Page 25 of A Vampire's Pain
“Eh …”
He continued to look at me concerned when my head quickly came up with an excuse.
“The door wasn’t locked, I noticed,” I said, as I closed the door the rest of the way and locked it.
“Really? I was certain it was locked when I left the house,” he said.
He came closer to me, and I took a step away, fearing he would smell Gabriel on me. He started to inspect the door, even unlocking it and looking outside. I continued to back away, so the cold wind coming from the door wouldn’t push my scent towards him. The weather was already changing quickly, and it was clear that fall was not far away.
“Weird,” he said, and closed the door and locked it again, before turning to me. “Why aren’t you asleep?”
“Thirsty,” I said, and then quickly walked over to where I had dropped the bottle of water, holding it up.
“Why was it on the ground?” he asked.
“I must have knocked it over.”
He looked at me confused.
“Are you sure you are okay?”
“Why?”
“You seem … on edge,” he said.
“It has been a long night,” I told him.
He nodded, looking a bit guilty.
“I will go sleep though. Goodnight.”
“Val?”
I had only taken two steps away when Damon called out to me. I looked over my shoulder and saw his concerned eyes.
“You know I only want what is best for you, right?”
I nodded.
“I love you, and I will always protect you.”
“I know,” I said, feeling my heart squeeze with guilt. “I love you too.”
He nodded satisfied, and then let me go back to my room, but I found it very hard to sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about Gabriel and the kiss, and my promise to him. How the hell was I going to get out of here in three days?!
Chapter 11
-Gabriel-
I groaned, as I sat at the dining table, all of us coming down here to eat breakfast, even though it was the middle of the night. My head was pounding a little. I should probably have gone home after seeing Valeri, but I needed something to distract myself, so I didn’t go back to find her. I had no idea how I would survive three days without her, but I had promised to at least give her three, even though it already felt like hell to me.
“Long night?” Lara asked.
She sat in front of me and smiled a little. I just groaned again as I continued to rub my temples.
“Something like that …” I mumbled.
It was quiet for a little while, but then Lara spoke again:
