Chapter 3
Elena had drifted off to sleep almost an hour after she and Elijah left Dayton. The comforting purr of the car had lulled her to sleep more easily than she would have cared to admit, especially when she was in the presence of an Original vampire. She had never intended to fully let her guard down around Elijah, but that was easier said than done when she considered how exhausted she was. She slept dreamlessly for the next eight and a half hours.
"Good evening," Elijah's voice greeted her as she stirred.
Opening her bleary eyes, Elena realized it was dark out. She glanced at the glowing, digital clock on the dash panel and saw that it was just after ten o'clock. After stretching as best she could in Elijah's cramped car and rubbing her eyes, she felt considerably more awake.
"Where are we?"
"We're in the outer limits of Green Bay," Elijah said simply.
Elena looked at him blankly.
"Titletown?" he offered. "Go, Pack, go?"
"Are you using football terminology to explain where we are? I haven't watched TV since before vampires invaded my town. Not the best choice."
Elijah looked momentarily taken aback by Elena's boldness, but his features quickly rearranged themselves into a mask of uncaring indifference.
Elena wasn't sure why she'd come off so snarky and cranky. She was tired of being in the car, tired of living out of a suitcase. Sure, it had only been a day and a half, but she'd never been much of a traveler. She wasn't regretting leaving with Elijah, but she was tired of jumping from place to place. Attempting to soften her tone, she spoke again.
"Are we staying in Green Bay?"
"Just for the night. After that, we're going to Marinette. It's big enough that we'll blend in, but small enough that neither Klaus nor your Salvatores would ever think of looking for you there."
Elena nodded. She'd never been to Wisconsin. Where were the cows and cheese? The next five minutes were silent until they pulled into the parking lot of a Country Inn and Suites. Elena grabbed the duffel bag shed bought along with her clothes out of the backseat.
Unfortunately, the only rooms available had one bed and a pull-out sofa. Elijah said that was fine, handed the man his credit card, and he and Elena walked down a long hallway where Elijah slid the room key into the slot and held open the door for Elena. The room was nice, warm, and clean as age set her bag down on the sofa. She began moving the small coffee table out of the way so she could pull out the bed, when Elijah cleared his throat.
"Elena, I have no intentions of making you sleep on a pull-out sofa. The bedroom is yours."
"Elijah, I can sleep on the couch for a night. It won't kill me."
"I can see how exhausted you are. I'm rather observant. Please, take the bedroom."
Elena sighed and grabbed her bag off the sofa. She took her bathroom bag out of the duffel and proceeded to the bathroom. When she emerged, all the lights in the room were off and she was as blind as a bat.
"Good night, Elena," came Elijah's voice.
She couldn't help but jump as she shuffled her way through the darkness. She found the door to the bedroom and before slipping inside, she muttered, "Night."
"Sing it with me, Stefan!" Damon shouted over the blaring music in his car. "Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, so call me maybe!"
Stefan smacked his palm to his forehead, letting it slide down his face in exasperation. He leaned forward and shut off the volume.
"Where the hell are we?"
"No idea," Damon replied. "Fear not, brother, road signs are our friends!"
"Jesus, Damon," Stefan said irritatedly. "One moment you're dragging me out of the house to go on some poorly planned rescue mission, the next you've no idea where we are and you're singing one of the worst songs I've ever heard!"
"I can put it on a different station," Damon pouted, turning the volume back up and turning the dial until another station became clear. He wiggled his eyebrows as if to ask Stefan if he liked this one better as he began singing along again.
"I get what you get in ten years in two days! Ladies love me-"
"Damon, shut the hell up." Stefan reached over once again and turned the radio off, this time yanking off the knob.
"You're paying for that," Damon growled. Stefan ignored him when he saw the telltale green of a road sign.
"Hello, Wisconsin!" Damon shouted, earning an irritated and disapproving look from Stefan. "What? You liked 'That 70s Show'!"
"How long does it take to get to Marinette?" Elena asked over the complementary breakfast the hotel offered.
"About forty-five minutes when you do the speed limit," Elijah answered.
Elena couldn't help but laugh. "I have a feeling you won't be doing the speed limit."
"I'm afraid not, but I assure you, Elena, that you'll be safe."
"Elijah, you don't need to keep telling me that," Elena said, almost irritably. "I trust you. I trust that you'll keep me out of harm's way, and that you'll keep your word."
"You're far too kind for your own good, Elena," Elijah remarked. "While my intentions are honorable, others' are not. You must exercise caution when in public. For all I know, someone in this room could be working for Klaus."
Elena nodded. She appreciated Elijah's advice, but she wasn't stupid. She knew there could be anyone around that knew Katherine and could try to attack her. There could be anyone, anywhere that was one of Klaus's minions and she was constantly in danger. But that wasn't going to stop her from living her life.
"All set?" Elijah asked when Elena had finished her breakfast.
"Definitely," she answered. They'd already loaded their bags back into Elijah's car.
Elijah walked up to the counter and checked them out, and they headed out to the car to be greeted by flakes of the white stuff falling and sticking to the ground. Elena smiled again. She had only seen snow a few times in her life, and she always took the time to appreciate it. One of her favorite memories with snow had involved her mother and Jenna...
"Oh my god," she gasped.
Elijah sped over to her in an instant. "What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, his voice panicked.
"Jenna... I completely forgot about her! She must be worried sick!"
"Would you like to call her?"
Elena stopped cold. "You'd let me do that?"
Elijah gave something reminiscent of a smile. "Elena, you're not my prisoner," he said, offering her his cell phone. "I just ask that you do not reveal our location."
"Thank you." She dialed Jenna's number and she picked up on the first ring.
"Elena, where the hell have you been? Stefan and Damon are off looking for you and you haven't called me in two days! I thought the worst!"
"Jenna, I'm so sorry," Elena said sadly, knowing that she deserved everything Jenna was throwing at her.
"Where are you? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, Jenna," she said, dodging the first question.
"Just tell me where you are and I'll come get you," Jenna pleaded.
"I can't, Jenna. I promise you, I'm fine and I'm safe. But this is for the best. I needed to get away for a while. I love you so much, Jenna."
"Elena, don't hang up -"
Elena hit the 'end' button on the phone, tears streaming down her face. Elijah was by her side instantaneously and she wiped her cheeks, not wanting him to see her so vulnerable.
"Are you all right?" he asked awkwardly.
She nodded. "I'm fine. Let's go."
"The state's not that big, so she can't be that hard to find," Stefan hissed. They'd already been all over Milwaukee and the lower half of the state.
"We don't even know if she's here, Stef," Damon pointed out.
"Your 'helpfulness' is really not helping at all."
Damon rolled his eyes. He was just trying to be realistic.
"I say we cover the entire state and then move into the next one."
"There are fifty states, Damon! That'll take longer than we have."
"Do you have a better plan?"
Stefan's silence was answer enough.
A/N: We know Damon has an unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift, so why not have him sing "Call Me Maybe"? :D I have problems.
Let me know your thoughts on this chapter!
