Gabriella Gilbert || Vampire Diaries

Chapter Fourteen

My mouth is dry. It's more annoying than anything. The sharp pain in my head, however, hurts.

    Groggily, my eyes open and I'm greeted with the sight of a motel bed beside me. It's oddly familiar. The motel room...where Damon confronted Anna. A man I don't recognize sleeps in the chair in the corner closest to the us.

Something warm is behind me, making me slowly turn my head to see who it is. My eyes widen at the sight of my sister sleeping soundly. He got her too. But why?

My pain protests my decisions to turn in my spot. I press a palm against my injury, attempting to numb or contain the pain before using my other hand to shake Elena awake.

She immediately awakens with a small gasp. I place a finger to my lips, trying to silence her. I gesture to the sleeping kidnapper behind me. Her eyes widen at the sight before they fall back on me.

She puts a hand over her mouth to cover what would have been a gasp before gesturing to my head. I don't know how bad it looks, but Elena worries over everything.

I shake my head. We'll worry about it later.

Elena's lips thin, but she slides off the bed anyway. I'm right behind her, taking careful steps toward the motel door.

"I wouldn't do that," a voice threatens. The man, who I thought was sleeping, suddenly appears in front of Elena. She gasps when he forces her to look him in the eye. "Don't try to escape. Go sit back down on the bed with your sister. Do you understand?"

Elena nods her head before repeating, "I understand." The vampire chuckles, smug about the compulsion. He's way too arrogant about this.

    When his back is turned, Elena and I quickly rush to the door. She manages to get the door open, only to be pushed into me by someone else.

"Seriously?!" Anna demands, holding onto Elena's arm. Elena tries and fails to pull her arm free.

"I did that eye thing you taught me!" The guy defends, confused his compulsion not working. He's a new vampire, I realize.

"You forgot the lesson about vervain. They date vampires, Ben," she snaps. I frown at that.

"Actually—" I try to correct, but Anna's already shoving Elena and me toward the bathroom.

"It doesn't matter," Anna growls before shoving Elena inside. She stops me, and even pulls me closer. I frown at her staring, but it takes a second to realize she's staring at my head. "Dude, I said to not hurt them," she snaps at this Ben guy.

    "I'm sorry!" He defends, hands raised. "I didn't realize I pushed her that hard."

    Great, I was a guinea pig to test a new vampire's control over his strength.

    Anna rolls her eyes and proceeds to shove me inside the bathroom as well. The door clicks as it locks, though I'm not sure why there's a lock on the outside of the door.

    I turn around to see Elena kneeling beside the tub, and an unconscious Bonnie sitting in it.

    "Bonnie?" I question, squatting beside my sister. She's shaking Bonnie awake, causing the latter to panic before realizing who's with her.

    "They took you too?" Bonnie asks Elena, completely ignoring my presence. Rude.

     "Yeah," Elena breathes out. She helps Bonnie stand before going over to the sink and turning it on. I frown at the action, but she taps her ear in reminder.