Chapter Ten
Soon, Caroline Forbes was engulfed by thousands of people in the Memorial Stadium of Chicago, Illinois. It was approximately three in the afternoon and she was attempting to reach Elena in the women's public bathroom. The restrooms smelled like sweat and cigarette smoke.
The blonde plugged her nose distastefully as she impatiently tapped her foot, hoping that her best friend would finally get reception from that ghost town. The lone light bulb above her flickered a couple times, dimming the small space.
A toilet flushed and Caroline had to hold her breath from throwing up due to the foul stench – the stench reminded her of the dead carcasses from earlier this morning. She suppressed the strong urge to gag.
An older lady with an Eagles shirt and cap came out of a stall. Caroline frowned when the lady didn't maneuver to the sink to wash her hands.
"Excuse me." Caroline said, her phone still against her ear. "Are you seriously just gonna walk out with dirty hands?"
The lady glared in a grumpy fashion at the blonde, but complied anyway and began to wash her hands.
"Don't give me a nasty look, lady. Washing your hands has been a priority since—"
Caroline shut up as soon as she heard reception pick up and she heard Elena's voice on the other line.
"Caroline."
The blonde fumed. Her friend had her worried sick. Elena was supposed to call from a phone as soon as she got into that town. What had she been doing the entire time?
"Elena Gilbert!" Caroline shouted, picturing Elena on the phone with a wincing expression. Without waiting for Elena to say anything, Caroline continued her rant, ignoring the woman's annoyed facial expressions.
"Do you have any freaking idea of how worried I've been over you guys? Like, what the hell? I've called you like a thousand times!"
The blonde was breathing in harsh pants by the time she was finished. As soon as the woman finished washing her hands, she walked away, but not before commenting, "Heinous bitch." With that, the woman walked out.
Pressing the phone to her shoulder, Caroline retaliated, "Yeah? Well, Eagles suck!" she shouted out the closed door, knowing well that the woman heard her.
With an eye roll, Caroline pressed the phone back to her ear to hear the middle of Elena's words, "—finally just entered a house where I have reception." That's all she heard from Elena.
"A house?" demanded Caroline. "Whose house are you at?"
She was curious and a little cautious as to why Elena was at someone's house. All they had to do was go to the town, pick up a fan-belt from the auto shop there, and go back to Stefan's car. What the hell was Elena doing at a house?
"Some guy named Bo." Elena supplied, nonchalantly. "He works at the local gas station."
"Ooh. Is he cute?" asked the blonde in a playful manner. She always loved to tease Elena about boys.
"Caroline Forbes!"
Caroline's smile grew.
"Whaaat? I'm serious." Caroline absentmindedly pulled out some paper towels from the dispenser and wiped away all the water remains from the rude woman who was being forced to wash her hands. The clean freak of Caroline Forbes got the best of her.
"You're always saying you need a break from Stefan…" Caroline drawled out, trying to push Elena's buttons.
"I'm not gonna cheat on him, Care." She could picture Elena rolling those large doe eyes. "And if you absolutely must know, I admit, he's kinda cute."
A smirk replaced Caroline's features. She knew her best friend way too well.
"Oh, so he's definitely a hottie then?" she asked innocently. She silently laughed as she heard Elena's defensive tone.
"I said he was cute, Caroline."
Annoying Elena Gilbert was constantly Caroline's goal as being her best friend.
"Elena Gilbert." Caroline announced as if she was an anchor woman about to deliver a news report. "Honey, I've known you all my life and every time you say a guy is cute, he turns out to be deliciously gorgeous."
She quickly peeked behind her to make sure she was alone. If Klaus heard her say that… Well, she didn't want to know what his reaction would be.
"I am so not having this conversation with you, Caroline." Annoyance was laced in the brunette's voice.
"Loosen up, Lena." Caroline laughed. After a moment, she sobered and asked seriously, "So, what's up? Did you guys find that fan belt thing or whatever?"
Caroline knew zilch about vehicles and car parts. But thankfully, Elena knew what she was talking about.
"Yeah." Elena informed. "Business is being taken care of at the moment. I don't know what the plan is after this, but I don't know, maybe Stefan and I will crash in a motel here or something. This town is actually really nice."
Caroline groaned when she heard the disgusting term town. After living in Mystic Falls her entire eighteen years of life, Caroline is so done with small towns.
"Ugh. I hate towns, especially small towns."
"You hate a lot of things, Care." Elena reminded.
"That's true. Okay, we're literally at the game now." Caroline finished wiping from the counter and deposited the soaked paper towels in the trash. "So, we're probably gonna be here for a long-ass time." Caroline rolled her blue eyes as she said this.
She really didn't want to be here. But in order to make her boyfriend happy, she would do just about anything to keep that happiness living.
"Did you guys still want to tag along or…?"
Caroline crossed her fingers, hoping that Elena and Stefan would haul their asses over here.
Much to her disappointment, Elena answered, "I don't know… I'm not in the mood for a loud, crowded football game and I don't think Stefan is either. I think we should just probably keep to ourselves and try to work things out. Because I don't want to be on Stefan's bad side forever, you know?"
As much as Caroline wanted to disagree, Elena was right. Things between her and Stefan were bad, and Caroline didn't want that. Maybe their alone time would fix things.
"Well, we can always just meet you guys back out there once the game is over. We'll probably spend a night in Chicago and wake up early to go meet up with you guys, wherever the hell you are."
"Okay, I don't have much service here." Elena informed, making Caroline frown. But she kept her mouth shut and waited for Elena to finish. "But when I get the chance, I'll call you. If not, then just meet us in the town of Ambrose. You should be able to find it on the GPS."
Concern spilled out of Caroline's voice as she responded, "Cool. Are you guys okay?"
They better be.
"We're fine, Caroline. Quit worrying."
"That's what the boys keep telling me." Caroline said, dryly, growing extremely annoyed of people telling her to quit worrying. Was it bad to be concerned for someone's safety? Caroline sure as hell didn't think so.
"Then maybe you should listen to them." She heard a playful tone. "I'll talk to you soon, Caroline. Seriously, no worries. Everything is fine. I'll see you sometime tomorrow."
"Be safe." Caroline warned.
"Will do. Bye." Elena finished.
"Bye." Caroline ended the phone call and reluctantly slid the phone back in her pocket.
Well, at least they're safe.
Caroline couldn't shake that eerie feeling growing inside as she exited the disgusting bathroom and welcomed the loud noises of the football stadium.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Darkness consumed Elena; swallowing her. Alert coursed through her system as her eyes opened widely and she frantically glanced around, trying to spot anything in the dark. She became painfully aware of the agony that was running through waves over her body. Everywhere hurt.
A waterfall of questions danced around her; where was she, what happened, where is everyone, where is he? Panic seized her and she attempted to move, but she couldn't. She struggled uselessly and came to the horrible realization that her wrists were tied down, and it wasn't tape. It was something stronger, more firm. Something that would be a lot harder to escape from.
Another pathetic tug of her wrist and she noticed it was a thick zip-tie; a type of fastener to hold items together. They were usually used for electric cables or wires, not for tying people against their will. Elena glared at the offensive tie that was trapping her wrists against the wooden headboard. A gasp escaped the teenager's mouth as another terrible realization kicked in.
She was trapped on a bed, and it can't be just any bed. A wave of nausea swept over her and tears started rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't breathe. The hurricane of tears crashed as she thought about her friends and boyfriend.
Originally, it all started out as a normal trip to get a big football game in Chicago and all of this was happening, all because Stefan wanted to get the stupid fan-belt for his car. She wondered where they were right now. Shit. How long have she been knocked out for?
The last thing she remembered was Bo attacking and chasing her out of the house. With no choice, she stumbled into his truck and attempted to drive away, but he had the upper-hand, of course. Images coursed inside and she honestly wanted to throw up. After one of the tires fell off a slope, trapping Elena, she was knocked out, most likely by the twisted man who she foolishly trusted, at first.
She heavily wondered where Stefan and the rest of her friends were and if Bo has gotten to them?
What the hell should she do? Should she scream for any help? No. That would be a dumb move. If the psycho heard the screaming, he would come inside the room. A chill shot through her body like a bullet as she wondered what the hell he was going to do with her.
Would he…? Elena couldn't think of that disturbing thought. That disgusting thought brought tears to her eyes.
No time for those tears, what she needed to figure was a way to get the hell out of this freak-show town. By now, Elena's vision has grown accustomed with the dark and she scanned through her surroundings. She vaguely recognized the outlines of a wooden dresser, some nightstands, and the door that granted her freedom.
Despite this being the bedroom of a psycho, the room looked utterly ordinary.
Thinking of a desperate escape plan, she again tried to tug her hands but there was no way she'd be able to pull them free from her bonds.
After a moment of useless struggling, Elena sagged against the bed in defeat. She could already feel her wrists stinging from the sharp bonds. Small beads of blood lined her wrists.
She had to give it to him; clever idea, using zip-ties instead of regular masking tape. If it was tape, Elena could easily escape from it, but unfortunately, Elena was left with no choice but to wait for the sick bastard to come back.
Somehow, she would have to let his guard down. Anything to get him to undo those thick ties. But how would she fight back? She was able to throw a punch and knee him in the groin, but could she attempt that a second time? Her chances were slim at this point.
Before she could clearly think things through, Elena heard a distance of footsteps outside in the hall.
Bo.
Her heart picked up speed. Sweat beaded across her brow and palms. Afraid to breathe, she waited in the dark, waited for something to happen. The footsteps grew louder, sharper.
They stopped and Elena automatically assumed that the man was standing outside the door.
Growing more alert, Elena tensed, her wrists stinging painfully as she unknowingly dug her flesh into the bonds.
Whatever Bo was doing outside the door, it was starting to make her angry. He's playing with her.
Making her think things.
Trying to mess with her and frighten her to the core.
That sadistic fuck. Elena cursed harshly inside her mind.
Slowly, the doorknob twisted.
Her breath fastened.
Images littered her mind of the possibilities he could do to torture her. Was he really the torturous type? She thought. That's a strong possibility.
Besides disturbing images, questions invaded. Why exactly was he doing this? Elena wanted a motive, something to understand. She wished she had taken a Psychology class in high school.
Finally, the door opened.
She lifted her head from the pillows, but frowned when she didn't see anyone in sight.
Not only was this room filled with darkness, but the hallway was pitch black as well.
Elena didn't dare say anything. It was so silent, she could hear a pin drop. Nothing.
A part of her wanted to call out, to kill the suspense that was eating her alive.
But she kept her mouth zipped.
She waited.
She knew the bastard was trying to play and it sickened her.
An outline of a figure suddenly appeared in the doorway.
Elena narrowed her eyes in the dark, trying to see. She glared, recognizing the tousled brown hair and that repulsive smirk. She remembered Damon and his smirks; his way of smirking was meant to be playful and try to annoy her. This type of man's smirking was far different than what Damon's intents were.
Damon, please help me. She shocked herself by silently pleading that inside her head.
Unfortunately, the raven-haired man wasn't here to help her. What made things worse, he was all the way out in Chicago. There was no way he was going to help her now.
She was alone at this point.
Bo leaned against the door and crossed his arms, looking like he was enjoying the sight of his victim.
Shit. Elena cursed silently. How in the fucking world am I going to take him down?
This never occurred to Elena, but the man towered at a six foot height, at least, maybe taller. All Elena knew was that he empowered her short height. Not only was he taller, he was wider, but still lean in a way that reminded her of Damon.
Bo hasn't said anything, which frightened her. The silence made it worse. She moistened her lips and cleared her dry thought.
"Please…" she begged in a whisper, knowing for certain that he definitely heard her.
Seeing the malicious man in the dark reminded her of the Bogeyman. Her little brother used to try to scare her with stories when they were younger, Elena remembered. And this was far worse than hearing a scary story.
"You know something, darlin'." He finally spoke, but hadn't moved from his position at the door. "I'll give you credit, you actually almost succeeded in getting away."
Elena turned her head away, feeling ashamed. He was right; she was so close to escaping.
"You've certainly fought back more than the others." Bo observed curiously, carefully watching her reaction.
"Others?" Elena questioned, quietly.
"Oh, what?" He sneered from the door. "You think that you're special or something, huh? You think that you're the first to be trapped like this? Oh, sweetheart, you don't even want to know how many people I encountered before you."
Elena felt like someone thrust their hand into her chest and ripped out of her heart. She felt mournful for the unknowing victims. She wondered what he did with them.
Bo pushed himself from the door and slowly advanced.
"I'm sorry, that was mean."
He softly apologized. Elena arched an eyebrow, startled at the sudden gentleness of his tone.
He was now standing at the foot of the bed. He fingered the laces of her Converse shoes. For a brief second, Elena thought of kicking him, but she slid that thought back quickly. That would only anger him. She watched carefully as he drew his fingers in circles on her shoes.
"I remember being a kid and wearing Chuck Taylor's." Bo murmured, thoughtfully. "Problem was, they were never cheap."
Elena didn't say anything. His attempt at a normal-sounding conversation scared her. He sounded so nonchalant. She preferred when he was sounding menacing or intimidating. The softness of his voice brought chills down her spine.
"Surprised people still wear these. Didn't think this would be a type of shoe that girls would wear."
"They're comfortable." Elena spat, suddenly defensive.
Bo nodded in agreement.
"Of course. I admit, I like you a bit already, Miss. You managed to surprise me on so many levels. All the ladies I've encountered before; they were stupid. No common sense. Did nothing but cry and pathetically beg for their lives. That's one thing I hate, women who are weak. Damsels in distress, to be exact."
Elena opened her mouth to speak, but decided to close it up, letting him finish speaking.
"At first, I thought you were like the rest of them. Nothing but a sweet, innocent defenseless teenage girl. You certainly put up more of a fight than your own boyfriend."
"What have you done with Stefan?" asked Elena, digging her wrists into the cuffs again, eliciting blood.
"Oh, me? I've done absolutely nothing with that dickhead boyfriend of yours. That wasn't my job. My main focus here is you."
That wasn't his job. What did Bo mean by that?
"Is he still… alive?" asked Elena, desperate to know the answer. Tears pricked her vision again and she didn't bother hiding them.
Bo paused for a moment, pursing his lips, he seemed to be in deep thought. Then, without warning, he switched on the lamplight, casting faint light in the bedroom. The sudden light hurt her eyes.
Then, he stood by her on the bed, and with excellent skill, he grabbed a large pocket knife from his pants. Elena shrank back in fear and Bo grabbed her wrist. Closing her eyes tight, she waited for painful penetration of the knife.
But much to her surprise, he instead cut through the thick zip-tie effortlessly. Discarding the plastic from her wrist, he retrieved to the other side of the bed to release her other wrist.
Her wrists could sing in joy from being freed. Since she could see properly in the light, she was startled to see all the dried-up and fresh blood around her wrists.
She wondered what the hell he was doing. Was he letting her go? Elena seriously doubted that. Whatever he was doing, it was giving her enough time to think of something.
As soon as he released her other wrist, Bo grabbed her waist and pulled her to a standing position. Elena stumbled on her feet a bit, almost crashing into his chest but soon, she was able to stand correctly.
Just as quickly as he pulled her up, Bo was grabbing her firmly by the arm in an iron grip and forcing her to follow him out of the room and into the dark hallway. Where was he taking her?
Taking a risk, Elena only acted physically.
Without warning, she crashed into him, catching him slightly off-guard. This action resulted both of them smashing into the wall. Bo was back completely alongside the wall with Elena against him. She brought her knee up sharply.
He reacted by punching her face, her jaw. The force knocked Elena off him and into the opposite wall. Angrily, Bo advanced and grabbed the petite girl. She struggled for a moment before she elbowed him severely in the gut, making his grip around her slack.
With every ounce of strength she had left, Elena finished by knocking her head against his, head-butting him. Elena felt pain and a little woozy as she stumbled away from him in a daze.
She crawled down the stairs, immediately seeing the front door. Crawling faster, she sprinted towards the door and to her dismay, it was locked. Quickly, she went for the window, but it was locked too.
Elena spotted a chair in the corner of her eye and picked it up to smash it into the window. Nothing happened. The only thing that broke was the chair. Elena thrashed the chair desperately against the window but nothing was happening.
Throwing the chair down with an angry snarl, Elena studied the glass a little more before she realized it was maxi glass. A shatter-resistant alternative to glass…
"Clever bastard." Elena whispered.
She heard shuffling upstairs. She knocked Bo out pretty well, she had to gloat for a second. But he was probably getting up, and she had to do something, quick.
Elena dashed for the kitchen and searched through the drawers to find a weapon. There was nothing in the kitchen drawers that could protect her. No knives anywhere.
Not knowing what else to do, Elena stood in the kitchen and listened. Footsteps, nearby, coming down the stairs.
Elena's heart fastened.
She spun around and looked for a place to hide. Her eyes landed on one of the bottom cabinet kitchen drawers. She hurried over and silently opened the door. Thankfully, inside was completely empty.
Elena crawled inside and pulled her knees up to her chest and attempted to keep her breathing in check. She was playing hide and seek with a psycho. Luck was not on her side. She stopped breathing when she heard muffled footsteps inside the kitchen, dangerously close to her hiding spot.
The footsteps grew louder.
He had to be only a few feet away from where she was hiding.
"Elena, come on out." She heard Bo's voice call out in a sing-song tone. "I'm not going to hurt you, sweetheart."
Yeah fucking right, Elena silently scoffed.
"Don't make me do this, Elena." His voice came out in a low growl. She could hear him slowly pacing back and forth in the kitchen. "You know, I was gonna show you where Stefan was… Until you pulled that idiotic ballsy stunt on me. But you blew that chance, you little bitch."
Elena cast her eyes downward, keeping her tears back. She really did blow this.
"Don't make me angry, Elena. When I find you, and I will – I'm going to get inside you, in every way you fear. Your pathetic boyfriend can't give you what you need, sweetheart. That little prick is clearly afraid to take control and that's what you need. I want you, Elena."
Please, leave me alone. Elena begged in her head as tears trickled down. She cuddled her knees closer. Her body stiff, her underarms growing damp. She was on the verge of freaking out.
"I know you want me too, Elena. I mean, it was pretty obvious from the way you were looking at me earlier today."
She clapped a hand over her mouth at his ballsy statement. Questions swooped in her mind like an owl. Would he really violate her in that kind of way if he finds her? Was he really this evil and immoral? Elena trembled.
What the hell is wrong with him?
"Elena, get your fucking ass out here or you're going to regret, little girl. Don't fucking test me…"
Elena squeezed her eyes shut in a painful manner, considering her options. Should she come out of her hiding spot? Maybe, if she apologized and begged for forgiveness, he wouldn't hurt her… No. Elena remembered him saying that he hated weak, pathetic girls. Damsels in distress. So, that's the reason why he in his twisted little way likes her.
"I was originally gonna be a gentleman about this, darlin', but quite frankly, you're really starting to piss me off. As of right now, I will present to you with two options. You hear me, Elena? Two options."
Bo announced as he paced back and forth.
"The cliché hard way or easy way. The easy way… you can come out of your stupid hiding spot and I'll only rough you up a little for pissing me off, and perhaps I'll consider showing you where Stefan is… or the hard way; you don't get to visit poor Stefan, instead you can stay in your pitiful little hiding place and hope to God that I'm lying when I say – I know exactly where you are."
She brandished a hand over her mouth, suppressing a gasp.
"And then I will come and haul your cute little ass upstairs and make you wish you were never born. But, it's your choice, of course, sweetheart. If you do choose not to come out, you better pray that I'm bluffing and have no idea where you are."
Asshole. Elena's mixed feelings of fear, anger, and humiliation were taking place. She wanted to cry, but she decided to remain strong. She was starting to grow very pissed actually. Who did this guy think he was? What was his problem?
Psychotic son of a bitch.
Elena managed to convince herself that Bo was bluffing. If Bo really knew where exactly she was, he probably would've dragged her out already. Elena didn't take him for the patient type.
She didn't know what to do but wait.
She had no idea how long it has been, but he obviously didn't know where she was.
Maybe, he given up. Maybe, he went out into town. Elena doubted that. Her body grew numb as she continued to wait. She sat inside the cabinet for what it seemed like forever, and still nothing.
What was he doing?
Elena was sure it's been over an hour at this point. She hadn't heard from him since his Two Options Asshole Speech he made. Elena wondered suddenly about a phone around here. Maybe, she could dial the cops, or Caroline, or anybody. Maybe, she could call 911 and leave the phone off the hook, so the cops could hear everything and trace it back.
She had to try it.
Her hands were shaking uncontrollably as she peered through the thin crack of the door. Nothing in sight. Elena stayed completely calm, not wanting to experience a mental breakdown. She's remained alive for this long, she had to fight for her life now.
She inched the door open, achingly slowly.
Complete silence.
Soon, the door was pushed open completely and Elena peeked through. Bo was nowhere in sight. As quietly as possible, Elena crawled out of the cabinet. Her sore legs shook in fear and she inched a step forward, careful not to make a sound that would attract unwanted attention.
Where the hell is he?
Elena saw a golf club, hidden between counters. Perfect for a weapon in case she had to defend herself. Holding it protectively in front, Elena continued to inch her way out of the kitchen, her eyes desperately searching for a phone.
She peered around the corner and into the living room. It was dark out there, she couldn't really see anything. It must be nighttime already, due to the darkness out the window.
Elena hesitantly stepped out. Her eyes caught sight of a clock on one of the desks. It read nine o' clock. Elena's eyes bulged. She's been knocked out for all those hours?
When Bo revealed his true intentions, it was like what, three o' clock in the afternoon.
As Elena walked around quietly in the dark living room, she finally spotted a phone next to the front door located on another desk. She maneuvered towards the phone.
She carefully picked it up and held it to her ear. Nothing on the other line. Elena frowned, her heart dropping to her stomach. No. No. No! She attempted to dial 911 and she felt defeated as she received no response.
The line was completely dead.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Date Posted: 08/30/14
A/N: Cliff hanger, much? Sorry about that!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEW RESPONSES! XD They truly made my day, and I hope I thanked every one of you personally, excluding the Guest reviewers, but thank you so much to you guys as well! It would make things A LOT easier for me if you weren't a guest but someone with an account so I can thank you properly :D
So, my second week of school went well! A lot easier than the first week. Now, it's Memorial Day Weekend and I have Monday off :D Who knows, if I'm feeling generous, I may post TWO chapters this weekend ;D
I'm so sorry for the lack of Klaroline in this chapter, I originally added a scene with them but I didn't like how it turned out. It felt out of place, so I decided to save that for later and instead wrote the part with Caroline calling Elena. But I felt this chapter was more important to focus on Elena and see the situation she's presented with.
By the way, I don't know if anyone noticed, but this story is officially rated M at this point. Language, Violence, etc. So yeah, just letting everyone know :D
REVIEWS ARE LOVE!
- Nina