guilty that she ended a life. But as she grew older, she realized that it was purely self defence. "But I had to. It was me or him. I had no one protecting me, Hayley. No one. You have no idea how lucky you are to have me. Because if it was me, he would've come for you next. I'll admit it. I'd kill for you. I'd actually kill for you. Do you even realize that? How serious of a thing that is for me to say? You may think that what I did was wrong and horrible, but I can't change the past." She explains to the girl as she lets out a scoff, shaking her head. Hayley just stared at her, trying to fight back tears.

"I may not be worthy of the things I've accomplished in my life, not worthy of love or acceptance." Grace states as she clenches her jaw, staring back at her sister. "But you are." Hayley sniffles as she looks down at the ground for a moment. "And I wasn't just going to let you slip through the cracks. Because if I had admitted to killing Dylan, I would be taken away from you. And I couldn't leave you. And like it or not, I did it for you." She says, if she had gone to the police, chances are she would've been charged and sent to prison. Even if it was self defence.

"Dylan wasn't a good person. He hurt me. Not only physically but mentally. He became my father even after everything I told him." That was the one thing about all of it. Dylan was this sweet boy when she met him and she thought he would stay that way. Especially after he comforted her when she finally opened up about her family. But he didn't. Instead, he became her nightmare. "But I wasn't going to let you know that because it was my problem. So, I took all the darkness and didn't let it come near you. Even if it meant I had to suffer. So that you my sister could live a good life, a safe life. Without suffering like I did, ever. I kept you safe, because that hand doesn't stop on the thigh and I spent my whole childhood wishing that my mom would stop that hand." Grace takes a deep breath, bringing her hand up to her face. She closes her eyes, rubbing her forehead before opening her eyes and looking at Hayley.

"I've got demons, Hayley. A lot of them." Grace admits, she was never going to say she was innocent. But the majority of her demons weren't her fault, but she was stuck with them. "But I had a choice. To be stuck in the past, suffer abuse every single day in my life and eventually be overcome by it. Or get out. Because if you dont try, the past will swallow you whole." She explains as she shakes her head. "And there's more to life than that hell." She states and she could see that Hayley was staring at her with guilt in her eyes. "You and Hope, you're my future you're what I live for. Jenna.. shit even Hanna now. I will do what I can to protect you all. I killed him because he was gonna hurt you. He was gonna hurt me. So I did what needed to be done." She finishes, letting out a breath as she feels a tear roll down her cheek.

It's silent for a minute or two, both of them just staring at the other. Hayley was the one to make the first move, walking over to Grace and wrapping her arms around her in a hug. Hayley cries softly as she holds the girl tightly. Grace hugs her back, a breath she didn't know she was holding in coming out.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that alone." Hayley apologizes as she sniffles, shaking her head a bit. She understood why Grace had kept it from her, now and back then. But she could handle it now, especially after all they've been through the past year.  "But I'm grown up now, Grace." She admits as she strokes Graces hair, her head resting on her shoulder. "Please, don't ever let yourself suffer in silence. Tell me." Hayley says and Grace closes her eyes, biting her cheek but she can feel the tears flood her eyes.

"I can take it."

☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎

why am I making such sad chapters 😭 also yes, the conversation is loosely based from the Ginny and Georgia scene if it sounds familiar. but also, finally a Klaus and Grace scene that isn't interrupted haha.