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Klaus woke up, sucking in a breath of fresh air. He heard the relieved sounds of his family around him. Telling him how happy they were that he was okay.But things weren’t okay. He didn’t feel okay. What had happened?He… he got shot…It started to come back to him. The woman, she had a gun. She shot him. His eyes continued to race around the van, trying to make sense of the situation. He was shot. He was bleeding out. He should have died.But he was not dead.A feeling of dread creeped up on him, flooding his body with anxiety. Then, he looked up at you. You sat behind him, with his head in your lap. Your makeup was a mess, and you had tears streaming down your cheeks. You ran your hand through his hair, and he almost felt at ease.Almost.If not for the marigold container you grasped in your hand, he would have been comforted by the sight of you.“What did you do?!”♡⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘♡“I saved your life.” Your words repeated over and over again in his head, taunting him. "I didn't ask to be saved." He said to himself.Klaus leaned against the van, watching his siblings squabble over losing that Jennifer girl. In all honesty, Klaus couldn’t care less. It was hard to focus when the voices were back. Constantly screaming. Never silent. He had grown accustomed to the silence over the last few years. He found solace in the quiet. A sense of peace. Now, he felt numb all over. Like nothing mattered.You walked over, your hands tucked away in the pockets of your sweater. He couldn’t look you in the eyes. Not after what you did.“Um… how are you feeling?” You ask sheepishly. You hesitantly take his hand in yours, running your finger tips over his cold knuckles. He scoffs, pulling his hand away from yours and crossing his arms around his middle.“Oh, just peachy.” He says sarcastically. He tries to ignore the look of hurt on your face when he pulls away.You sigh, scratching your wrist nervously. Klaus scoffs, taking note of this. You and him had gotten matching tattoos. You had his name written in cursive across your wrist, and he had yours on his. But now there were scratch marks all through yours. No matter how many times he tried to help you, you wouldn’t quit it. Constantly scratching. Annoyed the hell out of him.“Stop that. It’s fucking irritating.” He hisses. You stop scratching immediately, and shake your head.“No. You need to tone it down. Try being grateful. I saved your life, but you’re acting like I ended it!” You say, raising your voice.He lets out a bitter laugh, staring down at you. “Oh, please, sweetheart,” The way he calls you the once loving pet name makes you wince. “Do you really not understand? You did end my life. Three years of sobriety down the drain, thanks to you.” He says, touching his pointer finger to your chest.“What are you talking about?! You were shot, Klaus. Bleeding out. What was I supposed to do, hmm? Let you die?!” You yell back, stepping away from him. His siblings were too busy arguing to notice the two of you.“Yes! Yes! Let me die! I wanted to die! Please, I was finally going to be at peace. I was at the finish line, and so ready to cross it. But now I’m pulled back. And for what?! So I can continue to be miserable forever?” He shot back at you. Rage in his eyes.He… wanted to die? His words felt like a stab to your heart. He wanted to leave you. You had never seen Klaus like this. Sure, he had been angry before, but he had never shown it like this. It almost scared you, in a way.“B-but you weren’t miserable. Not anymore.” You say, your voice shaking. “You’re sober. We made up after what happened with… him.” Dave’s name died in your throat. You didn’t want to make Klaus even more angry. “We’re finally happy together.” You hear your voice crack and you silently berate yourself for it.Klaus stares down at the ground, kicking a nonexistent pebble before looking up at you. “But that’s different now, isn’t it? I’m different. The voices are back. Which means I can’t function unless I’m high out of my mind. And even then, I’m not… normal.” He furrows his brows, clenching his fists. “Shut up!”You jump back slightly. You were about to tell him that you didn’t say anything, but then you realized that you weren’t who he had told to shut up. It was the ghosts.He locks his eyes with yours. He saw how you winced. How hurt you looked. He hadn’t seen you like that in a very long time. Last time you two fought like this was in 2019. When he came back from Vietnam, when you learned that he had fallen in love with someone else.
Klaus sighed. He hated how he was always the reason you were hurt. It felt like every bad thing that had ever happened to you was because of him. But now it was reversed. He was hurt because of you.Klaus stepped closer to you, bending down and speaking into your ear.“You didn’t give me the marigold because you were thinking of me. You were only thinking about yourself. You were selfish, and now my life is ruined because of it.” He says quietly, his words bitter.You feel tears well up in your eyes, but you push them back. Determined not to cry in front of him. Not now.“I saved your life. It’s not my fault if you decide to go ruin it again.” You speak coldly. That’s not what you wanted to say. You wanted to get on your knees and beg for forgiveness. Beg for him to understand that you needed him. That you truly believed that without him there’s no point to you. But you didn’t. You wouldn’t show that side of yourself to him. No matter how far the two of you go back.He scoffs and steps back, shaking his head. “Go fuck yourself, sweetheart.” He shoves his sleeve over his wrist, covering his tattoo of your name. He turns away from you and walks off.Everything that happens next is a blur. His siblings ask him something, he answers. They ask you something, you answer. You can’t think straight. Your body is filled with despair.Was this the end?No.Yes?You didn’t know.