The Forbidden Trilogy Part One: Part One 9111l

The Forbidden Trilogy Part One

Danielle Violette

Copyright © 2012 by Danielle Violette.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012919241 ISBN: Hardcover Softcover Ebook

978-1-4797-3299-9 978-1-4797-3298-2 978-1-4797-3300-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

Introduction

Prologue Benjamin Cross

Chapter 1 Friday Night Dunk Night

Chapter 2 CAM

Chapter 3 Lost Time

Chapter 4 Three Months Later

Chapter 5 The Undead

Chapter 6 The Beginning

Chapter 7 The Next Step

Chapter 8 Stepping Up

Chapter 9 TwoWeeks Later

Chapter 10 Surprise

Chapter 11 The Other Side

Chapter 12 The Darkness

Chapter 13 Luka Drago-Milano Row: The True Beginning

Chapter 14 In Between Life and Death

Chapter 15 Fire

Chapter 16 Mr. & Mrs. Stefan Row

Chapter 17 Pulling Back the Blinders

Chapter 18 Rude Awakenings

Chapter 19 Eastbound

Chapter 20 It’s Official!

Chapter 21 Day of the Dead

Chapter 22 The Red Carpet

Chapter 23 Escort

Chapter 24 A Little Competition

Chapter 25 Hostage

Chapter 26 Coincidence

Chapter 27 Intensive Care

Chapter 28 Escaping the Past

Chapter 29 Escaping the Past: Part Two

Chapter 30 There’s No Place Like Home

Chapter 31 Yacht Club

Chapter 32 Blackout

Chapter 33 Face it, Gabby!

Chapter 34 The Last Piece of the Puzzle

Epilogue Fairy-Tale Ending

Introduction

L ove can do funny things to you. It can make you happy; it can make you sad. It can even make you downright miserable. My name is Gabriella. Most call me Gabby. I’ve been twenty-three years old for a long time. But in order for you to fully understand my story, I have to take you back to the beginning… the very beginning…

Prologue

Benjamin Cross

Italy, March 31, 1916

W hen everyone you have ever loved is dead, where do you go? That was the question Benjamin Cross was tragically forced to face after his family was killed on the streets of Italy, leaving twenty-three-year-old Benjamin alone in the family estate. The estate had been twice the size of today’s American football field, standing four stories in height. It was the last place Benjamin wanted to be. So he left. He headed into the town on foot. It was night, and it was raining. But he didn’t mind. The weather never really ever did bother him much. As he walked, he thought of his little brother, the loss that hit him the hardest. He had only been nine years old. Little Drake was Ben’s main focus in life at the time, only to have it drastically torn away from him. Now his main focus was to live the life that Drake was wrongfully denied of. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, Ben would soon face his own dilemma. Fate had other plans for Benjamin Cross. As Ben turned down a random side street, he suddenly stumbled across an odd couple. They appeared normal, but there was definitely something off about them, something evil. He instinctively stopped.

He couldn’t see what he had interrupted, but Ben knew immediately he probably should have taken a different route. would later not regret his decision. The male had automatically taken to Benjamin, being interested in the mere sight of him. “Got any family, kid?” The man had asked in fluent Italian. “Not anymore.” Ben had replied, also in fluent Italian. Ben wasn’t exactly sure what happened next. The next thing he knew, he thought he was dying. He felt as if his entire body was on fire, burning his soul from the inside out. For Ben, he didn’t have anything left to lose. So dying didn’t matter to him anymore. What he couldn’t have known yet was that he was not dying. He was in fact being given a new life, a second chance even. It was a second chance that would last an eternity. In time, Ben would see and learn a lot of things. But even he wasn’t prepared for what was in store for him a few decades later. None of us were prepared. But every story has facts. This story takes us through it all—the secrets of this world and the meaning behind love, death, and sacrifice. The power of emotions and the depth of evil are big factors too. Everyone loves, everyone hurts, and everyone sacrifices. Most importantly, everyone loses someone at one point in their life. Either it’s a friend, a family member, or a lover. It always hurts, and it’s never easy. Everyone has their own way of dealing with pain. My story might exceed the line of normal, but that’s what makes it so special. So now that I have your attention, let’s jump ahead a few years, where my story begins…

Chapter 1

Friday Night Dunk Night

Florida, April 2010

B leep, bleep . The sound of my phone beeping next to my head awoke me. I whined . Not ready to be awake yet. But given I had to be at work in two hours and I live an hour-and-a-half away, I should probably get up, unless I want Uncle Eddie taring me a new one on a Friday morning. Bleep . . . Bleep . . . Bleep . . . My phone continued to beep. I kicked my feet, continuing to groan into my pillow before I grabbed my phone. I answered without checking the caller ID, already knowing who it was—my daily wake-up call. “Rise and shine!” Caleb taunted me, his breath heavy and paced closed together. Why he gets up every morning at six to run with Molly, our female boxer, I’ll never know. But I’d never get out of bed every morning without his phone call. “You gonna be back before I leave?” I asked, my voice crackled and half asleep. “That depends how late you wanna be… ,” he whispered seductively. His testosterone level was always highest in the morning. I laughed. “I’d run faster if I were you… I’m getting in the shower now… ,” I whispered in response, not moving an inch. And he knew that. I hung up the phone, closing my eyes for a minute until he gets back. The best part about having an uncle as my boss is that he won’t fire me for being late. And because he raised me since I was nine, and Caleb since he was born, he understands why his twenty-two-year-old niece who is in a relationship with his

ex’s kid, whom he mentored his entire life, is always late to work every day… It’s because Caleb and I are so close that makes us so compatible. I’ve known him my entire life. Then when my parents were killed in a “boating accident” when I was nine, my uncle Eddie took my older brother, Jonathan, and I in. Since Caleb never even met his father, Eddie was the only male figure in his life. Eddie takes pride in making sure that Caleb is the man that he has the potential to be. And so far, he has done a pretty good job of that. Considering we’ve been together since we were thirteen and fourteen, he’s pretty much the love of my life. I thank Eddie for that. He’s not just my boyfriend or the love of my life, he’s also been my best friend for as long as I can . Most of his friends hate it, mostly because they’re jealous. They’re not shy about it either. Being flirted with on a daily basis by a lot of the men I see every day is practically part of my routine. But I’ve never been interested in anyone but Caleb. I don’t know what it is, but he sort of has that hold on me somehow. I heard the shower turn on, waking me up for the second and final time. This time, I jumped out of bed. Our bedroom—Caleb’s bedroom—consisted of three rooms connected by wide archways. The center room consisted of our overly large bed; just behind it is our double bathroom. The other two rooms were filled with all of our other stuff, mostly electronics and clothes. The rest of the house was still filled with Caleb’s mom’s stuff. When she moved out of town four years ago, she left him the house as is. That’s when I moved in from Eddie’s. My brother also lives with us, taking over Janet’s room. Considering this house is on the ocean in Tampa and probably the size of three average-size houses, we hardly notice him, especially because a lot of the time we’re not even here. After taking a naughty shower with Caleb, I quickly got ready for work, throwing my long, wavy brunette hair up in a ponytail. If it wasn’t for my lifelong Sunshine State tan, I would have looked like hell. Already twenty minutes behind schedule, Caleb laughed at me the entire time as I ran around frantically searching for the things I needed. He looked so cute with his short, wet dark hair, along with his trim, hard, shirtless chest. “Dude, breathe, you’re gonna give yourself Tourette’s,” he teased. “Ha. Ha. Very

funny. The only reason you’re never late to work is because I’m always already there by the time you come in. You don’t have ta listen to Eddie—I do,” I replied. “Ha. Ya right. Eddie bitches at me too. For bein’ the cause of your tardiness. The other day he told me I need to learn to keep it in my pants until after work. Then I told him that if we were to do that, we’d most likely jus’ do it there whenever we got a minute. He hasn’t nagged me since. I think it worked.” He laughed. I laughed with him, rolling my eyes at his strange relationship with Eddie. At the same moment, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. It was a text from Eddie. “U better not still be at home. U come in late, U work late.” I cursed aloud. “I gotta go.” I said. “I’ll see you in a few hours. Love you,” I added anxiously before giving him a kiss. It was a kiss that made me thirty seconds later, but it was well worth it, seducing me from the inside out with the sweet taste of his lips that fit perfectly with mine. “Oh, don’t forget to let Molly out!” I reminded him, now having to yell up to him as I made my way downstairs. “know, baaaabe!” he yelled back, trying to be funny. I chuckled quietly to myself as I pushed my way through the door, the side door, the door connected to the driveway. The actual front door is mostly just for show or emergencies. Finally getting into my car—my 2009 BMW, black on black—I was finally on my way to work, now a half-hour late. Fortunately, Eddie also taught the three of us how to drive, teaching us that speed and rhythm is the main focus on getting somewhere as quickly as you can. Fast cars and illegal street races are things that are high on our list of weekly obsessions. But we’ll get back to that. An hour and twenty minutes later, I finally made it to Orlando, pulling into the shop-employee parking lot behind the building. ELG—Eddie Loves Guns—is my uncle’s gun shop and shooting range. Eddie has owned it for as long as I can . We kids have worked here since we

were old enough to work, first with Jon, and then Caleb, and then finally me. Guns have been a huge part of all our lives. We are professionally trained to use it defensively if necessary. Eddie definitely made sure that he didn’t raise pansies. He made it a priority to make sure we could drive, protect ourselves, and make a good living. He ataught us minor life lessons, family values, and, of course, respect. My job at ELG was engraving. Custom abrasions on the customer’s guns if wanted. Also to make sure that everything in the shop is correct and in the proper place. My brother is basically Eddie’s right-hand man. Having been here the longest, he has the easiest job, one that comes with the thrill of being the first one here every day. But even he’s always late. So it’s not just me. I think it’s just in our blood… Caleb’s job is similar to mine, except he mostly just assists me in the abrasion room. This mostly consists of a lot of flirting and not a lot of working. Which is why we can never get out of here until long after the shop is closed for the night. We always complain but never change. As long as we get it done on time, Eddie doesn’t complain. least we’ve got that going for us. As soon as I walked through the back door of the shop, Eddie was right there waiting for me outside of his office, shaking his head at me. “How nice of you to us. Shelby’s been waiting fifteen minutes for you to present his rifle. I hope you enjoyed yourself,” he said. I flashed a sarcastic smile at him, dropping my stuff in his office. “I’m sorry. I know, I suck. I’ll make it up to you, I promise!” I continued to smile at him, winning his heart. He kissed my forehead. “You can start by getting to work. He’s waiting in the showroom,” he insisted. “All right, all right. I’m goin’.” I laughed, making my way up front. Shelby, a regular customer of ours, was waiting for me as Eddie said. “Mornin’, Shelby. Sorry to keep you waiting,” I apologized. I grabbed the rifle that Caleb and I had worked on until ten o’clock last night from under the counter and gently laid it in front of me, presenting the engraved rifle as instructed.

Shelby was very pleased as always. This is why he only comes to ELG all the way from Miami. That’s a dedicated customer. I felt bad for being late. Eddie should have been harder on me. The people in our everyday life would say it’s because I’m the favorite. But I don’t think that’s true. Eddie shows the right amount of love for all of us. Not because he feel as if he has to but because we’re his life. Without us, all he has is this shop. Unfortunately, this is a cruel world, and our backbone is sick, very sick. For as long as I can he’s been sick, HIV slowly eating away at him. Eventually—probably sooner than later—we won’t have Eddie. He’s accepted that. This is why he has spent most of his life teaching us how to take care of ourselves in every way possible. He even made us learn Spanish. Living in Florida, people should anyway. But I wouldn’t have if he hadn’t insisted. Anything that would help us succeed in the world, Eddie made us learn— physically, mentally, and emotionally. We just have to appreciate the time that we have with him and just be thankful that he’s still here. It’s something we all had to accept a long time ago… Eddie’s not the type to keep anything from us or beat around the bush about anything. He tells us how it is, and we love him for it. That’s our family.

8:45pm

I sighed in relief as I finally finished my shift. I am now finally able to start my weekend. Just as I was finishing up closing the abrasion room, Caleb appeared in the doorway, startling me. He laughed. “Dammit, Caleb.” I breathed, catching my breath. He smirked at me flirtatiously, full of it already. “Can we get outta here or what?” He rushed me. I rolled my eyes. “Let’s go.” On our way out, we stopped in Eddie’s office. He was sitting at his desk, working on paperwork. Our entrance caught his attention. “You two off to the race?” he asked, having our routine down pat to the littlest detail.

“Yup,” We both nodded in sync, causing Eddie to roll his eyes at us. It kind of just happens when you spend every single day of your lives together. A lot of other things tend to happen too. We can drive each other crazy sometimes. Eddie stood, grabbing a camera. “You know what to do,” he stated under his breath as he handed it to me. I nodded. After doing this every week for the past six years, I think I knew what I was doing. Taking pictures of illegal street racers and their cars for Eddie was practically part of my job. He’s big on competition. If another racer has something he doesn’t, he gets it. That is what my job is— finding the info: flaws, weaknesses, and parts. Some of our family think that Eddie is bad for me in ways. He didn’t just teach me how to be good and successful. He also taught me how to be bad and how get away with it. We don’t speak to that part of the family. The people in our everyday lives are our family. Considering most of them live over a thousand miles away in Maine, and I vaguely even any of them; it isn’t something we dwell on. Don’t take it the wrong way; family is very important to us. It’s who we consider family that makes the difference. People who judge you and who don’t believe in you don’t deserve to be a part of your family. sayin’. “Don’t forget to make sure your brother brings his car in tomorrow. I’ll hang his ass if he’s too hung over to do what he’s gotta do, so remind him… please,” Eddie added. I sighed, not impressed, but it’s not like I had a choice. No one else is going to take care of Jon, so I have to play mommy as always. Considering we haven’t had a mother for thirteen years, I had no idea how to do a mother’s job. I kind of just wing it most of the time. I guess it’s a good thing that he’s older; at this point in my life, if I were to take care of an actual child, I’d screw them up for life for sure. This is why I take that little green pill every morning. “All right, is that all? Anything else? Can we go now!” Caleb ranted anxiously, probably borderline overdosing off of caffeine while holding an energy drink in his hand. Eddie shook his head. “Nope, that’s all. Enjoy your weekend. Monday we’re having a demonstration and gun safety fund-raiser, so try not to get too fucked up. I really don’t feel like scrapping you off the pavement,” he reminded us. It’s

a good thing he did because I had totally forgotten. From the looks of Caleb, so did he. Both of us sighed, definitely not looking forward to Monday. Eddie’s fund-raisers are basically torture for his employees. “Great… On it!” I cheered sarcastically. Eddie laughed at me. Caleb and I then proceeded to finally leave, pushing our way into freedom as we pushed our way through the back door. Caleb’s arm wrapped behind me, his hand caressing my hip, holding me against him as we made our way toward our vehicles. My arm also held him in the same way. Parked in our usual spots, his truck next to my car, we stopped in between the two. Caleb placed his free hand on the side of my face and pressed his lips into mine, pinning me against my car door. My hands caressed his chest as the taste of his lips sent me into total ecstasy; we are completely and utterly in love with each other. Unfortunately, we had things to do and places to be, so we unwillingly unglued our lips. “Love you. See you at the house,” he whispered before letting me go. “Love you too,” I reminded him as I got into my car. We then drove the hour-and-a-half-long drive home. Sometimes it’s only an hour and fifteen, sometimes twenty minutes. Because we drive this route every day, we knew the quickest way to get there at any given time of day. Add Caleb’s violent speed I’m forced to keep up with, and you automatically cut off ten extra minutes. It’s a good thing the same person taught us how to drive. Our weekends mostly consist of the same events every week. Mostly working around the MWS—Miami Weekend Smoke Show—the race. It’s a three-day event hosted every week of the year. Friday is qualification night. Racers race to qualify in Saturday’s race. Saturday’s race is to determine the top four racers in Sunday’s race, the big race —the smoke show. Out of the four racers, the two that win the smoke show then race for the weekly prize, usually cash, sometimes pink slips. Depends on who’s judging. People come from all over the place for these very illegal races.

Friday night is mostly for the bettors. People bet on who will win on Sunday. Bets close the second the first race begins Friday, making the bets a long shot, but the gamblers love it. We just go for the race itself—cheap entertainment. And because we’re also there to spy on the racers, we hide on the rooftop, just us and our friends with a perfect view of the whole race. It doesn’t get much better than that, except of course being in the race. After the race, the usual group of us goes to get a drink and something to eat. Then we go back to Tampa to our house to get drunk. Our closest friends usually meet us at our house after work before we head to Miami. Today wasn’t any different at all. Sara, I have also known my entire life. Our mothers were best friends in college. She’s considered family also. Besides Caleb, she’s the highlight of my life. Without her, I’d go insane. She basically spends the entire weekend with us, making up for the time we’re too busy to do anything during the week. With me spending 90 percent of my time at ELG and the other ten with Caleb or doing whatever extracurricular activities Eddie has for me, that doesn’t leave much time for friends anymore a few text messages throughout the day. A few dozen… Living in Orlando, Sara spends most of her time at school or working part-time in her mother’s office for the state. She appears to have it going for her. But I know how she really is. At school, she spends most of her time sleeping or flirting with boys. When she does actually go to class, she usually cheats. Studying, for her; means making cheat sheets or giving blow jobs for a . She has a natural way of pulling it all off. As if it’s the easiest thing in world for her, appearing completely innocent, her secret evil half only visible to the ones closest to her. Us, our family—Eddie, my brother, Caleb, and I, plus Sara— we’re a hell of a team.

Caleb’s closest friends, Trey Swan and Bret Jackson, his jealous friends who hate our relationship, are unfortunately also a big part of our weekend, using the weekend to also spend time with their friend after a busy week to get completely hammered and hit on his girlfriend. Also to bitch about how we need to other opportunities, “sharing the goods.” I hate them. Just like every week, Sara, Trey, and Brett were already at the house when we got there. As Caleb and I came through the front door, Sara danced toward me with her long straighter than straight blonde hair, completely full of it. amounts of energy pour out of that girl. “’Bout freaking time! We’re gonna be late!” she whined. “Story of my life!” I laughed to myself. She rolled her eyes, very well aware of my issue with being late to everything, always. “Duuuude, what the fuck!” Trey complained as Caleb and I started to go straight upstairs to change. “Shut the fuck up, Trey. I’ll be down in a minute.” Caleb barked at him, slipping his hand into my back pocket. His lips caressed my ear, making me giggle. the boys off on my behalf. Sara just laughed, always amused by the obvious irritation caused by our public displays of affection. But not as much as it amuses Caleb, for obvious reasons, something about the fact that his friends want me does something to a male ego, giving them the need to flaunt it. Being a girl makes it flattering, most of the time. This makes them even madder. Especially because they know I despise their mere existence. But sometimes it gets annoying and just plain old. Since we were running late, as always, unfortunately while we were upstairs we only had time to change our shirts, kiss for a couple seconds—because God forbid if a man sees you shirtless without getting something—and grab whatever we were bringing with us. Caleb’s hand fit perfectly into mine as we went back downstairs. Trey was now leaning on the counter, rolling a t. Sara was sitting on the counter next to him, waiting impatiently. Brett paced the hall, also waiting impatiently.

“We doin’ this shit or what?” Trey cheered, the most anxious of us all. “Let’s do it!” Sara jumped down off the counter, dancing her way toward me again. She walked with Caleb and me out the door, my hand still glued into his while we followed Trey and Bret. Each of us got into Caleb’s truck. I, of course, automatically had dibs on the front seat. The girlfriend rule would be another reason why Trey and Brett despise me. The four-hour drive to Miami consisted of us smoking as many ts as we possibly could on the way there. hoping we don’t get pulled over. It’s the only way to the time without driving each other crazy. Especially with Caleb’s friends nagging at me the entire drive while Sara nagged at them for nagging at me. It’s just a viscous never-ending cycle. The time we spend driving back and forth from Tampa to Orlando and down to Miami every week is such a waste of time; it’s rather pathetic. But we’re twentytwo and twenty-three years old; what did we care about time? To us, we had all the time in the world. guess the best of us are forced to learn the hard way. Jon and his buddies met us on the rooftop as always. His childhood best friend Frankie Myers is another regular in our group. I was the only one who could actually stand the sight of him, even though he’s also another one that flirts with me whenever he sees me. But since I’ve known him practically my entire life and does it in a more respectful way, it doesn’t bother me as much. Plus, Caleb doesn’t take it too seriously. He knows I’d kick his ass if he ever played the jealous card. He knows he has my heart forever. Hence our matching tattoos. On my eighteenth birthday, Caleb and I each got the infinity sign on our left wrist line to symbolize that our love will go on forever, no matter what happens. Frankie wrapped his large arms around me into a giant hug at the sight of me, lifting me up off of my feet. “Gabs! How’s it goin’, mullah?” he greeted me. I hugged him back, a bit less dramatically. I laughed quietly to myself at him. “Great. How you doin’, Frankie?” I replied.

“Oh you know, I’m doin’ me!” he said, finally letting go of me. “Awesome.” I nodded at him humorously, patting his chest lightly with my hand. With him standing a foot taller than me, it gave the situation a little spike. My brother then suddenly came crashing into Frankie. It was immediately obvious that he was already drunk. He was practically the same size as Frankie, only Jon is much cleaner and well kept. And so much smarter, though he’d never let anyone know it. “Ay! Gab-E-O!” he yelled, laughing obnoxiously. “Nice, Jon… You do know you have to bring your car to Orlando in the morning, right? Eddie told me to remind you and to make sure that you didn’t get too drunk,” I informed him, instantly making him laugh hysterically. I should have seen that coming. “I need to get drunk,” I thought aloud. “Baaaabe!” I yelled to Caleb, now determined. I usually don’t have my first drink until after the races, but tonight seemed like a good enough night to switch things up a bit. If I’m going to have to put up with a hammered Jon all night, I’m going to have to be just as drunk while I’m doing it. Luckily out of the two of us, I’m more stable than he is when it comes to drinking. I think that it’s horrible that the only way my brother and I get along is when we’re drunk. But considering the things that we went through at such a young age, I’m pretty sure we deserve to let loose once in a while, of the time. Caleb came up behind me, wrapping his arms gently around my waist as his lips lightly kissed my cheek. “Your ass is amazing in these jeans,” he whispered, practically dry humping me. I chuckled, turning around to face him, forcing his eyes away from my backside. “Is it… ? Well I think I’m gonna be spending a lot of time on it tonight. I need to get obliterated… Then if you’re lucky, later it’ll be all yours,” I whispered back, finishing with a soft kiss. He couldn’t help but smirk at my response as he kissed me back, numbing every inch of me. His hands now gripped my backside, now very much enjoying himself as we made out on the rooftop.

It was nice, until we were interrupted by Bret, of course. “What the hell, dude! Come drink, bitch!” he barked, already on his third drink. Caleb rolled his eyes, squeezing me harder. Apparently both of us were in the mood to get drunk because we both let go of each other and went right for the booze. Sara instantly glued to my hip, her mere presence making my day. I poured both of us our usual first—two Jagerbombs each, one for each hand. We didn’t hesitate. Together we tipped back one after the other, instantly making our entire body warm and numb—just what we were looking for. It wasn’t long before neither one of us could walk straight. The only one that could walk straight was our usual designated driver, Jon’s FWB (friend with benefits), Maxi Williams. How she tolerates Jon while she’s sober is beyond me. Fortunately for me, that’s her issue. She is a lifesaver— literally—ours and possibly others. Don’t drink and drive; it takes lives. Somehow, I did manage to still get the pictures Eddie wanted. But yet, at the time, I couldn’t tell you who won for the life of me. Although I’m certain Caleb could… It’s his obsession too.

Back in Tampa…

The real party begins. Back at the house, all of us went straight downstairs as always. The fully finished basement is the best part of this entire house. It is fully equipped, our homemade beer pong table being our most prized possession. And it’s the only thing in this room that costs under a thousand dollars. Still glued to the hip, Sara and I immediately stumbled our way down the stairs, laughing hysterically with each other. We went straight for the PS3, ready to bust

out our vocal cords with karaoke—our Friday night tradition—singing ridiculously. Meanwhile Jon and Caleb slaughtered each other at beer pong while the others cheered them on. They paused occasionally for Caleb to run upstairs to let someone in. Our mutual friends Mattie Marston, along with his girlfriend, Lauren Jax, were first to show as always. Then there’s always Eden Sawyer and Jasper Quinn— we call them Quinn and Sawyer—plus whatever girl they’re currently sleeping with, or trying to sleep with. They always show up at some point too. Sara’s friend Bridget came too. She doesn’t always, but when she does it’s always amusing. Her ex-boyfriend, Tony Sanders, is also a mutual friend of ours who comes almost every weekend, and I’m still convinced it’s why she comes in the first place, even though she pretends to hate seeing him. I’m a girl; I know how we operate. My favorite is Mattie, my Cuban friend. It’s always a good time with him. He’s hilarious. Plus, he has always been a good friend of ours, ever since middle school. Eventually, Caleb and I were too drunk to keep our hands off of each other. I sat on the edge of the foosball table. Caleb’s hands caressed practically every inch of me, our tongues currently shoved down each other’s throats. My fingers ran through his soft dark hair, holding his lips on mine. “Get a damn room!” Quinn called out to us, giving us our cue. Caleb lifted me up off of the table and proceeded to carry me upstairs. “Get herrr!” Sawyer added just as we reached the top, clearly to drunk to realize how offensive that was. Or even care. Caleb slammed the door shut in response. I was disgusted but too drunk not to laugh. So was he. Enough so that he actually set me back down. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t let go of me. He couldn’t take his hands off of me. After stumbling our way up the stairs, laughing at each other hysterically in the process, we shut ourselves in our room for the rest of the night with the music turned up and the door locked, becoming lost in our infatuation with each other.

Expressing our love in the most intimate of ways, his touch sent us into ecstasy. There wasn’t anywhere in the world that I would have rather been than in the arms of Caleb Adam McAurther… I was just a young girl simply in love.

Chapter 2

CAM

Saturday, 10:38 a.m.

The day I would later learn changed my life forever.

I felt Caleb’s hand softly caressing my back, awakening me. I could smell that he had just showered after his run, just to crawl back into bed with me. I smiled before even opening my eyes. My hand found his free hand, gently fitting them together. His lips slowly kissed their way down to my— Let’s fast-forward. Approximately thirty minutes later, I put on some cotton shorts and a tank top, with Caleb’s favorite navy-blue hooded zip up. Half zipped, hood up. My head was pulsing. After taking a few pain relievers, Caleb and I went downstairs to start the Saturday-morning cleaning spree. Caleb didn’t bother getting dressed, wearing only flannel pajama pants as usual, displaying his perfect abs for me to drool over all morning. Luckily, I’ve already had my Caleb fix this morning, so I just might be able to get something done, most likely his intentions for both of us.

To both of our surprise, Sara was already up and on a roll, running around with a trash bag and picking up bottles. Someone else had a pick-me-up this morning. “Rise and shine, drunkie!” she said. “Ready to bust this shit out with me?” she added. I laughed aloud. “Uh, yeah, right on that. After a smoke… Unless you want me vomiting all over you as I scrub the floors,” I replied, letting myself fall onto the couch in the living room, moving weakly. I forced myself to sit up, focusing on my task at hand. “Maybe you shouldn’t have stayed up so late… what time did you even fall asleep?” Sara asked curiously, pretty much asking how long Caleb and I had sex last night before ing out. Because she’s my best friend, she thinks that entitles her to know the details of my sex life. She’s always telling me about hers. I looked back at Caleb, smirking at him. He laughed aloud, rolling his eyes at Sara. When I looked at her, I still was smirking. I couldn’t help it. “I don’t know… three thirty… four, I think. I was still a little too drunk to pay any attention to what time it was,” I said, giving her the answer she was looking for without giving her too much. “Ugh, that fuckin’ sucks. Why can’t I find a man that can last longer than fifteen fuckingggg minutes? Bitch…” She sneered at me indirectly. I rolled my eyes at her, trying not to laugh. She glared over at me, clearly unimpressed. I didn’t blame her. I’d be pissed too if I couldn’t find a satisfying man. Caleb came to sit next to me. Sara was also unable to resist, taking a break from cleaning to sit and smoke with us. “Maybe if you didn’t hook up with assholes, you’d actually find a guy that appreciates you. If a guy appreciates you, he always finishes last,” Caleb said bluntly to Sara. As much as he hates to it it, he cares about what happens to her just as much as I do. He’s known her his entire life too; he has to care. We’re only human. I think it’s just a guy thing. They’re not good with feelings that they’re not comfortable with, which is completely opposite from the average female.

Opposites seem to attract. Especially in Sara’s case. “Ya, but it’s hard to filter out the assholes when they all look the same,” Sara responded negatively, showing her hatred because Caleb’s actually a decent guy. Thanks to Eddie. I shook my head at her. “I think you just gotta find the right one. The only way to do that is to look through the assholes,” I suggested. “That’s easy for you to say… you didn’t have to look very far… ,” she reminded me. She had a point, but that didn’t make me right. She’d later learn that. Sara and I started cleaning the hardwood floors downstairs, working our way back up to the middle floor while Caleb picked up cigarette butts, beer bottles, and whatever else he might find outside. I hated Saturday mornings. Despised them would be more accurate. Once we made our way upstairs, I peeked out the window at Caleb, only to notice that my brother’s car was still parked out front. I immediately ran upstairs, making my way toward the other half of the upstairs, Jon’s half. Without hesitation, I barged through Jon’s door. “What the fuck are you doing?” I yelled at him. “Eddie’s gonna kill you! You better get up now,” I added. He groaned, rolling over, practically on top of Maxi. Cute. “You lazy shit!” I muttered. “Get the hell up, idiot!” I yelled, back slapping him at the same time. “What the fuck!” he yelled back. “Fuck you! I’m up!” “Good!” I sneered before storming away, slamming the door behind me on the way out. I went back downstairs, using the other set of stairs that are closest to Jon’s room, taking me to the other side of the middle floor and directly into the office, exactly where I wanted to be. This is exactly why I went this way. I grabbed the handheld touch device that controls the entire house off of its charger and turned the house into one giant speaker. I selected a playlist to clean to while also assuring Jon doesn’t go back to sleep. I brought the device with me back through to the kitchen, where Sara was cleaning to hide it from Jon. Just in case.

Sara laughed, dancing with the music as she cleaned. I mirrored her, making this morning all the more entertaining, especially for Caleb, who I caught watching in amusement from outside. He might as well have his manhood in his hand. About twenty minutes later, the music paused itself. “Incoming call from Edmond Love,” the house spoke, causing me to sigh at its announcement. With the music paused I could now hear the landline ringing all the way back in the office. I ran. Sliding across the freshly shined floors in my socks, I made it before he hung up. “Eddie,” I breathed. “Gabriella… ,” he stated. “Where is your brother… ?” he asked under his breath. I could practically hear his teeth clenching in an attempt to tame his frustration. That’s never a good sign. Whenever Eddie speaks under his breath it’s because he’s trying not to yell. “He’s here… I tried to get him up, but he basically told me to fuck off.” “Give him the phone, please,” he insisted strongly. Trying not to laugh, I did what I was told. For once, I wasn’t on the receiving end of Eddie’s wrath. Since I was already on this side of the house, it only took me a couple of seconds to run up the stairs from the office up to Jon’s room. Letting myself in again, I threw the phone to Jon. “It’s for you!” I informed him, stating the obvious. Considering every room in the house was just informed of who was calling, he was obviously expecting that. He glared at me, as if to say “Why’d you answer it?” I flashed a sarcastic smile at him and then made my way back downstairs, continuing the cleaning spree. Jon had slowly made his way downstairs soon after, looking like absolute crap. Maxi was standing next to him, looking as perfect as could be, which made him look even worse. ’s what he gets for drinking six to six. “You goin’ ta the race tonight after Caleb steps?” he asked, sounding even worse than he looked. “Yup, Eddie wants me there,” I reminded him, trying not to say too much in front of Maxi. It’s practically impossible to trust anyone these days.

“Doesn’t he have boxing tonight too?” Sara added. I nodded. “On only five hours of sleep he’s gonna box, step, then go to the race, then go out with us afterwards? After getting up and running two miles with Molly. He’s crazy. I’d never do all that shit,” she thought aloud. “Me either,” I agreed. “He’s a trooper. Eddie definitely makes sure he’s busy enough to stay out of trouble,” I added, not knowing just how wrong I was. Sara continued her task at hand, putting dishes in the dishwasher and all of the cups and all of the stuff used to make munchies before everyone else went to bed last night. Caleb and I had missed out on the midnight munchies fest this week because we were a little too preoccupied. I hadn’t even heard them in the kitchen, obviously paying more attention to what we were doing… I just hoped that they didn’t hear us… That’s embarrassing. No matter who it is. Since Sara hasn’t said anything, I was almost positive our music had been loud enough this week. I can’t say that about every week, but we try. As hammered as we get, I’m surprised that we even manage to . As Jon and Maxi went out the door, Caleb came back in, slapping my ass as he walked past me. “Damn! Even I felt that one!” Sara laughed at the loud echo of Caleb’s skin hitting mine. I smirked at him as he looked back at me. Smirking back, he blew me a kiss before making his way up the stairs. I started to clean faster, eager to have it finished already. I was desperate for five minutes with Caleb before he leaves. I won’t see him until his battle. And even then he’ll be busy, so it’s not like we’re spending time together. When he came back downstairs, he came up behind me, holding me tightly around my waist. His man business poked my backside. I chuckled in amusement at his testosterone level. “So I was thinking we’d do things a little differently tonight,” he whispered as his teeth nibbled my ear. “Oh ya? How?” I asked quietly, turning around to face him. My arms wrapped behind his neck. His hands now gripped the small of my back, grossing out Sara or making her jealous, depends on what kind of mood she’s in. Caleb smiled a very suspicious smile at me before responding. “After the battle I wanna spend a little time with you alone before the race… I guess you could call

it a date.” Because I know him better than I even know myself, I knew that he was conspiring something. The look in his eyes told me there was something else. But I didn’t look too much into it. I kissed him instead, responding physically. He smirked, obviously pleased with himself for pleasing me. “I’m gonna go get in the shower… You still gonna be here when I’m done or are you leaving soon?” I asked quietly. “I’ll come up before I leave,” He promised. “‘Kay,” I whispered before kissing him again. Unwillingly letting go of each other, I started to make my way upstairs. Sara followed, keeping me company. Because I had the coolest bathroom ever, I didn’t need to turn the house into a giant jukebox for music while I showered. My bathroom has its own personal system. Sara sat on my large counter, talking endlessly as I showered. She managed to tell me every detail of her week. What she did, where she went, who she saw, who she didn’t see, and of course which boys she had started crushing on since last week. It’s always an amusing conversation whenever Sara’s telling a story about anything. She has a way of making everything she does sound hilarious. That’s probably one of the many reasons why I adore her so much. She has always known how to lift my spirits. ’d learn to appreciate her even more in the days to come. When disaster strikes, it’s who’s standing next to you through it all that matters the most. I knew that when my parents died, but I was too young to really understand the extent of it. But now, let’s just say I know who my true friends are. As promised, Caleb came up to say bye before he left. Opening the shower door, he gave me a very ionate kiss while also getting a sneak peek. I wasn’t really sure what the ion was all about, but I wasn’t complaining. “I’ll call you after boxing… Don’t forget to feed Molly before you leave,” he said, his head still in the shower. “I won’t forget. I never forget about her,” I replied. He knew I was right, so he didn’t say any more about it. “Mm, love you,” he moaned as he gave me another kiss. “Love you too,” I whispered back

seductively, biting my bottom lip at him. Sara cleared her throat, reminding us of her presence. Caleb glared back at her, obviously not impressed with her pushiness as always. Neither one of them have ever been any good at sharing me. That’s the problem. Once he left she started in again, bitching about Caleb instead of ranting about her week. As angry as I get when she complains about Caleb, I never let it show. I mostly ignore her completely. If I let every negative thing she ever said about Caleb get to me, I’d go crazy. She would also soon learn her lesson. As I got dressed and ready for the night ahead of me, I told her about my week, mostly consisting of whatever interesting thing I had experienced at ELG this week. There’s always something. The people that come into that shop are often unforgettable. Sara always got a kick out of it, and I enjoyed telling her. It was better than listening to her whine. Since we had a few hours left before we had to go anywhere, we curled up all the way downstairs in the entertainment area—our party pad—on the couch in front of the flat screen. We watched a Family Guy marathon to the time. We also smoked while we relaxed, making it even better. Whenever you get Sara and me in the same room together, smoking weed and watching comedy, we always manage to laugh hysterically and continuously like children. Like our immaturity unleashes while in the presence of each other. We certainly don’t act that way when we’re separated. We sat there until the very last minute we could, procrastinating. couple of lazy potheads. Unwillingly making our way upstairs, we got our stuff together. First I fed Molly, as instructed. And then I gathered the few things I never leave the house without—my keys, my phone, and my ID. Just as we were walking out the door, Caleb called as promised. ’s never been

one to disappoint. We only talked for a couple of minutes, filling me in on what he was doing and where he wanted me to meet him after his battle, the usual. Sara left her car, riding with me, keeping each other company. It makes the fourhour drive to Miami a lot less deadly from boredom.

Miami, Florida

Underground Step Battle

10:00 p.m.

It was like watching magic when I watched Caleb step. He’s so devoted and focused—sexy. Holding the top rank for the past six months makes it all the more exciting. Witnessing him win a battle is like a mother watching her child take his first step. It’s a beautiful thing. In the underground stepping world, Caleb is known as CAM, his initials. His step team basically step around him, giving him the show because he’s that good. He belongs in the real stepping world, in college frat houses, doing it for a purpose. But life had other plans for him. Tonight, Caleb was battling against a group that has been trying to beat him and his guys for weeks. So everyone was extra determined tonight. And of course, they school them, maintaining being undefeated another week. Attitude is a huge part of step, and Caleb has just the perfect attitude for it. Some love him for it, and others can’t stand him. This was understandable at the time. So as instructed, I met Caleb out back after the battle, our usual crowd already there and waiting. As soon as Caleb came out the door, the first thing he did was give me a kiss. Even though he was distracted by my presence, no one else

seemed to notice. All of the other strung-out kids came barreling out at the same time. This was soon interrupted by someone hollering at Caleb. That someone was the head stepper in the group Caleb just battled. Max Whitefield. “Ay! Why don’t we handle this shit in the streets! After I beat your fuckin’ ass I’ll wax that fine ass girlfriend of yours!” he threatened him. Before Caleb even moved I already knew that he had crossed the line by mentioning me. Caleb never responded well to threats. “Caleb, stop! Just let it go!” I begged him quietly. But he ignored me, already seeing red. Caleb stormed toward him, eager to smash his face in… Fortunately, Caleb can handle himself. I wasn’t worried about that. It was vengeance I was worried about, as I should have been. I would soon learn that this was the very moment that opened the door to a whole new life. The moment that would change all of our lives forever… In the end, Caleb practically almost killed the kid. My brother and Trey had to tear Caleb off of him. His hands were covered in blood. And it wasn’t his. He had one scratch on his forehead. Not enough to make him bleed but enough to prove what had just happened. I rolled my eyes at him, unimpressed. His friends gloated, giving me another reason why I can’t stand his friends; they’re bad for him. So it was only more amusing for me when they got upset when they realized Caleb and I had plans of our own between now and the race. Considering Caleb just beat someone’s face in, we had to get out of there as quickly as we could, leaving no time for protest on their behalf. Because I rode with Caleb, I made Jon drive my car. Not about to leave it on the streets in Miami and not about to drive separately. I had absolutely no idea what we were doing or where we were even going, so I was pretty surprised when he brought me to the pier. The location told me that this had definitely been thought out. I immediately knew exactly where we were going; this is where we had our first

date. Nine and a half years ago. I should have known that this is where we were going the moment he said the word “date.” I guess I was off today. After having a drink at the bar, we took a little walk under the pier where our first kiss took place. After repeating that kiss, only a lot more practiced, he presented a long skinny box. My heart stopped for a fraction of a second, always taken back by surprises. What girl isn’t? Inside the box was a silver white diamond bracelet. Without saying a word, he took it out and put it on my right wrist, my left already taken by our matching tattoos. It was perfect. I know, he appears perfect right? That’s because, in my eyes, he is. He’s perfect for me. No one is absolutely perfect. Everyone has their flaws, and everyone has their issues. But when you’ve been together as long as we had, you learn to pick your battles. Most of the time they’re just not worth the effort. Luckily that’s one thing I wasn’t forced to learn the hard way. We didn’t waste too much time fighting. “I just wanted to remind you how important you are to me. And that I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you’re happy… No matter what,” he whispered, his touch a comfort all on its own. His words we’re intoxicating. “Just being with me is good enough for me. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I said, causing Caleb to smile at me. “I love you,” he added, his lips making their way toward mine. “I love you too,” I whispered, pressing my lips into his. The spark seduced me from the inside out. Finding real love is rare as it is. Finding real love at our age is even rarer. People just don’t come across love like ours twice in one lifetime. This is why I’ve dedicated the past ten years holding onto that love, determined to never let it go. No one could ever win my heart they way Caleb did all those years ago when we were just kids. Life just doesn’t work that way. Life has a way of kicking you in the ass. I’ll prove it. Later, back at the race, Sara was ecstatic, completely zoned in on the race. We watched as the racers raced around the edge of Miami Beach, giving the gearheads in the group their fix. Luckily I was used to listening to them yell and

scream the entire time. The fact that my patience with them was rewarded with booze afterwards made it a lot easier to tolerate. We went to our usual spot at Dilly’s for food, followed by booze, our favorite night out. No early morning cleaning spree. No need to worry. Life was practically simple; I had it made. For the most part anyway. Point being, everyone should be allowed to have their fun, As long as they can accept what consequences may come of it. People our age aren’t programmed to worry about life-altering events or fully understand the difference between right and wrong—or slick versus busted would be more appropriate for most. Most of us are forced to learn life’s lessons the hard way. Whether we are ready for them or not. The way we handle these things help us shape who we are and who we may become. But it’s our job as human beings to decide how these things will define us. People change every day. You just have to have the courage. This, I was also forced to learn the hard way. As most are. None of us expect anything bad to ever happen to us. It just does. When we least expect it. If life was predictable, it would be easy. Then what? More tragedy? I can a day that now seems like a dozen lifetimes ago, back when my parents were still alive, when my mother said a few words to me that I will never forget. To this day I’ll cherish them. “life is going to throw you curveballs, Gab. You just have to learn to catch ’em and throw ’em right back!” Today her words mean a lot more to me than they had when I was seven, obviously. It isn’t just because it’s one of the only things I can my mother by. It’s what the words themselves mean that mean so much. Eddie would later tell me something similar, but it never was quite the same. When someone changes your life, they change it forever.

Chapter 3

Lost Time

Sunday-Monday

W hen I woke up, Caleb was still sleeping soundly. I crawled out of bed as quietly as I could, letting him get the sleep that he so obviously needed. To the time, I tiptoed into the first room, knowing if he were to hear that I was up, he’d wake up. I wanted him to sleep for once. He’s always the one who lets me sleep. Today it was my turn. I sat at my computer, digging through the lives of the people I could care less about on Facepage, updating myself on the local drama. Meanwhile I updated the world on mine. Little did I know, by the end of the day, my drama would top everyone else’s. Sara must have heard me from downstairs because she came up soon after. She immediately saw that Caleb was still sleeping and proceeded quietly. Even she respected the sleep Caleb so desperately needed at the time. The two of us, as quietly as we possibly could, continued to search through Facepage for something interesting. But as always, there was nothing too dramatic. Nothing besides what we were expecting to see anyway. Just a couple of breakups, a couple hookups, normal college kid drama—boring. When Facepage was no longer entertaining us, I quietly made my way through the middle room, past Caleb, and into the bathroom. Apparently I wasn’t quiet enough because I ended up accidentally waking Caleb up anyway.

I cursed under my breath as I heard him climb out of bed. With Sara waiting just outside the bathroom door, Caleb let himself in. “What fuckin’ time is it?” he asked, clearly still half asleep. “Eleven,” I informed him, surprising him. Because we had a double bathroom, we were both peeing as we spoke to each other from across the room. “I can’t even the last time I slept until eleven. Why didn’t you wake me up!” he asked. I chuckled. “Seriously? You’re a monster. You wake up at five every day. Only to spend your day working yourself to death. You needed to sleep. That’s why I didn’t wanna wake you. The fact that you slept until eleven only proves my point. You probably would have slept longer if I hadn’t been too loud coming in here,” I informed him. He rolled his eyes at me while smirking through the mirror. “How long have you been up?” “Only like forty-five minutes.” He nodded, and then followed me back out into the bedroom where Sara was waiting impatiently. As soon as Caleb came into the bedroom, he proceeded to get ready for a run. God forbid he wakes up without going for a run. No matter what time it is. I’m surprised he didn’t die from heat stroke that day. It was 93 degrees. Sara and I went down into the living room to hibernate in front of the flat screen. Caleb gave me a quick kiss before he left with Molly, leaving Sara and me alone. I had no idea where Jon was. It didn’t matter. We watched one of Sara’s favorites to the time, The L Word. Add wake and bake to the mix, and we could’ve watched anything and been entertained. Caleb was more than amused when he got back and saw us still sitting there, watching a lesbian drama series. Leaving Sara alone with her show, I went upstairs to shower with Caleb, an extra long one. Since all we had to do today was watch the final race tonight, we had the entire day to do as we wished.

We didn’t do much. The three of us mostly hung around the house all day until it was time to drive the three hours to Miami Beach. Our friends and my brother were already there when we arrived, and they were completely full of themselves, of course. Since Caleb and I had a long day ahead of us at ELG in the morning, we didn’t go out with the others after the race like we normally would have. Jon apparently wasn’t too worried about it. He stayed. Caleb and I didn’t. Instead, we went home to relax. With Sara on her way back to Orlando and Jon out with his friends, we had the whole house to ourselves for once. There was no one to bug us or interrupt, no one to complain that we’re too obsessed with each other. Or so we thought… We stretched out on the couch in the living room. I lay on top of him with my head resting on his chest, watching a movie. His fingers fiddled with my wavy curls. Just enjoying each other’s company. Like normal people do. Molly laid on the floor in front of us quietly, never treading too far away from her master. She’s very protective of Caleb. She’d prove that sooner than I would have wished. Her head suddenly popped up, catching Caleb’s attention. “What?” I whispered. “Shh. Did you hear that?” he asked under his breath. I listened with him for a couple of seconds but heard nothing. “Uh, no, what are you talking about?” I asked. I could feel his heart starting to race, instinctively making me nervous. The look on his face told me something very bad was about to happen… My heart started to race with his. The next few events happened so quickly that at the time, I wasn’t even processing what was really happening. It didn’t really hit me until later. Every move I made was instinctive due to massive amounts of training. I couldn’t have been more thankful for them now. At the same moment in time, Molly stood to her feet, barking at the door; the front door came flying open, and Caleb reached under the couch for one of the many guns that were hidden in this house. He held my head in place against his chest, shielding me as he shot at the three

guys that were shooting at us from the hallway. of which was the guy Caleb had schooled last night and left in a parking lot after beating his face in for disrespecting me-Max. All of Eddie’s training had prepared us for this very moment, so we automatically had the upper hand. One of the most important being to never shoot unless you’re going to hit your target. It’s a waste of ammunition and time. That being said, Caleb’s first shot wounded the first guy. They had shot at us six times already by this point, missing completely. As the first guy screamed in pain, distracting his buddies for a moment, we used that time to get the hell out of there. Practically carrying me, Caleb quickly made his way toward the other side of the house. He set me on the bottom of the stairs in the office. “Don’t move,” he insisted and then disappeared up the stairs. Now I’m not exactly sure how long Caleb had been upstairs. But during this time, one of them found me, the most important one. It was the guy from last night. Unfortunately for him, he knows absolutely nothing about me or what Eddie has trained me to do if this sort of thing was ever to happen. So I managed to keep him off of me long enough for Caleb to make his way back downstairs. But not before he managed to slam me into the glass bookcase, slicing my back open in six different places. My survival instinct helped to ignore it for now. Ripping him off of me by the back of his head, he smashed his face on the desk. He then proceeded to beat his face in again. This time much more violently. Meanwhile, the second guy appeared in the archway. I grabbed the gun that Caleb had dropped and shot once, dropping him down before he even had a chance to react to what he was seeing. Reacting to the shot, Caleb directed me up the stairs. We quickly but quietly made our way to the other side of the house, taking the other set of stairs back into the kitchen and living room area, where it had all started. We crouched our way into the kitchen. Caleb set me down in the corner

on the floor for a moment. He knelt down in front of me, eye to eye. He kissed my forehead, only to be distracted by someone shooting at us, horribly. We quickly scooted to the other side of the kitchen, shielding ourselves behind the island that we now sat back against. Caleb grabbed another gun that was hidden under the sink in front of us. We then proceeded to shoot back at him from each side of the island. But we couldn’t get a kill shot. We were only wounding him. Still barking defensively, Molly was practically foaming at the mouth just around the corner from Caleb. “Get ’em, Molly,” Caleb whispered. That was all it took. Molly’s natural instincts kicked in, and she practically pounced at him, growling at him in midair. He started to run, but he wasn’t quick enough for Molly. She demolished him, probably much more violently then she should have. With two out of three dead and one still unconscious from getting his head beat in for the second time, Caleb relaxed long enough to give me his full attention. “You okay?” he breathed. I nodded, also taking the moment to breathe. Caleb sighed in relief. His lips immediately then found mine, but only for a moment. Refocusing on our lives Caleb took my hand into his. “We gotta make sure the last one is still down,” he whispered as we quickly but quietly made our way back toward the office, stepping over the first two on the way. Molly continued to chew on number two in the corner . . . Still alive, the last and most important coughed up blood in agony on the floor. Caleb aimed his gun at him as he came around the corner, treading carefully as he circled him. I stayed closely behind him with my gun behind my back. “What the fuck are you doin’ here? What do you want?” Caleb sneered at him. He proceeded to crouch as he attempted to speak. “Your friends are dead, so I suggest you start talkin’ ’cause you’re either gonna die here or in prison,” Caleb added.

He spit blood onto the floor. “As long as I’m taking you with me,” he stated, quickly pointing his gun at Caleb. all happened so fast. Both of them shot at the exact same time. I naturally unloaded my clip into Max-number three-on the floor. It wasn’t until I looked over at Caleb that I realized just how much it had been deserved. It wasn’t even close. I immediately dropped to my knees, kneeling in Caleb’s blood. He was alive but dying quickly. He pulled me closer to him. “Get out of here… Go as far away as you can. Move on. I love you, I always have,” he whispered, kissing me one last time, making it all too real. I instantly became hysterical, obviously. I couldn’t even breathe. “I’m not going anywhere. You can’t leave me. No. You can’t do that to me. I need you, Caleb! You have to stay here with me!” I pleaded. “You’re all I ever wanted, Gabriella… ,” he replied, speaking for the very last time. I cried harder, dropping my head on his blood-covered chest. “No!” I continued to cry hysterically. I had no idea how long I sat there, but since the police were informed the moment our door was kicked in, I assume it couldn’t have been that long. It felt like a lifetime. Having to rip me away from him kicking and screaming, they immediately brought me outside. They obviously realized instantly that I was clearly hysterical and probably very traumatized. I them seating me with a policewoman who kept asking me who to call while the EMT’S dressed my wounds, and I just couldn’t answer her for the life of me. I couldn’t stop crying long enough to breathe. I was too worried about ing out. At the time, that would have been a lot better than reality. I was completely numb. Empty. It was as if my soul had died along with Caleb. The entire street surrounded the house. The police had already put up police tape, and the reporters were starting to show up. They hid me immediately, clearly knowing better. It wasn’t until Eddie showed up an hour and a half later that I felt any sense of

reality. I could hear him screaming at the police, looking for me. “Where the fuck is my niece?” I pushed my way past the policewoman and jumped out of the van, instantly running to Eddie. Still covered in Caleb’s blood, his arms wrapped around me so tightly that if I could think of anything other than what was happening I probably would have thought that he was going to crush me. He soothed me, giving me the love that I was desperately in lack of for the past hour. Why we had to live so far away, I don’t know. During that hour, I couldn’t have regretted it more. Soon after, one of the cops that had to pull me off of Caleb approached us slowly. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to them, but even then I knew they would only keep bugging me if I didn’t. I’m the only one who knows what happened. I’m the only one that made it out alive… “I apologize for bothering you, but if you don’t mind I’d like to ask you a couple questions… ,” he stated, very much bothering me. Caleb probably would have hit him if it was me lying dead on the floor inside. That thought made it even worse. I slowly let go of Eddie and faced the cop. “If you wanna know what happened… watch the fucking security monitors,” I insisted, my tone completely emotionless. Just then, Jon’s car came flying up the street, attracting the attention of every cop in the yard. Eddie cussed under his breath. Not impressed. Luckily for Jon, given the circumstances, he was the least of our problems. He ran straight to me, stumbling. It was so obvious that he was drunk that to this day I still don’t know why he didn’t get arrested. Probably because they were too worried about the four dead bodies they were lugging out in that moment. “What the fuck happened? No one would tell me anything. They just told me you needed me. What the fuck?” Jon breathed. I attempted to gather my thoughts, only to cry more. As Jon watched the fourth and final body bag come out of the house, he looked down at me, now noticing that I was covered in blood. He immediately wrapped

his arms around me, not needing any further explanation. One of the reporters then spotted us. She quickly jetted toward us, eager to get her goddamn story. Luckily, one of the police caught her. “BEHIND THE TAPE!” he yelled. Next, one of the crime scene investigators approached us. This time more politely. “Hi, I’m Jeff. I understand one of the men was your boyfriend?” he asked. I nodded, still unwilling to speak. “From the looks of it, you two held your own for a while… Who taught you two how to shoot?” he then asked. “I did!” Eddie stated firmly. “Is there a point to this? I’d like to get her out of here,” he added. “Both of them?” clarified. “Yes. Both of them. I practically raised him, along with these two. Now if you don’t mind, my niece just watched the man she spent the last twenty-two years with die, so I’m taking her back home now. If your guys have any questions for her, they can talk to her when she’s had time to process all of this,” Eddie insisted. “And I’m taking my fucking dog,” I added, just making that very clear. Even if she is technically a killer now too, she belongs with me. Jeff nodded at me and then made his way back toward the house. Eddie then kissed my forehead. “Get her in the car. I’ll go give them whatever else they need,” he said to Jon. He hesitated leaving my side, but once Jon nodded at him, he went anyway. “Is there anything you want inside?” he whispered. I shook my head excessively. “Just Molly,” I insisted. No sooner did I say that did Jeff come out of the van with her. “They just finished with her. She’s all set to go with you. They know she was just doing her job,” he stated. Clarifying . . . “No shit,” I sneered, taking her from him. I knelt down, petting her. It was obvious she knew Caleb was gone. She wasn’t herself any more than I was. We cried together for a moment while we waited for Eddie. She’s about the only living part of Caleb I had anymore. She was now my top priority. Eddie had to practically force both of us into the car. We didn’t want to go. It felt too wrong. This was where we were supposed to be, with Caleb. But we didn’t have a choice. He’s gone.

I didn’t speak the entire drive to Orlando. I didn’t even cry. I was just empty. Hollow. I could tell that I was starting to worry Eddie when he kept asking me if I was okay every couple of minutes, but I couldn’t even bring myself to ease it. I couldn’t bring myself to do anything. There was nothing left of me. I was damaged. I probably sat in the car for ten minutes before getting out, just staring at the house. I haven’t lived here since I was eighteen. And even then Caleb and I practically lived together; we would always spend the night together whether it was here or in Tampa. No matter where I go, I’m forced with the memory. was screwed. Jon opened my door and practically ripped me out of the car. He was now sober. will do that to you. “You’re not the only one that cared about him, Gabby. We all have our ways of dealing with things, but I’m already annoyed with yours. Cut me some slack, Gabs!” he pleaded, taking a deep breath. I leaned into him, letting him walk me inside. Molly didn’t leave my side. And I didn’t want her to. We went upstairs, the second floor consisting of two rooms, mine and Jon’s. I couldn’t even the last time that I slept here. But I already knew I wouldn’t be getting any sleep. Apparently neither did anyone else. About after an hour, all of us ended up in the basement. Even Molly came down with us. We didn’t talk. We just stared. Letting our minds gather themselves while we smoked, processing our loss. By six o’clock it had hit national news. I had no idea why out of all the people who get killed every single day in this country, Caleb’s and the others’ deaths hit national television. But I would one day be grateful it did. If it wasn’t for that broadcast I might not be where I am today . . . but we’ll get to that… One step at a time. “Twenty-two-year-old Gabriella Love is sole survivor of home invasion!” read the headline. “Leaving four dead, Gabriella walks away from a night that she’ll never forget,” they add, irritating me to the core. I couldn’t even finish watching it.

Running on zero sleep still, there wasn’t much of anything I wanted to do. I wouldn’t even answer my phone. The calls were already starting to come in, and most people aren’t even awake yet… She didn’t even know yet… I hadn’t thought of Sara until that very moment. “You gotta take me to VCC right now!” I insisted anxiously to Jon. “Uh, I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Eddie stated from the other room. I sighed in frustration. “Are you fucking kidding me? The one person I want to talk to that’s alive, and you don’t want me to go? What the hell is wrong with you!” Jon stood to his feet. “Relax. Don’t hurt yourself. I’ll take you,” he whispered. “She’s right… Sara probably doesn’t even know. She shouldn’t hear it from anyone else,” Jon stated to Eddie, making Eddie come around the corner toward us. “Okay, fine… But be back in twenty minutes. The last thing I need is to worry about the two of you on top of it.” I nodded. Then without saying a word I quickly made my way outside and into the car. Jon followed slowly behind me but quickly enough to prevent me from complaining. Thankfully Sara’s dorm is only five minutes away, so the anticipation didn’t have long to ache at me. Jon came with me, apparently not willing to let me out of his sight for even a second. After frantically pounding on her door for about a minute, she finally answered. By the looks of her and the time it took her to answer, I had woken her. her. I instantly pushed my way through the door, shutting it quickly behind me. I instantly started to cry again because of why I was here. “Wow, what’s wrong?” Sara asked worriedly. When I didn’t answer her, she looked at Jon. But before he could say anything, I did. “ the guy from the battle the other night? The one Caleb had beat up in the parking lot for saying something stupid? Max…” I asked her, speaking of it aloud for the very first time. Not even Jon knows who was in the house. The police haven’t even disclosed it yet. Sara’s face instantly dropped. Most likely suspecting the worst but hoping it wasn’t. Unfortunately it was. “Him and two others came to the house last

night… We managed to get ’em all, but one of ’em… Caleb’s shot just wasn’t quick enough,” I explained under my breath, completely emotionless. It was like there was absolutely nothing inside of me anymore. Gabby was gone along with Caleb, taking her with him. As expected, Sara was completely dumbfounded. She glared at me for a moment as if she thought I was screwing with her, but I could only imagine that my face told her all she needed to know to convince her I wasn’t. I’ve been avoiding mirrors for that very reason. I didn’t even want to know what I looked like right now. Her first reaction was to hug me. “’m so sorry, Gabby… ,” she whispered, beginning to cry with me. This caused me to cry even more. After a moment, she redirected to Jon, fury taking over her demeanor. “Where the fuck were you? Why weren’t you there?” she cried. “Sara… There’s no way he could have known. It wouldn’t have made a difference. They shot each other at the same time. Caleb would still be dead! Trust me, I’ve gone over it in my head over and over again all night long, trying to figure out what we could have done differently, and there’s nothing. Eddie had spent half our lives preparing us for that moment, and they were just a few fucking meth heads who couldn’t shoot to save their own lives—literally. It was pure fucking fate that killed Caleb. They must have shot at us thirty goddamn times, and he died from one fucking shot. The last shot. Nobody could have done anything. He died within the minute… ,” I stated aggressively, showing the first sign of real emotion all morning. Caleb’s final words repeated itself in my head over and over again, haunting me. Jon leaned closer to me. “You didn’t tell me that… He didn’t die instantly… ,” he whispered hesitantly. I groaned, producing more tears. “Because I didn’t want you to ask me what you’re now itching to know. Do you really want to do that to me? Make me repeat it?” He looked at Sara and then back at me. “Kind of… ,” he itted with a shrug. I sighed in frustration. I was so angry at him that I would later use it against him. “He said, ‘Get out of here… Go as far as you can go. Move on. I’ll always be with you.’ Then I started flipping out, telling him that he can’t leave me and he says, ‘You’re all I ever wanted, Gabriella…’” I mimicked his exact words, giving Jon the full effect, with a bit more hostility in my tone. “Happy now?” I

barked at him. But he didn’t answer me. He just stared in pity, along with Sara. And it’s only just the beginning. I would soon face a wide range of pity and sympathy. But all the sympathy in the world wouldn’t have helped. They’re just words. They won’t bring him back. They won’t give me my life back. I’ll never be the same person I was yesterday. I was broken. Forever cursed in a Caleb-less world. The only world I’ve ever known. I’ve never been without Caleb. He’s been there my entire life. He’s the last person I’d ever want to lose, and he was violently taken away from me. Just because of a jealous junkie who can’t step. Officially, my life was over. For me it was anyway. At the time, I saw no other way to see it. Eddie would soon force me to seek therapy. But it wouldn’t help. I’d soon face handfuls of antidepressants and sleeping aids. But they wouldn’t help either. It was hopeless.

Chapter 4

Three Months Later

Weaverville, California

Day 1

M y last hope—running away from the memory of Caleb was the only action my family had left to do for me. They had given up. This was the last place I wanted to be. But Sara and Eddie didn’t leave me with much of a choice. By this point, the ones closest to me were beyond worried… I wasn’t getting over it. I wasn’t doing anything. I wouldn’t even talk about it anymore. I blame that on my ignorant therapist who clearly had never lost anyone that close to her. She was no help. Even Eddie eventually realized that all of the doctors and all of the medication in the world isn’t going to help me. That is why he shipped me across the country, away from the constant memories of Caleb. I didn’t take my medication anymore anyway. It makes the nightmares worse. I can’t close my eyes without living that night over and over again. I can’t even the last time that I got more than two hours of sleep at a time. As soon as I fall into dreamland, I wake myself up screaming—along with everyone else in the house. Therefore, I try not to sleep. What I do is run with Molly every morning, just like Caleb would if he was still here. It gives Molly some sense of normality in her life. She’s become very attached to me, almost like I remind her of him. It was like we were each other’s

backbone, each other’s existence the only thing keeping us connected to him in some way. It was better than nothing. Apparently, even for a dog. To keep me busy during the past three months, Eddie had me working from home. Bringing my equipment to the house allowed me to work on abrasions in my comfort zone while also making money and keeping ELG’s customers happy. Ironically, ever since Caleb died, ELG’s sales had skyrocketed. Now that I’m on the other side of the country, that didn’t change. Eddie would send me what I needed to do, and I’d send it back finished. He sent me a lot… desperate to keep my mind busy. He was probably attempting to keep me from going crazy. Lately, the chances of preventing insanity are slim.

I leaned on the car outside of our apartment building, not impressed with my surroundings. Dropping me into a tiny town in Northern California is not going to make me forget about Caleb. And it wouldn’t. I’d never forget. Being in a completely different environment than Florida, I wasn’t used to it. Even in July, I was cold due to lack of humidity. I constantly wore Caleb’s favorite hooded zip up, hood up, half zipped. I couldn’t get myself to wear anything, even while in Florida in the middle of the summer. At least here, I wasn’t sweating to death. And people didn’t look at me like I was nuts. The only reason why I was now standing in California is because Caleb had told me to go as far away as I can and to move on. This is me moving on… Just in my own way. I sighed, desperate for my life back. “Come on, Gabs! It’s not that bad. It’s just not Janet’s… We’re not rich. And since you refused Janet’s help, this is what we get,” Sara insisted. I rolled my eyes at her, definitely not impressed. Molly followed closely beside me as I made my way up the stairs with Sara. We walked into what people in Florida would call a storm room, a room outside of the apartment mostly consisting of cheap windows. Sara opened the front door for me, revealing our new apartment. She was right.

It wasn’t bad. It was cute, small. It’s definitely not what I’m used to, but it’s livable, so to say. I wouldn’t really call my life living. I think I would have rather died with Caleb than live without him, but others don’t seem to think so. That is why I’m here. I followed Sara through the rest of the apartment, checking it out. To the left of the front door was a hallway that leads to the bedrooms. “That door connects our rooms… For when you need me in the middle of the night…” She showed me, speaking under her breath. I nodded, continuing to make my way through the rest of the apartment. Beyond Sara’s room was another room for Jon. ’d be here week; he had a few things to take care of for me before leaving. I then proceeded into our shared bathroom. It was a pretty decent bathroom. More than I had expected. Considering there’s only one and there will soon be three of us, it’s a good thing it was nice. I’ve never had to share a bathroom in my life… It would be one of the hardest things to get used to. Our kitchen and living room was a decent size too, especially for an apartment. We even had a storm room off the back too. The front gave a perfect view of the mountains that surrounded Trinity County. It’s definitely completely opposite from any part of flatland Florida. The two of us then proceeded to unload the rest of our stuff, providing me with a good way of keeping my mind busy—setting up the apartment. Normally, I would have very much enjoyed doing this with her. But because I lost any sense of joy when I lost Caleb, I wouldn’t even know how to enjoy it even if I wanted to. The first thing Sara did was plug her iPod up to the portable iSpeaker, giving us a little entertainment while we used our female abilities to make this apartment our home. It must have taken us all day and all night. Stopping to smoke every so often didn’t help. Another thing I’ve picked up in the past couple months— cigarettes. Caleb would have hated it. But I didn’t care, just marijuana wasn’t cutting it anymore. Alcohol has also become a frequent guest in my life lately. Probably a little more than it should, but again, I didn’t care. There wasn’t much I cared about at this point in my life. Jon tried to use that to his advantage when he tried to get out of moving here. I had overheard him talking with Eddie one night… They didn’t know I could hear them, obviously. “She isn’t gonna care if I’m there or not! I hate seeing her like this, I really don’t

wanna go!” Jon had insisted. “Are you fucking kidding me? She needs you. It doesn’t matter whether you thinks she cares or not. She does care. She’s just traumatized. You would be too. First she loses her parents at such a young age and then she loses the only man she ever loved right in front of her eyes. Sooner than later she’s gonna lose me too. Then the only person either of you are going to have is each other, and Sara. You need to stay strong for her. She’s your responsibility. She has been ever since your father died. Caleb had just done most of the work all of these years. For both of us. Now it’s your job. I’ve done all I can for her. She needs you. You’re going. Whether you want to or not. She’s your sister. If anything happens to her, you’ll regret it. Then you’ll be just like her. I won’t let that happen.” Eddie had insisted back, making his point loud and clear. I couldn’t blame Jon. Like I said, if Caleb’s last words hadn’t been insisting I move on, I wouldn’t have gone. I also couldn’t blame him for hating the way I am now. I hated it too. I didn’t like being miserable. I just was. And I couldn’t do anything to fix it. I tried. I tried to forget. It didn’t work. I’ve relived that horrible night over and over again so many times that the memory is as clear as it had been while it was happening. I’ll never forget. It would haunt me forever. I’d just have to find a way to cope with it. Soon enough, I would be given that chance. After lying in bed with my eyes closed but still wake all night long, I climbed out of bed just as the sun was starting to come up. Slipping right into my running sneakers, I took Caleb’s iPod, which he ran with every day, and went for a run with Molly. Creating my own new route, I explored my new surroundings in the process. I paced myself down Maine Street. As I rounded a corner, a man leaning against a building caught my attention. He was wearing a hooded zip up, similar to the one I was wearing. He also wore sunglasses, shielding his eyes. But I could feel him watching me. I stopped, staring back at him curiously. Something about him was drawing me toward him. Almost like a pull. My first instinct was to run. So I did. I continued to run, only faster, making my way back to the apartment. Sara was still asleep when I got back. As expected. When she spends half her

night calming me down after a nightmare, she spends most of the morning sleeping. I let her. I set the keys down on the counter in the kitchen and fell onto the couch, relaxing for a moment. Molly suddenly began barking at nothing. Ever since Caleb died, she’s been so strange. She does it all the time. She’ll bark at nothing for a while, and then finally she’ll just lie down, staring at the same spot she had just been barking at. The vet doesn’t know why she does it, but they insist not to look too much into it. So I didn’t. I figured she was just traumatized too. As she continued to bark, my keys then suddenly fell to the floor from the middle of the counter. At the time I thought I was going crazy. This sort of thing happened all the time, so it wasn’t new. It wasn’t even new to the past few months. Weird stuff has always happened ever since I was nine. Things go missing or move, or I hear weird sounds, electronic interference, and now Molly. But I never thought anything of it. I was far from superstitious. I was just crazy and devastated. Your mind can do strange things to you when you’re off balance. I figured that one out fairly quickly. Just as always, Molly then quieted, lying on the floor. Her tail was wagging excessively. I rolled my eyes at her, annoyed. I couldn’t even help myself; I didn’t have it in me to help her. I then stepped around her, making my way toward the bathroom to shower. I didn’t even bother picking my keys up. By the time I got out, Sara was up and moving. Still wrapped in a towel, I went back out into the other room to see her. “Molly didn’t wake you, did she?” I asked her. Sara shook her head. “No, my phone did. Why? Was she acting up again?” she asked. I nodded, looking at Molly, who was now laying on the couch, still staring into the kitchen. My eyes followed hers to see my keys back on the counter. “Did you pick these up?” I then asked Sara. She furrowed her eyebrows at me, stuffing her face with cereal. She shook her head. “Uh, no, they were there when I got up… Where else would they be?” she stated with her mouth full.

I sighed in frustration. “If your fucking with me, I’m gonna hurt you. These keys were on the floor when I got in the shower. I’m not crazy!” I insisted, mostly trying to convince myself. Sara became completely still, staring at me. “I didn’t pick ’em up, Gabs. Why would I spend every day of my life trying to heal you back to health only to fuck with you? Maybe you picked ’em up before you got in the shower, you just don’t . I don’t know. No one else is here. And I doubt Molly picked ’em up for you. Why were they on the floor to begin with?” she spoke quietly, treading carefully. I stared back at her. Not about to answer that question. I was in denial. I stomped back into my room and got dressed. After a minute or two Sara came in, filled with pity. By this point, I was so sick of everyone feeling sorry for me that it was aggravating. I just wanted everyone to let it go, but they wouldn’t. Apparently they were too worried about me to just let it go, especially Sara. The person who aggravated me most was Janet. She didn’t start giving a damn about me or Caleb until he was gone. I think she called him maybe once every couple of weeks, just to check on her house. He was the last thing she worried about. With him gone, I’m the closest thing to him that she has. Therefore, she doesn’t leave me alone. She insists on doing everything for me because it’s what she thinks Caleb would have wanted. But I knew him a hell of a lot better than she did. I knew that he would have wanted me to tell her to go to hell. So I did, only a little more nicely. Out of respect for my dead boyfriend’s mother. I don’t even bother answering her phone calls anymore though. She only makes it worse. She doesn’t realize what she does to me when she calls me crying over Caleb. It’s like a punch in the face. Even Eddie told her to stop calling me because he even knew that what she was doing was wrong. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop her. She’s crazy, literally. She always has been; she’s basically an attention junkie. She’s a hypochondriac too. The worst part of it is that she uses Caleb’s death for a reason for people to pity her, flaunting it. I want to spit at her. would have enjoyed that. But I can’t. Luckily for her, I refuse to stoop to her level.

As Sara continued to stare at me in an awe of pity, I decided to enlighten her. “So while I was running with Molly this morning… I saw this guy that really freaked me out. He was wearing sunglasses, with no sun yet. It was just starting to rise. But I could feel him staring at me, like hard. And for some reason it like drew me toward him. So instinctively I ran back with Molly as quickly as I could.” I informed her, letting her in. She always seems to see it as a good sign whenever I share with her, so I tried to make a point to. She seemed confused by my words but took them in easily enough. “Was he at least cute?” she teased. I rolled my eyes at her, not wanting to answer that question. My silence was an answer enough though, defeating my purpose. She raised her eyebrows at me, probably dumbfounded that I actually looked at someone and thought of them as attractive. I didn’t even do that when Caleb was alive. Now that he’s dead, it only feels worse. I feel as if I’d be double betraying him. But that wasn’t even why at this point; the last thing from my mind was other men. The real reason was because moving on meant letting him go. And I couldn’t do that. I didn’t want to. I wouldn’t want him to let me go if it were the other way around. Not yet anyway. Luckily for me, I don’t ever have to worry about Caleb’s heart seeking someone else. He died loving only me for his entire life. One more reason I feel guilty for even looking at another man that way. Infinity, no matter what! I won’t back out on that promise. That was my problem; I’d learn that later the hard way. But what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. Or so they say. To me, so far, not dying only made me weaker. “Why don’t you come to work with me? Get out of the house for a little bit today?” Sara asked. She got a job at the local tanning salon, thanks to Stephanie, Sara’s mother. Considering I’m now far away from the hot Florida sun, I nodded at her, eager to tan. She also saw that as a good sign. She smirked at me lightly. I probably would have smirked back if I ed how to smile. No such luck. Sara then proceeded to get ready for work. Meanwhile, I soothed Molly, gearing her up for a few hours of alone time. She doesn’t do well alone anymore. If I don’t soothe her, she’d flip out whenever I left her. Then I won’t end up leaving.

She’s like a child to me, Caleb’s child—our child. I can’t let anything happen to her. It’d be like losing him all over again. I can’t let that happen. The salon was just a couple of blocks away. Ironically, it was located at the same corner where I had seen the strange man earlier. I just hadn’t noticed it the first time around. The establishment was small, but it was well kept, equipped with the latest booths and beds. They even provided spray tans, just in case you want to look like an Loompa. Given the time of year, it was slow. But obviously not slow enough. It’s still up and running. For me, the lack of business only meant the less people I had to see today. So I didn’t mind. It was peaceful. The two of us just sat behind the counter, watching the people walk by out the front windows. There was one person who came in who again attracted my attention. Except this time, it wasn’t a male. She practically danced her way through the door. Her movements perfected. I hated her already. She was also wearing sunglasses, and she didn’t bother taking them off. What’s with this town and sunglasses? What the hell? Her skin was even the same complexion as the man I had seen this morning. They could have been related. But what are the chances of that? “Good afternoon, ladies! How are you two doing today?” she spoke elegantly, more like singing her words, happy as could be. This only made me hate her even more. “Good. Thanks.” Sara spoke for the both of us, clearly sensing how I was feeling about this particular woman. I wouldn’t even call her a woman. She looked too young for that. She barely looked legal. But she was beautiful, absolutely gorgeous actually. “How can we help you?” Sara added. Just as eager to get her out of here as I was. She then looked directly at me, her head moving with her hidden eyes. The shadow of them was only visible in her designer glasses.

“Hey, I’ve seen you before,” she breathed, naturally causing me to sigh. “Uh, yeah, she was on the news a few months ago. She really doesn’t want to talk about it.” Sara spoke for me again. The girl frowned apologetically. “I’m sorry. You’re right, that was rude. You must be devastated. The last thing you want is for someone you don’t even know asking about it… I’m sorry for your loss. couldn’t even imagine.” She spoke under her breath, which raised suspicion in my eyes. My relationship with Caleb was never disclosed, so of course she couldn’t imagine because she has no way of knowing exactly what happened. All that was released was that three men came into the house. Four died. I walked away. End of story. Her expression told me that she could sense my suspicion. Her demeanor was now flat, almost as if it was hidden. “I’d just like to purchase a gift package.” She then directed her attention back to Sara. Now also just as eager to leave as we were for her to be gone. This was definitely the weirdest day yet, besides Caleb’s funeral. A lot of strange stuff happened that day too. But let’s not go there just yet. When the girl was finally gone, Sara gave me a strange look. I gave her one back as if to say “I told you so.” She grabbed the credit card receipt and looked her name up online—Vanessa Row. What she found was even more suspicious. On paper, she’s perfect. But we all know no one is perfect. When someone appears perfect, they’re hiding something. She was hiding something. I could sense it the moment she walked through the door. Almost as if I saw it coming. Now Sara was freaked out. “Why would people around here be so interested in you… What would they get out of it?” she asked, more of thinking aloud. I shrugged. Not in the mood to think about it. Of course Sara wasn’t going to let it go that easily. She continued to search for something that wasn’t there, looking for anything that would tell her why on our first day here two people have caught my attention, both of which looked similar to each other, very similar. It seemed too similar to be a coincidence. That was proven when we were clo and I saw the man again standing across the street. This time there was another male next to him. It was night now, so there were no sunglasses. But his eyes were still hidden in

the shadows. I stood on the sidewalk, staring back at them. Until Sara came out, startling me. She then stared for a moment and then looked over at me. “Let’s go,” I insisted before she even said a word. I didn’t want to go there. Practically having to force her in the car, I drove us home. It wasn’t very often that I drove anymore, but I knew that if I wanted to get out of there I had to. Otherwise, she would have turned around to talk to them. Like an idiot. For all we knew they could’ve been gangbangers. Close enough. Luckily for her, I no longer go anywhere without a gun within an arm’s reach. Life’s lessons. So anyone planning on traumatizing me some more will end up six feet under right next to Caleb. When we pulled up in front of our building, I paused, taking a moment to gather myself. Sara sat with me, being the good friend that she is. Amazing would be more accurate. After a moment or two, I finally got out of the car. Sara followed closely behind me as we made our way upstairs into the storm room. Just then, my phone rang in my pocket. I paused again, grabbing it. It was Eddie. Sara went inside as I answered it. “Hi,” I answered. “Hi… How you doin’?” he asked. “How do you think I’m doing? I’m on the other side of the fucking country. And it’s cold here. Even in July. How lame is that?” I complained. “It isn’t cold. You’re just used to the humidity. You’ll get used to it there too,” he insisted. “Right…” “So I’ve been hesitating to accept this job, but they finally offered me a price I can’t refuse. I need you to do it. No matter how much you don’t want to,” he informed me. I whined dramatically. “No. I’m not doing it. I already told you I’m not doing any fucking memorial

pieces. Are you serious? Why would you even ask me?” I cried. “Because they’re offering you five hundred thousand dollars. Just to put CAM on a sniper rifle. It’ll take you fifteen fucking minutes,” Eddie insisted. “Are they fucking retarded?” I replied. “No. Caleb’s name is just worth a lot… Especially in the stepping world… ,” he stated hesitantly. “Of course it is. He lived for step and then died because of it,” I complained. “Exactly, you can’t tell me he wouldn’t have wanted you to take advantage of that.” “Why are you doing this to me?” I whined. Eddie sighed. “You need to face it, Gabs. Just do it,” he insisted before hanging up on me. Before I went inside I sat and cried for a minute, quietly enough so that Sara didn’t hear and come out. I didn’t need that. So after letting it out for a moment, I brushed it off and forced myself inside. Molly jumped on me the moment I came through the door. She felt like she weighed more than I do. That wouldn’t take much these days. The thought made me slightly hungry. My appetite is another thing I lost with Caleb. I don’t even get the munchies anymore. I can only force myself to eat enough to keep me alive. I couldn’t eat more even if I wanted to. It was like I developed an eating disorder somewhere in all of this. I went into the kitchen, making a bag of popcorn. That’d be good enough, more than enough. Sara then sat down on the couch next to me, placing two of my sleeping aids on the coffee table in front of me. “Take them! You need to sleep. You’re starting to move like a zombie. I’m afraid you might turn into one. I’ll wake up one day and you’ll be jus’ chewin’ on my arm. Not cool. So fucking take ’em. Or I’m going to shove ’em down your throat for you. Got it?” she insisted sternly, a side of Sara that no one gets to see much. I wanted to laugh at her but failed.

I rolled my eyes at her instead, not impressed but not disagreeing either. I wanted to sleep. Sleep would be nice if I could dream of something other than Caleb. But I can’t. So instead of sleep being an escape, it’s more of a torture chamber. One I wasn’t entering willingly. Unfortunately, Sara was right. I needed some sleep, more than an hour’s worth. I feel like I’ve become so used to the lack of sleep that I’m so tiered that I don’t even feel tired anymore. It’s more of an advantage for me. Everyone else seems to find it highly annoying. After she watched me take the sleeping pills, the two of us sat on the couch with my popcorn and watched a movie, snuggling. We’re all we have left. Especially being thousands of miles away from everyone else we’ve ever known. It’s a very distant feeling. One that totally sucked. Sara eventually fell asleep on the couch. Before I went to my room, I went into the front storm room to smoke a cigarette. I sat in the little plastic chair in the corner of the room, looking down at the empty street. Or so I thought. I reached back to flick my cigarette in the ashtray behind me. When I looked back, there he was, the same guy from this morning. He was just standing on the sidewalk across the street, looking directly up at me. Except this time I could see his eyes in the streetlight; they sparkled a bright red. They were so red, in fact, that I could see them from all the way up here. I was dumbfounded but also amazed at his beauty at the same time. I didn’t know what was happening, but it was starting to freak me out. Once I snapped out of my trance, I quickly made my way inside, locking the door behind me, twice. Just to make sure. I probably should have wakened Sara to show her, but I didn’t want to wake her. So I locked myself in my room, my heart beating out of my chest. My heart then jumped as the light automatically came on. I sighed in annoyance. Still in denial that something strange has been going on. And it has now followed me here. Only to present me with more unexplainable events, like the red-eyed man who seems to be stalking me.

I peeked out of the curtain of my window to see if he was still there. He wasn’t. That gave me a little sense of ease but not enough to help me sleep any. Just because he’s not across the street doesn’t mean he’s not around here somewhere, watching me. What the hell is happening to me? I thought to myself over and over again that night. But nothing my mind came up with made any sense. There was no reasonable explanation for any of this. Therefore, I was determined. The next time I see that guy, I’m going to confront him. Find out what he wants from me. I’ve had enough of this. I didn’t sleep for a minute that night. I could barely climb out of bed I was so tired. Sara must have heard me crying because I felt her come lie with me, spooning me. I always liked it when she did that. It always made me feel some type of normality, a small piece of my past, even though it wasn’t Caleb holding me, I so desperately wanted it to be. It was still better than no one holding me. I was thankful for her loyalty. Most friends would have abandoned me a long time ago. Like most did. In times like this, you learn who your real friends are. Sara’s proven that and then some. She doesn’t have to help take care of me. It isn’t her responsibility. It isn’t anyone’s, technically. My parents are dead along with my boyfriend. My uncle isn’t legally responsible for me anymore, and my brother, well… he can hardly take care of himself. Then there’s Sara who has no obligation to me whatsoever but still does it because she’s my friend. She cares, simple as that. I felt as if I owed her my life.

Chapter 5

The Undead

Day 5, Friday night

T he past couple of days have been quiet. No red-eyed men. No strange happenings around me. I had spent most of my time working on the rifle, which I hated ever second of. I had to stop to wipe my tears every few seconds because I couldn’t see. It quickly became annoying. Therefore, it took longer than it should have. But fortunately Eddie understood. He was just glad that I did it. He had added an extra couple hundred dollars on top of my payment for the gun into my this morning, along with a text with an explanation: “Thanks for being such a good sport. We love you.” As I lay on the couch with Molly, I cried about everything. With no one here but us, I had no reason not to. I took my opportunity and ran with it, letting it all out. I must’ve cried fifteen minutes before Molly interrupted me with more of her ridiculous barking at nothing fits. She scooted closer to me defensively, barking right in front of us. I screamed into the cushion of the couch, letting my anger out now. My anger at Caleb for leaving me, for making me go through this, damaging me. I cried while I screamed. My emotions took full control. I felt so weak. Molly barked louder. I assumed because I was getting her worked up, so I sat up, taking a deep breath. Once calm enough, I attempted to calm her. It took me a couple of minutes, but she eventually relaxed long enough for me to put my shoes on, grab my debit card, and be out the door.

I headed toward the closest bar. Sara wouldn’t be home for a few hours, so I had plenty of time. That’s what she gets for moving me within walking distance of a bar anyway. She should have seen it coming. It was very rare of me to go to a bar alone, but since everything about me was rare lately, I didn’t think it mattered. I just wanted to get drunk. Try to forget for two seconds. With all the weird stuff going on around me, I’m surprised someone hasn’t itted me yet. I even think I’m crazy. How can the ones closest to me be so blind? With my mind playing tricks on me every other day, I don’t know how I haven’t completely snapped. It was as if God was bending me to see how far I could go until I break. I practically inhaled my first drink; Long Island Ice Tea; I was on a mission. “Hey, you’re that girl from the news a couple months ago… ,” the bartender stated as he placed my second drink in front of me. I glared at him, answering his question for him. He didn’t say another thing about it, apparently putting into context why I’m here. At least someone around here has a brain. Just as I was finishing my second, a man sat down next to me with his hood covering his face. I felt my heart stop for a minute, pleading with myself for it not to be who I think it was. But of course, it was. He then faced only me, his red eyes hidden from the rest of the bar. I sat completely still, staring at him. Every nerve in my body froze. I wasn’t sure if I was terrified or just shocked, but the alcohol didn’t help. “You’re probably wondering why you keep seeing me… ,” he said, speaking to me for the very first time. His voice was like magical notes singing in my ears. It caught me off guard. I felt the pull again, instinctively telling me to get far away from him. But on a war against my emotions at the moment, I fought them off, determined to figure out what this guy could possibly want from me. The bartender handed me another drink, this time without saying a word. I

picked it up and took a long sip while I stared at this strange man in front of me. I tried to read him, to figure him out, but I couldn’t find a damn thing. I sighed. “Let me guess… You saw me on the news like everyone else, and now you’re curious?” I asked with a smart-ass attitude, causing him to chuckle to himself. That was very strange for me. After seeing him just staring at me for the past few days, I wouldn’t have imagined there was any emotion in him. “Not exactly,” he stated. “It’s a little more complex than that,” he added. He spoke quietly, almost as if he was trying to hide. At the time I couldn’t have even imagined from what. I naturally stared at him suspiciously. He was truly starting to freak me out. I then took another long sip of from my drink, keeping it very close to me. “Who are you?” I finally asked. He paused for a moment. “I’m Ben. I have someone you need to meet,” he stated. Everything about him was so serious and perfected that, thanks to the alcohol, it caused me to laugh quietly to myself, laughing for the first time in three months. That instinctively freaked me out even more. I took a deep breath and then refocused on Ben. “Just come outside with me for a minute,” he whispered, making me laugh again. “Why would I go anywhere with you? Honestly, you’re kind of creepy. Cute. But creepy. You’ve been like stalking me ever since I got here. Why would I go outside with you, alone? I don’t know you,” I stated. He smirked, shaking his head at me. “Look, I know you’re going through a lot right now. I just need you to trust me for two seconds… Enlighten me,” he replied. He had a way with his words that sounded so slick that even I was impressed. “Whatever.” I rolled my eyes. “I don’t have anything else to lose,” I stated firmly, the alcohol doing my talking. I’ve always had a habit of speaking my true mind when I drink. Caleb used to use it to his advantage. The thought naturally inflicted me with pain, making me angry again. Ben nodded toward a side door, the east street entrance. It was the empty entrance but still public enough to be acceptable, I guessed. After quickly finishing my drink, I proceeded to make my way toward the door. Ben followed closely behind me. I had no idea why I was doing this, but I also

couldn’t think of a reason not to. What do I have to fear? Death? I wasn’t afraid of death anymore. Fear is a weakness, a weakness that shouldn’t ever be exposed. That’s when things get dangerous. As I pushed my way through the door. I stopped immediately at the sight of another red-eyed female. This one was much older than the one I had seen at the salon, but it was very clear to me at this point that these weren’t just strange people. “This is Chelsea,” Ben announced. She stared at me, almost as if she was staring in awe. I looked at her awkwardly, probably a little too drunk for this. I could hardly stand still. “Geez, Ben. You picked a great time for this, huh?” she stated sarcastically. He shrugged. “She wouldn’t have agreed sober. This is what we get. What do you expect?” Ben replied. I rolled my eyes, annoyed with myself. I caught myself cussing under my breath in Spanish. That would be the Eddie in me. Chelsea then focused all of her attention on me. “I want to show you something. But I don’t want you to be frightened. May I have your hand for a moment?” she asked. Her voice was also just as elegant as the others. The way she spoke was as if she was from a completely different time or world. She was rather fascinating. And I hadn’t even seen her at work yet. I held my hand out in front of me loosely without hesitation. I didn’t even need to think about it. Her hands gently cradled mine. Her hands were ice-cold and rock solid. But yet they were soft and gentle too. The moment our hands met, I was completely taken aback. What I was seeing was unlike anything humanly possible. It was as if I was watching her memories through her eyes in the present time. It was as if I was there, seeing it for myself. I saw what she saw, heard what she heard, and knew what she knew. I knew what she was going to say before she even said it. The first thing she showed me was the first time she saw me—August 19, 2006, my eighteenth birthday. Chelsea sat in her sitting area, drawing the most perfect pictured anyone could ever envision when suddenly a vision came. She saw Ben and me sitting atop of a small ledge, sitting closely together, chatting

flirtatiously. Both of our eyes were sparkling a scarlet red back at each other. Then the vision ended, snapping back to the sitting area. “What’d you see?” her husband asked. “Ben with a girl. I’ve never seen her before. But she was like us, and she was beautiful… and happy.” Chelsea spoke under her breath, like it was too hard to believe. Chelsea then proceeded to show me that she had the same exact vision every year, on the same exact day ever since. She had no idea who I was so she had no way to find out either. Until she saw my face on the news three months ago. “Oh my gosh, that’s her!” Chelsea announced in front the whole group of them. “Who?” they all asked curiously. “The girl from my vision,” she whispered. She quickly moved closer to the television. So quickly that it was as if she just appeared at her destination. Chelsea then looked at Ben. “I saw her… with you,” she informs him for the first time. “Except she’s like us,” she adds. Ben freezes for a moment, with the rest of them staring at the television, listening carefully. “I started seeing her almost five years ago… ,” she then proceeded to say when Ben didn’t respond. He stared at the television deep in thought as he stared at the picture of me on the screen, also listening carefully to the broadcast. “Her?” was all he asked. Chelsea nodded. “You’re sure?” he added. She nods again. “Okay… well, considering she just survived a fucking home invasion, I really doubt she needs to get involved with us. I mean, ya, she’s cute, obviously. But seriously, we can’t do that to her.” Chelsea shook her head at him. “I saw it already, Ben. It’ll happen eventually,” she insisted. She then showed me when they had realized I had suddenly moved into their town only three months later. Out of every town in the country. “She’s here… in Weaverville,” Chelsea whispered to Ben. “We saw her. We heard her. We smelled her,” she added. He sat completely still, staring at her dumbfounded. Again, she skips to her next memory of later that day when they looked me up online to find out more about me—about my parents, about the rest of my family, Caleb, and what I had really gone through in that house three months

ago. “Are you fuckin’ serious? Her boyfriend was just shot and killed and you expect us to fix it? Have you thought this out at all? Just because you have a vision of us flirting doesn’t mean anything, Chels,” Ben insisted. But it had been clear to Chelsea that this was just his way of expressing how he really feels about it, terrified. Chelsea then finally released my hands, snapping me back to reality. As I stared at her in front of me in awe, I couldn’t even speak. I couldn’t find the words. “What the hell are you?” were the only words that I could come up with. Chelsea sighed, looking at Ben. “She should know what she’s dealing with, don’t cha think?” he sneered. Pushy, that one is. She then held her hand out for his with her other hand, asking for mine again at the same time. I exhaled slowly, giving her my hand. She then showed me Ben’s story, how he became this way, his ability to protect the ones around him. In the process answering my question. But I was still officially lost. I felt myself start to hyperventilate. The magic shocking my lungs. I leaned against the building behind me, holding myself up. I was way too drunk for this. “That went well… ,” Ben sneered sarcastically to Chelsea. “Shut up,” she barked at him quietly. Half crocked, I looked over at Ben, seeing three of him. Attempting to focus, I stood straight but failed, falling back into the wall. Chelsea sighed. “We should get her home safely,” she insisted. “Let her sleep it off,” she added. Ben laughed. “She hasn’t slept since she got here, and I doubt she did any night before that either. But all right, good plan.” More sarcasm. Appealing, I thought to myself. “Someone’s been doing their homework!” I chuckled, the alcohol getting the best of me. He stared at me awkwardly, as if he was desperate to help me but didn’t know how. “Just walk me home already,” I whined. “I’m not gonna loooooose my mind or anything!” I added. It was my drunken way of saying his hesitation was offensive. He got the hint. I proceeded to stumble my way down the sidewalk while Ben prevented me from falling to the road every time I stumbled to my right. “We don’t want you

to be afraid of us…” He finally spoke after the first silent minute of walking. “Fear is a weakness,” I insisted, sounding way too much like Eddie. I wasn’t too drunk to forget that. “vampires,” I muttered to myself and then laughed, letting the thought sink in some more. I think I was too intoxicated to take in anything because it wouldn’t actually hit me for a couple hours. But even Ben laughed a little at me, at least showing something. He stopped just in front of my building. “I want to help you… seriously,” he insisted. I rolled my eyes. “Youuu didn’t look too enthused about it through ’s eyes,” I replied, slightly slurring my words. He frowned down at me with a small smirk. “That’s only because you terrify me. I don’t care if you see that as a weakness. It is what it is. I haven’t been stalking you as you put it since you got here because I don’t care. I’ve spent every day trying to figure you out because I do. That’s why I had to have Chelsea show you… I couldn’t just wait for you to fix yourself. The curiosity is exhausting,” he said, his words hitting me hard. Hard enough even to sober me up a little bit. I stared back at him, completely amazed by this entire night. It didn’t feel real. But the pain I still felt reminded me that it was. did a lot for my psyche. “I guess that means I’ll be seeing you again,” I whispered. “I suppose I can work with that… As long as you don’t manage to fuck it up. I’m pretty picky about who I associate myself with,” I added with a smirk. He smiled, laughing at me. “I’ll do what it takes,” he warned, his solid eyes staring at me hard. I exhaled and then rounded the corner to the stairs. The storm room light randomly came on at the same time. Both of us instinctively looked up but saw nothing. I sighed in annoyance. “Does that sorta thing happen a lot?” he asked curiously. Then the light flickered back off. “Uh, ya… sometimes,” I muttered under my breath. He laughed quietly at my attitude toward the fact. I’m glad someone finds it amusing. “You should probably look into that… ,” he suggested. “Nope,” I

quickly insisted without hesitation I then started to make my way up the stairs, the light turning back on in the process. “All right, I’ll think about it… ,” I changed my statement. He chuckled again before disappearing. I realized why he vanished when at the same moment, the front door came flying open. “Where the hell have you been? What are you doing?” Sara stomped her feet. I laughed obnoxiously, catching her completely off guard. “Oh my god.” She sighed. “Was this necessary? Ya know Caleb would not have approved of this,” she insisted, practically carrying me inside. “You’re right… He woulda had me naked already! But he’s dead!” I continued to laugh. Sara couldn’t help but laugh with me—and at me—on that one. “‘Kay, you’re right. But that doesn’t make it okay.” I rolled my eyes at her as she walked me into my room. I collapsed on my bed, still laughing at everything. I laughed mostly at my absolutely ridiculous night that I couldn’t even speak of. Where’s the fun in that? I complained to myself. “Okay. How ’bout we try to get some sleep tonight?” she whispered as she threw me my sleepwear. “I don’t want to wear this,” I whined, angry. I quickly stood to my feet and ripped a box out of my closet. Sara sighed in frustration. “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” she complained aloud. I started ripping my clothes off, only to put on one of Caleb’s shirts. She rolled her eyes at me. “Why do you insist on torturing yourself?” she cried. “Because I fucking can, that’s why,” I sneered at her. The television then suddenly came on in my room, startling both of us. I cursed under my breath, my heart practically pounding out of my chest. “What the fuck?” Sara breathed. I shook my head, beyond annoyed with my life right about now. “From the looks of you, this isn’t the first time that’s happened… ,” she whispered hesitantly. I glared over at her, as if to say, “And?” She exhaled slowly, making her way toward the door to her room. “I’m gonna go to bed… Good luck with that…” She breathed, clearly frightened.

As soon as she shut the door, I screamed into my pillow, desperate to be done with all of this. The TV then shut off. “Perfect,” I thought aloud sarcastically. It was all I could come up with. I was wordless about this entire night. Also desperate to escape, I curled up in my bed eagerly, hoping to avoid the nightmares. Unfortunately, wishfully thinking isn’t very helpful for me lately. My world suddenly seemed upside down. Molly came to lie with me only minutes later, just like she always does. My favorite live snuggle buddy. I stared at her while I thought about everything. I probably spent hours sorting my thoughts that night before I finally drifted to sleep. My brain was unable to function any longer. Considering the information I had to process, I’m surprised my brain hadn’t exploded from confusion. My view of the world had definitely changed that night. To me, vampires were not supposed to exist, along with any other supernatural being. But I had been proven wrong not just once, but twice. That just wasn’t something someone in my situation could accept overnight. Especially when subconsciously I knew exactly what was going on and normally would have been able to handle it. But my stubbornness was my biggest weakness. I woke myself up screaming. When I opened my eyes, Sara was sitting over me. My heart was beating so fast I could hardly breathe. Molly barked defensively next to me but not at Sara. She barked at the other side of me at the window. “Goddamn it, Molly, quiet,” I cried. Sara sat me up. “You can’t keep living like this.” She breathed. “I need to tell you something… ,” I replied under my breath. “But you have to promise me that you won’t think I’m crazy,” I added. I was desperate to vent. “That ship sailed months ago.” She teased. “I’m serious, Sara!” I barked. She placed her hands on either side of my face. “You’re not crazy,” she stated. “I go through what you go through, ? Now has anyone else noticed the fucking weird shit that happens around you lately? Or is this new?” she asked, referring to last night. I sighed. I looked at her for a moment. “You just have to ignore it,” I insisted. “Otherwise, it starts to drive you mad,” I added. I was living proof of that.

She rolled her eyes at me, scooting closer. “How long has this been happening to you?” Her hesitation made mine worse. I exhaled slowly and then cussed under my breath as I was forced to face my reality. “Since I was nine. It used to scare the hell outta me. The more I acknowledged it, the worse it became. The more I feared it, stranger things would happen. That’s when I started staying with Caleb and Janet a lot. I always felt safe with Caleb. Nothing would ever happen. Eventually, as I got older, it just stopped completely, until a couple of months ago… ,” I stated, facing it for the first time and finally letting go of my denial. My subconscious was basically doing its job. Sara sat completely still, just staring at me, speechless. “I know… I’m crazy.” I breathed. She shook her head excessively. She’s always been the type to believe in this stuff. I was the one that thought it was absolute bullshit, mostly because I couldn’t face the fact that it was happening to me. With it now out in the open, I already knew it would only get worse from here on out. “You’re not crazy… You’re just haunted. That’s not your fault.” She spoke without emotion, almost as if she was in a trance. I sighed, not ready to accept any of this. I got up and went to my desk, getting my weed. I then sat back down on the bed with a magazine and started to roll us a wake-and-bake. “Right, like that won’t attract your dead stoner boyfriend’s ghost,” Sara muttered under her breath. I rolled my eyes at her. “First of all, I never said it was Caleb. I just said it started again after he died… That could mean all kinds of things. Maybe it’s my parents trying to help me through a rough time by driving me absolutely crazy. Who knows? I really don’t have it in me to care at this point. It doesn’t matter,” I insisted. She rolled her eyes at me. “You’re so full of shit. Oh my god, are you seriously that stubborn? You know its Caleb. You just don’t want to face it because if it is Caleb and you fix it and it stops, then he’s really gone. He told you before he died that he’d be with you, and now all of a sudden you don’t wanna believe him? Or you just don’t wanna believe any of it even though you know it’s real. Just because you don’t want to believe doesn’t make it any less real. He’s fucking with you for a reason. You need to figure out why,” she preached at me. I glared at her with so much annoyance at her truth that it gave me a headache. ’m sure all the alcohol I drank the night before had something to do with it too. “Do you believe in all that kinda stuff?” I asked her, my mind redirecting to an

issue that I can face. She stared at me curiously for a moment before saying anything. “Well… that depends on what you’re referring to,” she stated, still speaking under her breath as if she didn’t want others to hear her. Great, now I had to worry about her losing her mind. I sighed. “I met the strange guy last night,” I whispered in a more serious tone. She furrowed her eyebrows at me, trying to find the relevance. “He introduced me to someone. She was like him and like the girl that came into the salon. She showed me things, things that could change my entire perspective on my life and this world if I choose to believe them. They knew things that no one else could have possibly known too. It was very weird” I explained, speaking in the same low, empty tone as Sara. Somehow speaking of it aloud provided me with a sense of acceptance. Sara just stared at me for a moment before responding. “You better not be fucking with me,” she stated, expressionless. I shook my head at her slowly, staring back to let her find the truth herself. After a moment or two of us staring at each other, my phone rang, startling her. I grabbed my phone off of the stand next to my bed and read the caller ID. I looked up at Sara nervously. She leaned toward me, looking at the phone. It was an unknown caller. “Answer it,” she barked anxiously. I slowly hit the answer button, followed by the speaker phone. As soon as I answered, a loud static blared through the phone. I instinctively dropped the phone. Then Sara picked it up, listening carefully. “Hang up!” I barked at her. “Shh… Listen,” She insisted. I exhaled slowly, trying to listen. As I listened harder, I heard what she was listening to. Beyond the static was an echo of a hollow voice too far away to be recognized. But we could hear it clear enough to determine that it was saying “Ben.” I practically choked. Sara hung up the phone, pulling me up with her as she stood. “Relax… Calls just probably got crossed,” she said, apparently now in denial herself. I shook my head. “No, you don’t understand… ,” I muttered. “The strange guy . . . His name is Ben,” I informed her, breathless. Her face went flat, and she stared at me as if I had just confessed to murder. I already had to do that once, in obvious self-defense.

“What if I told you that this is exactly what was supposed to happen? That Caleb was supposed to die. So I could move here. And meet Ben. What if I told you that they even knew this five years ago, long before any of it? I’m eventually supposed to be with them until the end, and when I say the end, I mean the rest of existence. Now whoever is haunting me is involved somehow. Do I sound crazy yet?” This time Sara didn’t just freeze up on me; she turned pale and everything. “You’re serious?” She breathed. I nodded. Just then the radio in the bathroom turned on, tuning itself. Both of us froze, staring into the bathroom. The radio tuned to a specific song, a song by Matchbox Twenty. Sara and I furrowed our eyebrows at each other. The song then changed to a song by Drake, one not played on the radio, making a point by basically telling me to get over it. I stormed into the bathroom, ripping the radio out from the wall, and threw it out the window. It shattered into pieces as it hit the pavement. That’s what I thought about that. It was a bad idea. Molly started growling and barking defensively again. Only this time she appeared to be barking at me. I didn’t move an inch. My heart started pounding out of my chest, and I started to sweat. Sara stared at me, terrified. Both of us then jumped at the sound of someone at the front door. Molly redirected her bark. After catching my breath, I quickly made my way toward the door. Sara followed closely behind me. “Molly, quiet,” I sneered before I looked out the window. I gasped. “It’s him,” I mouthed to Sara. She pushed past me, unlocking the door. As she ripped it open, she revealed Ben along with another female I’ve never seen before. He looked at Sara and then focused on me behind her. “This is Jae… I think she can help you.” Sara just stared in awe at him, at his blood-red eyes. I gently pulled her out of the way, letting them in. Jae treaded carefully, keeping her distance from me. “Um, this is probably going to sound crazy to you, but do you ever feel like someone’s with you… all the time?” she asked me. But she wasn’t looking at me; she was looking beyond. “I guess you could say that.” I laughed, causing

Sara to laugh too. “More like being taunted all the time,” she just had to add. Ben stared at me the same way he did last night. “Jae’s my brother’s girlfriend. She’s very unique. She can help if you let her. You just have to believe her.” He shrugged. Jae rolled her eyes. “I’m more like his brothers fiancée,” she corrected. Ben laughed. “Riiight. They’re getting married, in a hundred years,” he replied sarcastically. Jae nudged him, then got to her point. “Okay, just everyone stop talking. I need to focus,” she whispered. “Who?” she whispered at nothing, appearing even crazier than I am. Jae looked over at me, making eye for the first time. “He was your boyfriend?” she asked me. I nodded, unable to speak even if I wanted to. “You have matching tattoos?” she then asked, looking at my wrist. I leveled my eyes with hers. “How would you know that?” I asked. She didn’t look at me. She continued to stare at nothing just behind me. “He has the same symbol on the same wrist as you. The dead that stay behind—the ones with unfinished business—they appear as they did when they died,” she informed me quietly. Jae took a step back, and then another, circling around herself as if someone was circling her. Once she completed the circle, she focused next to me again. “He’s very… mad… Your not listening…” she whispered, really screwing with my head now. “What?” I breathed, speechless. “Do you what he said to you that night under the pier?” she asked. “You’re going to have to be a bit more specific,” I laughed. “Saturday, April 10,” Jae replied, making her point loud and clear. I looked at Sara, who knows every detail of that day too. She stood completely frozen, staring at me. “I .” I breathed. “Then listen” She said. It was quiet for a moment. Sara stepped closer to Jae. “What the hell are you guys?” She breathed. “You didn’t tell her?” Jae asked me, almost seeming surprised.

“Not exactly…” I muttered. “Tell me what!” Sara whined. Jae laughed. “you’re a loudmouth,” she stated, her ability to Sara now. Sara rolled her eyes. Not impressed. “Typical,” she sneered. “undead,” Jae then told her, causing Sara to instantly drop herself onto the couch. I made my way toward her, sitting next to her. “What the fuck?” She breathed. After a few seconds Sara stood up, crossing her arms over her chest. “Well, I guess that’s better than dead.” She shrugged, still able to access her sense of humor. Lucky her. I chuckled at the truth of Sara’s statement. Ben also laughed, looking back at me and then redirecting his attention to Sara. “Someone isn’t worried,” Ben teased. “And without being informed,” he added. Sara glared over at me and then back at Ben. “Then why don’t you tell me?” she suggested, flashing a wide sarcastic smile at him. I laughed quietly to myself. “‘Kay.” He said without hesitation. “She is everything. She’s supposed to be here right now. I’m here to help her. Living with a psychic, you learn that fate is inevitable,” he insisted, causing Sara to glare back over at me. “Are you fucking kidding me? First Caleb, and now him. Really?” she complained. I exhaled slowly. “Don’t even start that,” I warned her under my breath. She rolled her eyes at me. “Fine,” she whined. It wasn’t very often that she agreed with me in these types of things, but I wasn’t about to point that out. Ben’s blood-red eyes sparkled at me. His perfection numbed me. Sara stared at me as we stared at each other for a moment, both of us trying to find the connection that we’re told is there. It didn’t take much to find it… Even Sara could see it, as much as she didn’t want to. It was like a tiny dim light came on, lighting up just enough of the darkness.

Chapter 6

The Beginning

Day 6, Saturday night

3 hours later…

I sat on the stool in the kitchen, catching my breath after my run with Molly. Meanwhile, Sara was getting our dinner together. “Damnit, how the fuck did that asshole do this every day without dying sooner?” I breathed. Sara chuckled quietly to herself. “I don’t fuckin’ know, but I do know that he didn’t come back sounding like you.” I smiled to myself at the thought. “No… He came home and fucked me instead,” I stated, speaking about him without bursting into tears for the first time in three months. At this point, I was just thankful he wasted his entire life with me. No one can take that away. Sara grunted in disgust at my statement. But as she looked back at me to check my current mood, I surprised her. In the past twenty-four hours I had managed to change my view of things. I couldn’t let myself be a hostage to my depression anymore. I couldn’t dwell on what could have been; instead I had to cherish what was. The pain was still there constantly, always reminding me that a huge part of me was missing and gone, forever. But mentally I was just starting to rise above it. And it was only the beginning.

“You sure you’re okay?” she asked, probably worried I had officially lost my mind. I laughed at her. “I’m… fine,” I shrugged. She raised her eyebrows at me. “Okay…” She nodded, attempting to accept my answer. She then presented dinner. For someone who has lived on Oodles of Noodles and Easy Macs most of her life, she could cook. And hell of a lot better than I could. I probably would have burned the building down if I even tried. She had made us lasagna. When we were finished eating, I helped her clean up. Considering I’d probably starve if it wasn’t for her, I had to do something to show her I appreciate her. I’d prove that soon enough. When we were finished, I headed toward the door. “I’m goin’ out for a smoke. You comin’?” I asked her. She shook her head. “No, go ahead. I’m gonna take a bath,” she replied. “‘Kay.” I shrugged as I stepped out into the storm room. I sat down in my usual seat in the right corner closest to the road, watching the street as I smoked. As I turned to my left to flick my cigarette, the sudden sight of Ben startled me. “Dammit.” I sighed, catching my breath. “Sorry…” He laughed. “I guess you could say I’m not used to human reactions… ,” he added. I shook my head at him. “mean besides how they react to you eating them?” I muttered under my breath. He raised his eyebrows at me, like he was surprised to hear me talk so lightly of it. “That doesn’t bother you?” he asked curiously. I leveled my eyes with his. “No. Even my dog has killed someone. People are killed every day. You just have an actual reason.” He stared back at me, surprised by my response again. “You never felt any guilt or remorse for killing the other two guys? I know you didn’t have a choice, you were just protecting yourself, but still. Most humans feel some kind of emotion for taking someone’s life. It’s only natural,” he stated. I shrugged. “I guess I’m not like most humans,” I said. He seemed dumbfounded for a moment as he stared at me curiously. Like he was trying to read the way my mind works. “You definitely are meant to be one of us…” He breathed, like he was just now piecing it all together in his head. I shrugged again in agreement but also

because I wasn’t sure how else to respond to that. The reality of it was only just starting to hit me, apparently him too. In that same moment, the front door opened. Sara paused immediately at the sight of Ben sitting next to me. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t know he was here again… ,” she whispered carefully. I rolled my eyes at her. “It’s okay… What’s up?” I asked her. Considering she was out here wearing only a bathrobe, I knew there was a reason. “Your brother just called. He and Eddie just landed at LAX. They’ll be here by morning,” she informed me. I sighed slowly. “Great. Thanks,” I muttered. She nodded before quickly going back inside. “Definitely have not missed my brother the past week.” I breathed. “I’m gonna need a drink. A very large drink,” I added, enjoying the idea. Ben laughed quietly to himself. “Why’s that?” he asked. “Why what? Why I don’t miss my brother or why I’m gonna need a drink?” “Both.” I laughed to myself. “Because my brother is very protective of me, so much that it’s fucking annoying. Mr. Attitude seems to think it’s his job to rid me of all my issues. And he takes it out on everyone around us. All these years he had it made. When our parents died and Eddie took us in, Eddie took care of me. And since Eddie was always watching Caleb for Janet, I already had him too. So now that Caleb’s gone, it’s like he’s making up for the past thirteen years. Only he has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. So it makes it very difficult for me. I’ve told him a million times that I don’t want him wasting his life taking care of me and that I can take care of myself, but he doesn’t listen to me. But even before my life totally flipped on me, the only time Jon and I got along is when we were drunk. So considering we live together, most of the time we eat each other’s hearts out. That’s why I need a drink. I really don’t feel like fighting with him,” I explained. Ben seemed rather amused. “Would it be a little too forward for you if I told you that listening to you fascinates me?” he asked, catching me completely off guard, because normally it definitely would have been too forward. But somehow, for some reason, it wasn’t at all. If anything, the whole way he said was a cute; that

freaked me out for a moment or two. I looked at him curiously, looking at every detail—checking him out. I shook my head at him with a light smirk, answering his question. He smirked lightly in return. “How about I buy you that drink?” A very tiny part of me hesitated, but only for a moment. Naturally, I smirked at him. I couldn’t help it. He definitely has his game down pat and perfected. Perfected, just like the rest of him and his kind. I made him come in with me for a minute before we left. I went down to my room and grabbed my phone and a couple other things. Then I let myself into the bathroom where Sara was taking a bubble bath while smoking a bong. That’s Sara. “I’m going to have a drink, I’ll be right back,” I informed her. She glared at me out of the corner of her eyes. “With Ben?” she asked. “Yeah,” I mocked her tone. “‘Kay… Don’t get lost.” I rolled my eyes at her, annoyed that she was seriously jealous of Ben already just as she had been of Caleb. Only this is totally different, simpler. She’s just more pissed off at the fact that she can’t keep a boyfriend; she always leaves them. Then she complains because they’re jerks. Having a bar within walking distance was starting to become more and more convenient every day, even more so with a vampire friend. Ben picked me up effortlessly with one arm and flashed through the dark side of the street down to the bar. He gently set me back down to my feet when he stopped. That was the coolest adrenaline rush I ever had, like jumping in time or traveling at light speed. As we walked into the bar, Ben’s hood hid his eyes as we made our way to the bartender. He followed closely behind me, allowing anyone looking to be distracted by me. though I looked like I had just been ran over by a Mack Truck. So it surprised me when we got to the bar and the tender nodded and said “Ben”

upon his arrival. Ben nodded back at him, making eye with him. I stared at Ben curiously for a moment as the tender made my drink. Neither one of them spoke until he set the glass in front of me and moved on. “There are a few families in this town that have been here a very long time. And so have we. Only we don’t change. Or procreate. But since we don’t hunt in our own territory, they don’t say anything—and because most of them are terrified of us—but that’s beside the point. We know them. They think they know us. Each of us keeps to ourselves,” he explained without me even having to ask. He certainly had his practice in reading women in the last hundred years. I continued to stare at him curiously as I took a long sip of my drink. “Interesting… So what is it exactly you spend the rest of your time doing?” I asked, considering he seems to know everything about me and I hardly knew him. He laughed. “I drive and capture with Stefan… My brother” He shrugged. I paused, raising my eyebrows at him. “Seriously?” I breathed. He nodded. I eyed him suspiciously for a moment. “For our agency,” he itted, again reading me perfectly. I chuckled quietly to myself and then finished my drink, slamming it onto the bar, attracting the bartender’s attention again. Ben chuckled at my persistence. Once the bartender gave me another drink, I refocused. “Any other coincidences I should know about?” I chuckled, causing him to smirk and look away for a second. “I guess you’ll just have to stick around and find out,” he replied. When his eyes met mine again, I immediately felt numb. His perfection finally started to get the best of me with a little liquid courage. Dammit, he’s good. “Guess so.” I shrugged, continuing to drink my drink. I was way too sober for this. Of course later I’ll be way too drunk. It’s a lose-lose for me. After my third and a half drink, Ben walked me back home, stumbling my way as I tried to text my brother. I was failing miserably. My screen was one big blur. Ben held onto me just right so that I couldn’t tumble over, laughing at me in the

process. Being completely smashed, I found it hilarious. Island Iced Teas will do that you. Sara was outside smoking when we got back, immediately amused by my current condition. She laughed as Ben made our way up the stairs. “Lemme guess, Long Islands?” She nailed it. “How’d you know?” I replied sarcastically followed by laughter. “’re her favorite,” she whispered to Ben conspicuously. “I see that.” Ben stated the obvious, chuckling to himself. I stole her cigarette from her and then proceeded to sit myself in my usual chair, sucking it down like air. “I liked it better when you didn’t smoke,” she complained under her breath. I laughed at her. “You and everyone else,” I reminded her. She rolled her eyes at me, flaunting her usual attitude. She flashed a sarcastic smile at me before going inside. Drama queen. I finished my smoke and stood to my feet, standing directly in front of Ben, only inches away from him. “Can you come in and just… lay with me for a little while?” I whispered. He nodded and then wrapped his arms around me gently, holding me against him. I rested my head on his chest, hugging him back. The amount of comfort I felt in that very short moment in time equaled to the amount of comfort given by everyone closest to me in the past few months. It was unlike anything human I’d ever felt. I’d soon find out that this was nothing in comparison. During the five hours he laid with me that night, I slept four and a half of them nightmare free. I probably would have slept longer if he had stayed longer. But unfortunately he left the moment my brother and Eddie came through the front door.

Sunday morning…

The shock of actually sleeping for that long still affected me when Eddie came in my room, followed by Jon. Luckily, lying in bed at this time wide wake, looking dumbfounded, wasn’t strange for them these days. It was normal; that made me feel even worse. But because I’ve never been away from Eddie this long, I jumped out of bed at the sight of him and wrapped my arms around him tightly, relieved to see his face. Unfortunately, Jon’s, not so much. Fortunately for him, I was still a little drunk. Eddie could see this instantly and rolled his eyes at me. “Drunkie have a few Long Islands last night?” “Yesss… and they were sooo good!” I moaned. A moment later I caught myself thinking about Ben, distracting myself. It must have been obvious in my expression because both of them stared at me suspiciously for a moment before either one of them said something; “I take it moving you away from your past is helping?” Eddie asked hesitantly, treading carefully in hopes it wasn’t premature, treating me like a ticking time bomb. Ignoring that, I shrugged. “I guess so… ,” I said, obviously underexaggerating. Jon didn’t seem to catch onto it, but Eddie knew me better than that. He continued to eye me suspiciously for a few more moments until he eventually must have decided it wasn’t worth picking at. Good choice on his part. “Well, I have new job for you… And the rest of your stuff.” He redirected to more important things. “.” I breathed, eager to have something to do with all of my stuff. The CAM rifle wasn’t just emotionally painful; it was also a pain in the ass without all of my supplies. The three of us then went into the other room. While Jon brought his stuff into his room, Eddie gave me the project folder. Followed by a few more folders and a few more, each with their own deadline. He planned on keeping me busy for a while…

When Jon came back out, the three of us stepped out onto the back porch for a traditional family burnout session. Eddie then filled me in on what I had missed back home. Anything non-Caleb related, for the most part anyway. “Shelby came in the other day… He asked about you. He’s worried that when all is said and done, you won’t be the same sweet Gabby we all love,” Eddie informed me, chuckling. I rolled my eyes. “Probably not,” I agreed. Considering what my future holds for me, I doubt I’ll have any innocence left. Eddie rolled his eyes back at me. “No one expects you to come out of it the same as you were before. When someone goes through something traumatic it changes you. We just don’t want to see it ruin you,” he made a point to say. “Right,” added Jon. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine,” I sneered, already annoyed. Eddie flashed a suspicious smile at me. I eyed him back curiously. “What?” I sighed. He looked over at Jon for a second before refocusing on me. “Nothing… I wouldn’t wanna upset you… ,” he said with his eyes locked on mine. He held the t out in front of him, ing it to me. I leaned forward and snatched it from him. Leaning back in my seat, I glared at him with hatred as I smoked it. Once I ed it to Jon and exhaled, I leaned forward at Eddie. “Jus fuckin’ tell me. Goddamn it, I’m not a nuclear bomb ready to explode at the first wrong word. This walking on eggshells around me is starting to really annoy me. I appreciate the thought, but the two of you go a little overboard,” I insisted, expressing myself for the first time to him in months. Both of them stared at me in awe for a moment, completely dumbfounded by my sudden change in attitude or by my sudden strength to call him out on his bullshit again. While he was coddling me, I was doing the same with him. Considering Caleb was like one of his own to him, all of this was just as hard for him. Just because

Caleb wasn’t biologically his, it was still just as hard for him as it would have been for any other father. Luckily for Caleb’s actual father, he never even knew him, so I’m sure he’s handling it just fine. The thought irks at me every time. After Eddie stared at me for a moment, he finally told me what he was thinking. “Janet came to the house the other day… She was going through some of Caleb’s stuff and found some things she figured only you should have… ,” he informed me hesitantly. I immediately knew what he was talking about but was desperately hoping I was wrong. I sat completely still, staring at him wide-eyed with my stomach in my throat. “She said she tried to call you but you didn’t answer… And it wasn’t something she wanted to leave on your voice mail. So she brought them to me to give to you… ,” he added, convincing me even more. “Please don’t tell me it’s DVDs?” I breathed, emotionless. A small smirk formed in the corner of his mouth, trying to fight it. That answered my question. I dropped my head into my hands. More embarrassed than anything. “A box of them.” Jon laughed. “She said she watched about two seconds of one, put the rest in a box, and came straight to us,” he added humorously. Even I had to it it was pretty funny. I found myself chuckling. They probably thought I was losing my mind. I looked back up at Eddie. “So where the hell are they now?” I asked under my breath. He looked at Jon before looking back at me. “We brought ’em. We didn’t think you’d want them destroyed, but we also know you don’t want ’em just anywhere where anyone could get to them… I figured I’d rather torture you with a memory than risk your indecent exposure.” I nodded slowly in agreement. “Anything else you need to tell me?” I asked. He shrugged. “The violence prevention program donated a quarter of a million dollars to our gun safety course in Caleb’s honor,” he replied. “But that’s not as exciting as Janet finding her son’s sex tapes,” he added, laughing to himself at his memory of it. I rolled my eyes. “Quinn came to me yesterday too… He asked about you.” Jon suddenly put in his part. I furrowed my eyebrows at him. “I’m sure he did.” I sneered. Now that the tragedy of losing Caleb is starting to settle, our friends are starting to make

their moves. At first they were sympathetic and respectful. But their penises can only stay tamed for so long. With Caleb gone, they see me as fresh meat, taking advantage of my vulnerability. Unfortunately for them, even if Caleb never existed, they still wouldn’t have had a shot. Let’s just say they’re far from my type… When we were done smoking and went back inside, I curled up on the couch with my laptop. The was sitting on the table in front of me. I couldn’t help but stare at it every couple of minutes while I went on Facepage for the first time since the morning before the shootout… I probably shouldn’t have. It was still all over the place on Facepage, from both sides. Everyone I’ve ever known had sent me sympathetic messages and comments. People had posted pictures of Caleb and our friends with memorial captions. It made me sick, literally. I ran to the bathroom and threw up, accidentally waking Sara in the process. “Duuude, you all right?” she whined. “What’s wrong?” she asked. I sighed in frustration, sick of all of this. “I looked at Facepage, that’s what’s wrong,” I informed her. I heard her climb out of bed and make her way into the bathroom. “I told you not to go on it for a while… I meant like a couple years,” she reminded. I rolled my eyes at her, dropping my head against the wall as I sat on the floor. The sound of Jon and Eddie in the other room distracted her. “When did they get here?” she asked. “Half hour ago?” I estimated. “Bearing gifts. Janet found the DVDs… ,” I whispered. Being my best friend, she knew all about the tapes. Her jaw dropped. “Did she watch ’em?” She became anxious. I chuckled at her. “Probably only long enough to realize what they were…” I laughed, amused by the thought. I tried to picture her reaction, but I couldn’t without laughing so hard I couldn’t even think straight. Caleb was probably enjoying it just as much as I was. Considering those tapes were hidden from God and everyone, I had a feeling he had something to do with them coming about. Even he knew all of us would get a kick out of traumatizing his mother. She deserves it. Sara followed me out into the other room, hugging Eddie at the sight of him. I went straight to the box, staring at it for a moment before opening it. I slowly pulled back each side of the box, slowly revealing the pile of burned DVDs.

“Oh my god! You didn’t tell me there was that many!” Sara gasped from across the room. I laughed. “They’re not all dirty… Just the ones labeled with a black star… ,” I informed her and everyone else. That way they know which ones not to look at. I started dividing them. Sex tapes in one stack, the others in another pile. Sara helped, obviously very amused. “What’s this one?” she asked curiously, handing me the one labeled “August.” I laughed at the memory. “That was when we went on a sex strike against each other. Caleb recorded it day by day. We failed on the nineteenth day, my birthday. Well, he failed. Giving in. But that’s on a different tape… with a star,” I replied, enjoying the memory. Eddie chuckled excessively behind us, unable to help himself. “I that month. After about the third day both of you were so cranky that I had to split you up at work. Otherwise, nothing would have gotten done. As wrong as it may sound, you have no idea how relieved I was to see you back to normal after your birthday,” he stated, also able to enjoy the memory. No wonder Janet hates us. She gets nothing but other people’s memories of him. Jon, who was already in a pissy mood after a long flight and even longer drive, sneered at me. “And that only lasted a couple weeks. Now you’ve gone three months, and it’s turned you into a royal bitch. Why don’t you go get laid! I’m gonna. Maxi ain’t gonna do me any good all the way in Florida. Caleb won’t mind. He probably woulda gotten some already if you were the one that was dead.” Eddie slapped him across the back of his head for me. “What the fuck!” Jon barked defensively. “Caleb wasn’t a pig like you. Now shut the fuck up and make yourself useful.” Eddie insisted. Jon glared at me with hatred for a minute before storming off into his room. Pissy pants needed a time-out. “He did have a point though… ,” Sara whispered. “You really need ta get laid… Considering how drunk you were last night, I don’t know how you managed to be around Ben without throwing yourself at him,” she added, at the time not really realizing what she was saying and who she was saying it in front of. Until Eddie spoke up. “Uh, who’s Ben?” he asked curiously. I glared at Sara,

very unimpressed. She gave me a small apologetic look before she was unable to look me in the eye. I sighed. “Just this guy… Don’t worry about it,” I insisted. Unfortunately, Eddie doesn’t give up that easy, not with me anyway. “You sure about that? You won’t even talk to Mattie, so if you are seeing someone, he must be important somehow. I know you, Gabs. You don’t just let anyone into your life… So who is he to you? Either way, you gotta move on eventually. The sooner the better, the way I see it. Then I won’t have to constantly worry about you spending the rest of your life alone because your lifelong boyfriend got himself shot,” he insisted. His eyes looked into mine so seriously I didn’t answer him. But apparently that was an answer enough. Jon then came out of his room after eavesdropping, this time with a completely different attitude. “Thank fuckin’ God,” he muttered under his breath. “My sister is normal.” “Mind your own fucking business” I sneered as all of us rolled our eyes at him, already not in the mood for his shit. “I’m taking Molly for her run. I’ll be back in a little while…” I sighed, not looking forward to the coming back part. I went down to my room to change before I left, slipping into navy blue running shorts and a white tank top. On my way back out into the other room, I grabbed Caleb’s iPod too. Without another word to anyone else, Molly and I were out the door, running as soon as we reached the bottom of the stairs. It’s the only exercise either of us got these days. Ironically, a little over halfway through my run, Ben appeared in the exact same spot I had first seen him. I then realized that from where he was standing, he could watch my entire route. I should have been more freaked out by my new stalker, but because he’s done such a good job impressing me so far—and that’s further than anyone else besides Caleb ever got—the whole watching-my-everymove thing was kind of flattering. Anyone that can stand watching my life all the time deserves some brownie points. Plus, he’s beyond gorgeous. That certainly helps. I stared at him suspiciously for a moment from across the street, iring him inconspicuously. He smirked at me before he flashed toward me, appearing directly in front of me in the same exact second in broad daylight.

The humor in his expression immediately told me he had been listening to at least the last half of the conversation that erupted before I left. Luckily, I didn’t even care anymore. “You wanna come up the mountain with me? Meet the others?” he whispered invitingly. I nodded without hesitation, apparently eager for his presence. I just didn’t realize just how eager I was for him at the time. He smiled, clearly pleased. I texted Sara. “Ran into Ben. Be back later…” Then made our way back to my car. I didn’t even want to imagine the conversation started between the three of them back at the apartment. All were able to say what they want without me there to be affected by it. They deserved the ability to do it sometimes… Everyone does. Molly came with me. Not that she’d do me any good in a house full of vampires. With my lack of fear these days, it was a lot less stressful than it should have been. Considering that they could eat me in a second before I even saw them coming, I should have been on edge or something. But I wasn’t. I was completely fine. They were just like ordinary people, just with red eyes. It was actually nice to be surrounded by something other than pity. Being surrounded by danger is a lot more entertaining. The house was completely unlike anything I could have expected. When people think vampires, they think castles and coffins and dungeons. This house looked like it belonged in one of those fancy home magazines. It was set at the end of a very long dirt road on the Weaverville Mountain. Three sets of wooden stairs lead up to the house. The walls were mostly consisted of glass. The driveway was occupied with nothing but expensive vehicles. All the same glossy black. Similar to mine. Inside was just like any other home, except it was perfect. It was so clean that you could probably operate in it. ironic. The first one Ben introduced me to was Marcus. He had told me about him yesterday, about his ability to heal. He’s also Ben’s creator. I recognized him

from Chelsea’s memories. He spoke so elegantly and professionally that it was beyond obvious he was from a completely different era. His siblings, Vanessa and Stefan, were more than welcoming. Apparently my existence is highly appreciated in this house. They worry about Ben for the same reason the ones closest to me worry; they’re afraid we’ll be alone forever. Except with Ben it was a little different. He obviously didn’t have a problem getting women; sticking with them is where the problem settled—commitment issues, of course. According to Vanessa, the moment Chelsea brought me to Ben’s attention, they all knew I’d be the one to break his pattern. “Premonitions don’t lie!” she has said. Ben rolled his eyes at her, just about as unimpressed with her pushiness as I was with Jon’s. Neither one of us took Vanessa too seriously that day. As entertaining as meeting a vampire coven was, unfortunately I had to get home to my drama-infested apartment. Eddie would leave in the morning, and I wouldn’t see him for a while. I had to spend some time with him. So after an hour or two Ben drove me home, in my car. What I wasn’t expecting was Jon to be waiting for me, very amused. But Ben didn’t mind at all. He didn’t even try to hide his eyes, allowing it to take its natural course. That terrified me inside. When Jon’s eyes met Ben’s as we reached the top of the stairs, all of his amusement vanished and was replaced with fear and confusion. “Don’t mind him. He’s a little slow,” I muttered. But Jon didn’t even flinch, not even when Sara then swung the front door open, only to freeze at the sight of my return with Ben too. She slowly stepped outside, shutting the door quietly behind her. “Well, I guess that cat’s outta the bag,” she muttered under her breath. “Yup,” Ben agreed, instinctively amused. Jon became even more confused. “Someone wanna tell me what the hell is going

on?” He also spoke under his breath. “He’s a vampire. And he digs your sister,” Sara stated bluntly. I dropped my head into my hands, not impressed with her choice of words. But I found myself chuckling anyway. I sighed before looking back at Jon. “It’s a little more complex than that.” I made a point to say, mimicking one of the first things Ben ever said to me. Both Jon and Sara looked at Ben for further explanation. He laughed quietly to himself before saying anything. “Let’s jus’ say your sister is pretty important to us. To me.” he replied. Jon looked at me before looking back at Ben. “Why” Jon asked, being a pain in the ass already. “Cause she needs us. And I need her.” Ben replied, his scarlet red eyes sparkling at me. No one spoke as I stared back at him. Both Sara and Jon recognized the obvious natural connection between the two of us. That’s fate. What I didn’t know was that Eddie was also watching from inside, showing him too. After a moment or two—I wasn’t keeping track—he casually stepped out into the storm room, t in hand, as always. That’s Eddie. “This your new boyfriend, Gabs?” he asked, always finding a way to embarrass me. He smirked at me, letting me know his intent. I glared back at him, letting him know mine. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” I replied, giving a less awkward answer than it could have been. Eddie nudged Sara. “She’s got you beat twice now. Your slackin’!” he teased, causing her to pout over her smirk. Thankfully Eddie didn’t mention the obvious inhuman parts of Ben, most likely not about to screw it up, also desperate for me to move on. Not even he cared about the vampire part. After we smoked, we all went inside. Ben stayed with me that night. And the many nights that would follow. Because vampires don’t sleep, ever, he just laid with me all night long while I actually slept nightmare free. Sara was so relieved to see me sleep through the night that she didn’t even get jealous.

That was a nice change. He didn’t rush anything either, that was the best part. He respected me, and he respected what I had just gone through. He was my comfort zone. At this point, it wasn’t much more than that. But we both knew that wouldn’t last very long. I practically craved him already. I had to stop myself from throwing myself at him. Everything about him drew me toward him—his look, his voice, his smell. Especially his smell. Subconsciously I knew I wasn’t ready for that, and considering I’m the only human he has ever been this close to without eating them, he wasn’t ready for that either. Not unless I wanted to become dinner. So for now… we kept it slow. I guess we could call him a boyfriend-to-be. It was just the beginning.

Chapter 7

The Next Step

Week 2

I spent every free waking moment working on my projects. First I had to sit down and organize them by deadline compared to the size of the project and the time it would take to complete. That took me most of the day. Thankfully a little weed and some ridiculously loud music made it tolerable. I wasn’t much of a paper pusher; I’m more hands-on. That is probably one of the many reasons I love my work so much. I don’t think I could handle it if I didn’t love it. It takes time and focus, and you only get one shot you can’t mess up. That’s a lot of responsibility. These guns aren’t cheap. Neither am I. Sketching is always my favorite step. Sometimes I’ll get specific projects that are already done up for me, but more so than not they rely on us to create the masterpiece. That means I have to figure out who the gun belongs to and envision what their gun should look like. It could be anything from lettering and designs, down to the finest details. Some projects could take me ten to fifteen minutes while others could take me hours, or even days, depending on what the customer wants. Now that I work at home and it’s my only job, it provides me with a lot more time than it used to. Eddie’s obviously taking advantage of that. And considering the money we’ll make on these projects alone already, I’m not complaining. I enjoy what I do too much to ever complain. It’s not like I have too much to do anymore… Eddie knows what he’s doing.

I should have done this a long time ago. I went from being paid by how many hours I spent at the shop each week to being paid per project. I could make bank if I busted my ass this way. As long as I can keep up with it and do it right. But sometimes a distraction is good… I was currently working on a handgun, a small project, but it needed to be in the mail by tomorrow morning. In an attempt to face my demons, I watched the viewable DVDs. I originally hesitated with that idea in fear that I would just torture myself. Then I ed that fear is a weakness, and I was right. It wasn’t torturous at all. Actually, it was nice. I did cry, not because I was sad that Caleb was gone, but because I enjoyed the memory that much more he was gone. Basically I laughed while I cried. But since I had the house to myself I didn’t care. Sara was working until closing, and Jon went to the city in search for a new ELG location—Eddie’s newest master plan. He always has one. This is probably his plan for us for when he’s no longer with us either. We can’t run ELG from California, so he’ll just put one here too. As long as Jon runs it, I didn’t care. It wasn’t my problem. The sudden appearance of Ben startled me as always as he appeared out of thin air beside me on the couch. I cussed as I caught my breath, causing him to smirk at me in amusement. My first reaction was to shut the TV off, so I did as quickly as I could. After frantically dropping the remote due to my nerves, I continued my project. “You don’t gotta shut it off on my … ,” he whispered. I shook my head. “It was distracting me anyway,” I replied. I chuckled quietly to myself at the thought that even in his grave Caleb still finds a way to distract me from my work. “Am I distracting you?” he asked as he focused on the gun on the stand in front of me. I paused and looked back at him for a moment. A smirk naturally formed

as my eyes met his. I was slowly starting to get used to that. “No,” I replied simply and then refocused on the task at hand. He leaned closer to me, his intoxicating scent melting my insides. “So this is what you do?” he stated more than asked. I nodded, keeping my eyes on my work. “Yup… This is my moneymaker . . . It just also happens to be my sanctuary too,” I stated. He chuckled. “That thing looks dangerous…” he made a point to say, referring to my abrasion tool. I rolled my eyes at him humorously. “Relax, it has a safety feature… ,” I assured him, chuckling to myself. As the look on his face told me he wasn’t so sure, I rolled the end of it on the palm of my hand to prove it, making him tense for a moment. Of course that made it all the more amusing for me. I felt myself smirking as I thought of him, making myself uncomfortable for a moment. hormones were starting to scream at me lately. Attempting to distract myself, I focused harder on my work. But it wasn’t working. I had been sitting in this apartment way too long. I think I was starting to get stir-crazy. “Take me somewhere,” I said as I completely stopped what I was doing and directed all my attention to Ben. He naturally smirked. “Where?” He chuckled. I shrugged. “I don’t know. Just drive. You’re the one who has lived here for, like, ever. I’m sure you can find some way to distract me,” I stated as I stood up for the first time in a couple hours. Ben laughed before responding, teasing me. I tried to fight a smirk but failed horribly. It was hard not to smile when I looked at him. It was almost becoming an automatic reaction. That scared me for a moment. Until I decided I really didn’t care anymore. I left Sara a note. “With Ben. Be back later… Love you.” I made it a point to make sure I left it where she would see it right away instead of instinctively freaking out at the first sign of my absence. For some reason, in the past week, I never once saw Ben’s car. So I guess you could say I was a little surprised at first sight. “Seriously?” I laughed at this ridiculousness. “I guess you found another coincidence. Good thing you stuck around… so far,” He stated, obviously amused by my reaction. “You’ve gotta be

kidding me,” I muttered as I got in the car. The car was just like mine. It was his personal car; a good driver doesn’t mix business with pleasure. It was even the same color as mine—a black BMW. What are the chances of that? That’s also fate doing its job, lucky me. We drove through nowhere, going nowhere. It was amazingly simple. I let my head rest on the window and closed my eyes, taking a moment to relax, just listening. “I love that sound.” I sighed in relief. “What sound?” he spoke under his breath. “The hum of the engine, it’s so powerful yet vibrant at the same time. Peaceful,” I stated, still in my moment of relaxation. That made Ben uncomfortable for a moment. In a “That just turned me on and I don’t know how to react to that” kinda way. I chuckled quietly to myself, naturally flattered. Eventually, we stopped driving, giving me some air. We stopped at a secluded hillside that looked over a random town. The lights from the town lit the area in the dark sky but not brightly enough to hide the stars. That’s one thing the city doesn’t have—stars. I don’t miss that. We leaned on the front of the car, shoulder to shoulder. His presence alone provided me with a new sense of security, a welcoming feeling. I knew I was safe. He slowly turned to face me, now only inches away from each other. His beautiful, terrifying eyes sparkled at mine, causing my heart to skip a beat. “You’re unlike any girl I’ve ever met. To put it bluntly,” he whispered with just enough seduction in his tone to create the perfect flow of emotion between us. “I know the feeling.” I chuckled quietly. he’s a vampire, I’d probably be drained of life if I had ever met anyone like him before. He smirked at my response, his eyes continuing to sparkle into mine. I didn’t even want to blink, in fear I’d miss a moment of his perfection. I leaned myself closer to him. “I don’t have the strength to deny this anymore,” I stated under my breath, not letting my eyes leave his. “Neither do I,” he replied quietly, gently placing his hand on my cheek. “kiss me already, damnit.” I breathed, unable to resist it for another second. He quickly but gently rested his hand on the small of my back, pulling me against him until our bodies melted into each other’s. His lips slowly found mine, instantly numbing every inch of

me, intoxicating me with the addictive taste of his lips that seduced me from the inside out. My arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly in my arms as I completely fell in love with him. I couldn’t deny it anymore. Not with a kiss so satisfying that my heart swelled twice the size as I ever felt in my entire life. I was falling, and hard. There was no turning back from that, for either of us. We had officially taken the next step in our relationship, and neither one of us could have been more certain that we belong together. First base, complete.

Back in Weaverville, Ben dropped me off at my apartment so I could finish my project while he went to hunt before he lies with me for the night. Apparently making out with a human makes ’em thirsty. I didn’t blame him… It was pretty intense. But that didn’t stop him from kissing me again before leaving, leaving me craving for him. It was unlike anything I’ve ever felt. I didn’t know what to do with it. Therefore, the first thing I did when I got upstairs was make myself a drink, on the rocks. As I poured my drink, Sara came around the corner, eyeing me suspiciously. “Where have you been?” she asked. I took a large sip of my drink, letting the burn of the liquor distract me from her. “With Ben,” I stated simply as I stepped around her into the living room to finish my work. She followed me. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with him…” She stated the obvious. “Yeah, so?” I shrugged. She raised her eyebrows at me, seeing right through my underexaggerating front. “So? You obviously like him. I’m not stupid. A girl just doesn’t spend that much time with a guy and feel nothing. So spill it,” she insisted, causing me to smile at the thought. I smirked back at her, unable to hide it another second. I felt my eyes roll to the back of my head as I sighed, filling me with the emotions I have been denying the past week and a half. She immediately recognized it. Her eyes widened at me as her jaw dropped. I took another large sip of my drink, eager for a little liquid courage; I’d need it

for this conversation. She continued to stare at me for a moment before responding. “You’ve fallen for him. Oh my god. you actually fell for someone other than Caleb. That’s insane! That’s huge!” she ranted under her breath, the shock getting the best of her. I sighed, the shock still affecting me too, just in a much more personal way than it was for her. It’s my life and my feelings. She just gets to witness it all. “We… kissed tonight… ,” I informed her. Her shock then doubled. “Are you fucking serious? Or are you just fucking with me now?” she sneered. “I’m serious. I told him I couldn’t deny it anymore, and then I told him to kiss me, and he did… ,” I said before downing the rest of my drink. I was still too sober to process my feelings. With my glass now empty, I quickly made my way back into the kitchen to make myself another drink. Sara again followed. “And?” she asked, looking for the details. “You just made out with a vampire. You gotta tell me what that was like,” she insisted commandingly. I rolled my eyes at her in a humorous way, amused by her interest. “It was very intimate. And long overdue. Clearly,” I replied. “Considering I have been sex deprived for the past three months, let’s just say I’m surprised I didn’t have an orgasm. That’s what it was like,” I added, being a bit more specific. She laughed at my choice of words. As I sat back down with my drink, she stood in front of me, just on the other side of work stuff. “So does this make him like your… boyfriend, or are you still worried about replacing Caleb?” She asked a very good question. I paused as I locked my eyes on her, taking a moment to think about it before answering her. “We’ll see.” I shrugged. “You can’t rush it. I’m still damaged,” I reminded her. Rolling her eyes at me, she sat back down next to me. “You’re not damaged, Gabs. You just lost someone you love. You’ve been alone almost four months after never being alone in your entire life. Caleb wouldn’t want you to continue being alone, and I know you know that. So just do it. Move on. Isn’t that what he told you to do before he died?” she insisted. I nodded in response. “Then just do it. What are you waiting for? You can’t get over losing Caleb until you move on. You can’t wait to move on until you get over losing Caleb. You’re obviously crazy about Ben. I know you try to hide it, and I get it, but come on, he’s fucking

gorgeous. You’d be crazy not to,” she added, obviously just as desperate for me to move on as I was. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen overnight, and I can’t just move on because I want to. Luckily, there’s a boy who is doing an awfully good job at helping that process. A small smile formed at the thought, proving my point. “I know. I’m getting there, Sara. It’s only been a little over a week. Relax. It’s a lot for me to process. Ben’s not just some random guy. He’s not even human. It’s dangerous. He could kill me. Does that mean nothing to you? It’s not just me that has to take this slow. It’s him too. It’s unnatural for him. He’s supposed to be the enemy. Whenever he’s with me he has to fight himself from eating me. He’s gotta get past that before we can go any further than we already did,” I explained bluntly, getting her to see it from both sides rather than just mine. It did the trick. She stared at me with a dumbfounded look before she responded. “‘Kay… Just do what you gotta do… And be careful . . . ,” she muttered as she got up, making her way back to her room. I sighed, gathering my thoughts. As I finally finished my project, I also finished another drink. After clearing the living room of my work stuff, I stumbled my way to my room. Molly followed. While I changed into something more comfortable, I heard Jon’s car pull up out front. I listened as I heard him take each step up the stairs. When he came through the front door, he paused, but only for a moment. I continued to listen to each step until I heard his bedroom door shut. I then went to my desk and grabbed my stash, preparing to increase my buzz. After I rolled a t, I turned my TV on, grabbed my ashtray, and crawled into bed. Only about halfway through my burnout session Ben appeared in my doorway, smirking at me. I automatically smirked back at him, unable to help myself. His freshly fed red eyes sparkled at me so elegantly that I felt my heart skip a beat, numbing me. Every ounce of me was screaming at me to throw myself at him—it was the liquor talking. There wasn’t anything I wanted more in that very moment. Honestly, I probably would have if Sara and Jon hadn’t been home. But they were. So instead, I climbed out of bed, wearing only a large ELG T-shirt, and made my way toward him until I was only an inch away from him. I placed my

hand on the side of his cold solid face, using my other hand to grip his rock-hard chest as I tiptoed and pressed my lips to his. His hands held me tightly against him as we kissed our way to my bed, making it that much harder to keep from going further, for both of us. As his gentle hands caressed me, there was no doubt in my mind that it was right. I now knew where I belonged, where I have always belonged. There was never supposed to be anyone else. It was always him; I just didn’t know it yet until now. “I don’t want this to be hard for you,” I whispered when his lips unglued from mine, leaving me craving more. “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to say?” He laughed quietly. “It’s not hard for me. It’s only hard to keep from throwing myself at you,” I itted, naturally causing him to smirk. He gently kissed my forehead. “The only thing that matters is whether you’re happy or not. That’s all I care about. Don’t worry about me. I’ve had ninety-four years of discipline. Besides, the urge only makes it that much better. I always like a challenge,” he replied. The sound of his voice coddled me, causing me to crave him even more. “You managed to get me to fall for you while I was at my worst. Don’t let me go. No matter what,” I whispered from the heart, thanks to a little liquid courage. “Never” he replied; his lips then instantly found mine, taking me in like a disease. I found myself falling for him harder, falling until there was nothing left of my past, replacing it all with my love for him. was very hard to believe. Falling asleep in his arms is probably the most comforting feeling I’ve ever felt, next to waking up in his arms and waking up to his kiss. My entire body and soul filled with warmth. I was irrationally, in love with him. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean my life only consisted of him. Both of us still had other things to do. It was just harder to leave each other in the morning. To distract me from that, I ran with Molly as usual. It provided me with the perfect time to sort my thoughts, to gather myself. I found myself thinking of Ben—his taste, his touch, the sound of his voice, each seducing me in its own way. I ran faster, pushing away my hormone overload. By the time I made it back to the apartment, Sara and Jon were already up. Sara was moping around the kitchen while Jon rolled a wake and bake in the living

room. Sara completely paused at my entrance. Her eyes widened curiously at me. “So? What happened last night?” She was quick to ask. I rolled my eyes at her. “Nothing. Obviously. I think you would have noticed. Your room is right next to mine,” I stated the obvious, catching Jon’s attention. “What are you talking about?” he muttered. Sara crossed her arms over her chest and turned toward him. “Your sister is falling for the vampire. She kissed him,” she informed him, causing Jon to stare at me in awe. “Is she serious?” he asked quietly. I unwillingly nodded, not ready for this conversation with him. He stood to his feet, t in hand, and made his way toward the back storm room. Pausing at the door, he made eye with me. “Wake and bake?” he practically sang, apparently too sober to want to comprehend my love life. Thank God. Sara and I followed him out as usual. It’s practically becoming part of our weekly morning routine—before the three of us part for the day, we smoke. Unfortunately, about halfway through the t, my luck had run out and Jon got curious. “So what are you, a fang banger now?” he asked obnoxiously. I raised my eyebrows at him, chuckling at his choice of words. “If that’s what you wanna call it, Jon. I guess so. I mean it’s not like that, not everything is about sex. We care about each other.” “More like you’re in love with each other,” Sara corrected. “And I have a feeling you won’t last the rest of the week without finally doing it,” she added. I rolled my eyes, amused that she thinks she knows so much about Ben and I. I smirked at her with no further comment. Once we were finished smoking, I was then left by myself again for the day. Just Molly and I to work on my projects. Jon didn’t have much luck yesterday looking for locations, so he went again today. Sara’s work schedule that was posted on the fridge told me she wouldn’t be home until late again. So after I took a shower, I put on some ridiculously loud music, just like I like it, and set up my work supplies. Working while also doing what I love.

At this point, things were starting to look up for the first time in months. I finally had hope, something to live for again. Today’s project took most of the day, especially with my frequent smoke breaks. As I finished up the outline, I was distracted by my phone vibrating on the table in front of me. I picked it up, checking the caller ID. It was Eddie. I answered it. “Miss me yet?” I asked as I answered. He chuckled. “Of course I do. Florida’s not the same without you.” “Good. But I don’t miss Florida.” There was a pause. “You don’t?” he asked curiously. “Why would I? When I think Florida, I think that’s where I spent my life with Caleb. I try to keep that part of my life there, in Florida, with Caleb. Therefore, I can’t dwell on missing it.” “Okay… Whatever works for you… Even if that means associating with the undead…” There was another pause, this time from my end. “It’s where I belong. It’s where I’ve always belonged.” “That’s fine… You’re a big girl now. You can make your own decisions. I only ask you to do what’s right for you. When I’m gone, I want to leave knowing I did right with you. Don’t end up like your parents and especially Caleb. You and Jon will need each other. You both have to still be here for that,” he insisted as usual. “I know,” I whined. “But I’m not ready to lose you, stop it. You have plenty of time. I really don’t want to have this conversation right now. I haven’t cried all day. I’m not gonna break my record crying over you when you’re not even dead yet.” He sighed.

“I know you don’t want to hear it, but it’ll be easier to deal with when it happens if you’re prepared. It won’t be like your parents or Caleb. They died unexpectedly. I faced the fact that I’m gonna die twenty years ago. That’s why I’ve always insisted you kids are prepared so it’s not tragic for you. I always figured you’d have Caleb, but since you don’t, it’s my job to worry.” “And it’s my job to make sure I don’t lose the only other person in my life that I have. You’re the only father figure I’ve ever had. Even before my father died, all he did was work. I’m surprised he even found time to die. You took care of me my entire life. You made me who I am today. I can’t just accept the fact that you’re gonna die sooner than you should because you’re sick. It doesn’t make it hurt any less.” I cried, breaking my record. “Okay, fine. We don’t have to talk about it. It’s all right. Just be aware.” “I am aware!” “Good… Then why don’t you tell me more about that friend of yours… What’s going on with that anyway? Your brother says you spend a lot of time with him.” I sighed. “I do. I guess. He helps me sleep. So he’s here every night. I guess you could say he’s a little more than my friend… We just haven’t… gone down that road yet…” “Yet? So I take it it has crossed your mind? That’s good, right?” “Yes.” I chuckled. “That’s good. If you’re getting at whether I like him, ya. I like him.” Eddie took that well, even with me underexaggerating. I think it gave him a little peace of mind to know that I’m slowly molding back to normal, just with a different man in my life, a much different man. technically, they’re both dead. How ironic. I found myself thinking inappropriately about Ben as I continued my work. I guess you could say I was eager to see him again. Craving him would be more accurate.

In hopes to distract myself, I made myself a drink the moment the clock struck five o’clock. As I was making my way back to the living room, I was forced to pause, as every viewable electronic started going apeshit, including my cell phone. From where I was standing I could see the caller ID. It read, “Unknown Caller.” I felt my heart stop. Just then there was a knock on the door, startling me. The haunting then stopped, allowing me to breathe. As I peeked out the window, I saw a man I’ve never seen in my life standing at my door. My first reaction was to grab my gun. So I did, hiding it in the back of my jeans. I slowly unlocked and answered the door. The man stared for a moment. “Are you Gabriella? Gabby Love?” he asked. “Who are you?” I then asked before answering. He exhaled slowly. “I’m Kurk Kyle, Caleb McAurther’s father,” he informed me. Every inch of me completely froze. As I actually comprehended what he had just said, I stared at him suspiciously. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked with obvious hostility. He frowned. “I’m told you knew Caleb better than anyone. You were his girlfriend. Since he was a kid.” “Ya… So? What does that have to do with you and why you’re here now?” “I think he would have wanted me to know who he was.” “I doubt that,” I insisted. “That shows how much you don’t know him. He hated you more than anyone else in the world. He literally probably would have slit your throat at the sight of you. So if by being here is your way to try to make up for being a deadbeat, it isn’t going to work. You’re right, I did know Caleb better than anyone, so I know he’d want me to tell you to go fuck yourself. Now get the fuck out of here,” I sneered at him, steaming with hatred. “I see he liked ’em mouthy. Maybe that uncle of yours shoulda thought him how to handle little bitches like you,” he sneered back, attempting to push his way through my door. Unfortunately for him, I was prepared. As he attempted to corner me, trying to pull my clothes off, every electronic in the whole house started going bullshit this time, distracting him long enough for me to grab my gun. As I did I grabbed him by the throat and put the barrel of the gun to his forehead.

“What the fuck is that?” he whispered, looking around him. “I told you he wouldn’t have wanted you here… I think you just pissed him off,” I taunted him. “Now I assume you did your homework before coming here, so I know you know I know my way around a gun. I could kill you right now, and no one would think twice about it. You’re a loser, a convicted felon, and you just tried to rape your dead son’s girlfriend. So I suggest you give me one good reason why I shouldn’t put a bullet in your fucking head right now.” I spoke through my teeth, trying not to let all my anger take over. Before he even had a chance to answer me, the front door swung open. Ben, Stefan, and Jae now stood just on the other side of him. “Ohmygod, he was right.” Jae breathed. I looked at her curiously, furrowing my eyebrows. “He said you might need us… ,” she explained. I nodded in understanding. “He must have known my clip was empty,” I stated, letting the empty clip then fall out of the gun, dropping it my hand. Kurk cursed under his breath, disappointed he just got played by a girl. “Fuckin’ bitch,” he spat at me. Wrong move. Ben picked him up effortlessly by his neck and smashed him into the wall. “Say hi to Caleb for us,” Ben sneered, dropping him to the floor. He then looked at Stefan. “He’s all yours,” he said. Stefan then dragged him effortlessly outside. The electronic burst then stopped completely. Caleb’s presence was no longer needed. Jae sighed in relief. After taking a deep breath, I immediately called Janet while Ben went to checked on Stefan. Jae stood next to me protectively. As soon as Janet answered, I went out on her. “You wanna fucking tell me why Kurk Kyle was just here? I thought he was supposed to be in fucking prison for raping you! Apparently the past twenty years didn’t teach him shit because when I didn’t tell him what he wanted to hear, he tried to do it to me too. Luckily I’m smarter than you and managed to hold him at gunpoint until I had assistance. But how did he even know who I was? Or where I fucking live? Last time I checked, you’re the only one stupid enough to tell him that kind of information!” I hollered at her, my emotions getting the best of me. “Kurk Kyle?” She breathed.

“Yes, Kurk Kyle. Ya know, your dead son’s father! He just came here asking about Caleb. I told him to go fuck himself.” She continued to play all sympathetic on me until I finally hung up on her, irritated by the mere sound of her voice, just like Caleb was. I went for a smoke, eager to calm my nerves. Jae followed. As soon as I stepped out into the storm room, Ben and Stefan reappeared. “You sure you’re all right?” he asked. I nodded, letting it all settle. Jae and Stefan then disappeared, letting Ben and I have a moment. “You wanna come home with us for the rest of the night? Jae will stay with you while Stefan and I finish what we were doing before she called…” I nodded again, liking that idea. Ironically, I felt safer in a house full of vampires than I did alone in my own apartment. That should tell you something. He kissed my forehead, kissing the pain away. I gently wrapped my arms around him, eager for his touch. As dangerous as it was, I couldn’t have felt safer as he held me against him. Before I left with him, I grabbed a couple of things and Molly and left Sara and Jon a note. Then I got out of there as quickly as I could. On the way, Eddie called. As expected. I let it ring for a few seconds before answering it, preparing myself. Ben’s free hand gently gripped my thigh, allowing his touch to comfort me. “You okay?” he asked anxiously. “Yes.” I breathed. “You sure?” “Yes. I’m fine.” “Well, good. Janet’s not. She just cried my ear out.” “She deserves it.”

“I know. Look, are you sure you’re okay? Where are you? What are you doing? Is someone with you at least?” he ranted worriedly. “Yes. I’m fine. I’m with Ben right this second, relax. He’s gone.” “How gone?” I paused. “Considering I couldn’t shoot him since I was pointing an unloaded gun at him, Ben’s brother took care of it,” I informed him, choosing my words very carefully, trying not to be to blunt. He relaxed after that, allowing me to hang up without questioning my safety. Ben found his worry amusing, of course. I probably would’ve too if it wasn’t me he was worried about. Soon after that we reached our destination—The Rows’. Before Ben left me with Jae and Chelsea, he made sure to leave me craving him, kissing me just enough. Molly didn’t leave my side as I went inside with Chelsea. The three of us sat in the sitting area. Chelsea sat next to me, just as concerned as Ben. That was something I wasn’t used to, not yet anyway. Eventually, she would be the mother I never got to have. But at this point, I was all a little too new to me. She made sure I was comfortable, even made sure Molly was comfortable. I wasn’t used to females, just Sara. I never got along with females very well until now. She was hard not to love, even if she is evil. You wouldn’t know by looking at her. “So Ben doesn’t feel the need to tell me anything. He says it’s none of my business, even though I’m the one that brought you to his attention. being said. what’s up with the two of you? Obviously you’re here, so I know you’re not terrified of him or anything—that’s good. I’m just curious, naturally. Anxious, really. I’ve had visions of you for so long that I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for you,” Chelsea said. Everything about her was so friendly and sweet that I couldn’t help but give her what she wanted. I smirked at her, unable to think of Ben without smiling. “We’re… I don’t know… gettin’ there?” I shrugged. I had no clue what to call it. “It’s

complicated,” I finished my thought aloud. Chelsea smiled at me for a moment. “You know, Vanessa was like you before she ed us. She also lost her significant other unexpectedly. The only real difference between you and her is that she was just ing us. She wasn’t developing a relationship in the meantime. When I saw her, I saw her as just another member of our coven. With you, it’s completely different. Your connection to us is through Ben. Ben’s the source of the vision, not the coven. But since Ben’s supposed to be one of us, obviously, so are you eventually. But you don’t have to worry about that for a while. You have all the time you want to get through your issues and figure out how you feel about Ben. That’s something none of us got a chance to have.” Listening to her speak was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. Now I’m actually sober enough to appreciate it. Everything about all of them was so perfect and yet so unique and fascinating that I automatically connected. I couldn’t help it; it was only natural. This is exactly where I belonged—in this house, with them, like them, with Ben. This was my fate. There wasn’t anything I wanted more by this point. I just had to get there. It was time to fight for what I wanted, a fight against myself, my past, and my human emotions. A battle I was now determined to defeat. There were so many different ways for me to respond to Chelsea that it took me a moment or two to think of how to respond. She and Jae chuckled quietly to themselves at my human ways. Just like Ben always does. Apparently, being pitiful amuses them. I couldn’t blame them; I’d eventually find it amusing too. “So you saw all the others too? Before they became like you?” I asked. She nodded proudly. “Yup, even Marcus. I became like this in 1899. My creator had been part of the Agency, the immortal agency. Back then, in Italy, the war on territories was only just beginning. Let’s just say I wasn’t there long. And only nine of us made it out, Marcus being one of them. I immediately knew exactly who he was. I’d seen him in my visions ever since the day I was changed. This at first was very hard for me to understand. My ability was very hard to grasp, but by the time I met Marcus in the escape I had almost perfected it. With both of our creators dead, the two of us just went out on our own. I would soon start having premonitions of the others, the most frequent being Ben. I kept seeing the very spot we met. So I started looking for the spot on the streets. Eventually I

found it, and with it, I found Ben. I whispered to Marcus and now we have Ben. You already know that part. Exactly ten years later, I was hunting up in Seattle when I saw Vanessa leaving a graveyard, crying. Her fiancé Alec had died in an accident at work only days before. I followed her for a while until I eventually approached her. I took one look at her and couldn’t allow her to suffer anymore. So I changed her and brought her home. Then twelve years later, I told Marcus of my newest vision of Stefan and where to go. He brought him home three days later,” She explained, clearly enjoying every second of telling it just as much as I enjoyed listening to her. It was nice to have a conversation that didn’t consist of things I’d rather not face. It wasn’t long before Ben and Stefan made their reappearance. In a desperate attempt to shield me from the awkward conversation we all know would come if we were to all be in the same room right now, Ben brought me upstairs. Molly followed closely behind me, terrified of the obvious evil around her. Dogs can apparently sense that better than humans. She’s proven that a lot lately. I chuckled as I entered the room. “What would you need beds for if you don’t sleep?” I asked, obviously knowing the answer. I just felt like being a smart ass. He smirked, shrugging at me, playing dumb. I rolled my eyes, smirking back at him flirtatiously. It was getting even harder to resist. I leaned by the window on the other side of the room, staring at him just inside the open doorway. He stared back for a moment or two. His bright eyes sparkled at me, instantly numbing every inch of me. He flashed the door shut before he flashed to me. Unable to resist another second, his lips found mine in the very same moment, intoxicating me. His cold, strong hands held me close to him as he lifted me up off of my feet and laid us on the bed, his lips never leaving mine. But as much as I craved him, all of him, it wasn’t quite time for more yet, for either of us. That frustrated both of us. We both wanted it so bad but just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it. I felt like a virgin all over again. The thought made me chuckle quietly to myself, easing the mood a little. Ben then held me in his arms all night long while I slept, caressing me to sleep. I was so thankful for his existence in that very moment that I never wanted him to

let me go. I had no idea what I would have done if he hadn’t found me. To this day, I have no idea what I would have done if he hadn’t found me and took me into his heart. I’d call myself lucky, but lucky doesn’t quite say it all. Blessed is a bit more accurate. Either way, I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. And I don’t plan on ever being without him.

Chapter 8

Stepping Up

Week 2, Weekend

Friday

B y the time I got home this morning, Sara and Jon had already left for work, avoiding that very awkward conversation completely. After my run with Molly, I took a shower and fixed myself to spend the rest of the day working. Today’s project took most of the day. Even with the sketch already done up for me, the tiny details entailed took me hours to finish. It was a relief to finally be done with it. As I put my supplies away, I was startled by the sudden appearance of Ben as I turned around. My heart stopped for a fraction of a second. He naturally smirked at me, amused by my current heart rate. Of course I couldn’t help but smirk back at him. I dropped what I was doing and wrapped my arms around him, eager for his touch after being away from him all day. Also eager, he held me tightly against him as he pressed his lips to mine, causing both of us to become frustrated again when we couldn’t go further. “I need a drink.” I breathed, desperate to intoxicate my brain with alcohol. Ben chuckled to himself, kissing my forehead. “Let’s go then,” he suggested. That’s all it took. I got dressed, threw some eyeliner on, and called it good. I

couldn’t even the last time I wore eyeliner, but for some reason I felt it was necessary. Considering I never used to go anywhere without any. My sense of appearance was slowly starting to come back to me. At least I stayed fit during my depression, or became fit. Thanks to Molly. At the bar, our entrance was watched very carefully, especially by the bartender. He’s probably surprised to see me still alive after leaving the bar with Ben twice already. It didn’t help when Stefan and Vanessa showed up behind us only seconds later. It was very clear immediately that Ben wasn’t impressed with their presence. Vanessa took a seat on the other side of me while Stefan leaned next to Ben. “What could you possibly be doing here?” Ben sighed. I chuckled, finding his attitude toward them amusing. Vanessa chuckled with me. “We just came to say bye before we left,” she informed him nicely, ignoring his hostility. This told me she was more than used to it. “Bye!” Ben cheered sarcastically. Vanessa rolled her eyes at him, brushing it off. “Where ya goin’?” I asked curiously, prolonging their presence as I finished my first drink as quickly as I got it. Vanessa smiled at me, pleased with my interest. “Chelsea and I are going to LA for the weekend while Marcus and Stefan are going to Vegas. It’s something we always do the last weekend in July. Kinda like a yearly vacation,” she explained. Only one thought came to mind, followed by realizing Ben had already warned me that Stefan was telepathic, but I had completely forgotten. How I would forget such a key point, I don’t know. But I did. And Stefan now knew what I was thinking as I downed my second drink. Stefan chuckled quietly to himself, eyeing Ben out of the corner of his eyes. Vanessa continued to tell me about their trip as I continued to drink, determined to be falling over by the time I walk out of this bar. After about my fifth Long Island, that was exactly what I got. Vanessa and Stefan laughed in amusement as Ben did the walking for me. I probably could

have walked a little better if I could have stopped laughing long enough, but that wasn’t happening anytime soon. Chelsea and Marcus met Vanessa and Stefan outside the bar, finally giving Ben what he wanted—them gone. He then started walking me home as I had insisted. “I’m gonna burst if I don’t pee right now!” I laughed obnoxiously, causing Ben to laugh at my ridiculousness. I don’t know how he tolerated me drunk without losing his mind, but he did, without complaining even once. He’s a trooper… Tack on a few more brownie points . . . When we eventually made it back to the apartment, I hadn’t realized how late it was until I realized Sara and Jon were home. As I stumbled my way through the front door, I paused as I saw the two of them in the living room watching television. “Wow. You’re alive,” Sara muttered. I rolled my eyes at her. “That’s more than I can say about you,” I muttered back as I made my way to the bathroom, Ben still doing my walking for me until I made it to my destination safely. Shutting the door for me, he waited patiently in my room while I had a short human moment —pissing out five Long Island Ice Teas. When I finally finished and opened the door, Ben was leaning in the doorway, holding the framed picture from my desk of our usual group of friends in Florida, including Sara and Jon of course. I paused. My eyes locked on Caleb and I in the center of the group. The memory seemed so distant already that it felt like a lifetime ago. Luckily, I was too drunk to care. So I laughed. “That was spring break in the Keys last year. We were drunk for a week,” I informed him, chuckling to myself at the memory. “‘, drunkie, let’s go.” He laughed as he effortlessly put the picture back in the exact same spot it was. I rolled my eyes at his perfection. On our way out the door, I paused at Sara and Jon. “I’ll be back… uh… whenever I get back. You two play nice,” I stated, half crocked. Sara shook her head and laughed. “‘Kay… right on that. Try not to become a snack,” Sara replied, flashing a fake smile at Ben, jealous.

I rolled my eyes and pushed my way through the door, calling Molly to me in the process. Ben laughed as he shut the door. “I think your friend’s kinda in love with you… ,” he stated, catching my attention. “She’s just pissed that every guy she’s ever been with was a fucking idiot, so she takes it out on me because I haven’t had that problem,” I informed him, laughing about it as I stumbled my way down the stairs. As much as I shouldn’t laugh—it’s mean—sometimes I couldn’t help it, especially when I’m drunk. “I still think it’s a little bit more than that,” he insisted, eyeing me curiously. I rolled my eyes, seeing what he was looking for. “Maybe.” I shrugged as I got into the car, leaving him in suspense. He chuckled as he got in the car after me, apparently amused by it all. On the way to the middle of nowhere, which was only fifteen minutes away, I felt as if I was falling more in love with Ben by the second. He’s like the exact definition of my type, and since he’s already dead, he can’t die on me. That made him a lot easier for me to accept. When we got to our destination, Ben was out of the car and had my door open and my hand in his before I even had a chance to exhale. I wrapped both of my arms around him as he walked me inside, intoxicated by his presence alone. We didn’t waste any time. As soon as we walked through the front door, we both turned to each other. Our lips automatically found each other’s as Ben held me tightly against him. My arms wrapped around the back of his neck as he carried me effortlessly upstairs in the exact same moment. We kissed our way down to the end of the hall to Ben’s room, slamming the door shut behind us. He gently laid us on the bed, and he was now on top of me, exactly where I wanted him to be. When he realized I wasn’t backing down, he paused. “You sure you’re ready to do this?” he whispered. “Mhm,” I insisted, kissing him. He paused again. “You sure that’s not just because you’re totally wasted?” he asked. I breathed for a second, staring at him. “I’m sure. I’m not that drunk. I’ve never been that drunk. Stop being Mr. Nice Guy for five minute before I change my mind,” I insisted as I climbed on top of him. He didn’t argue with that. His lips then found mine again as we started ripping each other’s clothes off anxiously. Neither one of us was willing to wait another

second. It wasn’t until I ed the scars that I stopped. “Wait! I need to show you something first…” I whispered seriously, catching his attention. I took his cold, hard hand into mine as I climbed off of him, pulling both of us to stand at the edge of the bed. Turning around so that I was back to him, I pulled my shirt off up over my head, revealing the scars I received from being shoved into the glass bookshelf that night. Both of us stayed absolutely still for a moment. Ben then stepped forward, running his finger down my spine. Taking another step forward, he leaned against me until our bodies melted perfectly together, kissing my shoulder. “You’re perfect,” he whispered, turning me back around to face him. Looking up at him, I kissed him, wrapping my arms around the back of his neck. Holding me tightly against him by the small of my back, he lifted me up off of my feet and back onto the bed, lying over me again. My hormones went rapid. It was clearly very overdue. We didn’t leave that bed for the rest of the night. Making up for wasted time, I guess. That, and we couldn’t keep our hands off of each other. There was really no turning back now. Ben’s eyes were pitch-black, his fangs fully exposed, crazed from thirst from being so close to me so intimately. I didn’t even want to imagine how uncomfortable it was for him. But apparently, whatever else he felt overpowered that thirst, making it very easy for him to be with me now that he’s disciplined himself for the past two weeks. For me, it just felt right being with him. There wasn’t anywhere else I wanted to be or anyone else I wanted to see, just him. I thought I was in love with him before; that was nothing compared to how I felt after we expressed that love. It’s like we’re the only two people in the world. Nothing and no one else mattered. My past didn’t matter—or exist—and either did his. It was just us, together, just like it’s supposed to be. We were finally on path with our fate. There was no more fear of defining our relationship or where we stand with each other. We were together. Just like anyone else. He was mine, and I was his,

simple as that. I always thought I would feel wrong being with anyone else but Caleb. Even with him dead and gone, I just couldn’t imagine myself with anyone else. Now that I’ve actually been with Ben, I realized how ignorant I was. Caleb had his time, and then he got himself killed. That’s his problem. Not mine anymore. That part of my life was now just a memory. A very distant memory, one that I will never forget, but I’ll no longer let it affect me or have it keep me from my life, especially my life with Ben. After being sex deprived for almost four months, I slept like a freaking rock that night and long into the morning. Ben never left my side once, even with the consistent thirst. Even though I was all the way out here, the first thing I did was go for a run with Molly—after kissing Ben, of course. Considering we were on a mountain, the route I ran was a little rougher than I was used to. Luckily, I’ve worked myself half to death every morning for almost four months, so physically I handled it just fine. It was just a little less entertaining with only trees and no iPod. I hadn’t thought to bring it, Must have been the Long Islands. After about an hour of running, I finally made it back to the house. Ben flashed to the door at my entrance, kissing me in the same moment. I smiled inside. “I should shower. I probably smell like a dumpster baby,” I insisted. With his keen senses I was surprised he was even willing to touch me—more brownie points for Ben. He chuckled at my choice of words before he walked me upstairs. In the rarely used bathroom, I managed to persuade him into ing me. It didn’t take much. Just being naked… We spent the rest of the day watching Showtime. I lied wrapped in his arms on the couch while I made him watch Dexter. He was understandably very amused by it. “No wonder you like this show.” He laughed. “I think you got a secret thing for

serial killers,” he added. I chuckled, amused by the truth of his words as I realized how right he was. “Must be fate’s way of easing me into your world. I guess I got a thing for danger. Looks like you picked the right human to steal,” I replied humorously. He laughed in response, kissing the top of my head. “I guess you picked the right monster to get to fall in love with you and still live to tell about it,” he said, catching my attention. I looked back at him curiously, surprised to hear the word “love.” He hasn’t exactly said it aloud directly like that. I rolled over to face him, no longer interested in the TV. Without saying a word, I kissed him before going down the road of defining our relationship. His hands caressed me so gently and sweetly that it was impossible not to become completely numbed by it. When his lips eventually left mine, I exhaled slowly before saying anything, attempting to release my sudden increase in hormones due to the delicious taste of his lips. I definitely wasn’t used to feeling so into someone. With Caleb, he was my best friend. I knew him my whole life. I was used to him. I was very much in love with him but not the same way I’m in love with Ben. This was totally different, good different. As Ben’s black eyes still found a way to sparkle at me, I felt my heart skip a beat. Ben smirked, hearing it for himself with his supernatural hearing. “I love that sound,” he whispered, placing his hand over my heart. “I love that you love that,” I realized aloud, laughing quietly, naturally flattered. His lips found mine again for a moment, unable to resist for too long. “We’ve waited over a century for you… ,” he whispered. “You’re everything to me. Nothing else even matters anymore. Just you. I love you, more than I could even begin to tell you,” he added, ending with his lips caressing mine. Now on top of me, he continued to kiss me. My arms wrapped around the back of his neck, keeping him close to me. “Don’t let me go, ever” I whispered one again while I took a moment to breathe. “Never,” he whispered in response, planting his lips onto mine, followed by tearing each other’s clothes off. Neither of us was willing to waste a second of our time together. Ben’s constant urge to kill me only made it that much sexier. The danger was a turn-on all on its own. Like I could possible resist that . . .

We spent most of the day expressing that dangerous love all over the house without a care in the world, making our way down the path that fate had designed for us. The beginning of that path was already looking brighter and brighter every single day. The remainder of the weekend basically consisted of the same thing. But unfortunately, it couldn’t last forever. I had to get home. Sara had called me probably eight times Sunday morning, anxious for me to get home with an explanation. As much as I hated leaving Ben, I had to—for his sake. We were starting to flirt with danger by the time he brought me home. So I had to snap back to reality and face my life and Sara. I had to explain what happened this weekend. She was suspicious from the moment she looked at me, as expected. “So what exactly have you been doing all weekend?” she asked curiously. I naturally became tense. I was never a good liar. “I’ve been with Ben.” I shrugged, trying not to sound too plain in the process. Then she’d know I was lying. She did anyway. She stared back at me suspiciously for a few more seconds and then became completely blank and emotionless, painfully emotionless. I furrowed my eyebrows at her, beyond confused. She sighed, exhaling slowly as she took a step closer to me. “I need to tell you something… About Jon… And something that happened while you were with Ben, apparently doing nothing. Which is a total crock of shit, but right now I don’t even care. I have my own problems. I need your help,” she cried. Her voice crackled as she tried to hold back her tears. I instinctively felt her pain, instantly wrapping her in my arms as she cried for a minute. I had absolutely no idea what could have possibly happened, but I think subconsciously I had expected it. I sat us both at the table, sitting her next to me. She faced me with her watery bloodshot eyes, tearing up on me. She wiped them away as she attempted to

gather herself. I scooted closer to her, comforting her. “What happened?” I breathed, starting to get a little worried. Considering my brother wasn’t here, I couldn’t cuss him out until he told me, telling me that he didn’t want to be here for this. That wasn’t a good sign. She exhaled slowly again, clearly gathering her thoughts. “Last night… I kinda got really, really drunk and slept with Jon,” she said, immediately causing every inch of me to freeze up in shock. I practically choked. “You what?” More tears fell. “I couldn’t help it… He’s just so persuasive! I know, I’m a fucking idiot. But I couldn’t help myself.” She continued to cry. As bad as I felt for her, my anger overpowered that. “No shit you’re a fucking idiot. He’s persuasive because he’s had lots of practice. He’s the definition of a pig! This is exactly why you can never find a decent man, because you settle for the ones that are willing to sleep with you without any form of commitment. Those are the ones that you’re supposed to stay away from, Sara! Goddamn it! Especially Jon! He’s the worst kinda pig. The man has never been in a relationship in his life! He never will! He lives for strange pussy. He’s a fucking moron. Never mind that he’s my fucking brother! Why would you even bring yourself to that level? You’re too good for him. He even knows that. He should have known better then to even cross that line! Where the fuck is he?” I replied frantically, very angry. Mostly at Jon. Sara leaned her elbow on the table and dropped her head into her hand. “I know!” she whined. “Why do you think I called you so many times this morning? I was like freaking out! I still am! Like fuck, we live together! How stupider can I get!” “I hope it was worth it,” I sneered under my breath, causing me to think about how very worth it my weekend had been, naturally causing me to smirk at the thought. Sara caught it, now eyeing me suspiciously again. Uh-oh, my turn.

“I wasn’t the only one that gave into a man this weekend, am I?” she asked. I rolled my eyes at her choice of words. Unable to stop thinking about it, I couldn’t help myself from smirking, which told her everything she needed to know, almost. Unfortunately, I wasn’t getting away with it that easily. She flashed a wide smile at me, as if to say “Spill it.” I mimicked her smile sarcastically. She rolled her eyes at me in response but maintained her smile. “If you think you’re just gonna spend an entire weekend with a vampire without a single word to the outside world and not tell me what happened, you’re crazy. I’m not gonna let you out of my sight until you tell me what the hell is going on,” she insisted confidently. I smiled, eager to tell her. I was also amused by keeping her in suspense. As much as I wanted to tell her, it just didn’t feel right. Luckily for her, I’m on strike against myself. Therefore, I was obligated to ignore any negative energy. I smirked at her with anticipation. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.” I breathed, leaning my head in my hand while I thought for a moment, mentally reliving it all over again. After I exhaled very slowly, I focused all of my attention on Sara, still smirking. She smiled back at me, boiling with anticipation. “Honestly, I think the past ten years was all just to prepare me for what was ahead of me.” I spoke under my breath, choosing my words carefully. Sara sat absolutely still, staring at me. “Seriously? No shit. I don’t even know how you’re still alive. That’s insane. You’re insane. Or suicidal. I’m not really sure anymore. You spend most of your time fucking a vampire! I couldn’t even imagine. That’s so hot!” she ranted, practically wetting herself. “It’s not just about the sex or the danger in the sex,” I made a point to say. “It’s more than that. Unlike anything I ever felt with Caleb. It’s totally different, beyond different. It’s like we connect on this whole other level. It scares the hell outta me. I just can’t help but absorb it all, we just fit. We’re supposed to. I’ve seen it, now I’ve felt it. It’s real.” Every inch of me was completely numbed by the mere thought of my feelings for Ben. Speaking of it aloud made it hard for me to even breathe. I was intoxicated by my thoughts. Sara was dumbfounded as she stared at me, seeing the truth of my words in my

body language, I assumed. “You’re in love with him . . . And he’s not Caleb… That’s like… huge,” she realized aloud, her eyes becoming wider by the word. “Are you, like, together?” she whispered. I nodded, chuckling at her need to be inconspicuous about it. “Yeah, ya know, you might have better luck with men if you make them earn it. It might turn out better for you. When you play easy, you get sleazy. You need to learn that. If I were to go about life the way you do, I probably wouldn’t have even met Ben, and it probably would have taken me years to get over Caleb. And I’d be as miserable as you for the rest of my life. I don’t want that. And I don’t want that for you either. So I’m gonna help you fix this shit with Jon, and then I’m gonna help you learn how to filter out the bad ones, ‘kay?” I preached at her, being on the giving side for the first time in a while. After having her take care of me for the past four months until Ben came along and healed me, I felt obligated to make sure she isn’t miserable, like she did for me. No sooner than she even had a chance to respond did Jon come through the front door, automatically making this much more awkward than it needed to be. “I need ta talk ta you,” he insisted immediately, addressing me. “I’m sure you do.” I sneered, unimpressed with him on every level. “I’ll be right back,” I whispered to Sara as I followed him through the living room into his bedroom. He shut the door gently behind me. It was obvious immediately that there was something completely off about him. He was different, a weird different. I didn’t recognize it. “I’m assuming she told you?” he asked. I nodded, crossing my arms as I glared at him with hatred. “I figured. That’s why I needed to talk to you. I knew how you’d react. But it’s not what you think. I didn’t just fuck her ’cause I was bored or pussy hungry. I like her. And I’m not just sayin’ that to satisfy you. It has nothing to do with you. I really do care about her. I just never took the time to notice… ’Cause I’m a dick,” he insisted. I didn’t buy it at all, rolling my eyes at him. “Your fulla shit. I know you, Jon. You wouldn’t know how to care about someone you’ve slept with to save your life. You fucked Maxi for almost seven years, and you didn’t even care about her enough to make any kind of a commitment or even any type of loyalty. You’re the definition of a sleazebag. So you’re gonna leave her the hell alone and

pretend it never happened, or I’m gonna fucking hurt you!” I insisted bluntly, sticking to the point. He shook his head at me, maintaining his level completely. “This is different. Maxi was never commitment material if you didn’t notice. That’s why I only fucked her for seven years. She’s an idiot obviously, and she isn’t Sara. None of them were Sara. All right, I know she’s your best friend, and that kinda makes it wrong, but I don’t even care because I care about her. I really don’t care whether you believe me or not, but I figured I’d tell you anyway. Just so you’d know. Before I talked to her,” he replied, intentionally making me even more mad. “Good luck with that,” I stated sarcastically before making a dramatic exit. I stormed my way through the living room. “Your turn,” I informed Sara as I ed her in the kitchen on the way to my room, slamming the door behind me. As I sat at my desk, I cradled my head in my arms on top of my closed laptop, gathering my thoughts. My nerves were so tense with frustration I couldn’t sit still. My right leg moved excessively as I continuously tapped my middle finger on my desk, my mind running twice its normal rate. Eventually I found myself crying, overwhelmed. I forced myself to suck it up, committed to my fight against myself. I couldn’t let other people’s problems get to me. I had my own. And mine were a little worse. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there with my head down, but eventually I decided a long hot shower would help. So I locked myself in the bathroom and did just that. I must have been in there a good forty-five minutes, sucking up all the hot water. I hate apartments. After towel drying my hair, I opened the door, wearing nothing but a towel. I froze at the sight of Chelsea just on the other side of the doorway, staring at me patiently. I stared back, not exactly sure what to do at this point. Sensing my confusion, I assumed, she slowly took a step closer to me. “Sorry to intrude, but I wanted to talk to you before Ben returns. He doesn’t know I’m here,” she whispered, her intentions now very clear to me. I chuckled quietly to myself as I proceeded into my room to get dressed.

“And what exactly was it you wanted to talk to me about?” I asked, clarifying. I grabbed the first comfortable outfit I could find out of my closet, slipping on some panties and a bra under my towel and then dropped it to the floor and continued getting dressed. Chelsea smiled at my level of comfortableness even with the scars in front of her before answering. I sat at the end of my bed, now looking up at her. She smiled down at me with so much pride that it was as if she was proud of me or something. I wasn’t used to that. Not with a female anyway, especially a female vampire. She slowly took a seat next to me on the end of my bed, so close that our shoulders touch. Her cold rock-solid shoulder was against my warm, fragile human shoulder. “I had a new vision this weekend.” She spoke under her breath, still maintaining her pride. I raised my eyebrows at her, waiting for her to continue. “Once the two of you had decided to… take it to the next level… I saw more of what’s ahead of you. And since I know I won’t get anything outta Ben no matter how I much I tried, I came to you… May I show you what I saw?” she asked. I hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded at her in response. She held her hand out for mine. As I gently placed my hand in hers, her mind instantly took over mine, showing me her knowledge, her most recent premonition. I saw myself, very quick circulating images of myself with Ben, each of them a different moment in time. My eyes were blood red in almost all of them. The images continued beyond that, far beyond that. The more into the future the images got, the more quickly they played. Lifetimes worth of images until they were moving so fast I couldn’t even see them. They just kept going, through all of time. I dropped my hand, finally snapping back to real time. My heart was racing, and I could hardly breathe. I was so overwhelmed by one in particular. It absolutely terrified me, but I forced myself to get it together, starting with exhaling slowly. I then slowly stood to my feet and began pacing the floor in front of the bed and Chelsea, sorting all this new information, gathering my thoughts. I eventually stopped directly in front of Chelsea. “What do you want out of

showing me these things?” I breathed. She slowly stood to her feet, now face to face with me only a few inches away. “I just want you to see you’re on the right path. And also tell you that I’m here for you too. You’re just as apart of this coven already as the rest of us.” I stared at her dark red eyes for a moment or two before responding, trying to read her intentions with all of this. There’s always more to it. Even I know that, and I’m only human. But before I said anything, she did. “There’s something else I wanted to show you too… about your friend… and your brother. I couldn’t help but overhear on my way here. So I got curious and looked for their fate. It should ease your mind,” she insisted. I sighed, handing her my hand. She smiled as she placed her hand in mine, showing me what she sees once again. Images of Sara and Jon together, rough at first but eventually making it work. Their fate together was happy, proving they have been looking in the wrong direction, until now. I dropped my hand, convinced enough. “Can you show them?” I whispered. She nodded. So without saying another word, I made my way back into the other room. Sara and Jon both sat at the kitchen table. Neither one of them looked very pleased to see me and became very confused when they noticed Chelsea. I positioned myself between the two of them with Chelsea right behind me. “I’m Chelsea. I’m the ‘mother’. I’m the one who found Gabby years ago. I showed her recently. I also showed her something a moment ago she thought the two of you should see. If you don’t mind.” Chelsea got right to the point, doing all the talking for me. That was probably a good idea, considering neither one of them looked very happy with me at the moment. I hoped that would change in a moment. “Uh, okay.” Sara breathed, probably a little stunned. Chelsea then looked directly at Jon, waiting for his answer. He looked at me. I nodded at him, reassuring him. He then mimicked my nod to Chelsea. Without pause, she then placed her hand in both of theirs, showing them what she had just shown me. I smiled to myself as I thought about the first time she

had showed me her ability. I had been so hammered it took me a while to comprehend what was actually happening. At least for them it’ll be a little easier. When her hands left theirs, both of them sat absolutely still, taking it all in. Chelsea looked back at me. “I showed them yours too… So they could see it for themselves, as you did theirs,” she whispered. Sara’s eyes slowly found mine, now tainted with supernatural information. I nodded at Chelsea, acknowledging her words. Just as I was about to step outside for a smoke, I was stopped by the sudden appearance of Stefan. “What the fuck!” I breathed, catching my breath. He flashed a strange smile at me, causing Chelsea and me to both to stare back at him suspiciously. “What the hell are you doing here, Stefan?” Chelsea was quick to ask. His smile turned to a smirk as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. His main focus was still on me. “I just saw Ben a few minutes ago… Let’s just say I got curious… ,” he stated suspiciously. Chelsea rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t know you here, does he?” she stated the obvious, chuckling quietly to herself. Stefan’s expression became flat as he shook his head at her. “You’re an idiot.” She laughed. Stefan ignored her, maintaining his intentions. His bright-red eyes beamed down at me suspiciously. “Show me,” he insisted to Chelsea, holding his hand out to her. His eyes never left mine. “‘Kay.” She shrugged, placing her hand in his. About five seconds later, he dropped his hand, appearing dumbfounded. He cursed under his breath, apparently not impressed to see that he has to share his best friend. Poor Stefan. I rolled my eyes, not impressed with him myself. He now glared at me, obviously not happy with my thoughts. “No wonder why he likes you. You both have the same smart-ass attitude. Jerks,” he sneered quickly, making both Chelsea and Sara laugh. I didn’t find it very humorous. “Your point?” I sneered back, showing the full extent of that so-called attitude. He smiled at me. “You’re good for each other,” he itted, clearly hating every second of it. “Obviously.” Chelsea breathed. “They’re like bound somehow, similar to you and Jae.” she added, really getting under his skin. He knew she was right.

Chelsea found Jae the same way she had found me. Only she was already one of them, which makes it a lot less complicated… Sara and Jon, who had disappeared a few minutes ago, then returned to the kitchen, both of them very amused by the topic at hand. Stefan now focused solely on Chelsea. “‘Kay, I get it, all right,” he whined, unwillingly accepting the fact he can’t have him to himself anymore. He’s mine now too. Both of them then cursed under their breath in sync. I wasn’t sure why until a moment later, when Ben appeared only inches from me. He glared at Stefan hard, obviously just as unimpressed with his presence as I was. Without a word, both of them left, clearly intimidated by my terrifying boyfriend. The thought made me chuckle. Ben’s hands then gripped the small of my back, holding me tightly against him as his lips instantly found mine without pause, wasting no time. Every inch of me went numb as I kissed him harder, intoxicated by the addictive taste of his venomous lips. I had almost forgotten we weren’t alone. Then I . I paused. Peeking around Ben, Sara and Jon were behind us, watching in awe with their jaws on the floor. I chuckled, continuing my current task at hand, kissing Ben. We kissed our way to the back storm room. Ben carried me effortlessly as he continued to kiss me, his lips never leaving mine. I couldn’t keep my hands off of him. Every inch of me was screaming for him at all times. I was addicted to him. Borderline obsessed with his existence. I could never bring myself to let go of him. I always wanted more. And for some strange reason, he was just as addicted to me. Why such a fascinating creature would ever waste his time with a pathetic human, I have no idea. But I was lucky enough that he did. I wasn’t letting that go for anything. Ever. He stayed with me that night. Somehow, the four of us managed to be in a room together without being offended by the other. We talked relationships. Theirs and ours.

Yes, it was just about as awkward as it sounds. But it was very necessary for all of us. Jon and Sara agreed to try to make it work while Ben and I confessed to the full extent of our relationship after keeping every half in the dark for the past couple weeks. They now knew just how crazy we were about each other. I was more than relived when that conversation was over. We all were, each of us going to our own rooms. Ben laid with me all night as always, with Molly… Things were slowly starting to feel normal again, I was finally winning my fight.

Chapter 9

TwoWeeks Later

Week 4

O ver the past two weeks, I managed to spend every available waking moment working . I finished the first stack of projects Eddie had brought me, only for him to spend more as he wired my cut into my . was a very happy camper that day. It made the twenty more projects that were on their way a little less discouraging, probably a lot less discouraging. Every hour I wasn’t working, I was obviously with, as far away from that apartment as I could be. Every day that ed, it got weirder and weirder between Sara and Jon. This was expected; we all saw it. I just didn’t want anything to do with it. I wasn’t exactly on the ive side, but I couldn’t protest it either. That’d be very hypocritical of me. Besides that, everything else seemed pretty normal for the most part anyway. I wouldn’t exactly call having a vampire as a boyfriend normal, but that’s beside the point.

Friday

I couldn’t have been more excited when the delivery man brought me what I had

ordered online the other day, one for me and one for Sara. I had originally bought one to help me with my work but ended up ordering another one for Sara to show my appreciation. It was the least I could do. Even if I didn’t agree with her most recent decisions, she’s still my best friend. And Jon’s still my brother, unfortunately. It probably wouldn’t be such a big deal to me if he wasn’t. I still wouldn’t approve, and I’d probably despise him, but at least it wouldn’t be so personal. I quickly wrapped Sara’s box and put it under her bed with a note, considering there was no way in hell I would still be here by the time she got home from work tonight. Eager, I quickly opened mine. It was more of an early birthday present to myself. With that day just around the corner, I decided it could count. I sat on the couch for the rest of the day with my brand-new iPad as I personalized it with basically work stuff to make my job ten times easier. I was ecstatic. Before I knew it, it was dark. Which meant Ben would appear within the hour after finishing his day being an immortal agent followed by a hunt before he comes to stay with me throughout the night. Thank God it’s Friday Neither one of us have to work on the weekend if we don’t want to. We never do. The weekend is our time together that doesn’t consist of me mostly sleeping. We manage to find something to do with all our extra time together during the weekend… I can’t complain… As expected, as I was pouring myself a drink, Ben appeared directly behind me, intentionally scaring the hell outta me. His arms tightly wrapped around my waist as his lips gently kissed my neck, flirting with danger yet again. He can’t help himself; he enjoys it too much. As I slowly turned around, his lips automatically found mine, numbing me as always. My hands lightly rested behind his neck as I continued to kiss him ionately, in love.

Every minute I was away from him felt more like hours. So when he’s gone all day, we didn’t waste a second. And considering no one was home… Once we got that out of our systems for a little while, we went to the bar like we did every Friday night for my Friday-night Long Islands. Stefan and Vanessa tagged along too. They pretty much insisted they us every weekend now. Ben absolutely hates it, but I don’t mind. Vanessa can be quite entertaining. Considering her personal ability, with the simple touch of her hand to yours, she can see every single moment of your life up until that very moment. She has a way of making it hilarious, especially when I’m drunk. Everything’s hilarious then. Each week the bartender gets more and more nervous with the closeness between Ben and me. Considering we’ve been coming here every week for a month, I think he’s starting to realize Ben’s intentions. Or so he thinks. It amused Ben. Whenever he would catch the bartender looking at us, he’d get closer to me, flirt with me, or even kiss me occasionally; but he would end it quickly due to the attention it attracts. We get a little heated pretty quickly… people notice. Especially the ones who know what he is… I can’t help but laugh. None of us can. As usual, Ben had to do the walking for me. Only now, it’s a lot more psychical as he walks me, unable to keep our hands off each other long enough. Not after five Long Islands anyway. He’d have to kill me first. Vanessa and Stefan went off elsewhere while we stopped at my apartment for my usual. Only tonight was different. I was caught off guard, completely distracted. As I stumbled my way through the front door, I completely froze at the sight of Jon carefully watching the security tape from the invasion. “What the fuck are you doing?” I asked with absolutely no emotion in my tone at all, completely blank with surprise. He continued to play it in slow motion. Thankfully this version didn’t have

audio, so that helped. I guess. “Just hear me out before you flip a gasket on me, all right. Just check this out. I don’t think anyone else saw what I’m seeing. This is crazy.” He spoke quietly but anxiously. I rolled my eyes. “So?” I shrugged. “Who cares? They’re all dead,” I stated the obvious. He looked at me with a strange serious look for a moment before saying anything, really starting to annoy me. “Just watch,” he insisted, refocusing on the flat screen that was covered in three rows of four different views of the house. This was definitely the last thing I wanted to see “Look, three come in, right? We all know that. But watch, fast-forward a few more seconds as you shot number two while Caleb’s hitting number one. Now as the two of you go upstairs, watch the archway to the office. See number three all the way over here by the guest room on the other end of the house? So then who the hell just went by the archway? Explain that one. I knew there was a reason why I needed to watch this again.” I was way too drunk for this. “Get it over it, Jon. There’s nothing you can do about it now. Now if you don’t mind, I’m getting the fuck outta here. Peace the fuck out. I’ll see you Sunday. Tell Sara to text me when she gets home,” I ranted as I stumbled my way to my bedroom to get my need-to-haves, including my new iPad especially. Ben chuckled at my attitude as he followed closely behind me, basically there to prevent me from hurting myself in any way that might end in blood, which would then end in my death. Not cool. I didn’t waste a second. I got out us out of there as quickly as I could, followed by Ben getting us out there as quickly as he could. I couldn’t have been more excited for it to be the weekend. I’d rather be stuck in a house surrounded by vampires than that. Friday night at the Rows’ mostly consisted of the same thing every week. As soon as I come through the door, Chelsea practically dances for joy that Ben didn’t screw it up somehow this week. It’s like she expects the worst all week until she sees me Friday night. The day I don’t come through that door, I have a feeling is the day she hunts me down and infects me.

She’s a sweetheart. Thankfully, Friday night is Stefan’s night at Jae’s, so none of us are taunted by his presence once we leave the bar. We won’t see him until sometime tomorrow, Sunday, if we’re lucky. can get pretty obnoxious pretty quickly. We lock ourselves in the bedroom anyway with only one thing on our mind—the touch of one another. Usually, when it starts to get a little heated, the others disappear for a while, which only tells me they’re used to that kind of thing around here. Which is naturally weird for me, but I don’t let it get to me. If I let Ben’s past get to me, I’d drive myself crazy. From what I’ve heard, he was just like every other douche-bag man in this world—until now. Therefore, it isn’t my problem. He had no problem committing to me . . . After a full night with Ben, Saturday mornings almost always consist of me sleeping until at least noon, except this morning was a little different. This is when things start to get a little interesting… I woke up to Ben waking me up. “Whaaaat?” I whined, totally not ready to be awake yet. Ben rolled me over toward him. “I need ta talk ta you,” he whispered insistently. I sighed, peeking up at him. His pitch-black eyes were boiling. I immediately knew something wasn’t right. I slowly sat up; my head instantly started pounding. The sun that shone into the room practically blinded me and made my headache worse. I dropped my head into my hand, closing my eyes. Ben flashed closer to me, practically sitting me on top of him. His arms gently wrapped around me, holding me against him. “There’s a few people around here that don’t approve of us. One especially… ,” he whispered, catching my attention. I slowly looked back at him, trying to read his expression. I continued to stare back at him until he finished explaining to me what the hell was going on. He sighed lightly. “The last girl I was with, six years ago, Raven . . . She’s not very happy about your existence. She made it a point to threaten you . . . She might be borderline psychotic and apparently has a death wish, but none of us are gonna let her anywhere near you. But I need you here in order to do that. If I’m constantly worrying about you, I won’t be able find her,” he informed me quietly, ironically almost seductive. I fully turned and slowly wrapped my arms around the back of his neck, pulling myself completely on top of him. “I trust

you,” I whispered as I planted my lips to his. He didn’t say another word about it. He was a little preoccupied. No one else was there… After which, I quickly fell back asleep. It wasn’t until I got up for the second and final time for the day that we actually talked about it. After I showered, we made our way downstairs to the others. The six of us sat in the living room in pairs. Marcus and Chelsea on one couch, Stefan and Vanessa across from them with Ben and me on the middle couch facing both of them. They didn’t waste any time. They already had it all figured out. “Raven’s gonna stay close and wait until she finds that one-second window when everyone has their back turned, so we can’t give her that option. Considering Gabby works at home anyway, she can just do it here to keep busy while the rest of us find Raven and whoever told Raven about Gabby. We’ll have to track ’em in cycles. A couple of us will track while a couple stay here, then we’ll switch. We’ll just hunt while we track to keep it simple. We’ll do that until we find her and she’s no longer a treat to Gabby or anyone else for that matter. We’ll have to keep an eye on Sara and Jon too… Just in case Raven decides to play dirty. We all know what a fucking nut job she is…” As chaotic as it was and as freaked out as I should have been, I wasn’t. Fear is a very distant emotion of mine. Death is the last thing I’m worried about. The others noticed. Ben of course knew how I felt about fear, so it was no surprise to him when I barely flinched. Stefan, on the other hand, found it very amusing and, of course, ironic. Considering the path I’m currently heading toward. He’d later insist its wrong for them to keep me human longer; I’m clearly meant to be one of them. But Ben would protest. And Chelsea would agree with Ben, overriding Stefan’s request. “It’s not time yet. This isn’t how it happens,” she insisted. “We’ll get there… Relax.” The rest of the day went as usual. Not allowing some crazy jealous bitch interfere with our time together.

The next morning I woke up to my phone ringing continuously, again waking me up a lot earlier than I had wished. Of course when I grabbed my phone and saw it was Sara, I got even more irritated but answered it anyway, conscious enough to know it must be important. If it’s not I’ll kill her and she knows it. “You wanna tell me why there’s a red-eyed redhead outside watching the apartment? She looks pretty pissed off…” She spoke in a sarcastically calm tone, catching my full attention. “What?” I breathed. “She’s been there a while… ,” she added. In that same moment, Ben appeared next to me. I automatically handed him the phone without the need for instruction. This was all his issue. I just happened to be the most convenient thing in the cross fire. “Where are you?” he asked her. “In the apartment.” He clarified when she didn’t understand the question. “‘Kay. Stefan’s just around the corner. He’ll bring you here,” he informed her before tossing me back the phone. It landed perfectly on the bed, only inches from me. “Show off.” I chuckled as he disappeared. It didn’t take very long for me to fall back asleep but only for me to be woken up by Sara jumping all over me. “Come on, babe, get the fuck up! Rise and freaking shine, beauty queen,” she insisted loudly and obnoxiously. I wasn’t impressed. “You’re such a whore,” I whined, curling up to hide from her. That didn’t work; she just ripped the blanket off of me. She chuckled. “Oh, Gabriella, what a cute butt you have!” She spoke in her fairy-tale voice as she poked me continuously until I couldn’t help but laugh, jumping to my feet. “All right, all right, I’m up, you fucking dork,” I insisted, still chuckling with her. I quickly put something comfortable on. As I was putting my shirt on, Ben was then suddenly there, watching flirtatiously until I caught him. He smirked, flashing to my side. “Stefan found something, so I’m goin’ in with him and Marcus. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Chelsea and Vanessa are downstairs,” he informed me. “‘Kay.” I breathed seductively, giving him every bit of my attention long enough for him to kiss me for a moment, or two, before he left. Meanwhile our hands caressed each other, always leaving one another wanting more. After he forced himself to leave me and he was gone, I refocused on Sara. “I’m

gonna pee, then we’ll go have a smoke,” I insisted as I made my way. She followed closely behind me, obviously a little freaked out by being in a house with vampires. Like I’d be able to protect her. I’d be dead too in that case. But her fear was understandable. Not everyone sees things the way I do, especially Sara. For best friends, we’re pretty opposite. After having a moment, we made our way downstairs and out the side door, sitting on the steps as we each smoked a cigarette. “So you gonna tell me what’s goin’ on or what? Stefan wouldn’t tell me anything. He said to ask you. That it’s between you and Ben… ?” she asked anxiously, apparently unable to take the suspense another moment. I sighed slowly, not very impressed with any of it. Luckily for Sara, it was important enough to taint her with it too. “Ben’s crazy ex decided she didn’t like the idea of Ben with someone else, so she’s seeking out to kill me. And possibly anyone else connected to me. That is why you’re here, with me. I’ll be here till they find her and kill her… ,” I informed her, rolling my eyes at the thought of a vampire jealous of a human. I would imagine that makes it worse for her, being replaced by less. That’s gotta sting. Even for a vampire. Sara raised her eyebrows at me, taken back by the seriousness of the situation, I assumed. I tried not to think of it as life threatening. I’d drive myself crazy. Apparently Sara didn’t have it in her for that. She’s not cut out for this world. She sat absolutely still and absolutely silent the rest of the time we were outside. It wasn’t until we made our way back upstairs that she relaxed. In a desperate attempt to let it escape her mind, she quickly changed the subject as I fixed to take a shower. She ranted about Jon continuously. By the time I was finished and dressed, Ben was back. Before saying a word, he lifted me up into his arms and planted his lips into mine. “I told you how much I fucking love you today?” he whispered, continuing to kiss me. I chuckled at his sudden enthusiasm as I kissed him. “If making love to me at three o’clock in the morning counts, then yeah, I think you have. But I don’t think I’ve told you much I fucking love you too,” I replied quietly, seductively, low enough so that Sara couldn’t hear, but obviously, every other immortal in the house could. Luckily, I didn’t care. It was starting to become less and less awkward every

week. He laughed at my response, holding me tighter as he took in my scent, infatuated by it, almost as if he was addicted to it, unable to live without it anymore. After a moment or two, he slowly set me back onto my feet without letting go of me. His arms stayed wrapped around me as he stared down at me. “We found out how Raven found out about you… There are a few different kinds of supernatural creatures in existence, and Raven favors one in particular… witches. She had a friend in town. Stefan found her. Before he killed her, she told us that she had seen you with me practically every day and thought it would be a good idea to tell Raven. Probably because she knew if Raven found out on her own she’d kill the witch herself for not telling her. Whether she knew or not. That’s how Raven is, she’s pathetic, which reminds me how lucky I am to have you.” His lips found mind again as I let that information sink in. It took a moment or two, but eventually I understood. “Vampires… Witches… Next you’re gonna tell me all the other men in this town are werewolves.” I rolled my eyes. He chuckled. “Not in this town. This is our territory. They stay away from here and our hunting grounds, and we stay away from them. Neither one of us is stupid enough to fuck with the other. A werewolf is one of the only creatures in existence strong and fast enough to kill a vampire, and vampires are the only creatures that can kill them. You don’t ever wanna see a werewolf…” I cursed under my breath, not expecting to be right. “Don’t worry about it. Now we just gotta find Raven, and all of this will be over with,” he insisted before kissing my forehead. I nodded, smart enough to know it was a little more complicated than that, but I couldn’t let it get to me. If I’m upset, it’ll upset Ben, and then he’ll be more likely to fuck up. I can’t let that happen. So I hide my real feelings about it all. The only fear I had was losing Ben somehow. That seems to be something I’m a little touchy about, losing another loved one. No one should go through that once, let alone twice in the same year. Luckily, there were four other vampires that had his back, so the chances were pretty slim. But there’s always that chance. It absolutely terrified me. I wasn’t worried about my own life, the life that was actually being threatened. I only cared about Ben.

Without him, I’m fucked. I wasn’t gonna let some jealous nut job take that from me. And I didn’t. Over the next couple of days, in order to keep myself occupied while being human, I sat and worked. I had insisted I go with Ben to get my work stuff and a few other things in order to get out of that house for a few minutes. I was going stir-crazy already. We had decided it was safe enough for Sara to go home to Jon. But someone would keep an eye on them during the day, just to be safe. This was good because there is only so much of Sara I can handle before she starts getting under my skin. Especially when I didn’t feel good. I wasn’t sure if it was my nerves or if it was from having a vampire as a boyfriend, but I felt like crap 80 percent of the day. I was exhausted. Each day that ed, the worse it became. With my birthday only a couple of days away, I had a feeling it would be very different from my past. Ben had mentioned my birthday once in the past few days but hasn’t said a thing about it since, thank God. Given the circumstances, I was fortunate that it was the furthest thing from anyone’s mind. Or so I thought. But we’ll get to that. I didn’t see much of Ben during the day, as usual. During the day, the boys tracked Raven while the girls stayed with me. While at night, the boys stayed here while the girls tracked Raven. Therefore, when I wasn’t spending my time working, I was sleeping in order to be conscious enough to spend time with Ben before sleeping all night long. It was getting harder and harder for me to stay awake. Like the life was being sucked right out of me. Ben was starting to notice. Even with me doing everything I could to hide it, he still noticed. And so did everyone else. But even Marcus, the healer, couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. “She must just be tired. She’s been through a lot, only to go through more. She just needs some rest,” he had insisted. But no matter how much I rested I was still tired.

It was really starting to get annoying. By Wednesday, the day before my birthday, I was starting to look the way I felt —deadly. I spent the entire day sleeping downstairs, Chelsea tending to my every need. When I woke up, it was night again. I heard everyone outside talking, so I slowly sat up, attempting to listen. But it just sounded like mumbling to me. As I slowly started making my way to the bathroom, I froze completely in my path at the sight of Raven directly in front of me. The others noticed at the exact same time. It was now completely silent as Raven and I glared at each other. Until she finally spoke. “Don’t even think about it!” she insisted to the others. “Any of you step foot into this house, I’ll kill her right now,” she added. I rolled my eyes at her. She didn’t like that very much. Faster than the human eye, she sat me in the closest chair, holding me hostage. How creative of her. “I must say, you got balls spending all this time with vampires. I envy that of you. I really don’t want to be doing this, but Ben hasn’t left me with much of a choice. He’s pretty stubborn. He always has been,” she began ranting. Meanwhile, she looked around her in every direction as she listened to the others circle the house, becoming angrier at them by the second for trying to cross her. “Obviously Ben cares about you for some odd reason, seeing how he hasn’t killed you yet. I just can’t figure out what’s so damn special about you. What could a little human like you have that I don’t?” she asked herself aloud. I chuckled. “Self-respect,” I answered for her, making her angrier. I flashed a sarcastic smile at her, letting her know she doesn’t scare me. She didn’t take very well to that either. “Cute, you’re a smart-ass. That explains something.” She rolled her eyes. “If I correctly, that’s what Stefan said,” I replied, practically shoving it in her face. She flashed closer to me, almost to her breaking point. “Stefan’s a jackass,” she stated, continuing to speak her mind. “And you look like shit today. What’s wrong with you?” she added. I raised my eyebrows at her, as if to say, “Like you care.” “You’re like overflowing with hormones, and you look lifeless. You don’t even

smell appetizing today. What did he do to you?” she added, truly concerned. She was probably more curious than anything. It was then silent for a very long moment. Raven listened to her surroundings, standing absolutely still. Until her eyes widened as she looked back down at me. “Oh my god” She breathed, confusing me. Considering I was too tired to even think, I couldn’t have figured it out if I had tried. Apparently someone else did. Before she could say another word, Ben suddenly quickly dropped from above and was now standing directly behind her, very pissed off. She slowly turned around, obviously terrified. Quicker than I could even see, he grabbed her by the throat and smashed her into the wall to my far left. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” he sneered at her. “You just couldn’t let it go, could you? Did you honestly think I would just let you kill her? Are you stupid? You want to know the real answer to what she has that you don’t? Everything, that’s what. You’re nothing, Raven, you never were. You were just some bitch I decided to screw for a while to keep myself occupied until I found her. And I’d do anything to keep her, starting by killing you,” he insisted, taring her apart before she even had a chance to take a breath. As her lifeless body fell to the floor, I finally closed my eyes, unable to keep them open any longer. Ben flashed to my side in the same moment, followed by the others. Meanwhile, Marcus and Stefan got rid of dead Raven. Chelsea was closest to me besides Ben. She knelt down in front of me next to him; concern covered her face from what I could see. “She’s getting even worse, we gotta do something,” she whispered. “Bring her upstairs. I’ll get Marcus,” she instructed to Ben. He didn’t say a word; he just did it. Gently lifting me up into his arms, he flashed me upstairs and laid me down. Only a moment later, the others surrounded me. Unable to keep my eyes open for longer than a second, I could hear more than I could see. I could feel Ben’s presence next to me, not willing to leave my side for a second. Marcus was on the other side of me. His cold, solid hand looked me over,

searching for the problem I didn’t know existed yet. I heard him whisper to Ben, but I couldn’t understand the words. He spoke too low. I whined, miserable. I was so weak it hurt to move. The feel of Ben’s cold hand on my burning head was comforting, but not comforting enough. “Clear out the office, we’re gonna need it,” I heard him whisper. As I attempted to open my eyes, I saw Chelsea nodding at Marcus. She then disappeared, followed by Vanessa and Stefan. I then again shut my eyes as Ben lifted me up into his arms, now carrying me back downstairs into Marcus’s office. By the time we got down there, it had already been cleared out. They set me in the center of the room on a table, each of them surrounding me. I then felt a small pinch that numbed every inch of me. I felt nothing. I could still hear everything around me, but I was unconscious—still coherent but not responsive. I still had no idea what was happening. No one spoke for what seemed like forever. The seconds felt like minutes, the minutes felt like hours. And I felt like I was dying. Unfortunately, I wasn’t. As much as I wanted to be at the time, I wasn’t. I wasn’t going anywhere. Ben wouldn’t allow that. Apparently he liked me a little too much for that to ever happen. When I came back to, I was back upstairs in bed. The house was completely silent. Empty. Ben was laying next to me worriedly. I scooted closer to him, eager for his touch and comfort. That’s when I realized I didn’t feel like absolute crap anymore. I was still groggy and a little dizzy, but I could move without wanting to cry. Whatever they did worked. Ben gently wrapped his arms around me, holding me against him. But there was something off about him. It was obvious even to me that there was something wrong, really wrong. He was still worried and a little guilt-stricken. I stared up at him, trying to find the problem but came up with nothing. He sighed as he looked down at me. His pitch-black eyes were filled with hurt. They

even hurt to look at. “What is it?” I whispered, unable to stay in the dark any longer. He kissed my forehead for a moment, kissing away the pain. “I’ve been sitting here thinking about how to say it for about an hour now, and I can’t come up with a way to say it without completely freaking you the fuck out. There’s really no easy way to say it. I don’t know how chicks do this.” He breathed, obviously overwhelmed himself. I furrowed my eyebrows at him, completely clueless. After a moment of staring at each other for a moment again, he sat up, now leaning over me while still holding me in his arms. “You’re… pregnant… ,” he informed me under his breath hesitantly, putting me in a sense of shock for a moment or two. “?” I breathed. “How is that even possible?” I added once it completely hit me. He sighed again. “Technically it’s not possible. Apparently, you’re one of the very few humans that can accept to it. We don’t really know that much about it. Usually when a vampire has sex with a human, he drains her when he’s done with her. So it’s rare. The few recorded cases tell us what to expect, but just like humans, there’s really no way to know. All we can do is keep an eye on you.” It took a while for me to accept what he was telling me. I didn’t know what to think. I was terrified. I wasn’t fit for this. There was a reason I’ve prevented pregnancy all these years, I’m not the motherly type. I wouldn’t know the first thing about it. Now I didn’t have much of a choice. But this wasn’t a normal pregnancy. The child growing inside of me wasn’t even human. I didn’t need to be a scientist to know what a vampire child could do to me. I’ve seen what vampires are capable of. Now I had one inside of me. I was starting to panic. I dropped my head into my hands as I attempted to organize my thoughts. I probably sat there a good forty-five minutes, taking it all in, accepting the fact that life as I knew it was over. The longer I sat there, the easier it was to accept. I slowly started to realize that it wasn’t the end of the world. I just have a piece of both of us, a very dangerous one. Once the reality sank in, I practically threw myself at him, eager for his touch. Even though that’s how all of this started to begin with. He just went with it, not

stupid enough to protest right about now. It’s not like he could get me even more pregnant; the deed’s already done. Given everything that I’ve been through this year already, this was surprisingly the better of it. At least I still had the ones I love and apparently then some… It’ll be one hell of a journey.

Chapter 10

Surprise

August 19, 2010

U sually when I wake up on my birthday, the first thing I do is have a nice cold drink with my wake and bake, but considering my current condition , that probably wouldn’t be very good idea. So instead, I let Ben’s presence intoxicate me. That did the trick. I guess it wasn’t too much different from my past birthdays… except now my boyfriend is a vampire, and I’m pregnant with his demon child. How romantic. Looks like it’s gonna be a shotgun wedding. Fortunately, this whole Raven bullshit ended just in time. I had things to do. I didn’t particularly want to do them, but I really didn’t have a choice. To me, it was just another day. Birthdays are so overrated. What’s there to celebrate? You live and then you die. End of story. Except vampires, of course. That’s kind of a hard fact to forget these days… Since Ben hadn’t left my side since Raven’s short visit, he brought me to my apartment on his way out of this area so I could to Sara. Conveniently, she had decided to take today off, providing me with the perfect opportunity. After kissing Ben for about three minutes before leaving him, I slowly made my way inside, procrastinating. Luckily, she wasn’t in sight, giving me a moment or two to figure out exactly what I wanted to say to her.

As soon as I entered my room, I sat on the end of my bed, dropping my head into my hands to gather my thoughts. Seconds later, Sara pushed her way through the door from her room to mine. She stopped suddenly at the sight of me before she hesitantly sat down next to me. She stared at me curiously for a moment or two before saying anything. “I know that look,” she whispered cautiously. “What is it you’re gathering to tell me? What happened? Considering you’re here, alone, I’m guessing the redhead’s no longer a problem?” she added. I hated how well she knew me. It’s such a disadvantage sometimes. In that particular moment, it forced away my procrastination. I shook my head, slowly sitting up to face her. “No. She’s not. Ben killed her last night after she held me captive the house for about ten minutes. Ironically, that’s probably about the only nontraumatizing news I have… ,” I replied quietly. She furrowed her eyebrows at me. Speechless, I assumed. And that was only the half of it. Not even half. I didn’t even know how to put it in words. There was only one way to say it. Now I know how Ben felt . . . although I assume it was little more difficult for him. The thought haunted me. I exhaled slowly, calming my nerves. My eyes met hers. “I’m pregnant.” I breathed. She sat absolutely still, staring at me with an empty expression. “That’s not funny,” she replied. “I didn’t say it was,” I replied, definitely not in the mood for her ive-aggressive attitude today. “You’re serious?” she whined in a loud whisper, as usual. I sighed in frustration before responding, letting out some of my annoyance. “Yes, I’m fucking serious. And I’m not just pregnant. I’m pregnant with a demon literally sucks the life out me until they pump blood into me to satisfy it so it doesn’t me. The only thing I got going for me right about now is that the longest it’ll take is only eight weeks or so. Therefore it’ll be over sooner than not,” I replied bluntly. I needed her to

be prepared. Sara took the information in for a moment before responding. Her expression altered between curious and suspicious as she stared at me. “How’s that even ?” She spoke under her breath. “You wouldn’t think so. I didn’t either, obviously it is. Only the females lose that ability. This is a man’s world. Not even Satan could deprive his creatures of planting their seeds. He just limited it to humans. In order to be pregnant, your body has to change. Vampires don’t change. They’re frozen. Therefore, it’s a pretty rare thing. Usually, when a vampire has sex with a human he drains her when he’s done with her—Ben’s words not mine. And apparently not all humans will take to it, only some of us. Fucking fantastic, eh?” I hadn’t been able to sleep for a while last night, so I walked around the house like I usually do when I can’t sleep. I had come across Chelsea. She had showed me the book of recorded immortals, the only book in existence that contains the truth about vampires. I’m the only existing human to set eyes on it. The purpose was to show me what they know about this current issue. It was very educational. And therefore, I was able to sleep after a little help from Chelsea. She was already starting to become the mother I never got to have. “Oh my fucking god.” Sara breathed, borderline in shock. “You’re fucking pregnant? That’s insane. You’re gonna, like, die!” She started to panic. I shrugged. “Possibly. But obviously we’re gonna try to prevent that, but there isn’t much we can do. I just gotta be with Marcus most of the time. Just in case. Ben obviously isn’t gonna let anything happen to me. I don’t want you to worry about it. I just needed you to know the full effect of it,” I replied. I wasn’t surprised when she slowly started to cry. I rolled my eyes at her. “It isn’t the end of the world, Sara. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I want you by my side through this, not distant and scared. I need you… need you to be my friend. Not my mother,” I insisted, practically pleading with her. “Don’t break on me,” I whispered, not to cry. She quickly and tightly wrapped her arms around me into a massive hug. “I love you, Gabriella Jade. As long as you’re safe I can handle it. Just don’t leave me. need you too ya know,” she reminded me. “I know,” I replied under my breath. “I love you too… but I also love Ben… a lot . . . and our unborn baby. I know it’s pretty strange and totally reckless of us, but in a weird way, even though

every day that es it’ll only get worse, it doesn’t matter, I love Ben way more than enough to have his demon… ,” I replied, chuckling to myself at the insanity of it all. “Oh, Gabby! I’m shocked! I never thought I’d see you even try to move on, and now you’re pregnant? Demon spawn or not, it’s better than shielding yourself out. I’m glad.” Her extremely corny reaction surprised me. I was expecting her to totally flip out on me about all of this. Somehow I was lucky enough to have a best friend who was dedicated enough to me even when I make the stupidest of decisions. I couldn’t have been more grateful for her than in that very moment. Especially because she was totally right. I really hope there isn’t a Row spying on me, I thought to myself.But I had no doubt. “Thanks. I can’t even tell you how much that means to me. I don’t want to lose you. So no matter what happens, just know I’m blessed to have you,” I replied, shedding my first tear in the process, making her cry even more. “Happy birthday, babe,” she whispered in my ear as she held me tighter for a moment. For a split second I had no worries. I truly felt as if everything could be okay.I had to think that. Otherwise, I’d drive myself insane. That wouldn’t help at all. So while I waited for Ben to get back to town, I also waited for Jon to get home. I had texted him and told him it was important. Twenty minutes later, he walked through the door; “Sup, ? Happy twenty-third!” he cheered, completely full of energy today. He must have gotten laid last night, by Sara—awkward… Time to ruin his day… “Have a seat… I need to tell you something…” I spoke under my breath, completely emotionless. He furrowed his eyebrows at me, confused by my seriousness, I assumed. He sat in the chair that sat at an angle just left of the couch I was sitting on. He

stared at me with a suspicious expression for a moment as I gathered to do this all over again. I exhaled slowly, more nervous about this confession. Jon’s a little less reasonable than Sara, plus a lot more protective. Thankfully, Ben’s a vampire, so I don’t have to worry about him threatening him, but I really didn’t want to listen to him preach at me. That was the last thing I wanted. And I still needed to tell the Eddie. Saving the worst for last… “There’s really no easy way to say this… ,” I started saying. “I’m pregnant,” I stated simply but bluntly. No hesitation. His reaction was just about the same as Sara’s—shocked, dumbfounded, confused. “You’re what?” he spoke under his breath. “What are you talking about? Your boyfriend’s a fucking vampire! How could you possibly be pregnant?” he added, his demeanor doing a complete somersault. “It’s complicated. But I am. It’s not an ordinary pregnancy… Obviously . . . It’ll only take up to eight weeks. A very dangerous eight weeks. It’ll be a lot stronger than me. So I’m gonna need to be with Marcus most of the time. in case. It’s risky, but it’s mine, so keep that in mind,” I informed him. He glared at me for a very long moment, very unimpressed. “You’re insane,” he whispered with utmost seriousness in this tone. “But I guess bein’ insane is better than lettin’ your past eat away at you, so I ain’t gonna complain. It’s your life. You can live it however you want. But at the end of the day, you’re still my sister. It’s my responsibility to keep you stable. Eddie will kill me if anything ever happened to you. Just don’t do that ta me. Or any of us.” Without another word he got up and went into his room, freeing me from that quickly enough. That was easier than expected too… What the hell’s up with them today? I sighed in relief. Two down, one to go. My hesitation had been necessary. I paced my bedroom floor as I slowly dialed Eddie’s cell number. He wasn’t very impressed with me either, as expected. That is probably why I didn’t even bother telling him the worst half of it. He’d probably have a heart attack. He was already upset enough as it was. I didn’t need him worried about my life on top of it.

Exhausted already, I crawled into my bed as soon as I hung up with Eddie. I slept until Ben got back, taking a very much-needed catnap to the time. I just wanted this day to be over with. I was woken by my phone, my very annoying phone. hate being wakened by anything but Ben. I sighed in frustration as I searched for it in my bed. When I finally found it, I sighed again as I read the caller ID. It was Mattie. I didn’t answer it. He wasn’t the only one that has called. Most of our “friends” in Florida had called me already today too. Mental note: I need to change my number. Just as I laid back down, Ben appeared next to me. I instinctively smiled at him, instantly scooting closer to him until my entire body melted into his, smothering myself with his presence. “Damnit, I hate missing you,” I complained under my breath flirtatiously. He chuckled quietly, kissing the top of my head, which was resting on his chest. “I can’t even describe to you what it’s like being away from you… It’s like if I can’t smell you, a part of me is missing… a huge part of me… And I have no idea why I just told you that . . . ,” he replied, unintentionally exposing his weakness, which was in fact me. I slowly crawled on top of him seductively. “I love how secretive you are about your feelings for me. mysterious… Sexy . . . ,” I whispered, my lips slowly finding his as I spoke. As my lips met his, every fiber in my entire body went completely numb. I wanted all of him, always. Unfortunately, we had a full apartment. I was mad but not mad enough to interrupt my time with Ben. We played it PG-13 for a while instead. Until, of course, Sara had to interrupt. I was really starting to this apartment. Obviously, she stopped suddenly at the sight of Ben on top of me, us making out like teenagers. It was ironically humorous for Ben and me. Sara, not so much. “Seriously?” she whined. “Do you ever do anything besides fuck each other these days? Dammit, no wonder he knocked you up. He practically lives inside

of you,” she stated bluntly—typical Sara. It was nice to see her finally. She had me worried there for a minute. I laughed at her. “For one thing, we’re obviously not each other, as you had so gratefully put it. I really doubt you would have walked through that door if we were. That being said, why did you walk through the door, Sara? Now that you got picking apart my sex life out of the way, as usual… ,” I replied. My sarcasm sometimes gets the best of me. She rolled her eyes, completely brushing it off as she practically danced her way toward me until she sat down on the bed next to me. Ben flashed up off of me, only to lift me up into his arms and sit me in front of him next to Sara in the same movement, providing me with both of their attention evenly. Every single little thing he does makes me fall for him even more. Just when I thought it couldn’t be possible to love him more, he always finds a way to prove me wrong. His sudden movement had startled Sara for a moment but not long enough to cause her to hesitate. She again brushed it off, very much a trooper today. Brownie points for Sara. “Okay, since I made you move across the country, we couldn’t go to Miami Beach like we usually do on your birthday and any other entertaining occasion. I thought I’d bring a little bit of Miami Beach to you to keep tradition. Even though things have changed… completely. That doesn’t mean Miami Beach has. There’s nothing like Miami Beach. Whether we’re actually there or not… Just pretend.” I couldn’t help but laugh. She always has a way of doing that to me. No matter what the circumstance, she can always make the best of it, most of the time anyway. Some things just can’t be fixed, but if they can, she fixes them… These days, only if Ben leaves them for her to fix. I quickly sat up enough to wrap my arms around her. “I fucking love you.” I breathed, hugging her once again. She didn’t pause, wrapping her arms around me as tightly as she possibly could. “I love you too… Even if your completely insane… Caused by being lovesick. Luckily, in your case, that’s allowed. If you

were anyone else, I’d smother you,” she made a point to say. I chuckled, looking back at Ben, who was very deeply in a staring contest with my. Given my current, I could see why. But I don’t think I’ll ever understand a man’s mental process in those personal moments. Then he realized he was busted. He was unable to fight a smirk, failing miserably. I couldn’t help but laugh, amused by a vampire’s infatuation with a human. It’s rather ironic if you ask me, being attracted to your prey. The urge grew stronger for both of us. I turned around to face him, positioning myself on top of him. Our arms instantly wrapped around each other, keeping each other in place, unwilling to let one another go. Sara stood to her feet. “Uh, come see me before you leave.” She chuckled as she made her way out of the room, leaving Ben and I alone once again. Unfortunately, it didn’t make much of a difference. We had to get out of there. As quickly as possible, I got ready, grabbed my stuff, saw Sara, and met Ben downstairs to find him talking with my brother. That’s never a good sign for me. Not with my sibling rivalry history. Jon has a tendency to fuck everything up for me. Or at least put a dent in it. I was almost expecting Ben to be annoyed. But he wasn’t. He appeared rather amused. Almost as if he enjoyed listening to Jon. Okay, now I know I’m crazy. Jon smirked at me as he walked past to go back upstairs, raising suspicion. The suspicion was now aimed at Ben as I got into the car. It was abundantly clear that he wasn’t gonna budge, but I had to at least try. “What disgusting things did my brother have to say this time?” I asked, already knowing the honest answer will probably never come about. It was his response I was interested in. What someone says in a lie can say a lot about someone… He chuckled to himself, using Maine Street as a race track as he sped us out of town, into the mountains. His need to drift into his turns was as expected as he sped onto Trinity Lake Boulevard, and onto the Browns mountains.

This place was starting to seem normal to me, which was borderline terrifying for me. I’ve been a city slicker my entire life. After being dropped into the middle of nowhere for the past few weeks, I’m slowly starting to realize east bumfuck isn’t so bad. West bumfuck would be more accurate. Ten silent minutes after the fact, Ben finally responded to my question. “Your brother thinks Sara is jealous of us . . . That’s what he was talking about… ,” he said. There was no hint of anything in his tone. It’s impossible to read vampires. This is getting irritating awfully quickly. I glared at him out of the corner of my eye, debating whether I wanted to even go down that road or not, or any road that the topic could lead too. “Story of my life,” I muttered under my breath. But considering I’m in a car with a vampire, to him, there was no mutter. It was still strange to me sometimes, the differences mixed in with the similarities. It’s fascinating really if I took the time to notice. He found my response humorous, of course, fighting a smirk like it was his job. It practically was lately, along with mine. When you’re attracted to someone the way we’re attracted to each other, it’s impossible to make it through the day without smirking because of something as simple as a look or gesture. Having felt it before, it wasn’t new to me. It was just different, tremendously different in a good, supernatural kind of way. Nothing can top magic. The remainder of the fifteen-minute drive to the Rows’ provided me with a good opportunity to clear my head. Gather my thoughts. Find myself again. Ironically, the comfort I felt was like Ben wasn’t even there, his danger anyway, the comfort of being alone with yourself. It felt relieving for a change, nothing to worry me at the very moment. Considering I had a demon inside of me that could kill me any day of the week, the comfort I felt was more than a necessity. I needed my head clear to enjoy my day.

Of course, before I even exhaled, Ben was out of the car and waiting for my hand to find his as he helped me out of the car, like every time I ever get out of a car with him. Obviously neither one of us kept our free hand to ourselves on the way into the house. It wasn’t very often we had the house to ourselves; we were taking advantage of it. Given the occasion, no one wantedto be here. That was easy enough for us. Also, given the occasion, I shouldn’t have been surprised when Ben randomly placed a single white diamond necklace around my neck, but I was. He, on the other hand, wasn’t very surprised when, in result, we were upstairs half naked in bed already less than a minute later. He was slowly starting to get used to my willingness. Female vampires must be stubborn… It’s obvious he wasn’t expecting it and still doesn’t. It’s rather amusing on my part. Now I needed a nap. I curled up in the bed, so relaxed the exhaustion was almost impossible to fight. Ben wrapped his arms around me from behind, his lips gently kissing my shoulder to my neck, seductively disciplining himself. He continued to hold me for as long as I wanted to lie there. I wasn’t exactly sure how long that was, but it was long enough for me to gain some energy back. I found myself thinking of my mother, the distant fogged childhood memories of her. She almost seemed like a stranger to me these days, a stranger that I was desperately looking for as long as I can . I gave up on missing her years ago; it would only make it harder to accept. After I lost Caleb, missing my mother just seemed ridiculous in comparison. Now I just missed them both. As the lightbulb came on over my head, I rolled over to face Ben. “We need to go to the store,” I insisted in a whisper, my intentions now a huge necessity for the day. His eyebrows furrowed at me for a moment. “And why’s that?” he asked, chuckling at my sudden intent. “Amuse me,” I replied as I quickly jumped to my

feet, getting dressed just as quickly but obviously not as quickly as Ben. Being a slow, helpless human was really starting to get at me. I wasn’t used to be the lesser of the few. It wasn’t a feeling I was very fond of either. As terrifying as the thought was to me, I was starting to become anxious to get it over with, become one of them. Meanwhile, a very small part of me screams to wait it out. Treasure my mortal life. Such a complicated decision. One I didn’t have interest for on this particular day. Down in the car, Ben paused. That was a rare thing to witness. It caught me off guard. My eyebrows furrowed at him as he reached into the glove compartment. “Open those,” he asked as he dropped a small box onto my lap, now speeding down the very long driveway down the mountain. I did as told, unsure what I was doing until I paid attention to what I was holding. I chuckled in amusement—colored s. Apparently when it comes to being inconspicuous, they’ve thought of it all. “I’m not even gonna ask what you would need these for on any other occasion,” I muttered, the amusement quickly making me realize I already knew the answer. The red eyes kind of give them away. Without the eyes, it would appear there’s nothing to worry about. I wonder what they did before colored s were invented. Then I realized the answer was obvious—they didn’t do anything. They just used their instincts, killing the first human they saw. For some reason, the knowledge didn’t terrify me like one would assume it would. I figure it’s because vampires aren’t the only dangerous beings. Humans are just as ruthless if they want to be. At least vampires are killing for a reason— survival. Humans do it as a hobby or a chore, depending on the way they live. Evil doesn’t discriminate. It’s in every one of us. You just have to know where to look for it and how to control it. The evil in me,

for example, as a human, stems deep from the core. The hatred practically made me who I am. I blame the mobsters that lured my parents into international waters and dropped them to the bottom of the ocean and then sent their eyes to my uncle. At nine years old, that grew some hatred. Eddie doesn’t know I know the truth about it. No one knows I know what really happened. Not even Caleb or Sara. I’ve never spoken about it aloud for obvious reasons. See, my father, a surgeon, was also a drug addict. Apparently he owed a lot of money to a lot of bad people. He and my mother paid for it. Along with the ones they left behind. From what I understand, it was them or us—Jon and I. My parents sacrificed themselves for us. I the day it happened. My parents had left us with Eddie, well aware they wouldn’t be coming back. They tried to hide their pain, but I knew. A child always knows when their parents are off. It’s only natural. I assume it was harder for Jon, being older and more aware. He was almost thirteen. He had to know what was going on. As nosey as he is, I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew from the beginning. It took me a while to put the pieces together. I was about thirteen myself when I finished the puzzle. But the look Jon had on his face when they told us they were dead told me everything I needed to know. At the time, I was too young and naive to even comprehend the full effect of it all. It’s something no child should go through. I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy. It made me who I am—that I’m grateful for. I’m stronger, more in tune with the real world. I loved being raised by Eddie. I still do. He was the best thing for us. My parents knew that. It was the best thing they ever did for us. Which is why I’m doing what I’m doing right now—going to the store to keep tradition. Being in a grocery store with a vampire was just as strange as I assumed it would be. He was pretty disgusted with all of it. If it wasn’t for all the humans around him that evened it out, I think he might have lost his ability of self-control.

Apparently, dead stuff is on the bottom of the tolerable list. Lucky for him, we were in and out in five minutes. I was on a mission. It didn’t take long to get back, especially driving ninety miles an hour up a mountain. Vampires are very impatient. You would be too if you could run faster than your car can drive you. I didn’t waste any time. I was already behind traditional schedule, even more so being in a different time zone. “So you gonna tell me what this is all about, or are you gonna make me figure it out myself?” Ben asked with a suspenseful tone. I smirked at him, finding his curiosity humorous. “Before my mother died she used to make me one every year on my birthday… I’ve done it myself ever since… This year, I’m a little off I guess. I almost completely forgot, must be the hormones. Or you. You’re pretty distracting,” I replied, my flirtatious sarcasm getting the best of me as always. He fought a smirk but failed. “What is it?” he asked, which surprised me. “Seriously? You haven’t figured it out yet? Some Italian you are,” I joked. He laughed, just now piecing it all together. “I thought vampires were supposed to be smarter than humans,” I added, picking on him. “I guess I didn’t realize your mother was such a dedicated Italian,” he stated. For someone who looked at every aspect of my existence before he even met me, he didn’t know as much as he thought he did. Only what’s on paper. Just like the rest of the world. I smiled at the thought of my mother being such a dedicated Italian. Now I’m standing next to a 107-year-old Italian vampire, carrying on tradition. Ironic.

“There isn’t much I about her. What I do is that she considered Italy her home, not Florida. I went once when I was three, but I don’t that either. Jon re it all better than I do. Doing this once a year is about all I get. Good enough,” I informed, actually speaking aloud about my mother without becoming tense. Usually I have a borderline anxiety attack whenever she’s brought up. That might be half the reason I’ve never really gotten over it. I’ve never actually faced it. I just pretended, to make everyone else in my life happy. But I think talking to Ben about it was different; he’s the only other person besides my brother that has any idea what it’s like. He may have been an adult when his parents died, but it doesn’t matter how old you are; it doesn’t make it any easier. I didn’t have to say what was in my head, because he already knew. It was the same things in his since 1916. before my parents even existed. I chuckled quietly to myself at the thought. “Interesting…” I thought aloud. “My boyfriend is ancient. How do you even function in this day and age after living in such a different era? Christ, it was legal to beat your wife and everything then. That’s so fucked up,” I continued to think aloud, providing Ben with some amusement. “Rule of thumb.” He smirked. “Those were the good days, when things were simple. Predictable. Now everything’s corrupted and illiterate. It’s pathetic. I hate this county. If I wasn’t for Marcus I would have left a long time ago… but apparently it’s a good thing I stayed,” he added, stating his mind. “Thank fucking damn,” I stated under my breath flirtatiously, stepping closer to him until I could feel myself melt into him. He laughed to himself, also amused by my gratefulness. As ironic as our relationship was, dangerous or not, at least we knew what we wanted. That’s more than most average relationships can say. You wouldn’t find any doubt in, even with my life constantly being threatened at the moment by a vampire spawn sucking the life out of me. I don’t think I have to tell you how the rest of the night went… I slept like a log. Until I was awoken by the sound of Ben and Stefan arguing in

the hall. I was still half asleep, so the words were distorted and foggy for a moment or two. They sounded so far away until I snapped out of it. Then the words were crystal clear. “Let her suspend me, I don’t give a fuck. I have worst things to worry about than who Mel wants eliminated today. If she has a fucking problem with that, tell her to come speak to me herself. And if you have a fucking problem with that, then you can do the goddamn job yourself. I’m not leaving,” Ben replied to whatever it was that Stefan had said. Stefan growled. “Have you lost your fucking mind? That’d be suicide! I’m not going without you. And I’m not gonna get banished because of your ignorance, so you’re coming with me whether you want to or not. Gabby will be fine. If Mel finds out you’re skipping out on her for a human, she’ll have you both killed, and you know it. We may be her top earners, but we’re not all she’s got. She’d find a way. It’s her fucking job. And if she didn’t, Walter would. So if you want to keep your girlfriend out of it, you’ll do this job with me. Right now,” he insisted. It was silent for a moment or two, followed by the sound of Ben throwing Stefan into the far left hallway wall. “Fuck Mel, fuck Walter, and fuck you,” Ben replied. “Enough.” Marcus suddenly sighed. “I’ll go with Stefan. You go talk to Mel. Tell her the truth, bring Chelsea, she’ll get it. There’s no need to tare each other apart. Both of you can get what you want, just fucking do it. Vanessa will stay with Gabby. She’ll be fine. If not, you’ll only be ten minutes away anyway, so suck it up,” Marcus ordered. Being their maker, they had to obey. I listened as Ben dropped Stefan, followed by the three of them disappearing back downstairs out of human hearing range. I lay back down, completely exhausted. The blood they had pumped into me was almost gone, making the fetus thirsty again, therefore sucking the life out of me. I couldn’t have crawled out of bed even if I wanted to. A few minutes later, the sound of the bedroom door opening caught my attention. It was Ben. But I could hardly keep my eyes open long enough to look at him.

Without saying a word, he lifted me up into his arms and flashed downstairs. He set me down gently on the couch in the sitting area in the back corner of the house. I could hear Marcus and Chelsea on either side of me. A moment later, I couldn’t hear anything. I couldn’t feel anything. I was numb but still conscious. I still had my hearing ability, but they were just too quiet for me to notice. It was hard to tell how long I had been lying there, but when I came to I felt as if I had all the energy in the world. I could have ran laps around the house if I wanted to. Luckily, that was the last thing I wanted to do at the moment. The only issue was my pounding headache. It was more of a migraine, but I was used to them. Considering my alcohol habit, migraines are almost always expected. I would have given for a hard drink right then. It would be a very long, painful few weeks. Now anxious to get his drama dealt with, Ben quickly but ionately gave me a kiss before he left as soon as he knew I was all right. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Try not to die on me in the process. I’ll have to tare Stefan to shreds if I lose you,” he made a point to say, kissing my forehead. “I’ll be fine. As long as Vanessa keeps her fangs to herself,” I joked, causing him to chuckle quietly to himself before disappearing. Vanessa even chuckled, apparently finding my choice of words very amusing. Everyone in this house knew better than to take such a thing seriously. They all know Ben would slaughter them if anything happened to me. I guess the threat is enough to overpower their natural instincts to see me as dinner. Instead, they see me as the next Row. The thought still terrified me, but each day that ed that I was still alive made me accept it even more. Sooner than not, it would be a priority. No one can stay human forever. And after spending all one’s time with vampires, who would want to be? I thought maybe everyone would stop constantly worrying about me when I can

handle the supernatural things myself instead of being the defenseless human. Everything I was ever taught was to protect me against other humans. Not monsters. I’m hopeless against the supernatural. It wasn’t a very good feeling. Nothing I was used to. It was starting to get to me. “What’s wrong?” Vanessa suddenly asked, sensing my change in demeanor down to the very last detail. It’s impossible to hide anything from them. “Nothing” I lied, obviously. She rolled her eyes at me, seeing right through me. She continued to stare at me with her eyebrows raised until I finally broke. “It’s nothing. I’m just anxious for all of this to be behind us. I’m not very good at sorting my emotions…” I sighed. “Understandably,” she stated simply. “All of us were human at some point, we know. This world is hard to fit into, especially when you’re just thrown into it. You have the advantage of knowing beforehand. You can accept it without being forced to. None of us are going to make you do anything you don’t want to do. That’s fate’s job. Fate got you here. It’ll help you get through it too, and you just don’t even have to believe in it. Plus, Ben loves you more than he’ll ever even let you believe. He isn’t going to let anything get to you. He also knows you’ve been through a lot. He doesn’t expect anything from you. He knows what it’s like to lose someone you’re close to. He also watched me go through it too. So if your feelings for Caleb have anything to do with it, ’s okay. It’s been over eighty years since my fiancé died, and I still feel for him. It never goes away. They’re always with you. Moving on just makes it a little easier to accept the world without them. From what I understand, it took Ben decades to get over losing Isabella when she was banished, so don’t feel guilty for thinking of Caleb. If anyone understands what you’re going through it’s the one person you’re afraid it will get to. Ben isn’t going to hold anything against you, especially. The last thing he wants is to lose you too. He isn’t going to let something like compromise anything. None of us are. Before you moved here, Ben was a cranky creature filled with resentment and hatred. He was miserable. Whether he its it or not. If he fucks this up, he’ll have nothing, and he knows it. You’re everything to him. You’re good for him. He may not show it as much as he should, but he needs you. He just has issues with giving his all. He’s very protective of himself. Old habits die hard. All the other girls that were in and out of his life were nothing compared to you. He never even liked any of ’em. Most he couldn’t have cared less about. That being said, you shouldn’t worry about anything. You don’t have to worry about being judged in this house. We all have

our issues. We may appear perfect, but we’re not. You’ll learn that. Once you’re like us, it’ll be easier. can promise you that. It’s unlike anything humanly possible, obviously. Don’t be afraid of it. It may be the most painful thing you’ll experience, but when it’s over, it’s worth the effort. Trust. So just do your thing and let fate take over your worries. It’s a waste of energy, considering you can use all the you can get.” Her speech from the heart found its way into my head and permanently implanted itself in my brain. Each word haunted me like a drunken regret, affecting me a lot more than I’ll let it be known. “Words from the wise,” I chuckled to myself. “Ya know, if I wasn’t being haunted for the time in my life, I think it would be a lot easier to get Caleb out of my head, so I could focus on what is in front of me. But it’s like I can feel him with me all the time, watching my every move. The only time I can’t feel him is when I’m with Ben, intimately. Or anything intimately related. And also whenever I’m outside, it’s like I feel him. It’s like he’s further away or something. It makes it very difficult to get over it when I know a part of him never fucking left. And apparently doesn’t plan to anytime soon. I think he’s haunting my brother too. He’s been doing things he wouldn’t ordinarily think to do. But because I’ve never told him about what’s happened to me, he hasn’t said anything to me, but I can see it in him when he looks at me. Almost like he wants to tell me, but he doesn’t want me to think he’s crazy or completely flip out on him, I don’t know. My entire life has done a complete somersault in the past few months, and it’s been really hard to adjust to it all. If it wasn’t for Ben, I probably would have lost my mind by now. He it out for me, reminding me that my life isn’t over. Not yet anyway… I seriously believe that if he didn’t exist I would be royally fucked for the rest of my life in every aspect. It’s kind of pathetic, but I don’t even care. I was convinced long before I even itted it to myself. There was something about him the first time I saw him, something that there’s no words for. I couldn’t even begin to try to explain it. Irresistible is the best way to put it, I guess. Like a drug I couldn’t get enough of. Metaphorically,” I replied honestly for once. Saying it out loud seemed to make it easier to wrap my head around it. Vanessa was beyond fascinated. I think there’s something about a human’s perspective that interests them. Something about seeing it from a lower mind, I assumed. I’d figure it out soon enough.

It was hard for her to hide the fact that she was overjoyed to hear me speak of Ben in a nonterrifying manner. Apparently, the fact that I wasn’t running for my life was a good sign. Misery loves company. We’re proof of that. Vanessa lay with me in the living room in the meantime, watching TV. She wasn’t as amused by it as Ben. She found it more “Offensive.” Apparently the privilege to kill people is strictly bound to the supernatural. She was quiet amusing to listen too. She has very defined opinions of the world. Six months ago I never would have thought I would be entertained by watching Showtime with a vampire. I probably would have itted. It wasn’t long before Ben and Chelsea returned. They appeared out of thin air in the entryway, only to reappear on either side of us in the same moment. Neither one of them looked very impressed, but considering they were still among the living, it couldn’t have been too terrible. “I see Mel didn’t eat your heart out,” Vanessa spoke under her breath to Ben. His eyes boiled a pitch shade of black at her, clearly not impressed with her choice of words. Chelsea sighed in frustration at the two of them. “It’s not your business, Vanessa. Watch your mouth,” she insisted. Being Vanessa’s maker, she was bound to obey. She wasn’t too enthused, rolling her eyes before she stormed away so quickly that to me it was as if she had disappeared into thin air. Ben’s phone started going off in his pocket, irritating him even more. His eyes became more terrifying by the second as they continued to boil a solid black, all of his issues now catching up with him. What wonderful timing. Apparently, life’s need to turn around and kick you in the ass even finds its way to the. He ignored the call, dropping the phone aggressively on the stand beside him, focusing fully on me. He stood absolutely still, staring at me for a moment, his eyes slowly making their way back to their usual bright shade of blood red. In a normal pace, he moved closer to me, gently laying me down as he positioned himself over me, his lips instantly finding mine. Every single fiber in my body went completely numb, overly infatuated with

him. Every thought in my head vanished, leaving room for nothing but inappropriate thoughts. Luckily for Stefan, he was too far away to be tortured by it. Unfortunately for us, Chelsea wasn’t. She reappeared behind us soon after. Her expression was damn near impossible to read. I couldn’t tell if she was unimpressed or amused by our obvious obsession with one another. Until she spoke. “That’s incredible.” She breathed. “How do you do that?” “Not eat her I mean,” she added when she realized how it had originally sounded. Ben slowly glared at her, naturally uncomfortable with her question. “What kind of question is that?” he sneered quietly through his teeth at her. I chuckled to myself, very amused. “Are you fucking serious? That’s a perfectly good question. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean you can’t answer it. It isn’t very often I see a vampire intimately with a human without the intent of draining them. And by often, I mean never. I’d like to know how in hell you do it. Considering I just risked my existence for you I’d say the least you could do is suck it up and tell me,” she replied bluntly, irritating him some more. But respectfully, he listened even though he didn’t have to. He looked down at me for a brief moment before looking back at Chelsea. “She’s more important than my thirst,” he stated simply with a hint of his usual attitude. Chelsea continued to eye him suspiciously for a moment before responding. Ben, of course, glared back at her. Unimpressed was starting to become an understatement. “Good thing you won’t have to fight it much longer,” she eventually replied, flashing a taunting smile at Ben as she made her way out of the room. His eyes quickly turned back to a dark, terrifying black. “I’ll be right back,” he stated anxiously before quickly kissing me and disappearing. That I was used to.

Disappearing in tense situations is a frequent habit of Ben’s. I quickly jumped to my feet, making my way upstairs. It couldn’t have been more than five minutes before Ben reappeared. Suddenly back to normal. “Once we get through this, we only have thirty days to change you… I’m out of the agency until then. It was either that or lie and risk getting us destroyed. Considering, it could’ve gone worse,” he informed me without any more hesitation. “Okay.” I shrugged, refocusing on my task at hand, sketching on my iPad. Even though I wasn’t looking at him, I could still feel his eyes staring at me curiously. He flashed closer. “That’s seriously all you have to say?” he asked, not buying it. “What else do you want me to say?” I replied, refocusing on him. “I want you tell me how you really feel about it,” he insisted. I sighed. “I really doubt you want to hear how I feel about it,” I warned. “Amuse me.” I rolled my eyes at him over this conversation. “It’s not a big deal for me,” I now insisted. He slowly moved his way closer to me until he was close enough to gently cradle my head in his hands, locking eye . “love you,” he reminded me in a whisper. “love you too. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t,” I replied, my lips finding his. I slowly crawled on top of him while I continued to kiss him. Neither one of us had the intent to keep our hands to ourselves much longer. We had already missed half the day; we had some making up to do, continuously reminding me of some of the many reasons why I’m so into him. Nobody was brave enough to bother us either. We didn’t hear from anyone the

rest of the night. Apparently, they knew better. We needed that time.

Chapter 11

The Other Side

Weeks 2-3

B y the end of the first week, every immortal that came within three miles of me knew exactly what was happening. They could hear it, the demon heartbeat. If they were to call it fascinating, they would be underestimating it. With their hearing, the sound of the tiny excessive vampire heart was unlike anything any of them had ever heard before. By the end of week two, it was becoming much more real for me, physically. Morphine was becoming a frequent part of my diet. If it wasn’t for everything I’ve ever gone through, I don’t think I would have been strong enough to handle it. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. If that’s true, by the time this is over I’ll be unbreakable. Technically when this is over, I have thirty days to actually be unbreakable. Or the leaders of the immortal world will destroy both of us and Chelsea. We can’t let that happen. Honestly, I’m glad they gave us a deadline. It leaves no room for any more procrastination. I’m over my human existence, over the pain and loss. I was ready to be reborn. But my child wasn’t. Not yet. I had a lot more suffering to go through before that could happen.

By week three, I was starting to look pregnant. It was equivalent to a human fetus at fifteen weeks; each week I make it through is like five human weeks. With still three to five weeks left, it didn’t make it much easier. Not when I spend my days miserable and my nights unconscious in order to provide me with some rest. If I try on my own, I end up in tears. Ben prefers the easiest way to keep me comfortable, no matter what it is. He feels guilty enough as it is for putting me through it. Witnessing me suffer is hard for him, which makes it even harder for him to underexaggerate his feelings for me. He usually takes it out on Stefan. Poor Stefan. My days usually consist of lying in front of the flat screen in the bedroom, doped up on morphine, but today had been different. I hadn’t Sara since my birthday. I made it a point to call her every day so she knew I was still alive, but with her working every day there wasn’t much time to see each other. So when she showed up unannounced, I was surprised. I made my way downstairs as quickly as I possibly could without making myself sick. The look on her face when she saw me told me she had been expecting the worst. She was relieved to see I was still functional—for the most part anyway. But I could also see there was something very wrong. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, a clear sign of recent tears. “What’d he do?” was the first thing I asked her. She exhaled slowly, looking around her. “Who’s here?” she asked under her breath. “Just Ben and Marcus,” I said. She nodded. “I need to tell you something… About me and your brother… ,” she insisted, letting another tear fall. I cussed under my breath. I was already mad at Jon, and I didn’t even know the issue yet. I took her hand into mine and walked her to the back door. It was pouring buckets outside, so we sat on the steps under the balcony that come off of Marcus and Chelsea’s room upstairs. The cool air felt good on my constant feverish skin. But not as good as Ben’s ice-cold skin felt on my constant feverish skin. He comes in handy pretty often when the fever gets high—my personal ice pack.

“First of all, I hate you for still looking beautiful when you’re living on the edge of death. Your parents made some stunning kids. ’d my mother have ta be a whore?” she complained like her usual jealous self. The fact that she was jealous of me annoyed me. But I brushed it off, focusing on the issue at hand. “Right, uh, so what’s up with you and Jon?” I asked, getting right to the point. The last thing I wanted was to hear about Jon, but considering she came all the way out here after not seeing her for over a week, it was clear to me that it was important enough to put my irritation with Jon aside long enough to be there for her. She sighed. More tears slowly made their way down her cheek. Her eyes locked onto mine as she slowly exhaled, attempting to calm her nerves. “I fucked up,” she stated. “I never let anyone close enough to me to allow this to happen. I don’t know what to do. I didn’t want this. I can’t do this. I can’t even bring myself to tell him.” She continued to sob. I gently wrapped my arms around her, providing her with a shoulder to cry on. Given her choice of words, I still had no idea what she was talking about it. But I knew whatever it was, I would be having a few choice words of my own for Jon. “What happened, babe?” I whispered, consoling her. She sucked up her sobs for a moment in order to respond. “I’m pregnant too,” she informed me. “And I know Jon well enough to know that he’s gonna hate me!” she added, crying harder. I froze, completely stunned. I wasn’t expecting that. “Oh my god…” I breathed. “again!” I whined to myself, dropping my head into my hands. “Where is he?” I asked aggressively but quietly. “At the new ELG,” she replied between sobs. “He won’t be home until around ten tonight,” she added. It was quiet for a moment or two while I thought about what I was going to do about this. I couldn’t let Sara go through this alone. And I didn’t blame her for being terrified of telling Jon. I knew how he would react too. That’s why I planned on taking over the responsibility. Given my recent experience with the task, it was the least I could do. Considering it was about the only thing I could do.

“I’ll handle Jon,” I insisted. “You focus on yourself. Don’t let him get to you. He doesn’t deserve your tears. He’s a promiscuous son of a bitch. And he’s good at it. You’re way too good for him. You can’t let him hurt you. I’m in condition to kick his ass. But I will talk to him tonight. I won’t let him turn his back on you. ‘Kay?” She nodded as she wiped away a tear. I slowly stood to my feet, becoming uncomfortable from sitting in the same spot too long. Sucking it up to the best of my ability, I walked with Sara back into the house out of the rain. Marcus was sitting directly to our right at the table in the dining room. Used mostly for coven discussions and extracurricular activities. He stared at his laptop, deep in thought until our presence caught his attention. Before we even moved, he flashed to us, me in particular, which startled Sara. She cursed under her breath, causing Marcus to chuckle softly to himself. It isn’t very often that any of us sees Marcus laugh. He’s a very serious individual. It surprised me. “How are you doing today?” he asked informatively. “Better than yesterday.” I shrugged “What happened yesterday?” Sara was quick to ask. I rolled my eyes at her. “Nothing important, don’t worry about it,” I insisted for her sake. She sighed, unimpressed. I refocused on Marcus. “An old colleague of mine is coming today to see you. She’s practiced this sort of thing for decades. She’ll assist me with keeping both of you safe until it’s over. She’s a very close friend of mine and has been since before either of us was put in the supernatural world. You can trust her… wouldn’t allow it otherwise,” he informed me. I chuckled to myself at his need to remind me that Ben wouldn’t ever let anyone near me that would be a threat in any way, like I didn’t know that already. “‘Kay,” I replied simply. “Where is Ben? I need his assistance,” I added. My fever was starting to get to me. I felt like I was on fire. “He’s in my office speaking with Eric from the agency. He should be finished any minute,” Marcus replied. That wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear. I sighed, borderline delusional.

I didn’t have to tell Marcus what the problem was; he could see it. “I’ll help while you wait for Ben,” he whispered as he placed his ice-cold hand on my burning forehead, easing the pain. He walked me into the living room, keeping both of his hands on my skin. Sara followed closely behind me. She sat at my feet as I lay on the couch with my head in Marcus’s lap. I closed my eyes, letting the ease sooth me into a sleep. It was quiet for a while. I heard nothing but natural sounds as I drifted in and out of consciousness until I heard Sara’s voice. “Why’s she so hot?” she asked Marcus in a whisper. “It’s her body’s way of fighting off the anomalies,” he replied. “But because the anomalies are only getting stronger, we have to keep her cool in order to keep her from overheating. The fever will only continue to get worse the further we get,” he explained. Before Sara responded, I felt the air shift from Ben’s sudden presence. In the same moment, Marcus and Ben traded places. In the same moment, Ben positioned me on top of him, my upper body exposed to his, cooling me down the way he always does. His ice-cold hands caressed my back, cooling that half too. It didn’t take very long for my temperature to drop back down to a nonthreatening number, enough to make me functional anyway. I nudged Sara, who was still sitting under my feet. “ when you were seeing Dan? And every weekend you talked me into dropping everything I was doing to rescue you? Making me the bad guy. You do realize that since Jon’s my brother, stepping in once again isn’t going to go as simply as it used to. Dan was smart. Jon’s arrogant. He’ll take it out on you. Not me,” I said, expressing what I had gathered once my head was clear enough to make rational decisions. Still wrapped in Ben’s arms, I couldn’t see her, but her silence gave away her expression. I knew her well enough to predict her reactions, obviously. “I’m still gonna talk to him. I’m just tellin’ you it might end badly. I know Jon better than I know anyone, including you. He’s not exactly commitment friendly. Apparently Eddie was more worried about teaching Caleb how to treat women rather than Jon, the one he was legally obligated to raise. He’s even more

damaged than I am. And that says a lot,” I added, explaining to a fuller extent. She grunted at me. “According to Jon, Caleb needed Eddie more than he did, so he says the fact that he spent more time with him doesn’t bother him, but I think the fact that he’s denying that it bothered him, even now, is a majority of the problem. Especially with him spending most of his free time picking apart those fucking DVDs. It drives me crazy! He’s obsessed! You need to do more than talk to him—you need to snap him the fuck out of it,” she insisted. Her words surprised me. I hadn’t realized she was so in tune with him. “I will,” I promised. “We’ll get rid of the box too. I don’t want ’em anyway. And considering they’re mine, Jon can go to hell if he has a problem with it,” I added. Sara furrowed her eyebrows at me, now being the one to be surprised. “You don’t want them? Are you crazy? It’s all you have anymore. You got rid of everything else already. You’ll regret it,” she replied, pushing a button that shouldn’t ever be pushed. I glared at her while I thought of a way to respond without offending her. “It’s my problem, not yours,” I reminded her. She wasn’t stupid. She took one look at me and knew I wasn’t impressed with her opinion. She didn’t say another thing about it. I stood to my feet, annoyed with doing nothing. I wasn’t used to no responsibilities. I looked at Ben for the first time since this conversation had started. His blood-red eyes glittered at me, too preoccupied with eye fucking me than mine and Sara’s drama. Naturally, I couldn’t help but smirk at him. It was impossible not to when he looks at me like that or any way for that matter. He’s way too attractive to not be fond of with his flirtatious gestures. I practically fed off of them. Sara found it repulsive, rolling her eyes at us in disgust, which only egged us on. I slowly climbed on top of him, moving seductively. It was irritating Sara while becoming irresistible to Ben. His hands caressed every inch of me, unable to keep them to himself. So much in fact that he was also unable to keep his fangs hidden. I was used to it. They also become exposed whenever close to me. He can’t help

it. I don’t mind; it’s a hell of a turn-on. Sara, on the other hand, had never seen them before that moment. To say she was surprised would be an understatement. She looked more as if she feared for my life. I laughed at her. “Relax, Buffy, if he was going to kill me he would’ve before you even noticed,” I insisted with a taunting tone, amusing myself. She rolled her eyes at me, irritated with my lack of fear. To her I was naive. What she didn’t see was that it wasn’t my lack of fear; it was the extent of my trust in him, my faith in his feelings for me overpowering his instincts to eat me. And they did, obviously. Or I would have been dead weeks ago. Ben flashed both of us to our feet. His arms stayed wrapped around me, tightly holding me against him. “Chelsea’s back with Tanya. When she’s done we’ll go in town to see your brother and whatever else you feel the need to do. I’ll have Chelsea keep Sara company,” he whispered low enough that Sara didn’t hear a word of it. I nodded in response. No sooner did I hear the two of them come through the front door. They appeared in the entryway of the living room in the same moment, along with Marcus just on the other side of Ben. “Tanya.” He nodded at her. “Marcus!” she cheered as she flashed to him, wrapping her arms around him anxiously. “It’s good to see your face,” she added as she slowly let go of him. “I wish you were here under well circumstances. But Benjamin apparently can’t keep his hands to himself around this one, which in result has put her life in danger, and we can’t lose her. She’s a keeper,” he replied with a hint of humor to keep the conversation comfortable for all sides. Thank the damned. She smiled at me. “I can see why. Ben, you always did have an extraordinary taste in women. I must say I’m glad to see it end with perfection,” she made a point to say. “She’s very important to me,” Ben also made a point to say aggressively in response. She took a step closer to him. “I won’t let anything happen to her,” she insisted. Her eyes locked onto his. He stared at her for a moment. Reading her, I

assumed. Marcus stepped in. “Let’s go upstairs. Get this over with so you can go do whatever it is you two need to deal with in town,” he insisted, moving this along. Tanya nodded anxiously, following Marcus upstairs like a little puppy dog. Ben’s hand didn’t leave mine as we followed behind them. He always hated this part of the day and for good reason. Technically, it was his fault for letting it happen to me. But I couldn’t help but feel bad for making him feel guilty. That’s definitely not what I wanted. For safety reasons, we had temporarily turned one of the offices into what look liked a hospital exam room, except this room was nicer, of course. It was more like something famous people would have so they wouldn’t have to use public hospitals or doctor’s offices. At least we had a legitimate reason; the last place I need to be in is a real hospital and them to figure out just how extraordinary my pregnancy is. It’s a good thing Marcus has spent most of his existence as a doctor in both worlds. How he manages it, none of us know, but it’s what he does. He’s a healer. It’s only natural for him. With Tanya added to the equation, my chances of survival doubled. This is her exact area of expertise, one of the only in the world. I was being taken care of by the best. If I don’t make it through this, I was never supposed to. Ben didn’t leave my side. He stayed just behind with his hand resting on my shoulder while both Marcus and Tanya went over what the past couple of weeks has done and what they should do. With Tanya now here, we were now able to do the appropriate tests to figure out exactly what we’re dealing with. “This may be a little uncomfortable for a moment. It might be easier for you to focus on something else. Something that soothes you,” she warned. Without the need to think about it, my hand found Ben’s free hand, soothing myself with his presence. Tanya seems surprised, obviously never seeing an interspecies relationship before. She kind of looked at Ben like she didn’t recognize him. From what I’ve heard, I’m sure him committing to anything is a shock enough; my being human

and pregnant makes it abnormal and, of course, against all the rules, which are probably what makes it so thrilling for us. We don’t expect anyone else to understand it. My eyes stayed glued on Ben while Tanya inserted a giant needle into my quickly growing abdomen. It felt as if my insides were being squeezed by the hands of an immortal. Thankfully, it only lasted fifteen seconds or so. One of the best things about vampires is that they’re very quick minded. They don’t waste a second of time. Each second perfected. They’re incredible to watch. I’d ire them while I could. Because once I’m one of them, it’ll just be normal to me too. Once Marcus gave me my last dose of morphine for the day, I was free to go. Ben and I went to the bedroom to grab a couple of things before we went back downstairs to go in town with Sara. I was expecting her to be leaping out the door, ready to go at the sight of our return after spending ten minutes alone with Chelsea, but to my surprise she was pretty content, considering her surroundings. She doesn’t take as easily to the supernatural world as me. If I wasn’t mistaken, she almost appeared disappointed that we were leaving already. “I take it you’ll live another day?” she asked sarcastically as she stood to her feet. I rolled my eyes at her. “Oh, you’re just full of ’em today, aren’t you?” I replied. She flashed a fake wide smile at me before making her way to the front door. “I still think she’s in love with you… ,” Ben whispered before we followed her. Chelsea chuckled quietly to herself from the couch, clearly very amused by Ben’s assumption. “She doesn’t know what she wants,” I replied under my breath, more so thinking aloud than responding directly. Ben now chuckled. “She’s definitely a very confused person,” he agreed. “Can you blame her? Being stuck in the rut of my life all these years,” I added.

“Nope,” he agreed again. I then brought myself to finally follow her out the door. I wasn’t exactly enthused about this plan of mine. “We’ll be back by the new day. Have Marcus call me when they’re done,” Ben said to Chelsea before following me. Outside, it had finally stopped raining. But the air was still moist and chilly, the complete opposite of what it felt like after it rained in Florida. It felt nice. Even if I did miss the Florida air, I don’t think I could ever bring myself to ever go back there after spending so much time in the mountains, which were beyond beautiful by the way. As Ben came up behind me, in a normal pace for once, he cradled the keys into my hand. “You drive. I gotta make a few phone calls on the way,” he insisted, getting into the enger’s seat without pause. I did pause, but only for a moment. “Okaaay.” I breathed as I started to make my way to the driver’s side. He was already on the phone by the time I got in the car. Of course he was speaking Italian, so I only understood like every other word. But to his knowledge, I didn’t understand him at all. That’s not why he was speaking Italian though. It wasn’t to deice his conversation; it was because the people he was talking to don’t speak English unless they have to. It would be insulting to them if Ben were to speak to them in English. Royal vampires and their morals, it’s ridiculous. Sara followed closely behind us as we drove the fifteen-minute drive down the mountain and into the middle of town to the apartment. Ben had made about six different phone calls on the way. From what I caught out of it, Ben was covering for Stefan. He seemed to be getting him out of commission for the time being too. Ben apparently didn’t like the idea of Stefan doing the jobs without him, for Stefan’s safety. You don’t want just anyone standing next to you when you do what they do every day. Once we got to the apartment, he put the phone calls on hold. As we made our way up the stairs, I called Jon. “I’m at the apartment with Sara. I need to talk to you. It’s not about me this time.

I’d appreciate it if you didn’t procrastinate. I don’t want to be here all night,” I insisted. “Fine, I’ll have Jimmy close up. I’ll be there in an hour,” he agreed. I paused in my tracks. “Jimmy? Slauts?” “Ya… Eddie transferred him here.” “What’d you do to piss off Eddie enough for him to torture you with managing him!” “He wanted someone he could trust, so he picked the only person he trusts that I can’t stand.” “Lucky you.” “No shit… See you ina few.” “Hurry up!” I sighed. “He’ll be here in an hour,” I warned Sara as we walked through the door. “Great,” she whined. I went straight for my closet to get the box. Sara, of course, opposed the idea so she followed me closely to try to change my mind at the last minute but needed to build up her courage to stop me until then. As I opened the box, Ben looked surprised to see the amount of DVDs that we had been speaking about. “What is it exactly you plan on doing with them?” he asked curiously. I shrugged. “I don’t know. Destroy most of them. Send the rest back to Caleb’s mother or Eddie,” I replied. My words seemed to ease Sara’s worry, but Ben didn’t exactly know the extent of the contents of most of them, so he didn’t get what the big deal was. It was obvious in his expression. He looked at Sara, reading her to see it further. As I started to take out all the DVDs with a black star on the front, it was as if a light came on in his head. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” he asked rhetorically, laughing to himself at the

thought. There was no way that moment could have gone any awkwarder. Holding back my response, I continued pulling out the DVDs up for execution, continuing to make the pile bigger and bigger. Of course that made Ben even more amused by the second. I really didn’t want him to see this. I’ve avoided it since Eddie brought me the box. But I didn’t have time to do this without him figuring it out. “I’m startin’ to like the way this kid thinks,” Ben continued to chuckle to himself. “Of course you do.” I flashed a sarcastic smile at him, fighting a smirk, silently saying all we needed to say as we glared at each other seductively. “Who didn’t? Oh, right—me! He was a jerk,” Sara muttered. I laughed. “Only to you… And his mother,” I reminded her. She rolled her eyes at me, seeing it differently. “I couldn’t imagine why… ,” Ben said sarcastically, already seeing exactly why Caleb couldn’t stand her. Sara glared at him with hatred before her eyes then found their way back to mine. “It’s only because I always tried to talk you into leaving him,” she made a point to say, responding to Ben while speaking to me. I raised my eyebrows at her. “That got you real far!” I said sarcastically, chuckling to myself. “Besides, I hated his friends for doing the same thing too. It is what it is. People get jealous. There’s not much you can do about it except deal with them. Being rude just comes natural eventually,” I added. She was very unimpressed with my response. For some reason, Ben was amused by it. It didn’t make any sense to me how someone could find the one you love’s old love life amusing. But it wasn’t important enough to think too much into it. I have to pick my battles. “For one thing, Trey and Bret are fucking idiots, and even Caleb hated ’em most of the time. That’s totally different. They wanted Caleb to get over you so they could try to fuck you. I wanted you to get over him because you were with him about fifteen years too long! It was time for you to move on. Don’t tell me otherwise because you know it’s true. You said so yourself when you broke up with him for a few weeks junior year. did you forget?” Sara’s sarcasm was

starting to annoy me. Her words made me tense, furious really. Her view of my life was twisted and backward. It angered me. “No. I didn’t forget,” I sneered. “How the fuck could I forget? Or did you forget what happened during those three weeks that tainted our relationship every day since? Thanks for the reminder, that’s real nice of you!” She became stiff and her eyes widened at me. She had forgotten. But that didn’t make it any easier. It only makes it harder with him now dead. Those were three wasted weeks of my life with him. I fought myself from getting angrier. If I get too worked up, I could get myself hurt. I’d never hear the end of it. I sighed, letting out my aggression. “It doesn’t even matter. I’m done with this conversation. It’s irrelevant to anything.” I spoke as calmly as I could bring myself to. I grabbed the two stacks of doomed DVDs and started making my way into the other room. I set the stacks on the counter while I went into Jon’s room to search for the missing one. It didn’t take me long to find it. As I slowly made my way back into the other room, I stared at the DVD in my hand, debating. It was the security footage from the night of the invasion. Ben and Sara were both leaning on the counter across from each other. Sara eyed Ben like he was a serious problem. It really bothered me. I had enough of her hating on my boyfriends. I nudged her arm hard. “Knock it off. It doesn’t matter what you think of him.” “Yes, I know. Just like it doesn’t matter what you think of me being with your brother. That’s not the point. It’s not that I don’t want you to be with him. Of course I do, even before you got knocked up. He may be a dangerous, ruthless killer. he’s good-looking enough to ignore all of that. And he obviously cares about you. That’s good enough for me. I just don’t want things to go back to the way they were when you were with Caleb,” she replied, surprising me. When the shock wore off after a couple of seconds, I looked over at Ben, who looked just as surprised. “Try staying out of my relationship where you don’t belong this time, and that won’t happen,” I said in the least rude way I could. She must have caught onto that because she didn’t seem too offended.

She slid closer to me until our elbows touched. “You’re all I have. So you mean a lot to me, so whether you’re happy or not means a lot to me. And if the mysterious and dangerous type is what does it for you then I’m not going to stop you. wouldn’t want you to stop me. Don’t worry about me. If you had anyone to worry about, it would be Eddie,” she replied. She seemed to mean it. And considering I was over this conversation ten minutes ago, I wasn’t about to push it further. I had more important things to focus on. I pulled the shredder out from the cabinet in front of me and placed it on the counter. Each of us paused for a moment. Until I picked up the first DVD and put it through the shredder. Then the three of us continued to shred the rest of them together silently. When the first stack was gone, there was one DVD left on the counter. I stared at it, still debating. I couldn’t bring myself to shred it. But I also couldn’t stand the thought of it still existing. I looked at Sara, and then over at Ben, waiting for one of them to tell me what I should do. I wasn’t stable enough for that decision. The sex tapes were the one thing that should have been destroyed a long time ago, that was easy. “If you have to think about it, you shouldn’t destroy it… ,” Ben suggested. It took me a moment to decide whether I should listen to him or not. Until I realized I was stupid for even needing to think about it. I nodded. “You’re right” Then I handed the box to Sara. “Give ’em to Jon,” I insisted. Then I shredded the last DVD, just in time too. I could hear Jon coming up the stairs. It immediately made me nervous about him freaking out at the sight of me. With it happening so quickly, it can be a lot to take in at first. Already being visibly pregnant would now make it more real for him. I wasn’t sure what to expect out of him… By the time he came through the front door, Ben had taken Sara to the back storm room, excluding her from the apartment so I could do what I came here to do without the awkwardness of her presence.

Jon paused immediately at the sight of me. I leaned on the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room, crossing my arms over my chest as I stared back at him. Making it very clear up front that I was not impressed. He got it. “What is it, Gabs? What’s so important?” He sighed. Just as ready to get to the point as I was. “It’s Sara,” I stated. “She’s terrified of you. She came to me today in tears asking for my help. She couldn’t bring herself to tell you something in fear you’ll just turn your back on her like you always do whenever you’re put in a hard spot. So I promised her I’d talk to you about it before she has to face you. She’s a mess because of you already… ,” I informed him bluntly. He became tense, stepping closer to me. “What the fuck are you talkin’ about?” he sneered. “Why would she be terrified? She’s not the fuckin’ fangbanger,” he added. God forbid we have a conversation without him bringing my sex life into it. I stared at him for a moment before responding, trying to think of a way to say it without it hitting him too hard, but unfortunately just like when it was me I was talking about, I couldn’t come up with anything. There really is only one way to say it. “She’s pregnant,” I informed him, just like that. “And she’s scared. Plus worrying about your reaction. She needs you, and she couldn’t even bring herself to you. She came to me instead… I’m not going to let you ruin her,” I added. He didn’t speak. He didn’t even move. I wasn’t even sure if he was breathing. Until he slowly started stepping backward until he reach the counter. He placed his hand on his chest and leaned on the counter with the other, exhaling slowly. I stepped closer to him, now worried about his well-being. “I can’t help if I don’t know what you’re thinking,” I whispered. “Talk to,” I insisted. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, continuing to try to catch his breath. “It’s the worst feeling ever… ,” he muttered. “Knowing that you’re such a disgrace that someone you love can’t even come to you with something as

important as that… if I’m really that untrustworthy, how am I supposed to be a father?” he stated, actually expressing himself to me for the first time in a long time. I rested my hand on his shoulder. “Nobody’s ever ready to be a parent… Luckily for you, you have a while to get it together. Sara isn’t Maxi. All you gotta do is put in the effort. For some reason she cares about you, and considering she came to me first tells me that the last thing she wants is to lose you. In order to make it work, you have to talk to her. As of right now, the way she sees it, you’ll be on a plane back to Florida by the end of the night. You have to prove her wrong,” I explained to him from a female’s point of view. He nodded slowly as he thought about it. “Where is she?” he asked quietly. “Outside with Ben,” I whispered, nodding toward the back door. He looked back hesitantly. “Just do it, Jon,” I encouraged him. After a quiet couple of seconds, he slowly started making his way toward the door. In the same moment Ben appeared on our side of the door so quickly it was like he had walked right through it. He was at my side within the second. His hand rested on the small of my back. “Let’s get you home… ,” he whispered, gently kissing my forehead. I placed my hand in his, agreeing with his suggestion. After this drama-filled day, I was exhausted all on my own. I didn’t want to spend another moment here. Not while Jon and Sara are having that conversation. I was clearly a little more than exhausted, considering during the fifteen-minute drive, I slept during ten of them. As I walked into the house half asleep, leaning on Ben, Marcus met us at the door. “I need to talk to you once you get a minute,” he whispered to Ben, which meant whatever he has to say would upset me. That wasn’t a good sign. The fact that Ben became tense proved it. But he didn’t seem surprised, telling me that he was already partly informed… He practically carried me up the stairs and into the bedroom. Once I changed and crawled into bed, he gave me a kiss before he disappeared to talk to Marcus. Even with all the curiosity that should’ve kept me awake, I was still exhausted enough to out only minutes after lying down. Unfortunately, tonight wasn’t any different than any other; I woke myself up in agony, sweating. I felt as if I had been torn apart and thrown into a fire. was

ironic considering that’s how vampires destroy each other. I could feel Ben’s cold hands on either side of my waist, attempting to calm me. But I was in too much pain. If I stopped squirming I’d inflict more pain on myself. “We can’t make it stop if you can’t stop moving!” I heard Ben say, even more desperate to make it stop than I was. Every second I was in pain, Ben felt guiltier about being the cause of it all. So for his sake, I forced every fiber in my body to calm long enough. After a couple of seconds, I was out. The pain was gone. And I was able to rest comfortably for the rest of the night. But before drifting to the other side of consciousness, I overheard Ben and Marcus speaking under their breath to each other. “You’re one of the strongest vampires in existence, Benjamin. This is only going to get worse. Now that we know it’s mostly like you, we’re going to have to do something different before more damage is done. It’s already much stronger than the others were at this stage. We might be better off keeping her sedated as much as we can to gain as much control as we can get. It may be the best shot she has,” Marcus spoke to Ben. I heard him curse under his breath. Then it was silent for a few seconds. The next thing I was Ben coming into the room, lying with me, keeping me cool. The only part that mattered was the three of us. Nothing was going to stop me from keeping it all. Not now, and not ever. After everything I’ve lived through, I wasn’t about to let it all end now. Quitting was not an option.

Chapter 12

The Darkness

Weeks 4-6

H aving to spend every waking moment either in bed or on the couch was nothing I was used to mentally. In order to keep myself from losing my mind, I spent most of my time working while I was still capable to do so. It wasn’t an easy task to accomplish with my huge pregnant abdomen in the way. It was getting bigger by the day. Eddie had caught wind of just how dangerous my days are and started calling me twice a day, every day. I assumed it got out when Eddie was taring Jon apart when he told him Sara’s pregnant too with his baby. I heard an earful for that one. Each day I make it through, the more in tune with my senses I became. It’s like we’re sharing senses. By the end of the fourth week, I could hear the entire house. That wasn’t all I could hear. On the very last day of the fourth week, I was sitting downstairs, sick of the bedroom. I had been working on a sketch on my iPad. Ben sat in the chair that was set in an angle facing me. Across from him, Stefan laid in the chair sideways, texting with his thumbs so fast that I’m surprised we couldn’t see smoke. There’s only one person Stefan takes the time to text—Jae. Each of us were too focused with whatever we were doing that I almost didn’t realize it. If Stefan hadn’t suddenly sat up, catching my attention, I probably

never would have thought anything of it, until it happened again. Stefan stared at me in a sort of awe, irritating Ben. He had no clue what was happening yet. I couldn’t help but stare back at Stefan. it was obvious that he heard it too, that let me know I wasn’t going insane. Then it happened again, much more vividly this time. I could see what he saw, hear what he heard, and I could feel what he felt. Overwhelming is an understatement. I was speechless. I couldn’t even answer Ben when he asked what the problem was. Stefan answered him, telling him everything we just heard. caught the attention of everyone else, especially Marcus. For once, I could actually hear them coming. But at the moment, that was the least I cared about. I was more interested in what he was doing. I listened carefully as I paced the floor. Meanwhile, Stefan relayed to everyone else what was being seen and heard. “He likes the sound of Gabby’s heartbeat. And the smell of her blood, in a comforting way—he wouldn’t intentionally hurt her. He loves her. He likes listening to her speak, especially if she’s speaking to Ben. He favors his voice the most. As does Gabby. He knows that. He doesn’t like it when she’s in pain, which is what makes it worse most of the time. It makes him scared for her. Now he finds it amusing that we can hear him, especially Gabby, obviously. But all this commotion is making him thirsty… it terrifies him because he knows he always ends up hurting her when he’s thirsty. He can’t help it. He doesn’t like it. He’ll be trying to make his way out sooner than not…” No one spoke, all too speechless themselves. It was a little overwhelming for all of us, Ben in particular. He stared at me in awe, almost as if he was in a trance from the shock. I knew that feeling all too well… He sat absolutely still. After pacing the floor for the last five minutes, when I’m not supposed to be up and moving at all, it made me tired enough to sit back down where I had originally been sitting. Once the shock wore off the others, they slowly started to come back too. Marcus got on the phone without hesitation, calling Tanya to fill her in, I

assumed. Vanessa went back upstairs, no longer interested. Thank God. Chelsea flashed to my side, taking a seat on the other side between Stefan and me. As soon as I sat down, I began getting hot and dehydrated. My fever started to rise by the second. Before I even said anything, Ben snapped out of his trance and assisted Chelsea with bringing me upstairs to my least favorite room in the house—the room that had been turned into my own personal exam room. It was never a good time whenever I was in here. It was always a very painful visit. If it wasn’t for Ben’s presence it’d be pretty terrifying. Ben’s ice-cold hands helped cool me while Chelsea hooked me up to an IV of water to hydrate me, followed by getting the tube ready to pump me full of blood to ease his thirst before he becomes fully thirsty and ends up hurting me beyond repair. When Marcus finally came into the room, I knew the hard part was coming, for all of us. Pumping three quarts of blood into my stomach isn’t exactly easy for anyone in this house. Marcus is the only one who can do it without the thought of killing me crossing his mind, him and Ben anyway. Ben could do it if I didn’t need him at my side to keep me calm while they stuck a six-inch tube into my abdomen. It’s better than down my throat, I guess; they knock me out for that when it’s necessary. It depends on how he’s positioned, but most of the time it goes through my abdomen. While Marcus did that, Chelsea added some more morphine to my IV, making it a little bit more comfortable than it could have been. I could hear Vanessa and Stefan downstairs bickering quietly. “No, Ness. I’ve put it off long enough. If I postpone it again, Jae’s just gonna end up. I can’t let that happen. I don’t even know why she’s still with me as it is. I can’t fuck this up. I’m marrying her in three weeks no matter what’s going on in this house. End of discussion,” Stefan insisted. Eavesdropping wasn’t something I was particularly into, but considering Stefan constantly has tabs on my thoughts I figured it was only fair that I take advantage of the ability while I had it. Once this is over, I won’t have the ability again until I’m changed.

It provided a great distraction while I was being poked and prodded at. Before I knew it, we were done, and Ben was walking me down to the end of the hallway to the bedroom. As he laid me down on my side, he laid with me. Being in his arms was almost like a natural high, forcing out all the bad. Even our unborn demon baby was calmed by the mere presence of Ben. He actually relaxed for the first time all day, finally allowing me to absorb some comfort long enough to get some natural rest for once. I only made through about half an episode of Sons of Anarchy before I fell asleep wrapped in Ben’s arms. I’ve never felt safer than while he was holding me. I knew he wouldn’t let anything in the world happen to me our unborn child. He may spend all of his time worrying about my well-being, but behind that fear, he was becoming just as attached to the cause as I instinctively was. It’s only natural. You don’t have to be human to feel for your offspring. Even Ben, the most dangerous vampire on the West Coast, knows how to love. It’s expressing it that he has trouble with, for understandable reasons. It’s hard to love something that is putting the only thing you love in danger. I couldn’t hold it against him for being skeptical. I’d be the same way if it was Ben’s existence in danger. It’s easier to protect what’s right in front of you rather than what’s coming. By the middle of the fifth week, I was starting to become nervous. Each day I made it through was a miracle. Each day I made it through got me one day closer to the end. Each day I made it through, my life got a little closer to the edge. Which meant Ben got a little crankier each day. Anger is the only way he knows to express his fear. Unfortunately for Stefan, the anger was targeted at him, for whatever reason. He took it like a champ though, understanding him. I’m sure when this is all over, Stefan will give it back to him just because. That’s the way they are; they’re brothers—they love to hate each other. No differently than Jon and I. Since Ben spent a majority of his time angry, he had to hunt more then he usually did. Especially after being so close to me most of the day. That’s when Chelsea would take over. I was starting to see a lot more of her lately, which I needed more than I had realized. She was the mother figure that I was in such desperate need for.

She held me just as gently as Ben did, soothing me just as calmly as he did, wiping away my fears as easily as he did. She was everything I needed and then some. Considering she’d soon be my maker, this bonding time was rendered necessary for both of us. Vanessa was also spending a lot of her free time trying to get closer to me. Her joyous personality was exactly what I needed at this point; being surrounded by fear and constant worry gets to your head. She leveled it out, allowing me to experience some sort of light these days. If it wasn’t for her crude jokes and hilarious insights, I might have lost my mind along the way. Meanwhile, I was getting to know Tanya. Although I only saw her once a day whenever it was time to tend to the baby, she was growing on me. I was slowly starting to trust her as much as everyone else did. Her job was to keep me alive each day. I had to respect her for that. I still had morals. I was still only human, even with my unborn child combining his senses with mine. Technically, I was just a gifted pregnant human. But because I wasn’t the only one pregnant, my days were interrupted by phone calls from Eddie, checking on me while complaining about my irresponsible brother. Somehow, I wasn’t the irresponsible one anymore. Jon won that title in Eddie’s eyes. I was just moving on with my life. Even if I don’t make it with my life, at least I wasn’t gloating on my past. That’s all Eddie was concerned about. But that didn’t stop him from planning a trip to come see us. He’d be here by the end of the weekend… We already had tactics in place for that visit, for every circumstance. What we didn’t know was that they wouldn’t be necessary. It was the fifth day of the fifth week. I was sitting with Chelsea in the living room in front of the television, nodding off from all the morphine. Chelsea’s fingers fiddled with the curls of my hair, soothing me while entertaining herself. Ben had a habit of doing it too. He was hunting at the time. After sitting the same way for twenty minutes, I shifted, easing the soreness of my left side to start on my right. As I did that, shifted too, causing me to automatically scream in agony with no control over it.

Marcus rushed to my side, assisting Chelsea in carrying me upstairs. But as they lifted me up off of the couch, he moved again, shattering my pelvis. I continued to scream in agony. The pain took over, making it impossible to stop squirming while I yelled at them to make it go away. During the two seconds it took them to carry me upstairs and set me down, continued to move, reacting to my screams. Only making it worse. But he didn’t know any better. Apparently neither did I, or I wouldn’t be in this to begin with. The things people do for love. “Someone better call Ben… ,” Marcus muttered as his hand that was resting on my chest attempted to heal the breaks. Chelsea nodded, grabbing the phone out of Marcus’s pocket so quickly I hardly saw her do it. “You need to get back here, now,” she insisted. That was all she had to say. After she set the phone down, she slowly pulled up my shirt to examine my giant abdomen. As it was revealed; she gasped. Marcus froze, now staring at it. It took all I had to lift my head to look, only to regret it. My entire abdomen was covered in black-and-blue bruises. “You’ll be all right… Both of you… ,” Marcus promised. It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself, but that didn’t matter. It’s the words that count, their direction. He must have sedated me then, because the next thing I is Ben’s voice. That was strange, considering I was unconscious. Until I realized I wasn’t hearing Ben’s voice with my own ears—he was hearing Ben’s voice and relaying it to me, keeping me in tune with my surroundings while I was knocked out. It didn’t get much more convenient than that. “What’s stopping her?” Ben spoke through his teeth. “She can’t breathe on her own… There’s too much blood in her lungs… We’re going to have to keep her sedated until it’s safe enough for both of them to take him out… that’s all I can do until it’s done,” Marcus replied. Ben cursed at the world, followed by a loud crash, ending with shattering glass. Then it was silent for what felt like forever. Unconsciousness is a strange thing. It was like being dead with a heartbeat. I couldn’t see, hear, or feel anything. But my mind kept going. I could think, dream, even hear and see his thoughts. And because he could still see, hear, and feel, it kept me up with what was going on around us, for the most part anyway.

I had no way of knowing how long I had been unconscious, but from his thoughts I knew it had to have been at least twenty-four hours. He was becoming thirsty and anxious. I could feel his angered movements, but I couldn’t feel the pain it caused. I had no way of knowing. Until he showed me. We could hear things falling to the floor, shattering, rattling, low cusses. “Someone get Jae here!” Marcus barked in an annoyed tone. That told me everything I needed to know. Caleb was here—and he wasn’t happy with what he was seeing. I just didn’t know the extent of it yet. The rattling continued, keeping his presence known. I started counting to try to keep track of time. By the time I reached one hundred and fifteen, I heard Jae. “Christ.” She breathed. “Damnit, I hate the dead!” she complained. Being a medium in this world is a little unorthodox. “She’s about a minute and a half away from death. She’s bleeding internally. You have to take him out now. They’ll be fine as long as he’s out in the next couple of minutes,” she insisted. Over the next couple of seconds, I slowly drifted into the darkness, far away from the living—or unliving, whatever you want to call it. I guess you could call it an out-of-body experience. I even felt far away, distant from my body and my loved ones. Then, in the middle of the darkness, I heard a voice, a very familiar voice. “No, you’re not dead… just temporarily…” I anxiously looked around me, looking for anything. But there was nothing but darkness. I was being consumed by it. “What the fuck!” I breathed. Confusion was taking over my distant mind. I wanted to cry. I felt lost forever. That’s when he appeared directly in front of my eyes. In the same condition he had been the night he was shot. I suddenly couldn’t breathe. I was experiencing real fear for the very first time. Caleb moved closer. His hands rested on my shoulders as if he was actually real. I wanted to scream. “I am real,” he insisted offensively, apparently as in tune with my thoughts as Stefan. Great, that’s just what I needed, I thought. “We’re just on the same side

for the moment, for the only moment in your existence. You don’t belong here, ever. You never did nor will you ever. You belong with them. They need you. You’re only here because this conversation is supposed to happen. For both of us, so I can move on too. I just needed to see that’d you’d be okay.” He pointed into the darkness. When he did so, an opening appeared. I could now see myself surrounded by black-eyed vampires. Tanya was there now, helping. They were preparing to take him out. I refocused on what was right in front of me. I slowly rested my hand on his chest, just to make sure he was really there. He was. A sigh of relief came over me so powerful that I couldn’t help but quickly wrap my arms around him. He laughed, holding me against him. I felt myself start to cry. The hardest part of losing him was that I’d never be able to see, hear, or touch him ever again. Never be able to hug or kiss him. At that moment, I could. I didn’t care what the circumstances were. I was taking advantage of it, because this time I knew ahead of time that it would be the last. “I can’t even begin to express how much I miss you,” I muttered. “I know you do… it’s okay. I miss you too. It is what it is. You have more important things to worry about now. I don’t want you to waste anymore of your tears on me, Gab. We had our time together, a long time together. I spent my entire life with you. I love you. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my life any other way even if I had known what would happen. You were my life. But it had to end eventually. It would’ve either way. Whether I’m dead or alive, you belong with Ben. Since the day you were born you belonged with him. I was just… practice. You need each other. He loves you. In ways I never could’ve. I’m okay with that. You should be too. I know you are. You love him. So you need to go back to him. Where you belong…” Tears poured from my eyes uncontrollably. This was all way too much for me to process. I felt two feet tall and helpless. “Everything I am is because of you. How am I just supposed to forget that?” “You don’t. Trying to forget makes it harder. You cherish it instead. Hold onto it. You’ve already found your other happiness, now you just have to figure out what to do with it. Then when Eddie’s gone too, you do the same thing. At least when that happens you’ll be prepared. I know these past few months have been hell for

you. You have no idea how it makes me feel to be the cause of your pain. But you’re strong, the strongest girl I ever knew. You can do it, you just have to let go of your anger at me for leaving. Please stop worrying about what was and what could have been and start feeling lucky that you had the time with me that you did. I know you already know that’s what you have to do. I’ve seen it cross your mind. So just do it because I’m not going anywhere until I know you’re over it completely. As of… now.” I followed his eyes back to the opening. Just as Caleb spoke, they were taking him out, gaining a few points. Caleb’s still a sophisticated one. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the opening, staring in awe. “He’s perfect,” another familiar voice said, except this voice was in my far, distant memory but not far enough for me to not recognize it. It caught my attention immediately. My mother now stood just on the other side of Caleb. It had been so long since I’ve seen her face that it was almost unfamiliar. But even with the fifteen-year gap between the last time I saw her, I was still drawn to her, curious. “You’re even more beautiful than I could’ve ever imagined you would be,” she said “Caleb here was lucky to have spent his entire life with you… I can’t say I was impressed to see what you two were doing when you were only thirteen, but that’s irrelevant. You are a very powerful woman, Gabriella. I never stopped watching you grow. You’ll see… Soon enough…” I stepped closer to her, again trying to prove to myself that she was really there. “You’re going to need to look after your brother in between taking care of yourself and your son. Jonathan’s going to need you soon when he has a child of his own. He’s so terrified of becoming like your father that he’s gonna end up being just like him. He needs you in order to prevent that,” she added, looking out over the opening. They were now trying to bring me back. I could feel it, the pull pulling me back to them. “Jon’s not getting out of anything. He will not be like my father, and I won’t allow it,” I promised, getting that out of the way so I could focus on Caleb one last time. “I’ll never stop loving you… No matter what you say… You mean way too much to me. I may have a new life, with new, but you’ll always be my first love. And you know what they say about first loves…”

“You never forget,” he finished the statement. “I don’t want you to forget. I just want you to cope with it in an easier way. You’re a mother now. You have to be a role model. Don’t let him catch you crying over your dead ex. Laugh instead. Do something. Just don’t cry. I can’t take it anymore. I’ve caused you way too much pain as it is. You have plenty of people that love you and would do anything to make sure you’re happy, so let them. ‘Kay? No more tears… Please,” he insisted, practically pleading with me. I could see it in his eyes how serious he was. It really was killing him all over again. I couldn’t live with that. That’d be worse than losing him all over again, which I was about to experience. I nodded at him. “‘Kay. No more tears,” I replied. “As long as you stop reminding me of your presence every time you disagree with something,” I added, making a compromise. He chuckled, knowing exactly what I was referring to. “Fine… ,” he unwillingly agreed. “Jon too… ,” I added. He sighed. “All riiight, But only because it’s better for you,” he insisted. I felt myself smile at him. He smiled back. “I’ll always love you, Gabriella. No matter what happens,” he whispered, pulling me away from the pull long enough to give me one last kiss. I felt like every ounce of me was ready to explode from satisfaction. Then he was gone. My mother was gone. I was being pulled back through the darkness. When I opened my eyes, I was back. Back in the room that’ll probably haunt me for rest of my mortal days. I could feel Ben’s hand in mine, anxiously waiting for me to regain consciousness. As I looked over at him, his pitch-black eyes that were boiling sparkled at me with relief. “I think you can go finish your hunt now… ,” I muttered, still doped up on the morphine. “After all of that, I’d prefer you didn’t eat me,” I added, causing him to chuckle quietly to himself. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m all right,” he insisted and then gently kissed my forehead. The comfort caused my eyes to close, exhausted from temporarily dying. “She’s right. You need to hunt. And she needs some real rest for the first time in weeks. She made it. She’ll be fine now, you can wake her when you get back,” Marcus insisted to Ben. It was quiet for a moment or two, but eventually I felt Ben kiss my forehead

again before he disappeared. By this point I was already half asleep, unable to control it after going six weeks without any natural sleep. Marcus was right. I needed it. Plus, after everything I had gone through in the past few minutes, I was in no condition to be awake. I desperately needed to reboot. Most of all, I needed a goddamn drink. But for now, I’d settle for a nap. One step at a time. Dead Caleb had been right. I ’m a mother now, and I need to be physically and mentally stable. I had to get my priorities straight. My most important priority was becoming a vampire. I need to be here to raise my son. The longer I’m human, the more risk there is that something will happen to me. My transformation just took a jump to the top of the to-do list…

Chapter 13

Luka Drago-Milano Row: The True Beginning

Week 1

I t’s been two days since Luka was born. It was obvious to everyone immediately how incredibly fascinating he is. He’s growing and developing at a four-day-per-day rate, which means by this time next year, he’ll be as fully grown and developed as an eighteen-year-old adult. And humans think their kids grow up too fast . . . They have no idea! Plus, with Eddie arriving in town today, everything around me felt so chaotic that I could hardly keep up with myself. I managed to do so but mostly out of pure luck. As soon as I got the call from Jon, I had to go in town to the apartment where Eddie would be waiting for me. As much as I missed him, I wasn’t looking forward to this. I didn’t have to be Chelsea to know there was an important conversation in my near future. It will consist of everything I don’t want to hear but somehow have a serious effect on me. That’s how this always goes, every time. I had Eddie’s responses perfected down to the punctuation. But just because it’ll be easy doesn’t make it any easier to live through. Before I left I was scrambling around the house to find my keys and my phone, only for Ben to find them for me in a millisecond. kind of annoyance was the

last thing I wanted at the moment. Of course that didn’t stop me from taking a very long moment to kiss him before I left. That was exactly what I needed. That gave me enough fuel to make it through the next half hour to forty-five minutes until I came back here with my other family, my human family. I hadn’t driven in weeks, so I didn’t realize it until I was speeding in town, running late, just how much I also needed the adrenaline rush of a drive. I used to feed off of it daily. I couldn’t believe how much I had missed it and hadn’t even realized it. Given the circumstances, Ben, and everyone else for that matter, would probably disapprove of me being so reckless after just making it through so much; but unfortunately for them, I didn’t care. I needed it. If anyone would understand that, it would be Ben. He knew better than to question me right now. He wasn’t about to compromise anything. I guess you could say I used that to my advantage just a little bit… After everything I went through, who wouldn’t? I kind of deserved it… The downside of driving so fast in town was that I got there a lot quicker than I had wanted to. I found myself procrastinating as I was getting out of my car. Until I yelled at myself for being ridiculous and forced myself out of the car and up the stairs. Considering I haven’t seen Sara or my brother since I told Jon Sara was pregnant, a little bit of my nervousness stemmed from them too for a variety of reasons, mostly because I wasn’t exactly sure how they were adjusting to the way my life is since Luka was born… There’s only one way to find out… I pushed myself through the doorway into the apartment. Everything in the room felt like it was frozen. Each set of eyes was locked onto mine. Eddie was leaning against the wall on the line of the kitchen and living room while Sara and Jon were sitting on the couch, sitting close enough together to be considered more than friendly. That was a good sign at least. Ironically, I never thought in a million years I would ever think that.

That took a moment to process before I did or said anything. But not before Eddie made the first move as he slowly stepped closer to me until he was close enough to wrap me in a giant Eddie hug. “Good to see you’re okay,” he whispered low enough so only I could hear, plus any vampire Ben had secretly sent to keep an eye on me. There’s always at least one. “I’m glad you’re here… ,” I responded to Eddie, forcing my mind to stay on topic for at least forty seconds. “Sure you are,” he muttered sarcastically. He took half a step back and rested his hands on my shoulders, looking directly at me. “Look, I know you think I’m going to chew you out, but I’m not,” he made a point to say. “Ya, he’s only curious about that supernatural boyfriend of yours. Apparently I failed as a brother because I couldn’t answer any of his questions. He had to wait for you,” Jon muttered aggressively, obviously angry with Eddie. I could only imagine how Eddie reacted to how uninformed Jonathan was… My fault . . . For some reason I found myself chuckling. “?” “He only knows the Hollywood version of a vampire…” Sara cleared it up some. “Oh, I get it. So everyone wants to know the truth about vampires all of a sudden? Have you been watching too much television at work again?” I replied, glaring at Eddie. He rolled his eyes at me, seeing through my sarcasm. “I think I’ve been pretty tolerant, Gabriella, considering. So you’re going to tell me everything that you know,” Eddie insisted, leaving me without a choice. he wonders why I don’t do well with authority figures… I was far from impressed with his pushiness. “Like what?” I shrugged, having absolutely no idea where to even begin. I slowly took a seat in the kitchen. Eddie followed, practically mimicking my every move. “Like how the sun doesn’t affect them or how your boyfriend hasn’t eaten you yet. Or you can start by telling me how one becomes a vampire and how they’re destroyed.” I glared at him with so much hatred I felt like my eyes would explode. “First of

all, everything you know about vampires is a lie. Hollywood’s version of a vampire will never be accurate. Real vampires would never allow it. They could become too obvious and exposed. So they make up myths and legends of the undead. Vampires were created by Satan to destroy God’s creatures. He didn’t leave any holes in the process. In order to kill a vampire, you would have to be one. Humans are in no way at all strong enough or even mentally capable of defeating a vampire. They’re strong, they’re fast, and it’s their nature to kill. The sun doesn’t affect them because that was only made up to make humans believe that they would be safe during the daylight hours. Other than that, it does nothing the human eye can see, whatever that means. And my boyfriend hasn’t eaten me because he’s disciplined, and he would never do anything to hurt me. Otherwise, I would have been dead weeks ago. Since vampires are venomous, when they eat someone, they infect them. If they’re drained dry, they’ll die. If you leave enough blood to keep them alive, they’ll become a vampire after a few hours of a very painful transformation,” I explained very unwillingly. This was the last thing I wanted to be telling about. “Is that good enough, or do you seriously expect me to just tell you everything? It’s dangerous information. I’d like to keep you out of it as much as I possibly can,” I added, making a point to say. I had expected him to object, yell, or do something. But he didn’t. He just kind of looked at me with that look, the “I’m not even going to go there right now” look. It wasn’t like him at all. For some reason he was holding back. The only time Eddie holds back is when there is something more important that could impact it in some way. I jumped to my feet. “What aren’t you telling me?” I barked, crossing my arms over my chest; playing the overdramatic niece always got him talking. “We’ll talk about that later… I’m here all week… I’m ready to meet this vampire son of yours,” he replied intriguingly. I furrowed my eyebrows at him, attempting to read him in any way at all to get a hint of what he could possibly be keeping from me. Both Sara and Jon stood with Eddie, ready to go. “Before we go anywhere, I need to warn you about a couple of things…” I sighed, receiving their full attention. “Luka’s very fascinating. But he’s also venomous. So if his eyes are black, stay clear of his teeth. He does well with me,

but he hasn’t exactly been in with any other humans, so we’re just as clueless about what could happen as you are… ,” I warned. Jon rolled his eyes with a hint of a smirk. “Great, my nephew is baby Dracula, and I gotta make sure he doesn’t fuckin’ eat me,” he muttered as we walked out the front door. I laughed. “Uh-oh! Watch out, Johnny boy, the big bad baby vampire is gonna get you!” I teased, pretending to attack him in the process. Sara and Eddie laughed hysterically as Jon attempted to escape me as we fought down the stairs. Once we reached our cars, I finally backed off of him, allowing him to breathe. Jon glared at each of us individually, especially when Sara got into my car instead of his. I watched as Eddie rolled his eyes, as if to say “poor baby” sarcastically, as he got into Jon’s car so he didn’t have a hissy fit. Surprisingly, most of the time he’s more dramatic than I am. I can’t ever recall a time that I drove with Jon without it being a race. Today wasn’t any different. Especially with Eddie here to show off to. He has an obsession with proving himself to him… I don’t. I could care less. I’m confident with my driving… that’s all that matters. With the reckless, aggressive driving, we got back in no time. I predicted an earful from the vampires for myself in danger. Vanessa was sitting on the bottom of the steps as we pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. The second thing I noticed was that there was a car missing—Ben’s. “He went to Junction City for a… uh… minute. He should be back soon,” Stefan answered my thoughts as he appeared out of nowhere, now standing over Vanessa on the step behind her. I nodded. “Okaaay.” I breathed, not having very much interest in the details. I knew what he was doing when he was gone. Knowing when and where wasn’t exactly necessary, especially when it’s exposed bluntly in front of my family. If that wasn’t an awkward moment, I don’t know what one is. Without another word to anyone, I began to make my way up the three sets of

stairs up to the house. My sidekicks followed closely behind, including my immortal ones. As we entered the house, Luka was in sight immediately. Chelsea was coddling him in her lap in the living room next to the picture window. Eddie froze instantly. Followed by Sara, then finally Jon. ’s a little slow sometimes. Chelsea flashed to her feet, appearing in front of us in the same moment, stunning everyone else some more. I’ve slowly grown used to it by this point. I had almost expected it. “He was just fed. He’ll be good for a few hours… ,” Chelsea whispered, directed at me but loud enough to comfort everyone else. Their tension decreased slightly but not enough to snap them out of their trance. I rested my hand on Eddie’s back, more concerned with him. “There’s nothing else like him. They’re all unique in their own way… He’s perfect… Good,” I whispered to only Eddie. After a long suspenseful moment, Eddie slowly exhaled, taking a step toward Chelsea and Luka. As Eddie drew closer to Luka, I could see it in his eyes. I recognized in my own, and everyone else, the fascination. Eddie gently caressed Luka’s tiny fingers with his one, feeling his cold, hard, unbreakable skin against his, staring into his tiny blood-red eyes, smiling back at his dangerous adorable smile. All of us stared. It was impossible not to. He naturally draws you in. I think it’s a vampire thing… “Here, follow me. You should see this… ,” Chelsea whispered to Eddie. Without hesitation, Eddie followed Chelsea upstairs to the office, which has become study of Luka room, consisting of everything about Luka—his growth and development charts, his milestones, and his routines. Marcus is borderline statistic obsessive. I think he’s been a little too bored the last few decades or so. This finally gives him something to study and evaluate under his own roof. It’s a blessing for all of us in our own ways. Especially Eddie, but we’ll get to that…

Once Eddie and Chelsea were out of sight with Luka, Sara and Jon finally snapped out of it. Both of them turned slowly to look at me in awe. “He’s incredible.” Sara breathed. I nodded in obvious agreement. “It’s barely even the beginning… In the next year, he’ll develop so quickly that by this time next year he’ll be just like everyone else… He’ll stay as developed as an eighteen-year-old adult male forever… Eventually the part of him that is human will die, only to make him fully immortal for the rest of his existence in eternity. I guess you could say it’s a little tortuous,” I replied. Given Sara’s current condition, I wasn’t surprised by her reaction. She was practically breathless. “I don’t even want to think about what either of our lives are going to be like a year from now… ,” she muttered under her breath, terrified for her life. Her reality check had been a little overdue. “That feeling won’t last long, Sara… I know. I had it too. It fades. It’s only a simple, expected human reaction. By this time next year, that feeling will have been replaced with something much more worth it. Trust me.” She attempted to fight a smirk. “By this time next year… There’s no way in hell I’m trusting you. I’d say that time will come a lot sooner than a year from now though… ,” she made a point to say with a hint of humor. I just couldn’t tell whether the sarcasm was real or not. Jon stepped closer to me, wrapping his arm over my shoulders. “At least Auntie Gabby will be able to keep us safe from the undead and any other supernatural being that could be roaming around these parts,” Jon whispered in a sort of comforting way, which was unexpected but greatly appreciated. It’s always a good sign when Jon at least tries to be a good brother. It lets me know his head is still in it, not lost in an alternate universe with his abnormal issues. He had intentionally whispered loud enough so that Sara was able to hear what he said to me. When she glared at him with a flirtatious, hateful look, it reminded me so much of my own relationships. I seemed to find comfort in theirs, in all of it. Right on cue to interrupt the moment, Ben appeared directly behind me to my

right. His ice-cold hands lightly caressed my hips as he held me against him from behind, startling me. “I’d enjoy being able to do that while you still can… ,” I whispered expressively, peeking back at him with a hint of seduction. Without saying a word, his lips found mine for a moment. “You’re gonna regret saying that…” He warned flirtatiously and then paused for a moment to kiss my forehead. Then he disappeared. “Probably.” I sighed, rolling my eyes at their tendency to keep everything a secret until the very last second. What I was surprised to see was Sara and Jon chuckling together. For the first time not uncomfortable from my PDA with Ben. The relief I felt was unreal, as was the rest of my existence lately.

Later that night I realized how easy it had been for Ben to hide his tension earlier. I had been sitting sideways on the couch with my laptop on my lap. He had entered the room unannounced as usual. The moment I looked up at him I knew something was wrong. I just didn’t realize yet, how long he had waited to say anything. “Now what?” I sighed aggressively. “A couple of girls were killed in town… There’s another one missing… Meaning, there’s a sloppy vampire roaming around our territory, and we have to do something about it before the town starts looking at us,” he informed me, ever so gracefully. I slowly closed my laptop, gently setting it next to me as I sat up straight, staring at Ben curiously. “Uh… Okay?” I breathed. “I need your help,” he quickly clarified. “Ha. You need my help?” I chuckled to myself, blown away by the ridiculousness of how that sounds. “What could you possibly need me for that nobody else in this house has?” I added. “Mortality,” he replied simply. I raised my eyebrows at him, slowly standing up to almost his level. As I stared up at him, he gently placed his hands on either side of my face. Showing the first sign of emotion since he appeared in the room, he smirked at me, staring back at me with the same flirtatious glare I was giving him. “We

know where he is, but he’s protected inside a building owned by a mortal. We can’t get through the door. And obviously the owners had been glamoured to not let any of us in… But you don’t need permission. We just have to get you into the house to us in… You might as well take advantage of your innocence while you still can…” His slick, unexpected comeback from earlier today caught most of my attention. In the end it’s what convinced me to agree to it, ignoring the danger. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only unfortunate event on my schedule for tomorrow. I had a lunch date with Eddie, consisting of a conversation that would taunt me for a very long time. It was a good thing I got some sleep for once that night. The one thing I wasn’t taking advantage of was living in a house full of sleepless vampires while tending to an infant. Ben usually tends to make it a point to make sure I don’t wake up in the middle of the night, but sometimes my instincts work against him. On this particular night, they didn’t. I slept amazingly. Until almost noon. That left me with an hour until I had to meet Eddie. I hadn’t been able to get ready in an hour for as long as I could . Even with the help of lightning-fast vampires, I was still late. Luckily for me, Eddie was used to that. I guess you could say he half expected it. “I’d say the fact that your late is a good sign… It means your back in your old step of things… in some ways,” he said with his old-fashioned typical greeting as I sat down next to him at the bar. I chuckled to myself as I thought back to all of the absurd things he came up with to say every day when I was late for work. It gave me something to forward to every morning. “I’d say that because you’re right… Mostly,” I replied. “I’ve moved on with my life. Why do you seem so surprised?” I asked. That question had been bothering

me for days. He just happened to provide me with the perfect opportunity. Whether it should have been one of the first things out of my mouth or not, I don’t know. This conversation was doomed to end in only one way from the start anway. “I’m not surprised at all, Gabriella,” he insisted ever so seriously. “I’ve never doubted you. Ever. This is just difficult. You live in a house with six other vampires, and you expect me not to worry about you? Only months after the guy you’ve been with for fifteen years is shot and killed right in front of you… That’s a serious rebound.” I rolled my eyes. “Rebound? Are you serious? Or did you forget who you were talking to? I’m not Jon, Eddie. Stop treating me like I’m not smart enough to make my own decisions. If this is what you wanted to talk about, tell me now ’cause I’ll go,” I replied bluntly under my breath, attempting to avoid a scene. He turned directly at me, giving me his dead-serious stare. It was a pretty terrifying expression, considering I live in a house with six vampires, I should be used to that. Seeing my obvious anger, he shook his head at me lightly, becoming the sensitive uncle. “No, that has nothing to do with what I want to talk to you about. But before I go there, I’m not disapproving of your relationship. ’s a little late for that anyway. It doesn’t matter what I think. It’s just my job to worry. Just because you’re all grown-up and I’m not legally responsible for you anymore, that doesn’t mean my job’s over with. I consider you and Jon my own, you know that. I’ve spent every moment of my life for the past fifteen years keeping you safe. I don’t want to leave you without knowing you’ll be okay… And as much as I hate it, I know that despite the fact that your boyfriend and his family could slaughter you in a second, you’ll be safest with them. I’ve seen the way they look at you. They cherish your existence, that obnoxious one. I know I can leave you with them… So don’t screw it up . . .” Usually, these types of conversations go entirely differently. So you could imagine the surprise on my face as I comprehended that Eddie wasn’t chewing me out. “Um… ‘kay? So if endangering my life isn’t the issue then what is?

There isn’t much that’s worse than that…” He sighed slowly, preparing himself for another surprise. It was a rare occasion to see Eddie. Especially while talking to me of all people. told me more than I was ready to know. “What is it?” I breathed, becoming nervous myself. My palms were starting to sweat, and I got that churn in my stomach, that gut feeling. Time seemed to stand still. Every moment that ed felt like a lifetime. Then finally, he told me. “My meds have stopped working… I only have a year at most to finish preparing you for life without me… I can’t do it. But Ben and the rest of them can. A lot easier than I could. So I guess you could say he’s part of the reason we’re having this conversation… Just differently than from what you thought… What I’m to say is, I want you to be like them. For obvious reasons that I don’t think I need to tell you. You’re well aware of why. Problem solved. I get what I want, your safety, and you can start over…” I had absolutely no idea how to respond to any of that. It was as if my entire brain ditched me, leaving me frozen, surprised and terrified. I felt helpless. My emotions got the best of me. It wasn’t long before I couldn’t control the tears. I attempted to hide them as inconspicuously as I could from everyone else. Eddie cradled my left hand in both of his as he slid the remaining distance closer to me, attempting to comfort me. Like such a thing was possible in that situation. “I don’t want you to be upset, Gabby. I’ve spent a lot of time preparing you for this. Don’t break on me now. I know that the timing couldn’t be worse, but that’s out of my control. I’ve dreaded telling you for that very reason. Then I realized that I don’t know anyone stronger then you that still has a heartbeat. I know you can handle this. It might be difficult, but with a little help from your new friends, you’ll be just fine. If that were the only problem you wouldn’t even need them. I can’t tell you how proud of you I am. I need you to keep it together for me… And for everyone else.” I shook my head insistently, not ready for this at all. I had thought when this day came that I would be, but I wasn’t. I could already feel myself breaking. I needed to get out of here. I needed air. Apparently, Eddie must not have trusted my current state of mind because he

followed me, not allowing me out of his sight until I have accepted it. We leaned on the side of the building as I inhaled a cigarette like it was nothing but air. I needed another solution. Unfortunately, considering I had responsibilities the rest of my day, having another drink wasn’t an option. That only left one thing. One of the best things about Eddie is that he always comes prepared. I had a feeling he knew I’d need it anyway… We locked ourselves in the car, smothering ourselves in a cloud of tasty smoke. That was until a strange girl a couple hundred feet away caught my attention. She seemed to be looking in our direction. Then I had that gut feeling again, except this time was different. It wasn’t fear; it was instinct. I knew why she was here. Without saying a word to Eddie, I quickly got out of the car and started making my way toward her, determined to figure out what she wanted from me. This was the last thing I needed right now. Her sour, pissy expression told me right away this wasn’t a friendly visit. Or stalking. She had an attitude about her that reminded me of a lot of people who I wasn’t very fond of. Her mouth didn’t help her out any. “You know you’re a very complicated person. It took me forever to figure out who you are and what’s so special about you that the local are so into you. I must say that I’m impressed. You’re still alive. Sleeping with the most dangerous being on the West Coast could get pretty risky for you. Especially with Ben’s big brother in town wreaking havoc on the place. I’d like you to tell Ben that if he doesn’t take care of this, I’ll be forced to take care of it myself. And I’ll make sure this town never sees another vampire again. Starting with ending the Rows,” she insisted and then stormed away like a child. Without having to say a single word to her, I got what I wanted and then some, with an added dose of drama on my plate for the day. Now I was determined to speak to Ben… But of course Eddie wasn’t finished with me yet. He stopped me before I got into my car. “I’m staying in California for a while… For you and Luka. Somehow I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that I was informed I only had a year left just before being informed that my niece’s son will grow completely

within the next year. I can’t miss that. I was meant to see him grow, and I will. For both of you. I’m not going anywhere yet. Don’t shut me out,” he insisted. Without hesitation I quickly wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could. “I love you. I’ll call you later,” I made a point to say before leaving, determined to get home. It was the first time I was actually angry at Ben. I didn’t even bother to pay attention to the speedometer on my way back. I had way too many things on my mind for that. As I got out of the car, Stefan quickly appeared in my path. I should have expected that. Apparently I’m off of my game today. “Wait, relax! He’s on the phone. Give him a minute before you crumble him. I’m sure he deserves it, but I know his side too, so let’s just skip the angry part… He’ll explain it to you in a minute, but first can you think of anything else she said to you?” he insisted. I think he has forgotten how humans work because he seemed surprised when I only became angrier. His desperate attempt to protect Ben was failing, and that wasn’t something he was used to. He stared at me with a strange look. He almost looked like he was looking through me, or at least trying to. He was starting to freak me out, until Ben finally appeared, snapping me back on track. It was obvious immediately he already knew where he had gone wrong. I crossed my arms, glaring at him offensively. I had a thing about liars… “Stefan, leave. Now,” Ben insisted, keeping his guilt-ridden eyes locked onto mine. Stefan hesitated for a moment but not long enough to push it. He knew better. He disappeared without another word, leaving Ben and I still glaring at each other. As soon as he was gone, Ben moved closer to me. “Look, I know I should have told you about my brother. I don’t even know why I didn’t. I guess it’s because I hate him so much that I felt like keeping his existence from you would somehow protect you from all of it. The tension between my brother, and I stems back long before either of us were like this. We’re complete opposites. He’s a monster. Much more than I am. The way he does things is just sickening. He’s very damaged, and I told him a very long time ago that if he ever came back here, I

would kill him. See, he may be psychotic, but he isn’t stronger than me. Leaving those girls to be found was his way of telling me he’s back. He wants me to know he’s here, and I think I know why. That witch that talked to you, she used to be Sylas way back when. Until he fucked her over like he always does. That’s why she went to you. She knew I’d do anything to get him out of here and away from you and Luka. That’s all that was. And that’s the truth.” I stared at him suspiciously as I thought of how to respond. But the same question kept coming up. “Did you know what Eddie wanted to tell me before I saw him today?” I asked. I realized I was more concerned about my uncle dying on me than about Ben’s sibling rivalry. Without hesitation he shook his head at me. “No, I didn’t… If Stefan knew, he didn’t tell me. Why? What’d he want?” he asked, apparently clueless. I still don’t know whether it was an act or not, but I had to pick my battles here. “Nothing,” I replied. “He doesn’t want anything… Except for me to tolerate the fact that he won’t live to see the end of another summer. He thinks my becoming a vampire will help his guilt of leaving me. He thinks I’ll be safer that way, with you. So he’s decided to stay in California for a while, then he’ll go back to Florida to die,” I informed him quietly. I practically had to force the words to come out of my mouth. It was a very difficult subject for me to speak about. Ben didn’t say a word. Instead, he rested my head on his chest, comforting me as he held me against him as I started to tear again, a little lighter this time, attempting to hold it back, desperate to hold it together. If it wasn’t for Ben, I don’t think I would have been able to. “I can’t lose you too…” I whined. “Hey, look at me,” Ben whispered as he gently guided me to look up at him. “I can’t promise nothing will ever happen to anyone, but what I can promise you is that I’ll do everything I can to make sure that everyone you care about is okay for as long as their supposed to be here. I’m not going anywhere, Gabby. I could never leave you. You mean too much to me to ever let that happen. I love you. Your happiness is all that matters.” The seriousness of Ben’s tone mixed with the automatic hint of seduction in his words when he spoke to me drew me in as his blood-red eyes stared deeply into my human eyes. It practically gave me the chills but somehow managed to

decrease my emotional overload. At the time I had no idea how Ben always seemed to take the hurt away, but honestly it didn’t even matter. All that mattered was that I felt better enough to gather my thoughts about everything that was going on around me. I looked back up at Ben, ready to respond. “I’ve never loved anybody the way that I love you. It kind of terrifies me because when I lost Caleb I told myself that I’d never become dependent on love again. Not because I thought I’d never move on but because loving somebody like that isn’t easy. Losing them is even harder. You helped me through that. Now I feel like without you in my life the world itself would stop spinning. It’s like you complete me. I’ve never felt that before. thought I did. But I didn’t. You’re the only one I can really love.” I had predicted Ben’s response; it consisted of Ben’s lips glued to mine as he kissed me ionately, melting me. Somehow, we got lost in the moment… We ended up having sex on the back of my car before we got back on topic. That was only the first of many times that will happen. Ben gently placed his hands on either side of my face. “I’ve never loved anybody in my entire life. I didn’t even know I knew how to love someone until you came into my life. I may cherish your humanity, but Eddie’s right. You will be safer like the rest of us. I can’t let my fear of letting you go through the pain of the transformation stop me from not wanting this for you, because selfishly I do. I want you forever. All you have to do is say the word whenever you’re ready. It’s all about what you want. Don’t worry about anyone else. Just know that I love you, and nothing will ever take that from us.” I nodded. “I know,” I whispered, lightly pressing my lips to his again, a little less sexually this time. It was more of a tease. Then Ben glared over to his right, staring down the driveway. A silent moment or two later, Stefan appeared. “We should go now,” he insisted. “Did you see Kat?” Ben asked in response. Stefan nodded, quickly reaching into his pocket, handing something to Ben. Ben then focused on me. “This will keep anything supernatural from hurting you… ,” he informed me and then handed it to me. It was a small gold medallion with a dim orange glow in the center. I knew better than to ask questions; usually

the answer isn’t worth the effort. So without question I took it from Ben. He took my hand, flashing me onto his back as the three of us quickly made our way toward our destination. The adrenaline rush made for a good emotional sedative, eliminating any and all negative feelings I had, like a natural high. We stopped just before what I assumed was a vampire’s hearing range from the house we were going too. After a couple of seconds of breathing time, we quickly made our way toward the house at vampire speed. Because the next couple of seconds had to happen fast, there was only one way to do this. With Ben and Stefan directly behind me I pulled an old card out of my pocket and carded the door, popping the door open in the same second. As soon as I entered the house, I turned around and invited them in. Once they were in, Ben took my hand, not willing to let it go for anything while Stefan took care of the owner. It didn’t take us very long to find what we were looking for. It sort of came to us, as expected. In front of me stood the only person still alive actually related to Ben. Whether Ben hated him or not, it still fascinated me. It was obvious immediately that they’re brothers. Just as quickly as he appeared, Stefan appeared behind him, now blocking him in. But apparently he wasn’t interested in that; he was staring at me curiously. That is probably why Ben was boiling with hatred as he stared at him threateningly. “Little brother, it’s so good to see you. I knew you’d find a way in, you always do. I must say I’m impressed too see you finally realize humans make the best companions. They’re recyclable,” Sylas gloated, way more obnoxiously than Stefan ever thought of being. Speaking of Stefan, as soon as the wrong words came out of Sylas’s mouth, Stefan dropped him to his knees, holding him down in a restrained position. Ben only then stepped closer to him. “Did I or did I not tell you that if you ever came back here that you’d never make it out? What the fuck are you doing here?” Ben sneered.

Sylas smiled at Ben. “I missed you! Then when I got here I heard about your pretty little human girlfriend and, of course, the newest addition. Did you really think I’d never hear about that, Benjamin? I’d say I was proud of you, but I’m sure ’d just take it the wrong way and have a hissy fit. Maybe an old traditional slaughter is what you need.” Ben wrapped his hand around Sylas’s neck. “You are a disgrace for all of us. One of these days you’re gonna slip up, and when Mel sends me a tag with your name on it, I will not hesitate. Now you’re going to stay away from all of us. Or you’ll be nothing but ash… Problem solved,” Ben threatened him, building up Sylas’s natural defense reflects. He started to become angry. His eyes quickly became a solid shade of black. His fangs were exposed as he growled at Ben, attempting to wiggle free from his hold on him. But Ben was right—he’s stronger than him. And Sylas knew it. It didn’t take long for him to give up after a minute of them hissing at each other. “I’m not gonna hurt your girlfriend, Ben. I’m not that much of a monster. I wouldn’t do that to you. If you’ve forgotten, you’re the one that hates me. I’ve never hated you. I’m a little upset you threaten to kill me whenever you see me, but the fact that I’m the only one in existence who has received that threat from you and is still here tells me that you don’t really want me dead. You just want me gone or different. Well, maybe I pick different. You’re all I got. I’m tired of letting you get all the say just because you’re stronger than me. I will prove to you I can be the person I used to be before Atlanta. I’ll go, but I will be back,” he demanded. Ben looked up at Stefan. “Bring Gabby home. Don’t leave her side,” he insisted before letting go of Sylas long enough to kiss me. “I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he whispered. I nodded as I turned and followed Stefan out, glaring at Sylas at the same time. As soon as we stepped out of the door, Stefan took my hand the same way Ben does and flashed us back to the house, again filling me with adrenaline. I thought of nothing. My mind was that clear. The first thing I did was go to Luka. After a day like today, he was just the face I wanted to see. I must have spent fifteen minutes sitting with him while I thought. It didn’t take much for me to get it all together. I knew what I wanted. I knew

what I needed to do. I went to find Chelsea in her office with no care at all that everyone else could hear us. It didn’t even matter anymore. “I’m ready.” I breathed. “I don’t want to put it off much longer. I need to do this. I can’t keep living like this. It’s not fair for any of us,” I insisted. She simply smiled at me in agreement.

Chapter 14

In Between Life and Death

A few days later…

I understood why Ben did what he did. I probably would have done the same. It’s hard to deal with siblings in a functional relationship. Ben and Sylas are the most dysfunctional brothers I’ve ever seen in my life. But because Ben couldn’t bring himself to kill him, we’re all paying for it in our own ways. He’s tense constantly, worrying about everyone, but mostly Luka and myself, for reasons I still don’t understand. Plus, with everyone around us focusing on getting Jae and Stefan’s wedding done and over with, it made it difficult to feel anything but chaos in this house. I had never seen a vampire drink alcohol before. I didn’t even know if they could. I must say I was surprised to see the groom chugging down a whiskey on the rocks. I leaned on the doorway, staring at him curiously. I couldn’t help myself. It was way too interesting for me to look away even if I had wanted to. It obviously didn’t take him very long to realize I was standing there. He practically mimicked my expression, staring back at me just as curiously. “Are you all right?” he asked kind of worriedly. “Uh, ya… I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about… ,” I clarified. He slowly glared down at the short glass he still held tightly in his hand. “Oh, this? It helps with the… uh… nerves… And maybe with the idea of getting married,” he itted, which again surprised me. It wasn’t very often I got an honest answer out of

Stefan. Or any male for that matter. But when they do, it always seems to be given to me. I slowly took a couple of steps into the room. “Then why are you doing it? Why go through all the trouble just to feel like you do now?” I asked him, still beyond curious about what was going through his head. It seemed only fair to pick apart his head; he’s constantly picking apart mine. A small smirk formed out of the corner of his mouth. “That’s what you do when you love someone… You deal with the bad emotions so that the good ones are worth the fight,” he stated under his breath in the most serious tone I’ve ever heard him speak, which wasn’t very serious, but coming out of his mouth, it was. I found myself picking apart his words. “What’s that look about?” he muttered curiously. I shrugged, shaking it off. “Nothing. I’ve just never thought about it like that, I guess… But I assume you already knew that… ,” I replied, glaring at him suspiciously as I headed out of the room, continuing what I had been doing before Stefan distracted me—Working. I’ve done a lot of that the past couple of days. It helps keep my head screwed on straight with all this craziness surrounding me. I don’t think too many people can say that their work is their sanctuary… Not very many my age anyway…

A few hours later…

I could hear Jae talking to Chelsea as I made my way downstairs after a shower. As I rounded the corner into the living room, I saw Ben with his head in his hands against the wall with his back to me. It was obvious immediately something was off. Unfortunately for me, it didn’t take me very long to figure out what. At first, I was just a little clueless.

As I slowly started making my way toward the window, every inch of me was numb, cold. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Jae noticed practically immediately, flashing to my side the same exact moment I noticed what to be tons of people surrounding the house. Endless rows of them. “You can see them?” she muttered in shock. I didn’t respond. I tried. But I couldn’t speak. It was like my entire body had shut down on me, but my mind was still conscious. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” Ben then muttered angrily, cracking the wall beneath his fist from all his frustration. “What the fuck is going on?” I managed to say under my breath. Naturally, Jae looked back at Ben, looking for an okay. God forbid if we make him any angrier, he might break the house. As long as it took her to look back at him, she looked back at me. “That witch that spoke to you the other day, she’s kind of pissed Sylas is still alive and kind of did something really bad. Like we-need-to-stop-this now bad or your boyfriend might lose it… If that’s even possible.” “What are you talking about?” I breathed, so confused I could hardly think straight. “Uh, she kind of cursed him. She did curse him. To be haunted by the humans whose deaths he’s responsible for… ,” she informed me lightly in her eyes, but for me it was a little more intense. “Why can I see them?” was my next question. I was still only able to speak under my breath. Luckily for me it didn’t matter. I was surrounded by supernatural hearing. “I have no idea…” “I do,” Marcus’s announced as he appeared at the bottom of the stairs behind me, catching my attention. “She’s crossed the line between life and death. Giving her the ability to see what most can’t… the dead. The ability must have come back with her,” he explained, maintaining his usual professional demeanor. At times like these, this lack of emotion was really starting to get under my skin. This whole 1800s era he’s stuck in is kind of ridiculous. the other vampires have progressed with the times. Why can’t he? Before anyone responded to Marcus, Stefan appeared beside him with another drink in his hand. He leaned against the wall on the opposite side of Marcus, glaring at Jae with a shit-eating grin. “We need ta go see !” he muttered in a drunken slur.

Jae rolled her eyes at him, flashing to his side. “You’re not going anywhere like this,” she insisted, taking the drink from him. “I’ll take Ben and Gabby to see Kat. You stay here. Try to make yourself useful besides giving Marcus a reason to go to the liquor store!” she added, smiling at him gracefully while trying to hold back her annoyance at him. I’d recognize that look anywhere. Not just from myself, but I’ve been the belligerent drunk once or twice… I found myself chuckling at all of this. It seemed like the only rational way to respond. It was that ridiculous. Although as soon as I saw Ben’s eyes when he finally gained the strength to look at me, the shame he was drowning in hit me hard. As much as I tried to hide how much I hurt for him, I could only do so much. I’m only human. The hardest part was walking out the front door to the car. Neither one of us looked at anything but the car. Even though Ben couldn’t see them, he knew all he had to do was follow Jae’s lead, and he wouldn’t have to worry about it. Not that it made it any easier. Not until I suddenly slid my hand into his, reassuring him of my presence. He got the hint, kissing the top of my head as I got into the car. Letting his frustration out on his car by pushing it to its limit seemed to help too. Considering the last conversation I had with a witch, which was a one-sided conversation, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about meeting another. Then the moment I met her, I regretted even thinking that. She was completely different than the other girl. Katilena’s warm and charismatic, full of good energy. “You’d think you were made of gold the way Mr. Protective over here keeps you all to himself. It’s so nice to finally meet you, although I am hurt it took such dire circumstances for us to meet,” she said, glaring at Ben, offended, in a strange but friendly kind of way. Once she made her point, she got right down to business, seeing how obviously off Ben was. We needed to fix this now. “So I went through every single spell in existence, and I think I found the one Natalie used… It’s basically a spell that haunts a person until the haunted does

whatever it is the haunter wants done. Luckily for you, you have Jae to make that easier. Most would probably be doomed until they lost their mind or ended it all themselves… ,” she explained. “Kat, have you looked outside? Ben’s been around a very long time… How am I supposed to figure out what a couple hundred ghosts want? It would take weeks. We don’t have weeks. We need this to end, today,” Jae insisted firmly. Kat sighed. “Well, there’s always the old-fashioned way—kill the witch that called upon the curse. But that might take a while too, considering she left for South America this morning… ,” she replied hesitantly. “They’re just ghosts, right? They were human once. There has to be something they want more then vengeance… And I think I know what it might be… ,” I suggested, having absolutely no idea where that came from, but I went with it anyway. Without another word, I made my way outside, staring at the hundreds of dead people surrounding the area that were invisible to the clueless people walking and driving through them in the street. Each of them watched my every move as I made my way closer to them. “Gabby… ,” Ben warned. He didn’t have to see them to know what I was doing. “She’s fine. They can’t hurt her, they’re dead… ,” Jae whispered. Apparently that was enough to shut him up because he didn’t say another word. Yet. As I looked at the ones closest to me, one in particular caught my attention. I made my way closer until I was standing directly in front of her. It was obvious she died a very long time ago from the way she was dressed. I could even see the puncture wound on her neck from where Ben sank his fangs into her. Most of them had the same mark. But I quickly noticed some that didn’t… I could hear Ben growing anxious behind me, asking Jae what was happening. Basically he was a nervous wreck from lack of information. A little taste of what I get dished every day. “He must really love you… ,” the girl said. She sounded distant but clear at the same time. It was the strangest thing I’ve experienced yet. “He does,” I replied simply.

“I never had that… ,” she replied. I looked back at Ben for a brief moment before looking back at her. “What is it that you want?” I asked her, getting to the point before Ben snaps. “We all want the same thing… We want him to suffer with what he has done. We want him to turn you into one of them so he has to live with it for the rest of his miserable existence,” she replied with the most joyful smile I’ve ever seen. It was taunting. I looked back at Jae this time. “Oh my god…” She breathed, becoming absolutely still. That caused Ben to react completely oppositely. “What!” he barked at her. It took her a moment to gather herself, but after a moment she eventually turned to Ben, still overtaken by shock. “They know how much you care about Gabby… They want you to turn her. They know the guilt it would cause you. They want you to have to live with doing that to her, that’s their vengeance,” she explained to him, only adding fuel to the fire. “We have to get out of here,” he insisted, flashing to the car without even as much as a pause. He didn’t leave much of a choice. Jae and me quickly followed. None of us said a word the entire drive home. That, and with Ben’s driving, it only lasted a whole five minutes anyway. Over the next couple of seconds, things started to get a little more interesting. As I got out of the car, I saw a face I really thought I’d never see again. I completely froze, staring at him. “What’s wrong?” Ben was quick to ask. I exhaled slowly. “Brad Healy?” I breathed, beyond confused. I hardly even knew him when he was alive. I had no idea why I was looking at him at that very moment. “Gabriella Love!” he replied cheerfully. I furrowed my eyebrows at him. “Uh, why are you here?” I asked slowly, attempting to put it together as I spoke, but I couldn’t come up with anything. I

was clueless again. “What’s happening?” Ben sneered at Jae. “Shh!” she replied, listening to Brad. “Do you really think Caleb would let something like ghosts haunting your boyfriend get in your way? He didn’t want to burden you with his presence, so I insisted I help… I you as Jon’s cute little sister. I think a more respectable acquaintance is needed here… Especially since your new ’s a vampire. I’m not sure I’m down for dying twice… ,” he explained, adding a little humor in the process. A stand-up ghost—great. “You’re dead, what are you supposed to do?” I quickly pointed out the obvious, ignoring the rest completely. All I cared about was ending this. He laughed at me, the ghost, chuckling to himself. “What the witch didn’t think of when she put this curse on your boyfriend was that you’d have some important friends on her weapons side of the playing field,” he explained slowly, like he was making sure I understood okay. I rolled my eyes at his sense of humor. “Right, I get it. But that didn’t answer my question. What are you supposed to do?” I asked, mocking him. A wide smile stretched across his face. “That’s simple. I can just order them away. But that would be too easy for you. And Caleb made it pretty clear that I wasn’t to order them away until it’s done the way it’s supposed to be done. The way you want it.” “Why?” was the only word out of my mouth “Why? Really? You have no idea why Caleb wants the only girl he ever loved to move on and stop hurting?” he stated the obvious. “Okaaay, I’m done with this conversation. I’ve heard all I needed to… ,” I insisted before quickly making my way into the house. I went straight upstairs to my laptop. I could hear Jae filling in the blanks for Ben before she quickly followed behind me. I sat on the middle of the bed, focused on my computer as I searched Brad’s name in Miami Beach. Jae quietly shut the door behind her. “Who was that?” she asked. I turned my laptop in her direction, making the screen visible to her. “I never really knew

him. Jon and Caleb did. I was there when he was killed. We went to every race. According to this, he lost control when his steering column went, driving him straight into a telephone pole. The car exploded on impact. But I it a little differently… ,” I explained. I then slowly stood up, making my way toward the window. I wasn’t sure why, but something was pulling me toward it. “How do you it?” Jae then asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. I was a little distracted so it had taken me a moment or two to respond. “Brad was on a winning streak. High off the attention alone. It was a Sunday, the last race of the weekend, just Brad and Tyler. Tyler hated everything about Brad. He was the guy everybody loved but secretly hated. Tyler was just honest about it. He was on him the entire race. And the way the race is, you basically have to drift into the end of it unless you want to total your car taking the corner. Not very many people were paying attention to the back of the cars, but for some reason I was. I watched as Tyler’s car lightly hit Brad’s as they both drifted around that corner. The way that Tyler’s car maneuvered after the impact told me it was intentional. It was just so traumatic for some many people that at the time it just seemed better to keep it to ourselves. Brad’s ed as a fallen racer, not a victim. That’s the way it should be,” I explained, ing it like it was just last week. It hadn’t felt like it had been over two years since that weekend. Once the words were out of my mouth, I felt myself refocusing out the window. Ben’s fan club in the afterlife was nowhere to be seen, but I could still feel them there. It was like Brad made it a tad bit easier to cope with in the meantime. That just meant something else was drawing me toward the window. “Do you feel that?” I asked Jae quietly. She furrowed her eyes at me as she shook her head lightly. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t want me to… ,” she replied. She sounded very distant as I focused out the window. I suddenly felt the need to touch it. As I slowly lifted my finger up to the window and gently ran my finger down the glass, the strangest thing happened. I was suddenly in a different part of the house, and it was now nighttime. I was staring at myself, across the hallway, dripping with blood. My eyes were a whitish gray. I terrifying. I could feel myself trying to catch my breath. When I blinked, I was back in the bedroom, with Jae, exactly where I had been. “Are you all right?” Jae asked, resting her hands on my shoulders. I quickly

looked around me. “‘What just happened?” I whispered. “You kinda froze for a minute… Did you see something?” she asked, clearly having a pretty good idea of what just happened. “No,” I lied, shaking my head. “I should lie down though… ,” I added, eager to get her out of here. She saw that, nodding at me politely before quickly disappearing into thin air. The lying-down part, I wasn’t lying about. That was exactly what I did. I managed to find time to close my eyes for five minutes in all of this mess. I became even happier about it when Ben finally ed me, holding me securely in his arms. Just his being there eased it all. After a few minutes of downtime, Ben suddenly flashed me onto his back and leaped off the bed, out the window, into the woods and onto a ledge, which he then jumped off of onto the next and the next and the next until we were at the top of the mountain. There was only one reason why we were there… And it was just the distraction I needed.

Chapter 15

Fire

I t was after midnight by the time Ben carried me back. He climbed us through the open window and gently set me down on the bed. I pulled off my now-torn jeans and grabbed one of Ben’s shirts, wearing just that. I proceeded to climb into bed, far beyond exhausted. The comfort of Ben lying with me made me feel safer than ever. It didn’t take me very long to drift off to into a dreamless sleep. Some hours later I was woken up by my inability to breathe. Gasping for my breath, I realized that I had lost my ability to do anything, and I didn’t know why. I tried to squirm, but I couldn’t even do that. It was like I was no longer in charge of my own body anymore. Then suddenly, I sat up. Only I didn’t move. Even my screams were silent. I just couldn’t understand what was happening to me. I had never felt so helpless. I’ve never been the type to give up, and I didn’t. As somehow my body slid to the edge of the bed and eventually stood up, I continued to scream for my body back. I squirmed and fidgeted, kicked and hollered. But nothing seemed to work. I felt completely stuck as my legs began walking toward the window, the same window Ben and I climbed in and out of just hours ago. I wanted so badly to just give up and cry, let it all out. But as my right arm suddenly went straight through the window, taring my arm open, I held it together. The pain of glass in my arm was nothing compared to what I was already feeling being surrendered in my own body. I had zero power. As we— was controlling me and myself—looked down at my wounded arm, I had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen next.

As I watched each and every blood drop drip to the floor as I was walked to the door, I knew that every vampire anywhere near us couldn’t possibly resist. We were in the hallway now. We took hardly two steps before we stopped suddenly in the middle of the hall just before the stairs. We were so still, while inside I couldn’t stop struggling. My obsessive need to never give up prevented me from even trying to cooperate. The drips of blood quickly turned into a small puddle as I stood there. I watched it as it began to soak into the floor. Suddenly Chelsea quickly flashed around the corner of the staircase with Ben standing firmly behind her. They both stopped abruptly at the sight of me. “Oh my…” Chelsea sighed with worry, becoming stiffer. I looked away as both of their eyes instinctively darkened. Looking back down at the blood, I recognized this exact moment from the vision I saw earlier. Now I was terrified, though no one would know it. “Ben… I’m going to need you to go find Marcus and Jae… ,” Chelsea instructed quietly. When Ben didn’t go right away, his eyes staying locked on mine, she turned around to face him. “Even you shouldn’t see this, Benjamin. Get Marcus and Jae, and then go be with your son. I’ll take care of Gabby. She’ll be fine… Ina couple days!” I knew exactly what that meant. And from the now-shallow look in Ben’s eyes, so did he. The guilt pouring out of them already caused me to shed my first tear. And even though I didn’t have any control over my body, I was still connected because I could physically feel a tear slowly make its way down my cheek. It was the only sign of me. Chelsea slowly stepped forward, her hand now cradling that side of my face. Her eyes seemed to be searching mine as she stared down at me with the same shallow look her in eyes. As I recollected what was about to happen, I gave in. I no longer struggled to break free. It was my time. She waited just long enough for Ben to be far enough away not to hear.

Inside, I closed my eyes and curled up into a ball as Chelsea’s fangs exposed themselves. I desperately tried to hide all of my pain as those fangs slowly made their way to my neck. Then it was like whatever was locking me down simply disappeared as her venomous teeth sank into my skin. I screamed out in agony, and this time I was heard. I clenched onto Chelsea, unable to even think straight from all the pain. “Shh, it’s all right. I got you. I’m going to take you to Willow Creek. Here, take my hand. You can’t hurt me, yet,” she whispered. As her hand found mine, covered in blood from my wounded arm, Chelsea pricked her finger with her fang and gently rubbed it down my wound, instantly sealing it shut. All the while, the venom that was very slowly coursing through my body felt like fire. My screams did me no good. Still, it was the only thing I could do. Chelsea lifted me up off my squirmy feet and flashed us downstairs, across the living room, out the front door, down those stairs, and into her car all under three seconds. Everything seemed to be moving so quickly as the venom began to make its way into my mind. I laid on the backseat, my eyes clenched shut, screaming in agony as the fire marked my soul. I thought of nothing else but the pain. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t think of anything that could’ve possibly made me feel better. All I saw was red, blood red. “Hang in there, sweetheart, we’re almost there!” Chelsea called out. I could hear her discomfort in the crackle of her voice. This was hard for her. I was just lucky that she forbade Ben’s presence. He’d lose it. I didn’t have it in me to worry about that too. Right now, I only had enough of my emotions for myself. They were all working together to get me through the pain of being burned alive from the inside out. For the brief moment I managed to open my eyes, I recognized what road we were on. Just outside of Weaverville. I recognized it from one of the drives Ben took me on when we headed toward the coast. Only this time we weren’t going that far. We stopped just a few minutes outside of Weaverville. Chelsea pulled down a long dirt road, similar to the road our house sits on, only without the mountain. I held on tightly to the seat as she sped down the bumpy road, no time

for slowing down. When she finally stopped, she flashed out of the car and opened the back door, pulling me back up into her arms effortlessly. I tried to observe my surroundings but was denied by the pain. She carried me up the steps onto what looked like a wraparound porch and set me back onto my feet for a moment as she unlocked the door. Because I couldn’t even stand on my own without falling to the ground in agony, she held me up against her with her other arm. Once inside the cabin, she quickly carried me again and brought me upstairs. Instead of setting me down to open the door this time, she simply busted it open using her hip, splitting the door practically in two. She didn’t let go of my hand as she slowly laid me down onto the bed. After placing a couple of pillows behind my head for , she sat down on the bed next to me. My hand gripped hers with every ounce of strength I had, which to her was nothing, for now. “I’m so sorry, babe. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Forgive me,” she whispered. The sound of her voice was almost soothing. It was almost as if I could feel our connection already. I wanted to tell her that it was okay, that I didn’t need to forgive her. That it was my time, and I was okay with that. But I couldn’t get a single word out. There wasn’t enough time or strength between screams. As the venom began to take over my heart, it felt as if it was going to beat right out of my chest. Every single nerve in my body tightened. I could feel myself slipping away. The experience of death wasn’t strange to me so I recognized it immediately. I could no longer feel the comfort of Chelsea’s hand in mine. Everything felt so far away. Only the sounds of my own screams kept me from thinking that I was gone. Every single memory that I have ever had flashed before my eyes, reminding me why I got myself into this in the first place. Just seeing Ben and Luka’s faces brought warmth into me that kept me going. Subconsciously I knew that once I made it through this, that they were mine, forever. I’d feel every ounce of pain a hundred times over again just for the possibility of keeping the life that I’ve quickly grown to worship.

I had lost track of time hours ago. It was only when I felt my heart slowly began to steady that I started to recollect again. I could now feel Chelsea’s hand tighten around mine again. As each heartbeat got slower and slower with each beat, the venom that had officially taken over my entire body began to harden, numbing the pain with it. Then as I felt my heart beat for the very last time, all of the pain was gone. I felt myself ease back into a much calmer state, sinking into the bed. The relief was extraordinary. The overwhelming sense of tranquility drifted me off into my own personal haven before fully completing the process of my transformation. I was dancing, letting the moonlight guide my way, right into Ben’s arms. His eyes weren’t that of a bloodthirsty monster but that of a brown-eyed lover, my human form of Benjamin Cross-Row. He danced just as perfect and elegant as my immortal Benjamin and was just as handsome. Only that natural fear of the darkness inside of him no longer existed. He was all mine. We danced and danced our way down the beach with nothing but ocean and sand around us. The light of the moon began to dim, and our speed accelerated with it. As the world quickly darkened, the red-eyed faces of our loved ones began lining up as we danced our way past them, each beaming their eyes at us with every ounce of evil they bare. As my eyes gleamed up at Ben, he was suddenly covered in blood. His red eyes beamed down at me with such ease. In the reflection of his eyes, I saw myself. I was now staring at my own red eyes through his. Startled, I jumped back out of his arms. The look of disappointment on Ben’s face is heartbreaking. I scream.

My eyes pop open, and I naturally gasp, my lungs full of air. Only now it feels like an empty reaction. As my eyes scan my surroundings, I quickly sit up, having absolutely no idea where I am. Everything that I see is so bright and full. I could see every unique detail that made up the objects that I was looking at, it was like everything was just magnified. Including my emotions.

I couldn’t why or how I got there. I couldn’t have even told you what day it was yet. It was like my mind had been rebooted and needed time to recover its information correctly. The only thing I recognized was the quiet face in the doorway, only I wasn’t sure how I knew her. I only knew that I felt a pull toward her that assured me that I do. I stared back at her, extremely curious. When I went to stand up, I moved a lot faster than I had intended. Catching me off guard, I stood absolutely still in a ray of confusion. “It’s all right, honey, you’ll get used to it…” Her voice sang to me so elegantly that it tickled my ears. I felt my jaw drop. Holding my breath in disbelief, I quickly realized that it wasn’t uncomfortable. Realizing that I had no need for oxygen all of a sudden was enough to send me into a panic, making the awful burn in my throat even more unbearable. “What happened to me… ?” I whispered, the sound of my own elegant voice shocking me yet again. The more I tried to think, the more locked my mind became, itching at me. My hands began to shake when she slowly stepped forward and gently took my hand into hers. They were the same temperature. Her unusual red eyes glowed at me. The comfort received by her touch was overwhelming. “I’m your maker, Gabriella. It may take you a couple of days to …” “Maker… ?” “Yes. I’m Chelsea, we’re vampires. That burn you feel means that you’re thirsty. Once you drink, your transformation will be complete. Your memory will come back any time after that. If you don’t drink, you’ll die…” Having no recollection of anything, I had no choice but to believe in her. She was the only thing that I knew. didn’t even know how old I was, or where I came from. “Come… ,” Chelsea instructed. With my hand in hers she led me out of the room and down the hallway to the stairs. I followed her through an archway into a living room and out another on the other side to the doorway. Once outside, she let go of my hand.

Even though it was nighttime, I could still see everything as clear as day. The sounds that I could hear even at such a distance seemed so unreal. But still I could hear the sounds of the creek forty yards east, along with all of the bugs and animals in between. Driblets of water that fell to the ground from the leaves of the trees echoed in my ears. I was so taken by all of it that I couldn’t help but stop to take it all in steadily before I made another move. “We’re going to run to town to feed. Just follow the sound of my footsteps and the scent of my trail,” Chelsea instructed. I did exactly what she told me to do. I followed her south into town. The closer we got, the louder and more tempting the heartbeats in the distance became, causing a raw sizzle in my throat. We were practically running at the speed of light, that’s what it felt like, while everything we ed stayed clear and still. The world was extraordinarily beautiful. Considering that it was only four thirty in the morning, there wasn’t very many people out. Still I could smell all of them, the calm, cozy ones in their beds the most tempting. As we stopped, Chelsea took my hand again. “Close your eyes,” she instructed. I did. “Now just relax and listen to your surroundings. Let your hunger guide your way!” she whispered. With each breath that I took, the burn in my throat sizzled hotter. My only thought was to soothe it. I did what Chelsea instructed and found myself heading toward two possible choices. It wasn’t until I could actually see them that I felt my instincts begin to fully take over. In an alley two young men sat together on the back steps of a closed pub, each drinking out of one’s own liquor bottles wrapped in a paper bag, both of them looking the same shade of fucked up. Still it didn’t take long for them to notice me casually making my way past them. All the while the clear pulses on their necks were screaming at me to drink them. “Oh baby! What do we have here?” one of them called out.

“You look far away from home, honey. Want daddy to take you home?” the other yelled, causing them both to laugh in a drunken stupor. Finding their arrogance amusing myself, I smiled back at them, rallying them up a little bit. Then just as I wanted them to do, they stood up together. Once they did that, I made my way closer. Once close enough, I focused on one more than the other. Now that I could literally feel the blood rushing under this man’s skin, I couldn’t take the burn any longer. My fangs ripped through for the very first time, hurting a lot like hell, but as I sank them into his neck, all of it just went away. The thrill of pure ecstasy came over me as I drained every last drop. Watching his friend die unexpectedly, the other guy went into shock, drenched in fear. The fear made his blood all the sweeter, giving me the ultimate high. In that moment the blood settled within me, I could feel my body complete itself. All of my senses magnified times a hundred. I felt on top of the world. There wasn’t anything that could have stopped me from owning it. When Chelsea came out from around the corner, the look of pride on her face was comforting. She simply dropped a lit match on each of the bodies. Almost immediately they burned into nothing but a pile of ash. “Our venom is one of the most flammable substances in existence. It’ll burn through anything and everything. It’s very powerful. It only takes a drop to destroy or transform,” she clarified for me. All of this new information found its own spot in my larger empty mind. Everything else just seemed so small. With my “transformation” now fully complete, Chelsea took me back to the cabin the same way we came. I could still smell our trail. Only this time I see a little better, hear a little further, smell a little stronger, and, most of all, run a little faster. But I still couldn’t who I was. I couldn’t anything about my life. With the uncomfortable sizzle gone, it was all I could focus on. I sat quietly back up in the same room that I woke up in. Now there wasn’t anything that I wanted more than to just . I would have given it all up just to know something. Not knowing yourself is one of the most devastating feelings one could ever experience. I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy, if I could even who that was or if I even had one. After sitting there for over three hours in the same position without getting the

slightest bit sore, I found myself chuckling at all of this, convinced I was going crazy. I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes, attempting to fall asleep. That certainly didn’t work. My eyes never grew heavy or tired. Neither did the rest of me. Not even my mind. You would think it would’ve after spending hours trying to pick the lock on my brain. It was starting to feel like an empty attempt. It was bringing nothing but disappointment.

Twenty-Four Hours later… I decided to leave the bedroom and Chelsea downstairs. She was sitting in front of the television with her laptop in her lap. I had been listening to the tapping of her fingers on the keyboard from upstairs for the last hour and a half now. I needed something different. So I sat in front of the television with her. It was some strange family show where they all acted like they hated each other when really they didn’t but could only show that in a life-or-death crisis. Well, that was depressing. The sudden sound of a cell phone ringing on the counter in the kitchen caught both of our attention but mostly Chelsea’s. I didn’t even know if I owned one. If I did, I didn’t have it. Chelsea quickly flashed to her feet and into the kitchen, letting out a quiet sigh before she answered. I didn’t recognize the male voice on the other end either. I just listened as I fiddled with the string of my sweatshirt Chelsea had gone and grabbed for me last night along with my change of clothes. Apparently I didn’t come here in much. “How is she?” the strong voice asked. “She’s fine, just a little lost. It isn’t easy for anyone, even her, but it shouldn’t be long now…” “Luka’s confused without her, ya know.”

“I can only imagine that he is. The poor kid’s mother suddenly isn’t there. He can sense that. He can also sense your worry. And if he thinks you’re worried, of course he’s going to worry. So stop worrying, take care of your son, I’m sure you’ll know if anything changes…” “Good enough.” He sighed. But before he actually hung up the phone, I heard a familiar sound. I wasn’t sure how I knew it yet, but as I heard it, it was as if the lock on my brain finally unlocked. All that there was left to do was open the door. I quickly flashed to my feet, getting my wheels spinning. It hit me all at once, flooding my brain with information as I opened the door, drowning any uncertainty that I had. First, everything I knew about my childhood flashed before my eyes, every memory I had until I turned eighteen. Next was every memory I had after moving to Tampa with Caleb, every moment we spent together, every kiss we shared, all the way up until the moment he died. After reliving his death all over again, I was shown my grief—all of my tears, my nightmares, and sleepless nights. Then finally my memories of moving to California—meeting Ben and growing closer to him by the day, falling harder and harder, feeding off our love. Then having Luka and dying for him and then of course dying for both of them again just the other night. All of it finally fit perfectly together, completing the puzzle of my life. It took an entire minute for each of my memories to come back to me. During that time, Chelsea must have been staring at me because she still was once I snapped back to reality. One look at her and I started laughing. Realizing that only moments ago I had absolutely no idea just how much she meant to me, even more so now. Having heard Ben’s voice and not even knowing it, I couldn’t help but laugh at that either. Then I realized how long I had been away. What must be going through his head? My first reaction was to run. So I did. “I need ta see Ben!” I insisted, flashing as quickly as I could out the front door

and into the woods toward Weaverville. I instinctively knew exactly where I was and exactly how to get to where I wanted to go—home. Besides my guilt, I felt on top of the world. Every one of my senses was magnified. I could see every single detail to every single thing I saw. I could see through the darkness of the night as if it were midday. I could hear everything for miles. As I ran faster than I ever could’ve driven, everything around me seemed to be moving in slow motion, making it crystal clear too see. My reaction time as I ducked and dodged around the trees was inhumanly possible of course. I could smell and taste every scent within a three-mile radius. I could tell you what and where all of it was without even having to think about it. The cool fall air felt nonexistent against my brand-new marble skin, unaffected by the weather. I could feel the unlimited strength in my hands that make me unbreakable. But my new natural senses weren’t the only thing that multiplied. My emotions did too. The love I felt for Ben had magnified while my hatred for everything else doubled, making me determined to see him. It was the only thing on my new supernatural mind. I didn’t want to do anything until I spoke to Ben. He’s the reason I’m here, like this. I needed him just as much as I needed Chelsea, my maker. I didn’t pause for anything. I continued to flash, jump, dodge, and leap my way home through the woods, into town, and up the mountain. It wasn’t until I smelled his scent for the very first time with my new sense of smell that I paused, taking it in. I knew that if I could sense him, he could sense me. So I quickly continued to my destination. Ben and Luka’s scent were the only present scents. Everyone else’s went elsewhere, each in different directions from what I could tell, leaving the only faces I wanted to see. Ben’s scent was three times as more irresistible now with my new sense of smell . . .

I had moved so quickly that by the time Ben sensed me, I was already there. I flashed through the back door and froze, standing absolutely still a few feet behind him—three and three-fourths of a foot to be exact. He stopped what he was doing instantly, slowly turning to face me. Then he froze at the sight of me for a variety of reasons. The amount of surprise in his pitch-black eyes told me he hadn’t been warned. Last he knew, just a few minutes ago, I still didn’t anything. My presence smothered that surprise in awe, mixed with relief. The room was drowning in emotions between the two of us. “Gabby…” He breathed, his voice even more intoxicating also with my new sense of hearing. I felt as if the world around me froze as I stared back at him, taken back by my strong feelings for him, hitting me all at once as we fell in love with each other all over again at second first sight. His perfection was even more fascinating to me with my improved eyesight. I moved a step toward him slowly, drawn to him. “Twenty minutes ago I was so confused that I didn’t even know why I was in California to begin with. Then I heard Luka through the phone, and it must have triggered something because suddenly I ed everything . . . Out of all of it, my first thought was too see you… ,” I said, bringing light to the obvious. He grew a light flirtatious smirk before he replied, still managing to find a way to numb every ounce of me. “Is that your way of saying you didn’t wise up and change your mind about me?” he joked as he seductively moved closer to me, but not close enough. I chuckled quietly to myself at his response. “Never” I smiled. “It’s gonna take a lot more than losing my mortality to change my mind about you . . . ,” I replied, moving just as seductively the remaining distance in between us. “I’ve waited decades for you…” He sighed, his breath taken. I smiled up at him, gently running my finger down the center of his masterpiece of a chest. “Well, now that you finally have me… what are you gonna do?” I whispered, unable to resist him much longer.

I didn’t have to. That’s all it took. His lips quickly found mine, intoxicating both of us with an inhuman amount of pure ecstasy. It was as if the entire world was on pause. I wanted him so badly that it took everything I had to control it. And for the first time, he finally felt the same thing I felt. With both of us on the same level, we were unstoppable. Without Ben’s constant urge to eat me he could actually make love to me without the holding back part, without constantly worrying about hurting me. I’d say he took real good advantage of that… It was exhilarating. There’s no rational way to put it. We were in love and now facing the rest of eternity together. To live happily ever after! But my happily ever after doesn’t end there. It’s still only just beginning for all of us. Behind every good story are the details that make it a great story…

The buzzing of the phone in the other room ringing for the fifth time eventually distracted us. While Ben went to go answer it, I ran upstairs at a vast speed into Luka’s room. He was sleeping completely soundly, peaceful. He was even more of an itty-bitty tiny monster. He was even more perfect than I ed with my new sight. I couldn’t help but just stare in awe as I also couldn’t help but listen to the telephone conversation downstairs; it was Marcus. “I just spoke too Chelsea. I assume Gabriella’s with you?” he asked Ben, clarifying what he already knew. “You assumed right,” Ben replied. “Exactly… I know you well enough to know it would probably be a good idea to call before returning back to my own house… ,” Marcus stated with a little sarcastic humor. Ben chuckled lightly to himself. “How thoughtful of you,” Ben mocked his sarcasm. I couldn’t help but chuckle with him. “But we both know I wouldn’t have answered the phone if I wanted you to think otherwise,” he added, giving Marcus the answer he was looking for. As soon as he hung up the phone, Ben came upstairs and was directly behind me

in the same eight-fourths of a second. I stood absolutely still, still staring at Luka. Ben lightly rested his hands on my shoulders. “He’s been worried about you… It was like he knew what was happening… ,” Ben whispered. I slowly turn around to face Ben, staring into his thirsty eyes curiously. “And Eddie?” I asked under my breath, attempting not to disturb Luka by the sound of my voice. It shouldn’t have made a difference with his hearing, but somehow I pulled it off. Ben looked down at me with that “I’m not exactly sure how to say this,” look failing at his useless attempt to sigh away his tension. “Eddie doesn’t exactly believe a word I say. I told him you were out of town with Chelsea for a few days, because you were, and now he’s under the assumption that one of us killed you. There wasn’t much else I could do… that I was willing to do anyway.” As Ben spoke, I comprehended what he was saying before he even finished, leaving plenty of time to also think up my course of action. “I need to see him… ,” I thought aloud under my breath as I pushed past Ben. He quickly followed as I flashed down the hall into the bedroom to change. “It’s three thirty in the morning… Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” he said as expected. “Are you sure that what time of day it is is really what you’re worried about?” I sneered as I grabbed my phone off of the desk and vanished down and out the front door. He didn’t say another word. I was halfway down the mountain within three seconds of my dramatic exit. Within the minute I was staring at the building from the street, listening to each of them sleeping upstairs, blocking out the rest. After a moment of preparing myself for my first nonviolent human interaction, I naturally inconspicuously made my way up into the apartment. In the shadows, I climbed up the back side of the building and in through Sara’s window. She was the first one I wanted to see. I didn’t make a single sound as I practically stood over her, watching her sleep. I finally understood how it was possible for Ben to watch me sleep so much. It truly is a fascinating thing to see through our eyes. But I was here for a reason, and my lack of impatience caused me to quickly grow bored. So I intentionally woke her. “Sara… ,” I whispered over her. But

she didn’t budge. “Sara!” I whispered a little louder, giving her a light shove. As my cold marble skin touched hers, I could feel her warmth, her blood rushing under my hand. It created a raw tingle in my throat. My entire body became tense as my eyes blacked and my fangs exposed. I forced myself to jump back away from her when every instinct in my body was telling me to do the opposite. It wasn’t a very simple task. I forced myself to pull away from the blood, fight away the urge. As the sound of their blood rushing through their veins to their pulsating hearts became louder, I closed my eyes, taking my mind from one thing and putting it on another. Sara must have finally felt my presence because just as I calmed myself, she slowly sat up. By the time she turned the light on beside her, my eyes were back to their new normal bright blood red, and my fangs were now back in my gums. I had to hold onto that as her fear at the sight of me increased, smothering the room, making her that much more appealing. “Oh my god!” She breathed as she jumped up out of her bed. “You’re… ,” she started to say it but couldn’t bring herself to finish. I nodded at her lightly, avoiding any sudden movements. “It was kind of a splitsecond decision… That’s were I’ve been. In Willow Creek with Chelsea… adjusting… Now I’m back… It’s done,” I stated as simply and as quietly as I could. I didn’t want to wake anyone else just yet. She stared at me very strangely for a moment, like she couldn’t figure out if she was dreaming or not. She must have decided it didn’t matter because she hesitantly made her way toward me. At least she was smart enough to know better than to test me . . . “What’s it like… ?” she asked out of pure curiosity, unable to take her eyes away from mine. “It’s… exhilarating… and terrifying all at the same time… But that’s slowly wearing off…” What came next, I should have expected. Considering her raging hormones and her lifelong love for me, her tears shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Then I realized that it was because I no longer felt those kinds of emotions. Not that I didn’t want to. The moment I moved my mind from one place to another in order to keep from eating her, I shut off my emotions, my ability to feel.

I had to turn them back on. I needed to be able to express things truthfully, from me, not from who I’ve recently become. It wasn’t very easy. But I managed. “Sara, relax. I’m okay. It could be worse… ,” I made a point to say. She paused her slow, hesitant pacing directly in front of me. With her dirty-blonde hair a mess from bed and her eyes all red and puffy, then add in being in her first trimester, she looked like hell. a different aspect than I do. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment, then slowly opening them as if she was checking to see if I was still there… “Whoa.” She breathed. “This is real… You’re really a… ,” she started to say. “Oh my god!” she gasped. “Have you, like, killed anyone yet?” she whispered, like she didn’t want anyone else to hear us. I chuckled, keeping to myself that we wouldn’t be having this conversation if anyone was listening… I’d know if they were. That was relieving. Her question definitely wasn’t something I was willing to answer. I didn’t want her tainted by any of this. I had to make sure she only knew what couldn’t hurt her. I looked at her long and hard for a moment before responding in any way. I wanted her to know I didn’t take her question lightly before I said a word in hopes to convince her. “Let’s not go there… We really don’t want to make this any weirder than it needs to be. So let’s just keep that part of my life separate from us,” I said. She quickly nodded in agreement. “I don’t want you afraid of me either… ,” I added, still sensing her fear. Her face fell, almost as if she was ashamed of being scared of me. “Look, I came here to talk to Eddie, but I wanted to see you first before I did, let you know I was all right. Now I need you to go back to sleep… Don’t worry about this until morning,” I said as I looked at her very deeply in the eye, imprinting my words into her mind, glamouring her to be compelled to do as my words say. I absolutely hated doing that to her. But she didn’t leave me any choice. I didn’t

want to disturb her night. I know what sleepless nights can do to you. Without another word, she turned around and went right back into bed, just as told. I then paused for a moment before going through the door that connected Sara’s room to my room, the room Eddie was in. This time, I stayed as far away from him as possible as I entered the room and watched him for a brief moment before “accidentally” knocking over the picture on my desk of Caleb and me on spring break with our friends, shattering it into tiny pieces, extraordinarily beautiful tiny pieces. Each piece sparkled in its own way, reflecting a rainbowlike glow off of the surface of the glass. It was fascinating until I was distracted by Eddie instinctively pointing his gun at me, cocked and ready. Even when he realized it was me, he didn’t put down the gun. Like that would do him any good. He quickly stood up out of bed, turning the light on. I could sense a little hesitation as he contemplated whether he should be pointing a gun at me or not. “Eddie… I know you’re going through a lot, but holding your niece at gunpoint isn’t exactly a rational way to handle this. Especially considering you asked for it personally,” I reminded him, hoping this is all just Eddie half asleep reacting to his trained instincts. He didn’t speak a word as he thought about it. I couldn’t even envision what was going through his mind at that very moment. I didn’t want to. I just wanted to get this over with, let him know I wasn’t completely dead. It took him a while to see that, but eventually he did. He slowly put the gun down on the bed in clear view while making it a point to not lose eye with me. Baby steps. “You’re right.” He sighed. “I did ask for it. But considering I wasn’t warned, all I could do was worry. Why couldn’t he just tell me?” he complained as very much expected. “Because technically he’s not supposed to. Just Chelsea or myself, and that’s out of respect to you as my guardian. Would you have really preferred to hear it from Ben or anyone else for that matter rather than seeing me for yourself when it was time?” I replied, a little more persuasive with my words now. It was clear in his expression that he was impressed. He was just trying to hide it. He just

wasn’t exactly up to date on who exactly he was hiding it from. He sighed again. “Whatever, you’re right. I don’t want to fight with you. And not because your dangerous but because I’m not going to pick apart your life. I’m not your father. He was a dick. He’s probably churning in his grave right about now, and that gives me a unique kind of pleasure that nobody could ever understand. He didn’t deserve you. Neither do I. But I was the one fortunate enough to raise you. To teach you. Things he never could have taught you even if he was willing to take the time to. My point is that I’m okay with all of this no matter what I might say or do sometimes. Just ignore me. Old habits die hard. And the fact that you’ll never physically live to be another year older gives me peace. You’re safe from things like deadly viruses. At least one of us will have a chance,” he responded, giving me the speech I came to hear, getting it out of the way. The magnified relief was almost overwhelming. My ability to control it made it not so much. “Okay… ,” I agreed simply. “I appreciate it… ,” I added, meaning everything. Everything he’s ever done for me; Which is pretty much everything. “I know you do,” he said as he took his first step closer to me. “But there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about… Something you might not appreciate… Nothing about any of this but about Caleb… And something he was doing before he died… ,” he said, dropping a bomb on me. I eyed him suspiciously, looking for his angle. He reached for something in his bag at the end of the bed and tossed it onto the bed, next to his gun. Okay, maybe he was dropping a really big bomb on me. I knew what it was immediately. “Do you recognize that?” he asked firmly. I didn’t respond right away, trying to wrap my head around it. The notebook had been concealed, well. There is no way Eddie could have found it alone. “Where did you get that?” I asked through my teeth. It was the only rational response for me. He eyed me very suspiciously. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that if you knew about this that means both of you were lying to me. According to that, you were lying to me for years. He told me he was done with this shit, Gabby. So where is it?” he said, picking at a very bad nerve. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied, eyeing him back. “You’re still lying, Gabby. Now you’re going to tell me where that money is. There’s a reason

I found this. And we both know it. So either you’re going to tell me or you’re going to have to live with Caleb’s lies.” I chuckled. “He never told me anything about any money. And I’ve never seen that before. So again, I don’t know what your talking about…” I replied with another lie. “Then why is it that I doubt that?” he sneered suspiciously. I rolled my eyes at him. Just then, I sensed Ben, distracting me for a fraction of a second but not long enough for Eddie to notice. I shook my head at him. “I don’t know what else to tell you. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now I have to go… I’ll talk to you later when you realize I’m right.” I ended it, disappearing away from Eddie. Then I reappeared by Ben as I quickly flashed out the front door, across the street, and into the woods until I was directly in front of him. His eyes were now a dark blood red. I could smell the recent hunt on him, causing the raw tingling burn in my throat again, also known as near thirst. Fortunately, He knew better than to ask about what I had just run out on, more interested in distracting me from it. Somehow he’s able to know exactly what I need whenever I need it. He held me tighter than he was ever able to hold me in his arms, soothing my nerves with our shared supernatural infatuation with each other. Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly feel more for him, I receive an extra dose, adding to my addiction. I wanted to smother myself with him. Even though time doesn’t really matter, we cut this one short. I still had other people to see. Speak to. Confront. So we headed back home, running together for the first time besides briefly in this house. That didn’t count. This did. It was special in its own strange kind of way. Once we came into range of the house, I smelled the present scent of the others for the first time, instinctively memorizing each distinctive scent. As I came through the front door with Ben held tightly in my hand, everyone flashed to their feet respectfully at the sight of me. Marcus and Stefan were suddenly lost in their own minds as I moved closer to them, unable to take their

eyes off of me. Chelsea, who was standing with Vanessa, smirked at me, rolling her eyes at the boys who were so lost that they had no idea just how obvious they appeared. Even Ben found it a little amusing. But not for long. After a moment he slid in front of me, blocking their clear view to snap them out of their daze. They both blinked in sync with each other, refocusing. It didn’t take either of them very long to realize that they were busted. Ben flashed a wide sarcastic smile at the both of them, obviously unimpressed. Marcus bowed his head, ashamed he was unable to remain professional. must have put a damper on his obsessive personality. Stefan just became awkward, unable to make eye with me. But I knew there was much more to that than him just getting busted for practically eye fucking me. I made it a point to think about it. Let him know I knew without actually having to say a word. I glared at him out of the corner of my eyes, looking for his reaction. His eyes widened as he forced himself to look at me apologetically. I ignored him, attempting to keep the tension contained for the moment. I’d confront him later, when the time was right. When there wasn’t anyone else here to hear it. Marcus moved closer to me, naturally fascinated like I was any different than anyone else. I wasn’t exactly sure why Marcus has such interest in any or all supernatural things, but I assume it has something to do with his healing ability. It makes us more fascinating; he understands it better from the inside out. “Gabriella,” he whispered, breathless, “It’s nice to have you back. I’m glad you went through it well, even though it didn’t happen as planned, at least you’re okay. You’re stunning. I’d watch out for these two if I were you,” he said, eyeing Ben and Stefan who were now behind me. As I turned around, I realized why. Both of them then snapped their eyes back up where they belonged, off of me. I rolled my eyes, looking back at Marcus. He smirked amusingly at me as he stepped back.

That’s when Vanessa stepped around Marcus, standing exactly where he had just been standing. She smiled her usual joyous smile, which matched her excessive joyous personality, at me. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” she exclaimed as she gently hugged me. “Thanks.” I laughed as I returned her gesture. Chelsea then stepped up. “I’d like to speak to the two of you,” she said with her usual kind tone, looking at Vanessa and me. “Privately,” she added, now looking at each of the boys individually. Marcus and Stefan left without pause. Ben made it a point to stop to gently kiss the top of my head before leaving the range of the house. Without a word, Chelsea proceeded upstairs in a normal pace. Vanessa and I followed her in the same pace shoulder to shoulder up to her office in perfect sync with each other. Coming from the same maker, we were practically one and the same, just like Ben and Stefan. It’s a strange connection. Unlike you would think it would be. It wasn’t like the natural bond you have with your mortal siblings; in this comparison it would be more like a paternal connection. The way a baby feels connected to their mother, making Chelsea like our god. Instead of Satan. Both of us took a seat on the love seat in the corner of the room while Chelsea sat in front of her desk, which was wrapped around the right corner of the room. She picked up the book I had looked at soon after we found out I was pregnant and set it on her lap. With both of her hands rested on the center of the book, she focused on us. But only after she took a short moment to gather her words did she speak. The moment wouldn’t have even been noticeable to the human eye. During that moment, Vanessa and I looked at each other out of the corner of our eyes. By the time we looked back at Chelsea, she spoke. “I’m not even sure how to express how relieved I am to finally have the both of you in here, complete. I’ve waited an entire lifetime to be blessed with the two of you. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep us whole. In order to do that, it’s our job to make sure that you know everything there is to know. Because you knew ahead

of time, it would make it easier if I had any idea what you do or don’t know, what Ben did and didn’t tell you. So we’ll just tell it all over again. Pretend you didn’t know ahead of time. You need to at least appear to know the basics, which you pretty much already do, by the time we have to show you off to the master and the queen via satellite in Redding by 8:00 a.m., leaving us with plenty of time. You’re smart. You’ll get it rather easily, I’m sure,” she explained. Listening to her speak was like listening to angels sing, which is rather ironic considering we’re products of Satan. I was completely drawn in by every word she spoke. I couldn’t of been distracted even if I wanted too. I nodded at her in a wordless response. Then she handed me the book, nodding back at me to open it. Vanessa leaned closer, comforting me with her presence. Even though we now share an extraordinary connection, it still wasn’t anything in comparison to how Ben’s presence makes me feel . . . The book was written by our kind, meant as a guide for others, dating back to the first recorded bloodsucking demon in the early 1300s, when the first owner of this book woke up from his transformation with nothing but this book and a note inside on the back of the cover that read, “Learn to survive, and you’ll live forever.” That, I did know already. While each word I read permanently imprinted in my memory, Chelsea explained it aloud, the parts that mattered anyway and how she felt about it. A little added opinion never hurts. “We all know that Lucifer was cast down to hell from heaven when he refused to bow to the flawed man. All of that time in hell must of done something because somehow on the night when the world is at it’s darkest-the last night of OctoberLucifer made his way through the gates of hell, but only to make his mark on man; Creating us to destroy his fathers beloved children. He only needed one man. So when the moon was at its highest, Lucifer somehow infected him. We’re still not sure how he himself did it. He left him with nothing but this book as he returned to hell. Letting his army build itself. The man-Hamlet Toronto— Now held the opportunity of our future existence in his hands… He chose us. First, by discovering what we are capable of all on his own. With no one to guide him. Then he documented everything he learned. Followed by the discovery of how to create. All he had to do was leave enough blood to keep them alive long enough to transform. It took him thirty-eight attempts before he learned how to

stop. But he did it, creating nine soldiers that are still known to this day as ‘The First Nine’ having had documented them too. He then taught the others the same thing and so on and so on. His plan was to run the world from the shadows, oblivious to the world. At the same time it made the hunt worth the effort. “We’ve done everything in our power to keep our worlds separate. Starting in 1346 when a coven in Florence became a little to conspicuous. When a few dozen clueless townsmen sought to kill them, they drained them all. But that wasn’t enough, this coven was greedy. Plus, at the time, there was no agency to enforce the boundaries in place in order to keep our secret. That’s when this man, the legendary leader, started the agency in Genoa, where all of it had began for him. Now centuries later, there is a small piece of the agency on every continent in the world, sometimes two or more. All still keeping the same secret. Over the years, as times grew harder and harder for the human world, it became harder to keep the secret with all the technology we have today that’s making everyone smarter. For a little personal example, Ben and Stefan’s job as the agency’s agents is to make sure their section of the world is running smoothly no matter what it takes. Ben does the driving and the thinking, while Stefan does the cleaning up and the talking, doing the dirty work in order to keep the secret. And probably a little personal pleasure in between it all. When all of this started, the only jobs that needed to be done were to take out the trash, so to say. So before Hamlet’s human family grew too old, he tracked them down, only to find his younger brother, whom he had never met. He infected him, also teaching him everything he knew. Until he turned on him, killing the legendary leader. He then went back to where he had come from, infected his son, then brought him back to Italy to take over his brother’s dream. Today, that man is known as our master. And his son is the most useless creature to walk the earth. But we continue to do it all anyway as if nothing ever happened. It didn’t even bend our world enough for us to teach it for the longest time. It only became mandatory a couple hundred years ago, which most think was only due to others’ persistence in the matter. As far as some are concerned, none of it even matters anymore. But yet, we still teach it. We acknowledge it because it’s in our nature to. All of us stemmed from that one man. That’s how we are all connected. Some closer than others, some you’d think not at all. Our world isn’t that much different from the human world in ways. It’s all about survival and trusting only in yourself. Most importantly, in covens like ours, it’s about family, loyalty, and trust because none of us can trust anyone else. This is the only place that we don’t have to hide. Now it’s yours too. The three of us will never be alone again,” Chelsea explained.

I was drawn into the book in a trance of fascination was I read over this man’s words as Chelsea spoke, focusing on both completely but separately all at the same time. Things were clearer now. I understood. There was no more fog in my mind shielding out what was right in front of me. “It’ll get easier soon,” Vanessa whispered. “Your emotions will become more controllable… And you’ll be able to swallow without like you want to kill someone. All of us went through it. We can help, especially Chelsea and me. You’re not just here for Ben and Luka anymore. You’re here as my sister too. You’re here as Chelsea’s creation. You belong here. You just happened to belong here with Ben and Luka too,” she added, voicing out her take on things. All I did was nod in response. I was more focused on the thoughts she brought to light with her words than my actual response. I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond once I actually did try to think of how. But because Vanessa was absolutely right, I didn’t need to respond. They already knew. Then It was time. It was time to go to Redding to get this all over with, to actually start living as one of the undead, time to spend the rest of my existence with Ben and Luka for as long as eternity wants to take us because nobody, not even us, can be promised forever. There is always something that can go wrong. Luckily, I was done with seeing the world that way. I had an entirely new view of it, an absolutely fascinating one. All thanks to a man who was killed by his own brother almost seven hundred years ago… The world really does work in mysterious ways… My life seems to fit that theory. The three of us got into Chelsea’s car with Luka. He needed to be seen too. I was more skeptical about that than I was of myself. That to me was only a good thing; that meant I didn’t lose my parental instincts during this transformation. I guess you could say that was at the top of my concerns list before it actually happened… I didn’t understand why Vanessa had to be here, but I was surprisingly relieved that she was. I felt as if I needed her here for moral , so to say.

Redding isn’t very far from Weaverville, but it was farther than all of the other towns that surround it. With my lack of patience lately, the drive made my magnified anxiety a little more overwhelming then I had anticipated. By the time we arrived, I needed a moment or two. Considering I also hadn’t fed since my first hunt, that probably had a large something to do with it. Luckily for me, Chelsea could see that. She handed Luka over to Vanessa and pulled me aside into an alley. At the end of the alley was a fairly old man. He looked lonely and sad. He was perfect for what I needed him for. Before the thought had even finished going through my head, he was dead. Every drop drained. After destroying him by igniting my venom that had replaced his blood on fire, I walked straight into the agency without a single negative emotion. The first thing I noticed when I entered the building was the woman behind the desk in the small pale white room. Her heartbeat echoed throughout the room, taunting my natural instincts. This caught me by surprise for many reasons. Leaving me with only one explanation—she is their little pet. The very, very small human part of me that was still left gave me a small urge to want to help her. But the much stronger part of me was naturally intrigued by the idea. “Don’t mind her. She’s been compelled so much that she can hardly even her own name,” Chelsea whispered as we entered the steel door to our right just before the human’s desk. She smiled gracefully at me as if she had absolutely no idea who or what any of us are. that she could anyway… The room that we now stood in was rather small, consisting of nothing but a large screen that covered the entire wall in front of us. It turned on the moment the door locked shut behind us. Chelsea wrapped her free hand in mine, holding Luka in her other. Vanessa stood on the other side of me with her hand barely rested on the small of my back. When the fuzz disappeared, it was replaced with the agency logo. Followed by

the revealing of the master and the queen. They looked exactly the same as they did in the photographs in one of Marcus’s books I had seen when I had been human. Walter’s different than the vampires I was used to seeing. With his long dark hair pulled back he reminded me of an old western movie, an Italian one without the cowboy hat or boots. Mel was stunning, of course, probably just a little bit older than Chelsea. You can see she’s clearly sophisticated at first sight. The evil in her blood-red eyes was very apparent. Crooked would be underestimating. I recognized it immediately. You can’t bullshit a bullshitter. “The Rows! Oh, how wonderful it is to see more of you!” Walter exclaimed. “It’s nice to see you too, Master,” Chelsea replied. “I’m glad everything worked out as hoped,” said Mel, speaking for the first time. “I’m also glad to see that Ben really does have an excellent taste in women,” she added in an attempt to taunt me. It was obvious immediately she had a thing for him. I could see it in her eyes when she spoke his name. Even through a satellite feed, I recognized it from my own eyes since the day I met him. But considering she is also his boss, I brushed it of casually, being the much bigger person than she’ll ever be… Unfortunately the tension between me and Mel will come later. This wasn’t about Mel. To me it was mostly about Luka. But that’s a matter of opinion. Walter practically undressed me out of the corner of his eyes while trying to stay focused on Chelsea. Almost as if I was too naive to notice. I felt myself chuckling inside at his ignorance. If he only knew . . . Only someday he will… When the moment became obviously below the professional line, Walter then got straight to business, assessing everything about both Luka and myself, everything that mattered anyway. It was definitely a lot less nerve-racking than I had anticipated. I suppose exposing their true colors beforehand helped out a little bit…

“Our world is grateful to have the both of you with us. He is utterly fascinating. I’d love to actually meet him someday soon. If you’re ever in Italy I’d be honored if you’d us here at the agency. Benjamin is a much-respected agent of ours, which makes you a part of us. Misses, Gabriella,” Walter said with his obvious Italian accent, bowing his head respectfully at me. “Thank you, Master,” I replied simply, eager to get out of here as quickly and as less obvious as I possibly could. Thankfully, Chelsea and I were on the same page. “Yes, thank you. It’s been a long journey to find her. We’re definitely glad to finally have her and Luka. They’re an extraordinary blessing,” she said. They got the point. “Very well. Give the brothers our love. You’re free to go,” Mel replied, making it a point to attempt to taunt me one last time before setting me free. I didn’t say a word. Nobody did. We just smiled sarcastically as we exited the room. As soon as the door unlatched, the screen cut out. They were gone. It was over. The relief was unreal. Magnified doesn’t even cut it. But there was still one last thing I wanted to get out of the way before moving forward. It took me a few minutes to gather the nerve, but eventually, before we reached town, I finally asked, “So when exactly were you planning on telling me what exactly happened the night you changed me?” Chelsea became tense, obviously very uncomfortable. “Um… That’s something I’m going to need a little help from Jae with in order to explain… ,” she replied. That’s when I handed her the phone. Her hesitation was slightly irritating, again she saw, leaving her with no other choice. intent exactly. She left her a message to meet us at the house. She was already there before we even got there. The others were still gone. As ordered. As much as I craved Ben right then, he was the last person I wanted here for this long before I even knew why.

Another gut feeling. Apparently even the practically dead get them . . . Inside the house, after I brought Luka upstairs, I sat with Jae and Chelsea in the common area. The lack of emotion that was necessary in this room at the moment was a little frightening. All of us were shut down in order to get through this conversation without breaking. “Look, believe it or not none of this was very easy for any of us. This isn’t how we wanted this to happen. But it did. And now we have to live with it. None of us were exactly sure what had happened to you that night, so I had to ask for Jae’s help. That was about all I did know,” Chelsea said clearly. “It took a couple of days because everyone on the other side was avoiding me because of this, but I eventually found Brad, and I eventually realized exactly what had happened to you that night… It’s called oppression. It’s when a spirit can manipulate a living being. Sort of like being possessed except that possession is caused by demons that are only after hurting people. Oppression is a very complex and complicated thing. You have to know what you are doing. Brad did. He wasn’t trying to hurt you. He was just trying to get things done by taking over all of your motor skills so that he could put your arm through a window. He had cut your arms in precisely the right spot so that he knew that we knew you’d bled out before any of us could have fixed it, leaving us with only one option. When it was done, he lifted the curse Natalie put on Ben and left…” Jae explained informatively. I comprehended that for a moment. “You’re saying that Brad Healy manipulated me into hurting myself in a house full of vampires just to get them to change me?” I replied, trying to wrap my head around that fact. Jae nodded slowly in response. “Why?” I breathed. It was the only question I could come up with. It was the only question that mattered to me at the moment. None of it made any sense. I was missing something… That’s when Jae looked over at Chelsea for a moment. Both of them became even tenser than they already had been. Like this wasn’t already strange enough. “You may not like the answer to that… It may get even harder for you if you decide you want to go down that road… ,” Jae warned. I didn’t budge. I just stared at her, absolutely still, waiting for her to answer me.

Both of them moved closer to the edge of the couch across from me, closer to me. “Brad was sent by Caleb… I spoke to him yesterday… He told me about your deal… About how he’d leave you alone as long as he knew you were all right. Well, because he didn’t want to go back on that deal, especially with your newly formed ability at the time… He sent someone else the both of you knew to do his dirty work. But you knew that already, Brad told you that himself that day. Caleb made it a point to say that Brad’s way of doing things wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but it worked. So he’s gone. He knows you’re safe. He knows your boyfriend’s safe. He’s done here… ,” Jae informed me. The initial shock practically took my breath away. I began pacing the floor as I gathered my thoughts, trying to decide whether I was angry or relieved. I just couldn’t bring myself to even accept it. Caleb was definitely the last person I needed on my mind right about now; it was a little too awkward for me. I needed a distraction. And I knew exactly where to find it… I had to do was follow the very addictive scent of Ben.

Chapter 16

Mr. & Mrs. Stefan Row

One week later…

C haos. Chaos. Chaos… I was surrounded by it. All of us were. Between the current drama between my family and me over the missing money and the setting up of the wedding for tonight, this house was drowning in it. I finally gained the nerve to see my brother for the first time since my change, I had also taken it as my opportunity to confront him about how the money was ever even brought to light in the first place. He denied any involvement, of course. As far as I’m supposed to be concerned, Jon was just Caleb’s supplier. He didn’t know what Caleb did with most of his profit. It wasn’t any of his business. His defensiveness only proved my point. Caleb and I were the only ones who even knew that money existed or where the notebook that revealed its existence was hidden. Which left me with only two explanations—Jon was lying, or Caleb was haunting Jon or Eddie without them knowing it. Problem with that theory was, according to Jae, Caleb moved on. He wasn’t haunting anyone anymore… Unless he was lying too… He promised me he’d leave them alone . . . Today, I didn’t have time to worry about any of this. I had an important wedding to attend. Caleb’s secret stash was the least of my problems. Trying to protect Luka from a houseful of unfamiliar vampires seemed more important at the moment. Considering everything, the day was actually rather enjoyable compared to most days. With Ben back working for the agency while I stayed home to try to figure

out who and what I am these days for the second and final time this year. days aren’t exactly on the welcoming side lately. Luckily I seem to manage just fine but only because Ben seems to know how to distract me from it all at the end of the day. Just like he had when I was still human ever since the first time I saw him. I honestly do not know what I would do without him. I may have been a total wreck. But it was nothing compared to how Jae felt right about now. vampires experience cold feet… She was practically panicking and on the verge of having a meltdown. In hopes of avoiding that at all costs, Vanessa held a large cup that had been originally filled with donated human blood in front of Jae, providing her with it whenever needed to help keep her head on straight. It seemed rather amusing to me. As horrible as it sounds, it was nice to see someone else around here losing it for once. I couldn’t help it. Even though she’s my friend, my natural evil thoughts were starting to break free, turning me into the ruthless monster that I’m intended to be. I just had to learn how to control it. That would take a while… I decided the first step would be to stay upstairs with Jae to help with the others at keeping her calm. As much as I hated Stefan right now, I didn’t want today ruined. I’m not that evil… It wasn’t long before all of the guests were here, most of which I had never even heard of. It was almost time. Vanessa and I flashed into her room to get dressed while Chelsea stayed with Jae and Jae’s maker; Candace, who was also a medium. Jae inherited her gift from her. A rare occurrence but so is the ability itself. I suppose anything can happen. I just had to hope I wasn’t that unlucky. The last ability I want is to see issues before I even have them. That’d be even worse than having to listen to everyone’s personal thoughts… One of my favorite things about being a vampire is that it only took Vanessa and me less than three-fourths of a minute to dress and become presentable without any extra added necessities. I never thought I’d see the day that I was ready in

under an hour, never mind under a full minute. All of this did have its upsides… After a day of dealing with Jae’s wedding jitters, seeing Ben’s face was much more than a relief. I had never seen him dressed formally before. So it made it much harder to keep my hands off of him. I had a feeling he was feeling the same thing as he attempted to look casually behind me as his eyes looked me up and down in awe. I’m sure my very short black dress didn’t help… All of us were wearing black, even Jae. Hers was just noticeably a bit different. It’s kind of the Row color. Okay, there is no “kind of” about it, it is the Row color. The cars are all the same glossy black. And whenever we’re to be presented in public such as this, we are to wear black. I’m surprised the entire house isn’t black. I think it’s Marcus’s weird little obsession. One of them anyway… We all have at least one. Don’t kid yourself. This was such a known fact that not one of the guests were wearing black. They knew better. Only the private security was also wearing black. Apparently being a very important part of the agency demands a little extra protection so that we don’t have to worry about it for once. One of the very few pros of being a part of the agency as far as I can tell… When it was actually time, Marcus and Chelsea were the first to go. Since Ben is the oldest and also the closest to Stefan, he was next. And since I’m with him, that meant so was I. My emotions were definitely shut off for this one. bare-naked truth… I hate weddings for many reasons. All of which are irrelevant at this time in the story. What’s important now is that Jae and Stefan are finally getting this over with. I was happy for her. Behind Ben and I came Vanessa and her very cute date. That was also a first for me. In the whole time I’ve been here, I’ve never seen her with anybody romantically. I’ve never even heard her speak of it except for when we talked about what had happened to her in her human life before her transformation, about her fiancé. It was nice to see her happy about herself for once rather than everybody else. I envied her big heart, given her—our—condition. She made it look so easy… It’s not.

Once all of us were in place, out came Jae accompanied by Candace. She was absolutely stunning, even more so than she usually is. I couldn’t believe that she was the same person I had been dealing with all day. She was completely fine now, more than fine actually. She seemed fantastic as she made her way closer to the love her life. she thinks he is good enough for her, I’ll never know, but whatever makes her happy… Yes, I made it a point to think that at that very moment. It was mean but necessary. I have yet found the opportunity to confront Stefan, and I think the longer I keep it to myself, the more it gets to me. One the other hand, I did want to wait until after the wedding was out of the way. Depending on how it will go, some people might not come out of it the same. I tried not to think about it after that for the rest of the night. I just wanted him to know that I wasn’t letting it go, reminding him, so to say. Then they kissed. It was almost over. Our weddings are a little different than the traditional human wedding . . . Everyone clapped and cheered as Stefan and Jae made their way back down the aisle and into the house. Chelsea’s ability had provided us with the perfect way to pick the perfect day for an outdoor wedding. The five of us quickly transformed the backyard from the ceremony to the after party before following Stefan and Jae back inside to change into our next attire for the evening—Vanessa’s idea. She’s very pushy; there’s no use in fighting it… With a little help from some friendly guests we were able to get it done quicker than anticipated, putting us ahead of schedule for the first time all day. While Vanessa and I went with Chelsea upstairs to change, Ben and Marcus went down into the basement with Stefan. At the same time, Jae came up from the basement and followed us up, forcing herself away from Stefan long enough to change. It was hard for me to focus on anything with all of the different conversations going on around us, all coming in loud and clear. I hadn’t quite figured out how

to block it all out yet without blocking everything out. gets pretty frustrating… Again, it didn’t take very long for us to change. If it wasn’t for the distraction of celebration beforehand we probably wouldn’t have been more than three minutes late. Three minutes can be a long time in vampire time. We went back outside the same way we had the first time. Except this time, Stefan accompanied Jae at the end of the line. The guests formed a broken circle in the yard, leaving a small opening that we filled in as we came. That left just enough room for Jae and Stefan to come through to dance in the middle of the circle. It was the cutest thing I have seen in a long time, Luka and Ben of course… Once their danced finished, Marcus danced with Jae while Candace danced with Stefan. During so the rest of us had to dance with them. Today was filled with a lot of firsts for me for some reason. Fortunately, I liked this first. It probably would have gone completely differently had I still been human. Now with my perfected abilities, there wasn’t anything I could do that would be anything less than perfect, advantage of this life. It was all worth it, even Caleb’s death. If that’s what it took to point me in the right direction to who I’d truly love, then that’s okay with me. There weren’t any other arms on either side of the world that I would rather have wrapped around me. There was only one set of eyes I wanted to stare back into with the same infatuated look we have for each other. And there was only one voice I wanted to hear whisper “Grazie per sapere come mi ami” in my ear as we danced, meaning, “Thank you for knowing how to love me.” It just so happened to remind me all over again why I love him. My seductive smile was impossible to avoid. “You saved me from myself. I don’t think I could ever express to you how much that means to me,” I replied, just before my lips found his to avoid a verbal response. I liked this one much better. Once the after party took effect, I was officially surrounded by wasted vampires, Stefan being the worst of them all. was definitely taking advantage of his obnoxious tonight.

Vanessa had dragged me aside to officially meet her date. During so, I couldn’t help but notice that Ben was now confronting Eric, who had been staring at me half the night. Luckily for me, my newly found ability to pay attention to multiple situations at any given time made it easy to hide my distraction. “This is Camden!” Vanessa announced. “This is my sister, Gabby!” she added, introducing the two of us. We each nodded at each other in response, both of us more interested in others. Vanessa’s eyes followed mine as I looked out of the corner of my eye over at Ben and Eric. “Of course.” She sighed. “The day wouldn’t be complete if he didn’t threaten someone.” I chuckled to myself. “I’m sorry, I’ll find you later,” I insisted. “Pleasure to meet you,” I added to her friend before I flashed across the yard. Now standing slightly between Ben and Eric, I had both of their attention. “Is there a problem?” I asked Ben rhetorically, crossing my arms over my chest. I didn’t even bother looking at Eric yet. Ben flashed a sarcastic smile at me. “Nope, everything’s fine, babe,” he lied as he ran his finger through one of my curls. I mocked his smile. “Hmm… ‘Kay… I guess you don’t need a distraction then… ,” I whispered seductively just before making my way in the opposite direction in a normal pace. He paused for a moment but no longer than anticipated. “Like I’d say no to that,” he stated with a hint of obvious taunt for Eric. Before another word was said, Ben flashed to my side, taking my hand into his. I smirked up at him, letting him know that I was impressed that he actually chose to let it go and come with me rather than picking a fight with one of our authority figures. He couldn’t help but smirk back, of course, already completely distracted. We sank into the first shadow we came across, silencing each other with our lips. His hands caressed every inch of me, especially my now scar-free back as we hid in the corner and made out like hormonal driven teenagers in hopes to distract us from absolutely everything going on around us. just couldn’t get enough of each other lately…

Considering everyone else was intoxicated anyway, we could only assume they wouldn’t mind if we ditched them for a moment. Unfortunately, it didn’t take very long for everyone to notice our absence. Marcus found us rather faster than either of us had hoped he would. “I get it, all right. It’s all you want to do. I’ve been there. It’s very tempting. Just wait twenty fucking minutes while we see the guests out. You won’t die without swapping venom every five seconds, I assure you!” he insisted, disappearing just as quickly as he had appeared. The two of us laughed. Somehow getting busted was the most amusing part of the night. Now beyond anxious to get this night over with, I moved as quickly as I could to make that happen. I had a handful of reasons why I wanted this over with, but only one stood out the most—time to spend with Ben for once. Within the next hour, the house was almost back to normal again. The only one still here was Candace waiting to see Jae and Stefan off to the airport. Something else I was looking forward to—an entire week without Stefan! I had been lying on the couch with Ben, practically on top of him. Stefan and Jae were just in the other room gathering their things while Candace stood motionless in the archway of the common area where Ben and I were. “Jae… ,” she whispered, gaining her attention. Jae slowly came out from around the corner, only to freeze completely as she entered the room. Her shock quickly became annoyance. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” she whined. “What the hell do you want now? I’m off duty. You have one minute exactly. That’s it. Then i’m out of here,” she added, speaking to what appeared to be nothing just on the other side of Ben. It was then quiet for a moment as Jae listened. “That it?” Jae barked. “Good. Now leave her be. She’s fine, obviously!” she added sternly, carrying my annoyance for me. I was too comfortable with my existence to let the dead get to me anymore. Or so I thought.

Jae appeared more visible from my view, appearing in front of the couch, staring down at me hesitantly. I sat up slowly. “Now what?” I whined, just as annoyed by the idea as her. She sighed before responding; “He told me to tell you ’s yours, not his, don’t give it to him. Whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean… ,” she informed me. I knew exactly what it was supposed to mean. That only made me very angry. “Too bad, I don’t want it!” I sneered in response. I then flashed to my feet and out the back door, in need of some wide-open space. After a couple seconds of Jae and Ben trading whispers, he followed me out. Taking a seat next to me on the back steps, I rested my head on his shoulder, enjoying the comfort I felt while his arms wrapped securely around me. “It’s about Eddie finding his money, isn’t it?” Ben whispered, having it all figured out already. As far as Eddie’s involvement is concerned. I nodded in response. “I just want it all to go away. I don’t want to hear about my dead ex-boyfriend’s dirty money anymore. I don’t want to hear about any of it. He’s gone. I shouldn’t have to deal with this shit anymore,” I sneered under my breath, venting aloud. “I know. It isn’t easy. But can you blame him? He died violently at a young age. Anyone would have a lot of unfinished business… You just happened to be involved in most of it. The only way to make it stop is to help him. Do what he asks. Do what he can’t. It’s not like he can hurt you or try to steal you back from me or anything… ,” Ben replied with a little added humor. Apparently amusing me makes it easier to tell me what he knows I don’t want to hear. At least someone’s not afraid to… I slowly turned slightly to look back at Ben. “That’d be easy if I didn’t despise the mere thought. In order to help him, I’d have to go back to Florida. I can’t do that… I won’t. I ran from all my problems when I came here for a reason. Diving back into them willingly isn’t something I’m capable of doing without severe consequences,” I replied honestly, nice and clear. He nodded as if he knew the feeling. “Running from your problems is a useless attempt. You’re gonna have to face them sooner or later. They always have a way of finding you, and the longer it takes, the harder it’s going to hit you.

You’re better off facing it now, before it all becomes much bigger than you. Obviously you’re the only one he wants to do it, or he would have given up by now if it means that much to him. He’s not going to stop until you’ve helped him settle all of his business that just so happens to be yours too. That’s probably his point. He wants you to help him and face your fears all at the same time. So just do it. We’ll help you.” He had a point. Unfortunately that isn’t what I wanted to hear. I wasn’t ready for any of this. Hiding my feeling for the past six months hasn’t done me any good. They have only grown stronger without me even knowing it. Now I felt as if I was stuck in the muck, quicksand actually. The things I needed to face were starting to swallow me whole. Not even now, as an immortal, did I feel strong enough to concur any of it. So I continued to ignore it all, still hoping it would all just go away… Wishful thinking… Ben could see I wasn’t going to budge anytime soon. But that doesn’t mean he was giving up. It was probably selfish of me, considering Caleb’s issues affect him too, being with me. More importantly, my issues affected him. He felt what I felt. It was eating at him to see me pretend not to struggle, which in result began to eat at me. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to do anything about it…

Later, I was sitting upstairs with Luka when I sensed a familiar sound and scent coming up the mountain. I flashed to my feet. “Jon,” I thought aloud. I didn’t move an inch. I stood there, absolutely still, just listening. I listened as Jon pulled into the driveway and quickly got out of his car. He was anxious. That was apparent immediately in his scent. He then ran up the steps, skipping every other step all the way up the three flights of stairs up to the house. By the time he got to the door, Ben was already there. “Where is she?” Jon barked at Ben. “Now all of a sudden you want to see her?” Ben sneered back suspiciously.

Their natural need to hate each other was coming on fast… “Yeah, so what? Last time I checked, the difference between you and me is that I don’t need permission,” Jon replied before pushing his way past Ben. I flashed downstairs in front of Jon just as he stopped before the stairs. He stood as still as a human was capable of. In an attempt to lower his adrenaline level, I tried not to seem as tense as him. It didn’t work as well as I had hoped… He had clearer, darker issues going on—besides the fact that his little sister is now a bloodsucking vampire. It took a moment for the shock to wear off. When it did, he hesitantly stepped closer to me. “Look, I’m sorry I’ve basically avoided you lately, but I can assure you I had good reason—and it isn’t because I was afraid of seeing you like… this. It’s because I’ve been focusing on an a lot bigger picture. I didn’t want to come to you until I had something solid, so the moment I did, I came. Now here I am. We need to talk. It’s important,” he insisted, borderline frantic. His tone worried me. I peeked behind Jon at Ben, who was still staring suspiciously. “Give us a minute… ,” I whispered, giving Benjamin the okay to let me out of his sight for longer than a fraction of a second. He hesitated, expected. After a moment or two of curious glares at one another, he backed off. “Let’s take a walk,” I muttered before I began to walk in a normal human pace toward the back door. Jon followed without a word. I paused just before exiting the house. “We’ll be back in a few minutes… ,” I said to Ben under my breath, low enough so that Jon couldn’t have heard a word of it; the last thing I need is for him complaining that I’m too informative. He used to do that whenever I would explain myself to Caleb too much… We walked side by side across the backyard and into the woods, down the usual path, the path that has been trampled down to nothing since it was first started when they moved here decades ago, very well aware that just because we were out of the house didn’t mean we didn’t have any listeners. Jon started in as soon as we were in the woods anyway. Privacy wasn’t the point. Boys and their egos… I’m surprised it doesn’t kill them more…

“Okay, do you when we were kids, a few weeks before Mom and Dad died, when we were eavesdropping on Mom on the phone with Aunt Stasia… Arguing about something that didn’t make any sense to us at the time?” he began. I honestly had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. “Uh… no… ?” I replied. He sighed. “Well, that makes sense. You were pretty young. But I . I it all. It’s nagged at me ever since, and I could never figure out why until twenty minutes ago when I figured it all out…” “What are you talking about?” I muttered, becoming annoyed. He sighed again. “This may be a little hard for you to wrap your head around, I don’t know. I’m not exactly up to date on your at the moment. I just want to warn you. This is gonna get a little personal. I don’t want to upset you and, uh, live to see my kid born… ,” he made a point to say. When I didn’t respond, still waiting for the point, he finally got to it. “The weeks before Mom died, she was different. It was like she knew she was going to die soon. At the time, I just thought she was stressed out, like normal mothers. But when two glasses of wine a night turned to four, then six, and so on, I started to pay more attention to her actions. I just never got anything out of it. I wasn’t asking myself the right questions. “That night, I kept hearing Mom say, she’s mine too. I have rights to her. You don’t!’ I could never figure out who she was talking about… until I did a little research today after I received an anonymous e-mail with a birth certificate. The date was the same as yours. I didn’t recognize the name. “When I pulled the file. It all came to me all at once. Our family in Maine, and why we never see or speak to them directly, the conversation with Mom and Stasia, Dad’s distance from us, their desperate attempt to save us by sacrificing themselves… it all seems a little too… rehearsed.” I stared at Jon with a blank expression, clueless to any words that were coming out of his mouth. It was as if he was speaking a different language. But he

wasn’t. When Jon could see that I was still in the dark, he dropped his right shoulder out of the strap of his backpack and pulled out a folder. He then held two birth certificates out in front him, two different names, one of which was mine, and two different birth mothers, one of which was mine. The other, my aunt Stasia, same time, weight, length, doctor. Even our eye color was the same. Everything —except the names. I suddenly became weak. I couldn’t control it. I was fighting my brain from being smart enough to piece it together. I didn’t want to know. Then my luck ran out. Jon cleared it up for me He dropped the other birth certificate, now only holding mine. “This one isn’t real. It’s been altered. When I started asking questions to figure out why my sister’s birth certificate has been altered, nobody had any idea what I was talking about. Whatever it was at the time, it was a secret and for whatever reason, Stasia gave you to Mom. Even after Mom died, you still weren’t sent to your birth mother because not even the authorities knew that our aunt Stasia was really our father’s mistress way back when you were conceived. Point being, your real mother isn’t dead. And the only reason you don’t know her is because Mom made sure of that. Even after her death, Eddie swore to keep you from her. Apparently she wasn’t stable enough to raise you as her own, so Dad took you, keeping you as a reminder of how he ruined our family… that’s why he worked so much. He couldn’t stand the guilt every time he looked at any of us. Which is why it had been so easy for him to trade his and Mom’s life for ours that day… I’m sorry, but our life is a lie,” he clarified. Why Jon was stupid enough to throw so much at me all at once was beyond me. That wasn’t the problem; for some reason, the only part of his story I cared about was the part where he knew what really happened to our parents too. My question was, how long has he known and whether he knew that I knew. Or if that was just something else he was trying to throw on me now. I stared at him curiously, wondering how he came up with all of this without me getting a hint of any of it. I haven’t been paying attention . . . “Have you known what really happened to Mom and Dad all this time, or did you just find out when you figured out the rest of my demented life?” I asked

him straightforwardly. He was speechless for a moment as he contemplated how to answer me. “I’m not as ignorant as you think I am, Gabs. I knew before they even brought us to Uncle Eddie’s that night. I also knew you knew. I could see it in your eyes. I just also knew it would be too hard for you to face, so I never spoke to you about it—until now. When it’s important… I care about you, Gabby. You’re my sister. Half now, I guess… As far as I know anyway. Honestly, I don’t really care. They’ve been dead for far too long to let it affect us now after all of these years. My intent isn’t to cause you more pain. I just think you deserve the truth. You need to know who you truly are. You’ve gone fifteen years without a mother only to find out your real one is still out there. You need to find her, just like she has always wanted but Mom wouldn’t ever allow. She can’t control your life anymore. It’s yours. Do something about it! Fight back! Just like Eddie taught you to. You’re strong enough for this. You’re the strongest girl I know. Even more so now… ,” he said, cheering me up slightly with the amusing sound of his anxiousness. I found myself giggling at him, at all of it. It all just seemed too much of a cliché for me. Like straight out of a bad chick flick. Not cool. I’ve been fighting to face my problems, only to add a much, much bigger one. I wasn’t going to be able to carry the weight of it all… I’m not a freakin’ god; I’m only a damn vampire. We can’t do it all… just almost. That’s when my emotions were officially shut down for the time being. I didn’t have to deal with this. Technically, I was dead. Technically, the only mother I have is Chelsea. Stasia’s DNA no longer runs through my nonexistent blood anymore. Tough luck for her… “I appreciate you telling me all this, Jon. I really do. It’s good to know. But I really don’t care. Honestly, I have all the people I want in my life. I don’t need my birth mother. I’ve lived twenty-three years without her just fine. I can go another few hundred or so. You and Eddie are my only real family along with Ben and Luka and our coven. As far as I’m concerned, everyone else in world can go fuck themselves. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to go back and continue spending time with my son. He needs me,” I replied bluntly, not in the mood for beating around the bush about it. Straight to the point seems to be the right way to go at the time. Jon didn’t seem to have a problem with it; perfect.

To the time as we walked back to the house, I asked about Sara and their current relationship status to keep the tension from becoming unbearable. Plus, I was a little curious myself… “She’s amazing, Gab. I hate myself for not seeing it sooner. I’ve spent our entire lives taking her for granted, and now I’m crazy about her. Every night when I come home from the shop, she’s what I look forward to—seeing her face, hearing her laugh, making her smile. I can count on her. I know she’ll be there. I’ve never had that. It’s nice. It’s brought us closer—that and our unborn child. It absolutely terrifies me, the thought of being a father. But then I look into Sara’s eyes, and I know that no matter, we’ll find a way for it to work. I love her more than anything, except you of course. I’d do anything for her. I finally now feel what you felt with Caleb. And what you now feel with Ben. I never realized that while I resented you and your faith in love I really should have been envying you. Look, I know I sound like total fucking nerd right now, and if you ever tell anyone we had this talk, I’ll tell everyone about your little obsessions… So be smart. And , I do this because I love you, dear sister of mine!” Okay, this time I really couldn’t help but laugh. Except this time it was very much out loud. As intended, I assumed. Johnny always knows how to make me laugh. It’s in our sibling bond. We can’t help it. No matter how awful a moment may be, Jon can find a way to make me laugh if he feels the need to try. Sometimes he can be a complete dick and not give a shit, but other times, like this, we actually feel like family. He knows how to get to me in just the right way. In that moment, I was so beyond thankful for my annoying brother. Once we were back to the house, Jon surprised me by hugging me tightly in his arms before leaving me. “You’re everything to me, Gabby. No matter what I might say or do, you’re my sister. I love you. Unconditionally. Don’t fool yourself, mullah,” he whispered. “Love you too, Jon,” I replied, hugging him back as every inch of my throat burned raw. Luckily for all of us, it was almost over. I was so thirsty from all this stress that I could have slaughtered an entire city. Fortunately for me, as soon as Jon was gone, Ben had the same idea. Without a word, he came out the back door and flashed to my side, taking my hand in his.

Without saying a word, we then flashed into the woods, heading toward Lewiston in search of someone to soothe our nerves. It was the first time we have ever gone hunting… There was only one way this hunt was bound to end; blood drenched love making . . . Releasing our inner-monster…

Chapter 17

Pulling Back the Blinders

A few days later…

W ith all of the unanswered questions constantly running through my mind, it was hard to ignore. As much as I wanted to forget about it all, I couldn’t. I needed truth. I flashed downstairs, following Chelsea’s scent into the common area. We were the only ones here. Everyone else was doing what they do; Ben and Stefan were doing a job, Vanessa was out buying supplies for her fashion design obsession, while Marcus was out healing the weak, keeping the humans strong so we can turn around and eat them. How nice of him. Fortunately, Marcus doesn’t see it that way. To him, he’s making up for the bad, healing to make up for his killing. His good intentions sometimes get the best of him… Chelsea was surrounded by paperwork, typing away continuously on her laptop. I’m sure if I would have looked hard enough, I could have seen smoke rolling off of her fingertips because she was typing so fast. “Hey, honey. What’s up?” she said as I came into the room, her eyes never leaving her screen. “I’ve been thinking too much, and I really need to talk to Eddie. Could you watch Luka while I go in town?” I asked. She paused what she was doing and turned to look at me, now prying her eyes away from her computer. “Of course! Do what you have to do… ,” she replied approvingly. I smiled back at her through my emotional overload. “Thanks,” I

muttered before I disappeared out the front door. I drove as fast as tolerable down the mountain into town, burning some steam behind the wheel before I had to go against everything I’ve been fighting not to do. That fight didn’t last long . . . I knew I wasn’t strong enough for this . . . Once I parked out in front of the apartment, I moved in a perfected normal pace as I got out of the car and made my way up the stairs. I opened the door slowly, smelling him just on the other side of it, also in a desperate attempt to not appear as if I appeared out of thin air. I that feeling all too well. It isn’t exactly welcoming. I needed all I could get right about now. Eddie was reviewing files on the counter in the corner in the kitchen. I intentionally let my entrance be known. He peeked over his shoulder as he heard me. “Gabby! I wasn’t expecting you… what are you doing here?” he asked, stopping his current task to turn to face me. “We need to talk,” I insisted, clenching my fist, fighting my very willful urge to turn around and go home. The worry that suddenly became of Eddie’s expression that he was trying to hide was more than enough to prove my point. But apparently there was something else even more willful in me that needed me to do this. I went to the living room with no sudden movements, taking a seat his comfort. I didn’t have any. After he comprehended my seriousness, he hesitantly sat across from me in the chair. He was practically sweating he was so nervous. Almost like he knew exactly why I was here… That’s because he did. “Tell me the truth,” I insisted. Eddie was now hollow, smothered with his grief. That’s what lifelong secrets do to you. By the time they catch up with you, they tare you apart.

I know from recent experience. Eddie managed to keep his eyes locked onto mine. A hint of relief ed through him before he began to explain himself. Almost like the lie was a weight on his shoulders that he was about to finally relieve. I couldn’t say the same for myself. For me, this was only the beginning. I’d have a lot more insight on the matter after this point. Eddie just verified a few parts. But there’s always two sides to every story. “Babe, you have to understand that everything your family did for you was to protect you. They loved you. I’m sure your mother would have told you eventually, but since she died, I don’t know. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. When Amy and your father died and left you with me to protect you from Stasia, my plan was to tell you when you were eighteen. Unfortunately, that day came a lot faster than I had hoped, and you were so content with your life. You were young and fearless. I didn’t want to taint that for you, risk opening a door that would change you forever. I didn’t want you to change. I love you just the way you are. You didn’t need Stasia to be happy. You had already lived so long without a mother that it just didn’t seem relevant to me anymore. I’m sorry for lying to you. The last thing any of us wanted out of any of this was for you to get hurt. Your father took you from Stasia so that wouldn’t happen. And as far as I’m concerned, it was the rightest decision the man ever made. You would not have been better off with your mother. Even she knows that. There’s no reason for you to fret over this now. You’re not the same. Stasia isn’t your mother anymore now anyway. Chelsea is . . . That’s the way it was always supposed to be . . .” “What’s so wrong with her that everyone thought I’d be better off… ? Something had to have happened to convince my father to keep me from my mother and me off as moms!” I replied. My head continuously came up with more questions to ask, determined to know everything. “Okay, fine. I’ll tell you what I know. But your father wasn’t the one to be fully honest about anything, so don’t take any of it too seriously. As far as I know, your father met Stasia in the mid-eighties when he was still in Narcotic’s Anonymous. Stasia’s a very beautiful woman, despite her issues, so I wasn’t surprised when I learned that he quickly became much more than her sponsor. Of

course at the time, Amy had just learned she couldn’t have any more children, so things at home weren’t exactly stable. Plus, with your dad’s addictions and Amy’s drinking problem, your brother was stuck in the middle of it all too, and he was just a toddler. Well, next thing we all knew, all of it came crashing down when Stasia got pregnant. Amy found out about the affair, and Steven was losing his edge. Stasia, of course, put the pity party on herself, insisting she’s the one who was worse off. So he tended to her hand and foot her entire pregnancy. Stasia had been clean; she was finally starting to have a clear head. Then you were born. And she became depressed again. Using again. About a week after you were born, your father had enough of it. So he took you from her, but not before making sure she knew she would never see you again. Amy agreed to raise you as her own, and we all lived happily ever after with our dirty little secret. Until they realized they were going to die. That’s when they brought you and your brother to me. I was the only one they could trust. Plus, the fact that they added it in their last will and testament saved social services from looking into it. We couldn’t let that happen. We just wanted to keep you safe… ,” he explained, becoming more of a stranger to me by the second as I understood less and less about myself. The truth can do funny things to you. Even to us. I wanted so badly to cry. Just to be able to cry would have been nice. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t. There was only one way to ease emotions in an immortal body—violence. It’s our only nature. I flashed to my feet, suddenly wrapping my arms around Eddie and taking him into a familiar hug. “It’s not your fault. You did what you were supposed to. Thank you,” I whispered in his ear before I vanished out of his sight. I had a lot of emotions to let out. I couldn’t be around any humans I cared about at the moment. I needed to hunt. So that’s exactly what I did. I got in my car and drove to the nearest town, Douglas City. Ten minutes later, I was stalking my latest victim. She was a prissy little thing. That’s what drew me to her. I couldn’t stand the mere sight of her. That’s why I picked her. I love me a good snob. It makes it all the better for me. I stayed closely behind her as she walked down the street. Her fake designer

heels clicked on the pavement with each step in the opposite rhythm of her heartbeat, creating a very entertaining beat to hunt too. Just as I began to an alley, I pulled her into it with me with one hand over her mouth to smother her screams. I chuckled to myself as I pinned her up against the brick wall, revealing my fangs. I laughed at her fear that was fueling me. The more she trembled in my arms, the stronger I became. Once I was done playing with my food, I finally sank my fangs into the magic X on the perfect spot on her neck. The perfect spot that makes it easier to control the blood flow. Her thick, rich blood soothed my thirst almost instantly, creating an orgasmic like sensation throughout my entire body as she slowly died in my arms for the sake of my urge not to starve. As I dropped her lifeless body to the ground, I leaned on the wall behind me, enjoying my very short moment of relief before my issues set back in. The match was lit, the body was gone, and so was I. Now back to Weaverville. only thing I needed now was my own personal distraction that I love oh so very much… Careful what you wish for… When I turned up onto the mountain, Ben came up behind me, Stefan behind him. The three of us sped up the driveway the remainder of the way. My natural instinct to glare at Stefan hatefully as I got out of my car got the best of me. It was obvious immediately that Ben was tired of ignoring the obvious tension between his brother and his girlfriend. Stefan became nervous and desperately tried to hide it. Neither one of us fell for it. That gave Ben exactly what he was looking for, ing his suspicion. “Whatever it is that you did, you’re gonna fuckin’ fix it right now,” Ben barked at Stefan. This was exactly why I hadn’t told Ben to begin with. I don’t want him to hate his other brother too. But he will, just for my sake, all thanks to Stefan

and his ignorance. I had to prevent that from happening. I had to at least try. “It’s really not that big of a deal. I’ll get over it… ,” I insisted, clearly surprising Stefan. “No. It is a big a deal. Obviously. Ben’s right, I have to do something. We can’t just not talk about it just to prevent Ben from having a bitch fit. He should know… ,” Stefan replied. That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. Unfortunately, it was too late to turn back now. Stefan said too much already. Ben definitely isn’t going to let it go now. He was already starting to steam. “What the fuck did you do?” he sneered through his teeth. His eyes began boiling a solid black already. I prepared myself, standing absolutely still. I didn’t even breathe. Stefan turned to Ben. “Okay, before I tell you anything, I need to make it clear that my intentions were strictly supposed to be just to protect you,” he made a point to say. “A few years ago, Chelsea may have been able to keep her visions of Gabby from everyone else, but she couldn’t keep them from me all of the time. Eventually, she thought about it in my presence. When it happened again and again, I started to become curious. So I told everyone I was going to New York when I really went to Florida to find Gabby… “After a few days, I finally found her. I watched her for a while, waited for an opportunity for Caleb to let her out of his sight long enough for me to talk to her. “I wanted to see what was so special about her, to see why Chelsea cared so much. Without getting you involved. I’m pretty sure you weren’t capable of handling something like that at the time. I just needed to make sure Chelsea was right… So I talked to her, started a casual conversation, and listened to her thoughts. Then I’m not sure what happened… something just flipped. I knew I would never have been able to get her to do it on her own. So I compelled her to let me kiss her. I couldn’t help it. I was drawn to her. But I knew if Chelsea was right, I’d be seeing her again—with you. So I also compelled her not to any of it. As far as she knew, she never even met me until she came here… That was until she after she woke up for the very last time…”

Ben was repulsed. His hands wrapped around Stefan’s throat so fast that not even Satan himself could’ve responded quick enough to prevent it. “I should kill you. Every instinct I have is telling me to. If I didn’t need you, I would. I suggest you use that vindictive brain of yours to fix this,” he said and then finally let go of Stefan. Stefan cursed under his breath. “What the fuck do you want me to do, Ben? It isn’t that simple. She’s angry, just like she should be. Nothing I do or say is going to change that. Let’s be realistic here. If I could have done something about it I would’ve already, to prevent this very conversation!” Stefan insisted. I couldn’t allow myself to be responsible for this. So before Ben reacted in any way, I flashed in between the two of them, crossing that line. “It doesn’t have to be this way!” I barked at the both of them, catching their attention successfully. “Stefan’s a fuckin’ idiot, we know that already. But it isn’t like he hurt me or anything. He just took advantage of his power and lied about it. It could have been worst. The last thing I want is the two of you fighting because of me in any way at all. That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you, Ben. I didn’t want it to come to this. All I wanted was for Stefan to take responsibility. He did that. End of story. Let it go. It isn’t worth it,” I said, surprising the both of them. It didn’t leave Ben with much of a choice. I wasn’t sure if I had that kind of power or not, but I had to at least try. Ben contemplated it for a moment but eventually backed off, disappearing into the house without another word. I did have that power, and it felt great to have it again. Before I went inside behind him, I turned to look at Stefan. “Consider that one a freebie. But if you had any sense at all, you’d take a walk for a little while… ,” I suggested. In the fraction of a second it took me to get into the house, Stefan was gone. I followed Ben’s fresh scent upstairs into our room, worried he might do something he’ll regret, considering his current state of mind. I’d be pretty pissed

off too if my brother went behind my back in any way. The fact that Stefan also violated me only gave him more of a reason to be angry. I couldn’t blame him. I just didn’t want him to take it out on Stefan. Once he gets over it, he might regret whatever it is he would do. I couldn’t be responsible for that either. The anger in Ben’s eyes was almost too painful to look at. He looked as if he was fighting every urge he had not to tare apart everything in sight. I had to help him. I moved closer to him in a normal pace, avoiding any sudden movements that might trigger the wrong reaction in his instincts. I don’t need him accidentally trying to kill me too. That, he really wouldn’t be able to live with. Once I got close enough, I gently rested my hands on his chest, attempting to calm him with my touch. “Relax. If I’m strong enough to forgive him, then so are you,” I whispered. After a silent moment ed, Ben released his tension, gently wrapping his arms around me. As he kissed the very top of my head, he held me slightly tighter. “Your faith in him is envious,” he made a point to say. “He’s your brother. I have to have faith in him. Otherwise, he might drive me so crazy that I’ll end up killing him myself. I can’t let that happen…” I chuckled. He couldn’t help but laugh with me. “I love that about you, your way of thinking,” he replied seductively. “Well, maybe you need to show me what else you love… ,” I said with the same seductive tone, slowly moving my lips closer to his until he couldn’t wait another second, pressing his lips to mine as he lifted me up off of my feet and into his arms. After pushing everything off of the desk, he set me on top of it as we anxiously tore each other’s clothes off. I don’t think either of us realized how much we had been craving each other until that moment. There wasn’t anything in the world that could stop us. And it didn’t. We tore that room apart during the following couple of hours, which we so desperately needed. Nobody was stupid enough to bother us this time either…

That’s my kind of angry sex. Neither one of us bothered picking up the mess afterward either… I guess you could say we weren’t exactly in the cleaning mood. It was more of a “I don’t care about anyone or anything at the moment” mood. We just laid there, enjoying the quiet. That was until Ben surprised me. “Considering everyone else has told you some sort of truth today, there’s something I should show you… ,” he said, already worrying me again. “Not you too… ,” I whined quietly. “What horrifying lie do you feel guilty about?” I flashed to my feet. Ben was the last person I wanted lying to me. “Just let me show you, and then you can say or do whatever the hell you want… ,” he insisted. I glared at him suspiciously in response. At this point it didn’t even matter what it was. It was more about him feeling the need to lie to me in the first place. Without another word, Ben flashed out the window, leading me to more truth, just what I needed—doubt that. Once I leaped out of the window, over the yard and into the woods, I followed Ben through the mountains, through the thick, so-called dangerous woods of Trinity County. Apparently humans aren’t as stupid as they think they are. They’re smart enough not to come up here without a reason why, most of them anyway. The very few that do know thanks to decades worth of family stories throughout the town, actually do know better. Still, it’s basically a miracle we managed to remain civil with each other in the first place . . . Five point seven miles later, Ben stopped completely in the absolute middle of nowhere. To me, there was nothing in sight. “What are we doing here?” I asked insistently. I wasn’t exactly in the mood for Ben’s games at the moment, considering. Ben didn’t say a word. Instead, he flashed over to a large boulder that sat only a couple of feet away from him. He effortlessly shoved it out of the way, revealing what appeared to be an ordinary bunker door. Except this one was different. I

could sense it immediately. Every instinct I had told me to stay far away from it. Of course, Ben knew exactly what he was doing. He took his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door as if it was nothing, temporarily unyielding the door of its power. In result it caused me to be able to relax a little bit. I began to actually breathe again, not that I needed it. “It’s okay, I promise. That’s just hundreds of years worth of instincts. You know I’d never let anything happen to you” Ben assured. If only it were that easy. was still a little skeptical. “What the hell is that?” I asked before I moved another inch. Ben, for some reason, chuckled to himself before responding. “It’s one of the old holding quarters the agency used to use hundreds of years ago… You can’t detect it from above, and you can’t detect above from below. They used to use it to hold vampires they needed kept alive but contained,” he explained. But that didn’t explain what we were doing here. “Just trust me, you’ll be fine. It can only do harm to the ones locked in it. You’ll be right next to me,” he added, making his case. I began making my way toward him in a normal but defensive pace. I couldn’t help it. This place gave me vampire. Once I was close enough, Ben took my hand as we entered the underground bunker, the very underground bunker. I felt as if I was at the center of the earth we were that far down. Everything was completely pitch-black, but I could see everything perfectly clear with my supernatural eyesight. Vampire night vision—it’s even easier for us in the dark. That’s one of the things that makes us one of the most dangerous creatures of the night. During the few hours of the night when the dead are at their peak is when most humans die. Even by other humans. It’s the way of life, the way dark energy operates. At the end of the empty hallway was another door. This time, it was an actual normal door. Beyond that door was any immortal’s biggest nightmare. All I could smell was the scent of tortured vampires, starving into deterioration. The smell was distant, ancient even, but still very present. There was only one vampire being held here. And even though I haven’t seen them since my recent

change, I knew exactly who it was and why Ben had brought me here. I began to follow the scent, making my way through the dark, dungeonlike corridor to my right. The old engraved letterings on each of the walls kept me in the center of the hallway. I knew enough to know not to touch them. It’s what keeps them down here, the evil, spellbound by witches working for the agency all of those years ago. Ben followed closely behind me. Apparently his overprotectiveness was a hard habit to kick. As I got closer to my destination, I moved slower, keeping my distance from the door of the holding cell that Sylas was being held in. “What did you do?” I whispered to Ben through my teeth, demanding some answers. Considering that’s exactly why he brought me here, he was already ready to explain himself. “I couldn’t kill him… and I couldn’t let him go either. Not while you were still human. I don’t trust him. I couldn’t take that chance,” he said. “So you just locked him up here to starve?” I replied, astonished that two brothers could hate each other so much that it would have to come to this. “I locked him up to show him discipline, to make him appreciate his existence. The plan was to make him less of a threat in the long run. Once we let him go and get him fed, he should be tolerable. If not, it’ll become a job that I have no authority against. I won’t have a choice. This is the only way I could help him… ,” he explained. The obvious concern was a little confusing to digest, but somehow I understood how Ben’s mind operates. He hates his brother, but only because he keeps exposing himself, making Ben make choices that he shouldn’t have to make. He just wants his brother to be normal—tolerable. This was his last attempt at that before the agency orders Ben to kill him. It’s Ben fear of losing his brother completely that put Sylas behind that door. I probably would have done the same thing. I didn’t know very much about vampire starvation, but from the looks of Sylas through the door, it wasn’t pretty. And he’s only been here three weeks.

That made him even more dangerous, until he feeds that is. I didn’t even want to imagine the pain he was going through, both of them actually. Ben didn’t want to see his brother that way any more than Sylas wanted to be here. I had a feeling that had everything to do with why I was here. I was right. “I need you to decide whether to let him go or not. I can’t. I’m too close to it all. My judgment is tainted. Yours isn’t. I need your help… ,” Ben insisted, handing the power over to me, a power that I did not want to have. I had absolutely no idea what to do. If I made the wrong decision, it’s on me. If I let him go and he fucks up, leaving Ben to kill him, I wouldn’t be able to live with that. But if we leave him here, I’ll be just as bad as him—ruthless. “I wanna talk to him…” I breathed. In other words, I insisted he open the door. He obviously wasn’t very fond of that idea, but given the circumstances, he wasn’t about to argue with me. He took the keys out of his pocket again, putting a different key into the door. “Be careful,” he warned before completely opening it. I nodded as I brushed past him into the holding room, consisting of nothing but four spellbound walls. Ben stayed in the doorway, not letting me out of his sight. Sylas was curled up in the corner, struggling to even move. His muscles were already starting to deteriorate. He couldn’t take me down even if he wanted to. Still, Mr. Protective didn’t take his eyes off of me. I stood only inches away from Sylas. As I knelt down next to him, I moved his head toward me slowly, each movement causing him unbearable amounts of pain. “Gabby… You’re like us… ,” he muttered, sensing nothing human about me anymore. must have been a disappointment. “Ya… I am… So I know what you’re feeling. I want to help you. But I’m not going to help you for nothing. I don’t owe you anything. As far as I’m concerned, Ben should have killed you weeks ago. But for some reason, he wants to save you from yourself. That’s why I’m here. I’m your only way out of here, Sylas. So you better start proving yourself. Or I’ll let you rot into nothing. You’re not my brother. You just happen to be the brother of somebody that I love, so if you want out, you’re gonna have to give a little to get a little. Got it?”

Sylas nodded excessively in understanding. “I can see why my baby brother likes you so much… You’re very… wise. You’re just like him… Don’t worry, I won’t take offense if I’m not invited to the wedding… I’d keep me away from you too if I was him… ,” he made a point to say. Apparently starving doesn’t stop him from being a smart-ass. Chuckling to myself, I rolled my eyes and briefly looked back at Ben, who seemed rather amused by Sylas’s statement. “Cute… Maybe if you weren’t a disgrace to all vampires, your own brother wouldn’t have to dissolve you from his life. So if you ever want to get out of here, I’d lay off the flirtatious remarks, you’re wasting your breath. I’d start convincing me why I should let you out of here in one piece… ,” I suggested firmly. He strongly attempted to shift to his left, failing miserably. He was too weak. He then gave up, only moving enough to look at me. “It’s ironic, really. I always thought Benjamin would be the lifelong bachelor. He was always the one to care more about himself than women. I was the only one that ever tried. Then he meets you. Having everything he never thought he wanted just fall into his life without even having to try. He’s always been the lucky one, I guess. That’s probably why I’m in here, and he holds the key to my freedom. With your help. How poetic.” He chuckled to himself, borderline psychotic with hunger. “That’s irrelevant,” I stated simply. Our love life was the last thing I wanted to talk about with. “This is the last place I want to be. So I suggest you stop wasting my time,” I added. “Damn. Feisty little thing you are. That explains a lot…” Ben flashed to Sylas, lifting his practically lifeless body up off of the ground by his throat. “You don’t get to talk about her like that, Sylas. You’re lucky you even get the privilege of setting your deceiving fuckin’ eyes on her. Got it? Now watch your mouth and tell her what she wants to hear, or she will leave you here to die, and I won’t come back for you. You know why? Because what she wants means more to me than you do, for this very reason. You don’t know when to shut up, I suggest you learn if you want to see another decade.” The tension between the two of them was starting to become unpredictable. I had to get this over with.

Sylas groaned in pain as Ben dropped him to the floor. “All right! Chill the fuck out. No more games,” he managed to say through the ache of starvation. “How do you live with him?” he asked rhetorically. “See, that’s the difference between you and I. We both care about the same person, but yet we see him in two totally different ways. Because all you see is the anger and the hurt you’ve caused him, which naturally causes you to act the way you do. It’s your only way of coping with the fact that the only person that is biologically programmed to love you can’t stand you. When I see him, all of the things you pick apart about him are all of the things that make him who is he. And I love all of them. Especiallythe anger… it’s kind of a turn-on . . . ,” I made a point to say, taunting him. I couldn’t help it. Both of them chuckled quietly, both for entirely different reasons. It was obvious Sylas was just aching to say something inappropriate in response. It was when he didn’t that surprised me, holding his tongue for probably the first time in his existence. Instead, he looked straight at me with the utmost seriousness in his eyes. “If I could make my brother not despise me, I would. But he has for a very long time. Long before either of us were a part of this world. I’m not even sure he’d be able to stand me even if he wanted to. He never learned how. His excessive need to protect himself, which later turned into a lot more than that when he became immortal, prevented my baby brother from having any kind of emotional connection to me whatsoever. For the longest time, I wasn’t even sure he was capable of loving anything. He’s just one of those people who don’t have enough room in his heart. Until I saw him with you. I’d never seen anyone look at anyone like that before. It was a nice last image to die to, that’s for sure.” “Is there a point here?” Ben interrupted. “See! It’s hopeless. You might as well just let me rot. Your boyfriend will be better off that way. Wouldn’t you want to do what is best for him?” I stayed absolutely still, caught up in the discussion. “What the hell do you think I’m doing here? Talking to you for fun? I don’t think so. You have absolutely no idea what is best for him. I have a pretty good idea of what his intentions are, and as far as I can tell, you have no idea what you’re talking about. You

wouldn’t be here if Ben didn’t care about you. You’d be dead. Ben just has a… strange… way of expressing his feelings. You kind of have to figure it out on your own. All it takes is a little effort, effort that you never took the time to take. That’s your fault. Not his. Now get up,” I insisted. “What?” He breathed “Get the fuck up. I’m not carrying you out of here. If you want to get on the other side of that door, I suggest you walk with us, or we’re leaving you behind…” Nobody moved. Nobody spoke for an extremely long, extremely silent moment. “You’re serious?” Ben seemed skeptical. “Yes, I’m serious. You asked me to do something, I’m doing it. Now let’s go. I have things to do. Like kill something,” I muttered as I made my way back into the hall. No one argued with me. Sylas followed very sluggishly behind us as we made our way out of this hell. Of course, Ben didn’t take his eyes off of him for a second. At least he had it in him to. I was too determined to get out of here. The lack of hearing ability I had down here was really starting to get to me. Working against my natural defense will do that. I didn’t waste another moment in that bunker. I practically pounced out of the hole in the ground as I flashed through the door. The fresh, open air smothered me with relief. But it wasn’t as relieving for me than it was for Sylas. “Let’s go. There’s bagged blood at the house you can have for now until it’s safe to let you loose again,” Ben sneered, dragging Sylas along with us when he didn’t move fast enough while he practically caressed the ground. “Chill, bro, I’m comin’. Quit nagging,” Sylas muttered. Luckily, Ben didn’t take it too seriously, not chewing his head off for not knowing when to shut up. I was impressed with his self-discipline. It took us longer than it should’ve to make it to the house with a slow, starving vampire to keep pace with. I guess you can say my threat to leave him there if he couldn’t keep up was a bluff… I had to help him.

We had to help him. We did. No one else was home when we returned, thankfully. That gave us plenty of time to warn them. Ben made the call while keeping an eye on Sylas while I went downstairs to get a bag of blood. The basement consisted only of two large containers filled with bagged human blood stolen from blood drives and hospitals. It’s always sealed shut with a security code. A code I had to learn sooner than I should’ve when I was pregnant. The buttons didn’t even beep when you unlocked it to prevent others from recognizing the distinct sounds of each individual button, therefore revealing the code. You’re a little cautious on this side of reality, the immortal side. You have to be. Ironically even more so then humans. It had only taken me just under three seconds to go downstairs and come back up, and still Sylas couldn’t take the bag from me quick enough. I guess I couldn’t blame him. He practically inhaled the first bag, returning his color immediately along with some of his strength. But he was still starving and in excruciating pain. That was just the way we wanted him, right under our thumb. Ben didn’t need to be telepathic like Stefan to know what my intentions had been when I let him out. He had probably been thinking the same thing. We do think a lot alike. Apparently everyone doesn’t say that for no reason… It didn’t take long for everyone to return after Ben’s phone call to Marcus. Each of them clearly rushed in worry. Unfortunately, that didn’t prevent Ben from flashing an obvious glare of hatred at Stefan at the sight of him. looks could kill… Stefan would be toast right about now… Marcus paused abruptly. “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” he sneered. “First, you tell me you have a situation with your biological brother. Now apparently Stefan

pissed you off too? What the fuck did he do this time?” “Ask him,” Ben sneered in response under his breath. Marcus looked at Stefan, obviously. “Uh… we should probably have this conversation later… ,” Stefan muttered. “What? You don’t want everyone to know that you’re no better than Sylas over here. At least he would’ve manned up and told someone. He wouldn’t have been able to resist,” Ben rambled, taking all of this completely off track. And that was my cue to end it, again. I flashed closer to Ben, slightly in front of him, in between him and Marcus. “Stefan’s right. This isn’t the time for this,” I insisted strongly under my breath. He didn’t say another word. Neither did Stefan. That’s when Marcus stepped in. Nobody even blinked. “Okay, spare me the drama. Let’s get to the point,” he said. “I’m just going to assume you have a plan, and I don’t have to worry about it… Kay, good. End of story then. Do what you need to do.” Ben nodded in response, apparently not in the argumentative mood. Marcus flashed a sarcastic, satisfied smile before disappearing upstairs into his office. That was easier than expected… Everyone separated to do their own thing, Except for Stefan. He didn’t move at all as Ben and I didn’t take our eyes off of Sylas. He leaned against the corner of the wall that separated the back of the stairs from the unnecessary kitchen beyond the right side of the common area that Sylas was making himself comfortable in. “What?” Ben barked at him, clearly annoyed by his presence. That made two of us. “Don’t you think we should talk about this?” Stefan insisted.

“Talk about what, Stefan? I don’t have anything to say to you…” Ben was becoming so frustrated he had to speak through his teeth in order to prevent himself from screaming at him. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me… ,” Marcus muttered under his breath from upstairs, just as over the two of them as I was. He appeared between the two of them in the same moment. “Both of you come with me right now. We’re going to talk about this whether you want to or not. I’m done listening to this. It’s ridiculous. You’re brothers. You’re supposed to be able to work this out. Let’s make me proud,” Marcus insisted. His distinct sarcasm in his frustration was rather amusing from the outside. If I wasn’t being left on Sylas duty by myself, I might have been more amused. Unfortunately, I wasn’t. Ben, of course, hesitated going anywhere but couldn’t disobey even if he wanted to. That’s kind of the disadvantage of being under your creators will. He did make sure to give me a kiss before he left. Followed by Chelsea saving me from Sylas duty by handing Luka off to me where he belongs. Now I was finally looking forward to the rest of my evening… I just had to hope that Marcus can make miracles happen and Ben and Stefan return on the same side again. Then my day would be complete…

Chapter 18

Rude Awakenings

I found myself surprised to feel the normalcy I felt spending time with Sara after spending the last seventy-six hours working while tending to Luka and babysitting Sylas. I wanted to keep a hold on this part of my life, try to avoid letting it slip away from me. Put aside the tempting smell of her warm blood and the echoing rhythm of her heartbeat that taunted my every thought, it was somehow relieving to be surrounded by something other than the forbidden. I had come in town this afternoon when Chelsea agreed to keep an eye on Sylas while Vanessa kept Luka entertained for a few hours while I got some air. It was very much needed. Sara and I spent the first hour filling each other in on our usual detailed recent life story. Unfortunately, mine always seemed much more interesting than hers… Sucks to be me. Her part consisted mostly of her fear of pregnancy, still completely terrified of it all. It made me realize how brave I had been. Here she was, scared about a normal pregnancy with no health risks when I was faced with losing both of our lives in the very short process. Yet somehow I understood her from experience. It didn’t matter who had it worse off. It was good for the both of us to vent about things we couldn’t express elsewhere. My stress level lowered drastically after complaining about all of the things that annoy me lately. Vampires aren’t that much different from humans emotionally. The only difference that matters is that we conveniently have the option to turn them off…

As do human sociopaths. Luckily that’s the whole point of the meet and greet after becoming a vampire, filtering out the bad ones… The ones meant for a more permanent type of hell. Apparently I managed to despite my lack of a human conscience. I guess it pays to be claimed by one of them. It makes all of us in our coven untouchable. Anybody they care enough about. Family is important in this world too. It always comes first. A coven isn’t just about having numbers to protect each other. It’s much more than that. We’re as real as any other human family. We’re just as dysfunctional too. Unfortunately, that meant I had two handfuls of family drama to deal with. The moment Jon walked through the door, I knew I wasn’t going to be pleased when I walked out of here. His expression immediately gave away that he had something to say to me that he was hesitant about. Which meant there was a huge possibility I wasn’t going to like what I was going to hear. Why can’t I be wrong once in a while? Sara stood up and made her way into the other room without another word. Clearly more in tune with reading Jon these days than I was. That was kind of a reality check. He quickly sat across from me, obviously anxious to say what he has to say. Our lack of communication lately hinted toward high importance… “I need your help,” he itted forcefully. “Eddie’s getting sicker by the day. He needs to go home, where he belongs, where he should die. I know you have a lot going on, and I shouldn’t even be asking for your help, but I need you to put your feelings aside for just a second and consider going with me to bring Eddie home. I can’t do it without you,” he insisted There was a seriousness to his tone that made his desperation a little more noticeable than I’m sure he had intended. I knew my brother better than I knew anybody. I knew he was neglecting to include something on his very short favor list. I could see it hiding in his eyes,

almost taunting at me, like it didn’t want to hide but felt safer that way… I sighed. I didn’t know what else to do. “Jon… I’m smart enough to know that getting Eddie back to Florida isn’t what has you so on edge. What aren’t you telling me?” I replied as fairly as I could. He looked at me with a weird, curious look. I had absolutely no idea where it came from or what it was aimed toward, not that it mattered to me anyway. I’m not the desperate one. Just as I thought I should start to worry after a few more moments ed of him just staring at me with that same look, he snapped out of it, responding to the fullest. “I need to get into the basement of ELG in Orlando before the insurance company comes snooping around. The last thing any of us need is the feds up our asses again!” he spoke anxiously, worriedly. I didn’t budge. Disgusted with it all just as I have been since the first time we all went to jail over the basement at ELG in Orlando. My eyes quickly found their way down to his fingertips, bringing to my attention the key to all of this. The burns on his fingers told me all I needed to know. I stood up in a nonalarming fashion. “I’ll call you later. I gotta go,” I insisted, making my way out the front door without another word. In an attempt to avoid attracting attention to myself, I made my way downstairs in a normal pace, hating every extra long second of it until I finally made it out to my car, where I was turned around by the sense of Ben… and Stefan. This whole “pretending to not hate each other” thing was already irritating me, and it had only been a few days. Luckily today they seemed more tolerable… Or at least Ben still wasn’t ripping Stefan’s throat out today. That made it a little easier to live with. My arms wrapped around Ben without hesitation, as did his. It apparently made Stefan entirely uncomfortable. accomplished.

I just couldn’t bring myself to stop kissing him; he’s just too delicious. That was until I was forced to. What came next, none of us saw coming. We weren’t expecting it. Our guards were down. Luckily for us, it was just an apparently ignorant human, a human with a death wish. No sane person puts a gun to my face and expects to walk away. Ben and Stefan immediately became defensive, growling at her warningly—Ben a little more threatening than Stefan, obviously. Yet I was surprised to see Stefan reacting in any way at all. But considering the current circumstances, that was the least of my concerns. My only question was who the hell is pointing a gun at me and why… “Who the fuck are you?” I asked bluntly, showing absolutely no reaction toward the current whatsoever. It’s not like that gun could harm me any more anyway… Her loss. “You killed my boyfriend, you fucking bitch!” she barked at me. That’s when I was forced to shut off all of my emotions when the shock and confusion hit me all at once. Thankfully it wasn’t strong enough for anyone else to notice… Stefan leaned slightly closer to me. “Max . . . ,” he whispered low enough so that only the three of us heard him, kindly filling in the blanks Suck-up. “You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kidding me,” I muttered to myself aloud, gathering my thoughts. It didn’t take much. “Okay, first of all, technically, Caleb’s shot killed your boyfriend, or would have after a moment or two, long enough for him to shoot me too if I hadn’t empty my clip into his skull quick enough for me to save my own life. “Second of all, you must be two feet past stupid to come all the way across the country to make the same mistake your boyfriend did. That takes dedication. That tells me that he meant a lot to you. Which is sort of sad, considering how all of this started. You really shouldn’t go digging for answers you’d be better off not knowing about. Otherwise, you’re going to find yourself regretting this,” I

replied. Everyone was quiet for a moment. Until her emotions got the best of her; “None of this would have happened if that kid didn’t need to leave Max practically bleeding to death after step that night. I know you were there, you were always there!” she at me. “Ya, well, that wouldn’t have happened either if Max hadn’t been such a pig and said the wrong thing to the wrong person. In the real world, when people disrespect the people they love, they get hurt. That was your boyfriend’s bad, not mine. I tried to make Caleb walk away, but there’s no stopping a man when it comes down to his pride. If you had any clue in that head of yours, you’d know that. Obviously you didn’t know your boyfriend as well as you think you did,” I said with a nasty little tone. I couldn’t help myself. My anger meter kept growing uncontrollably; there was no stopping it. This bitch was pushing the wrong buttons. If I couldn’t kill her, I had to at least dish it back to her. The best part of it was that she thought she had the upper hand. Little did she know how much danger she was potentially in… She was starting to sweat, and her heartbeat started thudding even faster than it already was. You would think that would have given her away to us, but apparently the last thing we expected was for some girl to pull a vengeance stunt on me today. Just what I needed! Perfect! She was beyond pissed off now. She could hardly point the gun at me straight. “If you weren’t holding that gun like a child, you might actually have some control over it… ,” I suggested. That was my random act of kindness for that day. That only made her madder; I couldn’t help but smile. “Why are you still here? Why did everyone I love have to die, and you walked away with everything except your sanity? Boo-hoo! If they’re gone, you should be too! I lost everything that night! Don’t even get me started on what your dog did to my brother! That punk friend of yours wasn’t worth their lives! There’s no reason why you should still be here!” she replied.

I only heard one part of that. That was enough. I felt my eyes boil black behind my sunglasses as I sneered my way closer to her and her useless gun. I was done playing her game. We were doing this our way now. “That punk friend of mine was my boyfriend. After being with him for fifteen years, I watched him die. The cops had to tare me away from him covered in his blood. I lost everything that night. My boyfriend was murdered in his own house because some little puke from the streets wanted the spotlight. Don’t tell me what should or shouldn’t be. I walked out of that house because I actually knew what I was doing. So did Caleb. He just didn’t want to kill Max. That’s the only reason why he’s dead. He broke the most important rule. The same rule you broke the moment you spoke to me instead of shooting me. Shoot first, ask questions later. Now if you want to walk away from here, I suggest you do something smart.” That’s when she fired her gun at me, apparently taking that as a hint. Considering I was only inches away from the gun, I only had one opportunity to dodge it, and I took it. Flashing the gun out of her hand in the same moment, confusing the hell out of her. With the gun now pointed at her, she was practically in tears. Having no use for it except to terrify her, I dropped it to the ground in front of her, surrendering it back to her. I could find better ways to terrify her… “Let’s try this one more time, huh!” I suggest again, giving her one last chance to walk away. Unfortunately, the gunshot had alerted Jon and everybody else on Maine Street at two o’clock in the afternoon… I heard him practically jump down the stairs, skidding to a stop just on the other side of Ben. “What the hell is going on?” he asked anxiously, jittery. It annoyed me; usually truth hurts. Her first reaction was to point the gun at him. Bad move. Jon’s forced instinct was to then point his at her. At least he stopped long enough to come prepared this time. Having absolutely no idea why they were pointing a gun at each other, Ben filled him in. “This is the girlfriend of the guy who shot Caleb. She wants to put a bullet in

your sister’s head… She already tried and failed. That was the shot you heard. She isn’t very bright…” Jon’s natural urge to stick up for me got the best of him this. He actually wanted to be pointing the gun at her now. “Why is she still breathing then!” he complained. “There are three of you! Why haven’t you finished this? Haven’t you ever heard of ’t first, ask questions later’!” Everyone chuckled to themselves. “What!” Jon barked, now the one to be annoyed. “I just said that forty seconds ago,” I informed him. “course you did… ,” he muttered “Now can somebody do something before the cops show up… I think that’s the last thing any of us need… ,” he added insistently. I looked at both Ben and Stefan, deciding her fate silently amongst the three of us. I was so totally beyond all of this right now. The last thing I needed was proof that your problems always catch up to you. Especially only five minutes after Jon tried to convince me to go back to Florida… How convenient… “What are you doing?” Jon asked anxiously, probably already tired of pointing a gun at this chick. We ignored his anxiousness, keeping complete focus. Both Stefan and I looked at Ben, encouraging him do the dirty work. Everyone’s always saying how Ben’s the strongest. Well, this is a job for the strongest of us all. Whether he wants to or not. It was either that or eat her. There was an intriguing idea. “Why does it always have to be me that gets stuck cleaning up the mess?” Ben sneered at Stefan under his breath as he unwillingly moved closer to the girl with the gun aimed at my brother. If we were playing by my rules, she would be dead just for pointing it at him. But considering she already tried to shoot me before he even came outside, I have a feeling she would have been dead either way if it were up to me. But it’s not. We have a secret to keep…

So instead, we brainwashed her with a lie. Stefan’sspecialty. Ben looked straight into her eyes, making complete eye with her. Those mysterious, addictively gorgeous eyes of his took her focus off of my brother completely. “You never saw any of us today. You came here to ask questions about your perished boyfriend but later decided to change your mind. You think it would be best to let it all go. It wasn’t worth it. You’ll go back to Florida without any answers, but you’ll move on anyway. Your anger at Gabby and anyone else involved will quickly fade, and you’ll never come here ever again. Now you’re going home.” The gun fell to the ground as she turned around and walked away without a word, compelled to do only what Ben just told her to do. Sometimes it’s just too easy. Jon became annoyingly curious. “What the fuck was that?” he uttered in awe. And probably slight suspicion. It’s hard to accept when you never know if it’s happened to you. That’s when it becomes personal. Hence, the thickening tension between Stefan and I at the moment. I was in no mood for Jon’s questions. “Just forget it, Jon, or we’ll have to do it to you too,” I warned honestly. I’d compel him in a heartbeat to shut him up. I’d just rather not do the same thing to him that I hate Stefan for—lying. It’s different with random chicks pointing a gun at us. Jon’s my brother. I’d only do that if I had to. With my current toleration level way over its limit, this could easily become a had-to situation. All it would take was the wrong word. Luckily for him, he got the point the first time for once. If I wasn’t so anxious to get out of here I probably would have stopped to celebrate the miracle. Not up for it. “I’ll call you tomorrow about Eddie. I gotta get outta here,” I insisted before I finally got into my car. One suicidal widow later… The three of us then took advantage of our ability to let our emotions out in our driving as we raced up the mountain home. advantage being we couldn’t get

ourselves killed in the process. All I wanted to do was absolutely nothing at all. All I wanted was five minutes to think without someone or something sabotaging my game planning. It’s difficult to accomplish anything surrounded by constant distractions. Even for vampires. Fortunately, I made a habit of using driving as a method of therapeutic mind clearing, providing me with just enough time to gather it all up. Now I just needed to lay it out in front of me. So when I beat Stefan home, but not Ben, making Stefan double baggage, I was again provided with exactly what I needed as he walked away—Ben all to myself. “We need to talk,” I stated simply, probably a little more simply then I should have. I didn’t want to make him worried, but I also needed him to recognize the importance in my tone. He did. He followed behind me as I ran straight into the woods, down the same trail we take every single day to our small clearing on the top of the mountain, which we use as a teenage wasteland to be sinful by having premarital sex and talk about things in ways nobody else should hear. It was one of my favorite spots in these woods. I’ve learned them like the back of my hand. It was just far enough away from the house to prevent curious siblings and or makers from bothering us and close enough so that we could be back at any given moment if needed. Now I wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to react in response to my day, but I had to do something anyway. Just because everybody else was afraid of him, I didn’t have to be. I couldn’t be. For this very reason, I need him. Plus, if he couldn’t even hurt me while I was human when he was naturally bound to, he wasn’t going to hurt me now for any reason. If anyone else thought differently, then they didn’t know Ben at all. After months of trying to figure him out, I was starting to have a fine-enough grasp of all that comes with being with Benjamin Row. The backfire I was afraid of was for him to disagree with me. Then I’d be on my

own. The only thing I had going for me was that he had suggested I do the same thing. Only that was before some girl we didn’t even know put a gun in my face… That might change things; that was the tick in the back of my mind as I prepared myself to vent to Ben in the middle of the woods, in the middle of nowhere, on the top of a mountain. Apparently isolation is a comfort point for us when out of hunting mode. The quiet seemed to make things a little easier to process. Before I even set foot into these woods, I told myself that I wasn’t going to procrastinate this. I needed to just come out and say it. So I did. “I need to go back to Florida, and I need you to come with me,” I said without even a pause for air. If I even tasted hesitation I would have changed my mind. I didn’t want to go back to Florida. In fact, I despised the idea. It was just the only idea I had left… I was desperate. I wanted all of it behind me. I wanted it locked away, never to be thought of again. I wasn’t going to allow myself to dread another day over a few junkies who decided to ruin my life. If I hadn’t have Ben to pick up the pieces, it would still be ruined. Luckily, I’m more fortunate than that. This is exactly why I needed him with me, for emotional while I finish my unfinished business. Unwillingly along with Caleb’s… Thankfully, Ben’s very understanding. Since he wasn’t screaming at me in a foreign language yet, I’d say there won’t be much of a protest in my near future. “Okay… ,” he shrugged. “I’m not glad it took some girl to point a gun at you to make you realize you have things to do, but at least I didn’t have to try to push it upon you until something even worse came of it. So if you’re ready to go back to Florida, then go. I’d never make you go alone anyway, even if you wanted me to. You’re kind of stuck with my need to keep you safe. Unbreakable or not.” The flirtatiousness in his tone turned my expression into a smirk. Of course he always has to turn every conversation into a seduction. He wouldn’t be Ben if he didn’t at least.

“Good. Because I would have dragged you there with me whether you wanted to or not,” I replied. Two can play at that game. Considering I was the one with the boobs… I was naturally better at it than he was, at least better at holding back until the other folds anyway. Except of course today I couldn’t help it. He was too tempting after a day like today. There was no way I was ing him up…

Back at the house… The calming sound of Luka’s tiny little heartbeat, which beats three times faster than a normal child’s, welcomed us back. It was the only sound worth listening to. It was obvious almost immediately that everybody already knew about the small incident in town. Stefan and his gigantic mouth . . . Everyone was walking on eggshells around both Ben and me. Apparently they weren’t interested in pushing our buttons today. That was a nice change of pace for once. So before anyone decided to change their minds, I flashed upstairs to Chelsea’s office for a word or two. She was the only person I wanted to see or speak to at the moment. Before making my way into her office, I leaned in the doorway, watching her. She was organizing her already perfectly organized desk frantically. She paused whatever it was that she was doing at my entrance, exchanging her aggravated expression for her usual joyous smile. “Hey, honey. What’s up?” she asked. I leaned on the door as I shut it behind me. Not that shutting the door would do me any good; there’s no such thing as a private conversation in this house. I didn’t care enough to take it elsewhere. I just needed to fill her in.

“I assume Stefan told you what happened in town?” I verified. She nodded hesitantly, treading carefully—that gets annoying real quick. I made my way closer to her across the room while I gathered what to say. “She’s not the only one that feels that way. I saw this coming long before I even came to California. People in Florida have a very specific way of thinking… I need to go back… For a handful of reasons… ,” I informed her, warning her really. ’s gonna have to tend to Luka while we’re gone. That was the obvious reason. Chelsea seemed surprised by my decision. I couldn’t blame her for that; I’ve only been avoiding doing this since my transformation was complete. I never would have thought that it would take some girl I’ve never even met pointing a gun at me to make me realize I had some business to tend to back on the East Coast. It was the last place in the world I wanted to be. But I had to put how I felt behind me for the time being in order to fix how I felt. Forcefully or not, I was still anxious to get it out of the way. “I can only assume that Ben’s going with you… ?” she clarified before saying another word. I chuckled quietly to myself. “Ya… Florida is the last place in the world I want to be right now… He knows that. Plus I don’t think either of us would get through the days very well with him constantly worrying… He’s coming with me whether he wants to or not… ,” I said clearly. She chuckled at the obvious truth in my response. So did a couple others downstairs, Stefan and Vanessa mostly. I could practically see Ben rolling his eyes at us downstairs with his smug attitude, the same attitude that got me to fall for him in the first place. “When are you going?” Chelsea then asked, taking all of the attention off of Ben before he tore Stefan apart for merely smiling. I have absolutely no idea how Stefan became Ben’s punching bag for whenever he needs it, whether it has anything to do with Stefan or not, but it’s a serious problem in this house that none of us—including me—take lightly. I may severely dislike Stefan most of the time, but that doesn’t make it okay. Ben just doesn’t care.

“Uh… I don’t know. I gotta talk to my brother. He wants to bring Eddie back too. I kinda blew him off, but then I had a gun in my face and decided to change my mind… ,” I explained. She understood, chuckling to herself at my unorganized way of thinking. I think I’m the only one in this house without an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Or maybe it just hasn’t rubbed off yet… Something else to look forward to. When I went down the hall to the bedroom to get my phone, I was forced to freeze in my tracks as I noticed Luka sitting on the floor surrounded by sawdust. He was laughing aloud to himself as he crumbled some kind of wooden object in his tiny little fist. Clearly he was very amused by his own strength. He becomes more fascinating every day. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. I stood absolutely still in the doorway, just watching him. Until his eyes turned a solid shade of black, causing him to do an emotional somersault. He had a fit, kicking and screaming. “It’s Ben’s turn…” I sighed in relief. “Good, ’cause it’s Gabby turns to keep an eye on my other obnoxious brother… ,” he replied, causing any relief I had just felt to disappear instantly. A low growl rumbled in my throat as I stormed my way downstairs. I went all the way downstairs into the basement where Sylas was being held. It was also where Ben was momentarily to get a bag of blood for our demonic son. He made it a point to flash a flirtatious smirk at me before kissing the top of my head as he flashed back upstairs, leaving me in charge of his untrustworthy biological brother. If my presence didn’t taunt him, I probably wouldn’t be down here as much. But considering in the eyes of Sylas I’m the competition that he has no fighting chance against, it makes our daily visit worth the time. Sylas is a lot like Stefan—he always has something to say. In comparison, Stefan is at least tolerable, to an extent. “Finally, something good to look at!” Sylas exclaimed under his breath.

I rolled my eyes. “If you seriously think hitting on me is an accurate way to get into my head then you really don’t know me at all… I’m sort of used to scumbags saying obnoxious things to me. So really, the only thing you’re doing is pissing your brother off even more. I’d knock it off if I were you… ,” I warned hastily. Which of course backfired on me. I could see it in his eyes; it only turned him on more. Apparently when it comes to that, he and his brother are one and the same. Speaking of which, just then, Ben came flashing down the stairs, pausing directly in front of me. He gently placed his hands on my sides, gripping them seductively. “I gotta go to Redding with Stefan to check in. I’ll be back in a little while, and then we’ll go out… ,” he whispered before his lips found mine, making it a point to make sure the effect would last until he returned… I didn’t want to take my hands off of him. I didn’t even care Sylas was only three feet away from us. Unfortunately, Stefan did. “Wow, seriously, dude! Didn’t you just get that out of your system before the two of you came back? Damnit, keep it in your fuckin’ pants for five minutes before Mel calls again!” Stefan complained from the top of the stairs. My hatred for him grew fonder in that moment. As Ben turned around, he also made it a point to shove Sylas up against the wall as a warning. “Watch your fuckin’ mouth, Sylas. She’s not one of them gutter sluts of yours that spend most of their time suckin’ daddy’s dick, so I suggest you show her some respect before she kills you. You won’t have to worry about what I’ll do to you…” Then he was gone, along with Stefan, once again leaving me alone with numbnuts. If Marcus and Chelsea weren’t upstairs with Luka I’d probably end up doing something I regret… like decapitating him. “Do you seriously hate me that much because I find you attractive?” he asked with the most casual tone I’ve ever heard out of him, but only once Ben was long gone, of course. Wimp. “No, I don’t hate you that much because you find me attractive. I hate you that much because it is disrespectful to just say whatever you want to a girl, especially when they are with your own brother. That just shows that you don’t

respect him either. That’s why I can’t stand you.” He sat quietly for a little while after that. From the looks of it, he wasn’t really sure what to say. At least it bought me some quiet time. I let the sound of Luka’s heartbeat and the sounds of his breathing keep me calm and level while I sat anxiously across from Sylas. Vampire’s aren’t meant to be kept confined. It goes against everything we are. The anxiousness that poured out of him continuously was difficult to witness. Every instinct that he had told him to destroy me if he had to, to get out the door and to the nearest human for a real hunt. I almost felt bad for him. I didn’t even want to think about what it was like to only feed off bagged blood. ’s the fun in that? There isn’t any. That’s the point. Bagged blood only soothes the burn, not the restlessness or the severe anxiousness. So when Ben returned, I knew what I was going to do. I had a feeling he wasn’t going to be very fond of the idea, but he’s said it himself—it was my decision to take him out of the tunnels. Therefore, his progress or lack thereof was my decision also. Sylas’s fate rested in my hands, and everyone knew it. I guess that’s why I spend more time in this basement with him than anyone else does, including his own brother. That’s sort of sad. Or it would be If it wasn’t Sylas we were talking about it anyway. He’s the only one to blame. He hasn’t even tried to prove himself to any of us. If I didn’t know any better I’d say he was trying to keep things hostile. If that’s the only way to have anything to do with his brother then that’s better than nothing, I assumed. What he didn’t realize was that if he acted like a normal vampire, Ben might actually dislike him a little less. Maybe even tolerate him someday in the next few decades or so. I didn’t know the real reason why Ben came to hate his brother so much, but I knew it had to be something worth the energy from all of that hatred. Ben isn’t exactly the type to hold grudges for decades without a reason. The fact that I don’t even know tells me all I needed to know. Most of the time, when Ben’s

keeping something from me, I’m better off that way. I learned that the hard way more times than necessary… Sylas’s existence for example. Enough said. I didn’t speak another word to him for the rest of the thirty-three minutes and twenty eight seconds until Ben and Stefan finally returned. Saved by the mysterious boyfriend and his untrustworthy, pervert of a sidekick. The look on Stefan’s face as I thought that at the same time he appeared in the doorway was priceless. It actually made his presence tolerable to an extent. It wasn’t his presence I was interested in. Considering my intent for Sylas in the next couple of seconds, I had to choose my moment perfectly to avoid casualties. I waited until after he kissed me and before he forcefully directed his attention to Sylas. “Did he behave?” he asked with a disgusted tone. “Yup,” I lied. “Never spoke a word,” I added, attempting to soften the tension before increasing it. “Lucky you,” he sneered at Sylas, taunting him as usual. It’s like it’s the only way Ben knows how to communicate with him. That’s even sadder. That was my perfect moment. “Yup… he is. Because he’s coming with us,” I said in response to his sarcastic remark to Sylas. Both of them froze with their eyes locked in shock at me for an extra long moment. “You seriously think that’s a good idea?” he asked worriedly. I flashed an amused smile at him as I stepped close enough to rest my right hand on his orgasmic chest. “It’ll be fine. You’re stronger than him, ? right now. He clearly needs it. It’s what he needs. Don’t you want him out of our basement?” I said. It didn’t take very long for him to think about it. He glared back over at Sylas. “If you fuck up, even once, I won’t hesitate,” Ben warned him. I was already tired of hearing that. I couldn’t imagine how

annoying it must be for Sylas. Of course that was amusingly reassuring. Ben then flashed up the stairs, not wasting another second. “After you,” I insisted to Sylas before following Ben. There was no way in hell I was walking in front of Sylas. Ben seemed like a safer bet for him. We followed Ben west to the smallest town that surrounds Weaverville—the Junction, City. Population: 610. Compared to the 3,550 in Weaverville, it was the perfect place to let Sylas loose. We began roaming the area, contemplating our surroundings, in search for the perfect source of warm, living human blood, not just for Sylas but for Ben and me too. In this small town, it didn’t take long. We managed to stumble across a group of overaged drunks hanging out behind a bar as if they were still in high school. , those guys. There were four of them. It couldn’t have been more convenient. Or easy. Being the female on this hunting session with male preys, it made it my job to lure them in. Just behind us was an abandoned building. Ben and Sylas took complete control over it while I caught the deadbeats’ attention. It didn’t take much. I flashed around to the other side of the bar, making my entrance to their right so that I could have enough time to glamour them into following me as I approached them without saying a word. That’s exactly what I did. As expected, as soon as I came around the corner, all four of them couldn’t take their eyes off of me. I wasn’t even compelling them yet. Not until I was close

enough for them to actually see my bloodthirsty eyes. All it took was a flirtatious eye flutter as I walked past them to make them stand to their feet and follow me as if they worshiped the ground I walked on. They had absolutely no idea what they were walking into, and even if they did, they had no control over themselves. I did. So by the time the door shut and locked behind them, I had disappeared, and so did my hold on them. Allowing reality to set in, birthing their fear. They were now trapped with the three of us. With an odd number of hunted it left one uncalled for. Giving us the perfect test for Sylas, to see what he’ll do to fight for that unlucky candidate. I stood on the inside of an open doorway at the end of a dead-end hallway, waiting for my unlucky candidate to me, trapping him. He cursed under his breath at his phone, which didn’t have any service in this old, rotten-down building as he stumbled his way down the hallway. Even he could hear the screams of one of his friends as Sylas sank his teeth into him below us, raising the fear in my prey, in result making my throat sizzle even more than it already was. That’s when I came out from around the corner behind my new friend. He had absolutely no idea I was there for a full six seconds. He continued to curse at his phone, hitting it against his hand in the process until he reached the end of the hallway. His eyes met mine as slowly he turned around and looked up, causing him to drop his phone, along with his jaw. As my blood-red eyes sparkled at him in an obvious appetizing way, his fear smothered every instinct I had, turning my eyes a terrifying shade of pitch-black, exposing my razor-sharp fangs. More fear fed my instincts, drawing me closer to him. His heartbeat was practically beating out of his chest as he attempted to catch his breath from the shock. It couldn’t have made me happier. “I always knew I’d die for a woman… I just didn’t put the whole eating-me part into perspective. Beauty really can kill the beast… ,” he exclaimed strangely.

Those aren’t the usual last words I was used to hearing. It usually consists of begging for their life. Or just some very annoying screams silenced by death. I didn’t show my surprise. I just smiled at him in amusement, continuing to slowly make my way closer to him, close enough to make him hug the corner. “You’re very willful for a drunk… It’s very… tempting,” I whispered. “Unfortunately for you, I’ve had a very long day. And I’m starving! Beauty has to eat too,” I added before I flashed my fangs into his neck, causing him to now scream for his life as he tried to break free from my hold on him. His struggling slowed as I drained him until his lifeless body fell to the floor once I was done with him. A lit match fell with him, destroying any and all evidence of his violent death, soothing the burn of my thirst, along with my emotional dysfunction. It’s like the ultimate natural high, pure ecstacy. I flashed to Ben and Sylas, who were now in the main entrance of the building, cornering the last and odd one out. This was Sylas’s test—who’s more important to him? I watched from a distance as the man in the corner trembled uncontrollably, muttering under his breath, praying. That wasn’t going to do him any good. It was a nice try though. In a flash, both of them sank their fangs into him, no fighting involved. He ed. This time anyway. That at least gets him out of the basement. Not exactly out from under my thumb yet though. As soon as he was gone, so were we. We flashed back toward Weaverville, not stopping until we got there. No one spoke a word the entire three and a half minutes it took to run the eight miles back to town. Not until we stopped when Sylas stopped just a couple hundred feet away from the range of the house. “What?” Ben barked at him. Sylas gave him a surprised look. “Seriously?” he gasped. Ben shrugged, clearly annoyed already. Sylas rolled his eyes in disbelief. “For real? You find the only girl in existence that’s exactly the same way you are, and you expect me not to be intrigued by it?

The way I see it is, you’ve been holding out on me. You don’t show nearly as much as you feel toward her in any aspect. You can’t fool me, little brother. I know you. And she is you. The female you.” Ben practically growled at him. “You actually decide to use your brain for once, and that’s what you come up with? My relationship is none of your business. If it were up to me, you wouldn’t have anything to do with her. There’s a reason I didn’t originally tell her about you. You’re like a deadly disease that nobody can get rid of. I’m over it, Sylas. Just grow the fuck up, and don’t get between Gabby and I, or I will get rid of you.” I was over that. I flashed between the two of them, forcing Ben off of Sylas. “That’s enough,” I insisted. “I don’t want to listen to this shit anymore. The two of you are so ridiculous that it’s sickening. I couldn’t ever imagine talking to my brother the way you talk to yours no matter what he did. And trust me, he’s done some pretty fucked-up stuff that has really pissed me off for long periods of time, but it never stopped me from caring about him. Not even now. So I know that there’s a part of you that doesn’t want to hate your brother either. And you’re going to find it. I’m going to go talk to Jon about Florida, and when I come back the last thing I’m going to want to hear is the two of you. Especially considering I’m moving him up out of the basement. I think he earned it. So do you, behind that hatred. So find it.” Before a response could even be thought of, I was already on my way down the mountain, finalizing my near-future intentions. It was getting pretty late by now, so I knew he’d be home. That was something I never thought I’d say about Jon. I had to give him credit. Since he knocked up my best friend, he has stepped up. I was proud of him for that much at least. I never expected it from him. I didn’t even let myself think about Ben, Sylas, or Stefan while I was in town. I was here for one reason only. I let myself in, knocking as I came in to let my presence be known to avoid the fear of being startled by their newly demonized family member. Sara was sound asleep on the couch, her feet on Jon’s lap. As soon as he saw me,

he gently moved her feet and quickly stood up. “Gabs! What are you doing here?” he asked, full of surprise. “I wanted to tell you that I’m in for Florida. I’ll go with you. I have some things I need to take care of… Ben’s gonna come with me. So whenever you’re ready, I am. Just let me know.” He raised his eyebrows in shock. “Seriously?” he gasped quietly, trying to wake Sara. I smiled and nodded. “I can’t let down my own brother,” I made a point to say. He chuckled to himself. “Glad to know you still have feelings in there somewhere!” he teased. I laughed. Typical Jon. “Funny. Luckily for you, I gotta get home. Make sure my boyfriend isn’t killing both of his brothers. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I said. “Just smile, Gabs,” he replied, saying what Caleb always used to say to me whenever I had my hands full. A few weeks ago, that would have hurt. Miraculously, the memory made me smile. Ironic. Then I disappeared again, flashing home as quickly as I possibly could. I didn’t know what I was rushing home to, but I was relieved to find that Ben had honored my wish to come home to a little less than chaos for once. It was perfect. Perfect enough to spend the rest of my night in his arms, watching our son sleep. Just as he used to do while I slept. Perfect couldn’t even describe it to the fullest…

Chapter 19

Eastbound

The following weekend…

O ur small trip quickly became much more than that once everyone caught wind of it. Suddenly Stefan was tagging along for “agency business.” It seemed only fair for me to invite Jae as well. I was going to need her expertise. Stefan of course wasn’t thrilled that his wife would be able to watch his every move. I could only assume that put a damper on whatever it was he had stewing. Oh how the wonderful joy of revenge settles so nicely. What I wasn’t expecting was for Kat to come to the house before we left. It caught all of us off guard as we sensed her coming. So while Marcus helped Stefan put the bags in the car, Ben and I met Kat in the driveway as she pulled up. Her anxiousness was unusual for her as she practically jumped out of her car the moment she threw it in park. “Good! I was afraid I wouldn’t make it here before you left. I have something for you,” she exclaimed, digging into her bag, which stayed permanently draped around her shoulder. She pulled out what appeared to be a small purple marble and instantly placed it in the palm of my hand. “Uh… what is it?” I asked subtly. A joyous smile stretched across her petite pace. “It took me a while, but I was

finally able to link Jae’s ability and the ability you had after crossing the line between life and death and mask it into that marble. As long as you have it on your person, you can see and hear any and all earthbound spirits,” she explained. I didn’t know what to say. The last thing I wanted was to see the dead again. Unfortunately, I had a few things to do on this trip that will most certainly involve them. Therefore, I had no choice but to be grateful. Even though I already had Jae for that… “Thank you! I’m sorry you had to take time on it, but thanks. I’m sure I’ll need it… ,” I replied, not just telling her what she wanted to hear but also convincing myself. “We’re gonna be late!” Stefan called out from across the driveway, causing Kat to jump right back into her car. Apparently people, even witches, don’t want to get in the way of a vampire. Plus, we still had to get Jon, Sara, and Eddie at the apartment before we go to the airport. For once Stefan was right—we were going to be late. So without another word, Ben and I went inside to say good-bye to Luka before we flashed out into the car and sped to town. Jae and Stefan went straight to Lonnie Pool Field, known as the Weaverville Airport, while we picked up the humans. This trip should be interesting . . . Though with Ben’s driving, we pretty much made up for any time that we had wasted, especially since everyone was already ready for once when we got there. Another first . . . Ben quickly added their bags to the trunk as they got in, making up a few more seconds. “Sine when are vampire’s late too anything?” Jon complained. But by the time we got to the airport, which was only a little over a mile and a half away, we were right on time, making Jon eat his words. It was a first for even me to see the legendary Row private jet. From what I had heard, it was the most expensive jet in the States. I didn’t doubt that… Everyone else’s silence told me that they didn’t either. Jon was even hesitant to

touch anything. That, I didn’t blame him for. He does have a tendency to ruin anything and everything he touches. I wouldn’t have been surprised if we crashlanded in the middle of the country because of him. Fortunately, we didn’t. Overall, it was a successful trip from California back to Florida, for the humans anyway. us it was very painful. No immortal should ever have to spend over six hours confined on a plane with humans that you care too much about to eat. It’s torture. Luckily all of us were smart enough to hide any and all discomfort. Avoiding the temptation of their fear… They wouldn’t have made it there… Six very long hours later, we were finally there, back on the East Coast with my new family, along with my old. Strange couldn’t even begin to describe how I felt. We landed in Orlando. It was just after dusk on this side of the country. The humans, who were jet-lagged, were also extremely exhausted. I guess I had forgotten how difficult it was for a mortal to cross time zones. For us, a simple flip of a switch and our minds automatically adjust to the current surroundings, simple as that. We had other issues to worry about—our dire thirst. We managed to get everyone in the rental cars in a timely manner to go back to my old neighborhood. Of course I drove, considering I was the only one that knew where they were going and had the ability to get there without any casualties. Stefan and Jae followed in the second rental car behind us. First, we dropped Sara off at her mother’s. Then we dropped off Jon and Eddie at Eddie’s just down the street.

Our eyes told them all they needed to know. Nobody even bothered to ask. As soon as Jon took Eddie inside, we parked the car and flashed into the city in search of our latest scumbag. It wasn’t until after I was fed that it really hit me as to where I actually was. It didn’t feel real yet. Mixing both of my lives together like that was the biggest sacrifice I’ve made yet. Including sacrificing my life for my child and also risking everything I have for this life. I met the others back on a random rooftop in the center of the city. The four of us looked out over the city all night long, gathering our surroundings and taking in the new environment. It was peaceful, considering the context of our visit. Around sunrise, I began to become paranoid. I made it a point to make sure that nobody would recognize me. And if they did, they wouldn’t notice how much I’ve changed. Equipped with colored s with my hooded sweatshirt up, I met Jon at the original ELG to complete my favor. As much as I was against of this, I couldn’t let my family be arrested. I was the only hope for making sure nobody sees what really goes on in the backroom of the basement at ELG. Jon was already down there when I got there. Apparently his freedom is his only true motivator. I’ve never been able to get him going the way he was determined on this particular day. I was astonished. My own brother was doing something for himself for once. I was determined that I’d be doing this myself. I was wrong. I was proud. Since the lab was a dangerous place to be, Jon was forced to wear a face mask as we lugged boxes out to Caleb’s truck. It was the only truck any of us had our hands on… It took a good two hours for the two of us to get rid of any and all evidence of the meth lab in the basement of ELG. Luckily for Jon.

He’s the only one responsible anymore. Caleb’s dead, and Eddie is going in right behind him. The only one that would be affected by this was Jon. And of course me, emotionally. That was last thing I needed. Hence my being here… “You owe me… Big time!” I made a point to say as we loaded the last inconspicuous box onto the bed of the truck. A grateful smile replaced his seriousness for the first time all morning. “I know I do. I dunno what I’d do without you, little sis… Thank you,” he replied simply. That was all I really wanted to hear. Now if he gets busted in transit, it’s his problem. I had other things on my mind, more personal things. It’s the main reason why I was back here in this hellhole that I once called home to begin with. I flashed as quickly as I could to the penthouse we had rented for the weekend. Since Ben and Stefan had an obligation today, I thought for sure that I would be beating them back. But I didn’t. They were already there when I got there, getting along. Yes, I caught them actually speaking to each other in a brotherly manner. I was beyond impressed. Ben stepped outside with me for a little privacy. The taste of his lips always seemed to heighten the experience. I was leaned up against the wall between the resort and the bar next door. I couldn’t take my hands off of Ben for the life of me. Every ounce of me wanted him. Honestly, we had been slacking for the past couple of days with the trip planning and everything. We were long overdue… You could image how I felt when I heard a very familiar voice echo through the alleyway. “Trigs?” Mattie exclaimed. Clearly not sure if he was actually seeing what was in front of him.

Ben and I both instinctively let go of each other, focusing completely on Mattie, who now stood only a couple of feet away from us. Fortunately, my sunglasses hid my blood red eyes, avoiding that conversation… “Mattie!” I gasped in fake excitement. My desperate attempt to remain exactly how I used to be was a lot harder than I had anticipated. Ben’s low chuckling to himself didn’t help… Jerk! “Sorry, I didn’t mean to uh… interrupt. I just haven’t heard from you in months! I was starting to think you fell off the face of the earth. I mean, who would blame you… ,” he said, unintentionally making this much more awkward than it needed to be. I managed to flash another fake smile at him. “Um, ya. No, I just moved across the country… same thing. I had to. Everything about this place gets to me. Hopefully we’ll be back in California by the end of the weekend,” I made a point to say. I was surprised to see Matt smile in response. “Good. I’m glad you’re okay… I’ve been worried about you. Last I knew you were a mess… Considering the last time I saw you was at Caleb’s funeral, I guess that’s all I could know… ,” he said. Mattie looked over at Ben out of the corner of his eyes, causing me to look over at Ben too. That’s when I realized how bad this looked. It was exactly what I’ve been trying to avoid since I Ben. There was only one thing I could do… “Sorry! Mattie, this is my boyfriend, Ben. He’s the only reason I didn’tfall off the face of the earth…” I introduced them, hoping the fact that Mattie was best friends with Caleb didn’t come into play. Matt smirked at me. “Impressive . . . I knew you’d manage. You always were stronger than all of the other girls in our circle. You’re different. In a good way. But I’m sure both of you already know that… ,” he replied. I found myself chuckling. If he only knew. “I’m glad I ran into you, Mattie. You’ve always had a way of reminding me that

not everybody’s a snob in this city… ,” I made a point to say. He laughed aloud. His laughed reminded me of much more. Mostly of every drunken weekend Mattie’s attended in the past six years… Which was pretty much all of them. It only made me want to move forward even more. “I thought I’d never see you again… I’m glad I was wrong for once.” He replied. “She’s a special one… Take care of her…” He directed to Ben, exchanging an agreed glance. “It was good to see you… Stay outta trouble. You need it,” I said before getting out of there as fast as I could without making my extra abilities noticed. Even though that was probably the most amusing experience Ben has witnessed since he met me, he knew better than to say a word as we went back upstairs to the others. Our rented penthouse was like something straight out of a rap music video. It being occupied by vampires made it even more perfected. Apparently Jae made a point to go around the entire area, fixing everything to perfection. There it was again—obsessive-compulsive disorder, something for me to look forward to . . . I quickly gathered the others, way past determined by this point. “I need ta go to Tampa… That’s why I’m here. If I don’t face it now I never will. I’ll never completely get over any of it. I can’t do that. But that house is a huge part of why I went to California to begin with… It’s different, creepy different. So bear with me. I can’t go there without it taunting me. I think it’s them, which is why I’m insisting everyone come with me. I need everyone else to see it too. I’ll need your help. Each of you. If you’re up for it… ,” I insisted. Nobody hesitated. That’s how a real coven is supposed to operate. We have each other’s back no matter how insane the task may be. It was the hour-and-a-half drive that itched at me. I fiddled the marble in my fingertips the entire time, contemplating my every move.

Unfortunately, even for vampires, nothing every goes exactly as planned. That’s life, even more so for the undead. As soon as I pulled onto Treasure Drive, I gave the marble to Jae. I wasn’t stupid enough to see them until I was certain I was ready for that. That was probably the smartest thing I had done in weeks. I stood absolutely still as I got out of the car, just staring at the house. I couldn’t believe I was actually here again. After I promised myself I never would be again. Ben’s hand found mine, soothing my excessive emotions. I felt my hand squeeze his, programming my brain to make it a point not to let go. I slowly began to make my way toward the house. Stefan and Jae followed a safe distance behind us. The closer I got to the door, the more nervous I felt. And for a vampire, that meant a lot. That meant my accusations had been right. This house was different. I wasn’t even inside yet, and I could already feel it. Plus from the looks of Jae, she understood every thought I had about it. could see it with her own eyes. Hear it with her own ears… I was never crazy. If it were as simple as that, it would have been a relief. But it wasn’t. These spirits were angry. As soon as I got to the door, it hit me. Just like the last time I was here. Except last time, I didn’t have Ben… “Well, this should be fun… ,” Jae muttered sarcastically. I stopped just before the side door to enter the house. “This is the last place in the world I want to be right now… So bear with me… ,” I warned, taking my keys out of my pocket. I knew there was a reason why I didn’t get rid of my keys yet… As soon as I opened the door, I regretted the decision to come here. Everything about this house taunted me. Even the smell brought back some very unwanted memories. The only advantage we had was that the house was unoccupied by any living

mortal. At least we could actually physically get into the house. It looked exactly the same. It was obvious that Janet hasn’t been here in months. As expected. She’ll never sell it. And she’ll never come back. I was surprised when she actually came to go through some of Caleb’s things… Finding much more than anticipated. I’m sure that’s just one more reason why this house will just sit exactly how it is now until it crumbles underneath itself someday. It felt so tragic here. made me thirsty… “So how did a twenty-three-year-old end up getting his mother’s house in the first place? I mean I know how, but why?” Stefan asked curiously. The question added to my current emotional overload, and the answer wouldn’t be any easier. The three of them stared at me very carefully, curious. But not curious enough to cross the line between tolerable and total breakdown. I was determined to prove to myself that I could handle this. I was probably closer to desperate than determined, but whatever shielded how I really felt worked for me. “Realistically, she moved out as soon as he was eighteen and left him the house so she didn’t have to be reminded everyday of the worst thing that ever happened to her every time she looked at him. That’s why he spent 90 percent of his life in Orlando, with us. Eddie was all Janet had either, so she made Caleb Eddie’s problem… Apparently when you’re a victim of rape and a child is produced by that horrific point in one’s life, you never get over it. She’s made that very clear for the past twenty years… ,” I explained as lightly as I could. At least I was incapable of crying… Caleb got his part of the deal, now where’s mine? What am I doing back here? In that thought, I started to make my way upstairs. I wanted to get in and out of this house quickly. I didn’t want to give the angry spirits any reason to interfere with my task. Unfortunately, I’m not that lucky. Before I even got to the top of the stairs I was forced to my knees by the very vivid, very real flashes of memory being manipulated by my evil fan club.

I should have seen that one coming… And they should have known better; Ben was beside me in the same moment, shielding me from them. His touch blocked them, rescuing my mind. I cursed under my breath in aggravation as I proceeded up the stairs. Everyone followed. Again, it looked exactly the same as I had left it, as he had left it. I didn’t even want to be here, let alone touch anything. Unfortunately, my task at hand called for it. I made my way into the middle room, the actual room. I started to feel myself procrastinate as my eyes wandered away from my task. Exactly what I told myself I wouldn’t do. I couldn’t let myself focus on anything else in this room… I couldn’t accept how it made me feel. That’s when I had to shut off my emotions, leaving only the memories to taunt me. But at least I didn’t feel like complete hell… “Did you ever even move outta here?” Stefan teased as he looked around the room at all of my remaining things. “I took what I needed… And got the hell outta here. Whatever I forgot Jon came back for. Everything else was just extra weight I didn’t want to deal with,” I replied. Without another word, I effortlessly pushed the bed across the room with my foot. Then I removed the false floorboards underneath it, revealing the floor safe. “Impressive,” Stefan and Ben both muttered to themselves in sync. But it wasn’t until I actually opened the safe that the full effect sank in. With our abilities, all we had to do is look at it, and we knew exactly how much was there. In that moment, I really wish we couldn’t. This wasn’t something I was ready to explain. I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet… Nobody said a word. They just stared at me curiously again, taunting at me until

I broke. Technically, it’s none of their business. Just like what Ben and Stefan spend all day doing for the agency wasn’t any of my business, so I don’t ask. But it’s Ben. I couldn’t lie to him. Or keep it from him. Stefan and Jae just happen to be here in the process of informing him. I sighed, letting my lack of emotions give me the strength to get through this conversation. “Besides step, boxing, and pushing glass, Caleb was also obsessed with money laundering… credit card scams. Until the feds started getting suspicious, investigating Caleb and ELG… We couldn’t allow that, so all of us managed to get out of it before ATF saw the much bigger picture here. After that, Eddie was obsessed with keeping Caleb and I busy with other things, like the races and the shop fundraisers. But that didn’t work for Caleb, not even with him working with Jon. He was literally obsessed with money, it was ridiculous. Then he just started doing it the old-fashioned con-artist way. Then he was shot over something like step. That’s why he told me to leave… he didn’t want his problems to blow up in my face if they were to be discovered with his death. Which is also why he wants me to get rid of this money… The last thing I need is my name being brought up in a money-laundering investigation. This money doesn’t get any dirtier. “That’s also why I felt the need to help Jon clear out ELG this morning before Eddie’s lawyers and the insurance company goes over his belongings while he. It wasn’t to protect Eddie or Jon or Caleb’s name. You wouldn’t want the world to know that I was in any way involved with the manufacturing and distribution of meth, do you? That’s why we’re really here,” I explained to the best of my ability. For people that were supposed to have known every aspect of my life, they seemed rather surprised by my words. But not surprised enough to ask questions. They were lucky to get that out of me; it wasn’t exactly easy to speak about, even without emotions. They’ were smart enough to connect the rest of the dots anyway… I flashed back downstairs, eager to get the hell out of here. Everyone followed closely behind me, especially Ben, still shielding me from the big bad ghosts. Unfortunately, what happened next not even he could have protected me from.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, the flat screen in the living room came on, showing the security feed from the night of the shooting. The echoes of the gunshots blared through every speaker in the house, taunting every ounce of me. I couldn’t take it; without even thinking about it, I went into the closet around the corner in the kitchen and took out the metal baseball bat, shattering the TV into dust as I swung at it with every ounce of strength I had. But that wasn’t enough. I continued to smash everything within reach. I had a mild temper tantrum . . . But then I surprised even myself; I felt a force so strong that I felt as if I held the entire world in my hands. I’d learn sooner than later that’s because, technically, I did. I do. Every object in the room levitated in midair for a moment until I somehow snapped myself out of it from shock. Everything came crashing down with it. It didn’t end there. I then practically fell to my knees with a splitting head ache, influenced by something I was not expecting, but recognized immediately. I saw Luka. Or what appeared to be Luka, an older Luka. I could only tell it was Luka by the sound of his heart. I’d never forget that sound. Other than that, he appeared just like Ben, who was standing next to him. Suddenly, both of them leaped out over a rooftop, into the middle of the street, stopping a car to a screech. The two of them proceeded to violently feed off of the driver and his engers. Then the vision was gone. It had felt so real it was like I was actually there, in the moment. Then I was back in this godforsaken house only seconds later. I flashed to my feet anxiously, confused. The only one in this room that had any idea as to what just happened was, unfortunately, Stefan. Having a personal tab on my mind, he knew exactly what just happened. I had absolutely no idea. I didn’t like it… “Oh fuuuuck… ,” Stefan muttered to himself; that didn’t help any. “What the fuck was that!?” Ben barked, obviously thinking the same thing I was—knows.

“I wish you coulda seen that. It was incredible! Luka—” “Stop!” I insisted, interrupting him. “That isn’t the answer I’m looking for, you idiot! It doesn’t matter what I saw or even why. I wanna know how in the hell I just did that!” I sneered, demonstrating one more time as I spontaneously did it again, making everything around me levitate. Except this time I brought everything back down to its original order. Stefan shifted, peeking around me to look at Ben. “Dude, your girlfriend’s telekinetic… And somehow she managed to inherit Chelsea’s ability too… I don’t know how, but hers is even more complex then Chelsea’s. They don’t have to come to her. She can get them on her own, and she’s in control of it. Chelsea can’t even do that… ,” Stefan explained to Ben as if I wasn’t even there. I wanted to strangle him. Too bad it wouldn’t do me any good… I found myself chuckling. “Telekinetic… Like spoon bending?” I laughed. When looking at it that way, Stefan laughed too. “Pretty much…” He shrugged. “It’s a lot more complicated than spoon bending, but I guess if you were ever bored you could… ,” he teased. My eyes rolled at him. “Fanfuckingtastic . . .” I sneered. “Let’s get the hell outta here… ,” I added, finally making my way out of this awful house. It always finds a way a traumatize me. No sooner than I walked out the door did my cell phone ring. , I didn’t even have to see it to know who it was—Chelsea. That wasn’t even a vision; it was just a feeling. Of course, Stefan noticed, getting a personal rise out of it. But he kept his mouth shut. Apparently he got the hint the first time. I didn’t need everything in my head exposed to everybody just because it’s tragically exposed to him . . . That’s one good thing about Stefan—you can’t hide how you really feel. It saves me the trouble of putting the pieces of the puzzle together for him. Whether he chooses to obey it or not is unpredictable. That’s just Stefan.

But I wasn’t ready to talk to Chelsea yet. I knew why she was calling. There it was again. She knew. She saw. She was curious. Unluckily for her, I wasn’t. For the time being, I just wanted to ignore it completely while what I was actually capable of sank in. That’s why our next stop was Miami Beach. Jon and Sara would already be there when we arrived. They already went this afternoon. I needed a little bit of Miami to clear my head like it used to. The very long drive there also gave me the opportunity to grasp what was happening to me. I could feel it, the power of mind over matter in my fingertips and in my mind. Stefan was right—it was incredible. It was also going to take me a while to master… Complicated was underestimating. I had almost forgotten how much I enjoyed being in Miami. Everything about it reminded me that I was still me in so many ways. No matter what life has brought upon me since my last real visit here. We met my brother and Sara on our usual rooftop in Miami Beach, just like I always did, minus the excessive amounts of alcohol and vomit. Saturday night’s race was just about to begin. The familiar surroundings brought about a lot of unwanted memories. Sara’s anxiousness as she threw herself into my arms distracted me just enough to let it all go. “Jon said you just went to Tampa! How’d you do?” she asked frantically. I couldn’t answer her fast enough. “Oh just fine! I don’t know why I ever left. I’d love to spend every moment of my existence in the house my former boyfriend was murdered in along with his murderers. Sounds like a good time to me!” I cheered sarcastically. Stefan flashed to my side. “You’re not gonna tell her about your new tricks you discovered? I bet your brother will enjoy hearing what his baby sister is capable of!” I glared at him fiercely. “I don’t even know what I’m capable of. I only discovered it a couple of hours ago! Now can I get through one normal

conversation without you throwing in the supernatural for once!” I insisted. A low growl rumbled up Ben’s throat, hissing at Stefan, warning him to back off. But that didn’t stop Jon and Sara’s curiosity. Stefan already let the cat out of the bag. So if curiosity kills the cat this time, it’s on him. “What is he talkin’ about, Gabs?” Jon asked under his breath. “She’s telekinetic,” Stefan quickly answered for me. I sighed in frustration. “Like spoon bending?” Sara laughed. I couldn’t help but laugh with her—neither could Ben, Stefan, or Jae. Jon was just confused. “Basically. I hold the power of the elements, that whole trick as Stefan put it… ,” I replied. “That is badass!” Jon exclaimed. “She also inherited Chelsea’s ability to see premonitions… We saw the grownup version of Luka. was an exact replica of Ben, with a heartbeat. It was terrifying… ,” Stefan added. “It wasn’t terrifying!” I rolled my eyes at him. “You’re just terrified of. That doesn’t have anything to do with what I saw.” “What did you see?” Ben suddenly asked curiously. I paused for a moment, contemplating. “The two of you… hunting… ,” I informed him, leaving out the gruesome details. But the thought of hunting itself made the entire conversation uncomfortable, calling for an immediate subject change. “I need to talk to you! Alone… ,” Sara insisted, eyeing Jon out of the corner of

her eye. At the same time, Jon gave me a warned look, as if to say “Don’t say anything stupid.” I flashed a sarcastic smile at him as I took Sara around to the other side of the rooftop. As soon as we were out of sight, I could hear Jon all over Stefan for the insider information. Luckily for him, that was Stefan’s problem, not mine. My only concern was Sara. I could tell just by looking at her that she was in desperate need of an actual listening ear. “What’d he do this time!” I asked bluntly. She shook her head. “Nothing… He didn’t do anything. Besides knock me up, but that’s my fault too. Except according to my mother, it’s a miracle he still speaks to me. I guess you could say she isn’t very impressed I let him that close to be to begin with. ‘We all know how he is,’ she says. It’s only a matter of time before he realizes what he got himself into and he’ll bail.’ Just like my father did after Timmy was born…” She cried as she spoke. Knowing her, it was probably the first real emotion she’s let out all day. Her obsessive need to appear fine to everybody was already starting to get to her. ’s why she needed me, to vent the truth for once. “Sara, your mother doesn’t have any idea what she’s talking about. She may think she knows all about being bailed on just because it happened to her, but that doesn’t mean Jon’s going to just because he has a history of commitment issues. I’m not saying there absolutely no way he won’t, I can’t predict that—or maybe I could. That isn’t the point. Jon does what’s right for Jon. So if Jon is still here, it’s because he wants to be. He isn’t the type to get himself into things he can’t get out of. He never would have sacrificed sleeping with you in the first place when you guys already live together if he thought there was a possibility it wouldn’t work. That would affect him too, already living with you and everything. He thought of that before he even touched you, that’s Jon. He’s careful. Eddie made sure that both of us knew how to make rational decisions. Your mother hasn’t even seen Jon since before we even moved to California. The only one that can see the difference you made in him is me. He’s already committed to you in more ways than he ever even thought of with Maxi or Julia or any of them. Even before he knocked you up, long before either one of you ever it to yourselves that you had a thing for each other. Don’t forget I’ve watched the two of you together our whole lives. You think I didn’t know that

whole hating each other act was just your way of flirting with each other because even then both of you were too afraid to ruin what you did have by actually talking about it. Even now, you’re struggling because you’re still afraid to show just how much you really do care about each other. If everyone around me wasn’t the same way, I’d say just suck it up and talk to him, but I can’t exactly tell you to do something that I wouldn’t even do. It’s a dangerous thing, giving all of your heart to someone. There’s always the chance of it getting shattered. Whether that someone is worth that chance is what it’s all about. Luckily for you, you have a friend that cares whether you get your heart broken or not, and since the heartbreaker is unfortunately my brother, I’ll help you.” More tears fell as she realized what was being said to her. I couldn’t help but feel her heartache. The worry of abandonment alone was enough to cripple her. Add to that the doubt from her mother and you get an emotional breakdown, almost like the one I had early today. Just with less violence caused by the nagging burn in my throat as a result from the stress. At least she could cry away her pain. after the past six months, I think I had enough crying for one lifetime anyway… “Your sister wants to talk to you now… ,” Stefan informed Jon for me, saving me the trouble. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately… By the time I let Sara go from a friendly hug, Jon was behind me. Sara glared at him as she desperately rounded the corner back to the other side of the rooftop with everyone else. Jon sighed. “Now what the hell did I do?” he complained. “Nothing,” I assured him. “It doesn’t have anything to do with what you did or didn’t do. It has everything to do with what Steph currently thinks about you… ,” I informed him. He immediately became disgusted, another emotional defense to shield how he really feels about it—hurt. No one really wants to be looked at as unreliable, no matter what type of personality they have. “Just listen, ‘kay? Look at it as if it were me. When I was pregnant, my life was in danger at any given time. I was terrified. Not just for my life but for Luka’s too. Even though he was the source of my problems, he’s still mine. My life didn’t matter. That’s what happens when you become a parent. But I knew when things got hard that Ben would be there when I needed him. That’s all I needed.

Sara doesn’t have that with you. Now how would you feel if Ben hadn’t been there? If he still wasn’t? You’d be furious. So don’t be a hypocrite. You need to show Sara you’re in this just as much as she is. That you want to be there. Understand?” He nodded. “Yup,” he replied simply, a little too simply. My lack of faith in him was clearly not what he wanted to hear. “You might be selfish or untrustworthy to some, but you’re not irresponsible, Jon. I know that. I’m just trying to explain to you that not everybody knows you like I do. You don’t have to prove anything to anybody, but you should at least try to focus less on ELG and more on gaining Sara’s trust. You’re supposed to be able to trust each other in a relationship. Without it, it’ll die. She’s not Maxi. She won’t go back… So don’t fuck up,” I added, filling that void. This time, I was certain that he understood. The smirk he was trying to hide made my point. As he rested his right arm around my shoulder, he whispered in my ear, “Hey, this role change is a nice change of pace!” We made our way back around to the other side of the rooftop. “Very funny,” I muttered sarcastically, displeased with that reminder. Of course that made everyone curious. I mean, why wouldn’t it? I’d be curious too. The only one that wasn’t was Sara. She was very well aware of what Jon had meant. Which also meant so did Stefan. So if he knew, I had to tell everyone else. Having Stefan know things that Ben didn’t became very aggravating fairly quickly. But to my surprise, Jon took the spotlight. He leaned against the wall on the other side of Ben, very anxious to exploit me. The shit-eating grin didn’t help any either… “It’s weird to have Gabby on the giving end of advice because for the past fifteen years, every time Caleb would fuck up or do something stupid that Gabby wasn’t very happy about, he came to me to help him fix it. I was the only one he could trust, her brother or not. All of his others friends like—I’d like to smash that kid myself—they’re all infatuated with her, obviously. Even my friends would give their left nut for one with her. Caleb knew better then to even speak about Gabby to them. I don’t think he trusted his own temper when she wasn’t there to prevent it. Or even when she was… I guess we learned that one the hard

way. He basically provoked the vengeance that killed him. To put it simply, She would’ve left him years ago if I hadn’t unclouded her ability to make rational decisions. He may have tragically ruined me with things I really shouldn’t know about my own sister, along with everything else, but he was my friend. More like a brother who was fucking my sister. Now Gabby’s giving advice to her brother and her best friend who is also more like a sister to her. It’s kind of ironic. That’s what I meant when I said this role change was a nice change of pace… I need to start taking my own advice!” Jon explained, enjoying every second of it. So was everyone else, besides me. After the day I had in Tampa, the last thing I wanted to hear about right now was Caleb, especially regarding our relationship issues. The aggravation brought the force in my fingertips back. Except this time, I was in control of it. I managed to wander my way to the corner unnoticed to focus. Or so I thought. I could feel Stefan watching my every move casually. He respected my space enough not to say anything, but it didn’t help knowing he was purposely tapped in with my every thought. After a few minutes of watching me play, he must not have been able to keep his respect for my space because he was directly in front of me in the same moment while Jon and Ben talked about me as if I wasn’t even there. That seemed to be happening a lot today. Without saying a word to me, Stefan became my guide, allowing me to use him as leverage for my newly found ability. We worked on it for a good twenty minutes before anyone noticed that I was moving Stefan with my mind. While Ben and Jae became fascinated, I thought Jon and Sara were going to go into shock. Both of them became deadly white as they witness me make Stefan levitate. But as the night went on, they slowly adjusted, watching in awe as we experimented, as I played with my ability to manipulate earth, wind, fire and water. Along with everything in between. It was exhilarating. By sunrise, I had more of an idea what I was capable of. Plus the consequences. I was starving. After spending most of the night moving objects, controlling light waves, and making things levitate, I was the one drained dry.

The guy that was in the wrong place at the wrong time paid that price. Taking his life provided me with the strength to continue mine. Sacrifices. In the time it took me to find, drain, and dispose of my snack, everybody was waiting for me to go back to Orlando. I wasn’t ready yet. I had other plans in mind. While everyone else went back to Orlando, Jae and Ben came with me to stop in Tampa one last time before going back to Eddie’s. It was Jae who had put the idea in my head. Before my hunt this morning, she pulled me aside. “I want to try something today… I want you to take me back to that house… I think we can fix what’s broken… ,” she had insisted. At first, I didn’t want anything to do with it. Then as the idea sank in, I found myself unable to resist the idea, putting it on the top of my priority list for our last day here. I had insisted on Ben’s attendance for moral . Plus it gave me something good to look at while I purposely put myself through hell and back again. The silent ride there was just as bad… I think it was just our way of preparing ourselves for the unknown, but either way, it was torture. By the time we finally got there, I practically pounced out of the car, rushing myself into more torture, worse torture. I had my special marble clenched in the palm of my hand. Ben cradled my other with his. Jae stayed glued to my other side as we approached the house, slowly. I could already hear the whispers of the angry spirits that died violently here six months ago. It took all I could do to ignore them. My main focus was to do what Jae asks so we can get out of here and back to California while staying within our time plan. We paused at the door, and they waited for me to open it. Jae gently rested her hand on my shoulder. “Just walk me through it. From the time you walked through this door that night, to the time the police got here,” she said as if she

was asking me to do the easiest task in the world. I attempted to sigh away my pinched nerves. was an empty attempt. That aggravated me, giving just the kind of motivation I needed. I forced myself to just do it, pushing through any and all emotions that were trying to keep me back. All I had to do was tell myself that Ben wasn’t going to let anything go wrong, and I was ready enough to walk through that door. With each step I took, I thought aloud, reliving that night for Jae’s amusement and hopefully my recovery. I wasn’t sure what we were supposed to get out of this, but the only way to find out was to do exactly what she asked me to do, which was do it all over again. I managed to relay every single detail back to both her and Ben. Awkwardness aside. “It was almost midnight. We had to be to work early for the fundraiser, so we skipped going out with everybody. Caleb opened the door,” I said as I walked through it. “Then what’d you do?” Jae asked. “We went upstairs to change out of our work clothes. Then came right back down, putting the movie in we had rented the night before,” I said as we approached the couch. “How long until things went sour?” “Forty-five minutes maybe. At the time I just thought Caleb was being paranoid. When Molly suddenly popped her head up, Caleb muted the TV and listened… rolled my eyes at him. But when he didn’t chill out, I knew something had to be wrong but before I even moved, that’s when I heard the door being kicked open, triggering the alarm that was being covered by the gunfire…” “What was the first thing both of you did?” “The same time the door came open, he went for the gun under the couch, firing the first shot while he held my head down out of the cross fire. As the shot hit

one of them, it distracted the other two long enough for us to get to the den… While they shot at us… .” This time, I didn’t move an inch. I couldn’t. If they wanted me to go into that room, they were going to have to drag me in there… I’d like to see them try. “What happened next in the den, Gabby?” I shook my head, losing my determination. “Gabby, this isn’t going to work if you can’t even walk into a room. Show me what happened in there… ,” Jae insisted. I thought long and hard about everything I had gone through since that night. All of it, from watching Caleb die to moving to California and meeting Ben, having Luka, and turning into a vampire. I went through each and every moment of it. Gathering the courage to push myself past the line I have created in order to keep myself from getting hurt again. It gave me more than enough will power to go into that room and tell Jae what happened next. “Caleb went for a second gun up the stairs in Jon’s room… In the seven seconds, he was up there, the reason for it all came into the room. Max dropped his gun at the sight of me. He didn’t want me dead yet… I knew if I tried to run up the stairs, he would have just shot me in the back, so instead I just fought him off. As he pushed me into the glass cabinet, causing it to shatter beneath me, I pushed him back. The next couple of seconds just consisted of keeping him off of me until Caleb came back down the stairs, throwing him off of me. He hit him violently over and over again just like the night before. At the same time, the second guy appeared in the archway. But before he could even raise his gun, I shot him once in the head, eliminating that one… “That’s when we went up the stairs, circling back around to the other side,” I explained as I forced myself to walk right over where Caleb had died at the bottom of the stairs. We flashed to the other set of stairs, a lot faster than Caleb and I had that night. Back downstairs, I stopped in the middle of the room. “We managed to lose them long enough to breathe, so Caleb took the opportunity to make sure I was okay… We kneeled behind the counters. When I

yelled at him that I was fine, the third guy came from around the corner, shooting at us. But neither one of us could get a shot worth firing. Molly just happened to be at the end of the hallway, barking defensively at the guy shooting at us. We were trapped. So Caleb said the magic words to her. Before the guy even saw her coming she tore him apart… That was the least traumatizing part…” I turned back toward the den, desperately trying to hold onto my willpower. I almost felt sick, if such a thing were possible. That feeling only got worse as I finished my tour. “We knew Max wasn’t dead, so we made our way back in there. That’s when Caleb made the decision that would end his life… He spoke to him instead of putting a bullet in his head… Max was still on the floor, unable to move, but he was conscious again. They exchanged words… ending with, ‘If I’m gonna die, I’m takin’ you with me…’ ‘Then they shot each other. It wasn’t until after I emptied my clip into his head that I realized that he had actually hit Caleb… He was dead seconds later. I didn’t know how to process such a thing, so I did the only thing I could do. I cried until the response team pulled me away from him a few minutes later, completely covered in blood. It was my own personal hell,” I finished. Jae flashed from my side to directly in front of me. “In order for you to rid yourself of this survivor’s guilt that you’ve unintentionally smothered yourself with, you need to confront it. To put it bluntly, you need to forgive Caleb for getting himself killed by a couple of morons. We all know that has nothing to do with your natural attachment to Caleb after being with him for so long. When it came time, you had no problem moving on. The only thing keeping a part of you stuck in this house, on that night, is that you were the only one smart enough to make it out alive. It’s been eating at you ever since. “Now that your life is different and you find yourself fine with it, that guilt only gets worse. It’s not going to stop until you let it. But in order to do that, you have to actually acknowledge it. It may take a while, but the longer you fight it, the quicker it’ll disappear. All you really have to do is continue to do what you do every day. Minus the denial… ,” she explained. But before I could even respond, both of us were completely distracted by the sudden appearance of the man of the hour—Caleb.

Given our current predicament, this wasn’t the time for Caleb’s games from the grave. In fact the sight of him angered me. “How do we get rid of him!” I muttered in frustration, rhetorically. “Nice to see you too, Gabs!” he said, causing Jae to chuckle to herself. “What the hell could you possibly want now!” I whined. “I want you to give that marble to your boyfriend over there for a minute.” “Ya, that’s not gonna happen… ,” I insisted joyfully. “Well, I see becoming a product of hell didn’t change your attitude much… You’re still you. Just even sexier,” he made a point to say. “Seriously? You don’t get to do that anymore! You’re dead. And I’ve still done just about everything you’ve asked of me since then, but this will not be one of them. I don’t want you anywhere near him or me. I shouldn’t have to deal with this. Yet somehow, you’re always there! Whether I can see you or not. So, what is it going to take to get rid of you?” I complained. “Let me talk to him,” he stated simply. “Fuck you,” I cussed, mocking his persistence. “I am so done with this game of yours.” Jae chuckled again. Somehow I didn’t find it very funny… “I think we should just let him… It could be amusing!” she suggested. “Do what!” Ben barked, becoming irritated. Neither one of us was brave enough to answer him. “Tell him—let’s see what he has to say… ,” Caleb said, adding to my aggravation. “He wants Gabby to give the marble to you so that he can talk to you,” Jae stepped up. As soon as the words came out of her I knew how this was going to end.

“That isn’t any weirder than being held hostage in our own house for no rational reason by my past girlfriend… ,” Ben sneered in disgust, reminding me. “At least she couldn’t just stick around for a while after you got rid of her. That would have driven me crazy! Don’t try to tell me he doesn’t. That would be lying. He even drives me crazy. It won’t be hurting my feelings,” I replied without hesitation. “Fine. Let’s get it over with then so we can go home and forget about it!” Ben insisted. I couldn’t argue with that. He won this time. I tossed Ben the marble, regretting every single millisecond of it. The good part was that I didn’t have to see Caleb anymore. Instead, I had to watch and wonder what was so important. It was the longest, most awkward minute and twenty-three seconds of my life. Then just when I thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse, Ben tossed the marble back to me. Taking turns, I guess… I whined, “Now whaaat!” “Oh relax. I just want to tell you that I want you to take the bikes. I don’t care what you do with them, just take them. And my car… They shouldn’t just be sitting there. It’s just wrong. Plus I wanted to thank you for taking the time to help me out. You’re right, you didn’t have to. So thanks… It’s good to see you functioning again.” I didn’t know what to say. That was unusual, especially for a vampire. So I just nodded in agreement, unable to speak for fear it would totally come out wrong, so I didn’t even try. Then he was gone. Vanished into thin air, literally. Without saying a word to Ben or Jae, I quickly made my way out of the side door and toward the garage. It wasn’t until after I opened the garage door using my ability that I noticed what I just did. I hadn’t even thought about it. I just sort of did it. It caught me off

guard for a moment, distracting me but only for less than three-fourths of a second. It wasn’t long enough for somebody with mortal eyes to notice. Meaning, Jae and Ben did. They weren’t expecting it either. “What are we even doing in here?” Ben asked, clearly very confused. I pulled the double bike cover off of the bikes, revealing the two red RaceRockets I bought not even two years ago. “Caleb was right about one thing… I can’t just let them sit here. You’re too perfect. We have to take them,” I said as I ired them, unable to look away. “That wasn’t the only thing he was right about…” Ben chuckled with Jae. I laughed back at them sarcastically. “Are you gonna play games all day or are you gonna beat me back to Orlando?” There was no way he could resist that. I knew better. “If I win, you have to tell me what Caleb said to you. Then we’ll be even,” I insisted. He smirked at me. “If you win, then I’ll fuckin’ marry you. But if I win, you’re gonna be busy later…” He laughed. God forbid if everything he says isn’t sarcastic or just plan perverted. I flashed an intimidating, flirtatious smile at him. “Like I wouldn’t be either way… ,” I made a point to say. I’ve been looking forward to that part of my day all weekend. His lips quickly found mine, practically rolling my eyes into the back of my head. But as soon as we let go, we pretty much flew out of there, racing back to Eddie’s. It definitely didn’t take us an hour and a half to get there like it normally would of for normal people. It was closer to forty minutes of riding at top speeds. They’re not just ordinary stock RaceRockets. They’re barely legal in the state of Florida they’ve been upgraded so much.

I love them. I couldn’t believe I let myself completely forget about them. Just letting them sit there in Tampa to rot. In the end, I won, permanently damaging Ben’s ego. Luckily for him, I felt bad and him. It didn’t take much. Just a little venom exchange as his hands caressed me. Apparently in damaging his ego, I also turned him on a little bit. I wasn’t complaining. Not until I was distracted by the sound of Jon’s voice a couple of blocks away. I recognized the other voice he was speaking to immediately, causing me to flash toward it. Ben followed. We watched from a nearby rooftop, out of Jon’s visibility. He had absolutely no idea we were there. And neither did. “Bro! What the hell you doin’ here? I thought you were in Cali wit Gabs and her friend?” Frankie said as he gave Jon the homie hug. Jon chuckled. “I just had to bring Eddie home. I’m goin’ back tonight,” Jon replied as if he was here alone. At least he can do the most important things right. “Damn, duude! That blows! You shoulda at least brought that fine-ass sister of yours with you. How’s she doin’ anyway? On the rebound yet?” I rolled my eyes. “idiot,” I muttered to myself aloud. “Uh… Gabs don’t do rebound. She knows what she wants. There’s no in between with her. Unfortunately for you, she’s already got it,” Jon replied, totally surprising me. That was not the answer I was expecting to hear. It was even better than what I was hoping to hear; brownie points for the big brother. Frankie was disappointed. “Fuuuck, man, the one time she was single and I missed it! Why the fuck did you guys have ta move all the way to numb-nuts land anyway? It ain’t the same without you, guys!” “We’re better off there. Plus… I’ve kinda fallen for Sara… I ain’t goin’

anywhere.” Jon never ceases to amaze me. A couple of months ago, Jonathan never in a million years would it to actually falling for a girl that isn’t worth at least a few million dollars. Maybe we all have been too hard on him . . . He is trying. Frankie was speechless. I found myself laughing aloud to myself at his ignorance. The two of them continued to chat about our giant lie of a life until Frankie finally walked away. I immediately jumped down from the roof, landing silently on the tip of my toes, in between the buildings in an alley. As I rounded the corner toward Jon, our sudden appearance startled him, jumping up his heart rate for a moment. I flashed the fakest smile I had at him. “Nice save… Now I have to ask you something,” I said anxiously. He furrowed his eyebrows at me, very confused. Then he looked over at Ben. “I just need you to help me decide what I should do with Caleb’s car… ,” I said, planting the bait. His eyes became wide and anxious, practically jumping out of his skin. “Give it to me! I fuckin’ love that car! It’s sick! Why would you even ask me that?” he replied franticly. “I had a feeling you would say that… ,” I said, dropping the keys into his hands. “It’s in Tampa. Do whatever you want with it. Just get it out of there,” I added. I disappeared before having to listen to another anxious word out of his mouth. I think I have had enough excitement for the day. I needed some downtime. But there was only three hours until we needed to be at the airport, ready to go. So I took advantage of the time I still had here, spending it with Eddie. I didn’t leave his side for anything. I wanted to get all I could. For all I knew, it was more than likely the last time I would actually see him alive. I stayed until the very last minute I could. During that time, I didn’t even feel like a monster. I was too close to the human world that I actually felt normal for a moment, grieving over my dying uncle. More like the only father any of us ever had.

I took a moment outside to gather myself before going to the airport, where everyone else was waiting. After a couple of seconds went by, Ben was suddenly right there next to me wrapping his arms around me, comforting the hurt. He always seems to show up right when I need him most. How could I ever complain with a boyfriend that good? Just his presence made all of my negative emotions disappear. I had no worries while I fit perfectly in his arms. I felt as if I could spontaneously combust from all of the love I had for him and Luka. They’re my everything now. “How’d I manage to get everything I’ve ever wanted in the process of losing everything I ever knew?” I whispered as I rested my head on his chest. Before saying a word, he kissed the top of my head, holding me tighter. “The same way I found what I was looking for after decades of keeping myself occupied in the meantime, only to have it appear right in front of me unexpectedly. It’s the way of the world,” he said. I looked up at him, holding my arms around the back of his neck. “Mm. If I didn’t know any better I’d say I may have been accidentally born to my parents, but my existence is no accident. I’d say I’m here mainly for your amusement. I’ve known you, what, three to four months? And I already have more feelings for you than I ever did with Caleb in the entire fifteen years I was with him. You’re everything I always needed. I’d say the way of the world has a funky way of working,” I replied. He chuckled. “I’m not complaining.” Neither was I. “You told Jon and Sara to be real with each other, and you were right, so I wanna be real with you. I’ve spend a lot of time with a lot of different women in the past century, but not one of them gave me the feelings that you did the first time I saw you. I never knew what it was like to actually want to be with someone and care enough to try. Then you showed me without even knowing I existed. Now just when I think I couldn’t possibly be more in love with you, you prove me wrong without even realizing that either. “And when I tell you that I love you, it’s not saying enough. You are exactly

everything I could possibly want you to be, and then some. I wouldn’t change anything. Not even that frequently appearing dead boyfriend of yours. It can be useful sometimes, like earlier, when he brought to my attention that he was quick to realize that any problems he ever had with you stemmed from the fact that he wasn’t me. He also apologized for his dead friend’s way of persuading us into turning you the way that he did. That was weird… “But it doesn’t even matter. All that matters is that I love you when I’ve never loved anything without an engine in my entire existence, and there isn’t anything you could ever do to change that. You and Luka are my life now. Everything else is just added baggage to keep me busy whenever necessary. You don’t ever have to worry about me feeling any differently.” His naturally seductive voice pulled me in as he basically seduced me with his words. “we’re on the same page,” I whispered as my lips found his. The moment they did, it pulled both of us in. Every single particle in my supernatural body wanted him, feeding off of my infatuation with him. The taste of his lips numbed me, making me want more as his hands seductively grasped me tighter to him. Then his cell phone rang, distracting both of us. “It’s Stefan,” I thought aloud. He took the phone out of his pocket, checking the caller ID. He stared at me curiously as he answered it. “Stefan!” he exclaimed sarcastically, apparently very annoyed with the interruption. “Hurry the hell up, it can wait till we get back!” Stefan insisted, apparently having his own psychic abilities too, he just knows us a little too well… Unfortunately, if we wanted to be able to spend any time together when we got back, we had to leave then. It would be six hours until we were back in California, six long hours on a plane with two humans. Here we go again…

Chapter 20

It’s Official!

Weaverville, California

Six long hours later…

T he moment we landed in Weaverville was the most relieving moment for those of us with fangs. I was also relieved to be far away from Florida again. If I could have it my way, I’d never go back. Even as thirsty as I was, there was still something even more important that I needed to do before doing any of the other things on the top of my to-do list— see Luka. We were gone three days. At his development rate, that’s like six weeks to him. Ben had the same idea. As the four of us proceeded through the front door, Even Stefan and Jae paused in awe at Luka. In three days he had grown almost three full inches, quickly growing into a small toddler. He was using the table in the common area to himself as he cruised toward us, stomping his feet in frustration when he couldn’t get any closer. It was adorable. Ben and I both flashed to him, scooping him up into my arms in the same

movement. Luka flashed a bashful smirk at me before dropping his head onto my shoulder, cuddling up to me but only for a moment before reaching his arms out for Ben. As he took him, I heard Chelsea come downstairs behind me. “How was Florida?” she asked. “Oh, fantastic!” I exclaimed sarcastically. “It could have been a lot worse… She’s just doesn’t like doing things that aren’t simple.” Ben’s flirtatious grin as he called me out on my negativity distracted me for a moment, getting me lost in my own person alternate universe consisting of my sexy mysterious boyfriend. I never want to leave. Unfortunately, Stefan’s obnoxious voice snapped me out of it. “Dude, we gotta go to Redding, hurry the hell up. I wanna be able to spend some time with Jae tonight if you know what I mean!” he insisted. “Gross,” the three of us both muttered to ourselves in sync. Before he unwillingly left with Stefan to go check in with the agency like a couple of parolees, he made sure to give me a kiss worth the wait. Stefan didn’t say a word. Once they were both gone, I turned back to Chelsea, holding Luka on my hip. “We need ta talk…” I breathed, relieved to finally be having this conversation. “I thought so…” She smirked at me before proceeding upstairs to her office. Luka and I followed quickly behind her. Luka always enjoys time with the girls. After setting Luka down, I sat down. “So tell me about these abilities you’ve discovered,” Chelsea insisted anxiously as she sat behind her desk. That was a difficult answer to sum up. It took me a moment. “Well, I haven’t figured it out yet. There’s still a lot I can’t quite get yet, but to state it simply, I can control anything and everything within the usual distance from me. I can even manipulate the air, it’s ridiculous. Equipped with frequent

premonitions and simple psychic knowledge. For example, as soon as a phone rings, I know who it is without even knowing how… I don’t even know what to do with all of the information in my head anymore ever since it first came to me. It’s like it has evaded my life. I even find myself using my ability without even thinking about it either. I just don’t understand why I can do these things… ,” I said, venting how I actually felt about my recently found ability for the first time since it was discovered. Chelsea seemed rather surprised. Her expression confused me. I wasn’t sure if I should be surprised myself or just worried. “I knew you were special… ,” she said under her breath. “From my first vision of you I knew you were going to be an extraordinary addition to this family. But I couldn’t have even wished for such an amazing gift, stemmed from me… You’re going to be great. You don’t have to worry about a thing, Gabriella. You are officially one of the most gifted creatures in existence. We’re very lucky to have you. I don’t want you to ever feel like you don’t know what to do because you’re now more powerful than any of us. You’re stronger than that. You have to push past those weaknesses. With your abilities, you could do anything. Enjoy it. Don’t let it tare you apart. Let it come to you at your own pace. Eventually, you’ll have it mastered. You have forever. You don’t have to run on time anymore, sweetheart. Time means nothing in this world. They’re just numbers. So just live, immorally.” I knew I’d find the right words in Chelsea. I always do. It’s almost as if she automatically always knows the right thing to say. She’s brilliant. I’d be lost without her. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide, looking right through me. I could feel what she felt, and I recognized that feeling; she was seeing something. Something that made her feel uneasy. Then at the same time, my phone rang. It was Ben. I didn’t answer it. Whatever it was, I wanted to hear from Chelsea. She flashed to her feet. “We have to go to Redding,” she exclaimed anxiously. “The queen would like to speak with you… ,” she added. That was cause for alarm.

But before we could go anywhere, we had to wait for someone to come to stay with Luka, making us very impatient. Vampires weren’t created to have to wait for anything. Our anxiousness was released naturally. Till finally, Vanessa arrived two minutes and thirteen seconds later. No questions asked. We didn’t leave her with enough time to ask any even if she was planning to. She would have to wait. Chelsea was worried… It takes a lot to worry Chelsea. On the way, I texted Ben. “We know. We’re coming…” “Of course you do… ,” he replied a moment later. Seven minutes later, we were there. The human girl that was behind the front desk again smiled an annoyingly cheerful smile as Chelsea and I came through the door. Neither one of us bothered to even look at her as we quickly got our way through the door of the room. Behind the door were Ben and Stefan along with Mel and Walter on the wall-sized screen in front of us. As soon as I stepped into that room, I glared at Stefan, now knowing exactly what I was doing here. Someone couldn’t keep their mouth shut. He rolled his eyes at me. “Gabriella, Chelsea, how nice of you to us!” Walter stated. “You boys can go now. We’re done for the day,” he added. As soon as Ben unwillingly left my side with Stefan, Mel took over. “Gabriella, I hear you have discovered a very unique gift. Would you mind demonstrating for us?” she politely insisted. I looked at Chelsea. I was in an entirely empty room. There were only a few things I could do here. And both of them I haven’t had much practice on. But I didn’t have a choice. So without saying a word, I closed my eyes, concentrating. I manipulated the light waves, along with its power system,

causing the lights in the room to flicker. Meanwhile, I also manipulated the confined air in the room and created a gust of wind that circulated around Chelsea and me. During so I also made me and Chelsea levitate. When I opened my eyes, all of it stopped, bringing Chelsea and I slowly back down to the ground. For a very long moment, everyone was speechless, including myself. I had no idea what I was capable of. There’s only one way to find out. “Okay then, let’s get straight to the point,” Mel suggested eagerly. “We want you in the agency. In all reality, we want you here in Italy, but considering Benjamin and Stefan won’t even come here, I assume you wouldn’t either. So I’d like you to work with them. They’re in California. We understand that you have a new baby and that the last thing you want to do is spend all day with Stefan, who would blame you, which is why I’m going to give you twentyfour hours to think it over, talk to Benjamin about it, whatever you need to do. We’ll send Eric to receive your answer by this time tomorrow. It would be an honor to have you work for us. It’s a decision many could only hope for. We hope you at least consider it,” she said convincingly. I nodded, not sure what to say. Technically I didn’t have to say anything. Not today anyway. “Enjoy the rest of your evening,” said Walter as Chelsea and I proceeded to get the hell out of there. Again, we ignored the oblivious human who can’t five minutes ago she’s been glimmered so many times. Ben and Stefan stood just outside the door, bickering like always. Then they shut up completely as Chelsea and I stepped outside, now staring at us anxiously. “Uh, I’m gonna go now… ,” Chelsea quickly stated before she flashed away, leaving me to talk to Ben and Stefan myself. How nice of her! Unfortunately for them, the burn in my throat constantly reminded me just how hungry I was. After that demonstration, my thirst just began to grow, aching at me more and more by the second. There was absolutely no color left to my eyes,

just a solid pitch-black, dangerously glimmering with thirst. In this particular situation, it was helpful that Stefan can constantly invade my mind whenever he’s within approximately three miles from me. “Let’s eat something, then pry,” he suggested to Ben, who was still staring at me curiously. Luckily, his eyes were just as blackened as mine. He wasn’t about to argue with either of us. The three of us each set off to a different part of the town, each in search of something good to eat. It didn’t take me long to find it. Right there in front of me sat two g’d out home boys slinging drugs in the alleyway. Once their customer rounded the corner, I approached them, already compelling them not to move a muscle. I didn’t have time to play games right now. I simply drained both of them, one at a time. With tpockets full of money it seemed to be worth the trip. Everything else, drugs included, burned with them into nothing but ash. The three of us met back in the same spot at the same time, no longer carrying an excuse to procrastinate. When both of them immediately started staring at me, waiting, I caved. “Seriously? Like neither of you know what she wanted!” I stated. If they didn’t, they’re not as smart as people give them credit for, especially Stefan. They looked at each other for a moment. “She wants you in the agency, doesn’t she?” Ben stated the obvious. I glared at Stefan. “Thanks to Stefan,” I replied angrily. “Hey, I didn’t know what else to do! He was gonna lie. I couldn’t let him do that. I did it for your own good,” Stefan defended. I rolled my eyes in disgust. “You’re so fucking full of it I can’t even stand it. This is exactly why I don’t want to talk about it right now. I’ll talk about it later, with Ben, when I get away from you,” I sneered back at him, heading back toward Weaverville. I needed to think without Stefan’s smothering for once.

They kept their distance, following me back home. Once I actually got there, it was easy for me to gather myself to a functioning level. As soon as I walked through the door, I watched Luka. He was bending a solid steel pipe in every which direction to amuse himself, using his strength as a crutch. I was fascinated. When Ben and Stefan arrived behind me, Stefan took off while Ben came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, distracting me completely from everything. He was good at that… As Vanessa came around the corner, she paused. “Ugh, just go. I’m watching him,” she said. Ben didn’t waste a single second. While still holding me, kissing me, he flashed us into the woods, up the mountain until we were far enough away. From there, the intimacy excelled, creating the perfect distraction. My favorite kind. Later, before heading back to the house, I had the sudden urge to talk about it. I was quickly running out of time. I didn’t want to hold this off any longer. “Okay, We have to talk about this now… ,” I insisted, clearly surprising Ben. He just stared at me curiously, waiting. I sighed. “What she’s asking me to do is basically invade your job. I don’t like that. That’s yours and Stefan’s thing, not mine. I have enough to deal with. Besides the torture of spending even more time than I already have to with Stefan, the last thing I want is to dig myself even further between the two of you. I know I was pissed at first when Eddie put Caleb with me at ELG. I know that feeling. I won’t do that to you. I don’t care what anyone does or doesn’t want me to do. I didn’t ask for this. I don’t even want to be having this conversation with you. I shouldn’t have too. If it were up to me, I’d have some useless gift that nobody cares about. But, of course, I don’t. And now I do have to have this conversation with you. So just say something. You’re impossible to read!” I complained,

having no interest in holding back. This wasn’t the time for fiddle fucking around with the truth. I needed answers so I that I could give mine. A smirk formed as he chuckled. “You’re adorable. Why wouldn’t I want to work with you? My job is what keeps us apart most of the time. This is a decision only you can make, and it’s one people have killed for. It’s the best job our kind can have. But I don’t ever want you to do anything that you don’t want to do. Most of all, don’t let Stefan stop you from doing anything either. He’s not worth it, and it isn’t up to him. Just do what you want to do without putting Stefan me in perspective. It’s not , it’s about you. You can do whatever you want to do. extra special is just a bonus,” he replied, perfectly as always. His approval helped but not enough. I still couldn’t decide. I still needed time to think about it. Back at the house, everyone was secretly curious and horrible at hiding it. It took all I could do to ignore it, to continue about my night as if it were any other night with no life-changing decisions to make by this time tomorrow. Luka gave me the ultimate distraction. Like father, like son. He was just too cute. Ben and I watched him crumble stone in his fists for most of the night, laughing aimlessly along with him as he found it the most entertaining thing in the world. It was truly incredible to be able to watch him grow and learn. Only a few have ever had the opportunity to witness such a thing. We were grateful to be one of them. Especially being the only mother to ever survive the birth. Our life’s a miracle. We watched him sleep in my lap until sunrise, so in tune we almost forgot that there were five other vampires in the house. To us, it was as if they weren’t even there. All we comprehended was each other. That was the point, shutting out the rest of the world long enough to enjoy the presence of our son for once. Nobody dared to bother us. Not until it was time for Ben to do his job. That’s when Stefan unwillingly came upstairs, standing hesitantly in our doorway. “I know what time it is, dude. I’ll be down in a second,” Ben insisted, making Stefan go away. He then turned to me, pressing his lips into mine. “We’ll be back before you have to see Eric,” he whispered. “But I’m sure you already

know that,” he teased, kissing me one more time. “You’re funny,” I mocked him, chuckling at his seductive sense of humor, one that I also have mastered. It makes for interesting encounters. But then he was gone with Stefan, working, along with everyone else in the house. The only one else that works from home is Chelsea, and even she isn’t here. She had to go to the coast today. So for the first half of the day, it was just Luka and I. It gave me plenty of time to think, maybe even too much. I think I was starting to get a little stir-crazy by midday when Chelsea finally returned. Soon after, Ben and Stefan returned, which meant it was almost time to go. I made it a point to keep everybody in the dark until it was actually time. Not even Stefan could grasp even the slightest clue. I was getting good at this. I just didn’t want to have this conversation twice. Everyone will hear what I have to say all at the same time, lessening my chances of getting severely aggravated. The boys weren’t pleased, but they’d get over it. Chelsea, of course, found it amusing of me, frequently flashing me an approving smirk whenever their impatience would heighten. For me, it was just the right thing to do. As soon as we walked through the door of the building, the aggravation began. I’ve never come or gone with Ben before, so I should’ve expected it when the human behind the front desk practically fucked him with her eyes the moment she saw him. Stefan couldn’t help but laugh obnoxiously. But before Ben could hurt him, he stopped. “I’ll take care of it… ,” he insisted, flashing over to the girl to compel her. It probably won’t be the last time. “You don’t like him… He’s a jerk. Plus, his girlfriend will tare your heart out… You secretly fear both of them,” he said to her, solving that minor problem. Lying to women is Stefan’s specialty. On a relevant note, all fun and games were over once we reached the room at the end of the hallway, walking into the room that Eric was awaiting in. The moment I walked into the room and his eyes met mine, I could see how this was going to

go. That look was impossible not to recognize. “My favorite coven! It’s an honor to be here!” Eric overexaggerated. “Thank you for seeing us.” Chelsea was forcefully polite. “The pleasure is all mine! Believe me…” His eyes flirted with me. I tried to ignore my disgust, along with Ben’s quickly heightening tolerance level. I flashed the fakest smile I could come up with, giving him the show he wanted. That amused all three of them enough to keep their mouths shut… “Let’s get down to it. We want Gabriella. For more than obvious reasons. She’s beautiful, she’s gifted, and she’s a Row. What’s not to want, right? But unfortunately for us, our world is a free one. We can’t make her do anything. Only you can,” he said to Chelsea while staring at all of us. “Don’t,” I insist quietly to Ben before he replied to that in any way at all. “Plus, anyone that can stand up to Benjamin is a winner in our book,” Eric added as he realized the respectable compliance between Ben and me. Not that it was any of his or the agency’s business. “Right, I know, because he’s difficult.” I rolled my eyes. “Look, I really don’t want to be here all night. None of us do. So can we skip the child’s play and get to the point?” I insisted. “Certainly,” Eric agreed, smiling at me widely. I wanted to spit at him. “Mel asked me to show this to you before you give your answer. A little persuasion.” He slid a folder across the table that separated us, catching the boy’s attention like a topless marching band. I quickly picked up the file, curious myself. As I read the numbers in front of my eyes, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. She was offering me three-fourths of a million dollars just to accept the offer. Plus increasing Ben and Stefan’s pay rate per job to match mine to two hundred thousand dollars per job, each. I handed the folder over to Ben, keeping my eyes on Eric. “Numbers don’t mean

that much to me. My decision is based on what I think is best for me and my coven. Regardless of what Mel tries to persuade me with,” I made a point to say. “A woman that actually knows what she wants… I don’t see that very often.” Eric chuckled. In order to prevent taring his sexist head off, I ignored that statement, desperate to get out of here. He must have recognized my aggravation because he snapped out of it quickly. Becoming the right-hand man he’s paid to be. “So then, Gabriella, what is that you decided?” he asked, finally getting to the point. I sighed, looking at Ben and Stefan and then Chelsea before looking back at Eric to give my answer. If I had real nerves anymore, they’d probably be going haywire. Luckily for me, the only nerves vampires have are thirsty ones, usually driven by the angered ones. I forced out the words, “I’ll do it,” I said, accepting the agency’s offer, putting everyone on my side of the table in shock while putting Eric in delight. “Excellent!” Eric exclaimed, handing me another file. Simple as that, it was over with. The four of us went home without another unnecessary word. should be an interesting night… And it was. As soon as we came through the back door, Marcus was directly in front of us. “I’d like to talk with everyone. In my office… ,” he said while looking directly at me. At the same moment, the next couple of minutes flashed before my eyes. All of us proceeded upstairs. Vanessa ed in as we ed her room, now making our way down to the end of the left hallway, into Marcus’s office. With no need for comfort, all of us stood amongst each other, with Marcus in the center. Even Luka managed to maneuver his way in, right up into Ben’s arms. Then all of us focused our attention on Marcus.

“Okay, with Day of the Dead coming up, I needed to remind everybody that it is Vanessa’s turn to run the mountain this year. Make sure the ignorant teenagers don’t get themselves killed on our mountain. But also, more importantly, while I have everybody here at the same time for once, I wanted to take this opportunity to take notice of the changes that have recently occurred in this coven. We haven’t taken the time to recognize the fact that Gabriella not only made Ben less of a jerk, she also just happens to be one of the most powerful in this house, probably on this side of the world. The way I see it is, she’s here with us because of Ben. Chelsea may be her creator, but her real connection to the rest of us is with Ben and now Luka, of course. We can’t forget how both of them blessed all of us with the impossible by unexpectedly bringing Luka into all of our lives. He is unbelievably fascinating. Now have you done recently, Stefan?” The entire house went silent, each of us staring at Stefan. If that wasn’t a slap in the face, I don’t know what would be… He didn’t reply. He just glared at Marcus, offended. “That’s what I thought.” Marcus sighed as if he was disappointed with Stefan’s lack of accomplishment lately. Although it was abundantly clear that there was much more to it than lack of accomplishment. Something nobody else really knew. Why would we? Stefan’s the one that invades our privacy. He isn’t going to blab about himself. Where’s the fun in that? But even though I hated his guts, I still felt bad that he was getting all of the heat that stemmed from my . Unfortunately for him, there wasn’t much I could do about it… Marcus then dismissed us all from his office, only for Chelsea to drag me into hers. There just wasn’t enough of me to go around today. It was that kind of day. “I wanted to talk to you about this weekend,” she started off with saying. “The two of us need to go to Italy on Saturday, and I wanted to make sure that you’re okay with leaving Luka for three days again so soon. That, and leaving Ben too… You haven’t exactly been away from him that long, and when you were, you didn’t . The second you did, you went straight back to him, so I just need to make sure that all of you are equipped to be away from each other…”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m sure we’ll survive,” I said, rolling my eyes in my thoughts. I could roll my eyes all day at Stefan, or even Ben, but not Chelsea. That’s just rude. “Is that all ’cause’ I kinda gotta—” “Yup, thanks, honey.” I flashed down to the other side of the hall, entering my room that inconveniently contained Stefan bickering with Ben. else is new? Somehow, miraculously, Stefan had the sense to shut the hell up and leave the room, leaving Ben and I alone for the first time since this morning. There was a lot to discuss. There just wasn’t enough time in a day. I could tell just by looking at him that he had absolutely no idea what to say to me at the moment. Honestly, neither did I. Unfortunately we couldn’t just not talk about it. If we can’t get through a conversation, how are we supposed to make it through a relationship? So I took the first step, shutting the door behind me. Like that it did me any good in this house… I moved closer to him, in a normal pace. “It’s kind of hard to talk to you about something when I have absolutely no idea how you feel about it… ,” I said, attempting to break through that rock-hard shell of his. He sighed, preparing his response. “Okay, you’re right… I guess I’ve just never really cared enough before to even think about talking about things instead of just keeping my thoughts to myself. I guess that’s why I could never stand to actually be with anybody… “But I’m proud of you. I’m glad you turned out to be just as amazing as I see you. I just don’t like the idea of you going to Italy alone… It really bothers me. But Chelsea’s absolutely right. It’s just the way it has to be. You’ll live,” he replied, exceeding far past my standards. He never ceases to amaze me.

I rested my hands on his chest, unintentionally arousing myself. I felt like pouncing on him. But I didn’t. I held it back, focusing on my words. “I don’t want you to worry. I don’t want to be on the other side of the world from you and Luka either. I love you. I don’t want you to be bothered for three days any more than I want to leave your side. I haven’t been without you since I met you. When I was, I didn’t know any better. I’ve learned from experience that absence makes the sexgrow fonder. Plus Chelsea isn’t going to let me out of her sight for a second. You shouldn’t have to worry. But because I know better, I know that you will anyway, there’s no avoiding it. Just don’t drive yourself crazy. I need you, Luka needs you sane. Only one of us is the levelheaded one, and it isn’t me. Therefore, in order for me to make it through the weekend, you have to. You’re the backbone. Now you make me proud of you.” He chuckled at me, pulling me closer to him by seductively gripping my hips. “You’re incredible, do you know that?” he stated before kissing me. “And then you wonder why I spend so much time worrying. I don’t want to lose you… Probably a little more obsessive compulsive than necessary…” I shook my head. “No.” “I probably stress myself out way more than I should, worrying about you all day, every day. That’s part of the reason why I actually accepted Mel’s offer. I’m not going to lose you on my watch. It’s just not going to happen. You’re too important.” He smirked down at me. “I know.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t allow that to happen to you all over again. You’re everything to me,” he said with a dead-serious tone, holding me tighter as if just the thought angered him. I kissed him, numbing all the bad thoughts from both of our minds. It was clearly needed. Then I had that feeling again. My head felt as if it was going to split in two. I saw Jae flash through the front door, her eyes as dark as a cold haunted night.Her words were hostile as she screamed at Stefan, attacking him. Then suddenly it was over just as quickly as it started, snapping me back to present time. Ben stared at me in confusion. Stefan cursed in panic from the other room, flashing into ours. Just what I

needed. “Where the fuck did that come from!” he asked me very anxiously. I looked at him as if he was the dumbest person I’ve ever met. “I don’t know, dude! Why don’t you tell me!” I barked at him. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, we sensed Jae approaching the house rather quickly. Before any of us could say a word, the front door smashed open. “You better get down here right now. This doesn’t have anything to do with them!” she insisted, trying as hard as she could not to yell and scream like in my vision. That could only make me wonder what made it change. Was it Stefan seeing my vision and knowing ahead of time? I’d never really know. Both Ben and I stared at Stefan in disgust until he finally decided to grow a pair and go downstairs to his angry wife. Unlike the rest of us, Jae didn’t feel the need to make their conversation private. Apparently she didn’t want to go anywhere with him. Who could blame her? So we did them the favor by giving them some time. I don’t think any of us wanted to listen to Jae tare Stefan a new one. I especially didn’t want Luka to hear Jae tare Stefan a new one. Ben and I took him up the mountain, to our usual spot. It was even better with him here. We didn’t go back when everybody else seemed to. Luka was having way too much fun, and we were having way to much fun watching him. He laughed and laughed as he crushed the bugs and sticks, basically having a field day in the woods. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, he stood up and walked over to us as if he had been walking forever. It caught us off guard for a moment, completely stunning us. I didn’t know what to do. I was in vampire shock. I laughed at the thought and then scooped Luka up into my arms, cheering him on. He flashed the proudest little smile at me, melting my cold, dead heart. These were the precious moments of my existence. I was the luckiest girl in the entire

world. Dead or alive.

Chapter 21

Day of the Dead

Four days later…

Milan, Italy

T he sixteen-hour flight to Italy was more aggravating than leaving California in the first place. Vampires just weren’t made to be kept that long. It’s unnatural. Apparently, it doesn’t get any easier the more you do it because Chelsea was just as annoyed. I could understand now why Ben doesn’t come here as much as he would like to. It just isn’t worth it. On the plus side, Vampire’s don’t get jet lag. So technically we were fine. We’re just spoiled. It was midnight here in Milan. For a Friday night, it seemed rather dead. I shouldn’t have been surprised; we were in the country where it all started in. The civilians just know better. Another reason why we live in America, People are more oblivious, naive. The rental car that Chelsea and I drove in to the original Row estate probably cost more than every car I’ve ever owned put together. The car was just the beginning. As we pulled up to the estate, it literally took my breath away. It was the hugest house I’ve ever seen in my life, including on

television. I had never seen anything like it. Why all of us make ourselves miserable in our small-in-comparison house in California, I’d never understand. This house was four times the size, consisting of 4075 square feet of brilliance. It was so old yet so perfect; there was no other way to describe it besides calling it a pure masterpiece. Just like home, we were surrounded by absolutely nothing. The house stretched across the entire top of a decent-size hill, overlooking the city in the distance. I already didn’t want to ever leave. Ben was going to have to come to me… For a house that we rarely visit, Chelsea makes sure that it stays well kept at all times. Everything was exactly how it was supposed to be. If anyone else were to walk into this house, no one would ever know that nobody actually lives here. It’s kind of a shame. Suddenly, midthought, my phone rang. Again, I didn’t have to be psychic to know it was Ben. I was actually surprised he didn’t call a half hour ago as soon as our plane landed. I answered it anxiously, secretly just as tortured by separation anxiety as I’m sure he was. I felt like I was missing something very important without his presence. Being over six thousand miles away from my life was a little hard on me at first… If it were possible, I probably would have cried at the sound of his voice. Instead, I let the relief smother me at the same time I knew it was smothering him as I answered the phone. “I’m still in one piece, promise,” I teased. “Damn it, these strippers are going to be disappointed,” he teased back, creating obnoxious laughs from Stefan in the background, a voice I didn’t want to hear. Apparently Chelsea didn’t want to hear either of their voices because after a couple of minutes, she snatched the phone from me. “Good enough. We have

things to do. You’ll live.” I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself at her desperate attempt to be an authority figure. It was cute. I just had to hug her after that one. Hanging up on Ben takes courage… She was also being very persistent. She wasn’t going to let me forget that we were here for business, not pleasure. If only I could. That’d be impossible without Ben. She knew that. I think it was a power-trip thing. She is my creator. I don’t think she likes Ben’s effect on me. With Vanessa, she doesn’t have anyone to worry about. Chelsea’s all she has. That must be hard to accept after all of these years. We sat out on the balcony off of one of the offices. Lights coming from the city below shined up at us, lighting the area. With my new eyes, it was the most the beautiful sight I’ve seen yet. Now if only I had the time to appreciate it. Chelsea got right to work, prepping me. “Don’t let them intimidate you. This isn’t like any other ing. They asked for you. You didn’t ask for them. You have the upper hand here. They’re going to do and say anything to assure you that you made the right choice. Don’t let them get to your head. That’s what they want. They want you to think that you should be honored. They want you under their thumb just like everybody else. But you’re stronger than them. You’re the prize, not them. Don’t forget that. Marcus went through this same thing with both Ben and Stefan. You wouldn’t know it now, but they were once the prize too. That gives you credit that ordinary creatures don’t have. We all know that Mel has always had a thing for Ben, so don’t let her break you. Stay on top of it all. You’ve been through more than they even realize. Be a snob if you have to. You have all the rights to. Just shut it all off and do what you have to do to get in and out of there without working yourself up on any . Do you understand what I’m saying?” she insisted. I nodded just to make her happy. In all reality, it went in through one ear and out the other. This wasn’t my first fake conversation. It was just necessary that’s all. If she didn’t say anything, then she’d worry. She’s here because she’s the only one that doesn’t to a ridiculous degree. Ben, and also Jon…

So we spent the rest of the evening “bonding.” Meanwhile, I texted Ben and Sara back and forth, staying in touch with our side of the world. It was starting to feel very weird being so far away. It almost bothered me. It didn’t have anything to do with Ben anymore. Before sunrise came, Chelsea and I thought it would be a smart idea to hunt before traveling ninety miles south to Genoa. Where it all began. I have never put to thought how difficult it would be for me to even hunt anyone in this country. And it wasn’t just because of Ben either. Sylas kept coming up in my thoughts too every time I would consider eating one. It was really starting to irritate me after a while. I didn’t typically hunt females. It just wasn’t my thing. Unfortunately at this point, I didn’t have much of a choice. It was either that or starve. I had to find myself an acceptable female to prey on. This is going to take a while, I thought to myself. I was right. It took me twenty minutes to find someone that didn’t matter to anybody when it should have only taken me twenty seconds, if that. Chelsea laughed at me to herself, apparently amused that my infatuation with Ben influences how I hunt. that I think about it, that isn’t very normal for one of us. Nothing is supposed to interfere with a hunt. That put me in a very awkward mood. Of course at the worst time possible. It was time to go to Genoa. I became extremely anxious to get this over with. If we stayed on our planned timeline, we would be back home just before sundown on Sunday, the Day of the Dead, what most would know as Halloween. It’s supposed to be the ultimate day of the year for anything supernatural. My first… Instead of spending ninety miles cooped up in a car, we ran, the aggravation entirely. It was actually very therapeutic flashing that far, letting out all of that built-up energy. It was exactly what I had needed, and just in time too.

By the time we got there, I felt good as new. As I set my eyes on the agency estate, I practically felt my jaw drop. It was doubled in size compared to the Row estate. It was phenomenal. It literally leaves you speechless. Each section was built centuries ago, but it looked brand new, perfected in each and every corner of the building. corner was also equipped with its own assigned immortal security guard, each of them paying more attention to Chelsea and I then their job. my experience the agency’s most trusted employees aren’t very professional when it comes to women, especially Eric. At the very same time his name crossed my mind, he appeared just in front of us as we approached the front door. I wanted to slap his shit-eating grin off of his face at that moment also, but I controlled my irritable temper, looking right through him. I just didn’t have it in me to deal with him today. There was a reason I didn’t miss Stefan. Inside of the estate was even more phenomenal than the outside. Each piece of dark wood that the building consisted of was handcrafted and designed distinctly. It was like standing in a giant piece of gold. So valuable you don’t even want to look at anything too hard. I shut all of that off as soon as we were greeted by the one and only Walter Valdimoore, the master of any and all vampires. Beside him stood who I assumed was his useless biological son, Damien. He even looked useless. For a vampire he wasn’t very pretty either. I’d never seen an unattractive vampire before. I didn’t even know such a thing was even possible. guess even in our world, not everybody can be perfect. Poor kid. After a few expected googly eyes, Walter led us up the giant curved two-way staircase up into the queen’s quarters. From the looks of it one would think she was queen of the universe. Although technically she is—she’s the queen of every vampire across the world. Apparently royalty in this world means ridiculously spoiled. But it wasn’t the things that caught my attention. It was the string of zombielike pet humans she kept for her entertainment all over this place, each of which look like they were pulled straight out of Beverly Hills, compelled to oblivion. I did my best to ignore it.

The solid double doors at the end of the hallway suddenly opened, revealing the queen herself, Mel. She was just as fake in person. “Chelsea, Gabriella, thank you for your time. Please me!” she greeted us every so elegantly. I think she’s the first professional I’ve seen since I got here. We followed Walter through the double doors into Mel’s “office,” if you could even call it that. It was more like a sanctuary the size of the entire first floor of our house in California. This entire room probably cost more than I ever could have made in my entire life as a human. Considering my most recent pay rate at ELG, it would have taken me two lifetimes, even making twenty grand on a normal week, with my car payments taking half of that. Chelsea and I took a seat in front of Mel’s desk while Walter took a seat diagonally between Mel and me, facing me, smiling flirtatiously. Luckily for me, Mel got right to the point. “Well, it is an honor to finally meet you in person, Gabriella. I’m very pleased you decided to work with us. With Benjamin and Stefan. I’m sure they’ll be kept entertained just fine… Lucky you!” she exclaimed, clearly enjoying the thought in a sick way. I tried to ignore her disturbing interest in Ben. There was no way I was going to let her break me. I just flashed the fakest believable smile I could come up with, pleasing her so I could get out of here sometime today. She continued, “Now that there is three of you, we’ll be able to accomplish more over there on your side of the world. You may find yourself working more than the boys do now, but that’ll slow down once everything’s taken care of in that area. You’ll also be doing some traveling both north and south, cleaning out the area’s that haven’t been clean out in a while. We understand that you and Ben have a young son, so we’ll try to keep the travelling to a minimal for the time being until he’s more developed. We may be naturally ruthless creatures, but when it comes to our own, personal lives are important. The agency is looking forward to working with you starting on Monday. Your gift aside, I believe you’re very capable. Anyone who establishes a gift like yours is special in ways

beyond the supernatural. We’re lucky to have you.” There was that fake smile of mine again. “Thanks,” I replied simply. Saying anything else was just unnecessary. Each of us all stood in synchronicity. “Thanks again for taking the time to come see us, especially on such an important weekend. Your curtsy is much appreciated,” Mel added, shaking my hand. As my hand touched her, I had that feeling again, the head splitting. As quickly as the images came, I pulled my hand away. That was a little too personal for my comfort. “It wasn’t a problem. Thank you for having us,” Chelsea answered for me, apparently sensing my sudden discomfort. As we turned to leave, Walter walked us out to Eric, who walked us outside. Neither of us said a word. We were too anxious to get out of here. I could practically feel the burning of Eric’s eyes staring at me from behind as he walked us out, making me move slightly faster. Every nerve in my body was telling me to flash the hell out of there, far, far away. That’s exactly what we did. As soon as we were off of the property we flashed as fast as we could back to Milan, only to prove that I was much faster than Chelsea. had no idea. It made me wonder who else I was faster than… As soon as we got back to the house, I predicted the first words out of Chelsea’s mouth. “What did you see?!” she asked anxiously. I didn’t want to answer her. But a small part of me did, the nonuptight part of me. I sighed, quickly giving into that small part. “I saw her having sexual encounters with Eric!” I spoke through my teeth under my breath, disgusted by my own words along with the friendly reminder from my memory, showing it to me all over again. Chelsea’s jaw dropped, her eyes wide. Then she finally turned around and walked away. I quickly grabbed my phone before she could change her mind, calling home to

check in. With Luka now walking all over the place, I had a legitimate reason to check in frequently. They couldn’t tease me for that. We had some time to spare before we had to head to the airport. I just didn’t tell anyone else that. Chelsea brought me around the city, filling my head with the aspects of Italy. I didn’t understand a word that was being said around us, but somehow it didn’t bother me. It was actually a relief. It could get aggravating if you let it. I couldn’t let little things keep controlling my baby vampire mood swings. Especially while in a city as extraordinary as. That’d be just plan naive. We stayed until just before nightfall, landing us in California around noon tomorrow, time, leaving us with five more hours than we had planned. We didn’t let anybody know that we were on our way a little earlier than expected, saving the amusement for us for once. I was very anxious to get home.

After sixteen very long hours, I was. As intriguing as Italy was, I couldn’t have felt better about being back on US soil. Especially when nobody was expecting us for hours. I never thought I’d feel relief from hearing people speak English. Even the smell felt comforting. We took our time on the drive to the house. We may have been anxious, but we were still aware of what and who we were returning to. Just the thought of being in the same house with Stefan again irritated me. I couldn’t stand him that much. We were going to have to do something about that soon… Living and working with him is going to result in a very dangerous situation ready to ignite at any given time. In our world, the end of it wouldn’t be pretty.

Once we were within the radar of the house, we were obviously recognized. That entire section of the mountain went completely silent for a moment, that moment of unexpected surprise. It took all I had not to laugh. wasn’t going to be the one to break the silence. As we got a little closer, Luka did. The sound of his adorable, quickly developing baby talk made me forget anything I wasn’t looking forward to. Between this weekend and last weekend in Florida, I didn’t even want to think about the amount of development I have missed. I wouldn’t be leaving his side for a while… The closer we got, the more emotion built up. I had a lot of love to give that has been built up all weekend between everybody I care anything about. Apparently, so did they. As soon as we came through the front door, Ben’s arms wrapped around me, kissing me ionately without a word. Beside him, Luka whined at us for my attention, cutting us a little shorter than we both would have liked. But since Luka’s wants and needs are more important than ours, I quickly scooped him up into my arms, smothering him with all the love I’ve saved up for him throughout my weekend away. His blood-red eyes, which matched the distinct color of Ben’s, shined up at me, along with his innocent smile, melting my cold, beatless heart. At just a few days over a month old, he was about as developed as a fifteenmonth-old mortal toddler, with some immortal abilities. As I put him back down, the moment his feet touched the floor, he flashed to the other side of the house, trying to keep up with his constantly growing mind, leaving the rest of us in awe most of the time. I then redirected my attention back to Ben, continuing where we had left off. I

had to get it out of our system now rather than later, when we have things to do. It was going to be a busy night across the globe in our world. I could already start to feel the change of the atmosphere that allowed other supernatural beings to emerge on this specific night. From what I’ve been told, it does things to us that we don’t have any control over, heightening our instincts. Everyone else has just had decades of practice to learn how to contain it long enough to get through the night without accidentally killing anybody important… I had to see Sara and Jon before nightfall. Warn them. I quickly snapped into my serious mind mentality, reprioritizing. Before I could even say a word to Ben, Stefan came in sight behind him. Beside him was Sylas. I normally would be aggravated by their interruption, but there was something about the way Stefan looked that caught my attention. There was something off. That something pulled me toward him, my curiosity getting the best of me. Apparently, Ben couldn’t have cared less because he became aggravated for me. As I stood directly in front of Stefan, it was even clearer that something was wrong. All of the hate I felt for him temporally disappeared, replaced with concern. I was smart enough to know that he wasn’t going to tell me anything, so I had to figure it out my way. Placing my hand on his shoulder was all it took. Experimenting with my own abilities, I carefully looked through everything I could see in his near future within the same moment of my touch. The problem was abundantly clear; there was no Jae. When I had left on Friday, they were still in the heat of the moment, but I couldn’t have imagined what could have possibly happened between then and now that would make her absence so permanent.

Luckily for Stefan, I didn’t have the time or the heart to poke and prod about it like he would. I showed my concern and turned back to Ben. “I’m gonna take Luka in town with me to see Sara and my brother. You gonna come with us or—what are you doing?” “I’ll come,” he replied, glaring at Stefan behind me. Stefan was gone just as fast, leaving only Sylas standing there. “What are you doing?” Ben sneered at him. “Uh… I should keep an eye on Stefan… ,” he responded awkwardly before flashing out the front door to track Stefan. I flashed into the common area to Luka, scooping him up again. Vanessa, who was lounging on the couch with a fashion magazine, flashed to her feet at my entrance. “Hey! Are you gonna be able to keep me company tonight? I really don’t want to scare off the ignorant teenagers myself… You might come in handy… ,” she exclaimed bluntly. Her question caught me off guard, on the spot. “Uh… ya, probably,” I said. Vanessa practically jumped for Joy, wrapping her arms around both Luka and I. “You’re amazing!” she cheered. Meanwhile, Ben got the car ready. We couldn’t exactly flash in town with a toddler without attracting attention. Luka hates the car. “I’ll see you later, Ness.” I chuckled as I flashed outside with Luka. Her enthusiasm can get intoxicating sometimes. Ben traded me Luka for my keys, willingly taking the heartbreaking task of forcing Luka into his car seat. ’s the part he hates, being strapped in.

Unfortunately for him, the last thing we need is attention from mortal figures. He kicked and whined the whole way. If we hadn’t had his car seat especially made for his strength level, he probably would have broken himself out. Luckily, it only took us a couple of minutes to get to the apartment with my driving. I parked behind the building, out of view of Maine Street while we carried Luka upstairs. There are way too many nosy people in this town to have Luka be seen too closely. But since Jon and Sara haven’t seen Luka in almost a week, I had to bring him, regardless of the risks. Once inside the apartment, the first thing I saw was Sara on the couch with her laptop, clearly miserable. That was until she realized I was there. Then her entire demeanor changed. She jumped right up, practically dancing her way over to us. Luka was already flashing all over the place, untraceable to the human eye. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be back for another four hours, what’s up with that?” she said cheerfully, clearly glad to see me earlier than expected. “That’s an excellent question… ,” Ben said as if he were thinking aloud, very amused. I flashed a sarcastic smile up at him, mocking him. “Chelsea just likes to make sure she allows herself enough time to do what she wants and then some… Just minus the ‘then some’ this time.” I shrugged. “Thank God!” Sara breathed. Both Ben and I couldn’t help but chuckle at her choice of words. The use of the word “god” associated with a vampire is just wrong on so many levels. Somehow we found it amusing. Sara was then quickly distracted from the conversation, now completely focused on Luka, who was peeking around Ben at her, smirking flirtatiously. “He’s so big!” she exclaimed, completely in awe. It was hard not to be.

“He’s the cutest thing I’ve seen in my life!” she added as she moved a little closer to him. “He isn’t gonna try to eat me, is he?” she whispered before getting any closer. We laughed. “No… He’s smart enough to know better. He doesn’t feed that way… ,” Ben informed her. “But he is venomous… ,” he added. I was completely unimpressed with his need to add to her fear after easing it, but it was a fact that she should be reminded of, so I didn’t have any room to be annoyed. So I brushed it off, carefully picking my battles. Luka stepped around Ben, slowly tiptoeing his way to Sara. He continued to smirk at her, clearly making her day. That was good because we were about to ruin it. That’s why I was here. I needed to warn them about tonight. I wasn’t going to be able to protect them. Then just on time, Jon came out of his room, just now realizing our presence. His demeanor also changed as soon as he saw us, going from empty to pleased at the same time. My suspicion raised a little . . . Not visible to them. “Holy shit, you weren’t kidding when you said he would… grow fast. He looks like a… toddler! What’s he? A… month old?” Jon struggled to find the right words. “A little over. He’ll develop about a year worth each month… ,” I explained. “That’s sooo crazy…” He breathed, in just as much awe as Sara. Both of them cooed over Luka for a moment. Then I was over it. “So I wanted to talk to the both of you about something…” I suddenly jumped right to the point. It just needed to be said. Both of them instantly looked at each other with worry in their eyes. Then they moved their worried eyes to mine, staring at me worriedly as they gave me their full attention.

I looked at Ben. He knew more than I did obviously. He thought about it for a very short moment. So short I wasn’t even sure if they could have even recognized the pause. Their worried eyes moved to Ben. At least they recognized that. “To put it in words that you would understand is just impossible. You just have to trust that we’re being serious when we say stay away from everything tonight. You may know tonight as Halloween, but to us, it’s a day that raises the supernatural, everything from demons to shape-shifters. It’s just not safe around here, and we can’t protect you. Especially from her . . .” “Why her!” Jon quickly barked. “Because I’ve never had to go through it before. I’m more vulnerable… ,” I sneered back at him, now annoyed. “She can probably already feel it. The change in the atmosphere already started where she just came room,. It’s already been close to her, even though she left hours ago. The closer it gets to nightfall, the stronger it’ll get. So you just have to stay away from anything that could possibly be a threat to you. Don’t trust anybody, and stay inside. Plain and simple,” Ben clarified one last time. There wasn’t much they could argue with. They just nodded in agreement, showing us what we wanted to see. There wasn’t anything else we could do. Of course, it didn’t stop me from worrying. I just had other things to worry about too, like myself and Luka more importantly. Luckily for me, Luka will be Ben’s job to contain. I won’t exactly be fit too. That’s probably why I’ll be with Vanessa. She’s my sister; she has the ability to handle me, unlike Ben; That’s probably a good thing. We were due for some bonding time anyway. It’s been a while. Since Luka it’s been a while since I was able to spend much time with anybody, besides Ben. But I had to enjoy Luka whenever I could. He was going to be all grown up soon…

We headed back to the house before we started pushing our luck, uneasily torturing Luka yet again with the car ride home. It only it made it that much more relieving to be there, away from anyone I cared about that I pose as a threat to. It was almost nerve-racking. My heightening emotions were already starting to get the best of me. It probably didn’t help that I hadn’t fed since Saturday morning in Italy… I should have expected that Chelsea would point it out as soon as I walked through the door. “Have either of you even eaten anything in the past twentyfour hours because I know you haven’t… ,” she said as she gave me that look, that ‘Don’t-try-to-fool-me look’. Ben laughed as he handed Luka over to Chelsea, somehow finding Chelsea’s demand amusing. I still don’t think I’ll ever know how that mind of his works… He’s aimless. I didn’t say a word to either of them as I turned around to make my way back in town. Ben didn’t either. We ran silently until we got to the center of the town. Then we had to figure out where we wanted to go. We stopped in between two buildings on the main street of the town, deciding where to go from here. I looked at Ben. “I’m following you…” He shrugged. In the same moment, I decided to go south to Douglas City. It was the closest and most convenient. It only took us a couple of minutes to get there. It was a lot easier to hunt now that I was home. It wasn’t as much as an annoyance here. It didn’t take me twenty minutes to find the right victim; it’s more like less than twenty seconds.

Ben took his friend… It was a little too easy sometimes. Since we still had a little while until sunset, we took our time before going back, taking our own little time on our usual spot on the top of the mountain. Everybody knew better than to bother us here. Plus after a long weekend away from each other, it was very much needed. Especially with the night we had ahead of us. needs to once in a while, at least. We got back to the house just before the sun had begun to set. As soon we I got there, Vanessa took me by the hand and flashed up the opposite side of the mountain, leaving no room for debate. She was determined. She stopped halfway up the front of the mountain, facing the city. As soon as she stopped, she flashed up the tallest tree near us. I followed her up, using my fingertips to grip the crevices on the tree to make my way up behind Vanessa. It was as easy as climbing a ladder. We could see each entry of the mountain from where we sat, yet no mortal eyes could see us even if they miraculously knew that we were there. It’s just impossible. We were too far up, hidden by the quickly darkening sky. It wasn’t long before Vanessa started giving me that look, the “tell me everything you got while you can” look. She looked like she was ready to burst with anticipation. I couldn’t help but laugh at her excessive curiosity. There wasn’t much else to do up here… “What is it that you’re so curious about?” I chuckled. She looked at me like I should have known the answer to that. “You and Ben, obviously!” she gasped. I wasn’t expecting that… Out of everything. It kind of caught me off guard.

“Uhh… What ?” I asked hesitantly, afraid of her answer. “Seriously! It’s a miracle your relationship even exists from both sides of the field, and you have no idea what I would be interested in?” I shook my head at her honestly, shrugging my shoulders. She sighed, clearly getting ready for a “Nessa speech.” It made me a little nervous. “Everybody knows that you’re the only person ever that Ben even thought twice about. Everybody also knows that if Ben didn’t exist, you’d still be stuck in your dead past, for who knows how long. You obviously made an exception. So did he. You have a real relationship. You have no idea what I would give for even half of that. I wasn’t as lucky as you. I didn’t have someone waiting for me after I lost Alec to pick up my pieces. You fascinate me. And I care about both of you. You should be taking your relationship to every possible level. You already share the most incredible child in existence together. Why not show just how much you’re willing to sacrifice for each other by going to the point neither of you ever thought you’d make it to. You have something rare, you should honor it. Not hide it.” Without having to say the word, I knew exactly where she was going with this, and she was right. It terrified me. I glared at her with so much surprise I didn’t even know what to do with it all. “Are you out of your mind?” I managed to mutter at her. She rolled her eyes at me. “You think of it as this huge thing, it’s not. What are you so damn afraid of?” Her words suddenly hit me hard. I realized that I didn’t know the answer. I looked at her sideways with confusion. I didn’t know what to think anymore. She was screwing with my mind. I didn’t like it. She could see that. “I’m not telling you to dive into anything. I’m just asking you think of it rationally. You owe it to yourself to do what’s best for you, not anybody else. I just don’t want you to hold back too much for too long and lose grasp of what you want. That’s all. Just recognize what you have and do what

you want with it… ,” she said, speaking more on my level now. Regardless of her persistence, it was nice to have her there to talk to. The deeper we got into the night, the more the local idiots became more daring. I stayed in the tree, using my gift as an advantage while Vanessa scared them off from the ground. For once we weren’t the most dangerous things out here. We were protecting the humans from the monsters. If someone were to get hurt up here, it’d be us everyone knowledgeable would look at, regardless. We were protecting ourselves at the same time. Vanessa made it a point to make sure often that I wasn’t losing control of my mind yet from the change in atmosphere. To even my surprise, keeping me occupied made it easier to keep grasp of. I just had to keep reminding myself that it won’t last forever, the dreadful pull that constantly tugged at my instincts, begging them to come out and play, the humans. This continued all night long, all the way through until sunrise. I never thought I’d be so relieved to not want to hunt something. The relief was thrilling. But at the end of the day, it was a successful Day of the Dead. Everyone made it through in one piece. That’s all it came down to. Now in just a few short hours, I’d be going to work with Ben and Stefan. On to the next.

Chapter 22

The Red Carpet

I knew when I got myself into this that Stefan was going to be my biggest problem, but what I wasn’t expecting was for him not to be. He was surprisingly very well behaved, a little too un -obnoxious. And it wasn’t just while we were working. He was different at home suddenly too. There was just something off with him. It was starting to get a little nerveracking for all of us. He didn’t say a word unless he was obligated to. Most everyone just ignored it, letting him go through his phase of his broken heart, one of which he brought upon himself, but that didn’t mean he should punish himself. After completing our week, I couldn’t take it anymore. If nobody else was going to help him, I was, regardless of my rather hasty feelings toward him. Family first, right? So before we headed back to Weaverville after leaving HG in Redding, I just stopped, immediately causing both of them to stop on cue. Both of them looked at me with a confused expression, doused with anxiousness, especially Stefan. He quickly read exactly what I was thinking. But for Ben’s benefit I said it aloud. “I can’t take another day of this flipped personality bullshit. It’s starting to aggravate me, and when your issues start becoming mine, I’m not just going to ignore it like everybody else. You’re gonna fix this right now,” I insisted, completely over it. Stefan became aggravated with me very quickly yet knew better than to even

take a step closer to me. Instead he looked as if he was trying to make me explode with his mind. Sorry, dude, that’s my trick. He growled quietly at me, crossing Ben’s tolerance line… “Okay, that’s enough!” he barked at Stefan, flashing in between us. “She’s right, you idiot, and you know it. You’re suffocating all of us with your misery because you thought you could get away with messing around. That shouldn’t be our problem, but you’re making it ours. Plus, I’m over this rival thing with you two, it’s ridiculous. The both of you need to get the fuck over it before one of you does or says something that you can’t fix and we’ll be living like this forever. That’s a long fuckin’ time! So I’m gonna go. You two are gonna stay here until you can tolerate each other.” “Oh, and don’t worry, I’m sure someone will come put you back together again when she tares you apart… Good luck with that… ,” he added and then disappeared before either of us could argue with him. Unfortunately for him, he can’t hide from me all night… Stefan and I glared at each other with every ounce of hatred we had, creating a very bad circle of manipulated emotions. We stared and stared until one of us decided to break. Eventually, that someone happened to be Stefan. It was more like he snapped… “Fine! You know what? I don’t want to do this anymore! I don’t want to despise your existence for no rational reason! I don’t want to want you all at the same time! I don’t fucking want everybody constantly reminding me that I’m the fuckup! Everyone used to worry that Ben was gonna be the one that couldn’t stay committed to anything, but now that there’s you and Jae’s gone, I’m the case head! “It used to be that Ben didn’t even want this, when I had to fight for Jae. You were practically handed to him on a silver platter of pure perfection! Ben always gets it all! It’s no wonder his own brother even feels belittled by him. It just doesn’t make any sense!”

As Stefan vented his actual thoughts for once, then it hit me—he’s jealous. It all made perfect sense to me now. I just had absolutely no idea where to start to even begin to fix it. In the end, there was only once place to start. “You’re right. I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to struggle. But that’s not my fault… or Ben’s. You should be relieved for Ben, not resentful. Ever since I’ve met him, he’s come a long way and with a lot of help from you. You may think I was just handed to him, but I didn’t make it that easy for him. I wasn’t exactly ready for him when we met, if you’re being too stubborn to . He wasn’t either. We just kinda threw ourselves into it because we were that determined to change. Just from two totally different ways. That’s what you do when you love somebody, you make sacrifices. Isn’t that what you told me when you getting ready to marry Jae? She knew who you were when she married you. All you need to do is talk to her, man up. That’s all we ever want is to know that we matter enough to at least want to try. That’s the least you could do for the woman you cared enough about to marry…” Stefan’s demeanor sudden flipped from aggravated to questionably reasonable, which surprised even me. I wasn’t sure how well he would handle an honest response without it being filled with criticism. “I am relieved for Ben. After watching him use woman after woman for years, I was starting to think that he was incapable of even feeling love. Or even feeling any at all that wasn’t a part of our coven. Then the first time we saw you, all of that changed. It was like a switch went off in his head that made him a completely different man. I’d never seen anything like it. And you know what Jae said to me when I questioned him? You can’t fake love. Then when you actually appeared in his life, I knew that she had been right. It made me fall even more in love with her. But because I didn’t love her the same way that Ben loves you, I didn’t feel like it was real enough, so I fucked up. It wasn’t until she was really gone that I realized how completely wrong I was. We’re all just different. I shouldn’t take it out on you or Ben. He’s my brother. I’d do anything for him. Since he’s impossibly in love with you for more than obvious reasons, I shouldn’t treat you the way I do. It’s disrespectful, and I apologize. Even more so for what I did to you a few years ago… I was stupid, and I honestly just never believed it would actually catch up with me. You shouldn’t forgive me, but I at least owe you a real apology. no, I’m not just saying all of this to make Ben

happy. I wouldn’t do that to either of you. You’re officially one of us now. I just have to accept that I have to share my brother now,” he said, barely pausing for a breath. didn’t need it anyway, I guess. It was as if a light had gone off in his head. I couldn’t help but be impressed. Whether he was full of it or not. At least he tried, like I said. That’s all that counts. “I knew there was a decent guy in there somewhere…” I smirked at him, feeding his ego a little. It looked starving. “Just like I always knew you’d be the one to taint us all with your looks and way of persuasion,” he teased. I rolled my eyes at him. “Let’s go find Jae… ,” I insisted, holding my hand out for his. It took him a long moment to consider, but in the end he took my hand, leading the way. For the first time in what seemed like since the day I met him, I didn’t feel any negative emotions toward him at all. He was just often misunderstood. I realized that now. Now I understood him. He just wants what most anyone would want, someone to share his existence with. Truthfully, I couldn’t blame him for that. He needed my help. So I gave it. I followed him all the way to the area Jae lives in with her creator just west of us. But before we even got there, we caught wind of her most recent trail, heading in a completely different direction. He immediately turned around, tracking her south, twenty-four miles south. I don’t think this was Ben’s idea of us “working things out,” but unfortunately for him, that’s his fault. We followed Jae’s scent to what would appear as an empty building to any ordinary human. But from my eyes and my ears, I knew exactly where we were —a vampire den. I had read about it in the book both when I was human and, of course, when I

was forced to memorize every word of it. Such a simple task for our kind. How couldn’t I recognize this place? It was just that nobody ever mentioned that one was here. Or even spoke of it at all. I rolled my eyes at Stefan, awaiting his explanation. It was obvious he hated everything about this idea. The fear in his eyes told me that a lot of that hate stemmed from his fear of Ben. I rolled my eyes again. “Let me worry about Ben. We’re not his prisoners, Stefan. Now do you want me to talk to Jae or not?” I said. Apparently I’m the only one who isn’t a pansy… He sneered at my thoughts but kept his to himself. “I’ll be right here… Just in case.” He unwillingly agreed, flashing a disgusted expression at me. Then when I turned to walk inside, he stopped me, quickly gripping my arm. “Wait!” I paused, looking back at him impatiently. “Try not to let yourself become recognized while you’re talking to her… Ben has a lot of friends and a lot of enemies. Both of which would be more than fascinated with you. Everybody knows who he is, and of you. Don’t make me regret this… He’ll never let it go!” he insisted. “Fair enough.” I shrugged, continuing my way into the building. Stefan’s anticipation continuously grew the closer I got. Once inside, he circled the building, clearly keeping a consisted tab on my thoughts. Inside, it looked like any other empty building, except I could hear what a human couldn’t. I followed it directly straight, to a wall. Naturally, I pushed on it. And just as expected, it moved, bringing me into a hallway, red carpeted hallway. At the end of the hallway, a red door; above it read, “The Red Carpet.” How ironic.

There’s that sarcasm again. Before I even opened the door I could smell that this wasn’t going to be a pretty sight. I was right. Beyond the door was a huge luxurious room filled with vampires surrounded by willingly compelled humans walking around half naked, just waiting to be eaten. Whatever floats your boat, apparently… The man at the door, a vampire, greeted me. “Good evening, welcome to The Red Carpet.” I quickly nodded. Then made my way past him, avoiding any eye as I tracked down Jae. Luckily for me it didn’t take me very long. She was sitting in the back with a female friend, chatting amongst themselves. I casually slid in beside her. At the same time, she quickly turned to me, surprised to see me. “Oh my god, what are you doing here?!” she asked anxiously under her breath. I looked behind her at the girl. I didn’t have to say anything for her to know that my presence is to be kept on the down low. If Stefan even knew that, then she obviously did. “Excuse us, please!” she insisted rather rudely to the girl, as if she should’ve known better than to even stay. She then quickly turned back to me, anticipating my answer, it wasn’t obvious. What else would I be doing here? “I’m here for you and Stefan…” I simply got to the point. Her expression instantly became confused. “You hate Stefan… ,” she reminded me. I chuckled. “Most of the time, yeah, I do. But since he’s lost you, it’s like he’s lost everything annoying about him, and that’s even more annoying. I can’t stand it. He just wants what he sees others have. He doesn’t know any different. You have to guide him. Do you honestly think I’ve made it this far in my relationship if I didn’t have to do some guiding? Think about it…” I chose my words carefully, just hoping there wasn’t someone in this den who was smart enough to put it all together. Really, I just hoped nobody was even paying attention to our conversation… I wasn’t paying attention to theirs; I was too focused on mine. Maybe they were too.

Jae stared at me cautiously for a very long awkward moment. “He must be awful… ,” she thought aloud, drifting off subject. “Actually, not as bad as most would probably think, but that isn’t the point. I’m not here to talk about me, I’m here to help my friends. I know that you care about him or you wouldn’t have put up with him as long as you did. Just come home with me and talk to him…” Before she could even respond, both of us were distracted by the sudden silence just on the other side of us. Then before we even had a chance to respond, a tall man with eyes as dark as his skin came out from the booth around the corner. Both of us froze as he sat down on the other side of Jae, his eyes never leaving mine. “Who’s your friend?” he asked Jae cheerfully. “An old friend. And we’d appreciate it if you’d go back to your booth. We’re kinda in the middle of something…” “I heard… That’s kinda why I came over… ,” he mocked her. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that your friend is the newest Row… As in Ben Row.” I instinctively glared at him fiercely. In the same moment, Stefan appeared. “That’s enough. Let’s go!” he demanded quietly. “Mhm, gotta protect one of your own. I knew you’d come running. Though it does set the question as to where that brother of yours is. Shouldn’t he be rescuing his own damsel in distress?” the guy said to Stefan, pushing his buttons. He naturally turned to him, eyes wide and full of hate. “You’re lucky Ben isn’t here because he would tare your fucking heart out for even talking to her, so I suggest you don’t let him find out…” he warned him, taking my hand as I flashed to my feet.

The guy didn’t seem to be very glad to get his answer after that. He just snuffed at us as Jae followed us off. Stefan pulled us out of there as quickly as he could, overreacting. I was very unimpressed. Once we were outside, all of us stopped, picking up where we left off. “I wasn’t fucking kidding!” Stefan barked at me. “Hey, she didn’t even say anything! Don’t be a dick, Stefan!” Jae barked back at him in my defense. “The asshole probably just smelled him on her. You guys are with him all day. I’m sure you just split up. That’s not anybody’s fault. People are gonna figure out who she is. It’s only a matter of time. Everyone’s just gonna have to deal with it. The only reason it isn’t out now is because of the agency. Your lives are confidential. But that doesn’t mean no one’s going to put the pieces together… ,” she added, apparently taking the opportunity to put in her opinion. Stefan took a breather for a moment, trying to clear the fog that his anger was creating in his head. I’d recognized that look anywhere. “He’s gonna smell it on her, on all of us. If he hasn’t gotten a phone call already… ,” he thought aloud, obviously ignoring everything except Ben’s reaction. Pansy. “Ugh, so what!” I sighed at him, very annoyed with his constant fear of Ben. It’s just plain absurd. I should have left them two alone until they fixed that. Maybe I still will. Suddenly, out of nowhere, for a split second in time, saw various phone calls being received on what appeared to be Ben’s phone. Each image flashing onto the next as quickly as it came one after another until it finally stopped all in the same moment. I immediately recalled that the time stamp on the first phone call was in three minutes from now. Stefan practically jumped out of his skin as he also saw everything I just saw and thought.

His automatic reaction was to call Ben. He already had the phone dialed and ringing before I could react. I suddenly had a really bad feeling about this… “If you get any unexpected phone calls in the next couple of minutes, ignore them!” he warned anxiously as soon as Ben answered the call. Why did he have to answer? I whined to myself… “Why! What the fuck did you do!” Ben barked at Stefan. “Nothing! Someone just kinda… made Gabby. Someone you kinda… despise . . .” Uh-oh. Jae and I gave each other a worried look. “Who?” Stefan hesitated. But his fear of Ben overpowered any other fear he had. “Chris Sears.” “What! How the hell did you let that happen!” “Your scent’s all over her, Ben. What the hell do you expect! You can’t hide her forever!” Stefan sneered back at him, finally growing a little balls. “Where are you!” Ben quickly asked. Stefan paused. None of us even moved. “TRC.” Stefan sighed There was another pause—from Ben’s side this time. “I’ll be there in a minute. Try not to fuck up anything else,” Ben insisted before hanging up on Stefan. As soon as the call was disconnected, I took advantage of the very limited time we had until Ben, the fastest of us all, got here.

“Why did you do that!” I whined through my teeth at him, trying really hard not to get angry at him. He’d hear it enough from Ben before this night is over… “What did you want me do? Let him find out elsewhere? Right, that would go over so much better. Probably not. You should know that.” I rolled my eyes at him. “If you would have just let me call him, dumbass, that conversation would have gone over a hell of a lot better than it just did. You should know that.” Stefan didn’t say another word to me. Jae and I both walked off to the other side of the empty parking lot. We waited very impatiently for the man of the hour to arrive, each of us just waiting for all of it to blow up. Four minutes later, he was there, going straight to Stefan. “He still in there?” he asked calmly. Stefan nodded. “Let’s go chat then,” he suggested. “You too,” he added as he looked back at me. I sighed as I flashed to my feet. Jae followed next to me as I followed the boys in, only for Ben to force Stefan and me to switch places as soon as we were through the first door. Ben didn’t say a word to either of us as we made our way back into the den. We went straight back to the booth Chris was in when I had gotten here, before he had interrupted us. Every set of red eyes in the entire place was glued to Ben and I, watching our every move. Ignoring it all, Ben quickly flashed into the booth next to Chris, Stefan flashing in on the other side of him, blocking him in. Jae and I sat across from each other, her next to Stefan, I next to Ben on the outside of the booth. Chris’s eyes quickly became a defensive shade of black, naturally. But that didn’t intimidate. “My brother tells me that you became rather interested when you realized who she was… ,” Ben stated, nodding toward me as he spoke. Chris’s eyes continued to boil as he stared both Ben and I down for a moment

before responding. “Why wouldn’t she be interesting to me? After all those years of being known as that guy and you keep her from everybody, how the hell else would you expect me to react?” Ben chuckled tauntingly to himself. “If you knew me at all, Chris, you would know that I protect the people I care about. That’s a hell of a lot more than I can say about you. So as far as I’m concerned, I’d kill you before I let you anywhere near her again,” Ben warned and then gestured for us to get up to go. Each of us flashed to our feet at the same time, beyond anxious to get out of here. Ben and Chris didn’t say another word to each other. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t over. Nothing in our world is that easy. If it were, probably wouldn’t even have a job. Once out of the building, all of us stopped again to recuperate. was the part I was hoping to avoid. No such luck… I looked at Ben as he looked at me and then looked over at Stefan and Jae. Each of us now looking at one another, we had a clearer picture of everyone’s intentions. Jae and Stefan walked off, together, fulfilling the entire purpose of us coming here in the first place. Mission complete. My eyes turned back to Ben’s, instantly making me smirk at him flirtatiously. No matter how much his attitude can annoy me sometimes, it could never stop being sexy. I flashed into his arms, crushing my lips into his, making everything we just went through totally worth the hassle. Just the taste of his lips was enough to get me going. He just gets harder and harder to resist the longer that I’m with him. Every ounce of love I had for him just exploded all at once every time I was with him. I didn’t need to be reminded that all the bad that comes with being with Ben Row is totally worth the good. Since he chose me, out of everyone he has ever met in his entire existence, that made me the luckiest girl in the world.

Before going home, we raced to our usual spot on top of our usual mountain. As expected his phone didn’t stop ringing for a second. Luckily both of us knew better than to answer it. Eventually, he just shut it off. And by “shut it off,” I mean he crumbled it in his fist into a million tiny pieces out of annoyance. The peace and quiet from the top of the mountain was relaxing, a moment both of us were in dire need of. I tried not to think about the events of the day, or the week for that matter. We managed to rid our jurisdiction of eight disobedient vampires my first week, filling our bank s while naturally damaging our self-worth by destroying our own kind. wasn’t something I wanted to think about on my rarely occurring downtime. My very handsome sidekick, on the other hand, was something I was more than willing to devote all of my attention to. The seductive look in his eyes told me that my thoughts weren’t far from his. As I sat on top of him, our arms gently wrapped around each other as our lips stayed glued to each other. I still couldn’t seem to shake off the words Vanessa had said to me days before on Day of the Dead. That had never happened before. Ben’s presence alone is always enough to distract my mind from everything and anything else that matters. I had to force myself to stop kissing him. Normally, that would have raised a lot of sudden worry, but with my frequent premonitions lately, suddenly stopping anything doesn’t come with much surprise. Expect this was no vision. That was obvious even to Ben. This was all me letting my thoughts and emotions get the best of me. I flashed to my feet. Ben did the same, standing in front of me with confusion smothering around his eyes. I crossed my arms as I gathered the right words to express my thoughts in an appropriate dialogue. I didn’t need to freak him out anymore than I already have.

After what seemed like an extremely long awkward moment, I gained enough courage to say what was on my mind. “Has anybody ever made you look at our relationship from their point of view?” I asked. He immediately looked at me as if I was the last person he would have expected to hear that question from. “Practically every day… Not as much now that you’re with us every day, but apparently Marcus has taken on that duty for Stefan to constantly remind me… ?” His curiosity quickly set in. Along with some worry about who put the thoughts in my head. After the day we just had, it probably wasn’t the best time to talk about it, but I was over the ignoring-it stage. It weighs on you too much. I can’t have that. “The other day, when I was with Vanessa, she said something that sort of made my head spin. And then today, you forcefully made me talk to Stefan, a lot of things were said. It made me think about what Vanessa had said to me. Now I can’t stop thinking about it. Even after the day we just had, it’s like it doesn’t even matter. I’ve never had these thoughts, ever. I don’t even know what to do with them. It’s driving me crazy. I just want it to stop.” My minor emotional outburst lifted a large weight off of my shoulders, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy. Ben just kind of smirked at me amusingly for a moment before he said anything, apparently flattered by my involuntary obsession. He flashed closer to me before he spoke, close enough so that he could rest his hands ever so seductively on my hips. He whispered in my ear, “If I have to hear Sylas tell me to marry you one more time, I’m going to tear his heart out. I love you, Gabby. I do want to marry you. It doesn’t matter what anybody else says. Ignore them.” That was probably the exact opposite of what I expected him to say, so it took me a moment to actually his words into meaning. The rest of the weight I had felt only moments ago was gone. There was no more darkness clouding my way of seeing inside of Ben’s head. Just like a human’s

home, ones you’re invited in, there’s no taking it back.

Chapter 23

Escort

Three months later…

B efore I had even agreed with myself to be with Ben in the first place, I was well aware of what I was getting myself into. Over the past few weeks, both of us were starting to feel the full effect of the drastic impact our relationship has on everybody, including ourselves. The M word was a constant in everyone’s vocabulary lately. Especially with Stefan and Jae all kissed and made up, it left Ben and me as the only target. We desperately brushed it off on a daily basis, just the idea of it happening one day was enough to satisfy us. It was everyone else that had a problem with our lack of motivation on the subject. Excuse us if we were more focused on our vastly developing child, now the size of a four-year-old. Still the splitting image of Ben, and now he talks just like him too. now have two of them… Some might say I was the luckiest creature in existence. But the smart ones would know that only means double the trouble. For me personally, ya, they were pretty cute, but that attitude, it was going to drive me mad one day, I’d swear on it. Regardless, I’d still agree with the dumber ones any day. Unfortunately, the M word wasn’t the only thing being pushed on us these days. Luka’s development was too.

Marcus called Ben and me into his office yet again for the fourth time this week. It was late Friday evening. We had just returned from Redding with Stefan only minutes ago. After spending the day chasing down the latest Bonnie and freaking Clyde, I wasn’t in the mood for prying. Ben very much wasn’t either. That didn’t matter to Marcus. Apparently, he was too worried about Luka. “The kid is full of it. He needs to hunt just as much as any one of us do. Whether you think his age is an issue or not shouldn’t be relevant. He needs it!” Marcus insisted. “We aren’t supposed to turn a four-year-old into a vampire, so how is sending Luka out to hunt humans any different? It’s just wrong!” I protested for what felt like the hundredth time. Ben shook his head. “She’s right. It doesn’t matter if he needs it. He is not hunting humans,” Ben insisted roughly, smothered in his usual hostile attitude. Though Marcus was well used to it, as was I, it still didn’t make this discussion any easier to get through. “Benjamin, I’m not going to have this conversation again. Either you will bring him or I will command you to. I really don’t want to have to do that…” Marcus sighed. Ben was now boiling pissed off. He cursed as he broke his way through the office door, no longer having a choice. Or at least he won’t if he doesn’t comply now. In result, that made me also very angry. By doing that to Ben, he was also stepping over me, his mother. I smothered Marcus with every ounce of negative emotions I had as I made my way to Ben in a normal pace. I knew what I was walking into. As I went through the shattered doorway, Chelsea appeared in the hall, glaring at Marcus with her arms crossed below her chest, clearly just as unimpressed. At least someone was on our side. When I went upstairs, I was expecting Ben to be pacing the floors at extensive

speeds. But as I came around the corner, I was surprised when I saw him leaning in the doorway of Luka’s room, watching him as he slept for the first time in days. He’s been a little excited that he can do so much more now that he’s a little bigger. He says “Being a baby is annoyin’!” Every word that comes out of his mouth is much more developed than the average kid. After learning from all of us, he’s about double his age mentally. He’s more than smart. That was half the problem. Marcus was right about one thing—he did need it. That was obvious. But was it really necessary now? He’s only a child. My fury at Marcus continued to boil the more I thought about it. It didn’t help that everybody could hear Chelsea cussing Marcus out for it. Like that was going to do any of us any good. When Marcus thinks something is right, that’s it. Arguing just gets us right where we are right now—stuck, without the ability to decide for ourselves, as his parents. Not his maker. “Have you lost your mind! You can’t command him to make decisions like that. It’s wrong! He’s his father, Marcus, not his creator. If they don’t think he’s ready, then he’s not! They would know! Stop being power hungry and suck it up. They’ll take him when they want to. If you command him, I’ll command Gabby not to. Then we’ll see whose power hungry when we have to stop Ben and Gabby from taring each other apart. You wouldn’t want to be responsible for making them do that to each other, would you?” Chelsea insisted. I couldn’t help but listen. Her defense was a good one. I’d like to see either of them even try to stop Ben and I. That would be interesting… But probably not as interesting as the end result would be. Who would win? With his ability to shield out my abilities, I think I’d be screwed. But you never know. My temperament is better than his. It wouldn’t be pretty nevertheless. Marcus didn’t respond to Chelsea, which gave me no idea where he currently stood. For all I knew, he was sticking to his threat. Suddenly Stefan came out of his room down the hall, flashing to the other side of Ben, who was still staring at Luka silently. The only sound was the echoing of Luka’s rapid heartbeat.

“Sylas is on his way out here… ,” he warned. Somewhere in the past few weeks the relationship between Sylas, Stefan, and Ben had exceeded way more than I ever expected it to. This was good, most of the time. Sylas was sometimes useful. But other times, like today, he picked the worst time to come over. The last thing either Ben or I wanted to hear was Sylas’s persistence. Apparently that alone was enough to snap Ben out of his own train of thought. He immediately looked over at me, his expression instantly changing from aggravation too anxiousness. I was expecting him to want to get the hell out of here before Sylas got here, but this time, I had been completely wrong. As soon as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, I saw it all. The entire next half hour flashed before my eyes. I was very unimpressed with what I saw. Stefan backed off, flashing right back into his room just as quickly as he had come out. Since he also saw the events that were to come, he apparently knew better than to push any more of my buttons. Ben called Sylas. “Hey, I need to talk to you about something. It’s important, so hurry the fuck up. I don’t have all night,” Ben insisted before quickly hanging up on him. I shook my head at him, expressing just how aggravated I was. He sighed at me. “Relax. I just want to ask him something, just hear him out.” I could already see the twinkle in his eye. That was enough to annoy me. I rolled my eyes at him as I turned to flash down the hall into the bedroom. I was in desperate need of a personal moment. Just because vampires always look perfect didn’t mean we always felt it. A shower and change of clothes would do it. So as I gathered my thoughts as Ben had, I did just that. Showers were even more exhilarating as an immortal, regardless if we needed it or not. The feel of the hot water on our skin was calming, relaxing, just as it was for humans. Only the feeling lingered much longer for us. It was like rebooting your computer, starting over.

It worked. And by the time I was dressed only moments later, Sylas was here. Ben dragged him up to the bedroom to me, leaving my only escape the windows. He really shouldn’t test me like this… I doubt he feels like replacing another window in here… Sylas smiled at me flirtatiously like always as Ben quickly slammed the door shut behind them. I didn’t even want to imagine what was going through his mind. I’m sure if I tried it would be somewhere along the lines of being a couple minutes too late for the show. Luckily, Ben wasn’t in the mood for Sylas’s infatuation with his girlfriend at the moment, so he ignored it completely, getting right to the point. He also wasn’t in the mood to fight with me. knew in order to avoid that, he’d better get Sylas out of my face sometime within the next couple of seconds. “When you were in Moscow, what was it that kept you there for half a decade, Russian ?” Ben asked him, totally confusing me. I couldn’t see the relevance yet. Sylas furrowed his eyebrows, just as confused. “Why?” he asked hesitantly. Ben didn’t waste a second to even breathe. “Marcus wants us to teach Luka how to hunt humans.” His eyes widened at both of us in excitement. was not the reaction I was looking for. “As long as he has the ability to pick and choose you shouldn’t have to worry about it. The kids in Russia started as soon as they could walk, but that was a century ago. Things are different now. Just stay close to him. He’s smart. He’d be fine,” Sylas insisted. “It’s not his safety I’m worried about… ,” I stated the obvious. “He’s not all immortal. He’s human himself too. His world is different than ours. Shouldn’t we at least try to keep it that way?” Sylas shrugged. At least he knew better than to try to overstep me. I heard Luka awakening from the other room, catching my attention. It wasn’t even a moment later before he came flashing into the room, right to Ben’s side. He heard us.

“Take me!” Luka whined at him, crushing any and all defense anyone had. Ben looked over at me as if saying, “Now what are we going to do?” I sighed. “Whatever, let’s go,” I unwillingly agreed, going against everything I believed in. It was clear that this was a fight that I wasn’t going to win. I waited for them outside as Luka got himself dressed, just like Ben, all on his own. No one spoke a word. By the time they came out, I was over it, ready to give my son what he wanted— to hunt a human-No matter how much the thought urged at me. It wasn’t about me. It’s about what is best for Luka. If he’s smart enough to ask for it on his own, he must be plenty capable. I was a little anxious to see how it would go. We flashed east to the most populated area besides our own, Lewiston. It was the least likely place for Luka to be spotted, so it seemed like the most likely place to start. Luka flashed just a couple of feet in front of us, letting him lead as if it were just an ordinary run with him. Most of the time, Ben and I would fall back and hide on him, making him use his instincts to find us. Even the others tend to in on our little game every once in a while. It can get quite amusing. Except today, we had other concerns to worry about. His instincts are fine; he proves it every time… It was control I was worried about… Before we got too close to the city, Ben flashed ahead of Luka and stopped in front of him, dropping to Luka’s level. He looked right at him. Ben explained the rules to him as simply as he could, leaving out the consequences to if those rules were broken. That we knew all too well… It’s our job to do the disciplining around here… The thought made me cringe. Then we let him loose, following closely behind him. He stopped directly on the

town line, and then he quickly veered north, into the center of the small city. In comparison to the cities that I was used to in Florida, it was a small town. The closest thing to a city in this area is Weaverville, and even that’s small. I’m used to places like LA, but unfortunately for me, LA isn’t very inconspicuous… Witnessing Luka’s first kill was probably the hardest thing I’d ever have to do as his mother. Even the small instinctive part of me that was proud that he accomplished it was hard to accept. It was hypocritical really, but what real parent isn’t? Of course we praised him for a job well done anyway. At least he didn’t eat the mayor or anything. Then suddenly, both of our phones went off at the same time—a text from the agency, insisting we go back to HQ as soon as possible. Before either of us could even blink, Stefan then called. Who obviously got the text too. Now curious, we raced Luka home, getting him there the quickest way we knew. We met Stefan at the house while dropping Luka off to Marcus. Ben nor I said a single word to Marcus during the short time we were there, still very upset with him. Whether he was right or not, you don’t overstep the child’s parents. Chelsea was right—it’s wrong. Even for us. On the way to Redding, neither of us said a word to each other either. Probably because we were all a little curious to see as to why we were being called in on a Friday night… It screamed importance. That also meant something interesting for once. That didn’t happen often. Our job usually consisted of the same old thing most of the time… Once finally in Redding, we ignored the girl at the desk as we did every day and went straight into the room. As soon as the door shut behind us, the wallsize screen came on, revealing only Mel. That told us that this was a job strictly from the hand of Mel, not the entire agency. This should be entertaining . . . , I found myself thinking to myself. Mel didn’t waste any time; she got right to the point. “I’ll apologize now for

interrupting your personal time, but I’ll make your spare time worth it in American bills. This job is of high importance to me. I need my highest-ranked agents on this one, and that would be you guys. I couldn’t trust anyone else to succeed, let alone make it themselves if anything were to go sour. Since I need you, I wouldn’t put you on it if I had any doubt that this will be simple for your team. “Somebody worth very much to me also will be landing in LAX tomorrow at noon, your time. I want Gabriella and Stefan to escort him from Los Angeles back to Redding, where you will him off to Benjamin, who will drive him to Eric in Seattle. Because this is your personal time, and I respect that, I’ll be paying each of you double time. You’ll be paid half now and half when he is delivered to Eric in one piece. Report back and your job will be finished. Any questions?” Neither Ben nor I as much as blinked, but Stefan stepped forward. “Uh, yeah, who the hell are we protecting?” he asked very bluntly. I swear I felt my eyes roll all on their own. Mel hesitated to answer Stefan, as expected. Yet as agents, it was our right to any and all information she had that could help us complete our job successfully. Technically, she had to answer him even though she clearly would rather not. “His name is Edmond Redmond. He was my maker’s creator,” she replied with a solid, forced tone. We really couldn’t screw this one up. Stefan fortunately was now satisfied and didn’t feel the need to ask any more damn questions. The three of us quickly got out of there. spend way much time at this office as it is. We didn’t stop until we were home. Neither of us wanted to waste anymore of our personal time talking about a job any more than we already had to. We’d talk about it tomorrow… For now, I just wanted to go home and do nothing. Except of course nothing can ever go right. Before we even walked through the door, I knew something was off. Only Marcus and Chelsea were here. Everybody else was gone, including Luka.

That naturally started me off on the wrong foot. I continued into the house with caution until Chelsea finally appeared, followed by Marcus shortly after. The three of us froze, staring in suspicion. Apparently Stefan heard something neither of us did because he quickly turned around and walked straight out the door that we just came through. Ben and I looked at each other for a moment before staring back at Marcus and Chelsea with even more suspicion, with a little added annoyance now. a good combination for either of us, never mind both of us together… Marcus nodded at Chelsea. She slowly took a step forward, smirking at me. I’m sure if I were to try hard enough I could envision what this was all about, but I really wanted to hear it from her. The glimmer in her eye told me that she was very much enjoying this. Then as soon as the words came out of her mouth, it all made sense. “Marcus and I are going north for the night. Everyone else will be gone as well. I’ll have Luka,” she us, being. I had absolutely no idea what to say to her that wouldn’t sound utterly rude. So I didn’t say anything. I just flashed my famous fake smile at her and called it good. I didn’t look back at Ben. Not until they were gone only moments later. Of course the first thing that came to both of our minds as soon as they were gone made their pushiness worth the aggravation. That’s basically what most of the night consisted of. When we weren’t having sex, we were getting to it… That’s one of the best parts about being immortal— it never old… Or tiring. Somehow, at some point during the night, I managed to end up with a glass of whiskey in my hand. It was my first drink since my transformation. It only made the entire night that much more interesting. I think I had another… Yup, even as the undead, I’m a lush. Though the alcohol was calming, it wasn’t enough to prepare me for the next

few seconds of my existence. To say I was completely caught off guard would be underexaggerating, even though I really shouldn’t have been at all. I totally should have seen it coming. That fact that I didn’t I think is what surprised me most. It was the biggest diamond I have ever seen in my life. Ben’s lips seducing mine distracted me while he slipped the ring onto my finger. “Marry me,” he whispered, still seducing me. I couldn’t have breathed if I wanted to. My first reaction was to quickly press my lips back to his, unable to resist. I quickly found myself flashing on top of him, now seducing him. He chuckled to himself. “Is that a yes?” I chuckled with him. “Yes,” I replied seductively, throwing myself at him yet again. He didn’t interrupt this time. In fact, it was somehow even more exhilarating, more addicting. We didn’t waste any more of our time. We didn’t take our hands off of each other until we absolutely had to. This wasn’t until Stefan came in when it was time for me to leave after we ignored his last seven calls… Oops! Since we ignored Stefan for so long, we were now almost running late, leaving me only long enough to kiss Ben one more time before I left. For some reason, reality didn’t quiet set in until it was pointed out after a surprisingly long few minutes of running. His surprise was even more surprising. He stopped in his tracks as soon as the glimmer of the diamond caught his eye, causing him to stare in awe at me for a moment. I then instinctively put my left hand in the pocket of my sweater. “How didn’t I know about this!” he finally muttered. “We should keep going. We’re going to be late… ,” I insisted. He glared at me with aggravation. “I’m serious. Why didn’t he tell me? I can see him keeping it from his thoughts around me, but not tell me? Seriously? I told

him with Jae!” Stefan complained. “Don’t be such a baby, Stefan… Can we just get this job over with? Seriously!” Thankfully, Stefan finally complied. We continued to flash down to Los Angeles, a ten-hour trip for most people. But flashing at practically light speed got us there in less than two hours. Going from the snowy mountains of Northern California to the sunny hills of LA in such a short amount of time was something I was getting used to. We found ourselves in the south fairly often. Being paired with Stefan wasn’t unusual either. Our abilities work well together. Double trouble. Once we met up with Edmond at LAX I knew I didn’t have to worry about hearing about the M word anymore from Stefan. Any and all personal talk ended immediately, especially regarding Ben and me in any context, a word had even been spoken. We had ran silently since I made it clear to Stefan that he wasn’t getting the words out of me that he wanted to hear. But still, it wasn’t until the job actually started that I felt relieved. Every moment we ran I was just waiting for him to say something. Luckily, he didn’t. Neither of us said a word to each other until we found Edmond. He wasn’t very hard to spot. I realized immediately that he was the type of vampire that lacked the ability to move with the times. You can tell the age of a vampire by the highlight around their pupil. His was the thickest I’ve seen yet. A solid silver line circulated between the blood red and his pupil, making his eyes that much more intimidating. Though considering Mel hired us to keep him from getting himself killed, I knew already that he was harmless to us. Opening his mouth only verified that. “Mel has sent me an angel!” he exclaimed as his glare met mine. I didn’t respond in any way at all. I didn’t even blink. Stefan became tense and then answered for me. “Uh, this is Gabriella. My sister.

I’m Stefan. We’ll be escorting you to our brother in Redding,” he informed him, clearly forcing out the word “our” for obvious reasons. . . . Of course, Stefan’s explanation didn’t stop Edmond from eyeing me a little past my comfort level as we walked away from the airport. My left hand naturally found its comfort zone hidden in my pocket. My eyes also found their way over to Stefan periodically as the minutes went by. After only ten minutes of flashing silently, Edmond suddenly went to a dead stop. “I feel as my ‘bodyguards’ we should know each other a little bit…” I rolled my eyes over to Stefan. “That’s not really how it works… Our job basically entails we deliver you safely. A life story isn’t exactly necessary… We shouldn’t be wasting Mel’s time… ,” Stefan quickly insisted. Edmond sighed, unimpressed with Stefan’s answer. I knew immediately that this wasn’t going to be as easy as I had hoped. The perma-grin that was constantly taking over Edmond’s expression poked at me. It took almost all I had to keep my cool, to stay the job. He didn’t seem to mind. “You should know who you are protecting… And from whom. I insist. I don’t need to hear anything about you. I know how you guys are with your. Just let me tell you at least what you’ve gotten yourself into… ,” he said. “Fine.” Stefan caved. Finally, we started running again. Edmond explained himself on the way. Even though I tried to let it go in through one ear and out the other, it still stuck, my immortal brain forcing me to every word whether I wanted to or not. of the cons of a vampire’s life… “A few weeks ago, I found myself in a predicament. While working with a witch friend of mine, I was forced between her and my own. Like any of us, I naturally chose my own. She’s been tracking my every move ever since, waiting for me to be unguarded.”

“Well, Mel picked a good place for you to travel to. The witches around here aren’t stupid enough to cross us. Either is any other immortal stupid enough to step foot into Row territory. You’re safe here,” Stefan assured him. Me, I had no idea. I didn’t want to have anything to do with their small talk. Getting this job over with so I could go on with my day was the only thing on my mind. “If Mel sent the two of you to escort me on foot, you must be important…” What has this guy been living under?A rock? I thinking to myself. Everyone knows the name Row and its roots. And to think he is close with the queen. How’d that happen? “You don’t get out much, do you?” Stefan finally made an intelligent observation. Edmond chuckled to himself. “Honestly, no. I don’t. I’m from the 1400s. I tend to stick with what I’m used to. That’s hard to find nowadays… ,” he itted with a hint of shame. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to adjust; he was afraid to. A vampire! What is this world coming to? “A little update, our coven is one of the most powerful in the world. The only reason we’re not in Italy is because we choose not to be. My sister here is the newest, most powerful of us all next to my maker. she keeps it to herself most of the time unless needed. Forgive her, she’s just over protective,” Stefan replied. I wanted to rip his heart out. He flashed a sarcastic smile at me, proud for stepping over my boundaries. He knew I wouldn’t do anything about it in the given moment. He was taking advantage of it. Edmond’s grin widened. “Oh, I praise the man that can float your boat, honey!” he said. I immediately flashed a warned look at Stefan. I didn’t need his ability to know that he was just itching to say it, expose my relationship to the public eye. Not on my watch. Whether it was obvious to Edmond or not, he didn’t say anything; therefore, it didn’t matter, luckily for Stefan. It wasn’t just me he had to worry about; it was Ben’s rule too. Jealousy is a very strong motivator. It can make people do things

they normally wouldn’t. I couldn’t have that. Therefore, taking precautions was a must. The topic of discussion suddenly changed as we continued to run. “Many, many years ago, before Mel was queen, she was a product of my finest creation. But as I’m sure you know, being the best comes with consequences. It wasn’t long before he got himself destroyed, leaving Mel with nothing. She lived in the woods, feeding off of random hunters. She didn’t have a penny to save her life. “I the night like it was yesterday. I was in a pub, stalking my latest victim when I heard two other vampires talking to each other. this time and place our kind was common, and well aware of by most of the humans. I heard the two at the bar describing a young woman who was giving herself for a few extra bucks, so obviously it caught my attention. Not in a sexual way either, in a way that made me want to help the girl, regardless of who she was. So I asked the men where I could find her. I set off that very moment. I found her two days later, draining a young boy behind a buggy. As soon as I had caught her scent, I knew exactly who she was. One can always detect one of their own. No matter how far down the link on the chain is. “So I took her in. No questions asked. I helped her back onto her feet. And before I knew it she was queen. Now she’s the one lending me a helping hand whenever in need. Even though she could’ve, she never forgot what I did for her, and she never will. Now she’s all I have left unless she becomes a maker someday. If she ever retires…” I couldn’t help but be entertained by Edmond’s story of our queen, our boss. It gave me an entirely different view of our little miss perfect. Stefan continued on with the small talk with Edmond while I continued to keep my mouth shut and my mind focused on the job. Now closer to our destination, the end was finally starting to seem possible. With no threats, I was almost disappointed. After listening to Edmond, a little excitement might have made this job worth it. When we finally got to Redding, my relief was then quickly replaced with more disappointment when I couldn’t throw myself at Ben at the sight of him. I

couldn’t even give him a second glance. I’d never wanted anything more in my life. He knew better than to even look at me. It’d give it away in an instant, that look in his eye. The look I fall in love with every time he looks at me. I craved that look. Ben left with Edmond as quickly as he could, for two reasons. One, to avoid prolonging this awful feeling both of us had. And two, so he could hurry back to me. Stefan had to drag me out of there. But before going home, we stopped on a random peak, taking a moment. With no more jobs in the way of personal time, Stefan was all clear to say whatever he wanted. To my surprise, he didn’t. Not yet anyway… “He’ll be back by nightfall… ,” he tried to assure me, reading my painful thoughts. My hands gripped my knees as I sat off the edge of the ledge. My eyes naturally found their way down to the gigantic rock on my finger, laced in sterling silver. It glittered off of the sunlight, creating a rainbowlike glow that reflected off of the glow created by the reflection of our skin in the sunlight. A light so fine that it is invisible to the human eye. Stefan smirked at me, slowly scooting closer. “You must be the best in the world,” he stated. “I never thought I’d see the day…” Surprisingly, that didn’t make me any feel better. “That’s not what I mean and you know it,” he said. “Ben’s gone through a lot of women in his existence, and not one of them he ever thought twice about. But you, he worships. Just because you’re you. The fact that he wants to marry you only proves that you have changed him. You’ve taught him how to love and how to like it. Not to be terrified of it. That’s a huge accomplishment. You should be proud. Most girls would kill to have accomplish even half of what you have with him. Literally. Don’t ever doubt yourself, Gabby. I’ll smack you. You need to start taking a little credit. You see it as you gained it all, but in all reality, he has

too. You’re his prize. Whether I think he deserves it or not is a totally different, irrelevant story, but either way, he fucking loves you, and you obviously love him too. Stop pouting about it, show off that ring, and marry him. Simple as that. You have it all. Act like it.” I let his words sink in before I responded to Stefan in any way. I wasn’t exactly sure what to say, but I knew that he was absolutely right. I did have a habit of holding back, hiding my true emotions, in fear of them being shattered, even though I had no reason to act that way. I was proud that I had Ben. I was more than proud. I was downright grateful to be so in love with him. I just needed to learn how to show it better to people other than Ben… And even with him, I didn’t show it all. It felt impossible to express everything I felt all at once. Even though I knew he felt the same. I found myself pondering again, the idea of marriage. Except this time, for the first time, I was viewing it different. Not from a stubborn, terrified point of view. But from a loving, heart-filled point of view. I didn’t even care that Stefan was tuned into each and every thought. It didn’t matter that he could see just how infatuated I really was beneath my barrier. All that mattered was that I felt it and that it was there.

We quickly hurried back to the house. I hadn’t seen Luka since yesterday afternoon. I was sure he was wondering where we were on a weekend. It would still be a while before Ben returned, and I realized immediately that Ben had covered his tracks so well that nobody, not even Chelsea, had any idea of the engagement. I took the opportunity to hide upstairs with Luka, making it a point to keep that fact hidden well until Ben would be here with me when the information was revealed. Since hiding in my room with Luka wasn’t very odd, no one thought anything of it, making it that much easier for me to get away with. The only one that posed any threat already knew. Now all that was left to do was wait… I lay with Luka on the floor beside the bed, drawing with him. He was miraculous for what he was capable of, obviously. But it still surprised me, every

time. It’s no wonder we shield him best we can from the rest of the world… even the humans would eat him alive, metaphorically. It was an efficient way to the time. Before I knew it, Ben was back. He didn’t use the door. He came in through the bedroom window, also avoiding everyone else. Now why didn’t I think of that… We just to be conveniently hiding in here. Though it’s impossible to hide from anyone in this house, at least they know better than to bother us when we’re up here… Most of the time. I instinctively flashed to my feet and then didn’t move at all. I just stared at him, staring at me. Before the split second was over, he flashed directly to me. Without a word, he kissed me. Luka giggled to himself. I couldn’t have been more relieved. Yet at the same time, I was being antagonized by my own emotions about facing everyone in just a few short moments. Maybe we’ll wait until tomorrow, I found myself thinking. I quickly overpowered that weakness. No. We’ll do it right now! I insisted to myself. I suddenly let go of Ben again, now determined. Before he could protest, I stepped away from him. “We have something to tell everybody. Don’t get distracted, Benjamin,” I said as I headed toward the door, easily attracting everyone’s attention. For a very brief moment shock smothered Ben before he followed me downstairs. Luka quickly galloped behind him, oblivious. far as we know anyway. You never know with him. I took my time, making my way into the common area at a normal pace. By the time I got there, each and every member of this coven was waiting. Plus Jae, who has been here all day.

With my left hand generously tucked into my back pocket as Ben came in behind me, to my right, everyone ached with suspense, except Stefan of course. He tried to hide his grin, but it wasn’t working out very well for him. Each set of red eyes was now locked on Ben, waiting for the words. But before he said a word, he looked down at me for a fraction of a second, showing me his amusement while still coming down off of the initial shock of my sudden motivation on the subject. Then as both of us looked back at most of the ones close to us, he finally told them what they have been waiting to hear, willingly throwing both of us into what we wanted to avoid most—the attention. “We’ve agreed to get married. Officially. Eventually,” he informed them simply, wording it much more efficiently than I would have. It was a priceless moment on our side. The sudden disbelief that came upon each of them, minus Stefan, for a split second was quite amusing. Though it was immediately replaced with relief, it was still enjoyable while it lasted. Then the excitement came, from everyone else. Even Marcus seemed pleased. It wasn’t very often a smile is seen coming from him. Regardless of everything else, I was pleased to have accomplished such a thing. The most proud had to have been Chelsea. Considering she takes credit for our relationship even existing, I wasn’t surprised. kind of had a right to some of the credit. She probably felt as if she had been responsible for a miracle. With his past, and mine, is a miracle our relationship exists. After about an hour of listening to everybody’s two cents, we finally caught a break when both Chelsea and Jae started complaining to Marcus and Stefan that my diamond was bigger than theirs. Ben and I quickly took Luka and flashed upstairs, finally finding some time to spend, the three of us, after a long day of working on our day off. We didn’t speak a word about the job. Not yet anyway. Not until we had to. Like usual, it was the last thing either of us wanted to talk about on our personal time. I was satisfied just looking at him. The rest just made it that much more.

Eventually, Luka feel asleep. The thing about having a mostly vampire child is that you never know if he will or not. We don’t have the pleasure of peaceful sleeping babies every night. I suppose we deserve that. It didn’t matter what we were doing or what we were talking about or even if we were talking at all. Just being there with him made me feel like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Not a hair out of place. I didn’t have to worry about a thing. He was mine, and I was his. If I regretted anything, it was that I didn’t meet him sooner. I’d trade every human day I had before I came here for him. My past was now becoming a faded memory in the distance of my mind.

When morning came, even as a sleepless vampire, I didn’t want to get out of bed. I could have laid there all day, doing absolutely nothing for all I cared. Ben had already left to hunt with Stefan. Unfortunately, nobody seemed to agree with me. My phone started ringing at seven thirty and didn’t stop when I didn’t answer it. It was Sara. Since I couldn’t see an emergency I continued to ignore the call for the time being. I was desperate to avoid telling her and Jon next, mostly Jon. But since I couldn’t trust Sara to keep her mouth shut, I didn’t even want to speak to her until I found the courage to tell my brother that I’m marrying my vampire boyfriend not even a year after our best friend and my boyfriend was murdered. I didn’t even want to think about telling Eddie. I’d rather wait until he was dead. Though it didn’t matter what anybody else thought; it still affected me. I needed to fix that. I can’t stand being tainted by my still accelerated emotions. I’m told I won’t have them forever, and when I don’t I’ll miss them, but right about now I very much doubted that. To make matters worse, by the time I finally did decide to crawl out of bed and go downstairs, Sylas was coming through the front door, one more uninformed person. That didn’t last long. The giant rock suddenly on my finger was the first thing

that he noticed, causing him to automatically pause and stare at me. I continued across the room to the reason I had come down here in the first place, my laptop. was due for a social network update. I didn’t say a word to Sylas, but he followed me anyway, sitting next to me as I sat down in the common area. I closed my computer in my lap and looked over at him, giving him my attention. “What!” I sighed. He smirked. “My baby brother is one lucky man.” I rolled my eyes. If this is how this conversation is going to go, I’m out of here, I thought to myself, glaring a warning at Sylas. “Relax, I’m just sayin’,” he replied. “I know him. He hates it, but I do. Better than anyone, even you. I’m the only one left in the world that knew Ben before he lost everything, including his mortality. So I know that if you made him monogamous, there’s more to you than any of us are aware of. I know the women that he has been with. If you beat them… mmm… ,” he said, unable to finish his thought aloud. Becoming very uncomfortable with his thoughts, he quickly flashed to his feet and disappeared. He’s lucky Stefan wasn’t here, never mind Ben… I brushed it off, knowing better than take anything he says seriously. I refocused on my task. Updating my Facepage, I finally changed my relationship status from “In a relationship with McAurther” to just “In a relationship.” I also managed to delete a lot of unnecessary pictures. As much as I didn’t want to, they were a little inappropriate now. I saved only one of Caleb, out of respect for our lifelong relationship. It was my favorite. It was also the one used at his service. It seemed appropriate enough. Then, out of nowhere, Sylas returned. All calmed down now. didn’t even want to think about how that happened so quickly… His expression was now serious, serious enough to catch my attention once again. If he had the balls enough to come back, he at least deserved a listening

ear. “Okay, that was probably a little uncalled for. I can’t help it sometimes, in our DNA,” he said, making me reconsider my own way of thinking. I didn’t move or say anything. I just looked at him like he was insane. Borderline psychopath might be a little more accurate. He sighed, apparently not used to women not doing whatever he wants them to do. That’s probably where I find most of my amusement whenever I’m talking to him. “It’s just that you’re kind of hard to resist. Sometimes I have to remind myself that Ben wouldn’t hesitate to tare me apart if I offended you in any way. You’d think I’d be used to it after a century of him despising my mere existence, but it’s not like I can ever give up. He’s all I got,” he added, continuing to try to win back my tolerance. was working. My curiosity got the best of me. “What could you possibly have done to make him hate you so much for this long?” I found the words coming out of my mouth before I even thought about it. Sylas grunted. “course he wouldn’t tell you.” He rolled his eyes, leaning back against the back of the couch as he thought about it. “I’ve never asked.” He quickly furrowed his eyebrows at me. “Then why as you asking me?” He sounded surprised. “Because I know it’s the last thing in the world he wants to talk about. Your feelings don’t really matter, so why not?” I replied, shrugging my right shoulder. “How considerate of you,” he muttered semi-sarcastically. “You’re lucky I like you regardless of your fuck-all attitude. I should expect it coming from someone who’s marrying my brother. So if you really want to know why he hates me so much I’ll tell you.” I smiled in acceptance.

“Back before either of us had anything to do with this life, whenever we weren’t working or being tutored, it was our responsibility to take care of Drake. Our parents always had much more important things to do.” familiar. “The day that Drake died, it was Ben’s turn to watch him. But as always, Ben had other things on his mind too. At the time, he was determined to score with the girl down the street that was known as the local tease. Everyone wanted her, but nobody could actually get a home run. So I agreed to watch Drake, curious myself to see if Ben would actually get what he wanted. Like I said, it’s in our DNA. “I let Drake play outside to keep him occupied. We were out there for hours on our parents’ eight acres of trees that surrounded the villa. I only went inside for a minute, not even. They must have been watching because by the time I came back outside, Drake was dead. He had been stabbed in the back, assassinated in his own yard in broad daylight. I’ve paid for it ever since. Ben still hates me. “So I left. It wasn’t long before I found Humwai. As soon as my memories came back after the transformation, I faked my death for everyone’s sake. I left the country without looking back. “It was only a few years later when our parents were poisoned. By the time I had come back for Ben only a few days later, he was already with Marcus. He didn’t want anything to do with me.” Sylas let out another sigh. “Now here we are… still at it with each other…” I only had one question. “Did he get the girl?” He chuckled to himself. “You’re going to have to ask him that one. It took me decades to get him to tell me, and I still don’t know if he’s lying or not, so you’re better off asking him yourself. You’ll probably get more of an honest answer than I would,” he said. “You’re probably right,” I agreed, chuckling with him. “But then I’d have to tell him that we had this conversation, and I really don’t want to go there with him, so I’d rather not. I’m not that curious.”

Even I doubted that. “Either way, the difference between you and all the other ones is that you actually want him the same way that he wants you. They used him just as well as he used them. The life of a bachelor is a vicious cycle, believe me. I’ve never left it, and I probably never will. At least you want each other for all of the right reasons.” He surprised me yet again. I wasn’t exactly sure which way to go with that one. So I just nodded, pretending to take him seriously. While subconsciously I was desperately counting the seconds until Ben finally returns and saves me from this conversation. But he didn’t. Not for another forty-five minutes. What could’ve possibly taken that long, I had no idea, but I respected both of them enough not to bother to ask, even though Ben would ask me in a millisecond. That’s the difference between men and women; we’re not as overbearing as we’re made out to be. Not all of us anyway. As soon as Ben came into the room, Sylas flashed to his feet. “Baby brother!” “Hi,” he muttered to him, more focused on me as he leaned down to kiss me, replacing all of my annoyance with the seductive taste of his venomous lips. “Is he bothering you?” he whispered. “Not anymore,” I replied, pressing my lips back to his for more. He gently gripped my waist and pulled me to my feet, holding me against him as he continued to kiss me. Sylas left the room. Even though I spend all day, every day with Ben, there still wasn’t anyone I’d rather spend what little personal time I had than with him. He’s all a girl could need and then some. How could I complain?

Chapter 24

A Little Competition

I may be capable of conquering the world, but it took me days to find the courage to tell my brother that I am marrying Ben. And by days, I mean three long avoided-filled days. I hadn’t spoken to either Jon or Sara since it was made official. I couldn’t keep this up much longer. So as we were coming home from Redding on Wednesday night, I noticed that they were home, providing me with an opportunity. When I felt myself stop involuntarily, I knew that it was time. Neither one of the boys had to stop to ask me what I was doing; they were well aware. So as they continued home, I headed to the apartment. Since this was yet another unannounced visit, I used the door. didn’t want to scare the moody pregnant one. Or “the giant hormone,” as Jon would refer to her. Of course both of them were just as surprised as I had expected them to be as I came through the door. But that surprise was quickly replaced with anger fairly quickly; “Where the hell have you been! I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days!” Sara immediately barked at me. “I know, I’ve been avoiding you… ,” I willingly itted. “What? Why?” “Something kind of came up that I didn’t want you to tell Jon. I want to tell him,

both of you. That’s why I’m here,” I explained. Their exhilaration started to lower but not low enough. My words eased their concern but only to turn around and help heighten them. “Oh god, now what?” Jon complained, rolling his eyes. I glared at him sarcastically. Then before saying a word, I removed my left hand from the pocket of my sweatshirt and placed it flat on the counter in front of both of them. “I’m marrying Ben,” I said, drastically changing both of their demeanors instantly. In two totally opposite directions, just as expected. “Oh my god… ,” Sara said under breath. “What?” Jon sneered through his teeth, officially angry at me. “That thing looks like it costs more than I could spend in a lifetime…,” Sara muttered aloud. “Why? Is that really fucking necessary? Caleb hasn’t even been dead a year, Gabby. have you forgotten all about him?” Jon continued to scowl at me while Sara obliviously smothered herself in awe. Sara’s always been the more materialistic one. I rolled my eyes at Jon, unimpressed with his choice of battle words. “That’s brilliant of you, Jonathan. Ya know, if you paid any attention to anything else besides yourself and your lab, you’d know that you’re the only one that hasn’t moved on from Caleb. Just because I tend to keep him the furthest thing from my mind, it doesn’t mean he never existed to me. He just doesn’t exist anymore. It isn’t going to do anybody any good to live my life around it. I’ve already committed to my relationship with Ben in much more permanent ways, so if you wanna fight about it, bring it on, Jon, because I’ll win every time, and you know it. Without using any extra that I may have against you…” I knew Jon’s head inside and out, so I already know his response before it even came out of his mouth. As clever as thinks he is, he’s very predictable. He stepped closer to me, all unintimidated like. “I may not say this a lot, but you’re still my little sister, Gabby. It’s still my job to look after you, no matter how many Draculas you have wrapped around your little finger. I get the whole

obsession with the whole strong bad-boy type thing; I think every girl has that fantasy. I’m just sayin’ that ’ve been given immortality. You shouldn’t rush things” His pancake-sized pupils and tainted whiskey breath made it clear to me where his words were coming from. I couldn’t talk to him like this. It took me a brief moment or two to contemplate it, but in the end, I looked him straight in the eye, breaking my own rules. “Tell me how you really feel,” I compelled him. With only as much as taking a breath, he spilled his guts. “I don’t think it seems right that after so many years of loving someone and losing them, that you can replace it so easily. But I can’t deny that it isn’t true. I can’t help but feel happy for you even though I selfishly don’t want to. I like this new you, it suits you. I only don’t want you to marry Ben because I fear eventually we’ll lose you forever. Plus, I don’t want to feel obligated to commit to that level in my own relationship. The thought terrifies me.” I ignored the sudden offended expression taking over Sara from witnessing the compeltion. I realized that Jon knew absolutely nothing about my relationship with Ben because we purposely hid it from him, in hopes of keeping his sanity without completely thinking of the consequences. It made me feel awful inside. And for a vampire, that was very abnormal. When Jon quickly snapped out of it, not ing a thing, he turned away and walked into his room without saying another word. I’d compel him again later to not feel so bad about the part of the conversation he does , for his benefit in the long run. With it now just Sara and I, I had some more explaining to do. “What the hell was that!” she whispered aggressively through her teeth. “I can make you forget it if you want.” I shrugged. “No! You better not do that shit all the time… ,” she. I laughed. “It’s not funny! Like I need to hear him saying shit like that! It’s bad enough that

I have to constantly worry about him doing something stupid, especially when he comes home from work higher than Everest and drunker than a sailor. He has absolutely no idea what to do with himself anymore, and with you hardly around, I don’t know what to do about it!” she cried, really hammering the guilt into me. All I could think to do was hug her. I may have only been pregnant for a few weeks, but I what it was like. There wasn’t anything I could’ve said to make her feel better. I just had to be there. Then of course, when all things seemed to be shifting, my head split into two— image of a girl I’ve never seen before, a brunette, was in our house, smooth talking Ben in French. I didn’t understand a word of it. But it was enough to raise some high suspicions from my defensive instincts. I’ve put way too much of myself into my relationship to let anyone even attempt to interfere with that. And for the first time since high school, I found myself jealous. It was a very rare occurrence for me, and I had absolutely no idea how to take it. I quickly found myself flashing toward the house, knowing she’d already be there. I was getting better at timing my visions to present time. As feared and expected, she was there when I got there, except the conversation wasn’t going as smoothly. I could tell by the tone of Ben’s voice, regardless if I understood the words. I’d always recognize that tone. It only became angrier as he sensed me coming. Then the conversation stopped completely. As I came through the front door, there they were, barely out of the doorway. That very image was the one of my vision, minus the silence. She was definitely a one-size-fits-all kind of girl. I could tell from her short shorts and her high heels. The six layers of eyeliner probably didn’t help either, but I could see how most men would find her attractive. Her overgrown rack said it all. maybe that’s just the jealousy talking again, you never know. From the look on Ben’s face, he wasn’t very impressed for whatever reason. I made the first move by continuing my way to Ben, not bothering to give Ms. Mate of the Year a second glance. Despite everything, he gently kissed my forehead before doing or saying anything. His right arm held me close to him,

his hand softly grasping the small of my back. Just his scent alone was intoxicating enough to rid me of my jealous accusations and moody offset due to my indomitable brother. For me to have doubted Ben for even just a second was inept. She looked at me like I was her worst enemy, ready to be demolished. If only she had the power. Of course, Ben took more offense to it than I did. “This is Courtney. For some reason she seems to think that everybody owes her the world and wants me to help her get off of Mel’s bad girl list. But she’s psychotic, and we shouldn’t have anything to do with her, yet I can’t seem to convince her of that. you can,” he said, looking straight down at me as if she wasn’t even there. I couldn’t help but chuckle. Ben’s way of communicating inconspicuously gets to me every time. I held onto that moment for a second, well aware it wasn’t going to last long. As I turned to look at Courtney, it struck me that this was going to be a lot easier than I would have thought, had I had time to think it out. It was kind of a think-as-you-go kind of thing. I crossed my arms, ring finger very visible as it lay across my right arm. I stepped toward her, eyeing her back with just as much resentment as she had. I was determined to get her out of this house as quickly and as efficiently as we could. It didn’t take much. Her entire demeanor had changed the moment I stepped foot into the house. I should’ve known she wouldn’t be hard to scare off. After a couple seconds of glaring at each other defensively, she eventually sucked it up and left, giving Ben one more unsatisfied look before trolling her way out the front door. Of course it wasn’t until she was completely gone that Stefan came out of the woodwork very much amused. I could only imagine what he had read in each of our minds during that very spiteful moment. “Now I’m curious. How many seconds was there between the time you had that vision until you actually got here?” Stefan asked, having his agenda written all over him. He was loving this. If walking away would have gotten me out of answering his question, I

definitely would have. But I knew better. And the look on Ben’s face told me that he was just as curious to know the answer, though he had no idea why. Stefan did, and so did I. That’s how I would have liked it to stay. Unfortunately Stefan wasn’t having that… “If I didn’t know any better, Gabby, I’d say that someone faced a long lost emotion today…” Ben’s brow furrowed. His confusion was enlightening on my part. “Why don’t you mind your own business for once, Stefan? It might do you some good? You should get on that… ,” I replied, totally not in the mood for Stefan’s persistence tonight. Stefan shrugged. “Nah, where’s the fun in that? How about I tell you what he won’t about her, and then you can tell us all about you’re memorable split second.” he suggested, dangling my right kind of bait. As one would expect, Ben didn’t take very kindly to that idea. “You’re un-fucking-believable,” he thought aloud. Letting us all know he disproved, yet he wasn’t pulling teeth to stop it so it couldn’t be that awful. Or so I hoped. I smirked at Stefan, giving him that vengeful smile that agreed to his deal. Ben simply rolled his eyes. It’s not like he had any room to be a hypocrite. He did find almost everything about me long before I ever even came here. Then he basically stalked me for a few days before actually approaching me, in a bar. I’d like to see him try to object to giving me information. We all know I wouldn’t get it from him unless I knew the right questions to ask. He’s sneaky that way. It’d drive me crazy if it didn’t turn me on so much more. Stefan was proud to tell the story. It was all over him; he was feeding off of it. As intimidated by Ben as he is, he’s clever enough to pick which boundaries he’s capable of crossing safely. “Forty years ago, our job was a little different. We didn’t automatically banish one another for breaking the rules. Instead, we captured and detained them while they awaited questioning. Then they would decide whether to banish the detainee or not. Now that there’s so many of us, we have to be stricter.

“About years ago, Mel sent us to Vancouver to capture and detain a man who had killed three teenagers in a populated area. When we found him, aside him was Courtney, his wife. Naturally she of course tried to fight Rob’s way out of it, well aware of the consequences. She doesn’t exactly care much for them. Apparently neither did Rob. When Courtney wasn’t getting anywhere, he went for Ben—all around bad idea. Instinctively, he tore him apart without the slightest hesitation, right in front of Courtney. Now she was really mad. Her first reaction was revenge. But since Rob was dead, we detained her instead. “Now the best part of this story is that even though Courtney despised Ben’s mere existence, he still charmed his way into that. He used to be brilliant. Now you’ve ruined that for me. I can’t live vicariously through him anymore, thanks a lot! “But anyway, obviously Mel didn’t banish her, thanks to Ben weaseling her way out of it once he got what he wanted from her. Then he got bored shortly after. Now we only hear from her when she wants something—typically Ben. Usually there isn’t much of a competition. She didn’t seem very happy about that… Yet you already know that. You’ve seen it all already.” It was completely silent for what felt like a never-ending moment. Ben had absolutely no idea as to what my reaction would be, but Stefan had a front-row seat. “Your turn,” he said, basically trying to make me repeat every thought I just had all over again. His shit-eating grin didn’t help any either. Every fragment of me wanted to slap it off of his face. Instead, I told myself not to be a coward, and I sucked it up, flashing to my right to face Ben. If I was spilling my guts to anybody, it was going to be him. As he quickly realized this, he stood straight, focusing his attention more on me and less on hating Stefan’s big mouth. And for that moment, it was like Stefan wasn’t even there. I moved close enough to Ben so that I could wrap my hand in his, in need of the comfort of his touch. I never broke eye , showing him as I told him. “My vision terrified me, just the possibility of losing you. Whether it should’ve or not, it did. That’s never happened to me before, ever.”

Ben’s hands gently held either side of my face as he stared down at me with his breathtaking blood red eyes. “You have every right in the world to worry. The world knows I’ve never been good at this. But something they don’t know is that I’ve never wanted anybody so badly in my entire life. I wouldn’t trade you for the world, you believe it or not.” That answer worked for me; it always does. “Oh I believe you. It’s how easily distracted you are by the female body that concerns me,” I whispered seductively. He chuckled, grasping my waist flirtatiously. “You shouldn’t have to worry about that. You keep me plenty busy, baby!” Our lips automatically found each other’s, taking this to an entirely different level. It was on, as in turned on. There wasn’t any turning back. Even Stefan quickly decided that it would be a good time to leave. That was probably a good thing, considering we were already tearing each other’s clothes off before he was even out the door. Like I said, it was like he wasn’t even there. Immortal emotions are difficult to control; we just can’t help it sometimes. When the possibilities are endless, it’s hard not to be addicted to sex. Like any other human feeling, it only becomes more intoxicating for us. It’s only natural instinct for every species. It’s just the most fun for ours. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very long before everybody started to come home, with fair warning. First to come back was Vanessa, with Luka. But the two of them stayed downstairs. Next was Stefan. And with him was Sylas. We didn’t get as lucky with them. They didn’t even pause before flashing into our room, making themselves right at home. Now after spending most of my day with Stefan, his was the last face I wanted to see in this room at the moment. I didn’t care so much about Sylas though; in comparison Sylas is much more tolerable than Stefan. That’s one of the few things Ben and I disagree on. Since I’m not even supposed to know why Ben feels this way, I’m left with biting my tongue, like he antly does to me in hopes to protect.

The contempt on both of their faces was very informative to both Ben and I. We knew only a miracle would get rid of them. “I realize that you hope being a bitch will eventually drive us away with hate, but I’m sorry to inform you that you’re stuck with us. Nice try though!” Stefan insisted, staggering along with Sylas. As we realized that they had been drinking, we took one look at each other before flashing to our feet, containing drunkee and drunkette in Marcus’s secure office. Since both of us were both stronger and smarter than either of them, especially at the moment, it wasn’t very difficult to get them secure. It avoided any casualties that may or may not take place. I’d know, right? Sylas smirked at me flirtatiously, with that same look that he had the other day. Only this time, he was stupid enough to act that way while in same room as Ben. smart. “You’re even hotter when you get all serious like that, can’t even stand it!” Sylas was practically drooling. “Is there nothing left in that useless head of yours?” Ben sneered at him in my defense. “Hey, you should be flattered! You’re the one tappin’ it!” Ben’s hand was wrapped around Sylas’s throat as soon as the words came out of his mouth. Even Stefan was laughing at Sylas’s stupidity; he even knew better than to talk about me in a sexual context in front of Ben. It’s suicide. I didn’t know any better I’d say that hegets a little jealous… Ironic. “I’m over having to knock some sense into you every time you decide to get drunk. It’s pathetic. Keep your fuckin’ thoughts to yourself or you’re gonna find yourself back in those tunnels, I can promise you that, big brother!” “You know, perfection comes with consequences, Benjamin. You’re going to have to get over it eventually if you want to stay with her or you’re going to spend a lot of time breaking heads. It’s not our fault your girlfriend is what most men dream about at night. Get used to it, dude. You can’t hide her forever.” Ben let go of Sylas aggressively but efficiently. Just in time too, because before either of us could say another word, Marcus and Chelsea returned.

We continued to stay frozen in silence until they were in the house. Both of them came right into the office. “Good, you’re already in here. I’d like to speak with everyone,” Marcus informed us as he made his way to his desk, completely ignoring the obvious tension he abruptly walked into. So did the rest of us. We focused on Marcus while we waited for Vanessa to us, all of which took under a second. These little meetings always worry me. Marcus has that way of intimidating you by merely being the room. He also had a way of straightening us all out with his presence. Like Stefan, for example, suddenly appeared just fine. Even Sylas was acceptable, even though he didn’t belong here. That told me it couldn’t be too personal or we would have had to kick him out. That was a good sign, one of the only. The other was that Chelsea appeared to be anxious, in a good, excited way. Marcus stood in the center of the half circle we created, looking at each of us all at the same time. “Anything that you think you may be doing this weekend, you’re not. We will be going to Italy to the yearly royal gathering in honor of our fellow agents that help keep our secret. Since we have three of them, we are all obligated to go. We’ll be leaving Friday. I’ll expect all of you to be ready without delay,” he informed us. At that very moment, Ben’s, Stefan’s, and my phone rang at the same time, each a different ringer that created a very obnoxious noise. Each set of eyes in the room was on us as we read our texts. The three of us looked at each other briefly before looking back at the others, contemplating whether to tune them in, though we weren’t suppose to. Everything we do is a secret. It is what the mortal world would call a society. We told them anyway; “And we’ll be on the job… ,” Stefan said. “Running surveillance in the casa, before and after the gathering until Mel says otherwise or we find what we are looking for. That should be interesting…” Ben thought aloud. “Which would be what?” Vanessa didn’t even think twice to ask. Again, we

looked at each other long enough to decide to tell her. “leak within the agency… ,” Ben practically whispered. Not that it would have done him any good had someone been listening. Marcus immediately became stiff. “That’s a serious job. Why wouldn’t they be putting one of the local agents on it?” “Obviously they can’t trust their local agents or they wouldn’t be putting us on it. Or Mel is just obsessed with us. I’ve been starting to wonder that myself lately. She can’t seem to leave us alone for a second. Thanks, Gab!” Stefan replied, blaming my highly ranked ability on our high case load. “Are you complaining, Stefan?” Chelsea stepped in, calling Stefan out on his weakness. He glared at her before answering. “No. I’m just sayin’!” He shrugged, sneering through his teeth. “Good, now go screw your head on straight. You smell like rum and hookers,” Marcus insisted. Busted. He also dismissed the rest of us with less tough love. We spent the small remainder of the night with Luka before we did our last job of the week in just a few hours before we headed to Italy Friday. My first trip with Ben. I’ll have to to slaughter a village before leaving if I want to make it through the weekend without spending most of my time trying to find deserving women to eat. Not likely. Realistically I’m sexist that way. Women are more forgivable. Men are just born evil; it’s easier to live with. That might be why I never felt any guilt for shooting Caleb’s killers either. They deserved it. At least our rules are good for some things other than a hefty payday. Regardless, I was thrilled to be going back to Italy, without leaving anyone behind this time, Luka. He’s our biggest secret. We couldn’t exactly bring him to a gathering filled with unaware royalty now, could we? We had to leave him with Tanya and her girls. We didn’t have a choice.

The following day had been a lot easier than I had expected, allowing us to head home a little earlier than usual. And with less than twenty-four hours until we left for Italy, there was still a lot that needed to be done at home. Our coven needed us. Vanessa and I had to decide what she was going to make us wear while the boys helped Marcus and Chelsea with the travel arrangements and essentials. Tanya would be arriving some time tonight to stay with Luka while we were away. Ben and I both insisted he stay in his comfortable environment to prevent any curiosity. He was too smart and far too dangerous to risk any mishaps. We’ve never left him with someone who wasn’t a member of this coven before; we had plenty of reasons to be concerned. Especially with his newly found obsessive need to hunt. He isn’t a very good listener when it isn’t Ben or I instructing him… I was terrified. And for a vampire that’s a very bad emotion to have. Just as Vanessa and I were finishing with her designs I was surprised when I heard and smelled Sara speeding her way up the driveway, her anxiety level already smothering the area. Something was wrong, very wrong. I stopped everything that I was doing immediately in that moment and flashed downstairs. I could already taste her tears in her scent. Very impatiently, I waited for her at the door as she quickly waddled her pregnant behind up the stairs to the front door. As soon as she saw me standing there, she stopped, dropping her bag, which never left her side when she left the house, and slowly wrapped her arms around me, better than to move too quickly when putting her hands on me. Something my brother has yet to learn. She choked up her tears as she let go of me, following me as I gently guided her into the house. As she continued to follow me into the common area to sit, she looked around abruptly at the unusual amount of chaos around here. “Were getting ready to go to Italy for the weekend. We have this thing we need to go to… ,” I let her know. “Now tell me why you just showed up on our doorstep in tears? What did he do?” I asked, not oblivious enough to not see that this was clearly all about Jon. It was practically written all over her.

She frowned at the fact that I knew that before she said anything, with a hint of shame trying to hide in her expression. “Whatever it is, it’s Jon’s problem. Don’t let his mistakes affect you so much. He doesn’t deserve that from you,” I made a point to say. “Now tell me what’s wrong.” She exhaled slowly, letting out her built-up emotion. As she placed her hand on top of mine two things happened. She told me the problem, and I saw the unborn baby. So as I’m seeing that my brother’s unborn baby is an unborn baby girl, Sara is also telling me “Your brother isn’t just smoking ice anymore, he’s shooting it. I found this in the bathroom this morning. When I confronted him, he didn’t even care. He just left for work without another word. That’s when I came here… ,” she said, showing me the insulin syringe. I ignored my vision for the time being. I became furious. But I couldn’t let it show. I had to be strong for Sara. Apparently it isn’t going to be Jon, so it had to be me. After a moment of screaming it out in my head, I finally turned back to Sara and placed my hand back into hers. “Jon’s a fucking idiot. I never should’ve let you get involved with him. I should have known better. But it’s a little late for that considering you’re now stuck with him forever. Or at least until he gets himself killed or incarcerated. You shouldn’t have to worry about it, okay? I’ll deal with Jon. You worry about you. Thank you for telling me though. He selfishly put you in an awkward position that you shouldn’t have had to deal with. I’m sorry. I promise, one of these days we’re going to straighten him out. For now, I want you to go home, watch chick flicks, and take a nap like a normal pregnant twenty-three-year-old! ‘Kay?” I insisted. I now had enough to worry about; I didn’t need Sara’s health or safety to be one of them, especially as a result of my brother’s jackass syndrome. She managed to smirk at me in response. As I walked her back down to her car, I gave her one more hug before she left, ignoring the sizzling it created in my throat. “Stay safe. I’ll come see you as soon as we get back,” I whispered. “Thanks, Gab… He really needs you, ya know. A lot more then he lets you believe,” she now made a point to say before she got into her car and drove back down the driveway.

Once she drove out of my senses I flashed back inside. Stefan was waiting by the door. should have seen that one coming. “What are you gonna do?” he asked as innocently as he possibly could. Without bothering to stop, I glared at him as I flashed by. “Don’t worry about it,” I said, heading back upstairs. Nobody else said a word about it. We continued about as we had been, leaving everything in the back of our minds to worry about later once we made it through this weekend. By nightfall we were all able to snag some downtime, all of us, together. It was peaceful. Believe it or not. Though there wasn’t a second that went by that I didn’t wonder in the back of my mind what Courtney was boiling up. I just couldn’t shake this feeling that I’d be seeing her a lot sooner than I hoped. And it wouldn’t be a pleasant occasion. It took all I had to keep these thoughts out of Stefan’s ability. I knew the consequences of that. I needed all of these emotions undetected until the time we land in Italy. I had some serious mental work to do…

Chapter 25

Hostage

Genoa, Italy

1800 hours,Saturday

T he elegance at a royal gathering in our world spoke for itself. Everybody was at their best, or at least trying to be. Usually, Vanessa escorts Ben to these things since he’s never ever liked anybody enough to bring them, but since I was now in the picture she was forced to be escorted by Sylas, first time attending. They were the single pair of our group. We arrived in perfect order. Marcus and Chelsea led Ben and me down the marble stairs into the ballroom. Stefan and Jae followed behind us as Vanessa and Sylas continued behind them. I felt like every pair of nosy red eyes were on me. And that’s because they were. I could already see how this night was going to go. I just had to ignore it all. Since we were also here on a job, a job that nobody was to be aware of or it will compromise our investigation, we attempted to blend in. We avoided anyone that might be daring enough to communicate with us. Of course, we couldn’t ignore them all. Ben and I stayed in the ballroom, scanning our surroundings as we danced with everyone else while Stefan watched the crowd from the balcony above.

We weren’t even there ten minutes before one of Ben’s old colleagues approached us. He was obviously harmless even at first glance; it was just the attention itself we hoped to avoid. No such luck; he practically jumped for joy at the sight of Ben. It wasn’t going to be an easy one to get out of. “I was hoping to see you here!” he said. “It’s been a long time!” “Twenty years. I’d figured you would have gotten yourself killed by now,” Ben replied, causing him to laugh. “I’m a lucky charm!” “Riiight…” Ben rolled his eyes. Then he looked back down at me. “This is Mason. He’s an agent in South Carolina. We’ve had to come help him out a few times… ,” he informed me, basically referring to him as incompetent. “she must be the newest Row,” Mason muttered under his breath in awe. “Uh, yeah, she’s also my girlfriend,” Ben added. “Fiancée,” Stefan corrected from above. Both of us rolled our eyes up at him while Mason’s eyes grew wide in shock. In an attempt to keep people from knowing the real us, we acted as if it wasn’t a big deal, brushing it off indefinitely. But that didn’t stop Mason from acting out his true reaction. “Is he for real?” he whispered. I couldn’t tell you why he would even try to whisper in a building with over five thousand vampires in it at the moment, but we just nodded, hoping that anyone that wasn’t close enough to see us wouldn’t get the answer. The next few seconds kind of defeated the purpose of that… “Un-fucking-believable!” he exclaimed. “I never would have thought that could ever happen. But I do see why you bit that bullet…” When Ben immediately became uneasy. I had to look over at him to remind him that his words were harmless. He needed to learn to pick his battles; getting angry at every male that ever says anything derogatory toward me isn’t going to

help anybody. He quickly realized that and shook it off but not soon enough for Mason not to notice. We weren’t dealing with oblivious humans tonight. The only humans around here would be served up for dinner. I’d never seen so many red eyes all at once. Even with a set of my own, it was still a little intimidating. At any given moment one vampire could snap, putting us all in a defensive mood. That has bad news written all over it. I don’t know why I insist thinking of these things. “I apologize. That was kinda of out of line, wasn’t it? I tend to think aloud a lot… ,” Mason said, now desperate for a smooth recovery. His fear of Ben was blatantly obvious. What is it with these people? He’s not that dangerous… per se . . . “Don’t worry about it. We should be used to it,” Ben replied, actually saying something genuine to somebody besides me. ’d never seen that happen before. “Me either.” Stefan chuckled from above. Then before anybody said anything else, someone else came to us. I recognized him from scanning the area. I recalled seeing him speaking with Marcus. From the sounds of it, they’re friendly. Another harmless acquaintance. “William.” Ben seemed surprised. “What the hell are you doing at an agent gathering?” “Nice to see you too, Benjamin… Kaitlyn married an agent a couple of months ago, if you must know. And no, I’m not thrilled about it,” William replied bluntly. I had a feeling that was just his personality. “I’ll, uh, catch ya later,” Mason said as he disappeared, leaving plenty of room for William to take his place, allowing us to blend in while still listening and watching everything around us so we could continue to do our job. William was no longer looking at Ben at all. His eyes were sealed onto mine with his big amused smiled. “You must be Gabriella. I’m a very old friend of Marcus and Chelsea… nobody told me how stunning you are! He definitely doesn’t deserve you!”

They just kept coming, more reminders that Ben was known for his lack of commitment. Yet here I stood, proof that even the unchangeable can change. “Then I’d say you don’t really know him at all,” I replied, feeling the need to prove everybody wrong for him. I knew he never would, and one of us had to if I ever wanted to get through a conversation without someone expressing their doubt in one form or another. My surprising statement clearly caught William off guard. Apparently nobody told him I had a mind of my own either. I wasn’t one of his sleazy tramps that were only good at spreading their legs. His surprise quickly turned to apologetic. “I’m sorry, you’re right,” he said. How classic of him. that was supposed to sound believable. Again, in an attempt to shield ourselves from our real world, we brushed it off, moving on with it. Then before another word could be said, Stefan ed us, clearly anxious. He had that look that told us that he had something to say but couldn’t. That kind of thing irritated Stefan the most. “Excuse us,” Ben so willingly said to William before we wandered off with Stefan as casually as we could. We followed him upstairs, toward the queen’s quarters. I didn’t have to ask to know that we were going there to speak with her in the only real secured room in the building. Nobody could hear what was being said in the queen’s quarters. She definitely made sure of that. Just as I had expected, she was waiting for us at her desk when we were escorted into the room by one of her. Like she needed them… Before any of us could even blink, Stefan started in on everything relevant he had gathered from each and every single person’s thoughts. The hole revealing our relationship status was to wean out potential suspects. Anyone that paid any attention to Ben and I was eliminated from the list. real leaker would be more concerned about more important things rather than Ben Row’s love life. After we informed what Ben and I had noticed, she stood to her feet. “Good, now get back downstairs and find my leak. I’ll be doing the tally in just a couple of minutes. I’d like you to watch for reactions from the balcony, so bring the rest

of your coven up with you to blend in,” she insisted. In hope to get out of here sometime tonight, we followed her direction without question. As Mel took center stage, it was suddenly extremely quiet. Nobody even breathed too loudly or even at all. Only Stefan was still stuck listening to everybody in their thoughts. As Mel insisted, the rest of our coven watched with us from the balcony, which wrapped all the way around the hall. Others also watched from above, almost filling the balcony. Every set of eyes was on Mel, except for ours. We watched the faces of every single vampire here as Mel proceeded with her speech in Italian. Luckily I had picked up enough to be able to piece it all together. “Good evening, my creatures. It is a pleasure to see you all tonight. Most of you traveled a great distance to be here. I thank you all for coming. We have accomplished a lot in the past year, as we do every year. We’ve lost, we’ve gained, but we’ve conquered our goal of keeping our secret. That wouldn’t have been possible without our dedicated agents. For centuries we have been able to live in peace, keeping our secret ours. Everybody here either works for me or is close to ones that do. We’d like to take this time to appreciate our agents and their ers. We all know that they deserve it. Now, what most of you have been waiting for—this year’s tally.” When Mel disappeared, the screen that had been behind her became an electronic tally board, a coded one. Each individual headquarters around the word had its own identification number, which changed each year for this very reason. Only the agents themselves know which one is theirs to avoid any possible competition. could get ugly. I couldn’t have been more thankful for that system that moment. And none of us could even react. We knew better. Ben and Stefan had always maintained second, willingly. Now we held lead. We were officially the most successful and the most dangerous immortal trifecta in the world. I felt like I was going to be sick. If only I could, maybe I’d feel better . . . As badly as all of us suddenly wanted to get out of there, we couldn’t. We still

had a job to finish. We couldn’t even move into a different room. We had to continue to watch everyone’s full reaction. That was probably a good thing for our sake. Then to top it off, out of nowhere, my head felt like it split in two, revealing one of the last images I ever wanted to see—was being held against his will. I couldn’t see by who, but I had a pretty good idea. I recognized the area as the new ELG. Dead or not, I felt my heart drop when I snapped out of it in the very same moment. Stefan and I immediately looked at each other with the same expression of worry. But I still couldn’t say a word. hated this place. Along with almost everybody in it for making this so much harder than it should have been. I caved, sort of. I left the room, calling Jon. Of course my overprotective sidekicks followed me. I continued to call him over and over again without any luck. I even tried calling Sara a couple of times, but she didn’t answer either. I was now beyond panicked. Ben could see that, becoming worried. He stopped me in my path as I paced the floor, grasping my shoulders. “I saw that look. I know that look. What did you see?” Unable to tell him, as badly as I wanted to, I was forced to simply shake my head in response. His attention immediately jumped to Stefan when he quickly realized that he wasn’t getting any answers out of me. “You know. What is it? What is she so worried about?” As I looked back at Stefan, he was practically trembling, ready to cave, but also fearing both of us. I stared at him warningly, letting him know that the fear that he felt was very accurate. But when Stefan’s glare snapped back to Ben, he had caving written all over him. No sooner than the word “Jon” came out of his mouth did I use my ability to attack each and every particle in his body, causing him to drop to his knees in agony. “come on, you’re impossible!” Ben complained. I shrugged. The sound of my cell phone distracted me completely, especially as I saw that it

was Sara. I let go of Stefan and answered it. As soon as I did that, I knew something was terribly wrong. She never waits for me to say anything before talking when I answered my phone. Ever. In our whole lives I’ve never had to say. When I did, she answered in a tone of voice that told everybody listening that she was under compeltion. “Jon’s gone. We’ll get him back when Ben does what she asked. Clear her name or your brother is as good as drained.” Then she hung up. In a fit of frustration, I crumbled my phone in the palm of my hand, unintentionally causing a light gust of wind to circulate around me from my excessively high stress level. The others quickly came to our side. But I ignored all of them. I had so much anger and only one person to aim it at—Ben. “This is your fault,” I stated. I’d never seen so much regret in a man’s eyes. He knew I was right. Therefore, he didn’t say a word and neither did I. And still, we couldn’t leave yet. We had to finish this job. Mel appeared before another word could be said, her attention aimed directly at me. “I couldn’t help but overhear your situation. I tell you what. I’ll make a few phone calls to help with your brother while you and the boys finish up so you can get back and help him. Does somebody want to tell me who is threatening you to clear their name?” she said. She started out talking to me but finished looking for the answer from someone else. Again, Stefan didn’t hesitate to cave. “Courtney Dupree claims she’s up for banishment for something that she didn’t do. We wouldn’t help her.” “I’ll give her a call… finish this,” she said, apparently in a hurry to find the leaker. Unfortunately, there was no use whining about it, so I complied while giving both Stefan and Ben the silent treatment. In a desperate attempt to get out of here, a couple of our trusty coven helped us out. Marcus and Sylas searched the first floor while we kept an eye on

the second. It felt like we were looking for nothing for hours. The only thing we could find was a few wasted vampires and a couple of horny boys in search of some fresh meat to bring home. Then just when I was ready to give up completely, I noticed a face that I had seen often tonight. I watched him carefully for a moment, watching his every move. When Stefan caught on, he started watching too, also listening to what the rest of us couldn’t hear. When he sighed in relief, I knew that we had finally found him. But since this was an inconspicuous mission, we simply took a picture and brought it back up to Mel. On the way, we could hear her doing her end of the deal, speaking with Courtney, shattering any relief I may have just felt by allowing me to fully focus on her now. “What is it that you expect them to do, Courtney?” Mel asked her. “Ha! Like you don’t know! You sent an agent after me for a rule I didn’t even break. When I went to Ben for his help, he didn’t want anything to do with it because of that perfect little girlfriend of his. So now that tramp is going to let Ben help me, or I will eat her brother like it’s the last fucking supper because I’m dead either way!” “Honey, you do realize that even if Benjamin does do what you want him to do, I doubt he will, you just abducted a mortal sibling of one of my top agents. You’re dead no matter what. You’re right about that. You probably should have just requested a trial before doing something regrettable. It was your right. But now that you have itted to that crime, I will be sending Gabriella and Benjamin back to eliminate you, which they would’ve anyway, only now I’ll pay them too just to get rid of you.” Mel hung up before Courtney could protest, setting her in her place. I just had to hope she didn’t consider it a dead end and kill Jon before we get there. It took all I could do to keep my ability from exploding around me. I still didn’t have a very good grasp of controlling it at such high emotional levels. When we finally presented Mel with her leaker, she became even more pleased. She handed me the job slip with Courtney’s name on it. When I read it, I realized

why. Before anyone noticed, I tucked it away before Ben could even ask. still wasn’t speaking to him. “Thank you for your hospitality tonight. You may go now. If you have any more troubles with Courtney or anyone else for that matter, let us know. The last thing this agency wants is others interfering with you. Don’t hesitate to us. We’ll help,” she offered, seeing us out. Honestly, it just went in through one ear and out the other. I was way too worried about Jon to think about anything else, especially because I was currently angry with him. I wasn’t going to allow it to end that way. Each of us raced back to the airstrip, paired up in our rented cars. By the time we got there, Ben was clearly over the silent treatment. “What the hell do you expect me to do!” he asked, not getting out of the car until I answered him. “I don’t expect you to do anything. You will help me get my brother back though, so let’s fucking go!” I replied, flashing to the jet. “Obviously!” he sneered when he finally followed. Once we were all on the jet, after a long unnecessary night, we were finally on our way home to make our night that much more exciting. Only my excitement is mostly fury. She’ll be lucky if I don’t tare her apart piece by piece. It was a very long and very quiet sixteen-hour flight home.

I was borderline starving by the time we got there after running myself dry for almost two days. But I was so focused on getting Jon back that I didn’t even stop to care. Plus, neither Ben nor Stefan was up for suggesting it, so we just went along with the plan. We had to put sixteen hours to good use somehow. That was more than plenty of time for us to come up with a plan, even a plan B. Chelsea went straight to Sara while Vanessa went to be with Luka while Marcus and Sylas ed us as decoys for plan B. I flashed to the shop as fast as I possibly could. Everybody else followed closely

behind, naturally defensive. I was desperately trying to hide the fact that I was so terrified for my brother that it was already clouding my judgment. even knew that I was way too close to this, yet nobody was brave enough to overpower me in this particular situation. And for the first time, I knew how Ben felt all of the time. It was awful, having the people you care most about afraid of you. It wasn’t a feeling I ever wanted to feel again. But because I was so terrified for my brother, I knew that I couldn’t let my emotions compromise his life. So by taking an extremely big risk, I shut them off, hoping I still cared enough somewhere to save him when it came time. There wasn’t anything else I could do. If something did go wrong, none of them would be able to stop me. They’re threatened by me because they all know that if anything ever did go wrong, none of them would ever get anywhere near me. That’d scare me too. The one and only advantage I held was that I knew that I could never physically harm Ben. His defensive ability will counteract my offensive abilities. We could never kill each other even if we wanted to. That’s comforting. The closer we got to the shop, the higher the anticipation got. Courtney had no idea I knew where she was. We weren’t following her scent; she had done a pretty good job at covering it up but not good enough. Some of us were smart enough to follow it. The rest were just going with the flow. I was following my premonition, and so was Stefan; my memory doesn’t lie. There is only one way in and one way out of the basement of ELG. Luckily, it was the middle of the night, so we didn’t have the extra worry of being spotted. We could smell that they were here. But that only meant she could sense us too; she spotted us as soon as we were close enough to sense them. I used the key to open the back door to avoid the alarm. Ben and Stefan followed me halfway down the hallway where we turned right down hall to the the stairs while Marcus and Sylas kept the exterior secure. We made our way through the workshop until I stopped in front of the locked steel door. Inside, we heard Jon laugh. “Did you really think they wouldn’t find you?”

I tore the steel door off its hinges and tossed it effortlessly behind me. Courtney stood just inside the doorway, waiting. But as soon as I removed the door, she picked up Jon off of the floor by his shirt and held him in front of her as a shield. In a fit of disgust he tugged at her in defense, which only made her pull on him harder. In her other hand she held a syringe. Now threatening my brother’s mortality. If I had been wearing my emotions I probably would have killed her right there, putting my brother in a lot more danger than necessary. “If any of you come anywhere near me, I will infect him. He will be mine,” she warned, looking at only me dead in the eye. I moved closer to her one step at a time, staring her down with just as much warning. Ben and Stefan both moved in synchronization with me, protectively. I wasn’t the only one too close to this. The bleeding wound on Jon’s forehead told me that if she was going to kill him, she would’ve already. Her thirst was as dark as mine. She’s been holding herself back all this time just for this very moment. She truly wanted to literally take him from me. It all made perfect sense. She wants me to feel the same way she feels, because in her mind I took Ben as an option away from her. Each of us was beyond way too thirsty for this. I knew that neither of us had drunk anything in over two days, and I knew she hadn’t for at least almost as long. Though she’s been torturing herself by being locked in here with him bleeding all of this time; therefore she was a lot worse off than we were. Plus there was always the fact that there was five of us and one of her. This should have been easy. The closer we got, the faster she stepped back, pulling Jon along with her. “What the fuck?” he sneered at me, also staring at just me. “Shut the fuck up, Jon,” I replied, maintaining my focus on Courtney. “Believe me when I say that when I get you out of here you’re going to wish that she had killed you. I don’t care what she’s put you through. I told you that if Sara ever came to me crying because of you I would crush you. Now I’d keep my mouth shut if I were you,” I reminded him. His expression fell, becoming surprised. “Now we both know it doesn’t have anything to do with Sara. I’m not stupid, I can still read you,” he insisted.

I didn’t reply. Stefan did. “Shut up, Jon! She means it!” he barked through his teeth, nervous for him. “Let him go, and she just might not kill you,” Stefan now warned Courtney. But she didn’t listen. Then Stefan must have heard something the rest of us didn’t. “Oh I wouldn’t underestimate her if I was you. You have absolutely no idea what kind of abilities she may have.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re bluffin’.” “I wouldn’t test that theory if I were you,” Ben now also warned, speaking for the first time. She shifted away from me for the first time and looked directly at Ben. “I didn’t kill that girl,” she continued to insist, like that even mattered anymore. “Are you serious? Do we look like we give a shit about that anymore? We might have if you would have come at it in a more nonthreatening way, but instead you confine my girlfriend’s brother and threaten to infect him. We’re way past any explanations, Courtney. You’re a fuckin’ idiot. Face the facts.” Now she glared at all of us with contempt. “So if I’m dead anyway, give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill him right now? Fair is fair. You did kill my. In all reality, I should be threatening her.” I chuckled. “Do it then. Put Jon down and come after me. These two won’t even try to stop you. You seem awfully confident that you’re stronger than I am. Prove it.” It took her a moment to contemplate it, but as soon as the words came out of my mouth her natural urge that made her unable to resist told me that she would. “Have you lost your fuckin’ mind? This is a meth lab. You’re gonna blow us the fuck up!” Jon became frantic over the idea, just as I had hoped. She tossed him into the table, knocking cylinders to the floor to rattle him up some more on my behalf. “Don’t touch her,” I warned him. Really meaning “Don’t go anywhere near her.” Before she even moved toward me, I manipulated the air in the room to circulate, giving her a taste of what she was in for. The fear that she suddenly

tried to hide made all of this worth the effort. Then when she realized she didn’t have much of a choice anymore, she came at me anyway. Before she even got halfway to arm’s length I sent her flying across the room all in under a tenth of a second. Jon wouldn’t have been able to keep up, it all happened to quickly. “Someone needs to get him out of here… ,” I insisted as she got back up, now even angrier. She immediately charged at me again, only for me to do the exact same thing, only in a different direction. Then I help her there using the force of gravity, making her unable to move while Marcus quickly pulled Jon out of here. Then I pulled her toward me until my hand was wrapped around her throat. “What the fuck are you?” she spat. “She’s telekinetic. I guess we probably should have warned you of that before, but that would have taken half the fun out of it!” Stefan chuckled. I smiled a smile of satisfaction at her as I pulled a piece of paper out of the back of my pocket and handed it to Ben. “What’s that!” she quickly asked. He looked at me with brief surprise and then chuckled as he held it out in front of Courtney. “This is our permission to confine you in the tunnels for eternity or until one of us feels generous enough to kill you. But I wouldn’t count on that,” he informed her also with satisfaction. “You son of a bitch!” she sneered at him as Ben and Stefan proceeded to her escort her out of the building, where we will then bring her to the nearest bunker. But before we did that, I had some unfinished business I wanted to take care of. Jon was now fully healed thanks to Marcus, venom free. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t free from me. I pinned him against the wall he was leaning on before he even knew I was there, startling him more than usual, thanks to his recent trauma. He is only human. “I’m going to make this very clear for you. The only reason I saved your ass tonight is because it was my fault. Well, mostly Ben’s, but you can’t take it out on him, so I’ll take the blame, I’ll give you that. But for if any reason you fuck up, it’s on you. If you want to die alongside Eddie, then that will be your

problem. So stop being a deadbeat junkie and get your fucking head straight or you’re going to find yourself in prison or buried with Eddie and Caleb, dying the same way they did. Don’t do that to me or Sara,” I insisted. “Now you’re coming with us. You’re gonna need to see this… ,” I added, dragging him along with us as we brought Courtney to the tunnels while Marcus and Sylas headed back to update the others. After draining myself even more by using my abilities against Courtney, my thirst was becoming unbearable. The difficult task of dragging Jon along at vast speeds without crushing every bone in his body didn’t help either. I could even feel my fangs trying to contract on their own, making me even more restless. I almost felt as withdrawn as Jon, only my drug of choice was blood. Live human blood. When we finally reached our destination, Jon became very confused. “Where the hell are we, and why the hell haven’t you killed her yet?” he complained. Stefan swung open the hatch door, leading Courtney down the stairs with Ben as I followed with Jon. “What is this place?” he quickly asked, now being fearful. That’s just what I needed, the temptation of the most thrilling emotion in existence for a vampire. “This is how we used to confine the rule breakers before we became stricter as there became more of us. It’s compelled by magic so that no marked souls can escape once confined by another marked soul, and only the one who confines them can release it. She’ll starve in agony until she rots into nothing after a few thousand years,” Stefan explained to Jon as we made our way as deep as we could into the tunnel. “Interesting.” Jon breathed, smothered with fear. “Now I might be relieved if I wasn’t down here in the pitch dark with a bunch of thirsty vampires, one of them being my own sister… ,” he muttered. Ben chuckled. “At least you know which one you should be worried most about.” “The one I’d least expect,” Jon confirmed. “See, you’re not as naive as you make yourself out to be,” Stefan added.

“Can we just shut the fuck up so we can get this over with before this joke becomes reality,” I warned, finally catching some attention. We flashed faster, finally making it to the end of the tunnel. We paused before throwing her in. “Any last words?” Stefan taunted her. She glared over at Ben. “I hope she tares your fucking heart out,” she said, exposing his weakness. He flung her into the confinement cell. As her body smashed into the back wall, he slammed the door shut, being the one to confine her. “Well, that was just too easy,” Ben complained. “Happy now?” He looked at me, looking to see if the grudge was still there. I chuckled, staring him down seductively. “Not a chance. You still have a lot of making up to do,” I replied before turning to make our way out, still dragging Jon along with me. “My favorite kind,” Ben muttered to himself as he followed, watching my every move. “Oh come on, do you really have to do that in my presence!” Stefan whined, tormented by Ben’s thoughts. “Sucks to be you, dude.” Jon laughed. I flashed him back to the apartment as fast as I could, also having my hunger overtake my thoughts. I couldn’t be fully relieved that this was over until I was fed; that’s just how it works. Our thirst comes first. Usually! Ben and Stefan stayed downstairs to avoid interfering with another human. I envied them. I walked Jon upstairs and through the door. “Oh thank God!” Sara exclaimed as she jumped to her feet, wrapping her arms around him in relief. “More like thank Gabby,” Jon corrected before kissing her excessively. And for that brief moment I saw the love that they claimed to feel for the first time. I could see that this entire time, she was what Jon was worried about, not himself, like I would have expected him to be. So before I distracted either of them I flashed back downstairs, also starving to the point where I wasn’t willing to wait another second. The three of us immediately flashed south to our closest hunting grounds in Douglas City. Some humans were about to have a really bad night… We flashed through the shadows of the night, in search of a candidate. The streets were quiet; the sound of sleeping children hummed through the sound

waves and into our supernatural ears. Soon enough, we stumbled across a building that caught our attention. It was a gang safe house, filled with scumbag gangbangers and drug dealers. In all there were twelve of them. Half were dead before the rest even knew that we were there. After the first, I was energized, limitless again. But I still wasn’t satisfied enough. I grabbed another one, pinning him against the wall. The fear was feeding me gave me the natural desire to drain every drop in this house. “The blood of an evil man is all the sweeter,” I whispered seductively as I took in his scent. He began to pray for his life, only for me to take it anyway. He deserved it. I followed the fear of one more into a bathroom. The door was locked, so I kicked it in effortlessly. Apparently this guy had watched way too many movies because he was hiding in the bathtub. When I pulled back the curtain I saw that he held a crucifix in his hands, also praying for his life. I chuckled at him. I flashed the crucifix out of his hand and crushed it into a million tiny pieces in my hand. His eyes flashed to the mirror behind me. The look on his face told me that in that moment, he realized everything he thought he knew about our kind was wrong and that he was utterly screwed. As he dropped to his knees in front of me, still begging for his life, I picked him up off of the floor by his neck and held him there for a second, very much enjoying myself. He struggled to catch his breath, trying to say something through his fear. “It was beauty that killed the beast,” he said, accepting the fact that he was going to die at the hand of a woman. I smiled at him, becoming even more amused in my natural feel of a hunt. Then before I wasted another second, I quickly embedded my already-exposed fangs into his neck and drained every last drop. There were enough of them for each of us to kill four. But after my third, I was done playing games; I was ready to go home to my son. So I let Stefan have it. Ben and I rounded each of the drained bodies into a pile and burned them all at once. No bodies, no crime, no rules broken. Then at last, I was finally able to relax. After an extremely long weekend, we found the leaker in the agency, saved my brother, confined Courtney, and finally got ourselves fed.

The only face I wanted to see now was Luka’s. So we flashed home as fast as we possibly could. Everyone was already waiting for us when we came through the door. Luka jumped up into my arms in a fit of excitement. I couldn’t have been more satisfied.

Chapter 26

Coincidence

W e were well aware of the consequences of making twelve people disappear before we had even decided to eat them, but it was still strange for me to hear of their disappearance. It was the first time the public knew anything about someone I had “made disappear,” and it wouldn’t be my last. It’s impossible to avoid sometimes. By Tuesday evening, it made the news. Luckily, Marcus was the only one still here. His eyes shifted to ours every couple of seconds as he listened very carefully to the pretty woman on TV. “At approximately 2:15 a.m. Monday morning, twelve known gang simply vanished. Authorities are advising citizens to local police if any of these men are seen. Please note that these men are extremely dangerous. Arrest warrants were issued for each man this morning. Detective Michael Smithson from the IE reports that the gang are most likely on the run for a crime they had committed earlier Sunday night. When reported missing by loved ones this morning, one of them reported that their last known whereabouts was at a safe house in Douglas City around 2:00 a.m. Residents are advised to be cautious. For more information visit our website or call your local police with any information regarding the whereabouts of any of these twelve men.” Twelve medium-sized mug shots appeared on the television. I felt like a sociopath when I found it amusing to see their faces again. Before I had to listen to a second of Marcus’s suspicions, I got out of there as fast as I could. “I’ll, uh, meet you in town when it’s time to go!” I said before flashing outside to my car, leaving Ben and Stefan to deal with their own maker. I didn’t need to listen to it. I have my own. I was just lucky she wasn’t home.

She’s been working at Marcus’s office during the day, so we do our thing at night now, staying with Luka during the day. It’s a lot easier this way. With a few hours to spare before nightfall, I sped into town to the apartment. When I got there, I was pleased to see that Sara wasn’t home yet; only Jon was, just who I was planning to speak to. When he finally answered the door, I wasn’t surprised to see that he looked like hell on drugs. His unusual scruffiness told me that he hasn’t shaved or gone to work in days. The fact that he was still wearing long sleeves and sweatpants told me that he hasn’t even left the house since I left him here almost two days ago. He recognized my disgust and glared at me in annoyance as he turned around and walked into the apartment without a word. I slowly followed behind him, walking to a pig pen. Bad news was practically written all over the place. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I asked without even thinking twice about it. He didn’t answer me, throwing himself back onto the couch. Apparently I had interrupted his deadbeat time. As he picked up the remote and began to rewind what he was watching, I knew instantly what had him unable to look me in the eye. He rewound to the beginning of the same news report I had just watched also only minutes ago. “Do you know anything about that?” he asked with very hostile suspicion. I didn’t say a word, not even a muscle movement. I just glared at him with annoyance, like he was really stupid enough to ask me a question like that. When he got my point, he quickly stood to his feet. “What time did you bring me here that night?” I continued to stand completely still, giving him the exact same expression, making him unable to read me. What he didn’t understand was that I could do this all day; he can’t. “Twelve of them? Really? Was that like between the three of you, or how does that work?” He continued to sneer at me with his suspicion. “What’d you do with the bodies?” he added. “There are none!” I caved, stepping closer to him with my eyes locked to his,

intimidating him. He stepped back with every step I got closer, becoming more fearful by the second. Then I stopped, laughing at him. “Man, your easy!” “Go to hell!” He sighed with relief while still trying to be angry at me, except I could see that he was trying not to laugh with me. Then I got serious with him again, concerned with his well-being. , I’ll it that I was desperate to change to topic of discussion. I really didn’t want to glamour him again. He could see the concern and became defensive, stomping his way back to his comfort zone on the couch. If I didn’t know any better I’d say he’s a little traumatized… I slowly took a seat next to him but far enough away so that I didn’t make him any more nervous than I had to. “I was held against my will by a vampire before I was one too. Although it was only for a couple minutes and everybody was there the entire time, it was still nerve-racking. It isn’t easy witnessing all of this supernatural stuff when you spent your entire life not believing any of it, trust me, I know. This is exactly why I have tried so hard to keep almost everything eventful from you because I don’t want you to go through what you’re going through right now. I’m sorry that you had to suffer for our problem, I really am, and I never wanted that to happen to you. You may think that I’m soulless or whatever, but I’m not. I still love you. You’re still my big brother, and I care about you. Threatening you is the only way to get you to listen to me. I’m only looking out for your best interest when I do that, you know…” As much as he didn’t want to, he slowly looked over at me, unable to not listen to me. “How’d you get over it? All the supernatural stuff?” he asked curiously. “It wasn’t to hard when I was falling for it at the same time… ,” I whispered. He chuckled. “If only Caleb could see you today… That’d be hilarious,” he thought aloud. “What would you say to him?” I asked, changing the direction of the topic away from me.

Jon’s eyebrows furrowed for a moment as he thought about it, which told me that it was the first time he thought about it. At least I had been successful at keeping that creepy supernatural stuff away from him. I was actually surprised Sara had lasted this long without telling him. She has the biggest mouth I know. Human mouth anyway. Stefan and Sylas win that prize on my list. Then Jon suddenly jumped his head back up at me, eyes drooped. “I’d tell him that even though we all live a different life now that it still isn’t the same without him,” he said, quickly standing to his feet again. I thought about his response for an unnoticeable moment. “I miss him too, ya know. Every day. But living our lives around it doesn’t do anybody any good. I know you guys were tight, but even I have moved on, and he died right in front of me. Get over it,” I insisted, having had enough of his whining. It was guilt for not being there when he should have been that was killing him, but that wasn’t my problem. It took all I had to get through it on my own. He’s going to have to figure out a way to do it too, or he’s going to end up getting himself killed too. He suddenly turned around to look at me. “I need to tell you something… ,” he said. “I know I shouldn’t and I regret this already, but considering you’re already pissed off at me for pretty much everything I’ve ever done, I might as well tell you. I mean that’s what I’d expect from you…” “Tell me what?” I sneered. He paused for a moment, looking at me hesitantly before he said, “Stasia called me. She talked to Eddie and then insisted to speak with me… ,” he said. Naturally, I didn’t believe a word out of his mouth. So there was only one thing I could do—break another one of my rules. I flashed to him, looking him straight in the eye. “Tell the truth.” I compelled him for the next couple of minutes… “Why did she want to talk to you?” I asked. “Eddie told her you knew the truth, and she wanted to talk to you, but she wanted to talk to me first since I’m the closest one to you that she knows,” he answered. “Why did she want to talk to someone close to me first?”

“When she spoke with Eddie, he fully warned her that you’re not exactly thrilled about the truth. But she wanted to know how you were doing after Caleb died, so she asked me. Someone close to you.” “What did you tell her?” I asked, trying very hard not to sound worried. “She knows that you’re just fine now, you have a more suitable job, and you spend most of your time with a few new friends including a new boyfriend. That’s it.” “Good job, big brother.” I said, letting go. Now I wanted to hear what he planned on really saying to me. So I asked again. “What’d you talk about?” I asked casually, using no negative tones. His eyes looked down at the floor, hesitating. When he finally looked back up at me, he crossed his arms across his chest defensively, staring down at me with regret. “Well, when Eddie told her that you knew the truth, it added to her concern about you since Caleb died. So she asked me how you were doin’. Eddie also told her that you were obviously hurt by the truth, so she didn’t want to push that by ing you. So she called me,” he said, actually being honest. I was impressed. I was more than impressed; I felt respected enough that he didn’t feel the need to lie to me. That didn’t happen very often with us. But I guess this is a touchy subject not just for me but for both of us. He was lied to too. I felt myself frowning. I had intended to ignore the fact that my real mother is nothing more than a stranger to me, that I was lied to my entire life, being told that she was my aunt. But there wasn’t anyone else left to blame except for her. Everyone else involved is dead, or now dying, but Eddie was just thrown in the middle of it when my parents were killed, fulfilling my parents’ dying wish by keeping the lie for my own good. I wish Jon hadn’t even told me. My parents were right—I would have been better off not knowing. Unfortunately what’s done is done, I do know, and it can’t be erased. Whenever I find it crossing my mind, I shake it off, shielding myself from the hurt it causes. Whoever said vampires can’t feel pain never had their dead heart shattered; it hurts just as much. Emotional pain is unavoidable. It’s only the physical pain we lack. Which is still pretty damn convenient. I hugged Jon, thankful for his existence. He didn’t hesitate to hug me back as hard as his could, knowing he couldn’t break me. “It doesn’t make you any less

of my sister. Not ’cause we have different mothers or because you’re not even human anymore. Nothing will ever make you any less of my sister. You’re all I got, Gabs. Nothing last forever, except family. I need you. I don’t want you ta ever forget that,” he whispered, getting all soft on me for the first time in a while. I lifted my head up off of his shoulder and smiled at him, very impressed with him all of a sudden regardless of everything I was so unimpressed about a few minutes ago. “See, I knew you could be a nice guy if you only tried. Be Mr. Nice Guy with Sara and you can have her forever,” I replied. “I know, I’m sorry for bein’ an ass when you got here. It was jus the first time I’ve really thought about what you do. It kinda freaked me out for a second… Forgive me,” he insisted. I flashed a fake suspicious glare at him, smirking widely at the same time. “It’s supposed to be disturbing to you, you’re human. Just don’t think about it or ask any of the wrong questions, and you won’t drive yourself mad, ‘kay?” I assured him. He nodded, smirking as he looked down at the floor in shame. Then his shame suddenly became contempt again before he looked back at me. “I really think you should talk to Stasia. I’d give anything to talk to Mom again, and I know you would too, and now you have a chance to start over with your real mother. Just sayin’,” he suggested, beginning to cross the line. Luckily for him, before I had a chance to respond to that, I noticed Ben and Stefan coming this way. It was time to get to work. “I’ll think about it,” I lied. “But I gotta go. Duty calls. Tell Sara I’ll see her later,” I said before I vanished before his eyes. As soon as I got downstairs, both of the boys’ expressions said that they knew something was already bothering me. Ben took my hand into his. “What’s wrong?” he asked protectively. I shook my head, unwilling to talk about it yet. “Where are we going?” I asked instead. “LA,” Stefan answered. I nodded before flashing in that direction, south. I tried very hard not to think about it on the very long way to Los Angeles, but I just couldn’t help it. It wasn’t worth the effort just to keep it from Stefan when he’ll figure it out anyway.

As angry as I was at Stasia for reasons I was still yet to fully understand, there was still a curious part of me. A very small part of me that is a result of my once mortal heart. I wouldn’t feel it forever, or so they tell me. By the time I reach the first year of my transformation there will be nothing human left of me, no trace of mortality. It terrified me. That small part of me wanted to comply with Stasia before that small part of me no longer exists. But the larger, more realistic part of me knew that it was a very bad idea. Stasia was no more than a stranger to me. I could hurt her without even thinking twice about it. Plus, hiding what I really am isn’t something that comes easy; I don’t tend to willingly put myself in situations in which I have to. It was a constant battle with myself when I actually took the time to think about it. ’s probably why I ignore it so much. I forced myself to forget about it as we came into the city line of Los Angeles, now in search of our target that left four bodies drained in a dumpster. some immortals are complete idiots. No matter what world you’re in, you can’t escape the unlucky ones. We flashed across the rooftops through the shadows, making our way through the greater part of LA without being spotted by a potential human eye. Then I stopped suddenly, unable to focus with all of these loud thoughts screaming at me. The boys stopped with me, both now staring at me curiously. “Sorry, I need ta say something before it drives me fuckin’ crazy,” I insisted, really catching Ben’s attention. Stefan had been listening to every thought I’ve had for the past few hours, so he wasn’t particularly shocked. “I really need to do something. It’s a very bad idea, but I don’t care. I need to do it anyway. I need to talk to Stasia—my real mother… ,” I said anxiously, itching to get it off of my chest. Ben’s curiosity quickly turned to agreement, on the very bad idea part. I knew that look. He gets all tense, and his expression flattens while his eyes become torn apart by wanting to let me do what I feel is right and from his desperate need to protect me and those I care about. He had absolutely no idea what to say to me. I couldn’t blame him; I did kind of just shove it to him. “We can continue now… I just needed to let you know,” I added, jumping over

the alley to the next rooftop without looking back. Our eyes scanned the faces in the streets, looking for our target. Without the sunlight to reveal the supernatural glow that reflects off of our skin to identify us to only creatures with supernatural eyesight, it was a needle in a haystack. After a couple more minutes, I stopped again at the sight of a familiar face. Not our target but of a human I had seen once before. The boys stood right behind me on either side while I stared at him in curiosity. “Do you know him?” Stefan asked before the memory came to mind. I answered his question anyway, for Ben’s paranoid sake. “I found a box of Janet’s when she was in the process of moving out that contained things related to Caleb’s father—pictures, newspaper articles. In one of the pictures was that kid, only a lot younger. I didn’t want Janet to know I had seen the picture due to her mind, so I just shrugged it off and never thought about it again. I never even mentioned it to Caleb. I never thought I’d actually see him years later either… ,” I explained, only becoming more and more curious as the seconds went by. Before either of them said a word, I jumped down off of the back side of the roof and casually made my way into the street. I continued to make my way through the pedestrians, crossing the street in a normal pace when available to avoid attracting to much attention to myself. Now walking in the opposite direction toward the familiar face, I avoided eye anyone due to my current eye color of blood red. It wasn’t until I “accidentally” bumped shoulders with him as I ed him that I locked eyes with him, drawing him in as I picked his ID out of the wallet of his backpack before the word “sorry” even came out of my mouth. His unexpected eyes widened in awe, breathlessly following mine every step of the way. Even as I continued past him I could feel him watching me, still frozen on the sidewalk from my natural ability to attract humans. Plus, I’m sure my bright red eyes only inches from him raised his heart rate just a tad… I quickly made my way back across the street and back up onto the rooftop before I was seen by anyone else without my conspicuous colored s in. Both Ben and Stefan were waiting in amusement. “Poor kid…” Ben chuckled.

“Ha! Neither one of you even wants to know the thoughts that just ran through that boy’s head… ,” Stefan added, like we couldn’t have figured that one out for ourselves. Now in a safe spot, I looked down at the ID, fulfilling a little curiosity. “Daniel Clarity from Los Angeles, California. Who is… twenty-four years of age… almost twenty five,” I read aloud, adding to my curiosity. “His birthday is six days after Caleb’s… ,” I added. “What does that mean?” Stefan was quick to ask. I shrugged, unsure what anything meant right now. “When Janet would get really drunk she’d always cry about how if she hadn’t been such a coward and told the police sooner, his next victim, who he attacked a couple of days later, wouldn’t have had to suffer like she did… Drinking is her way of drowning the guilt she allows herself to live with,” I explained, putting the pieces together as I spoke. “And you think Daniel Clarity has something to do with all of this?” Ben asked. “I don’t know, maybe. But there’s only one way to find out… ,” I replied. “What are you gonna do? Stalk him?” Stefan chuckled. “Kinda, I’m gonna play a Ben…” I smiled up at him, Ben that is. He flashed a grin, unable not to find it amusing when it becomes that personal, especially when it is in relation to our upbringing. “That’s never gonna get old for you, is it?” He sighed, still smirking at me flirtatiously as I shook my head seductively. Stefan hissed in disgust. “Ugh, enough with the mind sex! We have a damn job to do!” he complained. I didn’t blame him. I knew the unspeakable things I was thinking. I could only imagine what thoughts rolled through Ben’s mind in the moment. “Yes Stefan,” I thought aloud sarcastically, causing both Ben and I to laugh quietly at him before we complied with his request. His eyes rolled in irritation as he turned and leaped to the next roof. Ben and I followed, jumping and landing in synchronization. We continued to flashed across the rooftops in perfect synchronization with each other, I was just as fast as he is, and I’m not even done developing yet. I still have many more months of improving to do before I reach the first year and will reach my full potential, followed by an

eternity staying there for as long as I still walk the earth. Ben found it a challenge. And when Ben finds a challenge, it’s like a drug to him. If me being the challenge didn’t also turn him on so much I might become worried and stop. But considering most of the time, at the end of the day, it just gets taken out during our time. That alone makes the consequences worth it. Only when it comes down to interfering with our relationship will I take that away from him. It took us over half of the night to find our target. Then once we did, it didn’t take long for him to spot us too. He knew immediately that we from the agency; he had guilt practically written all over him. He was clearly untrained and uninformed, yet he knew enough to know who we were, which told us he was at least ed. How he managed to Mel and Walter’s initiation was beyond me, but it didn’t matter anyway. He was destroyed before he could think twice. With his ignorance, it was only a matter of time before he got himself killed anyway or, worse, exposed to the public. With the job now finished, we rushed back to Redding to report in, in hopes of making it back to Weaverville by dawn. I had a lot to think through between my birth mother and playing investigator by figuring out what Daniel Clarity has to do with Kurk Kyle. All the while maintaining my physical relationship and responsibility as a mother. As long as I had them, I could make it through anything. As proof of that, before Ben and I went home to Luka, we stayed behind after reporting back to the agency while Stefan continued home. As hoped we had made it back just before sunrise. Ben and I quickly made our way to our peak of the mountain, making love as the sun rose. Creating the most beautiful glow in existence as it reflected off our special skin in an ironic angellike way, making us even more beautiful. A light so stunning not even the human eye is capable of seeing its existence. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world to have been able to be where I am. Regardless of any small issue I think I might have. When I was in Ben’s arms, just the two of us, nothing mattered. I was even luckier to have the privilege to call him mine. That’s something none of the other women even had the possibility to do. I was just as proud to be his,

holding our once-incapable hearts together as one. It’s remarkable really—the forbidden able to have a love so rare it’s like godsend, faithfully unconditional. Only few have ever been so fortunate.

Luka played at my feet while I searched the Internet for anything I could find on Daniel Clarity, hoping to escape my own obsessive reminders of my agenda regarding Stasia. I knew I was never going to get over it if I didn’t confront her, but I still found myself looking for ways to procrastinate. My search for answers regarding mystery boy gave me the perfect excuse. Though Ben didn’t like this idea very much either, but it’s not like I expected any different. I’d worry if he didn’t object to me stalking boys online for my own personal reasons. In my search, I managed to dig up Daniel Clarity’s birth certificate, giving me enough information to widen my search. Then almost as if it was fate himself knocking, my phone rang on the couch next to me; it was Eddie. How convenient. Vampires are excellent at multitasking, so I didn’t stop my search for even a second when I finally answered the call. I’ve been a little hesitant lately whenever Eddie called. My lack of courage to tell him I’m marrying Ben was getting in the way of my relationship with my dying uncle. And this wasn’t the time to tell him either. Eddie asked the usual—how I was doing and how Luka was doing. I tried not to traumatize him with the unbelievable truth that comes from asking questions about Luka. Meanwhile, I was coming up with nothing relevant in my search, just the usual boring kid. So I searched his mother’s name that I had gotten off of his birth certificate instead. That’s when I hit the jackpot. I found police reports and news articles, court documents, a certificate, autopsy reports. I had all the pieces to my puzzle; now I just had to put them together. While still listening to Eddie, I read every single word on Daniel Clarity’s mother, Michelle, that I could find, connecting the dots with every article. Then I refocused completely on Eddie. “Does the name Daniel Clarity mean anything to you?” I asked what probably seemed to him out of nowhere. “No.

Should it?” he asked without thinking twice. When that didn’t get me anywhere I asked, “What about Michelle Morgan? Maiden name Clarity… ?” Eddie paused, clearly caught off guard. “Uh… What are you up to… ?” he asked suspiciously, obviously knowing exactly what I was up to. “I gotta go. I’ll call you later!” I replied anxiously before hanging up on him. I shoved my laptop to the side and flashed to my feet. “Come on, Luka. We’re going for a little run… ,” I said, taking his hand in mine as he flashed to his feet next. Once out the door and into the woods, I reminded him before letting go of his hand, taking the opportunity to give Luka some practice since we were out here. “Just follow Dad’s scent…” We followed Ben’s and Stefan’s scent to Willow Creek. I hadn’t been here since I got my memories back after my transition and ran back to Ben and Luka as fast as I could. Now here I am again, running to Ben as fast as I can yet again. Since it was the middle of the week and we still had a job to do tonight, you could say that I was very surprised to see not just Stefan but Ben also, completely wasted at the cabin. Thankfully for Ben’s sake, Luka didn’t know any better. I probably would’ve been even madder if he did. Also, I was way too anxious to skip my reason for coming just to yell at them by any means. If they wanted to go to work drunk, that was their problem. As irritated as it made me to see how irresponsible they were being, I couldn’t deny that I very much enjoyed seeing Ben in this state. It wasn’t something that happened very often, about as often as a solar eclipse actually. I couldn’t just waste the opportunity… Both of their glazed eyes seduced mine as I came into the room, chuckling amongst themselves. I could only image about what. Call me whatever, but every intoxicated man whether he is dead or alive can only think or speak about one thing: sex. Adding me to the room only made their drunken discussion more real.

I stepped closer to both of them as they sat at small round table across from each other in front of the window with an almost empty bottle of whiskey in between the two of them. They followed me every step of the way, without a care in the world as to what I was actually doing here; apparently they were just glad that I was… Though neither of them had said a word, their body language told me everything I needed to know. I slowly made my way onto Ben’s lap seductively, wrapping my arms around the back of his neck while his hands caressed my waist. “look like you’re ready to be given a ride,” I whispered, my lips teasing his. “Oh maaan,” Stefan whined, unable to control his sex drive from witnessing me seduce his brother. I ignored the fact that he was enjoying it a little bit too much, more focused on Ben as he flashed to his feet, still holding me up in his arms as he flashed us across the room just as fast, pining me against the wall as his lips planted themselves onto mine. Of course that didn’t satisfy his urge, so I had to stop him before it got too far. Being just as strong as he is on a good day, I ducked out of his hold with no problem. “Don’t go trying to distract me, I came here for a reason, and that isn’t it. If that was the case we’d already be doing it… You should know that by now… ,” I said. “Mhm,” he hummed aloud in response, his eyes on everything except where they should be. They even jumped to Stefan for a moment, sharing that memory with him. “Mhm,” I mocked him, becoming annoyed. “You’re gonna be serious for two fucking seconds and listen to me, or you aren’t gonna have any of those little memories to share for a while . . . Maybe we’ll be abstinent until after we get married. I mean it is the least we could do being forbidden creatures committing to a godly act,” I threatened, totally bluffing. He chuckled. That wasn’t a good sign. “Considering sex is at the very top of your to-do list on a daily basis, I really doubt you’d last that long without caving, but since I’m not up for testing that theory I’ll take your word for it and give you your two fucking seconds because your so damn sexy, and I’ll be damned if I can’t have that every day for the rest of eternity,” he replied, being bluntly honest and open regarding our sex life even with Stefan present. Now that’s

when you know Ben’s drunk… “Psh, I’ll be lucky to get it a couple of times a week. Why do you get the dream girl?” Stefan complained under his breath. But Ben didn’t even acknowledge him. “Very cute… Ya know you should be this honest more often. We all know how interested everybody is in our sex life for some reason. Hey, maybe we can even write a book about how you take me into the woods whenever you feel like it to fuck me over and over again until we feel like going home… It’s just sex, I don’t see what the big deal is!” I replied, rattling them both up. Stefan’s mouth practically fell open. “Fuck my life.” He sighed. Ben flashed close enough to me so that he could place his hands gently on either side of my face. “I love you. Not just because your every male’s dream, especially when it comes to sex, but because you’re the only one that I can look at and see looking back at me the same way. We get each other in ways no one else ever could. I probably don’t say this enough to you because I’m a guy, and being soft doesn’t really work out, but since you caught me at the right time I’ll tell you that even when you were still human, before we even had sex, before I even kissed you, before I even snooped into your past to learn about you, by just looking at you I knew that you were everything I ever could want. And I was right. Everyone else can fall off of the face of the earth for all I care,” he said, being a little more verbally intimate then I was used to him being, but it was still flattering even if he had to be drunk to say it. That’s when I’m most brutally honest too… it’s a downfall. I smirked up at him, caressing his irresistible chest as my eyes seduced him. “I love you more than I know what to do with, Ben. And I know you love me just as much. People can say whatever they want, but you just can’t fake that look in your eyes every time you look at me. I know because I have the same look whenever I look at you. I can’t even smell you without getting all hot and bothered, so if it’s doubt that has you drinking, don’t. There isn’t anything anyone could ever say to me to change how I feel about you. Now I’ll show you just how much I love you before we go on our job tonight if you give me my two seconds now… ,” I replied, trying to give him the truthful answer he was looking for while also moving this conversation along before we got even more sidetracked than we already were.

He nodded without a word, finally giving me my opportunity. But it wasn’t until just then that I realized I had no idea how I was going to tell them my findings without sounding obsessed, disregarding every word I just said a moment ago. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice. I just had to hope that Ben didn’t see it that way. “‘Kay… ,” I started, taking a step back so that I could look at both them. “I think I figured out the relevance between Janet and Daniel Clarity… ,” I said, surprisingly catching both of their attention even more so. It was almost as if they had sobered up just enough to actually comprehend what I was saying. “So what is it? The relevance?” Ben asked just as anxiously as I was anxious. I didn’t have a clue as to why he cared so much, but as long as he was listening, I didn’t care. I took a deep unnecessary breath before responding, trying to prepare myself—ty attempt. “Daniel Clarity comes from the same scumbag rapist as Caleb… Making them half-brothers… From what I found, Daniel’s mother, Michelle, was raped only days after Janet was. Only she killed herself less than a week after Daniel was born. Janet feels responsible for Michelle even being raped. Her suicide only added to that. That most likely encouraged Janet to look into the second child of Kurt Kyle that was conceived in the same week as Caleb. I assume she feels connected to Daniel somehow, that’s why she took the risk of keeping his photo. She just never cared enough to mention it to Caleb or anyone else for that matter… but neither did I… We all have secrets. I just couldn’t imagine keeping one as big as that… ,” I explained, also unintentionally showing my true emotion as I spoke. Before I even realized it, Ben had noticed. I expected him to be annoyed by my need to keep bringing Caleb up in our lives, but he was ive, comforting me with his touch. “You don’t need to dwell on what you did or didn’t do. Just do something about it now. I know you don’t believe me when I say that I think it’s good for you to do these things involving Caleb, but it really is. I’ve been there…” I stared at him for a moment, knowing that he was serious. I’d heard it a hundred times. I just needed to appreciate the ability to look into his eyes just because I could. Those moments should never be taken for granted. Caleb’s death only reminded me of that. “You’re amazing,” I whispered as I slowly led my lips to

press gently onto his, intoxicating me with the overwhelming sense of ion that overcomes me with the taste of his kisses. I’d fight off a hundred more girls for him. He was far too special to me to ever let anything come between us. Stefan quickly flashed to his feet for the first time. “Okaaay, I’m gonna take Luka home before I have to listen to another second of those thoughts. I’ll meet you guys at HQ ina couple hours…” Before he was even out of the yard, Ben lifted me up off of my feet, his tongue still dancing with mine. He placed me on the table that they had just been sitting at only a few minutes ago as his shirt became nonexistent. Just the way I like it. We recreated every naughty memory we had, making every millisecond count. Some people say that there are other ways to express your love to one another besides sex, but I say that when you spend as much time making love as we do and still couldn’t possibly express it all, then there wasn’t anything in this world that was going to grasp it all. It’s just an unrealistic expectation. What can you expect when you’re extraordinary creatures living in an extraordinary world? Not everything can be measured or defined. You just have to live with it, just like everybody else. No one said it would be easy, but that’s just the way of the world.

Chapter 27

Intensive Care

W hen you possess the abilities that we do, it’s hard to resist easy temptation sometimes. So when Ben informed me that he was going to Vegas with Stefan for the night, I didn’t fret it. In all actuality, it was only going to make my night easier, so why would I? They originally wanted me to go with them, but I had more obsessive things on my mind. It seemed like more of a rational way to spend my personal time. I needed to get it over with as soon as I could. And this was it. As Ben was leaving, he stopped, kissing my forehead. “Be careful,” he insisted, well aware of my intentions without my actually telling him. takes a lot for me to up dollar signs, telling him my priority level all on its own. He didn’t object to my completely reckless agenda but he didn’t exactly approve either. He knew better than anyone that I needed to do this for my own everlasting personal reasons. To me, Daniel was a living piece of Caleb. A very small piece, but it was better than what I had—annoying ghost. It would be my last mortal act. Though just because Ben and Stefan had already left, I still had to wait for Chelsea to return home before I could go anywhere—the joys of parenthood. While upstairs, Sylas came up and ed me. “I think that I know you well enough by now to know that if you ed up a chance to make hundreds of thousands of dollars with your trusty co-workers, that it must be something worthwhile… ,” he stated almost immediately. I grunted, ignoring him as if he wasn’t even there.

“Oh come on, there is no way in hell I’m going to let you go off and do something insane with Ben all the way in Vegas… If something happened, he’d point the blame at me, no matter what. And you know it,” he insisted. Sighing, I turned to face him. I wasn’t particularly pleased by his persistence, but I had to at least consider my options. “Well, Sylas. I’ll tell you what. If you can give me one good reason why I should bring you along with me on my little adventure with your answer having absolutely nothing to do with Ben, I’ll consider it,” I presented. Even he knew that it was a long shot, my point exactly. But if he actually believed his own words, he didn’t have much of a choice. He moved further into the room, circling behind me until he was in the back left corner of the room, watching me in the most promiscuous way. “Okay. You want an answer irrelevant from Ben, I can give you that. How about because if something does go wrong, your closest assistance would be over two hours away —for us, half a day for others. So how about you just suck it up and let me have your back… Please…” He practically begged, squinting his eyes down at me like a sad little puppy dog. I didn’t like the idea at all, but he held a good argument. And he didn’t even know what I was throwing myself into yet. Plus, I could use the company… “All right… Fair enough. I’m leaving as soon as Chelsea gets back, so be ready or I’m leaving without you. We’re going to LA to track someone down… A human,” I fully warned him, giving him the chance to back out while he still had the chance. such luck. Sylas flashed a grin of satisfaction as he made his way past me out the door. Slamming it firmly behind him, I sighed in frustration. Why did I agree to that? I regretted it already. Besides, the anticipation was preposterous. I wanted nothing more than to get this over with. I had to take into consideration that LA isn’t exactly around the corner. I’m going to need a second pair of eyes. Regardless of whom they belong to, as long as they’re extraterrestrial.

My inability to stand Sylas was something that would take me a very long time to subside. Chelsea returned shortly after, fully warned of my plans this afternoon. The discussion we had the previous night had filled her in on my every intention. Being my maker, there just wasn’t anybody else that fit the bill that I would have wanted to dwell my burdens on. And I knew she’d have nonjudgmental advice. That’s hard to find. “You won’t ever close that door if you don’t face your problems now while you still can, because when they’re all dead and gone, the only one that’s still going to be stuck with them is you,” she said exactly in her usual perfect tone of voice. One of the greatest pleasures that come with being a coven is that no matter what, alive or dead, we’re here for each other, above anything. It’s reliability that keeps us so strong and the current lead in the world, even as dysfunctional as we are. Thankfully Sylas doesn’t count, not actually being a member of this coven and all. He just invades it most of the time. After kissing Luka good-bye and handing him off to Chelsea, I flashed out the front door. At the very bottom of the steps Sylas sat patiently, his eyes beaming up at me with cocky contempt. Instead of seeing right through his way of persuading me into liking him, I ignored him. I avoided eye as I flashed down the sets of stairs without saying a word to him. No matter what I did, he was following me anyway so why would I waste my time. Without even as much as a pause, I headed south on foot. I probably would have driven just for the thrill, but I needed the space to clear my head, to release my built up energy from the day. Plus, there was no way in hell I was willing to stick myself in a car with Sylas for what would take a half a day’s time there and back when it won’t even take us a fraction of that on foot, especially at night. My continued silence was a clear factor in Sylas’s irritability after only a half hour of desperately trying to keep up with me while I maintained in my zone. In a risky attempt to break me, he decides to break the silence himself, rambling

on about hookers and their thin blood. I could have taken him out right then without even looking back if he wasn’t so lucky to be Ben’s brother. I needed to teach myself not to reflect my own personal problems off onto everyone else, I knew that. I just couldn’t help it. Baby vampires can’t help but be feisty. That excuse is valid until science says otherwise, or until up to the end of my full first year. “You’re pretty good at shutting people out… ,” Sylas continues to ramble. “I’m not as defensive as you guys. I can’t let my tragedies affect me. I’d be too broken.” When his sympathy act didn’t work, he knew what would. After listening to his voice irritate me for what felt like for too long, I figured I might as well give a little if I have to listen to it either way. He’s way too good at getting what he wants. No wonder Ben does whatever he can to keep him as far away from me as he can. If it wasn’t for my opinion Sylas wouldn’t even be in this country. Ben should have shipped him out months ago. We were over halfway there now. I slowed down to a less anxious pace, allowing Sylas to keep up with me. While still running at full speed, he kept his eyes on me while he continued on. “Ya know, Ben may think I’m a menace, but there’s a lot he doesn’t take into consideration, seeing he doesn’t believe a word I say,” he stated. “Oh ya, like what!” I sneered. Becoming a little tenser, he paused before answering, but only for a fraction of a second. “Like the fact that I’ve never once threatened to hurt my own brother, even though he does it to me on a daily basis for a fatal mistake I made almost a century ago. “And how about the fact that while he spent that century using every beautiful brunette he ever wanted while I at least tried to form a relationship with the women I spent my time with. “Or let’s talk about the fact that I don’t hate everybody in order to shield myself from the world and everybody in it for my own selfish reasons.”

“I get it!” I stated before he set another example. I was so beyond tired of the constant hatred between the two of them, desperate to stay out of it, yet Sylas keeps bringing me into it because I’m the closest thing to Ben. he talks about selfish. “The two of you are so broken beyond repair that it’s sad. You think that you know each other best just because you’re brothers, but in all actuality, Ben’s so blinded by his lifelong anger at you that he only sees what he wants to see, and you only see what he lets you see due to his understandable trust issues. It’s ridiculous, and it shouldn’t be that way, you’re brothers.” I said, voicing my opinion. There was that brief pause again, built back up by inability to accept reality. We were getting even closer to LA. Sylas knew if he was going to get anything out of me he had to get to his point. “I try!” he barked at me. “Do you think I want the only person I have left despising my place in the world?” Whether his question was rhetorical or not, I had a response that he desperately needed to hear. “No. I know. It’s Ben’s lack of ability to let go. That, you do have. But I know Ben well enough to know that he doesn’t see it the way you or I do. He just can’t bring himself to forgive you. I think he thinks that if he does, he’s accepting Drake’s death, and as strong as he is, he isn’t strong enough to accept that tragedy after everything he’s already gone through. Blaming you is just easier… I don’t know what to tell ya… ,” I said, giving him the blatant truth. Whether it would help Sylas accept the fact his brother won’t ever forgive him is unknown, but it couldn’t hurt. “Maybe you do know him better than I do… ,” he replied under his breath when he finally moved his eyes in front of him. “No, I can just read him better than you can because I’m closer to him that you are,” I clarified for him. Not that it made him feel better, but it did me. We were now finally in Los Angeles. I searched every single scent there was for the individual distinct scent of Daniel Clarity’s that I memorized earlier in the week. It’s even more identifiable as a fingerprint. We had a lot of base to cover and not enough hours in the night, even with our

extraordinary senses. The city was just too big to go through every single individual person in the entire LA area all in one night. So I started with areas I knew that were brought up in my digging. I started around the area of the condo that he resides in with his grandmother who raised him after Michelle Morgan killed herself almost twenty-five years ago. But didn’t have any luck. Sylas just continued to follow me through the very few shadows of Los Angeles without managing to break my focus. I had to it that I was impressed. I expected much less from him. Eventually, over an hour later, the familiar scent stuck out above all the rest, telling me exactly where to find Daniel. I could pinpoint his exact location with that one simple smell. Down the street was the bar that Daniel tends on the weekends when he isn’t suffocating himself at premed. Since there was still a little while until the bar closed, I quickly flashed up the closest building from the bar in the darkest corner of the alley, taking a moment to not focus on anything while I waited for Daniel’s shift to end. Sylas invited himself to sit directly next to me off of the edge of the roof, staring at me curiously with those beady eyes of his. I wasn’t sure whether to throw him over the edge or volunteer myself before it’s too late. The contempt that was written all over his face told me my best odds were to take one for the team and just throw myself off. I’ll heal. But I didn’t. Luckily for him, there was about a 127 living, breathing reasons why I couldn’t just jump off the roof and walk away… I might as well banish myself right now. I was expecting Sylas to start ranting on about how horrible Ben is compared to him or how he doesn’t understand why Ben is so into me over everybody else. But no, he had to drop to an entirely different level. He had to ask for my advice. “Why are women complicated?”

“Just to keep your head spinning, Sylas!” “Seriously. It’s ridiculous. Women are too overprotective of themselves to ever even let someone get close enough to them in the first place. How are we supposed to prove ourselves if you’re not paying attention anyway?” he protested. I found myself chuckling aloud. “You try harder. But not too hard or you’ll risk making yourself appear desperate. Everyone knows that,” I replied. “I know that. I’m not some kind of oxymoron or something. I’m just trying to understand how the female gender determines when and to whom she puts her walls down for,” he responded in the most seductive way that made me feel sick to my stomach. And then he wonders why his brother hates him so much. “Why don’t you try flirting with someone who isn’t marrying your brother for starters. That might help… ,” I sneered, rolling my eyes away from Sylas and back down in front me, looking down at the bar. Sylas sighed, giving me my space back as he shifted back into his own personal space. Realizing he once again crossed my line, he instantly became apologetic. “I’m sorry! I just can’t help it! I know I’ve told you that before, and there really isn’t an excuse for it. You’re just so… amazing . . .” I flashed to my feet, tired of playing this game of his. He ed my toleration level about six seductions ago. It was time for it to stop, for good. “What part of your head makes you think that it is okay for you to act like that? Like seriously, who the hell do you think you are? I’ve been with a total of two people in my entire life. One of which I was with for most of it until he died and the other I’m marrying, so where in that does it tell you that I would be interested in my boyfriend’s brother? Grow the fuck up, Sylas. Don’t forget that it only takes a sad little talk with Ben to make you disappear out of our lives forever. Don’t fucking test me. We both know I’ll win.” I warned him. As much as I hated using my power over Ben against him, it was the only way for him to understand it clearly. Therefore I had to pretend to be that girl who uses their loved ones as secret weapons for their own personal pleasure. It worked well enough for me. Sylas pouted in the corner with his own self-pity

as I continued to wait for Daniel. It was past closing time now, so it wouldn’t be long before Daniel exited the building and started making his way eastbound down the street, heading toward grandma’s house. I listened very carefully to Daniel’s every move as he fixed to close the bar with his one other co-worker. I listened to every breath, every heartbeat, and every step. I couldn’t help but be utterly fascinated by him. I didn’t know why or how to fix it. I just knew that I couldn’t just walk away right now without doing something. Chelsea was right; I needed to close this door. I jumped down off of the roof back into the darkest corner of the alley and made my way into the street. After casually crossing the street, I waited at the end of another alley. Leaning on the edge of a building, facing the bar, I waited as I listened to Daniel’s footsteps get closer as he left. His scent was becoming stronger yet wider now that he was out in the open. From across the street, Sylas watched very carefully, probably just waiting for me to do something that he could hang over my head. So I acted as if he wasn’t even there, for both of our own goods. I couldn’t let Daniel discover what we are. There’s only one action for that to avoid consequences. I couldn’t let that happen. The red eyes was as much as he was capable of knowing. I’d never close that door if it gets any further than that. Within seconds Daniel was now walking toward me, oblivious at first. But as soon as he got close enough to see me, he froze at the exact moment he recognized me from earlier in the week when I trapped him in my gaze for this very moment. I pulled his ID out the back of my pocket and held it out in front of me. “I think this belongs to you . . . ,” I stated, looking him dead in the eye, without glamouring him. I needed him humane… His eyes leveled as he contemplated coming any closer. Only there wasn’t any fear, just curiosity. This didn’t surprise me, considering he’s an oblivious human. They tend to only shed fear after the fangs are exposed.

A small smirk formed before he finally decided to take his ID back from me. “Do you do that a lot?” he asked curiously, eyeing me awkwardly. “Do what?” I shrugged “Stalk and steal from random guys on the streets of LA?” He chuckled to himself. “I try not to make a habit of it,” I teased. He nodded as he proceeded to take another step closer to me. His eyes were unable to look away from mine. Not because I was making them but because he couldn’t let go of his curiosity. I ed that feeling all too well when I really looked into Ben’s eyes for the first time. “So why didn’t you just ask?” he asked. “Ask what?” “My name…” I now chuckled. “And take all of the fun out of it? Why would I do that? Plus then I wouldn’t have had a reason to find you again… ,” I replied. “What do you want? To steal my credit card this time?” he teased. I shook my head as I smiled at him. “No… I wouldn’t want your credit card even if you had one… I just… wanted to figure out where I recognized you from,” I explained, semi-truthfully. There was a pause. “And? Did you?” he eventually asked when I didn’t just come out and say it. I felt myself suddenly contemplating whether I should continue to go through with this or spare him my toxic aura. I started stepping to the side around Daniel as I spoke, helping me keep my thoughts straight as I explained to him what I was really doing here. “You’re probably going to think that I’m some nutcase with nothing better to do, but the truth is that this… is more personal than you’ll ever understand…” As expected, Daniel’s eyebrows furrowed as he became tense, becoming even

more confused by my presence. “Uh, okay… What are you talking about?” I sighed, attempting to prepare myself. Though I knew it wouldn’t work, old habits die hard. I probably wouldn’t be here otherwise. “Kurk Kyle… He’s my dead boyfriend’s father… His mother was raped a few days before yours. He was your half-brother that none of us even knew about,” I stated as formally as I could. Though it didn’t help Daniel’s reaction any. He was still speechless. “Look, I know that this is probably really personal for you, and you don’t even know me. But it is personal for me too. Caleb hated his father and his mother most of the time, but he wouldn’t have hated you. I couldn’t just walk away when I recognized you from a photo that I found seven years ago, and I definitely couldn’t just walk away after I figured out who you were after I stole your ID and did some digging. I’ll probably regret this all someday, but I wanted you to know that you weren’t always alone.” He still had no idea what to say. His mixed emotions could have made me dizzy. I wanted to scream. Instead I acted like any normal girl my age would; I acted awkward. “Uh, I should go… I shouldn’t keep you any longer… ,” I muttered as I made an attempt to turn to walk away. “Don’t!” he insisted as soon as my eyes left his. “Don’t go… What’s your name?” he asked curiously again. “Gabby,” I said. “‘Kay, Gabby. Forgive me if I’m a little tense. It’s a side effect of Kurk Kyle.” Well, now doesn’t that attitude sound familiar? I knew this was going to be a bad idea at some point. But I didn’t let it show. Hiding emotions from humans is easy. It’s hiding it from other vampires, mostly the ones closest to you, that seem to only become more difficult the closer you become. “Sorry… There really was no easy way to put it…” I shrugged, maintaining my awkward front in hopes to appear normal. I just had to think of how I would have reacted had I still been human… Only a little less dramatic and bitchy.

Daniel’s demeanor quickly shifted from tense to drawn. I literally watched the change in his eyes as he stared at me with confusion and curiosity to interest and attraction. He was already reeled in. It was terrifyingly easy but not my intention at all. I should have left right then, just disappeared right before his eyes. Yet as badly as I wanted to, I couldn’t bring myself to. Then I found myself wondering if Ben had ever felt that way when he first met me. Now my awkwardness was no act. “He must have meant a lot to you… ,” he stated the obvious. How predictable. “Ya, and he still does. I knew him my entire life. But things change and so do we. I live a completely different life now that I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” I said as kindly as I could, hoping he was smart enough to get the hint. He did as he quickly noticed the unmissable rock on my finger. But just like everybody else, it didn’t stop the interest or attraction; it just creates the line. “No one’s ever talked about it. Any of it. Like it never happened, minus the result of me. There were so many lies made up that my grandmother could hardly keep up with them all. My mother was dead so it didn’t matter anymore. Did he ever talk about it?” “Not very often. But often enough for me to know how he felt about it. He just didn’t want to end up like his father.” I could see that his growing curiosity to learn more was even bothering him. Having gotten myself into it, I at least had plenty of time to prepare myself to talk about it. He just wasn’t ready. Then suddenly I had this awful gut feeling. So awful that I couldn’t even breathe. Thankfully my ability to not need to was useful. Then my head split. The image that I saw was unbearable. The sound of my phone ringing was the only thing that snapped me out of the last images I ever wanted to see—my brother totaling his car. Without the slightest hesitation, I answered the phone. It was Chelsea. “Jon’s being Life Flighted to the ICU in Los Angeles. We’ll meet you there.”

As soon as I hung up the phone, Sylas appeared. My sudden overwhelming need to help Jon was almost too heavy to carry. I couldn’t lose him too. I just couldn’t let that happen. “Go to the drugstore,” I entrusted Sylas, making him useful while I tried to explain this rationally to a human. Daniel was even more very confused. “I’m sorry, I have to go. Family emergency…” He nodded, obviously not sure if he believed me or not, but it’s not like he was going to call me out on it even if I was lying, and I wasn’t. I just slightly underexaggerated. “Am I going to find you on the street randomly in another few days from now?” he teased, still managing to flirt with me. I had to give him credit for that. Maybe he’s more like Caleb than I thought. “Careful what you wish for… ,” I replied. Then I noticed the helicopter carrying my brother fly right over us. When Daniel followed my eyes up to the helicopter, I disappeared after it, long out of sight before he even realized it. Sylas caught up sooner than I had hoped, but I guess that was better than late. If I was going to run into a hospital demanding to see my brother, I couldn’t do it with these eyes. And since I conveniently left my car home, where I keep my s, Sylas conveniently stole us some. Even more conveniently, it didn’t take us long to get to the hospital. The fact that I just happened to be in LA at the same time Jon was being brought here was pure luck or just fate doing its thing. Since Chelsea called me at the same moment of my vision I couldn’t have been seeing it before or while it was happening but after. ’s something that has never happened before. It seems like the more important the vision, the later I see it. Some would call my ability a gift, but how could having the ability to see the future but not have the ability to change it be considered a gift? If you ask me it’s more of a nightmare that I’ll never ever forget. The images that I see will forever stay locked in my memory to haunt me. If Jon dies, I’ll never be able to forgive myself. Ever since Sylas appeared once I received the call from Chelsea, he’s been awfully quiet. The entire way to the hospital he didn’t say a single word. Or even

look over at me with those flirtatious eyes of his like he usually does. Regardless of the circumstances, I still at least expected it from him. Maybe we all are too hard on him? He did make some pretty good arguments earlier. I had to give him that much. I just wasn’t quite convinced. After following the helicopter to the local hospital, I used my other abilities to follow Jon’s every change of direction, deliberately watching for it so that I knew which way to turn before he actually changed directions while also using all of my other senses at the same time, tracking his scent, pinpointing which heartbeat that I could hear was his, listening to the voices of his attendants, all while taking in my surroundings at the same time as a natural defense. Within ten seconds of being here, I knew every way in and out of this place. Which was considerably good. The moment I walked into the hospital I understood why we hate them. Being surrounded by death and disease isn’t exactly appealing to a vampire any more than it is to a human. We’re naturally attracted to the living. Once they’re dead, it might as well be called cannibalism. I even felt uncomfortable just being here, completely out of place. But I had to brush it off. I couldn’t let my own dysfunction cloud my judgment like always. I needed to be strong for Jon so that I could get him out of here. The moment I caught his scent on the helicopter I knew that if he did make it out alive he’ll be going straight from here to jail. The amount of drugs and alcohol in his system was enough to convict five people of driving under the influence. Plus, the fact that I’m sure the police found illegal guns and paraphernalia in his car in the midst of all of this isn’t going to help. I’ve told him a hundred times that this was going to happen someday. He’d crash his car one night while driving drunk with all that unnecessary crap in his car and end up dead or in jail. But of course Jon didn’t listen, ever. He didn’t care. His rap sheet proves that. This will only add to it. I felt so undeniably helpless. As angry as I was at him, I was so desperate for him not to die that none of it even mattered. I just wanted him to be okay. So I could yell at him and then forget about it like we always do. I’ve always had my brother. Losing him too alongside Eddie who has been in and out of hospitals in

Florida for weeks now was not something that I could just handle. What are the chances of losing all of the original three men in my life within a year? Is that my consequence for gaining so many others in my life recently? for worse? I think on this one, I’d rather not know. When we finally made it up to the intensive care unit, we entered a small area consisting of a single nurse station. She was in control of the door to my right, the door to the ward. To my left was the door to the family waiting area. I went straight to the nurse, looking her straight in the eyes. wasn’t in the mood for the runaround. I have these abilities for a reason. I’ll use ’em. “Give me a status report on Jonathan Love,” I compelled her quietly. She looked straight down at her computer and looked up the information as instructed. It seemed like the more times I did that, the less pity I felt with each one. While keeping her eyes on her computer monitor, she read me the report. “Jonathan Love is being treated for two shattered ribs, a collapsed lung, severe eternal injuries and possible brain bleeding due to a severe head wound. They’re bringing him into surgery now to try to stop the bleeding and get him stabilized. The doctor will see you then.” In other words, could die between and then, and I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. That’s the way I thought of it. Too lost for words, Sylas glamoured the nurse into not ing anything except seeing us come in and then pulled me by the hand into the conveniently empty waiting room and sat me down. The waiting room was spacious, equipped with a kitchenette. bad they don’t keep donated blood in the public refrigerator. I could use it right about now. I just sat there quietly, thinking to myself about this whole mess and how I’m going to fix it. Of all the things that Jon has put me through, this definitely topped them all. I’ve never come this close to losing him before. In the moment, I took back every single time I ever told him that I’d never help him again. I always do, especially now. Why would we have the capability of fixing him ourselves if we weren’t meant to? If there was any time to take advantage of that, it was now. But it had to be done wisely. We couldn’t exactly go in and heal

him to perfection. That would attract way too much attention. I just had to keep hoping that he didn’t die before we found the chance. Soon, Chelsea arrived with Vanessa and Sara. The first thing I noticed was that one of them must have glamoured Sara because her unusual calm demeanor was totally out of place for her. She’s never even that calm on any other day, ever. She’s always been energetic. I’d expected her to be one hot pregnant mess. I selfishly saw that as a free . I didn’t have to try to comfort her when I couldn’t even comfort myself. I was in no state to help anybody else. I had every percent of my focus on helping Jon. Right now, I just didn’t give a shit about anybody else. As soon as the three of them came into the room I gave Sylas a hard look. He got the point, quickly jumping to his feet, but not too fast. You never know who could be watching in places like this; we had to be extra careful. One more annoyance added to my day. Sara quickly replaced herself in that spot while Chelsea sat on the other side of me, now taring me between the two. I instinctively turned to Chelsea first. Her being my maker and all kind of tops lifelong best friend. But to even it out some, at the same time I placed my hand into Sara’s. It was the least I could do to prove that my heart may be dead, but it isn’t empty. personal memories will always outweigh evil. The concern in Chelsea’s eyes made me cringe. I wasn’t prepared for any of this, though I should have been. I know better. I’ve just been too busy with my own personal vendetta to actually do something about it. She reached her hand around to my right shoulder to attempt to comfort me. But it didn’t have the same effect as the hand I’d rather have. Having a natural bond to Chelsea, she did help some, just not enough. Nothing compares. Only it feels as if he’s eons away, leaving me even more helpless. Still I couldn’t bring myself to even call him. I didn’t know why. I just couldn’t do it. Chelsea looked me straight in the eye with those natural motherlike eyes, the blood red. “He’ll be all right,” she whispered. “You’d know it already otherwise.

We will get him out of here if it’s the last thing we do. I don’t want you to worry about him. Staying strong is all you need to focus on right now. Think of Luka.” “Is that what you said to Sara too?” I chuckled. “More or less,” she itted, grinning. “Too bad I can’t be glamoured into seeing this for less than it was too,” I thought aloud to Chelsea, low enough so that Sara wouldn’t make out the words. I shrugged down and rested my head on Chelsea’s shoulder, in need of some substitute comfort. But now with the way that I was sitting, Sylas was directly in front of me, staring at me with pity, which only made me hate him that much more. Yet for some reason, the longer I sat there, staring back at him, the sooner all of that faded away. Though I took no action on it, I felt it. I know I did. I just couldn’t tell him that. When Marcus arrived, my entire mood shifted. With him now actually here, I had at least some hope. As soon as he came into the room, he knelt down in front of me, taking my hands from Chelsea and Sara and holding them in his. Everything about his body language was filled with deep sympathy and concern, mixed with his natural need to help. “How ya doin’, kid?” he asked in the most casual way I’ve ever heard him speak. It must be a psyche trick, I thought. “Just peachy,” I replied, flashing a sarcastic smile. “My brother might die, and even if he doesn’t, he’ll be going to jail again anyway. can’t do this anymore. But I just can’t seem to escape from my everlasting need to protect him,” I added honestly, surprising even myself. “He’s your brother, you’re not supposed to escape it. But you have all of us to help you. None of us are going to let Jonathan die or end up in jail. We will get him out of here even if we have to break a rule or two. ’ll be yelling at him for this before you know it,” he assured me. Our kind in general isn’t the type to say they can do something when they can’t, so I didn’t have much of a choice but to believe in his words. If I didn’t, I was back to having nothing anyway. I’ll take what I can get, especially from Marcus.

The healer. His obvious contempt told me that he already had a plan. “How?” I asked simply, exploding with anticipation. “I used to be a mortal doctor, . I have a few ideas. But I’m going to need your help… ,” He replied. I didn’t need any more convincing. Marcus talked me through every detail of all of his plans, covering every possibility. Basically, he was doing it the right way. As we continued to go through it, we also kept a listening ear on Jon and his status. After about forty-five more minutes, they at least had him as stabilized as he was going to get at the moment and brought him up to the unit. This took another hour itself. The anticipation was taunting me. I found myself now pacing the floors, crumbling with anticipation to see my brother. Then after another twenty-two minutes, the doctor finally came through the door. “Gabriella?” he asked, obviously aware I’m basically all he has left, except for the entire room. I nodded as I stepped toward him. “Yeah, I’m his sister.” He nodded back genuinely. “Your brother has a few serious injuries. We’ve managed to get him stabilized, though he can’t currently breathe on his own yet, so we have him in an unconscious state. We’ll observe him through the night and do another surgery in the morning,” he informed me. “I’ll take you to him now if you’d like,” he added. “Them too,” I insisted with a little glamour in my eye, looking at Marcus and Sara. Marcus chuckles as he gets up to help Sara up out of her seat. The doctor led the three of us back into the lobby and through the double doors to the intensive care ward. It was a ward just for those on the edge of death. The last place in the world I wanted to be. The obsessive amount of Quiet signs didn’t help either. Don’t want to disturb the almost dead.

He led us past the nurse’s station and to one of the only occupied rooms, the blinds on the door and the wall window heightening my suspense. The doctor nodded at the door before letting us see ourselves in. A small whiteboard hung by the door reading “J. Love” in girly handwriting, making this all the more real—my worst nightmare, I still had them. Then without any more hesitation, I pushed my way into the room, borderline crumbling at the sight of him as expected. I wouldn’t wish this upon my worst enemy. Seeing my brother that way was like everything I had feared and then some. There wasn’t anything I wanted more right now than to get him out of here. Sara included. I had the capability of handling this without breaking. Her, I wasn’t so sure of. The only reason she wasn’t hysterical right now was because Chelsea had already prevented that for me so I wouldn’t have to. Though not even our spells can block it all, not in this particular situation. Tears still fell from her eyes but with no emotion along with them. She was practically a zombie, no longer in control of her own body. This only made me feel that much worse. I tried to make it a point not to do that to her or Jon, yet somehow whenever we feel the need to we do it anyway. Just because it’s easier. With Marcus willingly putting himself in between the two of us, I declared him a very brave man. The emotion smothering this room was inevitable. Yet here he was, because he wanted to be. He placed his arm around my shoulder, as if I didn’t know what he was doing. “He’ll be okay… I’m going to heal him enough to prevent him from dying on us throughout the night. Then after the doctors do whatever surgery they think they need to… they’ll just think they fixed him themselves. But I’d like you to help me. Can you do that for me?” he said. All the while his hand that so casually rested on my shoulder was numbing any emotion that I think I had. Marcus doesn’t just heal wounds; he can heal broken hearts too, even broken brains. He heals with pieces of himself, giving them to others; since he heals just as fast himself, it only seems fair. A gift is just a gift; it’s what you make of it that counts. I nodded at Marcus in understanding.

Without letting go of me, he led me closer to Jon. Gently placing my hand in Jon’s, he cradled our hands in both of his. One of his hands fit into mine while the other rested on Jon’s. “You’re much more powerful than you let yourself believe, Gabriella. Just try,” he whispered with deep encouragement. What he didn’t realize was that I didn’t let myself believe for a reason. The thought terrifies me. I don’t want all of the power that I have. I’m not mentally capable of having it. Not yet anyway. Maybe someday I’ll be immortally mature enough to be, but not today. Not like this. Still Marcus didn’t quite give me a choice. The force was incredible. I had complete control of it as it went through my hand from Marcus’s. Somehow, I knew exactly what Marcus wanted me to do. I guided the force using my own force to heal specific areas just enough to ensure that he’ll make it through this. It was the most phenomenal experience of my existence, holding such a powerful gift in my hand, healing my brother. That’s just not something I get to do every day. Right in the middle of the process another relief came to me—Ben. He paused and watched from the doorway with Sara as we healed bits and pieces of Jon. And then as soon as we were finished, without saying a word Marcus slowly stepped out of the room, gently taking Sara with him. Now staring at a face I’ve wanted to see all night, I finally felt as if this may not turn out to be a tragedy after all. As if he always knows what to do, he just made his way toward me until he was close enough to hold me tightly in his arms without saying a word. Saying nothing says it best. But besides the fact that he’s pretty much perfect in every way, none of that has anything to do with why I find more comfort within him than the others; the connection that I’ve had with him since the first time I ever saw him magnified with the rest of the world when Chelsea made me. It only continues to grow stronger every day, along with our son, another connection. These are feelings not even my own maker can top. I found myself thinking of how relieving it was to know that I’ll never lose him this way or the last way or the next way. Then I realized why we tend to only

hunt humans. Eventually, they always die. Having them around for anything else is just setting us up for more disappointment when they’re gone. When an officer appeared in the door, my mood dropped back down a tad. kind doesn’t exactly mix well with the police. And he was here to speak to me, obviously. “Are you Jonathan’s sister?” the officer asked egotistically. I stepped a couple feet closer to him. “I am,” I replied, crossing my arms across my chest while a casually worried Ben clung closely behind me. As soon as the officer’s eyes moved to Ben, I answered the question I already saw coming. “None of your concern,” I said with a little touch but not completely compelling him. He nodded, looking back at me. Then he moved on, telling me what my brother was going to be charged with if he gets out of here. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but it could have been worse. He’s lucky he didn’t kill someone. As displeased as I had been to see the officer, it was actually very useful in the end, informative to our plans. Ben walked us back to the others still in the waiting room. We still hadn’t said a word to each other; his hand that held mine as we made our way said all I needed to hear. I guess it’s true when they say that actions speak louder than words. Of course as soon as we walked into the room, that entire calming sense immediately faded. While Chelsea was now already ordering a loft for the weekend, Marcus was already back to the planning after he heard the officer himself from in here. He quickly flashed to his feet, filling us in on his master plan; this was exactly the kind of thing Marcus was made for. “All of us are going to stay nearby until this is over. Just in case. Then after they do their thing, we’ll come back in a couple of days when they’re done and fix him before we sneak him out. Sara was very open with the fact that she wasn’t leaving Los Angeles without Jon, so Chelsea had one of her brilliant. But before you go anywhere else after we leave, you need to go for a little walk… Chelsea and I will go get Luka from Tanya.” He spoke under his breath anxiously, an unfamiliar tone coming from Marcus. Everyone gathered closer around us, naturally anxious to get out of here. Like I

said, it’s no place for a vampire. Stefan made his way to the other side of me. “I’m sticking with you,” he insisted, thirsty but not that thirsty. It was obvious to everyone around us, including Ben, that he was getting a little protective himself. I brushed it off. “Whatever,” I muttered as I stepped over to Sara. “I’ll see you in a few minutes. We won’t be long,” I promised as I gave her a hug, her growing baby bump slightly getting in the way. Vanessa took Sara’s hand and started walking her out, along with the others. As I took Ben’s hand again, Stefan stopped and rested his elbow down on my shoulder. “Did you at least find your little friend down here before your brother decided to get himself all fucked up?” he asked curiously, probably wondering why I hadn’t thought about it until he mentioned it. “You guys knew what she was doing down here?” Sylas exclaimed, apparently very surprised by that fact. “Obviously,” Ben barked. “What do you care?” The hateful glares bounced across the room. So before Sylas could respond with the most inappropriate response that he could come up with, I answered for him. “He insisted on coming with me. He hasn’t left my side all day,” I informed them, and Stefan. As expected, Ben was angered by that but not enough to waste his time on it. Instead he looked down at me and wordlessly said sorry in disgust. Unfortunately, just because Ben didn’t chew him up and spit him out like he usually would didn’t mean Sylas was smart enough to hold his tongue too. Even though the three of us proceeded to walk away, Sylas’s unnecessary mouth kept running while he followed. “Your girlfriend comes all the way down to LA to find some guy that’s connected to her recently dead ex-boyfriend, and you don’t worry about it at all? That just doesn’t make any sense.” Ben stopped in the middle of the hallway, quickly turning around to face Sylas, now boiling with rage by Sylas’s annoying presence. “No! I didn’t! But nobody expects you to understand that, Sylas.” Each of us glared at Sylas with abomination as Ben stepped back away from him. Now offended, he now glared at Ben with just as much hatred. “Classic of you,” he sneered sarcastically.

We ignored the scent of Marcus quickly backtracking in our direction. “Get over yourself, Sylas,” Stefan added, knowing us better than anyone. Sylas’s eyes rolled. “Seriously?” he sneered at each of us. “Both of you are so infatuated with her that eventually that attitude of yours is what’s going to crush you someday. And I need to get over myself?” Marcus appeared in between us before we tore him apart, in public. “That’s enough! This isn’t the time or the place for this!” he insisted quietly at all of us. The anxiousness pouring out of Stefan told us that wasn’t going to happen. Neither Ben nor I needed to be telepathic to know what he was thinking. He pushed his way around Marcus. “No, it is.” He disagreed with him, now standing directly in front of Sylas, only inches from each other. “I’m so fuckin’ tired of listening to Ben and Gabby having to defend themselves from everybody. It’s my turn. I know what goes through their heads better than anybody. This entire argument is pathetic. We all know that the only reason you’re doing this is to get back at Gabby for whatever stupid thing you said today that caused her to belittle you. Now you’re just digging yourself deeper. So do us all a favor and stop before you bury yourself alive,” he said firmly experience. Sylas didn’t say a word. He just stared back at Stefan as Stefan slowly stepped back to where he had stood next to me with his adverse eyes staring back at him. “Go!” Marcus insisted to Ben and Stefan before anything else could be said. As angry as I was at Sylas for taking it this far, I didn’t want to waste another second on him. Neither did anyone else. When we finally turned back around, Ben’s hand gently held mine as we continued make our way out of here. The raw burning in my throat nagged at me like an addict itching for a fix. My anxiousness made me so restless that the moment we stepped out of the hospital door, I ran as fast as I could along with Ben and Stefan. The lack of cold weather in this city, the way I like it, provided more people in the streets than back in Trinity County this time of year. Being in Southern California always made me miss living in the south, even without having a reaction with the weather anymore. It’s all the same to us. Yet at the same time, the constant excessive noise that comes along with the city reminded me of why we live in the middle of nowhere. Everyone needs quiet time. As thirsty as I was, before I did anything, I stopped and faced Stefan. “You

didn’t have to do that,” I finally said. He smirked and rested his hand on my shoulder. “Yes, I did,” he insisted. “Only I’m allowed to annoy you guys that way and get away with it!” he teased—wheel syndrome. I chuckled in response, now moving forward again, searching the streets in search of someone to ease my hunger. At the same time, Ben’s seductive touch kept the small part of my mind not overtaken by instinct in that direction, causing me to crave his affection just as much. In result causing me to eat the first reasonable victim I saw followed by following enchantingly into his arms before we had to snap back to reality and go back to the others. Giving me exactly what I needed.

Chapter 28

Escaping the Past

B y the time the sun came up through the windows of our loft, Sara had just fallen asleep. Besides the busy city that surrounded us, it was quiet for the first time all night. Between Sara’s insecurities and my obsessive need to always mend my brother, it was a hell of a night. I let myself collapse onto the floor, just lying there a moment in an empty thought. Meanwhile, both Ben and Stefan stood over me in amusement. Luka also pounced on top of me playfully, also amused by my choice of relaxation methods. Then for the fiftieth time tonight, Eddie called again. Still very amused, Stefan handed me my phone, flashing a shit-eating grin in the process. If anything amused the two of them it was watching me hate every second of listening to Eddie. much as I’ll regret that someday, it didn’t do me any good to regret it now. Taking my phone from Stefan I flashed to my feet, answering the call with as much enthusiasm as I could without making myself sick. As much as I miss Eddie, his inevitable concerned tone was starting to drive me crazy. This time, he was calling to complain. “If that punk friend of Jon’s calls me one more time, your new number might happen to fall into his hands. We all know how that works. One person gets it, then before you know it every single person you’ve avoided for the last ten months will be on the other end of this conversation instead of just me. Now I know you don’t want that to happen, so call Frankie. Now. Please,” Eddie insisted. I didn’t have much of a choice now, did I? “Fine.” I sighed in response, rolling my eyes as I hung up, just as he said “good girl” before also hanging up. Meanwhile, Ben and Stefan continued chuckling with each other in amusement. For being so protective of me, they tend to find

my annoyances very entertaining. Now that I think of it, all men are like that. A heads-up—it’s not cute… “I think you should make that call… ,” Stefan highly suggested while chuckling obnoxiously and at the same time desperately trying not to. Looks like someone grew a pair today. “Fine.” I shrugged, already dialing the number. can play games too. Mine will just sting a little more. Stefan grunted at my thought and then continued his little charade with Ben. From the other side of the room, I called Frankie, the number. Like the moron that he is, he answered it anyway. “, Frankie… ,” I said with a sad tone with a side of flirtation. “Gabby? How are you? Are you okay?” he asked frantically. Before responding, I glared back at Ben and Stefan, who were now staring with jealousy, not even trying to hide it. Not even Stefan. Giving me what I wanted. Or so they so cleverly think. While locking glares with Ben, I answered Frankie. “I’m okay. Considering I’m the only living Love not in a hospital deathbed right now. Luckily, a lot has changed in the last ten months, Frankie. I’m not the same. I’m stronger. I have a much more powerful group.” It was like both of them were reading my mind while I continued to stare at Ben, or at least trying desperately to find my point. How cute. Frankie struggled to find the right response, apparently making him a little nervous. “Um, ya… Jon said you were doin’ okay, but you know how he is… He wouldn’t tell me either way… But… uh, that’s good… I’ve worried ’bout you… since… ya know… ,” he muttered. “Ya…” I rolled my eyes, not used to such stupidity anymore. Frankie is definitely one thing about Florida that I do not miss. “But I didn’t call you to reassure you of my well-being… ,” I added with my usual tone, changing the entire setting of this conversation completely. “I called because Eddie threatened me to because you were driving him crazy. So I’m speaking to you to tell you that Jon’s current condition is for immediate family only, but if anything drastic changes, I’ll be sure to let you know. Now leave my also dying uncle alone, or

you’ll end sleeping with the fishes alongside my parents. So if you’ll excuse me, I have to go now. Good-bye, Frankie,” I ensured, hanging up on him. Still staring at Ben, I dropped the phone back onto the glass coffee table, not breaking the stare for a second. “Point taken,” he eventually sneered, fighting a smirk. “I don’t get it… ,” Stefan confessed. “What was all of that supposed to prove? Besides the obvious,” he quickly asked. I’d imagine that’d be difficult for him, I thought sarcastically. I raised my eyebrows at Ben. “If you know, tell him,” I insisted, curious to see if he really did know or was just playing along to keep me satisfied. In my mind, that’s a very important fact to establish. And he knew that. He paused for a moment before saying anything, glaring at me with his intimidated reaction. Then as he glared over at Stefan, he clarified the point. “It wasn’t what she was saying. It was what she was doing. point was directed at me if you neglected to notice. Basically her way of reminding the effect of certain actions… ,” he forcefully explained, knowing Stefan just wanted to hear him say it too. He flashed that “now?” look my way. I smiled at him flirtatiously in approval in hopes to mend that annoyance he felt at the moment. “But how’d you know that?” Stefan then asked, really asking this time, apparently suddenly curious. Now locking his eyes on mine again, Ben answered him while looking at me. “In her eyes,” he said quietly, reading them as he spoke, now smirking flirtatiously back at me. Stefan seemed as if he was lost in an unfamiliar world. Then eventually he gave up trying to figure it out and walked away. There are just some things that aren’t meant to be explained. Not even through one’s thoughts. In result, Ben finally flashed close enough to me so that he could kiss me as my eyes had asked him to. His hand rested gently on the edge of my face while his other hand held me tightly against him by the small of my back, intoxicating me with the ionate taste of his lips. I didn’t want to let go of him for anything.

But I did. I caught a familiar scent that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. At first, I ignored it, letting go of him for anything, until they entered an area that caught my full attention—the hospital. Then it clicked. I forced myself to let go of Ben and flashed out the door as quickly as I could, already regretting every second that I wasn’t still in his arms. “I’ll stay with Luka. You should go…” I heard Stefan sigh on my way out, casually highly suggesting. As soon as the words left his mouth, Ben was out the door too, only seconds behind me. I had no idea whether this was a good idea or not, but my first reaction was to go and go quickly, and usually as a rule, my first reaction tends to be the right one. It’s when I stop to think about it that I start to screw up. Moving as quickly as humanly possible, I made my way up to the intensive care unit. Meanwhile, Ben struggled to stay inconspicuous to the ones around us as he tried to keep up without attracting attention. When I finally reached Jon’s room, Maxi was just entering it. I quickly shut the door on her, not allowing her in as I now blocked it. Taking a small step back, she rolled her eyes at me. Ben stopped just around the corner as he realized what was happening, staying out of sight yet close enough just in case. Plus, there was always Stefan’s listening ear from just a couple of blocks away. I glared a warned look at Maxi. “What the hell do you think you’re doing here!” I sneered at her. She was probably one of last people I wanted anywhere near my brother. She crossed her arms over her chest all offended like. “I should have known you’d give me trouble… ,” she sneered back, being just as much of a bitch as I am. If Ben and Stefan wanted entertainment, they got it. I flashed a wide fake smile at her. Making this catfight worth the time. I did step away from my unbelievably sexy boyfriend for this. I might as well secretly enjoy it a little bit. “You’re right. You should have known that I don’t want you here. Nobody else would either,” I replied, snapping back into that high school mean girl all over again. Though I wasn’t that girl in high school, she was. I was the girl playing that girl to stick up for the girls that didn’t have the courage to.

Girls like Maxi deserve to be stomped on once in a while. That made her a little mad. She stepped closer, glaring despicably at me. The suffocating tension between us could have caused a riot in some areas of the world. “Ya know things may have changed when you selfishly tore Jon out of his life to run away with you and that skank friend of yours, but taking him away from me didn’t make me care about him any less. And considering the things I’ve heard about you lately, that’s more than I can say for you. Just because the state of Florida didn’t believe you got Caleb killed for an out doesn’t mean everybody else didn’t either. Probably for that mysterious new boyfriend of yours. Tell me, Gabby, does your brother know you killed his best friend?” She attempted to break me. What she didn’t realize was that I was a lot smarter than her. I found myself laughing quietly to myself. The disgusted look on Maxi’s face told me that wasn’t the reaction she was looking for. “Very creative, Maxi. Tell me, did that take you all night to think up all by yourself? That’s quite the imagination you have. And speaking of boyfriends, does yours know that you flew across the country to see the man you’ve fucked behind his back since high school, or is he too busy playing grab ass with his butt buddies to even realize that you left?” I replied, dishing out her same hateful belittling technique. She gasped offensively, becoming even easier to push around. “Is yours aware of your homicidal tendencies? Or does he see your big fat lie like the rest of the world?” she barked back, not having much else to go on apparently. Before I could respond, Ben came out from around the corner, naturally causing Maxi’s jaw to drop as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. “only is he aware, finds it verysexy,” Ben said seductively, kissing my neck while glaring at Maxi. She was speechless, gawking at Ben, clearly trying to find the words to say. They just didn’t come out of her mouth. So I smeared it in a little. “That mysterious boyfriend you mentioned, this would be him. Unlike you, I don’t lie to the men in my life. Now I’d like you to leave. Being Jon’s next of kin, I have the right to keep him from you. But if Jon miraculously wakes up and asks for you, only then will I consider letting you anywhere near him. Though I wouldn’t count on that. His relationship with Sara is way more than what he had with you all those years put together. You didn’t even have a relationship. He fucked you

when he got bored. He couldn’t have cared that much. Not enough to see you while on his deathbed. So leave now. Before I unleash my homicidal tendencies unto you,” I mocked her, putting her in her place. Without much left to argue on, she didn’t have much of a choice. She glared at both Ben and I one more time before she stormed off defensively, making it very worth the effort. I quickly turned around in Ben’s arms. Now facing him, I anxiously pressed my lips to his, eager to pick up where we left off. I was aware that it wasn’t exactly the place for a make-out session, but considering that’s all it was, it seems pretty harmless enough. His lips moving intimately with mine always tells me exactly what I want. Sometimes I start to think that I’m a little too attracted to him. Then I smarten up and ask myself who I’m trying to kid. What girl in their right mind would ever think such a thing? Especially regarding Benjamin Row. It wasn’t until the doctor his throat that I even stopped to realize that he was standing right next to us. “Sorry, may I speak to you for a moment?” he asked politely. Obviously embarrassed, I simply nodded. Uncomfortable himself, even more so, he nodded back before continuing. “I just wanted to let you know that we’re taking him down to surgery now. It should be a while…” “If everything goes as we hope, when we’re finished, we’ll just have to wait to see if he wakes up on his own to determine his postcondition,” he added. I nodded again. “We’ll be here… ,” I replied, not sure what else to say. Making this awkward moment even longer, he continued to stand by the door while two other men went into my brother’s room with a couple nurses and wheeled him out. Seeing my brother go past me was just as heartbreaking as it had been the first time I walked into that room. Even though I had faith that Marcus would get him out of here, I just couldn’t shake the worry of him not getting out. Naturally, how could I? The threat of losing the only sibling you’ve ever had isn’t something you can just brush away just because of the greater chance of not losing them. It doesn’t make it any easier. Nothing does. Some things distract you just enough to give out the illusion that you’re okay. Like the feel of Ben’s strong hands caressing my skin that now matched at a perfect temperature to his or the feeling of security when he holds me ever so

ionately in his arms. The way the softness of his comforting words makes me tingle inside, weakening me at the knees. After being in love with the same man for my entire life, I had forgotten how magical falling in love could be. Falling in love in our world only made it that much more magical, that much more real. Falling more in love with Ben every single day is something I hold onto dearly. It didn’t matter what Maxi thought or what the rest of the world thinks they know. Our love is too real for even the ones closest to us to understand. The rest can remain a mystery. It’s what we know that counts.

The loft was large but not large enough for eight vampires and a human… Plus Luka’s 10 percent… Sara’s persistent whining didn’t help any either. I tried to stay as far away from her as I could. Shutting myself in a far room with just Ben and Luka was the best I was going to get. Just like at home, except home didn’t come with the excessive noise of a city filled with thousands. I was going to hate Jon for this someday. That was about the only thing I was certain about. Meanwhile, Chelsea desperately tried to talk Sara down. “Honey, Jon is going to be fine. You should really just sit down and relax.” Not likely. “Sara, moping isn’t good for you. Unless you really believe that Gabby would ever let anything happen to her brother, you’ll sit with me for a little while. Right now. I won’t bite, I promise.” Quiet laughs came from each end of the loft, making the best of a delicate situation. At the same time, Luka had so cleverly weaseled his way into playing the extreme immortal version of I spy, known as guessing game to Luka. It’s one his favorites. What Luka doesn’t realize is that it’s more of a mind exercise. It’s our inconspicuous way of keeping his senses strong without him realizing it. There isn’t much that gets past him, so whatever we do manage to get away with is a damn near miracle.

Being shut in with my two favorite boys on the planet was pretty awesome though. Almost enough to keep my mind away from Jon long enough to be completely present here, but not quite. As badly as I wanted to be just here, with my son and his father, I just couldn’t be. I had more life-threatening things on my mind, just as badly as Sara. I’m just much better at hiding it. No sooner than the sun set did Marcus flash into the room. I already knew what he was going to say. “Take Luka out for a run… or something. It looks like you might need it to,” he insisted more than suggested, looking directly at me. After spending my entire existence being rebellious against authority figures, I naturally didn’t want to go just because he practically demanded it. I just don’t do well with demands, especially when they’re not even from my own maker. But since taking Luka out wasn’t such a bad idea, I went anyway, for Luka. Staying in a loft came with a convenience—easy rooftop access. The three of us ran across the rooftops through the night sky, taking advantage of the open spaces, spaces that the human eye aimlessly overlooks. It’s ridiculous, really, how brainwashed the human race really is. In a world smothered with religion and amendments, after centuries of teaching our children a certain way, this world has become nothing more than a giant coverup in hopes to save humanity from the reality that we all live in, dead or alive, good or evil. Reality is, no matter what side you’re on, you’re still in it either way. Everybody is, whether they know it or not. Each of us are just pawns in a much bigger war, the never-ending war between heaven and hell. Yet the humans somehow stay oblivious, almost like magic, even though it’s always there, right in front of them—in the papers, on the television, in movies, everywhere, pieces of reality. All of which are casually being brushed off as fiction in order to feel safe in such an obviously cruel world. This world will never be safe; it’s irrational to think otherwise. Logically, when it comes right down to it, man is just as dangerous as any of us are. Killing for survival is one thing. Killing for your own sick twisted pleasure is a completely different level of evil. So are other common forms of assault often inflicted on one another in this dark world we all share. Evil lingers everywhere. know it’s a harsh world when humans have to fear more than what just goes bump in the night.

I was reminded of this while making our way through LA. We came across something that I’d rather not have, especially with Luka with us. still think it affected him more than he lets us know. The three of us came to a dead stop at the edge of a rooftop as we caught what was happening below. My first reaction, besides to stop, was to move Luka behind me, shielding his immature eyes from our so-called reality. Directly below us were three rather large men appearing to be bikers, probably gunslingers. That’s a stereotype I can always recognize. Apparently they were also gangbangers. Besides the three men, there were also two young girls, probably barely sixteen years old, in an alley in Los Angeles in the middle of the night with carrying bikers. Still having a tad of my humanity left, I couldn’t just walk away. It wasn’t that long ago that I was barely sixteen, just becoming a sexual being. It’s never easy. “We should do something,” I insisted. “And how do you suggest we do that? There’s only two of us…” I grinned, looking back down at the men who were starting to get more physical with the girls. When Ben’s eyes followed mine, I used my ability to guide each man’s hand, using every ounce of power I had to guide it to their guns, forcing them to place the barrel to their own temples. Then at the same exact moment, I made them pull the trigger, taking my ability further than ever before to give those men exactly what they deserved, doing karma’s job for her. It was naturally relieving being an instinctive killer… Ben was speechless nevertheless but had that look of pride in his eye, instinctively impressed, just caught very off guard. After a moment or two, the shock finally wore off, replaced by a flirtatious smirk. “Well, that was easy.” He shrugged, grinning amusingly. Grinning back at him, I laughed. “Thanks for all the help! You were very useful!” I teased, seducing him with my eyes locked onto his as I made my way close enough to touch him. When his hand gently rested on the edge of my face, his grin became more of a seductive smirk and so did mine. As his darkening eyes still managed to sparkle down at mine, in his arms, I was content—in love, madly.

“You’re the sexiest demonic goddess made,” he whispered with a strong seriousness to his tone yet still being flirtatious. His hand caressed the small of my back, and then just before his lips touched mine, Luka sighed. We both froze, only our eyes shifting to Luka. “I’m hungry,” he whined. Smiling down at him, I let go of Ben and took Luka’s hand. “Me too. Let’s go,” I agreed, flashing an apologetic smirk back at Ben. His silent grin told me I’d be making up for it later… That’s a debt I’d never miss my payment on. Unfortunately, it’s a debt that would have to wait. By the time we got back to the loft, Jon was finally out of surgery after twelve and a half hours. And after being awake for almost two days, little Luka was tired out after our adventure. Though that was a good thing, it certainly made Chelsea and Vanessa’s job that much easier. Ben and I laid Luka down in the other room ourselves before taking Sara too see Jon with Marcus. Stefan stayed with the girls as a distant listening ear to the things that we can’t hear. Sara’s heart raced nervously the entire five-minute trip to the hospital from the loft. With all of us all in the same car, it was probably a good thing at least a couple of us just fed. Luckily for her, Marcus is very self-disciplined. But I can’t protect her from everything. As badly as I wanted to protect her from Maxi’s attendance, I didn’t want to do much more about it than I already did. I can’t exactly will her to put a gun to her head and rid us of that problem. Sometimes magic isn’t always the answer. This is one of those times. So while knowing exactly what I would be walking into, the four of us made our way up to Jon. I continuously wondered if it was the right thing here. Desperate not to do any more damage than there already is. Of course that’s an unrealistic expectation. The moment we stepped into that wing, an awful gut-wrenching feeling came upon me. never means anything good, that’s for sure. When we came up to the room, the doctor was just coming out. Seeming pleased to see me, he smiled with relief. “Gabriella, I’m glad I caught you!” he exclaimed, his hand suddenly guiding me into the room between my shoulder blades, definitely crossing that comfort line for me. But I didn’t say anything,

out of priority. He picked up the clipboard at the end of the bed and started giving me another rundown while everyone else observed from the open doorway. “Your brother is very strong, considering. He’s either a fighter or he’s got some friends upstairs that aren’t ready for him to them yet. He’s doing excellent, though we won’t know for sure until he wakes up on his own. Until then, the head injury is unknown. Other than that, everything else is healing practically right before our eyes. Now we just wait for him to come back to us,” he said pleasantly, making this entire moment that much more awful. The thought of waiting for Jon to wake up on his own terrified me. I’ve been there. It does something to you. For all I know he could be doing bong rips with Caleb and Brad. He may not want to come back. That was an unbearably heartbreaking feeling. I felt as if I could just crumble into a pile of dust at any given moment, angry with myself for letting this happen in the first place. I should have been there to prevent it altogether. But I wasn’t. When the doctor left, shutting the door behind him, Ben gently held me from behind, shielding my hurt. Feeling it himself so that I wouldn’t have to, even though he knows I don’t like him doing that for me. I think saying he’s stubborn when it comes to my well-being would be underexaggerating a little. Meanwhile, Marcus kept a constantly emotional healing hand on Sara as he reexamined Jon. At the same time Maxi’s footsteps began to head in this direction, filling me with anticipation. I held Ben’s hands firmly in mine, saying all I needed to without saying anything at all. Having had the chance to prepare myself, I was more worried about Sara, regardless of her current lack of heavy emotions. Maxi’s being here may not be able to hurt her right now, but they will later. Then I’ll have to pay for it. If I wasn’t so stubborn, my capability of lacking emotions would come in handy right about now. As the door came open, I didn’t even breathe. The sight of Maxi again hit me just as hard as it had the first time, picking at every nerve I had until it becomes so unbearable that a natural force of hatred becomes unleashed, and there’s nothing left for me to hold onto.

But Ben’s much stronger force held me effortlessly in place. Our incompatible abilities may come to a disadvantage offensively, but they piece together in mere perfection defensively. I felt helpless as Maxi’s eyes immediately jumped right to Sara, determining the weakest link and her competition. For something that was never really hers in the first place. I think that’s the part that makes me so angry. That she’s so twisted that she’d purposely hurt the ones closest to Jon just for her own satisfaction, in hopes to have him all to herself. When in all reality, she doesn’t really actually want him. She only wants him because she can’t have him anymore. Poor little Maxi doesn’t like that, so she’s seeking out to hurt us while we are at our most vulnerable. And we’re to be the bad guys, the ones actually getting him out of here. Maxi flashed a grin from hell as she studied Sara for a moment, making her way toward her. I continued holding tightly onto Ben’s hand, frequently having to remind myself that she can’t really hurt her. She is only human. “I was really hoping to see you here!” she said intimidatingly, looking directly at Sara as if she was the only one in the room. Then for the first time and what felt like forever, Sara finally snapped back to herself long enough to stand up for herself. “And I was really hoping you’d be dead in a ditch somewhere… ,” Sara sneered back at her, staring back with just as much evil. A low chuckle came from Maxi. “That’d be too easy! No, I’m here to reassure that my replacement fits the part. I wouldn’t want to leave him dissatisfied now, would I?” “I don’t know what planet you live on, but on this one in order to replace something, there would have had to be something to replace in the first place. And last time I checked, you were nothing more than something to fuck without having any kind of feelings attached. Sorry to disappoint you, Maxi, but Jon wasn’t looking for your replacement. He just suddenly realized what he really wanted. Not you. Maybe if you didn’t waste all your time being somebody’s nothing, you could do the same thing. I’m sure there’s a very desperate man out there just waiting for you. Give it a try. You might be surprised at what you find. I can promise you that it will not be Jon.”

The tension in the room quickly began to boil at Sara’s very impressive comeback. Once again, it was Maxi’s buttons that were being pushed instead of our own as she intended. “Apparently you’ve never been somebody’s nothing, or you’d already know how impossible that analogy is,” Maxi sneered before storming away, again. She had no idea how wrong she had been. For the first time, Sara wasn’t somebody’s nothing. I’d imagine that meant a lot to her. As much as I despised Maxi nowadays, I couldn’t help but feel a small ounce of pity for her. When I actually stopped to think about it for a moment, I realized that her feelings for Jon were far more than she ever let any of us believe, in a desperate attempt to keep him from running away from her screaming. After years of being nothing more than friends with benefits, how could she not want to be in Sara’s place? It was jealousy that made her act that way—natural, fullfledged envy. Yet I didn’t care enough to go after her. I cared more about how my best friend felt about that. When my excessively high emotions calmed down, Ben gently let go of me. As he did, I flashed right to Sara. Worrying about startling her didn’t seem like much of a priority. Plus, these rooms are one of the only areas without security cameras. , we appear on those… it would be pretty hard to explain if we didn’t. Yet it’s very easy to trick people by proving to believers that we’re not what they think we are because we dohave a reflection. There are angles for every myth or legend. To us, it’s amusing. But for humans I’d say it’s rather sad that they’re made to believe a lie. That’s just another one of life’s unfair disadvantages. With my hand rested on Sara’s shoulder, I simply asked her, “Are you all right?” She nodded in response, telling me what she really felt with the silence and her eyes glimmering at mine. In that moment I found myself feeling the agony that she felt, the rage, the worry. The jealousy, the fear, fear of abandonment, it all ate at her. All of which gave me even more incentive to get my brother out of here safely. I flashed an understanding smile at Sara, placing my hand over hers. “Believe me when I say that everything will be just fine,” I insisted kindly. Okay, maybe more than insisted, but she won’t know the difference anyway. I moved on to help Marcus with the last of what we were capable of doing.

Besides that, all we could do is wait for him to awaken. That’ll be the only way to tell us whether I just lied to Sara or not. Meanwhile, I heard Stefan making his way into the hospital. Having tabs on all of our thoughts, I’m sure he was having a field day. He just couldn’t resist. I made it a point to listen very carefully. I listened as he continued to make his way upstairs. Though when he got here, he didn’t come in this direction. He went into the waiting room, with Maxi. I had a feeling that this had everything to do with my. That was an awful feeling. In an empty room, he sits next to her. So close that their scents almost began to mix. Upset enough as it is, Maxi’s comfort level dropped drastically. He was nothing more than a stranger to her. “Who the hell are you!” she sneered offensively. As most any attractive girl who was used to having their sexuality tempted with would. It kind of becomes an instinctive reaction. With Stefan’s history, Maxi’s kind wasn’t much of a threat to him. He’s been belittled by much bigger fish, myself only being one of them. “I’m just another nobody… ,” he replied, disgustingly good at this. “Friend of the family?” she exclaimed sarcastically. “Something like that.” He chuckled. “I’m Ben’s brother. One of them anyway.” “Ben? Like Gabby’s boyfriend Ben?” “Fiancé actually, but they aren’t very fond of labels.” wanted to hurt him for that, seeing what was coming. “I wouldn’t tell too many people that, then they’ll really start to think that she killed Caleb.” The satisfaction in her tone was pathetic. Stefan chuckled, knowing the truth for himself. That’s one person I’ll never have to prove myself to. “I think that’s the least of Gabby’s worries,” he insisted. “We didn’t always hate each other… ,” she replied unexpectedly, seemingly jumping from one thought to another.

“I know… I know what she knows,” Stefan whispered, catching her undivided attention. “And who are you exactly?” she asked, her curiosity suddenly getting the best of her. Great. “I’m Stefan. I’m Ben’s biggest inconvenience besides his other brother. While Gabby tolerates me but tends to not spend any more time than she has to. See, we all live and work together. It can get a little smothering sometimes. But we’re a team. I guess you could say that I know them better than anyone. Even the things I don’t necessarily want to know. I just have a way of reading people that tends to get me into trouble more than anything.” “Lucky you.” Maxi chuckled flirtatiously, quickly growing fond of Stefan. His intentions, I’m sure. “You have no idea… ,” he replied, playing the pity card. I could only imagine Maxi’s face. “Let me guess, you’re in love with her too?” she established more than asked. Stefan laughed obnoxiously, like he does when he becomes uncomfortable. “I’m married.” he informed her, mostly reminding himself. A girl like Maxi sees right through that. A girl like Maxi doesn’t just ignore it like I do. “Your point?” She laughed. “It’s obvious. Save yourself the grief. you have a problem is the first step to recovery,” she added, getting off on it. It was quiet between them for a moment. Almost long enough to cause alarm on my part. Yet I was so involved with my task with Marcus to have the ability to do anything. I just had to listen. After a couple more moments, Stefan eventually said the exact words that I’d hoped he wouldn’t. This was not the time or place for this. “Fine… ,” he caved. “Of course I’m in love with her. It’s impossible not to be,” he itted, no longer playing that little game of his. That statement was as true as the anger it brought upon Ben. Who was fortunately in the hall at the moment watching the door and not me. Yet I could still feel his fury from thirteen feet away, behind closed doors. It should make for an interesting night later. At least Ben knew that this wasn’t

the place for this. There still wasn’t anything I could do, so I just kept listening. “I’d say she’s used to that. Her boyfriend did kind of die for it,” Maxi sneered in disgust at that fact. “And that’s why you blame her?” Stefan asked suspiciously. “You wouldn’t?” she asked as if she didn’t believe him. “No. I wouldn’t,” he insisted. “Course not.” She sighed. “Why don’t you try looking at it from her perspective before jumping ahead and judging her?” he sneered. Then he got up and walked away, done with his. Now I really felt the need to talk to him, first to yell at him and then to thank him for sticking up for me, like always, even though I never appreciate him. That he was right about. I just never realized how much. I think Ben realized it too, which is why he didn’t tare Stefan’s face off as soon as he saw him. Our issues could wait. Getting Jon out of here so all of us could go home couldn’t. But with nothing more left to do except wait, it made the time that much more difficult to get through. The minutes felt like hours. The hours felt like days. With all issues aside, Ben didn’t leave my side for a second. And I didn’t leave Jon’s. The farthest I’d lingered was the closest alleyway to fuel myself; other than that, I didn’t go anywhere. I couldn’t help but continue to fear that he may never wake up. Or it could be just days or weeks, possibly months, even years. There was no way I’d let that happen. I’d infect him myself before I let that happen. We’ve all put way too much time into this for it to go sour. With Maxi temporarily gone, I could actually focus on just that. I sat in the corner of the room, being held tightly in Ben’s strong arms, thinking of all of the things Jon would say to me at times like this. Or the things he would do in order to please me after doing something unforgivable. My all-time favorite was when he confirmed Eddie’s suspicions of Caleb and mine’s developing sex life and in return bought me a vibrator as a joke when Eddie so dramatically took my bedroom door off as a result.

Reminiscing seemed to cloud the reality long enough for me relax for a little while. But that could only work for so long. Eventually I had to give myself to more drastic measures, that being Ben, managing to leave the hospital. Sometimes you just have to be creative in order to get the job done. Besides, Jon wasn’t waking up anytime soon anyway. I doubt he’ll mind.

In the days that ed, it seemed as if my worries were becoming all too real. I couldn’t help but lose faith by the second, hidden behind my well-developed mask. The boys took turns staying with me, only after Marcus would have to command Ben to take a break. Though I didn’t speak a word to Stefan, it didn’t make it any less awkward either. It’s inevitable. To all of our surprise, even Sylas found his way back, Uninvited as always, yet for some reason still staying in the doorway. “Ben sent you?” Stefan sneered at him in disgust, clearly picking up something I couldn’t. Sylas shrugged and entered the room, taking a seat on the opposite side. “He doesn’t exactly trust you anymore than he trusts me, I guess.” He shrugged, openly finding it very amusing. How mature of him. “Oh, and he knows Gabby wouldn’t ever put herself in a position that would make her responsible for him destroying you, so if he doesn’t expect either of you to tell him otherwise, he has to expect someone to. And with Marcus being your creator too, Stefan, he can’t go there either. That leaves me,” he added ever so pleasantly, enjoying this way too much. I just pretended he wasn’t even there. He wasn’t worth my energy to even look at. Eventually, Ben came back to replace Stefan. In doing so, he also kicked out Sylas, not wanting to actually deal with him himself. My current opinion wasn’t relevant. Another argument I wasn’t willing to waste my energy on. I just enjoyed the comfort of his presence, just his presence. His scent alone filled me with enough ease to get by.

The further the clock ticked into the night, the quieter our surroundings became. The constant sound of the patient monitors in the building was the only continuous sound, and the low breathing of unconscious patients. Then as if a switched was flipped, Jon’s monitors increased drastically. His breathing got deeper, and his heart began to race stronger than ever before. My first reaction was to jump to my feet. At the same exact time, Marcus came flying through the door, noticing himself. In that moment, I used my ability to create a glitch in the monitors, making it appear as if nothing changed in order to buy us some time. With the plan now officially in effect, everyone naturally did their part. While Marcus and I tended to Jon and got him out of the building, Vanessa distracted the staff. Stefan rounded up everyone in a separate car while Ben parked the other car on this side of the building nearest our only way out. As Jon’s eyes finally opened, a sense of relief came upon him as his eyes met mine. But just as soon, they found Marcus, becoming uncomfortably confused. Before he could say anything, I beat him to it. “Jon, can you tell me what year you think it is?” I asked him quietly. He sighed, well aware of what that meant. “Considering that you feel the need to ask me that in the first place, I’m going to take a wild guess and say that it’s not 2007?” I shook my head, strangely finding that for some reason I knew he was going to say that exact year. It meant something, I just knew it, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. “Mhm. Go back to sleep, Jon. It’ll be 2011 when you wake back up,” I assured him, glamouring him back to a state of unconsciousness before he could even say the word “What?” My full attention jumped abruptly to Marcus. can’t be happening. Four entire years lost. I was desperate. “Relax. We can fix this… We should just use Vanessa to be sure. We just won’t have anyone distracting the staff anymore,” he says. As if it could be that simple. Vanessa was in the room within the moment. Bright eyed and bushy tailed to be involved for once. If she wasn’t technically my, I’d probably be disgusted. But I could never think that way of Vanessa. She’s far too sweet.

ability was right up there with Stefan’s, being more of a curse than anything else. Each and every time she touches somebody she sees their memories, though she tends to avoid it as much as she can. Thankfully, he didn’t need me for this, just Vanessa. I stood at the foot of the bed, staring at Jon with every ounce of hope I had left, having absolutely no idea what the hell to do if it didn’t work. It would destroy him, all over again. I had to force myself not to think that way. could see a breakdown in my near future and not from that whole psychic thing I got goin’ on. Common sense is just as informative. You just have to have more than a little. It had only taken Marcus under seven seconds, but it felt so much longer than that. I studied his expression, looking for a reaction. What I found was comforting, success. But it wasn’t 100 percent yet. We still had to wake him up again and see just how successful they had been. I flashed back to the side of the bed, being the first thing he sees again just in case. With his temperament, the last thing I wanted to do is freak him out. Though if I know anything about being unconscious, I’m sure he had his share of freaking out for the past few days. That thought absolutely terrified me. I probably would have been better off without him ing. He’s lucky he has others that need him to —making Jon have a baby that he doesn’t making, probably not the best idea. Everyone gets hurt that way, not just me. I may be demonic, but I can’t do that to my own family. I’d rather have Jon hate me forever for lying to him. This time, he woke up grinning, probably feeling better than ever. It’s touch is undeniably the ultimate natural high. When you’re 100 percent healed after such a life-threatening circumstance, it’s almost like being born again. I could only hope this teaches him something… I won’t count on it. When his eyes opened for the second time, looking directly into mine, he chuckled. “You’re a lot less intimidating with s.” He grinned, enjoying this to no surprise. Also purposely telling us what we needed to know—that he ed. I smiled back at him. “Forgive me,” I whispered, quickly pulling out his catheter unexpectedly before he could object. We didn’t have time for debates. “Now we

gotta get you the hell outta here!” I insisted positively. He couldn’t currently respond, choked up in agony. “If you don’t want to be in jail when your daughter is born until she graduates high school, you’d better suck it up and get dressed right now. We’re leaving in fifteen seconds,” I insisted a little more aggressively this time. His eyes quickly widened at me, cursing under his breath. He leaped to his feet, ripping the wires off of himself as he frantically put the pants that I had just thrown at him on and put on his shirt as we started to go out the window one by one. We started with Marcus while Vanessa guarded the door. I turned to Jon before following. “You trust me?” I asked, looking him dead in the eye. A hint of a proud smile formed. “This isn’t the first time you’ve saved my ass. If I can’t trust you, I can’t trust anybody.” Flashing a thankful smile, I effortlessly took him by the hand and guided us through the window, free-falling seven stories into the darkness. Still I saw everything. Behind us only second later came Vanessa, landing cheerfully right next to me. In somewhat of a shock, Jon just kind of stared at her. We just laughed and casually began to make our way to the awaiting car, along with Ben. Before getting into the car Jon suddenly paused, his attention jumping over to me. “Where’s Sara?” he asked worriedly. I tilted my head at him, as if he’d ever think I couldn’t take care of her. “She’s with the others, waiting for you, at the airport. Now get in the car. You don’t want to keep her waiting,” I said with less attitude. He got in the car, sitting behind me. Beside me, Ben stared at me curiously for a moment before doing anything. “What?” I sighed anxiously. Without saying anything, or even looking away, he started the car and started to drive. He only took his eyes off of me once we turned into the street. Now his job was getting us to the airport as quickly as possible. I couldn’t help but feel like when this was over, I was going to have a lot more personal stuff to deal with. Just the way Ben looked at me warned me enough. I didn’t need to see it.

Fortunately, with his driving it didn’t take us very long to get to the airport. Being in the car for another second was going to ruin me. Plus the fact that Jon didn’t think I realized it, but he spent the entire ride drooling at Vanessa, fantasizing. At least I knew he was still the Jon that I love so much it apparently makes me sick. Vampires can’t feel sick. Unless we’re starving. As Ben sped across the airstrip down to our jet, where everyone else was waiting, I finally felt the success. But I wouldn’t be completely satisfied until he was under the radar. Getting out of the car was the most awkward moment yet. The tension that instantly spread between Ben and Stefan surrounding me was heartbreaking. Still I held onto my mask, not letting it overcome me as it did them. I was stronger than that. I had to convince myself over and over again . . . Vanessa quickly flashed onto the jet, ing Marcus, Chelsea, and Luka. At the same time, Jon quickly wrapped his arms around Sara as if she was the one and only treasure in the world, kissing her continuously, whispering between breaths. At least I could make somebody happy again. Stepping one foot out of the jet, Marcus called to us, “We should go. it out later, guys!” But just as he said that, Maxi came out from around the corner in the distance, close enough for Jon to recognize her. He froze in surprise for a moment. And that was just the beginning. She walked right up to both Jon and Sara with a sincere smile on her face, grasping all of our attention. “Maxi—,” he started to say. “No, just listen first,” she insisted, cutting him off. After taking a deep breath, she actually truly explained herself. “Jon, I’m beyond relieved that you’re okay. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you had died on me before I had a chance to say this to you, in front of the ones closest to you. I’ve recently come to realize how completely out of line my coming here had been, and I apologize. But before I left I just wanted to say that I’m proud of you for actually taking that next step you so obsessively feared. I think that when you find somebody that affects you so much that it causes you to change how you see your world then that somebody should be cherished unconditionally, no matter what. Something like that only comes once. I won’t interfere with yours. You’ve worked too hard for it.”

Though I didn’t look back, I could feel Ben’s eyes staring at me as she spoke, relating. But because looking back would most definitely shatter my mask, I wasn’t willing to take that risk quite yet. So instead, I just casually made my way onto the jet, now annoyed by the disadvantage of her presence. I didn’t even bother listening to Jon’s bullshit thanks before seeing her go. Once I was on board I flashed past everyone to the back of the plane without saying a word to anyone, shutting myself in the so-called private quarters. course, there’s no such thing as privacy in our world. Still, I just laid back and closed my eyes for a moment while we waited for everyone else to decide they were ready to go. Ben came only moments after me, following me out back. I didn’t even dare look at him. I didn’t even move, I just continued to lay there as he came in. Unexpectedly, he flashed himself on top of me. The back of his finger gently caressed my cheek while the other held him up hardly an inch away. Opening my eyes, I became overwhelmed with his mere perfection as always as if it was the first time I laid eyes on him, his bright blood-red eyes sparkling down at me with lust. “Change your mind?” I whispered. He smirked seductively, moving closer. “like that,” He replied and then caressed my lips with him, instantly intoxicating each other. After a minute or so, everyone was finally on board, and we were ready for takeoff. That was all that was taking off as we kept it PG the entire flight. Of course I wasn’t getting away that easy. As soon as he was able, Jon got right to it. “Where is she?” he asked everyone. Someone must have pointed because he quickly headed right for us, coming right in. Luckily for him, we weren’t teasing ourselves either. were just showing our love without actually making it. That was until Jon barged in. “You have a lot of talking to do. It seems there’s a lot you’ve neglected to tell me. So why don’t you start by telling me… everything,” he insisted. I didn’t

need any more detail to know exactly what he was referring to. So I did exactly that. I owed him that, regardless if we just saved his life or not. I was just thankful we were able to. So I told him everything. Before I knew it, we were almost home. We did it. And I couldn’t have been more grateful.

Chapter 29

Escaping the Past: Part Two

O nce Jon and Sara were settled in at the cabin in Willow Creek, Chelsea and I were finally able to go home to everyone else. For the first time in days I finally felt as if I didn’t have anything to worry about. Then the thought of Ben and Stefan currently being in the same house together without me there to prevent them from killing each other reminded me of how very premature that feeling was. As if I even had to be dealing with that; it isn’t my fault Stefan’s such an idiot. That’s probably why Ben isn’t blaming me, that and because he’d rather seduce me instead. Apparently that’s more entertaining for him. When we got home, all of the boys were gone. Only the scents of Vanessa and Luka still remained in the house. I wasn’t sure whether I should fear for them or be relieved. I mean, it could have been worse. We could have come home to them ripping each other into pieces. At least they had the decency to take it elsewhere. Plus, I had a hunch that was mostly the doing of Marcus. The moment we came into the house, Vanessa flashed to our side, grinning from ear to ear. Luka came right behind her, reattaching himself to me. That seemed to make all of my problems disappear. has that effect on you. He’s just too damn handsome. Juggling all of her boiling-high emotions as usual, Vanessa focused all of her energy into relaying to us what we had missed. Clearly having been anticipating this since they left, just anxiously awaiting our return to spill it back to us. Man, I love her. Without wasting any time, she began to spill even as we made our way to the common area. “So as soon as we got here, Marcus and I both knew that there was no way Stefan would survive the night with Ben, so he suggested they take a walk. But before they even wanted to listen to him, they were already bickering very harshly. So that’s when Marcus commanded both of them to take a walk with

him. That was a half an hour ago,” she rambled. While I listened to her, several thoughts came to mind. I seem to always dig myself deeper when I go and think about things. I sighed in frustration, letting myself fall into the loveseat next to Vanessa as she sat down. Being a concerned maker, Chelsea sat across from me, desperately trying to read me. Except the mask that I’ve managed to mold over the past few days hasn’t quite worn off yet. Naturally, that bothered her, causing her to questions. Sometimes, I miss not having a mother figure. I didn’t have to talk so much. Yet because I love Chelsea and I could never let her down, I complied without giving her any trouble, as much as it pained me to. That alone made her smile, making it hard not to smile back at her. Then the questions began. “How does what Stefan said to Maxi make you feel?” she asked as if she was my damn psychiatrist, making me extremely uncomfortable. “Uh… Ya know, it’s all good,” I lied. I didn’t even bother to try to be convincing. She slid to the end of her seat, leaning closer to us. “I have a story for you girls that I think you both might find fitting. I’ve contemplated telling you, but I think you’re very well ready,” she said, catching both of our attention. Chelsea’s stories always do. They’re inspiring. “A very long time ago, around the same time Ben was born actually, I was only nineteen years old. Though back then, nineteen was our thirty. Things were different. See, I had this irresistible desire for this particular boy. A boy my father never would’ve approved of. He wasn’t rich, he didn’t belong to the court, and he, most of all, wasn’t Italian. My father was a very particular man. He was arranging for me to marry an Italian prince who I also came to fancy. He was in every way everything my Charles wasn’t. My father’s perfect match. Not mine. But I never said anything, to anyone. Then when Charles found out about my father’s deal, the prince was poisoned. “It wasn’t until my entire life was crumbling around me that I realized how much I had underestimated the power of love. It can make you do things that you

wouldn’t ordinarily do. I never even had a chance to fix it. My father sent me back with my mother, removing me from the court. He never told me, but I knew as soon as I left that he had killed Charles. I could feel it. I spent the rest of my human life with my mother. Until my maker and his pals drained the town, taking me and only one other girl along as sacrifices. I never did see my father again. Though the only thing I regret is keeping what I felt to myself. I could have prevented it all. then I wouldn’t be here, with you. So still, in the end, it all happened for a reason. I just want you girls to fully understand the power you hold when a man is in love with you. You can’t take it for granted, or even simply ignore it. Love isn’t meant to be ignored. It’s meant to be caressed, gently. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt.” Chelsea’s eyes primarily linked with mine as she spoke, trying to connect with me on that similar level. Even Vanessa caught her eyes wandering over to me a couple of times. It was starting to make my head spin. Her intentions, I’m sure. “So let me ask you again, Gabby. How does what Stefan said make you feel?” she asked again. “Dammit, your persistent…” I procrastinated, shifting in my seat as if I actually needed to. She raised her eyebrows at me, still awaiting a real answer. Vanessa also stared, waiting. As uncomfortable as it made me, there wasn’t anyone else I’d rather be talking about it with anyway. “Like I didn’t want to exist,” I finally answered her, saying aloud a real feeling toward the matter for the first time. My answer seemed to surprise her. “What? Did you expect me to say that I’m in love with him too and that I’m arrogant enough to let that ruin everything?” I sneered offensively. `Chelsea sighed. “No. Not at all. I know that you are not in love with Stefan. I think that’s something I would have noticed. But that doesn’t mean you don’t care about him either. You appear to despise him. Yet when things get sour, you automatically stick up for each other. You don’t hate him. He may annoy you unbearably sometimes, but you don’t hate him. He means something to you whether you want to it it or not. That something isn’t necessarily romantic, but it’s something. With the work you guys do, it’s pretty hard not to form some sort of connection. There’s nothing wrong with that. He just happened to develop

more feelings than you did. That’s nobody’s fault. Including his.” I had absolutely no idea how to react to that. I found myself flashing to my feet, beginning to pace the floors in a mere reaction to mind-boggling realizations. In a natural defensive, I automatically snapped into denial. “No,” I strongly insisted, shaking my head at her. “Almost every friend I’ve ever had has been a guy. I just don’t typically care for girls. They’re bitches. Plus growing up with three guys probably didn’t help any. Sara’s the only real girlfriend I’ve ever had. They’ve always been guys, and I’ve never ever found myself on the opposite side of the friend or more-than-friends line. That’s exactly how I feel. I’m not in love with him… But… It’s like…” “Curiosity,” Chelsea finished my thought for me, summing it up perfectly. “Exactly.” I sighed, relieved to be rid of that weight. She smiled at me. Not what I wanted. My grim expression must have quickly informed her of that because it quickly disappeared. She stood to her feet, holding me in place in front of her with her gentle hand resting on my shoulder. “Being curious only makes you normal. Even for a vampire. It’s not like you’ve been around the block a few times like Ben. He got his curiosity out of his system a long time ago, sure as hell hope. You spent your entire life with one man only to jump right to another. If you weren’t curious, I’d be worried,” she said softly. Unfortunately her soft tone didn’t soften my frustration. So then Vanessa jumps up, grinning up at me excitedly with one of her looks. “I know exactly what you have to do,” she says, smothered in contempt. “Kiss him!” She shrugged as if it was nothing. “What!” I barked at her. “Are you out of your mind!” Rolling her eyes at me, she clarifies, “A girl will know it all in one simple real first kiss.” “I thought it was that we know whether we’re interested in the first fifteen seconds of meeting?” I joked. “That too.” She shrugged again. “But seriously, just kiss him. It’ll clarify everything. And probably make his day at the same time,” she added, adding to my insanity. “I need some air… ,” I insisted, quickly stepping away before this conversation managed to get any worse.

Once on the back steps, alone, I was able to gather my thoughts, no longer suffocating in that house. There wasn’t much to gather. The context was pretty plain at the end of the day. I was in love with one man while “curious” about another. At the same time, I was still grieving the loss of my first love. Still, nothing compares to the love I have now. So why was I still so curious? I found myself thinking about it until I couldn’t possibly think about anything. And just in time. The whiplash I got from snapping back to reality when the scents of the boys came into range was a much-needed wake-up call. Even Chelsea and Vanessa became quiet inside, making it even more nerveracking. My obsession to keep the thoughts from the past few minutes out of Stefan’s view was overwhelming. It was an unrealistic expectation, especially from Vanessa. But then when I found Ben suddenly standing directly in front of me, none of it seemed to matter. It was gone, just like that. now. It couldn’t be that easy. He pulled me to my feet, pulling me up into his arms. I didn’t comprehend at first because I was focused more on hiding my own that I didn’t even realize the very unusual demeanor of all three of them. They seemed pretty joyous to have just come from a discussion consisting of the same topic as we had just also discussed. That alone was enough to raise suspicion from us girls. The very distinct scent of expensive rum and cheap perfume said most of it. “You’ve been drinking… with whores?” I asked, thinking aloud again. really need to learn to stop doing that. “Maybe a little…” He chuckled to himself. “What did you do?” Chelsea quickly asked Marcus inside in the house. Curious myself, I went back in, dragging Ben along with me. Apparently he really didn’t want to; too bad for him. In the living room, Marcus stood ready to defend his actions in front of Chelsea. While Stefan snapped into the coven couch potato as if he was living in an entire different universe as us at the moment. We weren’t even there. Then I realized why as Marcus spelled it out for us. “Benjamin and Stefan had been closer than anyone in this coven up until Gabriella came along. Clearly

because they both fell in love with her. That happens. Not much you can do about it. It’s how you deal with it that matters. not with booze and chicks but it was the only way to show.” “Show them what!” Chelsea barked. “you broke my brother,” Stefan complained, actually acknowledging us. “No,” Marcus corrects. “The point was that Stefan can’t affect Benjamin’s feelings for Gabriella. Getting absolutely no satisfaction out of flirting with unfamiliar girls was just a way to prove that he only has eyes for her. But if Stefan can’t affect him, he can’t affect Stefan either. It’s a never-ending battle. A battle meant for the object at hand to end,” he explained, now looking directly at me. I wasn’t looking at him. I was looking only at Ben who was now pouring himself another drink at the bar in the corner of the living room, apparently drowning in it. “So what the hell am I supposed to do? Stefan created all of this, and I’m just supposed to fix it how?” I sneered at Marcus, disagreeing with him. “He just wants you to be happy. By any means,” he replied under his breath, but obviously it didn’t do any good. Ben just ignored it anyway, not even looking at us anymore. I knew very well what that meant. Even the suggestion offended me. Naturally when I get to that level of upset, I’ve trained myself to walk away before I accidentally hurt someone. So that’s exactly what I did. I left, quickly, without even as much as a warning. I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t go in any particular direction. I just went, flashing through the woods until I felt like stopping to gather my thoughts. I found myself on the north end of the mountains, closer to Oregon. The entire way I had that feeling of being tracked. But I wasn’t certain until a couple of minutes later when I sensed Stefan approaching me rather carefully, trying to avoid my new sensitive instinctive reflexes. He stopped suddenly a few feet behind me, exactly eleven actually. The unusual amount of emotion overtaking him wasn’t something I was used to. Stefan tends

to hide his real emotions with obnoxiousness, making it all a. Except right now, that game was on pause. “I’m sorry.” He sighed. “I never wanted to put you in this awkward situation.” I slowly shook my head. Not okay with blaming Stefan either. “Don’t apologize,” I insisted. “It’s not like love is a part of free will or anything. None of this is anybody’s fault.” Before saying another word he carefully came closer until he eventually sat down next to me, just waiting for me to change my mind and make him go away. He’s well-tuned into my dramatic thoughts. “Did you really mean it?” I quickly asked with the utmost seriousness. Yet still kind. He gave me a heavy look, as if I shouldn’t have even needed to ask. “Don’t cha think if I had just been sayin’ that, that I would’ve mentioned that before it all blew up in your face?” he replied genuinely, confirming his love for me with a rhetorical question. “Why not lie?” I asked, thinking aloud once again. Not that I really needed to with Stefan. “You want me to lie?” “No. I don’t… don’t know what I want.” “This is exactly why I didn’t want to ever say it in the first place…” I paused at that for a moment, hesitating. “I don’t know why… But a part of me is relieved that you did,” I itted. “Me too…” He sighed, now looking me dead in the eye. We continued to stare at each other for a moment, unfortunately giving him the opportunity to pick at my head. Still I couldn’t look away. I was too. “But… ?” he started to say for me. “But… there’s still that other very larger part of me. The part that always counteracts with everything else…” I sighed, getting a little relief myself

“Ben,” he stated the obvious. “I know…” He frowned. “Then why do you even bother? You’re married!” “Because not bothering would be ignoring, and that doesn’t get anyone anywhere either,” he quickly insisted, obviously having had coached that response beforehand. “Then what exactly do you suggest I do about it? I could always just kill you, then it just wouldn’t matter anymore. I wouldn’t have to worry about someone getting in between the relationship that means everything to me,” I replied hastily. He smirked, now shaking his head at me. “I don’t doubt that you’d stem to that level in order to protect your relationship, but I can promise you that’s the last thing I want to do,” he insisted. “wants to be responsible for damaging the first true love of the century?” he added, muttering to himself. I sighed in frustration. “Then what, Stefan? What am I supposed to do?” I barked, ready to have a breakdown of confusion. “Nothing, Gabby. would I expect anything from you?” he replied, making a very good point, a point that sent my head spinning again. “Then why are you here?” I whined. “You know why I’m here… ,” he stated under his breath, keeping his eyes in front of him. “Right…” I sighed mostly to myself, realizing the obvious last as always. I felt helpless. “I don’t know what else to say to you… ,” he replied, giving up. Too desperate to give up, I stepped away from the rest of the world for a moment. “I do,” I said, attracting his full attention again. With my eyes now locked to his, I let my thoughts fill in the rest of the blanks. It didn’t take him very long to figure it out. Before I knew it, we were barely inches from each other, smothered by the scent of one another. His gentle hand swiped softly across my cheek, his fingers now gripped my hair as his lips finally met mine. Though I found myself willingly

kissing him back, I felt nowhere near as much satisfaction as I do when I kiss Ben. Still, I couldn’t seem to stop myself. I was still enjoying it. Eventually, I ended up climbing onto his lap, going in for more. Stefan’s hands took advantage of the opportunity by caressing every reachable piece of me. It wasn’t until the mere thoughts of crossing that next line came up that I quickly threw myself off of him. I felt instantly ashamed that I had even gone that far, even with it not being as good as with Ben. Why was I even here? asked myself. As devious as I had just been, now that I had stepped out of it, I couldn’t see putting myself in that situation again. I’m not in love with Stefan. Since I can still say that after a kiss like that, I’d say I shouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. Yet I had this uncontrollable urge to drink away the rest of my sorrows. still had to convince Ben that he didn’t have to worry about me leaving him for Stefan. As badly as that thought pains me, after what I just did, I didn’t have the courage to face him without at least a few drinks in me. With Stefan just as worked up and guilty as I was, I’m sure my suddenly clear view of thoughts didn’t help him out any. “I’ve gotta go see Jae… ,” he insisted, hardly looking at me before he disappeared deeper into the woods. After taking a moment to myself to breath—attempt—I flashed back to town as quickly as I could. I ran to the closest bar first before walking into another awkward situation. Only this one would be worse. If I was going to convince Ben, I was going to have to tell him the truth of what just happened. Whether he’s going to like it or not. It terrified me. Therefore, a little liquid courage will get me through this. I could only hope. Before even leaving the bar I swallowed down four jagerbombs and three Long Islands, as usual. Managing to avoid communicating with anybody except the bartender, and only when I had to. As soon as my last drink was gone, so was I. I ran my drunken ass home as quickly as I could, desperately trying to not let myself procrastinate. I was in dire need of my real love. Only his doubt drew me away from him, causing me to hesitate. It shouldn’t be that way, which only gave me more incentive to fix it. When I finally got there, I was pleased to see that Luka was fast asleep for this.

Everyone else was still in the living room. Vanessa was sitting with Marcus and Chelsea on the couch while Ben was still drinking at the bar, exactly where I had left him. Everybody paused and stared as I came into the room, including Ben. But I couldn’t bring myself to look back at him yet. Instead, I stared down at Vanessa. “I took your advice,” I announced in a drunken slur. “And that drove you to get completely wasted?” Chelsea asked with genuine concern. “Wouldn’t you?” I rolled my eyes to her, vaguely showing the full extent of my emotions as I glared at her. That probably didn’t make her feel any better. From across the room, all of Ben’s fears were coming true right in front of him. “What’d you do?” he asked, now looking me dead in the eye. I could see in his eyes that he already knew; he just wanted to hear me tell him, making me feel a hundred times worse. I had to force the words out of my mouth, questioning myself the entire way whether I’m about to ruin everything or not. I wanted to cry. I just don’t have tears. So while staring back at him with every fragment of regret there is, I told him, “I kissed Stefan.” Breaking my own heart. The now empty glass he held shattered in the palm of his hand, only for him to take out another one a moment later and make himself another drink. Nobody even as much as dared to move, myself included. I really wished I didn’t exist. In an anxious attempt to break the tension, Vanessa steps up. “So what’d you see?” she asked as if she waited forever to hear the answer. It also caught everyone, especially Ben’s attention. But as I answered I didn’t look back at anybody, just Ben. I didn’t take my eyes off of him. “I saw what I’ve always known. I just had to prove it… Ben sets the bar at an unrealistic height. It’s as simple as that.” “So basically, you both learned the same lesson tonight?” Marcus more so.

“I’d say so,” Chelsea responded for us when we didn’t. We were too busy desperately trying to stay in control of our emotions. The room became very intense fairly quickly. Eventually, they didn’t want to be in the middle of it anymore. “Let’s go catch a bite…,” Marcus suggested to Chelsea and Vanessa. They were out the door before they even blinked, leaving just Ben and I staring at each other with absolutely no idea what to do next. I didn’t know how else to fix this. Eventually, he stepped out from behind the bar and made his way toward me, still looking me dead in the eye. Once close enough, he gently took my hands into his, melting away my fears. “I hate this,” he whispered, meaning hates us this. “And I don’t? I don’t think you really know exactly how I feel right now,” I insisted, feeling very misunderstood at the moment. Ben sighed. “You’re right, I don’t. So why don’t you tell me,” he replied, putting limited effort behind his response. “Should I even bother?” I asked hastily. “For all I know, it doesn’t even matter to you. All of this could just be your perfect excuse out,” I accused, pulling my hands from him as I crossed my arms over my chest defensively. Now he can feel it for himself. “You have every right to assume that.” He frowned, barely looking me in the eye. “But you don’t,” I reminded him “Yet you easily doubted me. How’s that supposed to make me feel? Even after making it very clear that you’re the only one that does it for me. What do you expect me to do?” I asked. My cold heart crushed into tiny pieces. If I had been human, I would have cried. Instead, I let the alcohol keep me rational. The look in Ben’s eyes would forever haunt me. They were filled with even more hurt than when I announced that I kissed Stefan. I’d never seen so much hurt in a man’s eyes before, especially one that hurt me just as much to see. The anger he felt prevented him from looking pitiful. The anger aimed solely at Stefan. As totally wrong as that was, I didn’t exactly care about that at the moment. I worried as Ben gathered the right words to say. Due to the amount of alcohol he has consumed tonight, it took a few seconds longer than it normally would have. Most days he’s good at this. Today, he just happens to be in the

wearing-his-heart-on-his-sleeve mood for a change. Only after a long moment of him staring at me with contemplation did he finally express himself truthfully to me, looking me dead in the eye again. “I didn’t doubt you, Gabby. I doubted my ability to keep you. You’re way too good for me. Of course I’m automatically going to assume you finally realized that. When something seems too good to be true, it usually is,” he insists. In a desperate attempt to end all of this misery, I began looking at it differently. Flashing a flirtatious smile, I stepped the small remaining distance between us. “Sorry to disappoint you, but if I’ve realized anything tonight, it’s that I should feel bad for all of those women’s sex lives that you’ve ruined. Living with constant disappointment must be frustration. wonder they’re all willing to get rid of me to get to you. Except, I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you.” I seduced him into a corner, my insistence only turning him on. Unable to resist, he quickly kisses me without bothering to think twice. Now if any kiss proved anything tonight, it was this one. This kiss made Stefan’s kiss look like a grade school kiss, proving my judgment had been right. Ben’s kiss was the kiss I had needed all night. Just the touch of Ben’s hands caressing me made it all the better. Smelling his scent was more intoxicating. Tasting his lips was more delicious. The unbearable amount of love we shared that boiled in us both, creating the inevitable connection we have, made it irreplaceable. All of that put together made it impossible to end with just the kiss. No, we went much further than that, unable to stop even if we were stupid enough to want to. He carried me into the downstairs office, his lips managing to continuously caress mine the entire way. Being entirely overdue after our past couple of days, plus technically owed, you could say my anxiousness to prove my undivided love for him was the only thing going through my head anymore. I loved him way to much too ever let any of this damage what we have. What we’ll always have. I’m sure Marcus won’t be impressed that we decided to express this on the desk…

Both of our phones went off at the very same time. always only meant one thing. We were wanted at headquarters. Which meant Stefan was called too. Even after spending the last two hours up, followed by the last hour of up, I didn’t believe that this was a very good time to put the three of us in a small room together alone, speaking to authority six thousand miles away. But my opinion didn’t matter. It’s an order, not a request. Neither of us was anywhere near sober yet, and I didn’t even want to imagine what Stefan spent the last few hours doing. I found myself more concerned about what Mel was going to think about our current stability than putting Ben in a room with Stefan right now. Then as if my mind searched for me, my head split in two, showing me exactly what Stefan spent the last few hours doing—with Jae. My vision just being one moment in particular. I could see Jae and Stefan yelling at each other across a small familiar room, Jae’s living room. Stefan must have told Jae that he was in love with me, because the vision was of her yelling to him, “She’ll never love you like she loves him. It’ll always be him! You deserve for her to crush you!” As very relevant as the vision was, I wasn’t stupid enough to mention it. Anything Stefan related. He wasn’t ready for confrontation yet, and we were heading for him. Stefan was already there by the time we got there. Holding tightly onto Ben’s hand, I started counting the moments as we came into the communication room. Stefan didn’t move a muscle. Ben simply glared at him with disgust before looking up at Mel. Apparently the overwhelming amount of tension in the room could be seen from Italy. Mel raised her eyes at Ben. “Is there a problem between you two?” she asked suspiciously, catching that obvious hateful glare from Ben to Stefan. “Nope,” he lied, flashing a perfected fake smile. Keeping our more personal lives to ourselves was a must within the agency, especially with our boss. Though she isn’t stupid. I’m sure she had a pretty good idea of what could have possibly come between two men who have been so close for so long. The answer’s always the same thing. This wasn’t any different. The small smirk that

formed on the corner of her mouth as she briefly looked over to me confirmed that she knew. Fortunately, Mel thinking she knows everything is the least of our problems. We don’t have to live with her. Finally, she got down to the reason why we were here. A job, obviously. But it wasn’t just an everyday banishment job; it was an investigation job. Instead of destroying our target we have to learn every single detail about their existence and report it back. Then the master would decide the conclusion. All depending on the case. really; they’re all different. “There’s two guys in Seattle that I want you guys to watch for me for a couple of weeks or however long it takes to get me something useable. You can have the remainder of the week, but on Monday you’re mine, in Washington. Be prepared. That is why I’m giving you notice. Fix that, and go.” That probably couldn’t have come at worse time either. She enjoyed that. The moment the screen went black, we were out the door. Ben didn’t even bother to look at Stefan this time. But I did, apologizing for Ben’s behavior with my thoughts without Ben noticing. I’m afraid the next button we push may be the last. Right about now, he’s similar to a ticking time bomb, an atomic one. Learning you’re going to spend the next couple of weeks with the one person who hurt you the most along with the main cause of that hurt can make you feel pretty homicidal. I could feel it too. I’m sure Stefan wasn’t exactly thrilled either. But apparently he had more hope than Ben did. Once outside HQ, Stefan bravely stopped Ben. The confrontation begins. At least we were in public, on an active street with many possible witnesses. I didn’t have to worry about them killing each other without Marcus here to command them not to. As badly as I hated this, I knew it needed to happen. They needed this. It wasn’t all about me. I just happen to be the problem itself. “You can’t just resent me. We have to talk,” Stefan insisted, knowingly picking at a fresh wound, still clearly determined to fix it with him. As expected, Ben naturally became even more defensive than he already was. “What could you possibly expect me to say to you, Stefan? You want me to tell you that it’s okay for you to fall in love with the only girl I’ve ever cared about, letting it interfere with my relationship, making out with my girlfriend. Out of all the girls in the world, you fall in love with the only one I’ve ever fell in love

with. Tell me this, Stefan. If she did want to be with you, would you just take her from under me just like that without even thinking twice about it?” Ben sneered, tainted with pure evil and alcohol. The tension was unbearable, even for me. Stefan was now standing up for himself also, becoming defensive. “Have you lost your mind?” Stefan barked, apparently offended. “You’re my brother! I’d never take her from you. That was never my intention, I told her that. As if you’d even think that little of me. I’m not Sylas. Still I get treated as if I am. It’s offensive.” “Offensive?” Ben huffed. “What’s offensive is my brother kissing my girlfriend not just once but twice now. If you don’t intend to rip us apart then why’d you do it?” Stefan flashed a sarcastic smile. “I’m glad you asked!” he exclaims, tainted with sarcasm. “I did it because she needed me to, to see what she felt when she did. I’m in love with her, why the hell would I deny her that?” The amount of control it must have taken Ben not to crush Stefan’s skull into dust at that very moment was of something that should be honored. Though he didn’t say a word, I’m sure his thoughts painted it very clearly enough for Stefan. I, on the other hand, was stuck on the sidelines. Then Stefan got ballsy again, refusing to back down. He began rambling pitifully. “You should be grateful! At least now she knows that I’ll never measure up to you. At least when you kiss the girl that you’re in love with you don’t have to hear her think about how she feels so much more for someone else, in love with someone else entirely. Maxi was right. Being nothing to somebody is so much worse than anything else. So hate me all you want, Ben. You won’t be the only one,” Stefan whined. Ben laughed straight from hell. “Do you expect me to feel sorry for you? The only one I feel sorry for is Jae. For some unexplainable reason, she actually does love you. The one person in the world that actually puts all of your flaws aside and actually chooses with her own free will to be with you, and you do nothing but betray her. Not only do you fuck every girl you drain first, you’re in love with someone else entirely. The same someone that showed your own brother how to love in the first place. How can you live with yourself hurting everyone

close to you? You’re selfish, Stefan. You deserve nothing less than to spend the rest of your miserable existence a lonely man.” The grin that came over Stefan wasn’t a good sign. I just wanted it all to stop. such luck. “I know. You’re right, Ben. But last time I checked, so did you. Just because you learned to love doesn’t change the fact that you destroyed lives. You heartlessly choose to hurt them. I didn’t choose it.” Stefan had that “Who’s selfish now” look on his face, endlessly making this so much harder than it needed to be. They were so determined to belittle each other that I wouldn’t have been surprised if they completely sidetracked my presence. Ben practically growled at Stefan, stepping closer to him, intimidating, his eyes boiling a mean black. “I’ve never once said that I’ve never been selfish,” he insisted hard. “I’ve been cold, and I’ve been heartless. I’ve even destroyed entire families, but never my own. That’s more of Sylas’s thing… So you can call me a hypocrite all you want, if that’s what makes you feel better about yourself. I’d still never do this to you. Even if she decided right now that she did love you more than she loves me, I wouldn’t fight it. I’d be destroyed, but as long as she was with who made her happiest, I’d let it be. Not just for her, but for you too because your my brother and you’re important to me. But she doesn’t love you, luckily for me. I may not deserve her any more than you do, but for some miraculous reason that I’ve yet to determine, she does love me almost as much as I love her. So it’ll be a freezing fucking day in hell when I let you or anyone else take that from me. Understand?” even gave methe chills. Yet Stefan continued to brush it off. I guess after decades of abuse you become immune. He continued to hide his shame behind that fake grin. I couldn’t help but feel guilty for all of this. Nobody would hurt if I just didn’t exist. That thought caused Stefan to switch his attention to me only long enough to give me an acknowledging glare. As he glared back at Ben, Ben then instinctively looked back at me, reading me just as well without having to be telepathic. That’s one of the few downfalls of being so close to somebody. When Ben glared back at Stefan, Stefan finally responded. “Sure, I understand… You’ll fight to the death to keep her, but if she goes willingly you’ll just let her

go? Except you could never just really let her go. She’s everything. She’s the only one you’ve ever loved. How do you possibly let go of that?” backward analogy was giving me a headache… Vampires don’t get headaches. “You don’t. You just accept it for what it is, sacrifice your own happiness to assure hers,” Ben replied. Stefan didn’t say much. Not with his words. Though the very resentful glare he flashed as he walked away dramatically said what his mouth didn’t. Since every word Ben had said was true, I cared more about Ben than Stefan’s drama fest. In hopes to return the favor for once, I stepped closer and gently took his hands in mine. Staring up at him with every fraction of affection I had, I whispered to him, “You want to know the ‘reason’ why I happen to love you and not Stefan?” “I’m sure your gonna tellme,” he replied softly with a smirk, demeanor already lightening. Returning the smirk, I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck, causing him to hold me tightly in his arms. I looked him dead in the eye, more than ready to pour my heart out for him. think that’s the least he deserves. “The first time I ever laid my eyes on you, this indescribable feeling came over me, and I just knew that my heart was not safe around you. Then the second time I saw you something inside of me changed, like a switch had been flipped. And ever since then, every time I look at you I’m smothered with the comfort of your security, and I suddenly feel like we’re the only two people in the world. That’s just when I look at you. Everything else you do just makes me love you that much more. Like that infatuated look in your eyes, as if I am the only girl in the world. Or the way you fight off all my own demons by simply holding me in your arms. Then there’s the way your scent intoxicates me, making you even more irresistible. You don’t have to try for me to love you. It’s who you are, not what you do. I love you. Everything else that defines us is just what makes us perfect for each other. These are all things that can’t be taken from us. We’re indestructible in every possible way,” I informed him, seducing him to the point of no return at the same time. Ben responds by kissing me with the most shocking kiss of my life. Using all of the love we had, we created the ultimate kiss, falling in love with him all over again.

Unfortunately moments don’t last forever. So before we made this moment into much more than a moment, we unwillingly forced ourselves to let go of each other and head home. We couldn’t hide from our life forever. Just for now. The sun was just starting to rise by the time we got home. There was no recent sign of Stefan, so that made being there a little easier. Hiding was typical for Stefan whenever he’s ashamed. I’d at least assumed he would have at least stopped here before going wherever it is that he went. But he hadn’t come anywhere near here. Everyone else just continued about as if everything were fine, rightfully assuming that it was the last thing we wanted to talk about now. Thankfully for once we could come home and not be socially attacked. It was nice. Still I found myself curious as to what it would be like if we didn’t live here. It was a very time-consuming thought. I often found myself distracted by it. Right now was not the time to be distracted. In just a few days the three of us will spend the next couple of weeks at least in Seattle. We had to get in as much time as we could with Luka. He develops tremendously in two weeks. I had to force myself not to think about it too much and just enjoy the time I had now with him everyone else that matters.

7:42 a.m. I received a phone call from Eddie, one of his last. He informed me that his condition had reached its prime. He wouldn’t make it to see the end of the mouth. All of the ways Eddie had prepared me for this for all these years seemed to surface out of nowhere. Just in time. Still it reminded me that if it’s not one thing, it’s always another. I’ve had all my life to grieve the day that I would lose Eddie. Right now, I still have my own life to focus on. A life that will still be long after Eddie isn’t. Doing exactly what he trained me to do. It’s exactly what he’d want. I just had to hope that Jonathan was currently stable enough to do the same. He, I could still focus on. He’ll always be a part of my own.

Happy endings are for fairy tales.

Chapter 30

There’s No Place Like Home

Friday, last weekend of March

Somewhere in between Seattle and our destination, home, Ben managed to slip us onto a different trail separate from Stefan. After spending the last seventeen days practically glued to each other’s hips, any time alone was much appreciated. I had absolutely no idea where we were going, Ben’s hand led the way. “You look like you could relieve some tension,” he said, smirking with contempt. “You don’t have to drag me out to no-man’s-land for that…” I chuckled flirtatiously. “We’ll get to that . . . But first I’m gonna show you something,” he insisted, his eyes glimmering back at me. “, I see it all the time. I really don’t think it’s necessary to waste our valuable time,” I teased. He paused. “Humor me,” he whispered, staring seductively into my eyes. “,” I whined, tucking away the sexual tension for just a little while longer. We managed to sneak in a few hours to ourselves here and there the past couple of weeks but nowhere near enough than what we’re used to. My hormones felt combustible. Just a couple of minutes after ing through California, Ben led us through grounds rarely touched by mankind. There probably hasn’t been a human here in a thousand years. Nor would one be capable of reaching it even if they wanted to.

We didn’t have any trouble with it. Following Ben, as usual, we managed our way through a small opening at the bottom of a cliff, no wider than I was tall. Following it through to the other side, we came out into a meadow. Just beyond the meadow was a creek. Stepping from rock to rock, we made our way downstream. Being totally caught off guard, I paused in awe when we got there. We stood on top of a seventy-foot waterfall. The water below was so naturally clear that I could see each grain of sand perfectly underneath it, along with all of the other natural things that live in bodies of water. Ben didn’t have to tell me what we were doing here for me to know. One of the best and only way for our kind to leave any of our tensions is to be swimming. Having to push against the strength of water causes us to actually use our muscles. Swimming is not an effortless task for us. Therefore, it allows us to relieve ourselves, body and mind. Kind of like yoga or meditation. We jumped in sync, a jump that could kill had we not been blessed with immortality. The moment we hit the water, we were long gone. Pushing ourselves as hard we could, we flashed with the current a few miles and then back against it. For once actually using the energy we continuously have. I felt brand new. Half naked, soaking wet, and sexually frustrated, I slid into Ben’s arms, with nothing but the moonlight reflected down off of our smooth granite skin. way he whispered sweet nothings in Italian sent shivers down my spine… I couldn’t have possibility wanted him more. That made finally getting him that much more enjoyable; everyone knows you have to wait for the best moments in life. This was one of them. We’ve been waiting for this day for weeks, for this moment for days. And I couldn’t have been more pleased. After the suffering we all endured, we deserved a few moments before finally going home. I needed this before facing the fact that we haven’t seen our ridiculously fastdeveloping son in seventeen long important days either. He’ll be in the teenage development stage any day.

During the twelve minutes that it took us to finally return to the house after being gone, the anxiety was torturous. My now beatless heart anticipated seeing the only other boy in the world that holds my beatless heart in the palm of his hand—. Seeing everyone else will be nice too… Apparently, Stefan didn’t feel the need to make a pit stop on the way home; he just went. He was already settled in and miserable as always already. I had to pick and choose very carefully when and where not to react to his hasty attitude lately. This would be a when-not kind of time. Stefan was the furthest from the person I wanted anything to do with today. Our forced time together was over now. I didn’t have to communicate with him anymore. Not until Mel gives us another job anyway. The fact that Ben and I came in two hours late, soaking wet and clearly rejuvenated, we practically had it written on our foreheads. Apparently we were way too calm to have just come back from two weeks in our own personal hell. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out, just a coven of vampires. Once the initial shock of seeing Luka for the first time in two weeks wore off, I was finally able to enjoy seeing him. Not just being sad at how unbelievably fast he’s growing. He had only been alive six months, but he is as grown up as any ordinary eleven—to twelve-year-old human boy. Except Luka’s far too smart for his own good. His fast aging may stun me, as it does any mother, but at least at the same time I get to catch a glimpse of an ancient time. If it looks like the devil and kills like the devil . . . As I’ve seen many times, Luka looks more and more like Ben every day single day, their attitudes one and the same, along with their way of thinking. It’s like I have two of them, only one’s smaller and less of a dick to everybody except us. Even though I had only just returned home, I still had other people whom I wanted to see. So I headed upstairs to change my clothes and grab the keys to my car that I missed oh so very much while we were away. I had to it, I was sad that I didn’t bring her with me. Anxious as usual, Vanessa followed me upstaries, practically jumping in circles

around me on our way. She immediately started rambling. Though catching my full attention from the start, it didn’t stop me from fixing to go see my brother. I continued about while she spilled what she was so strung up about. “So that Daniel kid came looking for you while you were away. didn’t tell me how cute he is! If he was one of us I’d be over that!” “Don’t even think about it.” “Okay, fine… No killing the kid. he’s just so cute! Such a waste…” “You’ll find another poor boy’s soul to steal, along with all six pints of his blood…” Vanessa sighed and danced away, probably in search of that poor boy. She can be a little… sometimes. That’s probably the reason she’s spent all of this time alone —she just kills every boy girl who starts to know her a little too well or like her a little too much. Sometimes if your heart is broken badly enough, it may never be fixed. In Vanessa’s case, her heart has been shattered for decades. She just smothers it all with big smiles and positive attitudes. ’d be enough to throw me into hiding too. Then as I started thinking about what she said, I realized something. “Vanessa… ?” She appeared in the doorway a moment later. “How’d Daniel know to find me here? The only way he could have known is if somebody told him that he could find me here. Only that someone obviously didn’t know that I was outta town or just didn’t care… ,” I thought aloud to her. She shrugged. “I don’t know… But that’s definitely a question worth asking.” Her smirk of contempt was amusing enough. And luckily for Daniel Clarity, I really wanted to see my brother, now. I flashed Vanessa a wide smile and grabbed my keys, flashing out the bedroom door and down the stairs in the same moment. Vanessa followed closely behind me. “You wanna come with me?” I asked Luka, who was stretched out on the floor in front of the flat screen. He may be growing up way too fast, but he’s still my

little momma’s boy. Hooked just like his dad. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Luka flashed to his feet and was out the door before I had even moved an inch. When I did, I stopped for Ben for a moment, always finding it difficult to tread away from him no matter how much time we spend together. “Stay safe,” he insists as he goes in to give me a kiss, a very pleasurable kiss to last me while I’m away from him. I had to cool myself down for a moment to avoid an awkward one before stepping outside with Luka, it all the more for Ben. “Don’t have too much fun without me,” I teased just as I flashed out the front door, leaving Ben in the house with everyone except Luka and me. It brings back days he’d rather not relive. He hates it, just as much as I hate leaving him. But nobody can spend every single second of eternity with someone. That’s just asking for it… Luka was already waiting for me in the car, anxious and full of energy as usual, glowing with the smile that always makes my day. One great part about Luka’s vast development is that he no longer hates the car. In fact, he probably enjoys it just as much as the ones that made him do. And after flashing around Seattle in the middle of night for over two weeks, being behind the wheel of my car again was almost as exhilarating as being a vampire in the first place. Immortality may have taken the purpose of my car away from me, but it’ll never take my desire. Not until I’m nothing but ash. I’m used to having Jon and Sara only a couple of minutes away. But on this particular day, I didn’t mind driving the extra ten minutes to Willow Creek. After the relieving way my day is going, a little driving was exactly what I needed to top it all off. Plus Luka loved it, adding fuel to my fire. By the time we actually got there, I was so naturally high that I almost felt too good. It was enough to put me on the verge of suspicion. Except at the same exact time, my mind shifted from that quickly to another. The familiar scent that I caught was not that of a recent one but one at least a couple weeks old. Not just because the scent was almost faded but because I’ve been with him almost every minute since then. The scent of Stefan is not one that I’ll fail to recognize.

I continued into the cabin with Luka, listening to both Jon and Sara’s every move on the way. I could hear Jon’s foot tapping away at the coffee table as he sat restlessly in front of the television. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the cabin, I could hear Sara typing away on her laptop in the den. With not as many painful emotions haunting me today, I seemed to find myself bored, bored enough to sneak up on Jon for my own personal pleasure. Something he would inevitably do to me had he still had the pleasure of that ability. Of course Luka being just like Ben in every possible way, he found it just as amusing as I did, probably more, being an immature boy. This gives me the pleasure of experiencing something I wasn’t here to see, Ben’s youth. He’s picked apart mine; fair is fair. I snuck my way in through an open window and stood absolutely still behind the couch, waiting. Then for that spit second that the screen on the television turns black in between frames, my reflection was revealed on the television, causing him to spin around while leaping frantically to his feet defensively. I smiled widely at him in great amusement. Jon tried to hold onto his aggression while his natural adrenaline fought against him, eventually chuckling it away in defeat. “You’re a dick, Gabby,” he stated bluntly, not bothering to fight his also amused grin, way of telling me of his lack of giving a damn because he too knows he’d do the same to me had he still had the chance. Luka gratefully stole Jon’s place on the couch, already flipping through the channels continuously until he caught a full quick glimpse of something he was interested in—cars, of course. Rolling my eyes back to Jon, his lack of surprise toward Luka raised even more suspicion. There was a lot he wasn’t telling me. But the real question was one do I dig out of him first? Well, that was easy. “When was the last time you saw Luka, Jon?” I asked, eyeing him with the most obvious suspicion in hope he wasn’t to unfocused to notice and also to avoid

unintentionally putting Luka on the spot too. It was all connected to Jon, so Jon’s going to tell me, everything. I could even feel my natural evil flowing through me gracefully. I could only imagine how much of it Jon could see at my very revealing moment. He desperately tried to hide it to avoid offending me, but you can’t hide fear from us. It’s the most fueling human emotion there is. It’s also the most dangerous them. It only makes us lust their sweet blood even more. Jon swiftly looked down at Luka and then directly back at me. His eyes bravely locked into mine, knowing I could just compel him at any moment to tell me anything I wanted to know. He just underestimates my will not to. Fear can cloud lots of things about someone. No matter how close you are. Then the look in his eyes changed. As if he wanted to tell me. Still he held his stubborn, tense demeanor as he did so. “I’ve been seeing Marcus a couple of times a week to talk about things. I’d go over there to get out of here. This whole hiding thing makes me stir-crazy. brings me. I just saw Luka over there a few days ago, and every other day I was there too. Is that okay with you, or do you have another ridiculous objection?” he said, crossing his arms across his chest o. Sympathetic, I simmered down on the evil and appeared more apologetic. “No… There’s nothing wrong with that, no need to get hasty on me. When someone feels the need to keep something from me, I’m natural suspicious. So are you… ,” I reminded him. He rolled his eyes but replied with amusement, “That’s everyone’s instinct.” He smirked past the offended demeanor. With still one bigger question on my mind, I couldn’t help but find his choice of words rather. So after a chuckle or two, I finally looked up to him with all of my evil this time and asked in the most polite voice I could currently use, “So tell me why Stefan was here?” him would have been way too easy. I wanted him to this. He swallowed hard, suddenly becoming rather nervous. Grinding his teeth, he now avoided eye as he gathered a response.

“Don’t lie to me, Jon. I know he was here, just tell me why. It’s not a big deal, I’m just curious,” I added, more casually this time in hopes to calm him down a smudge. Enough to get him to talk to me not out of fear. It pains me to do these things to him. Whether he’d do the same had it been him with the power or not. Eventually, he stepped around the couch and made his way toward me, dropping his arms along with his arrogant demeanor, of it anyway. Now standing directly in front of me, without the use of magic, he spilled. “I wanted to tell you, but Stefan asked me not to. know how I am with promises. But he never told me to lie to you if you were to ask, so I guess that’s his fault… ,” he began to say. He broke eye as he looked at the floor, scratching his head,. After a low deep breath, he looked back up at me. His unfaithful eyes glimmered at me shamefully. As much as I have felt bad, I didn’t. I couldn’t, not with the subject being. Jon took another deep breath, preparing for a full confession. “A couple days before you guys went to Seattle, Stefan came ta see me… About you. He told me all about bein’ in love with you and kissing you, both times. Jus like Caleb used to, he jus wanted to talk to someone that knows you without seeing you ina sexual way. Apparently that only leaves me… You can’t blame the guy, he was a mess. You should know he was with you right before he came here, right after you received the Seattle assignment… ,” he said. As if I didn’t . Unfortunately, I could have figured out that much on my own. I was a little more curious than that. I sighed, attempting to keep my balance here. My recently revived demeanor made that task far more easier than it usually is. Still, in order to keep this honesty streak going on, I maintained my insistence. “What’d you say to him?” I asked hard through my teeth, boiling with worry as to the answer. With Caleb it was one thing—he was my boyfriend, his best friend. Stefan is neither of those things. That didn’t settle so well with me. He was obviously hesitating. Again he was barely capable of even looking at me. But apparently he must have known if I didn’t get a believable answer, I would compel him, no doubt about it. He quickly snapped out of his hesitation as if a switch had been flipped. Now looking me back in the eyes again.

Though the heat was boiling between the two of us, it didn’t even matter to me at the moment. I could fix that later. Right now, I just wanted the truth. Jon shrugged. “I just told him that the best thing he could do for himself was to just try to forget about it. When you have your heart on someone, that’s it, you don’t tend to make exceptions. That’s not part of who you are, though I did say I was surprised you willingly kissed him… Can’t say I saw that one coming…” “That’s all you said?” I quickly asked, sensing a piece missing. “Pretty much…” He shrugged again. “Pretty much?” I sneered. “Either that’s all you said or it isn’t. ‘Pretty much’ isn’t an answer.” Jon sighed in frustration. “Okay, fine!” He barked, hating himself. He’d never know how much it pained me, but it wouldn’t do me any good. Once again caving in, he spilled. “I may have told him that you’re not exactly the same girl I grew up with anymore but that I could have been wrong. ’re not much of a sharer. For all I know, you could love them both, or neither. I’m just your mortal brother that’s too damaged to handle the details of your new life…” The fact that he truly feels that way about me pained me more than I could have even imagined. Now I felt as if I was betraying him too. That was a more personal inflection than what I’m used to. I had to fix it. “I deserve that… ,” I itted. “You’re right… I’ve held back on telling you things that I normally would have. But you have to know that it’s always for your own good. Jon, if I don’t tell you something, then I obviously saw a way for it to hurt you in one way or another. And as far as the whole Stefan thing, there was just nothing to tell. I’m not in love with him. Kissing him was just to prove that to both of us. You were right the first time. I don’t make exceptions. I may be different, but when it comes down to it, I’m still me.” He took that in for a moment.

In his moment of attempt to understand, I suddenly had the urge to do a little explaining. Shed a little light on exactly what I am. If I tried hard enough, I could what it was like, being on the oblivious side of someone so close to you. Except for Jon it was even worse. I’m his little sister. “Ever wonder how some vampires can be so cold and soulless while others like me and the rest of the coven are still equipped with our human emotions?” I suddenly asked. It was clear he had never thought of it. The sudden curiosity that came over him instructed me to explain. Without the slightest hesitation, I did. “We can only become that way when we lose touch with our feelings, our humanity. The less emotion we use, the faster we lose it. Nomads are typically the ones to lose touch. Spending decades alone will even make a human lose touch. That’s why the rest of us do everything we can to stay close to the ones closest to us. That’s why it’s my right to choose to stay connected to you after my transformation. If we lose our ability to love or feel comion, any of it, it’s nearly impossible to get it back. If we let ourselves lose it in the first place, there’s probably no reason to get it back anyway. Immortality is more of a curse than anything. Sticking around to watch everyone you’ve ever known eventually die isn’t exactly settling, even for us. I don’t want you to ever feel like I’m slipping away from you. You’re my brother, Jon. I could never lose that. You mean too much to me. Even if I did end up alone long enough to lose my humanity, you probably won’t be here still to see it anyway. But now, as long as I do have you, I couldn’t possibly lose touch. You are a living part of me. There isn’t any connection more indefinite than that, besides Luka. I may be different, and my soul may be marked by Satan, but it’s still mine.” The kind of information Jon was currently processing was enough to make anyone’s head spin. did mine, though I didn’t have the slightest clue as to what to expect from him. So I just waited, anticipating while he gathered his thoughts. The confusion doubling out of him smothered me by the second, filling me with suspense. Then after six excruciating long seconds, he finally looked over at me, dead in the eye. The stillness of the room would have given me shivers if such a thing were still possible.

His tone caught me completely off guard, underestimating him. “I don’t want you to have to worry about what I think. It’s just that I can only see what I know. When you tell me half-truths, I’m left to fill in the rest myself,” he said as casually and as heartfelt as one could have only hoped. I had expected him to bark at me in offense, wounded by the choices I’ve made in the last year. Plus with Eddie on the verge of being no longer, I’m certain he’s a train wreck. How he managed to have the conversation without losing his top was beyond me. I could hardly keep mine concealed. I sighed, in a desperate attempt to be as strong as him. How ironic. “I know.” I breathed. “I realize that sometimes good intentions end with not-so-good results. would think I would have learned my lesson by now, but still my first instinct always tells me to keep it all away from you. Shield you from the evil as much as I possibly can… ,” I itted. Jon’s expression flattened, far from understanding. “Evil?” he sneered. “Gabby, you’re my sister. The only I got. I don’t give a shit about evil! There isn’t enough evil in the world to keep you from me.” if only that were true, I wouldn’t have to do something that I swore to myself I never would. I flashed a sarcastic smile, trying to hold back the chuckles at his ridiculous pride. “You sure about that?” I laughed, eager to prove him wrong. “What you think is evil is merely imaginary compared to full-fledged demonic evil,” I continued. “When Lucifer loved his father more than the flawed man and wouldn’t bow down to them, he banished him into hell. And cast down all of the other angels that sided with Lucifer, along with the ones that didn’t decide soon enough. When he did that, Lucifer created us as a vengeance against man. Ever since, every sinful soul that is sent to hell is tortured until there’s nothing human left, turning their souls into demons. That evil is what we’re made of. The natural evil that flows through us constantly alone is more than I ever want to expose you to. If you even had any idea, you’d never see us the same. Your fear alone would be far too overwhelming to even be in the same room with you without wanting to rip your throat out,” I explained bluntly and directly as I possibly could. Still, there was that offended look again. Before he even said it, I knew what he

was going to say—without cheating. “Who are you to be the judge of that?” he sneered, desperately trying to keep his voice down to avoid attracting Sara’s attention. “At the end of the day, you’re still my little sister. I don’t care what you are,” he insisted firmly, all big brother like. Officially now in defensive mode, I sneered back at him. “Oh really? You willing to bet your sanity on that?” “Ya, I am,” he quickly defended. Every particle on the right side of my mind begged me not to do this, while the other more arrogant stronger side of me saw this as a chance to make him understand. Avoid having to have this conversation again. I’ve been soft on him long enough. I stepped into his bubble, purposely making him uncomfortable. “Okay then. You wanna hear all about it?” I asked rhetorically, not pausing long enough for him to answer. “How about I tell you about my last refuel. Three days ago, Ben and I managed to drain six people in less than ninety seconds, just like that. Four days before that, we dragged a group of people into a dark alley and slaughtered them one by one while the rest watched as we killed them all. Then we watched as we burned them into nothing but ash. It’s so exhilarating that it’s literally impossible not to enjoy every moment of it… yet?” His silence encouraged me to go on, regardless of his silence being a sign of terror. “All right, wanna know about how right before I left for Seattle I seduced two men into following me into an abandoned building just so I could satisfy my constant urge to quench my thirst. It’s almost like being a drug addict, only living with bloodlust is far worse, especially when I have the power of the world in my fingertip with very little capable of stopping me. So don’t tell me that evil won’t hurt you because it will, denying it or fighting it will make it that much harder—” “All right, I get it!” he quickly interrupted before I could say another word. “need ta draw the line somewhere… But not tellin’ me about seeing and speaking to Caleb since he died. How is that somethin’ you should keep from me?”

That was not a question I wanted to get into right now. Caleb in general was not something I wanted to get into right now. “Ugh, seriously?” I whined. “You were holding onto him to tightly as it was. Just because it may or may not have helped me doesn’t mean you have the same odds. That wasn’t a risk I was willing to take,” I informed him insistently. “Letting me find out on my own was?” I nodded firmly. After rolling his eyes at me, Jon began pacing the floor slowly in front of me. The look on his face reminded me of when we were kids. His look of serious thought always used to tell me that something was bothering him, even if he wouldn’t tell me himself. When he had that look, I just knew. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my brother. But he was absolutely right; I had to draw the line somewhere. If I didn’t, he’d either end up like us, something I’d never let happen, or he’d end up killed by another one of us, something else I’d never let happen. He had only paced for under a half a minute, but it felt much longer. I just wanted this conversation to be over with. For once, I wish I didn’t have to spend all of my time worrying about our lives crumbling beneath us, too suddenly for any of us to stop it; even the psychic ones. Jon stopped directly in front of me again. This time he did so with less emotion fogging his view of things. I envied his ability to clear the fog so easily like that, simply by taking a moment to gather his thoughts. That’s a human trait I will always miss dearly. “Look, how about we make a deal… ,” he suggested. “You only tell me what you feel necessary, and only when I feel the need to ask more will you tell me more. I don’t want something like this to get between us. It doesn’t have to be that way if we don’t let it.” What was there to argue with? “Sounds like a good deal to me.” I sighed with a sense of relief. I was relieved that we were able to come to a conclusion rather than storming away from each other in a fit of rage like we tend to normally do. It was nice.

After being here just over ten minutes, the sound of Sara’s waddling footsteps finally making their way into the living room from the den caught my attention. As she entered the room, Jon and I both paused after looking back at her. The company of Luka and I caught her off guard, but as soon as the surprise wore off it was quickly replaced with excitement. She practically jumped for joy. “Oh my god, Gabby! You have no idea how good it is to see you!” she exclaimed, suddenly full of life. Her arms quickly and without hesitation wrapped tightly around me in a familiar hug. Just as happy to see her, I hugged her back as gently as I could, more focused on not hurting her than the moment itself. Another downfall of being much stronger than the ones you love. “Come on, I have lots to tell you! Then I wanna hear all the juicy details that I’ve missed these past two extremely long weeks!” she insisted, pulling me by the hand back to the den. In a moment of amusement, Jon smirked at me and chuckled as Sara yanked me away. Once in the den, Jon gratefully took the deed of entertaining Luka for me while I entertained Sara. We collapsed onto the ancient beanbag chair in the corner of the room together. Her glowing eyes glimmered at me in overwhelming excitement. Moments like this almost made me feel slightly human again, taking me back to those simple, boring days. Most vampires say that their human lives are cherished. Not mine. If I cherish any life, it’s this one. Regardless of who and what I’ve lost on the way. I have more now than I ever had. If Caleb hadn’t died, I may have been stuck in that very life until I eventually died that way. Retiring at ELG, having an ordinary life. No, thanks. I like my very un-ordinary life just fine, even if it does have its bumps in the road. What life doesn’t? There’s always the bad with the good. So if I’m going to deal with the bad either way, my good better be worth it. Sara and I spent well over an hour catching up. She told me everything there was to know about everyone we’ve ever known whether I wanted to know or not. Then she asked twenty questions about my personal relationships. That’s the

famous Sara. It wouldn’t be catching-up time if Sara didn’t pick apart my sex life. Luckily for me, most of it was way too much information for me to even tell. I didn’t care how badly she wanted to know. My personal memories of Ben were to stay just that-memories. Not gossip. Honestly, it was nice to share what I could with someone that wasn’t too close to Ben to see it in a nondisturbing way. I didn’t have very many options, which is probably why I understand Stefan’s reasons for going to Jon. Though I may not like it, I did see his reason. I couldn’t deny that. “As glamorous as this visit is, I should really get Luka back. I’ve been back just a couple of hours, and over half of that was spent here. I’m procrastinating… ,” I announced once in doorway of the cabin. I looked over at Jon, who was walking Luka to me. “Call me if you hear from Eddie… I’ll call you if I hear from his doctors…” He nodded in agreement swiftly, looking down at Luka. No matter how many times you look at Luka, it doesn’t get any easier. The magic is a lot to bear. It’s hard to look away. Then as a sudden thought came to mind, his eyes quickly jumped to mine, his mind only circling one exact thought. “Have you… seen anything?” he dared to ask. Disappointed with the answer myself, I felt myself frown as I shook my head. I’ve spent so much time searching to see something, anything, regarding Eddie, but I always come up empty. Jon’s frown now matched mine, and Luka and I now made our way out the door. He didn’t even say one word to me as we got into the car. That was very unusual for my very spontaneous little boy. When it comes to me, Luka always voices his opinion, usually for my benefit. This particular night, he didn’t have anything to say. His entire demeanor scared me. He looked so much like Ben that it actually terrified me, attitude and all. If he wasn’t mine I probably wouldn’t believe that he wasn’t born magically created as Ben’s clone.

On the plus side, he’s undeniably adorable and far too clever for any of us to get anything past him. The wonderful life of living as the supernatural. Then when I least expected it, just as we were entering into town from Willow Creek, Luka’s silent streak stopped. “Uncle Jon needed that… ,” he informed me, presumably easing my mind. I couldn’t help but smile. Every single thing he does gives me that warm “motherly joy” inside. It’s a feeling absent in our world. Considering I’m the only mother to ever survive the birth of a baby vampire, I may literally be the only one of our kind even capable of experiencing this feeling. How could I not feel like the luckiest girl in the immortal world? Ironic as it is, I’m blessed. Then like clockwork, that feeling quickly faded as we became close enough to the house to sense it. Everyone was there. Jae and Sylas included. The exact opposite of what I needed. I tried my hardest not to let it affect me. Clearly I may not be ready to be here yet, dealing with everyone else again. But that isn’t their fault. Blowing everyone off just to avoid dealing with them wouldn’t exactly be very familylike of me. So as much as I hated it, I sucked it up, putting on my pretty fake smile. After speeding up the driveway, the same moment I shut the car off Luka flashed out of the car and straight into the house in the time that it took me to step out of the car in a normal pace. For some odd reason that any of us have yet to understand, Luka has a different connection with Sylas than he does with any of the other boys, except Ben of course. Whenever Sylas is here, Luka never leaves his side. And Sylas never wants him to. Luka’s like the little brother Ben never wanted to be for him. As much it bothers me that Sylas is using Luka to fill a void, at the same time it was a healthy relationship for both of them. We couldn’t take that from them just because of our disapproving feelings for Sylas. Luka’s not a baby anymore; he can make his own choices. an extent, of course. He’s still a child. For now. I listened to the familiar voices as I continued to make my way into the house in just over a normal pace. As expected, Luka had run right to Sylas, ing him and Marcus in the common area. On the front side of the house in the living

room, Vanessa, Ben, and Jae sat amongst each other, rambling about Kat. Strange. Then of course there was Stefan, doing what he does best, pouting alone in his room. As pathetic as that was, I still felt responsible for his misery, regardless if it’s my fault or not. The moment I walked through the door, Jae flashed to her feet, making me very uncomfortable. I hadn’t a clue to as how she felt about her husband being in love with me and all. And not knowing ahead of time isn’t something I’m used to anymore, being ic and all. I haven’t seen much of anything lately; ever since in Seattle I can’t seem to find anything I’m looking for. I could only see the useless stuff, like the weather. What does a vampire care about the weather for? Though Jae held a nonthreatening demeanor, it didn’t stop me from being suspicious. Holding a front is petty magic, I was doing it too, hiding the fact that I didn’t trust her. “Hey, this probably isn’t the best time, but could I talk to you alone?” she asked, treading carefully as if she feared I was hiding my true feelings too. Without hesitation, I flashed my famous fake smile at her and nodded. “Sure… Just give me a sec… ,” I insisted. At the same moment she nodded in response, she was gone, heading south. When she was really gone I flashed to Ben and Vanessa. The now very visible distrusting look in their eyes told me that we were all on the same page without needing to say a word. Though that didn’t stop Stefan from seeing it through our thoughts, but he was too lost in his own self-pity to do anything about it anyway. I looked directly at Ben, excluding Vanessa. His eyes slightly squinted at me as he wondered what was on my mind. “Uh, when I get back I want to talk to you about something, but I also need to talk to Chelsea about something a little more important, so just, I don’t know. Cut me a little slack,” I insisted. But before he could respond, I was already gone, tracking Jae. I followed her scent through the mountain to the southern peak, just opposite of our little love nest. You just can’t see one from the other, which is why we tend to find ourselves in one or the other. They’re as private as we’re ever going to

get around here. Still very suspicious, I proceeded into her space carefully, instinctively observing my every surrounding. Now I wasn’t hiding my suspicion. If she was fronting, I wanted her to know that I was onto her. If she wasn’t, well, then she’ll know better than to try in the future. The shameful look in her eyes confused me. It didn’t tell me anything. So since I couldn’t define it, I ignored it. I continued to step forward defensively, staring down her every move. Once I was directly in front of her, I stopped. So did her fear of me. She sighed, shaking her head in objection. “Thank you for seeing me. I know you just got back and probably have a hundred other things you could be doing, but I just can’t stand it being like this. I shouldn’t have to fear that we no longer trust each other because of Stefan’s stupidity… ,” she said. I agreed. “I never should’ve left without having this conversation with you. You’re family, Jae. I don’t want Stefan’s selfishness to come between the two of us any more than I want it to come between Ben and me.” “Exactly.” She sighed in relief. “Neither do I… When Stefan finally itted to me that he is in love with you, I naturally wanted to resent you, but I couldn’t. It’s not your fault. And I really hope that you don’t think that it is. You don’t have to convince anyone that you’re in love with Ben. Unconditionally. Even Stefan knows that. We all know that… That exact look in your eyes at the mere mention of his name proves it. Most people would kill to be able to be in love like you two. Stefan’s just an ass. Let him be my problem. You and Ben don’t deserve to have to deal with it…” I chuckled at the obvious truth to her statement. I even recognized that look she mentioned at Ben’s name. I could feel it just moments before she said it. It’s like my entire body goes numb, and the only thing I can think about is those gorgeous eyes of his and the sexy way he looks at me with them. It sends a boiling shiver down my spine that causes me to want to throw myself at him at the mere mention of his name.

“I was hoping your natural desire to hate me didn’t prevent you from ing that there isn’t anyone or anything in the world that can even come close to what I have with Ben and Luka. Losing them would be worse than losing everyone I’ve ever lost all over again put together… I care about Stefan, ya, even though he drives me fuckin’ crazy, but that’s all it’ll ever be. And if you don’t believe me, look at it this way—I’m broken, and the only one in the world strong enough to fix me and keep me that way is Ben. He holds my pieces together. So you’re absolutely right, Stefan is just an ass.” She smiled, relieved and amused by my response. And now we were both on the same page, without any doubt about it. “All of this is just so ridiculous. We shouldn’t have even had to have this conversation. Let’s get back. Like I said I’m sure you have more important things you could be doing,” she said, proceeding back toward the house in a normal pace until I began to follow. “Now I do.” I chuckled as we both began to run in unison through the woods back to a house filled with more issues to deal with. First off, I was in desperate need of Chelsea’s guidance. As the both of us returned together, the house seemed to quiet some. Apparently they seemed surprised that we didn’t tear each other apart. Honestly, so was I at first. Then I ed that there wasn’t any reasonable reason for us to turn on each other; no one was worth damaging our friendship for forever. If we’re lucky, Stefan won’t be in love with me forever. Maybe he’ll get lucky and find himself falling out of love with me. Eventually… I hope. Otherwise, it’s going to be a very long eternity. If we all even last that long… Once in the house, I went straight to Chelsea. Too anxious to waste any more time without doing something about this. My ability to see was slipping, and she was the only one that could help me into pulling it back. I didn’t bother looking or speaking to anyone else, not even Ben or Luka. I went straight into Chelsea’s office, slamming the door behind me, and sat down, dropping my head into my hands. Chelsea slowly rose to her feet from behind her desk, making her way toward me until she sat down next to me. The calming feel of her hand on my back soothed me, to a point, enough to help. The natural warmth of her presence made

me feel safe and protected from everything, including myself. Her voice even seemed to soothed me. “What’s wrong, honey?” she whispered with great concern. I sighed in frustration, holding my head tighter. “I can’t see what I’m supposed to. It’s frustrating!” I whined. She quickly stood to her feet again, her hand now gripping my shoulder gently. “We’re going to need some space… ,” she called out, her nice way of telling everyone to the hell out of here… Using the grip she had on my shoulder, she laid me lengthwise on the couch, my hands still holding my head. In the time that it took her to kneel down next to my head, everybody was gone. It was just the two of us, suddenly making this house eerily quiet. The only sounds I heard were the unnecessary sounds of both of our light breaths. Taking my hands into hers, she slowly moved them down to my sides. Then she replaced one of her hands on the top of my head in an attempt to soothe me. “I want you to find your happy place. If you could have anything in the world, what would it be? When you get there, I want you to tell me what you see. Ignore your breathing. Don’t breathe at all if you don’t want to… ,” she instructed. So I did exactly that. I closed my eyes, searching for that happy place that she speaks of. Anything I want. Looking . . . “I see Ben,” I finally said. “Staring back at me with those beautiful fresh bloodsoaked eyes.” “What else do you see?” she asked very curiously. looked around me, inside my head. “Oblivious humans. Hundreds of them…” “What are they doing?” “Waiting to be chosen.” “For what?” I felt myself smile. “For us to eat them.”

“Okay, that’s typical. What else is there? Look around you. Look hard. What do you see?” first, I didn’t see anything else. Then as I pushed myself just a tad further, I started to see a figure in the distance, though I couldn’t see what it was yet. I moved closer. The closer I got, the more clear the figure became until finally it formed into the figure of my mother. “But your mother has been dead for a long time…” “My real mother,” I quickly clarified. “She’s ashamed of what’s here. All of it.” “Your real mother is ashamed of you in your happy place?” Chelsea asked in way that clearly said she didn’t understand. “Better than terrified,” I explained. I couldn’t see her, but I could sense her nod. The slight swift in the air next to me showed me what my eyes couldn’t. “Okay, so tell me what limited your haun— Ben, the humans, or your mother?” I tried to find it, but I just couldn’t. “I don’t know! I can’t see it!” I whined hastily, convinced that I wasn’t strong enough or willed enough. Chelsea didn’t think so. “Yes, you can!” she protested. “You have more power than you let yourself believe, Gabriella. Look harder, all the way, use it all, and just find it!” she insisted hard, more like a maker and less like my friend. It was definitely a side of her that I wasn’t used to, a side that managed to push me right into where she was trying to send me. I found myself searching deeper and deeper. Far more deeper than I’ve ever dared to go before. I could even feel my magic growing stronger by the second, filling every fragment of me. What I saw was astonishing. I wasn’t just seeing the future; I was seeing it all was like traveling back in time, seeing it all from above. I watched my mother meet my father. I watched them fall in love, so to say. I skipped the part where I was conceived and skimmed through the rest until I was born. I watched as my father took me from my mother for his own personal doing.

everything Eddie told me was a lie. My father created lots of lies; my entire life was built around them. My mother tried almost my entire life up until I was eighteen to get me back, another fact left out. But clearly she didn’t try hard enough. I didn’t even know she was my mother until it was too late. She could never know me now… All this information hitting me all at the same time caused me to quickly sit up, my eyes jumping open widely. I could feel all of my haun again, and then some. Mission accomplished—with a side of extra baggage to carry. But with my powers stronger than ever, there wasn’t anything I couldn’t see. So that made up for the dramatic way I had to pull it back. I exhaled slowly, breathing for the first time since we started, letting out all of the bad air. But this confined room just wasn’t doing it for me. I flashed to my feet. “I need some air…” I breathed again. “When Ben gets back, will you tell him to come see me? He’ll know where I’ll be…” “Of course.” Chelsea didn’t hesitate. “But ya know, this probably won’t be the last time this happens. Your emotions are a huge part of your magic. Get too stressed out, you could lose all of it, and they’ll be much harder to pull back, so try not to sweat the small stuff too much, doctor’s orders. You’re far too powerful to let you live under your capability. That being said, my advice to you is to use every ounce of it that you can, dominate it. Hook it completely, and you’ll hook it forever. Your powers will be even more extraordinary. Make all of this stress worth it,” she insisted, causing me to grin at her. I had absolutely no idea what I would do without her. So before I went anywhere, I gave her the biggest hug she deserved. “I will,” I promised, appreciating her more than she’ll ever know. To even have her in my life is a miracle I never expected to happen for me, ever. Not even my birth mother could create a connection like the one I share with Chelsea, my maker. I honor her in ways I’ve never honored anyone in my life, Eddie included. Before Chelsea, Eddie was the only one I honored. Now, I’ll lose him any day, and all I’ll have left is her. I always thought that I’d feel lost without Eddie when he left me, but now that I have Chelsea there is no chance in hell of me ever getting lost. Not with her right there behind me to help me find my way. As soon as I let go of her I was gone. Instinctive to hide just how much I feel for her, I had to get out of there before she noticed if she didn’t already. Plus I

wasn’t lying about needing some air. Not exactly air, but space, miles of it. I flashed as fast as I could to the northern peak, crossing Jae and Stefan’s distance paths on the way. But I was far away from their current location by now. At least they’re with each other, I thought to myself. That had to be a good sign. If Ben was in love with someone else, I’d make it a point to be far away from him, so far that I wouldn’t be intoxicated by his perfect face. Except every single time I look at Luka. “Shit, I hope that never really happens… That’d totally suck,” I thought to myself aloud as I reached my true life’s happy place. Our love nest, if that’s what you would call it, means much more to me than that though. We didn’t just do it here—we talk here, we sit here, and we do absolutely nothing together here. It’s our safe spot. It’s my favorite peak in the world. I sat upon the edge of it, my feet dangling over a thousand feet of cliff side. The air was cool in my lungs as I breathed it in, taking it all in. My mind was clear as I gathered my thoughts, all of them, going through each and every image that had been thrown at me in the process of reviving my haun. One by one I accepted them all, acknowledging the true facts of my former existence. All this time I couldn’t help but blame my mother for not trying hard enough to claim what was hers, allowing me to live a life that was only half mine, letting me live the other half as a lie. But now I see that, that isn’t the case at all. My mother loved me. So much in fact that eventually she decided that my life in Florida wasn’t worth taking me from. All her years of failure didn’t matter. My happiness did. Whether her good intentions were the right decision is anyone’s guess. Point being, it’s no one’s fault. Just as I went through them all, defining them to myself, I saw Ben appear behind me, along with the next couple of minutes. Then I had to stop myself from seeing the rest. As I did that, I watched him appear just as I had seen slightly behind me. Except his presence was much more real. I could feel it as soon as he came within distance from me. As his beautiful face stared back at mine, I was so drawn to him that I couldn’t even speak. I was so filled with lust that I could no longer move either. I just watched his every perfected move as he came around and sat down next to me,

his arm automatically draped around my back, holding me close to him. The comforting effect he has on me is phenomenal. All of my fears vanish just like that, as if they never existed in the first place. Without saying a single word, I just kissed him, unable to resist. I craved it far too much to wait for it. I needed his intoxicating lips to help me get through the next few minutes. But it was even harder to stop kissing him than it was to resist. I had to force myself too, regardless if either of us really wanted to. And by Ben’s disappointment I could see that he didn’t. I looked him dead in the eye, his hair tickled in between my fingers as I continued to caress him. As he stared back at me, every unselfish part of me screamed not to do what I was going to do next. But I had to. “You lost it, didn’t you?” I asked softly, but he didn’t exactly follow. The confusion in his eyes as he furrowed his eyebrows at me confirmed that. “Your ability to love,” I clarified, now completely catching him off guard. His expression went flat, and his eyes sank into a painful place. “I was talking to Jon earlier about the difference between vampires with emotions and those that have lost them, and I realized why everyone and their brother is so surprised that you’re in love with me, like it was something that was once impossible.” Ben looked as if his worst nightmare was coming true right before his eyes. As if my knowledge of such a thing could destroy him. In result that made me feel utterly awful for selfishly bringing it up. Though his inability to tell me was utterly offensive, so I guess it evens itself out. He slowly stood to his feet, standing over me, staring down with his bloody pitiful eyes, as breathtaking as they are. His unprepared nerves ran at an ultimate high, racing with mine. “Okay… You’re right, you should know these things about me. You shouldn’t even have think about bringing it up.” He sighed, more so convincing himself aloud. I raised my eyebrows at him; it wasn’t every day that I saw him so flustered that he could hardly think straight. If I had only known simply bringing up the L word would do it for him…

“All right, yes, for a very, very long time I did lose my will to love, along with every other emotion that comes with it. I never expected to get it back. Until last year when Chelsea and Stefan happened to be watching the news. I wasn’t even watching it, but somehow I managed to look over from the other room for no reason and the same exact time you were on it. And it was like a light turned on. Then Chelsea started rambling with Stefan about her visions over the years, but I was so shocked by what I was feeling that I couldn’t even hear them. I had absolutely no idea what I was feeling, but I was determined to find out. So I looked you up… The more I learned, the stronger the feeling became. Then suddenly you’re here, where I could physically see you and smell you and hear your heartbeat. That’s when it came back. All of it. The first time I ever looked at you presently. And I knew exactly what it was. I was fucking terrified. , terrified of a girl. I knew that if I was that crazy in love with you, there was no way in hell I was running away from you. I was determined to make you mine. Now here we are. Just when I think I couldn’t possibly love you any more than I already do, especially after spending a century without it, I do. I didn’t even know if I knew how to possibly love such perfection without screwing up. I still don’t know how I manage to pull it off, so when all else fails, I just do what I do best… you.” “Charming.” I smirked as I flashed to my feet, stranding close enough to touch him. “Except you left out the part where you must have done something right because here I am. Now a vampire, with you and our son. All in under a year. I’d say that’s pretty good considering when you got your ability to love back, mine was just shot in the heart—literally. You should really give yourself a little more credit,” I replied flirtatiously, so totally turned on by that charming explanation. My lips naturally found his. But only long enough for a taste. “You see me as a miracle, one that you don’t deserve. But what you don’t realize is that you do deserve it, because you’re my miracle too. I may not have actually my will to love, but I did lose my will to want to. Until I met you, then I couldn’t resist. I didn’t want to,” I whispered, looking up at him with my eyes locked onto his. Watching as every word I spoke made his eyes glisten more and more. He gently placed his hand on the side of my face, seemingly staring into my eyes as if he was looking for something. “If you think about… it’s as if our souls were designed for each other. Everything both of us ever had to deal with before this was just preparation. So we were smart enough not to screw it up. Chelsea found me, and Chelsea found you. Out of everybody in the world, she sees us. What

are the chances of that? I didn’t want my will to love back, but I got it anyway. For you. There’s nothing coincidental about any of this. All of it leads us right here.” was thinking aloud again. If it wasn’t so cute, I might have had to shut him up the old-fashioned way. do what men do and start throwing yourself at them. “Uh-huh. Which is exactly why you’re going to take advantage of the fact that destiny brought us here, show her just how grateful you are for the ability to love me, not just make love to me as you so bluntly put it…” He smiled, taking both of my hands into his. “But I can do that while making love to you, right?” “Have I ever suggested otherwise?” I replied so seductively that he didn’t bother replying with words. He just kissed me already, not wasting another second. Apparently that was all the permission he needed. All of this love talk must have really gotten him going, because he was now on a mission like never before, making me crave him all the more. We must have managed to somehow lose track of time. I can’t say that happens very often to us, but next thing we knew both of our phones won’t stop ringing. We were being called in, not by the agency but by Marcus. Sometimes I wonder which one is worse. At least we can escape Mel… By the time we actually answered, the sun was beginning to rise. For some reason the others were starting to assume we killed each other. They were panicked. As offensive as it might have been, it was more amusing to us. The reasoning for our needed attendance was a surprise all on its own level. Marcus had all of us all in the same room—Stefan, Jae, Sylas, everyone. “In three hours, everyone in this room will be at the marina. We’re taking a little. We’re going to fix this mess, and if I have to force it out of you I will. We won’t be coming back until we do,” he insisted, putting of us in a position none of us wanted to be in, and Marcus knew that. It was his point exactly.

Smart thinking, though I have a feeling we’re going to rip each other apart before any of us ever see land again. “Do whatever it is you have to do now because as of right now, your clocks are ticking. Two hours and fifty-eight minutes and you’re.” All of us vanished into separate directions. Having all the permission we needed to take advantage of our limited time…

Chapter 31

Yacht Club

Saturday, last weekend of March

A s a child, our parents tell us that monsters are make-believe. For what we think is for our own good, they check under the bed and leave the hall light on. But when you grow up, all of those little things begin to fade. You start believing it when they tell you that there’s no reason to be afraid of the dark. That is, until you happen to one day become the monster that you only as a child believed in. What no one ever tells you is that the monsters are afraid too. Afraid of the look in your eyes when you first see who we truly are, nothing but bloodthirsty monsters. It’s like for that split second, we forget we were ever even human. When you’re the creature that goes bump in the night, what else is there to be afraid of? Except the ones who fear you most.

Going to the coast isn’t something that we tend to do every day, so regardless of the circumstances it was a nice change of pace. After sipping down a couple of perverts on the way there, there wasn’t much I had to argue about. I was with the ones I’m closest to in this life. And far as I’m concerned, my brother and Sara are safer the farther we are away from them. There wasn’t anything keeping us here. Except for the fact that we had absolutely no idea where we were going. Marcus was pretty keen on that… It was barely 8:00 a.m. The others as always were already waiting on Ben and I to be the last to arrive. Vanessa bickered like a child to Marcus as they started to board the yacht. yacht I never knew we even had. Though I wasn’t stupid

enough to ask how we came into possession of it. I had a pretty good idea, knowing just how this coven operates. I didn’t have to notice all of the obvious clues to realize that the original owners of this boat we’re drained, on the boat, and their identities turned into allies, making it now Marcus’s boat. These types of things in our world are almost impossible to ignore, but they aren’t impossible to keep to oneself. I had a feeling that the only questioning that was going to happen on this trip was going to come from Marcus; Doing that whole therapist act that he practically lives for. Everyone else was just as unthrilled about unwillingly being shoved together like this, but again there wasn’t much we could do about it. Follow the leader. The game only has one rule. The exceedingly nervous look in Jae’s eyes showed me that just because I’m in the center of it all, I’m not the one who has it the worst. And neither was Jae. If we all took a second to look at Stefan we’d see that he’s the only one that can win that title. Just looking at him makes you feel as if his self-pity is rubbing off on you, for him. I tended to look past him, choosing my every move very carefully from this moment until the moment we decided to return. We all knew what this was all about. Still we all willingly threw ourselves under the microscope for everyone to examine. I think if we all really hated this idea as much as we put out, we wouldn’t be getting on this boat. Even though none of us were willing to say it, we all knew that if there was a way to fix us, we needed it. No matter what crazy strategy Marcus had come up with. By ten past eight, we were already southbound with nothing but mystery in front of us. Marcus had us all sitting as a group below, our own little group therapy session. Bloodlust Anonymous. The extremely awkward tension that poured out of most of us smothered the ones it didn’t. It made everybody here very uncomfortable. Though Marcus didn’t mind; to him emotion is a good thing. It means we still care, still have a shred of humanity. He stood in the center of us all, looking at us each individually before saying a word. Chelsea sat at the left end of the crescent we formed while Sylas sat across from her on the right side. Vanessa sat on the other side of Chelsea. Jae was in between Sylas and I, and Stefan between Ben and Vanessa.

I think that’s what made it so awkward—the short distance between Ben and Stefan when they’ve avoided even looking at each other whenever they can help it. Suddenly now that we’re being forced to make things right, they’re suddenly willing to be at less than an arm’s length away without ripping each other’s throats out. The distant between Ben and I was nonexistent. His intoxicating scent intertwined with mine, creating a cluster of our combined scent. Along with all of the other less appealing scents in the room. No one said a word to each other, and most of us didn’t even bother looking at one another. The only way that we all were going to get off this boat in once piece was if we looked at this for less than it was. Ignoring the more than obvious risks was easier than worrying about it, which would only heighten the chances. “I think we all know why it had to come to this… ,” Marcus stated. “I know you hate it, but it’s only going to get worse if I didn’t. I’m not going to let that happen. So here’s how this part of our trip is going to go. Each of you are going to put in your two cents, then afterward I’ll put in mine. By then, we should just be getting to where we’re going.” He looked directly over to Vanessa, unexpectedly putting the spotlight on her first. I can’t say I saw that one coming, but I can’t say I was surprised either. “Why me? My issues are minimal compared to everyone else!” she quickly complained. “Exactly, your issues are petty because you have nothing to cause them. Keep it up, you’ll be the one to lose your emotional will” Marcus protested, making a very valid point. The only time I’ve seen Vanessa with someone outside of this coven was Stefan and Jae’s wedding… A girl as sweet as Vanessa doesn’t deserve to spend eternity alone. I think I can see it from her view clearer than anyone else. She lost the love of her life already. I think that if Ben didn’t exist, I would end up exactly like Vanessa—alone, still feeling sorry for myself. Thankfully, Ben does exist. But apparently Vanessa hasn’t been so lucky… She sighed in frustration, clearly not ready for this conversation. Her eyes sank, forcing their way back up at Marcus, who was patiently waiting for her response as if this wasn’t as demanding as it actually was. I already felt bad for her, for all

of us. “Why do you think you still haven’t moved on from Alec after all of these years?” he asked with his psychological tone. “Why?” Vanessa sighed. “Maybe because I’ve yet to meet anyone that compares. Ben to my Gabby just doesn’t exist. That isn’t anything you can fix,” she replied hastily as if she’d answered that question in her head a hundred times already. Marcus tilted his head at her. “So if you did have someone that compared, you’d let it go?” “Yes, of course I would!” she quickly replied, a hint of desperation in her tone. Something she’s only been able to hope for for a very long time. “But I don’t see that happening. Constantly reminding me isn’t going to help either. No wonder Ben couldn’t stand us all those years. Now that the pressure is on me I can see how it pushed him so far into the opposite direction. I just don’t have someone to eventually fall back on when the sun decides to rise,” she insisted. My shared experience made my pity for her almost unbearable even for me. The sting it caused as she glared over in my direction with resentment was heartbreaking. But I couldn’t blame her; I’d feel the exact same way. Marcus directed his attention over to Ben. That, I saw coming. “Benjamin, have anything to say about Vanessa’s analogy?” Ben chuckled and rolled his eyes up at Marcus. “No. She’s absolutely right.” He shrugged. “She’s not just going to move on just because everyone wants her to. She’s only going to when she finds someone worth moving on with. Gabby just happened to practically fall into my lap. I just had to do the rest. We can’t just expect it to be that easy for her. She’ll find what she’s looking for when she’s ready,” Ben insisted, also able to relate. Though the entire time I was listening to him, I was also seeing what was really going to happen with Vanessa. Daniel. I desperately tried to conceal the fact that I had just seen anything at all. The need to say something was very far off into the distance, and I wasn’t up for reaching for it quite yet. The one person I couldn’t hide it from bravely yet simply glared over in my direction to share what suspense either of us could. Luckily, no one seemed to notice that very unexpected moment.

“Okay then, moving on,” Marcus insisted, turning back around toward Chelsea this time. I could have sighed in relief if I wasn’t so paranoid. The last name I wanted to add to this conversation was Daniel. The thought alone of Vanessa with Daniel, permanently, didn’t settle in an approving way. Honestly, simply because I don’t want Daniel in this life. That was one thing I didn’t need a second to think about to know the answer to. Daniel, being a vampire, is not an option. Whether that means Vanessa is alone or not. After all this time, she should be used to it anyway. Selfish of me, I know. But at the time, I didn’t care. “Chels, your input?” Marcus asked. It still seemed strange to me that Chelsea is the only person in the world that Marcus will refer to with a nickname. His being stuck in the 1800s thing is a little hard to get used to, but for the most part is tends to be entertaining. Chelsea briefly looked over at Vanessa then over at me before looking back up at Marcus. The rest of us sat absolutely still, just waiting for this to be over. “I think that both of our girls have lived through a tragic loss, and we shouldn’t pick at it. We have bigger problems. Nessa’s love life isn’t one of them. She had a point. We’re only pushing it away. She has forever.” Marcus seemed to nod in agreement, but you never know with him. He could just be taking it, ready to move on. He did, right over to Sylas. Great. When Marcus peeked back at Ben for a moment before saying anything, Ben’s tension heightened, and his glared turned more into a resentful stare. As Marcus looked back over to Sylas, even Sylas became tense. “Look, just because you’re not one of mine doesn’t exclude you. You’re still the mortal brother of our first. You’re family, that’s why your here. So why don’t you tell me why you think your relationship with your brother is so dysfunctional?” Sylas chuckled. “Why? Maybe because it’s easier for my brother to blame me for everything than it is to do something about it. It’s impossible to please him. I probably would have just given up a long time ago if I cared as little as he does,” he stated hard, holding back the sneer. “Oh, I care, that’s the point.” Ben did sneer. “All right, so you’ve spent a century hating him. Then what do you expect from

him, Benjamin?” “Nothing.” “Right, nothing he does will ever fix it, because you don’t want to fix it. That would involve accepting what happened to your little brother. Hating Sylas is easier, but it isn’t right. He’s still your brother. You should care about him more than anybody, no matter what he’s done, just like anyone else, like Gabby and Jon. Think about it,” Marcus insisted. The fire in the room was sky-high now and only growing stronger. Marcus jumped right over to Jae now. His way of choosing who was next was practically a mind exercise to try to figure out. One thing I knew was that it wasn’t at all random. Nothing Marcus ever does is at random or not effectively planned. Before Marcus does anything, he goes over each and every option until he finds the exact perfect one. The fact that this is what he was forced to come up with was pathetic. As he turned to Jae, he asked. “Can you tell me how you feel about these three?” He glared at Stefan, Ben, and then me before making it back to Jae next to me. “Well”—she sighed—“I already told Gabby that it’s not her fault, and that as much as I naturally feel the need to resent her, I can’t. I know that she loves Ben. I feel angry for him. They’ve been best friends for so long that it seems so utterly ridiculous that they even have to deal with this. I just don’t see how Stefan could do this to us whether he intended it or not,” She replied, seemingly calm, considering… “So you’re angry for him hurting you and for damaging his relationship with Ben?” Marcus asked, clearly needing some clarification to make sure that he was hearing her right. Jae nodded. “Me too,” Marcus agreed. “But it really isn’t Stefan’s fault. He never wanted to cause any of this. He just can’t help who he has feelings for. So what do we do about it? How do we fix it?” Marcus turned to Ben. “You hold the key to that one. What do you expect from Stefan, realistically?” he asked, causing Ben to need a moment to think about that. When that moment was over Ben didn’t look up at Marcus. He looked over at

Stefan. Surprised, Stefan finally took his head out of hands and looked over at Ben’s glare. Locking eyes for the first time in what felt like weeks was intense even to watch. I think each of us was just waiting for one of them to decide to just rip the other apart. But then as Ben started to finally answer the question, we slipped out of worry into listening. “I don’t want to hate you. But it’s difficult not to. I don’t know what to expect from you or how to fix it. But if I did, I would, because you’re more of a brother to me than Sylas ever has been, and you know that. It’s just is what it is. I can’t just forget that you’re openly in love with her,” he explained. Stefan nodded as they both looked away in an understanding. But that wasn’t enough progress for Marcus. So he sighed and turned to me. I think all of us suddenly had that “It’s going to be a long day”. “Gabriella…” He breathed, apparently desperate to think that I can help. “Your insight… Please?” he asked casually. But what everyone else couldn’t see was the begging look in his eyes. “Oh god.” I sighed, totally not up for this at all. “Uh… I think all of this is just the world’s way of making sure we don’t have it so easy…” I rolled my eyes. That wasn’t good enough either, of course. “If you could reverse it, how would you do it?” It didn’t take a genius to know that was a loaded question. It was impossible to answer altogether. But the entire point of this was that we couldn’t run away from the questions. We’re all stuck. I sighed again. “I don’t know. What the hell am I supposed to do about it? I can’t make Stefan change his feelings without deliberately making him despise my mere existence, and I can’t make Ben forgive Stefan for the unforgivable without potentially causing even more issues,” I insisted. Marcus smirked, catching me off guard. “You’re absolutely right… Which is exactly why I’m going to do it for you,” he announced. I was worried again. “First of all, everyone has to suck it up. Starting with Stefan.” That caught his

attention. “You may not be able to control your feelings for Gabriella, but you could choose what you do with them in a less obvious way. You know she’ll never be nothing more than a fantasy to you, so start acting like it and stop feeling sorry for yourself. And, Benjamin”—changed direction—“you just need to realize that Stefan is in no way a threat to you. This is easy. She’s already yours. You don’t have to fight for her. You’re the only one letting it affect everyone, including Gabriella. So just stop. “And this mess you’ve got going on with Sylas is also all just your stubbornness to let go of things that are out of our control. How long are you going to blame and resent your brother? You honestly don’t think you’ve tortured him long enough? Be at least partly human for five minutes and forget about your pride. He’s your brother, Benjamin, just like Drake was. I really doubt that this is what he wanted for his brothers. Forget about everything else. You’re still here, stop wasting it.” Now finished with Ben, Marcus forced himself to glare individually at Stefan and then over at Jae, shaking his dead in disapproval. “You two are on a completely different level. Why you haven’t just given up on him already is beyond me.” glared back at Stefan. “And why you aren’t begging her to forgive you is just pathetic. She’s the best thing that has ever happened to you, so start acting like it, and maybe you can save your relationship before you end up destroying it completely. luck with that.” He sighed. “We should be in our destination within the next fifteen minutes. Once we get off this boat, we’re not getting back on it until I see some changes. Without faking it. I’m not stupid.” Marcus now made a point to insist before allowing us to move for the first time since we boarded. Once he was up on deck, the rest of us were right behind him. If lack of air was important to us we probably would have all suffocated in there between the emotion overload and the intoxicating subjects that caused it. I just wanted air. all had a lot to think about. Still no one spoke to each other. It was still a little too soon for that. I stood with Ben in silence, letting the quiet speak for itself. Being the source of all of Ben’s current issues, I felt obligated even more than usual to stick by his side. He needed me, even if he didn’t exactly say it with his words. The pain in his eyes told me what his lack of words didn’t.

made it a point not to pay any attention to anyone else.

It was nearly ten by the time we finally arrived at our mystery destination. There hadn’t been another human scent for miles. Temptation was just out of reach for the first time for me. For the first time since I became a vampire, I didn’t have constant bloodlust haunting my each and every thought. It was a surprising break. A very much needed one. Until my throat began to sizzle The spring sun glimmered down on each of us; our combined glows created one unique violet light that seemed to shine in the distance continuously. Its beauty was radiant. But not as beautiful as the island we approached. I’d never seen anything like it in my life. The colors were brighter, the water was clearer. Every speck of sand even shined all on its own. The trees that shielded the inner island were aligned perfectly as if they had grown that way on purpose. You can’t see in and you can’t see out. Only that was the least of what this island provided. Nobody else seemed to know where we were either. That was everyone except Ben of course. Being the first, that didn’t relatively surprise me. “Is this what I think it is?” Ben sneered at Marcus, clearly very unimpressed. ’d soon learn why. “Yes, it is exactly what you think it is. I’d be worried if you didn’t ,” Marcus replied without showing a shred of emotion. Then he turned to the rest of us. “This is Uguale Island. I inherited it a very long time ago, around the same time Ben ed us. I never mention it because we don’t usually have any use for it, but I think today it’s going to come in quite handy. See, this island isn’t just any island. This island is coated with so much magic that even the sky is bluer here. Most importantly, because it’s protected with so much magic, our magic doesn’t work here. It’s a defense mechanism, really. We’re powerless, but if anyone was stupid enough to come after any of us, their abilities would be useless also to even it out. This way, on the island, we’re all the same. No magic, no abilities, no competition. We’re just us. Just as fast, just as strong, just without any of our unique extra perks,” he explained, putting us all in the oven.

“What!” each of us sneered in unison, except Ben who was already well aware but still pissed. If he had my ability I’m sure Marcus would’ve spontaneously combusted before our eyes the way he looked at him. That was until we stepped foot off of the boat. Even in the short time that I’ve had my ability, I’ve grown extremely close to it. I just couldn’t picture myself without it anymore. I didn’t want to, and neither did anyone else. Nobody has ever had their ability rendered useless before. After decades of depending on it I could only image that stepping off of that boat was like willingly stepping off of a cliff as a human. Most of us wouldn’t even know where to start living without it. Except for Stefan. It was more like an unrealistic dream come true for him. He probably could have started doing cartwheels; his relief was so overwhelming. But for the rest of us, stepping off of that boat, no longer having our power, was borderline depressing. We were practically all the same now. Where’s the excitement in that? Before I willingly did that to myself, I paused for a moment before taking the leap into being an “ordinary” vampire. knew it was possible for those two words to even be in the same sentence together? In a desperate attempt to use the full extent of my power before I had to give it up, I exhaled slowly and closed my eyes. Using every ounce of my force, I created a ball of fire in the palm of my hand. As I opened my eyes, every other set of red eyes was mesmerized by the flames just as much as I was. I could feel the excessive amount of heat in my hand, but it didn’t burn. It was just there, hovering, waiting to be used for something, anything. Though having no use for it besides my mere amusement, I slowly closed my hand, extinguishing it. At the same time, everyone blinked, their eyes jumped immediately to mine. I shrugged. “I had to do something before I lose it…” I jumped down off of the side of the boat onto the dock, next to Chelsea. She smiled in amusement at me as she rested her hand on my shoulder for a moment. Ben’s hand gently took mine, lightly kissing my forehead. I took a deep breath, taking in his scent, letting it intoxicate me into ecstasy. It was about the only one good part I had left—him. Losing my magic was petty as long as I still had him and Luka who was back in LA with Tanya waiting for us.

Not my idea, but somehow I was overruled . . . Marcus’s influence can be a bitch sometimes. At the end of the dock, Stefan was practically in heaven. , I know. But can you blame him? “It’s so… quiet . . . ,” he exclaimed, overjoyed by the ability to not hear our thoughts anymore for the first time ever. I just couldn’t believe that after all of this time, none of them have ever been here. Was all of this so bad that Marcus had to drop to circumstances he’s never had to before? Mostly because of me. That gave me a lot to think about… And I had to it, it was nice to know that Stefan would not be listening. Now I felt like jumping for joy. But out of respect for my dignity I didn’t even flinch. I continued my way down the dock, hand in hand with Ben, following Chelsea. Everyone else was already a dozen feet ahead of us. We followed a small path of pebbles into the wood line, continuing it a couple hundred yards until we eventually made it through the trees, into a clearing, a yard, ours. It looked more like an illusion, like something that couldn’t possibly be real. I wasn’t sure if the magic of this place really was this spectacular, but either way, it was definitely easy on the eyes. It was a step away from the evil for a minute. For a moment, I felt real again. Like I wasn’t just some bloodthirsty monster that jumps on her boyfriend every chance she gets. I had to at least hope my life consisted of a little more than that. The island consisted of a house a little over three times the size of our house, and the rest was just cliffs, caves, and woods—nothing else. The air was so pure and so clean I could taste the magic. Even our glow was more distinct in here, clearer. Inside, it felt like Italy all over again, except from the safety of my own country, our own territory. It just had that same old royalty look. It looked like Marcus had it ripped straight out of Italy and had it placed right here. just had it built so that it looked that way. That was probably more likely…

Once we were all inside, Marcus sat us back down again, being his own little personal puppets for the day. How so very comforting of him. We sat in a common area at the center of the house; dark leather couches separated the room facing each other. Marcus stood in the center, looking back and forth at each of us. The revealing look on his face made me nervous. He had something stewing up, and now I was anxious to know what that was. All we knew that every single thing Marcus will do will have everything to do with fixing the holes in this family. I was down for that. I hated all of this drama just as much as the rest of us. I just had to hope to freaking Satan that it works. One more day filled with black-eyed tension, and I think someone’s going to get their head ripped off, most likely by Marcus himself… With each of us currently a step away from pulling our own hair out, instinctively feeling incomplete without all of our powers. Stefan, he was milking it. But the rest of us were only naturally getting antsier by the second. When I looked across at Jae, the look on her face was terrifying. As if not be able to see if we’re not exactly alone in this house is the most frightening thing in the world to her. At that very moment I looked her in the eyes and realized she was so worse off than I was at the moment. I felt ridiculous for even fretting. Still, I couldn’t help it. The evil still very much inside of me wouldn’t let me. Not even with Ben’s hand tightly gripping in mine. Then Marcus got right down to it. “That restless feeling from being incomplete that you all feel right now… Get used to it, because we’re not leaving until I feel that everything is resolved,” he insisted with a hard tone, making that feeling even worse. “But because I want to get us home sometime this decade, I have a task for you, all of you. At first I was just going to let it come naturally, give you a little push from the shadows. Then I realized if I did that, you’d be ten times more likely not to take any of it seriously, so I’m going to be up front about it. You’re going to work together as a group, our agents do every day. Except today, you’re working as entire family, for me, not the queen. There’s one single spot on this island where our magic is not blocked, and I want you to find it. It could be any one step on the entire island, so I suggest you find a way to work together and find it. If you can do that, we can go home.”

His glare jumped directly to Stefan. “Your part would be not being selfish and think of your family above yourself. You are the only one that gets comfort out of losing their ability. Don’t hold them back, or it’s on you. Then you can explain to your wife why she’s stuck here in an extremely uncomfortable, unnatural state because you enjoy your perks.” Stefan rolled his eyes and stiffened. “Yeah, got it!” he sneered, already annoyed. Then something unexpected happened, like something in Ben just flipped completely. He flashed to his feet, his demeanor one wrong word away from over the edge. “I can’t fuckin’ do this anymore. Let’s go. We have a few things to talk about,” he insisted, aggressively flashing Stefan to his feet. In defense, Stefan shrugged his arm away from Ben but proceeded out the back door with him. Neither Marcus nor Chelsea even thought about stopping them. I the only one who saw this as a bad thing? For all we knew, Ben could have already torn him apart. That was certainly eliminating the problem. So would destroying me. I couldn’t just give them the benefit of the doubt. I flashed to my feet anxiously. “We have to make sure neither of them does something stupid!” Chelsea then flashed to her feet. “Honey, just let them handle it themselves. If you want to get out of here, you won’t step in. The longer your power is blocked, the harder it’s going to hit you when you get it back. I don’t want to see you go through that, so let’s just do this and get it over with… ,” she said, not leaving me with much of a choice. There seemed to be a lot of that going around lately. Except the idea of all of my powers coming back all at once, again, absolutely terrified me now that she mentioned it. I ed the first time it happened like it was only yesterday. And today, I’m twice as powerful. Just the thought made me want to curl up into a ball and continue to feel sorry for myself. But I was stronger than that, a lot stronger. A very much bigger part of me was only now more encouraged to get this done, fix this family, and get home, or at least on our way. So I sat back down in precisely the same spot I had been sitting a moment ago. Vanessa, who had been on the other side of Ben was now in my clear sight. She flashed a smile filled with contempt, which only reminded me that I was keeping something very important from her.

Let’s just say even for a vampire, it totally sucked. Especially because she’s my sister, the one I never had. She’s everything to me, and I was keeping her future from her. was I supposed to live with that? That was my million-dollar question… Along with another trillion more. The island was big enough so that you could go far enough away from the house and not be heard, so listening in on Ben and Stefan was out of the question. Ben was inconspicuous enough to take the time to go out of his way to make sure that we couldn’t hear what was being said. That made me even more nervous. I wasn’t the only one. Jae looked like she was ready to jump up after them any moment. It was like she was just waiting for the perfect opportunity. So was I. I jumped up again. “We can’t just sit here. If we can’t go after the boys, then we might as well start finding our way out of here while we wait for them to finish having their little temper tantrum. Doing nothing just isn’t an option for me,” I insisted, briefly eyeing Jae out of the corner of my eye. She quickly followed, catching my hint. Vanessa and Sylas also quickly followed closely behind us, just as anxious to get out of a confined space. If the consequences weren’t a hundred times worse than the issues now, I probably would have just swam home, along with everyone else. But apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought that we’re better off just going along with it. Keeping Marcus happy keeps him off of our asses, which of course in result makes living with him so much easier. “So… we’re not really looking to find the ‘magic spot,’ right?” Vanessa clarified as soon as we were far enough away from the house. “No, we’re looking for Ben and Stefan,” I stated the obvious, continuing to follow their trail. These woods were so much different than the woods that we were used to. They were so well preserved and untouched, yet you’d never know nobody has been here for years. Like the magic kept it just as is for all this time, kind of just like us. When we found Ben and Stefan, I had been expecting to find them way over their head in a conversation neither of them really wanted to be having. So you could imagine my surprise when I saw them actually talking to each other as if they were actual human beings once upon a time.

It caught me so totally off guard that I froze instantly. So did Jae. Vanessa and Sylas stopped directly behind us, Vanessa on my left and Sylas to my right between Jae and me. Ben and Stefan briefly looked over at us and then continued as if we weren’t even there, or they just didn’t care. “Just forget about it,” Ben finished, flashing to his feet and directly to me in the same moment. Stefan did the same, flashing to Jae. They must have noticed the demanding look in both of our eyes because they did the exact same thing, took our hand, and walked in opposite directions. It made the whole “care of the girls” move extremely obvious. I was not very impressed. But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me nervous. Still I was anxious to hear what he’s going to say. We continued walking in a normal pace until we couldn’t hear or smell anyone else. Then we just stopped, right there, in an eerie pit of silence. Ben’s growing hesitation made it even more uncomfortable by the second. It wasn’t very often something affected Ben so greatly that he couldn’t help but be so obvious about it. That was something I was not used to seeing. And I didn’t like the way it settled. He stepped in closer to me but only close enough to rest his hands on my shoulders, keeping a defensive arm’s length distance between us as if he was preparing ahead of time for my reaction. That alone already made me a little mad. I glared at him warningly, letting him know that I was onto him. I guess that didn’t make him feel any better, but it did give him the push that he needed to be out with it. “I decided to forgive Stefan. Not just because I don’t care that he’s in love with you, because believe me, I do. But because he’s been my brother for a really long time, and I just can’t let it come between us. It just took me a while to realize that because I trust you, I can forget about it easier… ,” he explained a lot lighter than I had expected. It was mostly the shock that caused me not to have any idea what to do or say. I said the one and only thing that came to mind. “You’re serious?” “Very… ,” he stated hard. “Look, you’re everything to me, Gabby. But so is Stefan in his own weird way. And as long as I have you, I can’t let what he feels

about you come between us. I can’t exactly blame him, but it’s not like you feel the same way about him, and I was tired of acting like it…” He sighed. I furrowed my eyes at him. “And how exactly did you explain this to him?” I asked curiously. A million different outcomes came to mind but none that ended as casually as I saw. I found myself chuckling, and so did he. “I told him the truth.” He shrugged. “As self-absorbed as it might have sounded, even he knew I was right. We both just don’t want everyone affected by it anymore.” “Okay…” I smiled and stepped flirtatiously closer to him. “So… you’re amazing. What else is new?” I laughed and then smashed my lips into his, unable to resist their bittersweet taste. He immediately dropped his hands from my shoulders and found much better places for them, now holding me securely in his arms, kissing me back so ionately it made me weaker by the second. Then as our luck would have it, only a short moment later, Vanessa appeared out of the woodworks, now standing directly next to us, staring impatiently. “Aha! I had a feeling this conversation would lead to this, which is exactly why I’m here before none of us see either of you for hours. I’m not going to let that happen. I want to get out of here. Let’s go, we have work to do!” she highly insisted, taking both of our hands and pulling us with her until we finally decided to go willingly. I wanted to be angry that she interrupted such a moment, but considering the circumstances I couldn’t exactly blame her. I wanted to go home too. We met everybody else back where we had found Ben and Stefan to begin with. Everyone looked as fresh and relieved as I did, and that was something else I wasn’t currently used to. But I quickly brushed it off, solely focusing on the more important things. The look on Stefan’s face suddenly made me feel as if the last few weeks never even happened, making this so much more uncomfortable than I couldn’t even begin to understand. So I didn’t, letting Ben’s tactics play themselves out. Hey, maybe they’ll actually work . . .

Jae seemed as rationally calm as I was, considering what had just been told to us. Both of our forceful participation made it a little easier for the other—at least we weren’t alone. “So now what do we do?” Jae quickly asked, looking specifically at the boys. “Split up,” they each replied in unison. “We’ll cover more area in less time that way… ,” Stefan added. Whatever. Each of us turned around without another word and just continued straight, heading for the shore alone, all in separate directions, looking for something that we know absolutely nothing about. And to think that I thought this day was going to be boring . . . I went southeast, toward the far left side of the island, looking for something that looked any different from the rest of this freaking island. But I found nothing but trees and woods and eventually beach. Sand, water, waves. After looking over every square foot of my section I came up with nothing, nothing but the sounds of the ocean and the smells of nature. So I just began making my way down the beach after quickly deciding to just circle the island until I ran into someone else. I had only been walking the shore a couple of minutes when Stefan conveniently me. I stopped suddenly at the sight of him. “Stefan?” I naturally looked around me, observing my every surrounding as he continued to make his way toward me. “Hey… ,” he replied, stopping a little over a foot in front of me. “Uh, are you planning on telling Vanessa about what you saw earlier?” He quickly got right to the point. Not what I was expecting. But I think he knew that already. He didn’t need the ability to read my mind for that. Although, I had to it, it was easier to talk to him without it. I shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t really want to, not yet anyway. Why? Is it that important to you that you had to track me down and ask me the first chance you knew I’d be alone?” He sighed, his eyes cowardly finding their way to the ground, instinctively

making me feel bad. Now I sighed. “I’m sorry! I’m just… a little edgy. Can we just get out of here and worry about Vanessa later?” I replied desperately. Stefan smiled that crooked smile that I hadn’t seen in weeks. Of course that naturally caused me to smile back at him, already laughing at all of this. He continued to circle the shore with me, not bothering to feel the need to speak to each other. The lack of tension for once was good enough for me. But still, we found nothing. After several more minutes, we finally ran into Vanessa. Speak of the devil. She must have had the same idea because we found her wandering the shore too, just in the opposite direction, coming toward us. She practically leaped into my arms at the sight of me. “Gabriella!” she exclaimed, her smothering personality rubbing all over me, something I did not want . . . But I love her anyway. “Ness! Find anything?” I replied, becoming more eager by the minute. “No, but let’s go see if anyone else did!” Vanessa looped her arm through mine and continued to walk with Stefan and me now. Once again, I continued down the shore of the beach, waiting to run into someone else. Only now I had both Stefan and Vanessa on either side of me. Stefan glared at me out of the corner of his eye, clearly eager for me to break and tell Vanessa of my vision. Something I was far from ready for. Still, he kept pushing it. Only after a couple of seconds did Vanessa started to catch on. “What the hell is the matter with you?” she asked Stefan. No sugarcoating. He froze up and shook his head. “Nothing… ,” he replied awkwardly, naturally causing Vanessa to revert to me for her answer. “Gabby?” she asked, stopping dead. I sighed again. “It’s nothing, really. ’s just annoyed that I won’t tell someone about a premonition that I had on the way here, that’s all.Stefan just doesn’t get the point…” Vanessa nodded only slightly suspiciously now and continued to make our way around the island. She didn’t bring it back up again, being the amazing sister that I tend to underappreciate on a daily basis. should really be ashamed of myself.

But I didn’t have time for that either. Feeling sorry for one’s self is a high weakness and should be rendered a sin. So many more people and creatures have it way worse than any of us. We have nothing to pout about. being, we shouldn’t even be here in the first place, in every aspect. We never should have let it come to this. Unfortunately, it’s a little too late for that. We are here. And now we have to get ourselves out together. About a quarter of a mile down the west end of the island, we eventually ran into Ben, Sylas, and Jae. , so apparently we all the same idea. And we all came up empty-handed. Even after searching every section of the island, we still didn’t find anything. “Now what are we supposed to do?” Vanessa whined. Though I wasn’t paying much attention, a couple of caves just a few hundred feet down shore caught my attention. “Hey, did anyone check those? Like inside?” I quickly asked. No one responded, which was a clear answer. Without needing to say another word all of us flashed toward them. In the same moment, we were now standing just outside of them, staring up at the giant rock molded into the bottom of a cliff, more boulders in the water behind us. There were two openings, but with our senses we could tell that both of them lead to one decent-sized opening at the end. “The girls can go right. We’ll go left,” Ben suggested. “Whatever,” I automatically replied, not really caring who goes where. I followed Jae and Vanessa into the cave on the right while the boys followed the one on the left. They smelled like old moldy sewers, but being the monsters that we are, we managed just fine. They didn’t consist of much. The paths were hardly an arm’s length wide, the rock sweating. High tide filled the ground with over an inch of water, soaking our unaffected feet. The only light was at the end of the tunnel. Luckily being a vampire made that no problem. Just before the end of the cave entry, the two paths met, breaking the boys into our line, there was no chance that these caves were big enough for anything but single file. Ben conveniently found himself behind me, who was now behind everyone else, providing Ben with his own little private view.

I’d be a fool to say that he totally didn’t take advantage of those brief four seconds. There was a small area just before the opening that gave us enough room to all stand together, of single file, without actually going into the opening. It even looked like it contained the magic. It was filled with an angelic light that was being let in by the opening that grew smaller the further it went all the way up in the center, allowing the sun to shine down into the cave. Other than that, it wasn’t that much different than the paths, just a little bigger. It smelled the same, felt the same, it just looked a little more touched by the supernatural. We didn’t need to go in it to know that we had found it. But we had to make sure. Stefan surprisingly took that leap of faith into the light, willingly throwing himself back into the heads of each and single one of us. And the obvious relief that he felt that was inevitable to hide when he succeeded was a highlight. , these last few hours eventually got to him. He just can’t stay away, no matter how much he wants to. But I guess that goes for all of us. While everyone else jumped at the chance to find their magic, I was hesitant about it after Chelsea’s warning. I didn’t have very many options. I could step in, have it hit me too hard, and then again once we leave. Or I could just wait until we leave to have it hit me even harder. Either way, I’m down for the count. My obsessive thought about it must have been clearly obvious to even Ben because suddenly I was in his arms and against the condensation-smothered rock. His riveting scent alone hypnotized all of the bad away. The rest just made me want him more. That intoxicating look of lust in his eyes whenever he looks at me was at the top of that turn-on list, especially right now. He looked down at me like he couldn’t possibly see why I was such a mess, but he did, making it all the more perfect when his lips inevitably found mind and washed it all away. The toxic taste of his lips practically made me tremble just as they once did when I still could react in such mortal ways. Now I just threw myself back at him to let him know just how much the little things affect me. “Ugh, we better stop ’em while we can or else we’re going to be here all day waiting for them to decide they’ve had enough of each other… I don’t think that’s ever taken under a few hours!” Vanessa complained to Stefan, of all

people. I wonder just how her mind operates at moments like this. Stefan cleared his throat awkwardly and made his way down the path, Vanessa following closely behind him. Ben and I chuckled and unwillingly forced ourselves to put our tongues back in our own mouths, both a little more eager to get out of here then to get frisky—, I know. So Ben gently held my hand in his and let me lead the way out, him that view again, while that free hand of his was not so free as he caressed my curves, keeping that sexual drive between us going while we could. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. As soon as we were out of the cave, our only thoughts were getting out of there before Marcus changes his mind. I don’t think any of us have ever ran so fast back to our makers; sometimes they can be just as bad as real parents, just much more powerful ones. But the look on Marcus’s face when we came back sometime before the next millennium made it all worth it. We met up to his standards and then some that day. And we somehow managed to fix a lot of our problems with not actually doing anything about them. It was a relieving day in our handful of a household. We all reserved the right to feel a little proud. “Well… It looks like you guys are compatible after all,” Marcus teased. “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” He flashed an told-you-so smile, sharing it with Chelsea. None of us were actually brave enough to actually respond to that, but we did laugh it off, amused by Marcus’s pride. That wasn’t exactly something that we got to see every day. Not while being the source of it anyway, all of us, together. “Come on, let’s go home,” Marcus announced the magic words. The relief was smothering for everyone else. Chelsea and I kind of made our way casually, taking baby steps so to speak. “We’ll be fine,” she reassured me, resting her hand at the center of my back. I wanted to believe her, but that was difficult when I had no idea what to expect. We both paused before stepping onto the dock as we followed the others before crossing the island’s magic barrier. When I least expected it, Ben gently cradled my hand in his, lending me the courage I needed. The comfort of knowing that he’s always there when I need him was enough for me to gather the strength to

step back into our world. was the last thing I ed.

Have you ever waken up from a really good dream and desperately tried to fall back asleep just so you could go back to it because it beat your reality? I totally miss that. I couldn’t use the term “good” or “bad” to describe the eternity worth of life that flashed before my eyes. It was a little too much of both. It was strange, waking up. The feeling was long lost a while ago. So suddenly waking up on the yacht, five minutes away from home, was a tad bit of an unexpected shock. Again, I hadn’t had any idea what to expect. But with all things considered I think I lucked out, regardless of how I felt at the moment. Of course, as always, Ben was right there at my side, along with Chelsea on my other side. The relieving scent of the ocean that reminded me where I was was calming. We weren’t quite gone, and we weren’t quite back in the torturous continuous urge to kill everyone either. I found myself chuckling continuously to myself at everything I had just seen. Seeing your life flash before your eyes is one thing, but seeing an entire century’s worth of premonitions containing not just my life but everyone else in it also was something people just aren’t meant to see. You can’t change the future, no matter how much you try, so what’s the point of knowing? For some reason I found that humorous, considering what I saw. And surprisingly, even if I had the power to change the future, I wouldn’t. We may meet a few bumps on the road on the way, but at the end of the day, we’re just fine. have to make it through the bad to find your way to the good. Live or die. Though the look of confusion and curiosity that took over Ben and Chelsea’s expression let me know ahead of time that I wasn’t going to get away with not saying a word about it like I so desperately wanted to. “You feel okay?” Chelsea asked with concern. I just smirked and gave her a quick nod. My eyes found their way to Ben instead. “I’m fine,” I replied, smiling at the thought of good. I’d never been so sure that we were going to make it.

Not that I wasn’t before, but now that I’ve actually seen more, there wasn’t anything left to doubt. I’m still not sure that knowing ahead of time was a good thing or not, but at the time it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was that we were here, now, in the moment. Living life any other way is a waste of a life. I live up to my expectations, no one else, not even what I may or may not see. What I see doesn’t matter because it’s not now. In the present. You can only live it once. Ben flashed to his feet and held his hand out for mine as we finally docked. Unable to resist his inevitable charm, I placed my hand in his and slowly stood up into his ray of comfort. I couldn’t help but feel like it was too perfect to be real. Apparently that takes a long while to get used to. As perfect as perfect sounds, perfection just isn’t natural, regardless of whom or what you are. While getting off of the yacht, a sudden and overdue thought came over me as a sideways glare came from Stefan. He saw it all. Everything I saw was in his head too. That, I wasn’t comfortable with. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the time or the place to confront him about it. I’d have to wait until later. We did just return from a forced family adventure to mold us back together like we were just pawns on a chess board that needed to be realigned into their proper places. I held Ben’s hand firmly in mine as we made our way to where we had parked the car just this morning, with hopes that we’d make it back to it before it was considered an antique. Making it back before dawn was an unrealistic expectation at the time. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was until I got into the car. The scent of a fresh hunt that came off of us this morning still lingered, making it that much harder to fight. Usually, after just having had refueled this morning, I shouldn’t have felt this way. But apparently after everything my body went through since then drained me, causing me to have the instinctive urge to drain someone else. As desperately as I tried to hide it, I couldn’t hide it from Ben. I was sure he could even smell the sizzle in my throat. “We can stop… ,” he insisted suggestively, stopping the car a moment later in a back parking lot of a coast-side resort. “We don’t have to…” I started to say. But Ben was already out the car, waiting for me to follow his lead. More like

insisting me to follow for my own sake. I had to give him credit; it wasn’t even his throat that was on fire. As a matter of fact, he was just fine—in every aspect of the word. So I stopped being stubborn and got out of the car, causing Ben to smirk at me, clearly proud of himself. Usually, over confidence is a turnoff, but with Ben, it’s different, very different. It’s completely opposite in fact. I began laughing to myself at a now-distant memory, one that was starting to feel like an alternate lifetime already. “What’s so funny?” Ben was quick to ask as we were in the middle of a hunt. Shaking my head, I smirked at him. “Ya know, Caleb used to think that he could get me to do anything that he said… That was until I informed him that he was so much more wrapped than I ever was. It’s funny how that works…” I continued to laugh. Ben, on the other hand, didn’t find it as amusing; to him it was more like a reminder. But before he could respond, I was off anyway, on the tail of my dinner. And not even he was stupid enough to cross that line. When in the middle of a hunt, it’s like your entire world shuts down, and it’s only you and your prey. And anyone who gets too close unexpectedly automatically becomes rendered a threat. Even if it’s the one you love. When you’re hunting, it isn’t really you but a specific part of your instincts that only knows how to eat and kill. The rest of you just shuts down until that very last drop is drained. I was following a lonely tourist. I could tell from his uncomfortable demeanor that he hadn’t been here long. The way he looked over his shoulder every couple of seconds was like a bull’s-eye for our kind. He’s clearly watching his back for something; little did he know, it would be me. It caught him completely off guard, even as cautious as he was. I cut him off around the resort as he rounded the corner to the other side. Before he even had a chance to comprehend who or what I was, he was already mine. He desperately tried to call out for his life, but it was too late. He couldn’t get a word out; he was already dead. I quickly returned to Ben back on the other side of the building after disposing of my snack. He waited now very much in amusement by the car. I know it may sound disturbingly wrong to you, but something about me taking the lives of

other men turns him on. Just as much as everything else I do. And I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the same way for me. It’s just how our kind is. Killing is what we do; there’s no denying it and there’s no escaping it. Even if we wanted to run away from it, we couldn’t because our instincts are much stronger than our will. So when Ben practically did me in the backseat it wasn’t something unusual. It was very exhilarating actually, still high on the hunt. That was until my phone began to ring, just as things were getting heated. That seems to be the story of my life. But I had this awful psychic feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me to drop everything and answer it; I knew exactly who it was before I even looked just because I had that feeling. I felt my life pause as I looked over at Ben before answering it. My expression must have told him everything he needed to know because his disappointment quickly faded and was replaced with the same nervousness I felt. He nodded anxiously, encouraging me to answer it before I missed it. I took a useless deep breath and sat up; at the same time I pressed the “answer” button. This was it, the moment I was prepared practically my entire life for. “Is this Gabriella Love?” the woman on the other end asked. “It is,” I replied through my teeth, too tense to speak full sentences. “This is Nicole from Tampa General. We spoke last week.” “Ya…” “Your uncle told us to notify you when the time came. He ed about five minutes ago. I’m so sorry for your loss. We all enjoyed Eddie very much during his treatment here. There are a few things he wanted sent to you in California. You should get it in the next couple of days.” “Okay…” “Again, I’m sorry for your loss. Best wishes.” “Thanks…” I sneered before I quickly hung up, crumbling the phone in my hand as a result of the disgust from her overpoliteness. they really have to sugarcoat informing a death in the family?

Not all the preparation in the world could have prepared me for this. I was just so overly relieved I wasn’t human; otherwise, I’d probably be crying like a little bitch right about now. Even more than I did when Caleb died. Instead, I just flashed into the front enger seat right up from under Ben. “Take me to Willow Creek… ,” I insisted with an empty tone. Ben didn’t say a word; he just did what I asked. I think from decades of experience he knew how to handle this particular situation. He was a lot better at it than I was, that’s for damn sure. If I wasn’t so superstitious, I’d probably just always assume Ben can handle every part of me. But I’ve always had that nagging sense that whenever I expect something too much, I jinx it. Expecting that Ben’s going to screw up miserably all the time is much easier; it tends to impress me a lot more too. Regardless if I knew better to begin with or not, that’s irrelevant to in this case. Losing someone is never easy. It never gets easier the more times you experience it. It’s a natural part of human life. We take them practically every day. But even for us it’s different when it’s someone a part of you. Eddie made me who I am today—Chelsea just made me what I am today. All of the talks and all of the moments in the world couldn’t have made this any easier for me. That has always been an unrealistic attempt. It just had to happen for me to realize that. For the greater part of my life, I couldn’t have ever imagined my life without Eddie. Even though I knew that one day I would, sooner than later. He and Jon were all I had unconditionally. Even Caleb was replaceable in comparison, even though I never would have even dreamed of it at the time. If I didn’t have what I have now, all I would have left is Jon. I would have been destroyed. It’s incredible how quickly an entire life can change so dramatically. I wasn’t just feeling my loss; I’m feeling it for Jon too. Jon didn’t have the greater parts of life like I do. He’ll be effected so much more than me in so many ways. Just the thought made me want to crumble. Telling him was going to be even harder. If he didn’t have Sara and a baby on the way, I didn’t know what I would do. I haven’t exactly been there for him as much as I used to be since I met Ben, but now that he doesn’t have Eddie, I’m going to have to be there for him like he was there for me when Caleb was shot. I couldn’t expect Sara to do it all, being about to pop and all. If I know Jon, and I do, I knew that this was going to break him. I had to be there to keep him afloat. I loved him way to

much to let this destroy him. Plus, my big brother’s going to be a daddy soon. He needs to be ready. Conveniently, we had to through Willow Creek to get back to Weaverville from Eureka anyway, and with Ben’s even more convenient driving skills, I couldn’t have gotten there any quicker myself. He knew better then to break the silence. Ordinarily, it might have driven me crazy, but at this particular moment in time I think that if he would have said something, my response wouldn’t have been very nice. I didn’t want to put him in that situation. So I guess you could say that I was glad that he didn’t even bother to try to make me feel better. If anyone knows what a hopeless attempt that would be, it would be him. Instead, I had a sudden case of deja vu. I suddenly had a haunting feeling that put me right back in the car on the way back to Orlando after Caleb was killed. Only this was much worse. Caleb was special, but he was just my boyfriend. Eddie’s more like the father mine never wanted to be until he just died too. Eddie was always so much more of a man than my father ever could have hoped of being. All my father cared about was his work, helping other people’s lives other than his own. Meanwhile my mother maintained a constant buzz to even stand being married to the man. They did Jon and me a favor when they died. Eddie crafted every corner of me, and I wouldn’t ever want to be anything different. Most people resent their highest mentors eventually for making them into something they’re not. Somehow Eddie lucked out and was blessed with a niece that was closer to a tomboy. Imagine if I was different? That girly girl that’s afraid of everything. Poor Eddie. In the middle of it all, I found myself slightly smiling at that thought. Thankfully, Ben didn’t notice. Or if he did, he just didn’t say anything, continuing to keep his mouth shut. As expected that brief breeze of amusement quickly ed, knowing I’d never be able to just share that thought with him like I usually would. And here I was again, grieving the loss of another one of the most important men in my life. Then before I even had a chance to break, we were at the cabin in Willow Creek. If I expected Jon to get through this, I had to be stronger than him. I am stronger than him. I had to convince myself of that over and over again until I actually

started to accept that fact and got out of the car. As I did, without shutting the car off, Ben got out and flashed around the front of the car until he pinned me against my door. Everything about him comforted me, just not enough to actually matter in this circumstance. Still, he gently cradled my head in his hands, and with a soft touch met his lips with mine. But only briefly, just enough to quench our overbearing lust. I pulled him against me, resting my head on his chest and closing my eyes, letting his scent intoxicate me before going into that cabin. If there was any difference between how I handled this and how I handled Caleb’s day of death, it was that this time I had Ben, while the wound is still fresh. I may or may not have realized it at the time, but it definitely made a difference. If I hadn’t had Ben to soothe the hurt, Jon probably would have been the one taking care of me again. That just wasn’t an option for me anymore. “I love you. You can handle this,” Ben whispered before kissing my forehead. Between the grief and the undying love, my emotions were on overdrive. I tried to breathe them away, but that was another hopeless attempt. “love you too… I won’t be long.” I insisted, kissing him one more time before discontinuing this procrastination. Letting go of him was hard but not as hard as what I was facing. least I wasn’t losing him. It was also a continuous thought, along with many more obsessivecompulsive ones. And then I thanked the devil that Stefan’s not currently around. I couldn’t even think about him being in my head right now. Before I even made my way up the porch, Ben was already long gone, and I could feel the emptiness from his absence. Like this couldn’t get any harder. Of course it could. I stood outside the door, listening to see exactly what kind of day I’ll be ruining this time before going in. That’s always a bad idea, no matter what the circumstance. This time it was just ignorant procrastination. After a couple of useless deep breaths, I pushed my way through the door, defeating my cowardly alter ego, which was currently overtaking me. The cabin was quiet and still. The only sounds were the dim sound of the television and the slow light breaths from Jon and Sara in the living room just to

my left. The light from the television was all that lit the room; the rest of the house was dark just after sunset. Because the couch faced back to the archway into the living room from the entryway of the cabin, they didn’t see or hear me come in. And I wasn’t actually trying to be inconspicuous for once; I had way too much on my mind for that kind of stuff right now. “Jon…” I sighed under his breath, causing him to practically jump out of his own skin. Sara lay asleep in his lap; she didn’t even budge when he jumped. He must’ve noticed something was wrong right away because as soon as he turned around and saw me, he quickly but gently slid out from under Sara. She was still fast asleep as he made his way around the couch and to me and fast as humanly possible. “What’s wrong?” He didn’t hesitate to ask. When I realized I had to answer him, I felt my lifeless heart sink. I didn’t want to do this. I might as well be shoving a knife in him; he won’t be able to tell the difference in a minute anyway. The obvious hesitation naturally made him nervous. That naturally pushed me to say something before he figured it out on his own. “Eddie… He’s… ,” I started to say but couldn’t bring myself to actually complete saying it aloud. Fortunately, Jon was smart enough so that I didn’t need to. He leaned against the back of the couch, unable to fully hold himself up, becoming a little light-headed. I had never felt so helpless. “We have ta go back,” Jon insisted, automatically putting me on a completely different page. “Uh, no. We don’t have to go anywhere. You do. I’m not going. And you can’t make me.” “Are you fuckin’ serious?” He sneered quickly, still trying not to wake Sara. I crossed my arms, all proving a point like, glaring at him warningly. He glared back, not stepping down that easily on this. “I need to be here, Jon. I can’t just drop everything and everyone jus cause someone else died. I have obligations here. You, not so much. Plus, you’re always reminding me how you’re my big brother. This should be your job, not mine!”

Jon got all pissy at me and stormed off. “Whatever, Gabby. I don’t even wanna talk ta you right now…” He muttered his way into the other room. Sara hardly flinched the entire time. Suddenly feeling smothered, I flashed back out the front door onto the porch. I took a seat on the top step and dropped my head into my hands. Finally, a moment to myself. It was quiet out here. That was the point of it. Still the only sounds were Jon and the television, Sara sleeping peacefully, and the natural sound of the woods that surrounded us. I found myself in a war with myself. No matter what I do, I’m selfish. If I go, I’m selfish. If I stay, Jon will never let me forget how selfish I am. It was a loselose. And I didn’t have Eddie to sum it up for me like he normally would’ve. I tried to think of what he might have said to me had I been able to ask, but Eddie was too unpredictable for that. He was always pulling something new out of his sleeve to teach us lessons. I would give for one more. Then a familiar out-of-place scent caught my direct attention—it was Stefan, on the way here. , I knew it would get worse. “What the hell are you doing here?” I thought as he came into view. He didn’t respond yet. He just continued his way toward me without saying a word. Then in the same moment he sat next to me on the steps, obviously full of concern. Inside, Jon began expressing his feelings with anger, having a temper tantrum. I tried not to pay much attention to it, desperately trying to hold my own to prevent from acting the exact same way. guess I really am stronger than my big brother… Stefan’s presence was surprisingly helpful. He wasn’t Ben, but he was important to me. So when he naturally felt the need to comfort me, I didn’t find it as awkward as I would have thought. And since he had a front-row seat to my thoughts, I didn’t have to face the horrible task of explaining why I was such a mess.

He must be in love with me to willingly put himself in the middle of that. “I’ll go… With Jon. To Florida… ,” he suggested. His bravery was impressive, but his questionable sanity, not so much. “I can’t let you do that. It’s not your job. You should be here, working on your marriage, not in Florida doing God knows what with my grieving brother,” I quickly insisted without the need to even think about it. But his smirk said he didn’t agree. “I know you know that I’ve spent quite a bit of time with your brother lately. I think I can handle it. Besides, my marriage can wait. It’s waited this long. Your brother needs someone. You can’t send him alone. So either you’re going to go or I will,” he replied, not leaving me any choice—how clever. I sighed in frustration. “You’d really just drop your life to go do my responsibility all the way across the country for my brother?” I asked, still trying to test his sanity. “What life?” he teased. “Of course I would… You’d just have to do without me on the job. But I don’t think that’ll be too difficult for either of you…” I rolled my eyes for a couple reasons. But it was mostly because I had absolutely no idea what to say or even what to think. Unfortunately, I didn’t have very many options. I couldn’t worry about what anomalies Stefan’s help would bring; I just had to worry about getting this all over with, no matter what it took. “Okay… ,” I finally agreed. “But only if Jon wants you to take my place. The last thing I want to do is piss him off even more. He’s already pretty pissed off that I don’t want to go to begin with… ,” I warned. Stefan just nodded and looked at the front door for a moment. A second later, he was inside, after Jon. A few seconds behind, I followed him. Jon was upstairs, breathing heavily after his breakdown. Stefan went right in like Jon wasn’t even there, except Jon was what he was after, his approval really. “Your sister isn’t exactly ready for this any more than you are. So I’m going to go with you to Florida instead. She should be here, in her comfort zone. you want her to bite you’re fucking head off while you sleep…” I couldn’t help but laugh inside, even as wrong as it felt. Jon automatically

looked over at me as I stood in the doorway of the same room I woke up in almost exactly six months ago. “Is he serious?” Jon asked me, looking me dead in the eye. I had to force the words out but I agreed. “Ya… It’d be easier for all of us,” I itted. Still using his rage as a front for how he really feels, Jon glared back over at Stefan for a moment before responding. The suspense was torturous. “right.” Jon finally nodded, lifting an enormous weight off of my shoulders—all thanks to Stefan. I instinctively flashed to him, , giving him a very grateful hug. “Thank you,” I whispered, his arms cradling me against him. I quickly stepped back,desperate not to torture him any more then I have too. “You should go home… ,” he pretty much insisted. I naturally looked over at Jon for the okay. He nodded without even needing to think about it; that was all of the permission I needed. I was out of there so fast that I was already halfway to in town Weaverville within the same minute. Luckily, home’s just around the corner after that. Going home to the most important men in my life was exactly what I needed to get through this without any permanent damage. As long as I have Ben and Luka, I can face anything.

Chapter 32

Blackout

I brought Jon and Stefan to the airport early the following morning. Not even Ben argued about it. In fact, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that my fellow coven were walking on eggshells around me. They know how I feel about that. got even worse the following day when the package from Eddie arrived. Ben had even answered the door, just in case I decided to kill the messenger—literally. Still I didn’t bother complaining about their behavior. I just didn’t care enough to. Ben had set the box on the island in our unused kitchen and then quickly left me alone with it without saying a word. It took all I had not to break at that point. I opened the box with my razor-sharp fingernails, not allowing my emotions to get the best of me. If that were the case, I never would have opened the box. On top were four letters handwritten by Eddie. One was for Jon, one for me, and one was for Sara. There was also even one for Ben. My heart sank as I held the one that read “BEN” in my hand, as if the content of this letter could destroy me. Momentarily putting those aside, I pulled the next item out of the box, a folder of papers containing all of my real documents. I quickly recognized all of the rest as my father’s things. The one that caught my attention the most was the small safe at the bottom of the box, the key conveniently already inside the lock. Giving it one half turn, the safe pulled open. It was filled with letters and court orders from my birth mother—from all those times she tried to get me back. I read every single word from every single piece of paper before moving on to the rest. Stuck on the very bottom of the box was one more letter. Except this one wasn’t from Eddie. I recognized the handwriting immediately, along with the date on

the front. It read, “To my Daughter. June 2, 1997.” The day my parents died. , I put it aside, not currently prepared for that. Instead, I picked up the letter from Eddie that read “Hollywood” on the front. That was enough to make me smile. For my own safety I took a seat on the stool as I opened the envelope slowly, too anxious to even breathe. I unfolded the letter and read.

GABRIELLA, MY STAR. Well, if you’reading this, I’m sure you know that means . . . I finally kicked the bucket and you’on your own now. First of all, I’m sorry. For everything. Including what you’feeling right now. If I know you, you’probably feeling a little empty and incapable of having a complete thought without being reminded. Get over it. Really. I’m relieved. Though I’m sure I already miss you more than you miss me, but hey, maybe I’ll luck out and get a get-out-of-hell-free card and see Caleb again. Either way, you were always the most special to me. I’ve never been dishonest about that. You are and always will be a fantastic woman. I’m honored that I had a little something to do with that. Even though you may be a little . . . different . . . now. Which brings me to my next topic. If there’s one thing I regret it’s not making it nearly at all long enough to see you marry that stud boyfriend of yours. Regardless of the obvious, he’s good for you. Obviously. He managed to fix you when no one else could. He’s a lucky man, Gabby. Don’t ever let him forget that. But also, I don’t want you to ever forget that your heart wants what it wants, and if it wants Ben, then you better hold on tight and never let him go. I’ll be watching, either from below or above, do what’s right for you, baby girl. I love you, Hollywood, Stay strong.

Eddie always did know how to put a smile on my face. Apparently even from the grave he’s dishing it out. I felt very fortunate in that moment, more than ever before. There wasn’t any other man in the world I would of rather had raise me then my uncle Eddie. Words could never really express just how much I’ll miss him.

Several Days Later…

April 9, 2011

With Jon in Florida with Stefan, I had insisted Sara stay with us. Being over eight months pregnant and all, I couldn’t just leave her alone in Willow Creek for a couple weeks. So she just took Stefan’s room while they were gone. Of course my staying behind didn’t exclude me. If I had a dollar for every time Jon or Stefan called to ask me a question that Jon should’ve known I’d be twice as richer. Other than that, things around the house were going a lot smother then we had anticipated, so far anyway. On this particular morning, I had spent the morning upstairs in the bedroom with Ben, like any other usual morning for us. Unfortunately, just like any other usual morning, it wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been without a houseful of listening ears. But we were used to that. We tended to just kiss and caress until we just can’t take it anymore, and then we go downstairs and continue on about the day. Except today, before we even wanted to go downstairs, both of our phones went off at the same time—the agency, who else? Sara wasn’t even awake yet, so I decided to go just to make a quick appearance, as if I was still doing my job as much as I say I do. Ben didn’t even bother to ask; he just took my hand and took me with him regardless. He must have just assumed because I didn’t argue with him that we were on the same page because as soon as we were on the trail there, he stopped pulling me and more so ran with me. “Have you talked to your brother recently?” he suddenly asked. I couldn’t tell if

it was just small talk or made to look that way to cover up curiosity or suspicion. Or I was just paranoid, like always. I answered regardless. “Uh, yeah… last night he called to check up on Sara when she was asleep…” He had that thinking look before he even said anything. Again, I didn’t care enough to say anything. I didn’t know what was wrong with me; all I knew was that ever since Eddie died, there are a lot of things that I just don’t care to make a fuss about anymore. “It worries me… the two of them unsupervised… ,” he informed. It was the first I had heard his input on the situation, but I wasn’t surprised. “our problem… ,” I reminded him. “Right…” It had been days since I gave the letter from Eddie to Ben, and he still hadn’t mentioned it. The suspense was torturous. But I still couldn’t bring myself to ask him about it. I didn’t want to sound nosey or anything. What I did want to know was if Eddie told him anything that he should’ve, and that’s why Ben hasn’t said anything. When we were treading close to Redding, I suddenly stopped, causing Ben to stop with me. “What is it?” he asked, confused. I choked for a moment, still unable to make the words come out of my mouth. But as I was staring up at Ben with his eyebrows beginning to furrow at me, I sucked it up. “What did Eddie write to you about in that letter?” Ben’s confusion quickly turned to amusement, creating a soft smirk across that perfect face of his. “Nothing that could possibly make me see you any differently if that’s where you’re going with this,” he assured me, finding it all too amusing to be telling

the complete truth. “Just because it wouldn’t change anything doesn’t mean it wasn’t incriminating in any way,” I reminded him, just in case. “Of course.” He chuckled to himself, openly telling me what I wanted to hear. I rolled my eyes and continued about my way. Sooner than not we were in Redding. I could feel it in my bones, the evil taking over all of my good due too such a high velocity of painful emotions. And not even Ben’s presence eased it anymore. I think even he was terrified, hence the obsessive need to prevent a meltdown. The thing is, it was inevitable no matter what he did. It wasn’t his fault. Inside HQ, I didn’t even look at the aggravating prop of a girl behind the desk in fear that I might “accidentally” cause her to spontaneously combust. Ben and I quickly walked straight into the room shoulder to shoulder, causing the screen to flicker on as soon as we did as if they had been waiting for us. was rare. Usually it took at least a couple of seconds or at least until the door shut behind us. The look of surprise on both of their faces made me feel a little bit more than horrible. I’ve spent way too much time with Sara and much less working when I should have been. Fortunately, they need me, so neither of them were about to complain; it was just the point. “Good to see the both of you today!” Walter started. “Now I’d like you two to go too Klamath Falls and serve your target,” he ordered. What a way to add more dampers to my day. Neither of us objected. We just nodded and said what they wanted to hear so we could get out of there. It wasn’t until we were outside the building that we stopped to actually talk about the extent of this current situation. “You should stay here!” Ben quickly insisted. I raised my eyebrows at him in disbelief. “And let you go alone? I don’t fucking think so. As soon as you cross that state line you’ll be lucky to make it two seconds before you have every

werewolf within ten miles on your ass! You seriously expect me to let you go alone?” I argued, apparently the only one not afraid to. “Yes,” he replied simply, making it harder to argue with him. I had reached my breaking point. I simply walked away before I did or said something I’d regret. I needed space. Little did I know that would be exactly what I would get. Because Ben didn’t follow me home. In fact, he went in the complete opposite direction, just like that, without another word. And it was the first time I felt turned away by him. It wasn’t something I liked, and it definitely wasn’t something I needed. It set me off. Right there in the middle of nowhere, thankfully, I had my own little temper tantrum. And for a second, I was actually able to sob, tearless, but it had the same effect nevertheless. I also destroyed everything within fifty feet of me like it was nothing, using both my own strength and the use of my powers to turn it up a notch to blow some steam. Then out of nowhere my phone caught my attention; it was a text from Ben. “I’m sry, Ur just 2 good @ convincing me otherwise and I can do this on my own, u just need u. Ily.” I didn’t bother replying; it’s not like it would have mattered anyway. So I went home, hoping to find some sort of peace there without getting slapped in the face with something else at the same time. No, it was much more than that. As soon as I was close enough to sense the unfamiliar scent in the house, I knew I wasn’t going to like whatever it was I was coming home to this time. It wasn’t that I didn’t approve. It just reminded me of what I was keeping from my sister—her future. Currently, I’m letting her live one that isn’t hers. This only proved it. “Gabby! I’m glad your back!” Vanessa cheered as soon as I came through the door. She looped her arm through mine and began pulling me over into the common area. “There’s someone I want you to meet… ,” she announced.

In the common area awaited a young red-eyed women, not that much taller than Vanessa. As soon as Vanessa’s hand gently slipped into hers I knew Stefan was never going to let me live this one down. “This is Lilith. Lilith, this is my sister, Gabby.” This so wasn’t the time for this, was all I could think. Though I knew I had to say something. “Nice to meet you, Lilith! I didn’t realize Nessa had such great taste in women too,” I replied, throwing on my usual front for a moment so that I could say what I normally would have convincingly. “We’re gonna go down to LA for the night… I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t need me before I go,” Vanessa added, getting to her real point. Which only made it that much worse. She just didn’t know that. With my luck, she’ll run into Daniel while she’s there. Great. But what was I supposed to say? There was only one thing. “Oh no. I’m fine! Go, you deserve a night away,” I insisted, continuing my “I’m fine, I swear” front. didn’t know the difference anyway, she was currently distracted. Though I didn’t blame her, if I was a lesbian I would have been all over that too. “Great!” she cheered, flashing her arms around me into a giant hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow… Love you, babe. Call if you need me, and I’ll come right back, I promise!” “Vanessa, I’m fine!” I was starting to convince myself. “All right…” She sighed, unable to push any further—luckily. She and Lilith left out the back door in the same moment, leaving just Marcus, Luka, and me with Sara. How exciting. At least I have Luka. I slowly began to make my way into the living room with Sara, putting off zero motivation. At the same time, Marcus flashed downstairs. “Where’s Benjamin?” he asked with a hard tone as soon as I was in his sight. Ha. “Oh, he’s on his way to Oregon, alone.” I replied, seemingly making my way

closer to the bar. little alcohol would do the trick. “Um, why?” Marcus was quick to ask. I didn’t pause, making myself a drink while I replied, “Oh he’s on the job, to Klamath Falls. He can ‘handle it himself.’ should be here,” I muttered hastily and then let the burn of the alcohol soothe my sizzling throat. like blood, not even close, but it certainly did the trick. “I’ll call him, make sure he’s still in one piece…” Marcus sighed. “Why wouldn’t he be?” Sara decided to ask. I sat down next to her with my drink, sulking as Marcus flashed back into his office. “Because once out of California, he’s out of our territory. In other words, he’s there for the taking to the wolves that existed to perfect their territory from us, which in this case would be Oregon. They’ll rip him apart without thinking twice about it, not bothering to ask questions later—just like we would if they came into our territory,” I explained, becoming angrier the more I spoke about it. “Well then why didn’t you just follow him? I mean, that’s what you usually do when you don’t agree—you just do what you think is best anyway…” She made a point. “It’s complicated!” I insisted hard. “Fine, then stop worrying about it!” I did, after a few more drinks. I had already had four by the time Marcus got a hold of Ben and came back out of his office. Truthfully, I didn’t even know what I was so worked up about that I felt the need to drink it away, but at the time I felt hopeless. Like everything around me was falling out of place and I couldn’t catch everything fast enough. Something was bound to slip and shatter. Marcus paused behind me. “He made it to Klamath fine, okay? They knew what he was there for and weren’t about to get in his way. Though I officially give you all the permission you need to tare that boy’s heart out yourself when he gets back.” I couldn’t help but laugh, especially with all of the liquid courage. “But I’m going out. You two okay by yourselves?” he added, teasing as usual

“Very funny,” I muttered sarcastically, pouring myself another as I watched Marcus walk out the front door to go hunt. Saying that in front of Sara wouldn’t have been very 1800s enough for him. I sat back down with Sara, actually attempting to enjoy spending time with my best friend. I hadn’t been doing much of that lately, even with her staying here. There’s just something about a vampire-human relationships that prevents it from becoming any more than it should be—a meal. still don’t have any idea how Ben managed to fall in love with me or receive his ability to love again as a human. There are just too many instincts that don’t allow that to happen. Yet somehow it did in our case. I can’t seem to connect with my lifelong best friend unless we’re talking about boys or sex. Coming from a girl who is about to pop out my niece, that isn’t exactly the conversation of the hour these days. Little did I know popping was going to come a lot sooner than expected. Suddenly, the entire house went black. More like the entire town was in a blackout. Outside, the rain pushed with the wind against the house, creating for a very suspenseful moment for Sara. “Just because you can still see doesn’t mean I can!” she barked at me. Like I could forget. I sighed in complaint and grabbed a flashlight that I wasn’t even sure why we had and tossed it to her as I came back into the living room. “Thanks… ,” she muttered ungratefully, but that was just the hormones. Just as I was about to sit back down, my cell phone began to ring. It was Chelsea. “Hey… What’s up?” I asked curiously. “The entire town is in a panic. I have to stay at the office for a while to help out. Where’s Marcus? I tried to call—” “He’s catching dinner…” “Oh.”

“I’ll tell him you called when he gets back though…” “Thanks, babe.” I sighed and finally sat back down. The one thing I had going for me was that at least I wasn’t “sore” from being so stressed out. I was just aggravated. it was only going to get worse. We must have only been sitting there not even five minutes when Sara suddenly stood up, dripping wet. I’m no doctor, but I know a baby on the way when I see one. She panicked; “Oh my freaking god!” she yelled. “What the fuck!” “Relax… We’re going to get you to a hospital… ,” I insisted, flashing to my feet in superpower mode now. “Relax? The entire town is in a blackout, and the baby decides to come now, and you want me to relax?! I don’t think so! I’ll relax when she decides to stay in until Jon comes back—or at least until the damn storm is over. Gabby, I can’t do this!” she rambled, now crying her little eyes out. I was ready to panic. But I couldn’t. I was the only one that couldn’t because I was the only one that could prevent this from being a fatal disaster. I needed Marcus, right now. The first couple of times I called him, he didn’t answer. But after the third straight try in a row he must have got the emergency hint because he finally answered. The thunder rumbled the house; I could even hear it through the echo of the phone. The storm was only becoming worse by the minute. I couldn’t help but just start rambling to Marcus like a psycho. “Marc, I need your help. The roads are closed. Sara’s literally popping, and I don’t have the slightest goddamn clue as to what I’m doing! Chelsea’s working late, Ben and Vanessa are gone, Jon and Stefan are across the fucking country, and I need you!”

“Okay, okay, relax. We can do this, Gabriella. This is nothing compared to when Luka was born. This should be easy. Just bear with me. I’m on my way. Don’t hang up. I’ll walk you through it until I get there. You with me?” To say I was nervous would be just ridiculous. I was downright terrified. But not of failing or making this any worse than it already is. I was terrified that I wouldn’t make it through this without loosing control. I wasn’t exactly stable tonight, even the slightest little bump in the road could set me off—and my best friend was about to give birth to my niece. How was I supposed to do this with such high risks at stake? “Gabriella… you still with me?” Marcus asked again through the phone when I didn’t respond. “Ya…” I replied lightly—barely. Not really focusing on that so much as I was worrying about randomly deciding to kill my best friend while she’s having a baby… “Can you bring her into the office downstairs?” Marcus instructed more than asked. “Uh-huh.” Short, simple answers were about the only thing I could process at the moment. I think that if vampires could snap into some short of shock trance, I was in one. I could hardly think straight. For a minute, I felt almost human—besides the aching urge to kill. Though some humans have that urge too. They’re known as serial killers. I looped my arm through Sara. “You should lie down… ,” I insisted, walking her slowly into the office off of the living room by the stairs. “Make sure she’s propped up,” Marcus added. I put the phone on speaker and set it down on the end table next to the couch I was laying Sara on, propping her up with neverbefore-used throw pillows that were merely for Chelsea’s sense of decoration. “How are their heart rates?” Marcus quickly asked, getting all of the information he could before he got there. “Just a couple beats higher than five minutes ago… ,” I replied, having no idea what I should be listening for.

“And her contractions? How far apart are they?” “Seventy-seven seconds.” I knew that one off of the top of my head. It was hard not to keep track. It’s a natural vampire thing to instinctively keep track of those kinds of things subconsciously or otherwise. “Now how much pain is she in?” Marcus asked, getting substantially close to the uncomfortable stuff. was definitely going to be a long night. I knelt down beside Sara, gently placing my hand in hers. “It’s going to be fine, Sara. How do you feel?” I asked carefully. I ed how aggravating it was to be asked a million questions when all you want is for it all to stop. She scowled at me. didn’t take it personally. Her eyes were welling up with tears. “I. Want. Drugs. I need them. They are a part of my birthing plan. This is not. I can’t do this! Especially without Jon!” Tears began to slowly race down her cheeks. I helped her wipe them away with the back of my hand, just like when we were little. “I know, it’s hard. But Jon will be here as soon as he can. Him and Stefan are on their way now. I know you can do this, Sara. You don’t need Jon or anyone else for that matter. If you can’t do it for you, do it for your daughter. That’s what I did,” I insisted, desperately trying to be as good a friend as I once was. wasn’t sure that was possible at this point. “Gabriella… ,” Marcus called through the phone again. “Ya?” “You need to check to see how dilated she is. That’ll tell us what stage she’s in.” I paused awkwardly. “You want me to what?” I gasped. “It’s either you or me, babe. Which do you think she’d prefer?” I hesitantly looked over at Sara, afraid of her reaction. Her eyes stared widely at me, in a desperate sort of way that told me I’d better do it or she’ll never forgive me. “This is so wrong on so many levels… ,” I muttered as I forced myself to turn completely to Sara. “Hey, just think of how disappointed the boys are going to

be when they heard they missed this…” Marcus laughed, naturally causing me to laugh with him at that extremely amusing thought. “Both of you are totally going to owe me for this,” I reminded them. “Oh cut it out, you love it!” Sara teased, lightening the mood a tad. It was a relief to see that even considering the circumstances, she was still very much herself. Even as I had to insert my finger into her vagina to see how dilated her cervix was—that’s a moment neither of us will ever forget. It definitely wasn’t as awkward as I anticipated. It wasn’t like I was finger banging her or anything; it was purely for medical reasons. But try telling that to the boys. “About eight centimeters… ,” I anxiously answered, glad that was over with. “Now I’m going to go wash my hand with acid!” I overexaggerated but caused Sara to laugh hysterically in between contractions, so it was worth it. By the time it took me to go to the other room and back, Marcus was seconds away, his scent was overly relieving. I don’t think I’d ever been so relieved for his return. Usually it involves putting on our best behavior in hopes of avoid being called upon for one of his famous motivational. I awaited him by the door while I listened to his every move, along with every painful cry Sara let out during a current contraction. was progress, at least. As Marcus flashed up the front steps and through the front door, I flashed with him to Sara. I didn’t even bother to fret the worried look on his face. I knew that it would only make this that much harder for me to handle. “I don’t think anyone is getting in or out or anywhere anytime soon. Everything is closed off. We’re going to have to do this ourselves, and I’m going to need you to help me,” Marcus informed, hard. But he did so with a slight gentle touch to prevent an immortal breakdown. didn’t need that. I guess after doing this for three lifetimes the bedside manner just becomes natural. He flashed to Sara’s side, immediately beginning to his thing. She again cried out in pain. But at least she was slightly eased to see Marcus. It just wasn’t enough to make the situation any less unsettling.

Without bothering to stop looking over Sara, Marcus glared over at me briefly, his hands still telling him what his eyes couldn’t. “You should go call your brother,” he instructed me, waiting for me to go and do it before taking his eyes off of me. Still in a slight trance, I slowly picked up my phone off of the end table and made my way into the common area, going back into the living room on the other side of the stairs to get there, as far away from Sara as I could for emotional reasons—for my brother’s sake. The problem was he didn’t answer, no matter how many times I called. “Try Stefan,” Marcus suggested from the other room, keeping tabs. That was exactly why I desperately called Jon so many times. I didn’t want it to have to come to me calling Stefan. “Ugh, it’s been so nice not having to talk to him. This is lame,” I muttered mostly to myself, making my way to the bar just to gather enough courage to hit the “send” button. I was already pouring another drink by the time it began to ring. Of course I didn’t have to call Stefan a hundred times for him to answer. He answered after the third ring, as soon as he knew it was me. “Gabs?” He sounded surprised. “Hi,” I whined, making my lack of enthusiasm obvious. “Where’s my brother?” I barked. “He’s sleeping, dude. It’s four in the morning here…” I took a long swig of my drink, slamming my empty glass back onto the bar. “Riiight. Well, you better get his ass up. Sara’s about to have the baby.” “Whoa, what!” I laughed. “The entire county is in a blackout. Everything is shut down, including the roads, even ours, and Sara’s about to have the baby here. Everyone else is gone. It’s just Marcus and me. Luka’s asleep, somehow. So get my brother on the plane and back here now!” I pretty much demanded.

Stefan didn’t answer immediately this time. I think it took him a second to comprehend the situation. Then after a two-and-one-eighth-of-a-second pause, he asked, “Where the hell is everyone?” What! I screamed in my head but kept it from become verbal. That’s really all he had to ask? It was almost like I didn’t recognize anybody anymore. That’s what had me the most terrified tonight. Yet there was something about hearing Stefan’s voice that made it all a little tolerable, as if I had talked to Ben. Just without the lovey-dovey feeling attached —thankfully! It was enough to allow me to answer his question without sounding like a complete wreck. definitely wasn’t a satisfaction I wanted Stefan to experience the pleasure of having. “Ha, well, Chelsea had to work late because of the storm. Ben’s in Klamath Falls on a quick job and—you’re going to love this—Vanessa is out on the town in LA with her date, Lilith. I was assigned Sara duty courtesy of Ben. Luckily at least I have Marcus, the only one of us that knows what he’s doing most of the time.” A low but noticeable sigh came from Stefan. “We’re on our way, Gabs. Don’t worry, I’ll get your brother there as soon as I can,” he assured and then hung up on me at the same time I hung up on him. I mimicked that sigh and leaned against the wall of the living room between the bar and the doorway of the office. “Gabriella?” Marcus called, not allowing even a moment to breathe. I could feel my eyes become a solid shade of black as I turned to my left into the office doorway, pausing there. Marcus stood up over Sara, looking at me. “I need you to help keep her calm while I grab a few things around the house that’ll help…” As much as I hated everything about this, I nodded and made my way toward Sara on the couch. As Marcus and I ed each other on the way in and out, he flashed an aware gaze, letting me know he was thinking of me too. Though it didn’t help as much as I could have hoped it would. But as I kneeled back down next to Sara, she looked over at me with this twinkle in her eye that might as well have flipped a switch, taking me back. Suddenly, I saw it all very differently. My humanity had surfaced. I didn’t just

want Sara to make it through this because I would never be able to live with myself otherwise. I wanted her to get through this as easily as possible because she’s my best friend and I love her. It had just taken a little push for me to that. Sometimes it’s too easily misplaced. That’s when you know you have something worth the fix. Of course, she didn’t notice any of this. She couldn’t tell the difference even if she was paying enough attention. I think she had more important things on her mind, like pain. I placed my hand in hers, allowing her to use it as a clutch. “Don’t worry about it. You can’t hurt me,” I reminded her. A forced but real smile hid in the corner of her mouth, but the pain caused it to quickly fade. I had to keep talking. “Hey, Senior Skip Day when we drove down to Miami and Jon and Frankie decided to come as our bodyguards or babysitters, and we totally ditched them after five minutes through Miami Beach. We spent the entire day flirting with those two boys from New Orleans, only to ditch them too when we were done playing our little game.” “You totally broke that boy’s heart!” She managed to chuckle, which inevitably made me smile with accomplishment. “I’m sure he’s just fine!” I laughed with her. Just then, Marcus came back into the room, each arm filled with this and that. But there was one thing in particular that caught my attention; in his right hand, he held just a blue plastic cup with a lime-green cover and matching blue straw filled with blood. He dropped everything else onto his desk and handed me the cup. “You’re going to need this,” he suggested, practically reading my mind. I smiled again, flashing to my feet. I gratefully received the cup from him. It was exactly what I needed—as close as I was going to get anyway. I gulped half of it in one sip, letting it mend the aching raw sizzle in the throat, coating my stomach with just enough blood to get through this night without leaving any regrets. I quickly flashed back next to Sara and kneeled down beside her. I didn’t want to

leave her side for a second. Now had an idea of how Ben felt when it was me to have a baby in this house. The thought haunted me, but I instinctively brushed it away, allowing myself to fully be here for Sara, worrying mostly about myself for once. That was something else I needed to work on… Marcus began setting up all of his fancy equipment, hooking it up to Sara, monitoring her the human way. After taking another large gulp of my “drink,” I placed my hand back into Sara’s and began using my words as her security blanket. Allowing the natural attraction of the sound of my voice send her into a supernatural trance of comfort regardless of the pain. Only one person came to mind as I thought of a wise mind to interpret. “Eddie would have probably told you something absurd like, ‘Don’t sweat it, your life’s over now anyway… ,’ wearing his famous shit-eating grin.” I chuckled, attempting to bring out the real Sara. “Like senior year when Billy James shot up the school and Eddie was like ‘, you could have ended that in your sleep. What are you complaining about?’ Because we were upset that our lives had been threatened unexpectedly.” She managed to reply through the pain. “Ha. Yeah, just like that. That was actually the most exciting day we had in high school!” I laughed, considering that’s pretty pathetic. “Ya, thanks to Caleb… ,” Sara added. Adding much more emotion than necessary, but what I was going to do? “s…” I sighed, flashing a bright fake smile. I didn’t lie; I meant it. That was the problem. Caleb always was what made our days that much more exciting at the end of the day, when he’d travel all the way from Tampa just to see me. But that wasn’t something I should have been thinking about right now. I had to focus on Sara. So I redirected my thoughts. Looking back over at Sara, who was clearly worried about whether she should’ve just said that or not, I leaned closer to her, ready to use the newly natural pull of my voice to my advantage. “With Eddie gone now too, I think Jon misses Caleb even more. Even if he won’t it it,” I said, killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. By reaming the target of the topic, I showed Sara I wasn’t too upset to talk about it while

managing to get me out of the cross fire. But I had to make it personal to make it real. “I know that Jon will never be the same without Caleb. Neither will I. I still miss him too, almost a year later. I still love him like crazy too, but even if he was still alive, it would be different. Whether Caleb is dead or alive I would fall in love Ben over and over again so hard that not even Caleb McAurther could do anything about it. Believe it or not, Jon feels the same way about you as I do about Ben. Men just show it differently. Some even need to be taught. Like Ben and Jon. I believe we’ve had that conversation before…” The look on Sara’s face was heartbreaking. But not why you would think. She held my hand a little tighter and continued to look me dead in the eye. “I know that he cares and that he loves me. I just don’t think that love is as unconditional as yours. You were like made to be with Ben, and you’ve always known that. There isn’t much to doubt. Jon’s Jon. He never wanted this…” She almost began to cry, inevitably breaking my heart. I was so focused on this that I didn’t even bother to care that Marcus was right there to hear and see every single word— the maker of the newly found love of my life. Instead, I continued to stay focused on Sara, wiping away a tear just as it began to fall. I shook my head at her, wishing she could see it like I do. I just had to explain it to her well enough. “You know, Ben never wanted this either… I could’ve died, without coming back. But just because that wasn’t what he had anticipated didn’t make him care any less. In the end, it gave us something more, something greater than anything else in the world—our son. Nobody can take that from us. Relationships are only what you make of them. I know that Jon loves you. He wouldn’t be with you otherwise. He’s way too selfish for that. That’s why he wasn’t ever with Maxi. “ a few years ago when Jenelle tried to tell me that she was screwing Caleb, and I didn’t even have to ask to know that she was lying—or how Ben doesn’t obsess over my actions, and I try not to obsess over his? That’s because trust goes both ways, but it has to be earned, and you both have to have it in order for it all to work out. You’d be surprised how far your relationship can go as long as you have a little trust. you have a legit reason not too. Point being, if the both of you would stop fretting over your past and give each other a little trust so that you can actually move forward, you just might find yourself more confident about your relationship. never ever them know that! That’s the easiest way for them to take advantage of it, so just do you. It’s that simple.”

I didn’t expect her to have any idea what to say. What I also didn’t expect was for Marcus to. “She’s right… ,” Marcus whispered to Sara, smiling at her in a humor. I flashed a sarcastic smile at him before looking back down at Sara. “Ya, she usually is.” She smirked at me, eyes twinkling, causing all of Ben’s accusations to come back to me, making me laugh. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right, Gabriella!” Marcus chuckled, more so referring to this time seven months ago. “Relive, and if you’re lucky, what does kill you will allow you to see dead people!” I stiffened, becoming tense at the reminder of those torturous days between the times I died having Luka to when I died becoming a vampire. I was just so glad not to be Jae. “Ha. I’ll try to keep that in mind!” Sara sneered through her teeth, not in anger but in agony. Her hands gripped mine as hard as she could, yet I still couldn’t feel it. I just wanted to take all of her pain away, feel it myself instead. I brushed her hair out of her face and began comforting her again. started setting up for delivery… “Uh, ya know, I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but ever since we were seven years old, I’ve always looked up to you even though you were always the one looking up to me. I the exact moment that I realized just how special my best friend is. It was just a few weeks before your birthday, and we were at Luiggie’s with your mom and baby Timmy. Your mom had been upset about your father still, and you just looked up at her and said, ‘Don’t cry, Mom. At least daddy gave you us. We’ll never leave you.’ I was just so impressed with how well you took care of her. That was something I never could find the strength to do with my mom, especially back then… Then she died. You’re much stronger than you give yourself credit for, Sara. You can do this, for your daughter.” I had no idea where I just pulled that one out of, but I must say I was impressed. Even through midcontraction, Sara looked over at me, blocking out the pain and she said, “And you can still fix that. Maybe not with Amy but maybe you get can get that lifelong motherless void filled before it’s too late and you spend your eternity in regret wondering what if, never getting the answers you never got the chance to ask Amy like a normal teenage girl. You deserve to know who you

came from, babe.” I didn’t know what to say. But before I even had the chance to figure it out, she wasn’t paying any attention. It was time. The correct word here would be “dumbfounded.” I was so lost in it all that it was almost like an out-of-body experience. I was there physically, holding her hand, talking her through it as she pushed her way through each contraction as Marcus counted her up to ten each time. I even wiped her forehead with a cool cloth in between. But mentally, it was like I was in my own alternate universe, still taking in what Sara had just said to me. It was the only thing I could think about. I suppose being mentally elsewhere was the best thing for both of us, considering I could still very much see her in front of me, and she looked like hell. I wanted so badly for this to be over so that we could take all of the pain away. Luckily, it wasn’t much longer. Just a few short thirty minutes later and multiple ignored phone calls to all of us, the squealing cry of a newborn baby girl lit up the entire house. Like any other natural birth, Marcus placed the baby in Sara’s arms while he had me help him detach her—the cord. It was a beautiful experience. One even I could appreciate. disgusting as it may or may not have been. Still all the blood made my insides boil. The storm had lightened but hadn’t stopped completely. The power was still out, but the sun was just beginning to rise. It was a year ago today that this story started, and if someone would’ve told me that Sara would give birth to my niece today in the house of my vampire coven, I probably would’ve tried my hardest to it them to the closest psychiatric hospital. And I would have been wrong. I wouldn’t take back any of it even if I could. The past year has formed me in ways that I wouldn’t change for the world. Now it was time to set it right, for good. Now that it was a little clearer outside, Marcus got Sara and baby into the car and on the way to the hospital as I got Luka and followed them there on foot. needed the air. If I was smart, I would have stopped for a snack on the way, but I was too concerned about just getting there and finally being able to call it the end of the day.

By the time I got there, Marcus had compelled practically everyone into giving Sara the best of the best as long as she wanted. couldn’t have thanked him enough. I waited a while before going into her room, giving her and me both a few minutes alone. I was still trying to comprehend what she said to me. I was afraid to know what was on her mind besides having a new baby. That can distract you from pretty much everything else in the world, as it should. As expected, Chelsea was there only moments later, wrapping her little arms around me tightly as if I had just experienced some traumatic event. was cute. I hugged her tightly back, appreciating her presence and her love. Being my maker, it was impossible not to. She sat with me quietly while I geared up the strength to go into Sara’s room. Then just when I needed it the most, Vanessa arrived. wasn’t expecting her. Her presence once again reminded me of what I was keeping from her, now giving me something else to face. So I had a better idea. I stood to my feet and made my way to the end of the hall. I finally found it in me to call Ben back. I knew I had been wrong to be so dramatic about it, especially now. Ben had been right—Sara had needed me there. Regardless whether he knew that beforehand or not. I was glad I was there. I would’ve felt awful had I been working with Ben. I didn’t want to play mad at him anymore. I needed him. Still he never seems to disappoint. He answered on only the second ring like some desperate teenage girl. “Gabby… I’m sor—” “Just forget about it, Ben. It doesn’t even matter.” I sighed. “What?” He sounded confused and almost suspicious. “I’m not mad, relax… just miss you. Where are you?” “California, fifteen minutes at most…” “Well, we’re all at Trinity General. Sara had the baby.” “Well, now that makes more sense,” he muttered mostly to himself. “Make that

thirteen minutes then. Tops… Gabby, I didn’t want to upset you—” “I know, Ben! Just get here.” I sighed, hanging up before I made it too obvious just how much I needed him. I was always against people being so dependent on one another—there’s so much more to lose. Yet for some ungodly reason, I am very dependent on Ben, and I want to be. I love him so much that I want to give all of it to him. But my well-built wall filled with lifelong rules and regulations prevented me from doing so. I can only give him so much; I have to fight against it every time. It’s exhausting. I didn’t want it to be this way. I needed to fix it. I was going to fix it. I marched back down the hallway, but this time I didn’t sit back down. I went into Sara’s room full charge. I was breaking down my wall. And it was all thanks to her. She was obviously surprised by my abrupt entrance, but that wasn’t anything she wasn’t used to. She was still in her hour of recovery, and baby was being looked over by the nurses. So it provided me with the perfect opportunity. I sat down at the foot of her bed, lifting her feet up onto my lap to elevate them so that I could rub them just like we used to do every single day to each other after gymnastics. Then just as I was about to say something, she cut me off. “Wait! Before you say anything I just want to tell you how incredibly grateful I am for you. I never would have put up with me! So thanks for being a trooper. And also my best friend.” I smiled widely at her. “We are so corny!” I chuckled. “But seriously, you made me realize a lot tonight, Sara. I just wanted to thank you for that. You gave me the courage to do all of the things that I haven’t wanted to. I need to face these things in order to move on. It’s all thanks to you, my best friend.” I added. She mimicked my wide smile while at the same time grabbing the pink crib card the nurses had left her to fill out while they were looking over the baby. I realized why. The card read: Hi, my name’s Jade Rae Love. I was born April 9th 2011. Jade, my middle name. I didn’t know what to say. “It was actually Jon’s idea… I just totally agreed because I love you!” she added, being the greatest as usual.

Unable to resist, I flashed my arms around her, hugging her as tightly as humanly possible. “You’re amazing. And now you’re the mother of my niece. You can’t ever get rid of me,” I teased, causing us to laugh together. “I wouldn’t get rid of you even if you become the boogeyman.” she teased back, laughing even harder. She was glowing, naturally. Even more so than when she was pregnant. It was like she was an entirely new and improved Sara without the dramatic effect of the supernatural, mostly. Even as thirsty as I still was, I still wasn’t going anywhere until Jon was here. So it was going to be a while. Unfortunately for me, the hospital is one of the worst places in the world to deprive yourself, but I’m still reminded. I just want to put my past behind me and look forward, completely. Sara and I had been laughing so long that by the time I finally sensed Ben, it was as if the time flew right by me unnoticed. That doesn’t usually happen to us. When he appeared in the doorway, I didn’t even need to look over at Sara to let her know I was out of there, room, for now. I just flashed right up into Ben’s arms and into his comforting, intoxicating presence. As I shut Sara’s door, I opened the empty room next to it, ripping off the outside door handle at the same time, locking us in as I pushed both of us into the room, avoiding everyone else completely. Just like every other single time I see him I’m unable to resist kissing him. I seductively but sweetly wrapped my arms around the back of his neck, pulling myself up onto the tip of my toes and gently pressed my lips to his, creating a tingle of electricity through our body that was irresistible. His arms held me tighter against him, cradling me against him as if I was his most prized possession. And that I am. That is why I forced myself to stop kissing him long enough to get to my point, inevitably making me want him even more, and vice versa. “Look, in order for me to love you as much as I ridiculously do, there are still things that I need to take care of now before we take it all the way. Most importantly being Stasia. I need to confront it all. Eddie too. By the time I’m done I won’t ever need to look back. Because I love you so much that it hurts, you should be aware. I just want to be with you, without worrying about

everything else in the world at the same time… ,” I explained to the best of my ability. Ben gently brushed his hand against my face, staring down at me with those sexy red eyes of his. “Do whatever you have to do, baby. You have the power to do anything…” “And your so fuckin’ sexy,” he added, no longer able to resist as he began kissing my neck seductively as he found his way into my pants. Let’s just say that I didn’t object. In fact, I wanted it just as badly as him, probably more. You’d think after the night I just had that sex would be the last thing on my mind, but I think since I can’t get pregnant anymore, that doesn’t apply to me. Plus, Ben’s way too gorgeous to ever turn down. Now I was ready to rock and roll. Just in time too. We hadn’t been in that room very long when I smelled Jon and Stefan arrive forty-five minutes earlier than expected. That was my cue. Of course I hated letting go of Ben. It would have to wait—for now. I flashed what was left of my clothes back on and pushed my way back through the door, Ben closely behind me, his hand maintaining an arousing position in just the right spot on my lower back. Marcus stood just outside the door, his arms crossed strongly across his chest with a very disappointed demeanor. “Seriously? In a hospital?” he sneered. didn’t expect him to understand. We just smiled in amusement. Even Jon chuckled as we walked up and knew exactly what he was looking at. “Better than a graveyard on Halloween.” He shrugged, having been there himself. Ben laughed. Jon proceeded to me. I stepped forward and hugged him, relieved to see him not just because of today but because I haven’t since he left on the first of the month. “Thank you for taking care of her for me. I’m glad she has you,” he whispered. “Not as glad as I am that she has you, and now Jade” I replied, letting go to smirk at him. He grinned, practically blushing. “I told you you’re amazing,” he said, slowly making his way into Sara’s room to be with her and Jade. was beyond proud of him for even being here. The Jon most of us know wouldn’t have been, if it had been anyone else. Sounds familiar.

Now that Jon was gone again, it left us with Marcus again. Stefan had already disappeared without another word. wasn’t a good sign. He glared at us, mostly at Ben. “I want you to take her out of town. It’s been a long night. Not only does she need it, she deserves it. So feed her… And finish what you started far away from here so I don’t have to witness your foreplay all day like usual… ,” he insisted, demanded really. Ben had to. that he complained. That was all the permission we needed. We couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Having to make our way through halls of humans was starting to become annoying. We just aren’t equipped with the patience for a normal pace. As soon as we were outside though, we were gone, and it didn’t matter who saw us because we were too fast to actually be seen. I followed Ben, watching his every perfected movement, each of them turning me on even more than the last. My hand stayed fixed in his, not letting go for anything. I followed him all the way to Lewiston. It was always the best place to find quick reasonable choices. But we did things a little differently this day. We had turned an entire page. See, most of the time a vampire never spills a single drop. But then there are times when that’s exactly what they want to do. It’s all about the bite. You hit it just right, you control the flow perfectly; if not, it becomes a bloodbath. We crashed the party of two guys and a girl in a van smoking up in an empty field. Perfect. This was how vampires were meant to make love. Your two biggest aspects as one equals to some phenomenal sex. Covered in blood, smothered with love. Each time his lips touched my skin it was like having a continuous orgasm. There isn’t anything else like it in the world. I escaped it all. This was my happy place. I didn’t ever want to leave. “As long as I have you…”

Chapter 33

Face it, Gabby!

The following morning, April 10, 2011

One day before the anniversary of Caleb’s death…

I stood at the edge of the peak, wondering what it would be like to just fall. What would happen? What would it be like? What would I be thinking on my way down? Only those thoughts were the thoughts suppressed from my much more dignified ones, my reasons for going back. Though they held a greater weight, it was still harder to face. Having to go back to Florida feels like taking one giant leap back, but apparently in order for me to make that final leap forward, that leap back is necessary in order to get there. That, I could handle. I had to. I had approximately three hours until I would be getting on that plane, without Ben, just Sylas. The one other person capable of “protecting me” without it affecting my purpose of being there. Can you guess whose brilliant idea this was? It was mine. The last thing I need is a distraction. Ben’s my only distraction. I want this to work; I was willing to torture myself by being away from him in order to do that. Ben, not so much. But like he always says, ’ll get over it.

As I continued staring off of the ledge breathless, I listened as far as I could, listening to every single sound within a three-mile radius in each direction. Just one caught my attention, a scent attached to it. The scent of. I didn’t move. I just stood there, continuing to listen as he came closer and closer by the second, preparing myself for whatever annoyance his presence was bringing me this time. “As if you knew where to find me… ,” I sneered under my breath, feeling a little suffocated already—I needed that quiet time that he was crashing. Seems to be the story of a vampire’s life… “Lucky guess?” Stefan shrugged as he came into view through the wood line on my near right, looking as ive-aggressive as ever. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t seen that one coming from three miles away. “Ya right.” I rolled my eyes, well aware of his agenda. The fact that he could read my mind and was still willing to stand there was impressive enough to at least hear him out—luckily for him. Or I just might have experimented with my falling theory using Stefan as my test subject. I was in one of those moods today. Though I shouldn’t have been considering the last seven hours of blooddrenched lovemaking… This whole facing it all thing was even getting to that side of me. That just wasn’t acceptable. I desperately needed to get this over with. “Fair enough.” Stefan shrugged again. “I want you to tell Vanessa about Daniel. Do something. You didn’t see it just so you could ignore it for your own personal soft spots,” he insisted honestly at least, now standing directly beside me, looking out off of the cliff. I just wasn’t ready for that. Not yet. “You can’t be that selfish,” Stefan whispers in reference to my thoughts. He was right. “I know.” I sighed. At the same time, I had a brilliant idea. I quickly glanced over at him. “That’s why I’m taking him with me!” I exclaimed on the spot, thankful for Stefan’s nagging. For once, it help. Appreciative, I flashed my arms around him, giving him a very unexpected hug that seemingly made his day. I couldn’t help but feel pleased to have the ability to do that to him, as totally unfair as it might be in the end. It’s a relieving step from being a royal bitch in order to prevent him from falling harder. If I allowed myself to it it, I miss being just his friend. Not the girl that he’s in love with who is not his wife and who happens to be marrying his coven brother.

I couldn’t think about that right now. I had a lot of ground to cover and not enough hours in my day. I had to take advantage of every single second I had. With that aside I was now anxious. As soon as I let go of Stefan I flashed back toward town, toward the airport. Stefan quickly followed behind me in protest. “Uh, that’s not exactly what I had in mind!” he insisted, running literally just behind me. “When I said do something, I didn’t mean drag the kid across the country with you!” he added, quickly becoming responsibly nervous. “What’s the matter, Stefan? Afraid I might give him the attention that I can’t give you?” I teased, continuing to run without looking back at him. Stefan struggled to keep up and keep his head in it at the same time on this particular subject, making my point. The more flustered he is, the less convincing he’ll be. “No, that’s not it. I just don’t want you messing with the poor kid’s head, especially when his fate’s with Vanessa. Do you really want another brother in love with you too?” He made a point, disproving mine. Still, I didn’t completely agree with him. “It’s not like that with Daniel,” I insisted. “Oh really? Why don’t you explain this difference to me then?” he suggested, hard. “You don’t want me to,” I warned with an emotionless tone. “Ya, actually, I do,” he replied hard again. I hadn’t intended for this conversation to go that deep. I should have seen that coming. That’s when I stopped dead, flashing around to look him dead in the eye. “Daniel is like a lifelong missing piece of a puzzle, one that I don’t want to get lost again jus because his other half is gone forever. He’s the only one left. Now I’m not about to walk all over the life that I had with Caleb by committing adultery with his long-lost brother. While you more like a bad habit that is around every corner, one that is impossible to shake. Relapsing would involve losing everything. I’m not about to walk all over my current life with Ben for that either. It’s not worth it,” I explained. The look on Stefan’s face was lighter—with slight relief—but I could still see that he wasn’t through with me yet. “So it’s not that you can’t? You just won’t?” he replied, staring down at me with wide heartbroken eyes. “Yes.” I breathed, forcing myself to it it.

“Why?” he quickly asked, almost as if he was about to convince me otherwise. That made me nervous. Still my only option was to answer honestly, so I did. I sighed, looking him directly in the eye with as much sympathy as I had—which was a lot. “I love him, Stefan. More than anything, you know that. My feelings for you are different. Though they are very much real, I won’t act on them. And neither should you. He’s been your brother since before my great-grandparents were born. It’s just wrong. I’ll always want to be with him, so just save us both the loss and accept that. Otherwise, we’re gonna have a long-ass forever, if we even make it that long!” I said, straight from the heart. It wasn’t very often I did that with anyone other than Ben. It was strangely… relieving. Stefan was practically speechless. He just stared down at me in a sort of shock. After a moment or two I slowly turned around and began making my way again, hoping he’d snap out of it and soon follow. I may not have invited him, but it was better than going alone. That’d get boring real fast. It only took six seconds for him to finally escape his trance. When he did he flashed next to me, now running beside me rather than behind. “So what’s your plan then? I know you have one. This is just adding to it,” he said, conveniently changing the awkward pull of the last topic. I chuckled to myself, amused by his cute way of eliminating that awkwardness at just the right precise time, knowing exactly what to change the subject to— Daniel—as if it never bothered him in the first place. “Let’s just say that by the time I come back, you won’t have to bug me about it anymore.” “And when he realizes what we are?” he quickly adds. I wondered how long he’d been waiting to drop that bomb. “I’m not worried,” I assured him. “From what I know about Daniel, he isn’t going to care whether I’m a vampire or Bigfoot. I’m what’s left of his missing puzzle piece too. Well, my former life is.” Conveniently, by now, we were just getting to the airport. didn’t reply. Luckily the jet had been ready all day, so I didn’t have to mess around with that. I just had to make a few minor adjustments. Of course as soon as we were on our way, Stefan started right back up again about Daniel and his knowledge of us. Honestly, that was the last thing I was worried about right now. If it really came down to it, I’d just compel him if I had to. Other than that, he doesn’t need to know anything until absolutely necessary.

Until then, he’s my oblivious puzzle piece and will remain that way until I feel it necessary. I can be as selfish as I want; this is personal. So I ignored Stefan. What else is knew? hour, seventeen minutes, and thirty-seven seconds later, we landed in LA. It was always nicer down here, a little suffocating, but it was better than no-man’s-land. with Stefan seemingly attached to me. “Ya know, if you’d just talk to me I wouldn’t have to dig through that devilish mind of yours,” he complained as we stepped off of the plane. Will he ever quit? “Don’t answer that!” I said aloud, covering my tracks before they were even made. “Try letting it go, Stefan. Why do you care so much anyway? You do realize that Daniel will be your brother?” I replied to his complaint, now officially tracking Daniel through the side streets of Los Angeles. Stefan didn’t answer me right away either. The only difference was that I didn’t have the advantage of his thoughts. goodness. He sighed, fidgeting as he continued following me. “Yes, I know,” he eventually says. “I don’t care about that. It’s Vanessa. She’s been alone for so long… And from what I’ve learned about Daniel, Vanessa deserves someone like him. Whether I like the kid or not.” “Envy’s one of the seven deadly sins, ya know. You should really work on that… ,” I teased, honestly more focused on following Daniel’s scent then Stefan’s overbearing infatuation with everything that he can’t have. Though this was something I was very much used to, it never gets easier with the more hearts you break. Again, Stefan didn’t reply right away. , I was hoping for. Los Angeles is a huge city. If I wanted to find Daniel, convince him to come with me, and make it back on time to leave for Florida, I had to do this fast. The clock was ticking, with minimal time to waste. I continued tracking Daniel’s scent through the city. I hadn’t been paying much attention to the curious eyes that we ed, but I caught Stefan watching them all, scowling at them if they even looked at us directly. “Stop it, Stefan. They’re harmless,” I reminded through my teeth, feeling as if I was the babysitter on this brief prejourney adventure. “How do you do it?” Stefan quickly asks without the slightest bit of hesitation. “Deal with all of these men wanting you without even having a tad bit of

temptation? I guess what I’m asking is how do you stay so flawlessly loyal?” I looked over at him as if to say, “You’re joking, right?” But when he just waited impatiently for my answer I knew that he was serious. It took a moment to gather an appropriate response. “Simple.” I shrugged. “I’ve been lucky enough to be with two men that I love. I don’t need or want anyone else. If I did it wouldn’t be real now, would it? When you meet someone that makes you feel as if they’re the only one, it’ll be real. Then you’ll understand. If you already had, you wouldn’t even look at me like that anymore. That’s what Vanessa and Daniel will have, just like Marcus and Chelsea, and Ben and I. So what’s keeping you? That’s what you should be worrying about. Everyone else is already in their correct places. Spend your time finding yours for once. Maybe you’ll find someone worth the hunt,” I explained to him as productively as I possibly could without sounding like an after-school special. That gave him something to think about, and just in time too because I had finally pinpointed my targeted scent,. I followed it to UCLA. While Stefan now kept his distance across the street, I waited eagerly by the front entrance of the school, waiting for him to run into me on his way out. The closer he became, the more real it was for me. When he finally came into view, he was walking shoulder to shoulder with a pretty blonde girl. I spotted him first, of course, so I had the pleasure of studying him as he walked toward me in his normal state, unaffected by the natural pull of a vampire. I waited… Then as expected, as soon as his eyes found mine, he quickly ditched the girl and walked right toward me as she set off in the opposite direction. Daniel was now holding a completely different demeanor. Before, he had been relaxed and in tune with his game. Now he was curious, determined, and drawn to me, as usual. “You,” he says accusingly, unable to take his eyes off of mine even if he wanted to. “Again.” I smirked, pulling him deeper without the use of compeltion. I didn’t need it. “You here for my dignity this time?” he teased. Stefan laughed in the distance. I smiled gracefully, unable to help myself. I can’t help that I’m a natural flirt, but if it works, who am I to disown it?

“Pretty much.” I shrugged. “I’m… uh… going back to Florida today to take care of a few loose ends before I get married… I’d like it if you came with me… If you want,” I said convincingly, nervously. It’s just too easy sometimes. It didn’t take him very long to think about it. He simply peered down at me for a moment as if he was looking for his answer. Then finally he said, “Ya, why not?” Honestly, I was surprised at how simple that was. I just wasn’t surprised enough to pry. “All right then, good. Let’s go. We don’t want to be late!” I exclaimed. Daniel didn’t question me for even a second. It strangely reminded me of how I felt about Ben when I had first met him. Though I was informed only moments after that, in between time it didn’t really matter. Not because I didn’t even know him, but because just by looking at him I knew that he’s special. I just didn’t know just how special to me he was going to be. Point being, he could have been the devil himself, and it wouldn’t have mattered. So while Stefan questions Daniel’s sanity, I understood it. I suppose that’s why we saw each other differently than the rest of the world did. We were practically one and the same. Only one of us is slightly more masculine than the other. of Stefan, it wasn’t very long before he caught back up with me, pushing himself in the middle of the two of us. “Ugh, this would be. My other soon-to-be brother-in-law. He too followed me down here… ,” I explained to Daniel before he scared him away. Stefan has a tendency of having that effect on people. “I can see why… Someone has to keep an eye on you,” Daniel unaffectedly teased, smirking at me over Stefan. “Then you obviously haven’t met Ben yet. But you will, in about an hour when we get back. He’ll be there to see Gabby before she leaves with you and his other brother. Good luck with that… ,” Stefan adds, being openly inappropriate. “Don’t listen to Stefan. He’s just jealous that Ben trusts Sylas more than him these days. Don’t take it too personal. He secretly finds you acceptable. He just has trouble with,” I said to Daniel, nudging Stefan in the rib in the process.

Stefan rolled his eyes at me, of course. I recognized that look; he was two seconds away from selling me out out of spite. I glared a warning but was also unaffected. “What do I have to do with any of it?” Daniel curiously asked—’s point. I glared up at him warningly again, very unimpressed. “Yeah, Gabby, what does he have to do with it?” Stefan encouraged. “Let’s just shut the fuck up, Stefan, and let me handle it my way. I saw it. It’s my responsibility, !” I insisted strongly, raising my voice just high enough to make my point. “Fine,” Stefan sneered through his teeth, actually leaving it at that. I exchanged a brief but again understanding glare with Daniel. The look on his face told me that none of it mattered; he was just relieved to have ran into me again today. After his failed attempt at finding me, this was the first time I’d gone back for him. That was weeks ago. The three of us got back onto the plane without another needed word to each other. Though Stefan was irritated with my process, he still didn’t separate himself from me, letting Daniel know his rank I may be a monster, but that didn’t make me incapable of seeing Daniel through human eyes. Unlike Stefan, who is too old to how. I was the only one new enough to see things from a human perspective along with ours. Most of the time it worked to my advantage, but other times, it can get in the way. I think we’ve established that already. This particular circumstance, it was a little of both. I understood him; I felt as if I was doing the right thing. I knew each and every outcome. I should have had it down pat. I was just having a little trouble trying to decide how to tell him that he just agreed to travel across the country with a couple of vampires. I had to tell him soon. Otherwise, the effect would be twice as bad. I couldn’t risk that. I honor the fact that Ben never had to lie to me about what he was by telling me first thing—the help of Chelsea of course. The last thing I want is for Daniel to feel as if I lied to him, I never in fact did. He has seen my true eyes; he knows we’re different. I’ve just never specified. Nor confirmed or denied. That’s the problem. Or it would have been had they kept it from me…

Now it haunted me every moment until I finally gathered the courage to do it. we’ll get to that. For now I faced an hour flight back to Weaverville, where we will only leave again moments later if I want to make it to Florida in time. That schedule was already running grossly tight. Another hour flight later . . . Being the only one well aware of every aspect of my recent agenda, Chelsea was already there waiting, knowing exactly where I was and when I’d be back. The simple pleasures of having a psychic for a maker. She knew I’d be there the same way I knew she would be. the same gift does that. Mine just happens to be much more complex, as if it gains power with each generation. Lucky me. Sarcasm’s a bitch. Chelsea seemed pleased, as usual. Naturally she was slightly worried, but she still had that particular shimmer in her eyes that she always has whenever she’s in delight. It warms as her gaze meets mine while getting out of the jet. The reality that I would be getting right back on was unsettling. I walked right into her arms. “I am so proud of you for doing this for yourself,” Chelsea whispered, immediately melting away that unsettling feeling that I suddenly felt only moments ago. “Thank you. You have no idea how much I needed that” I sighed. “You’re welcome, sweetie. Ben’s coming from Redding. He’ll be here any minute,” she added as she let go of me but still holding my shoulders at an arm’s length. “Good. I’m not exactly ready to leave him yet… ,” I quietly itted. There goes that brief relief, replaced again by early separation anxiety. should be this dependent. I should have known better then to fall this. Chelsea glimmers at me in understanding. “I know, honey. It isn’t going to be easy either. I’m not going to lie to you. Just that it’s only a couple of days. You’ll live without each other, even if you sincerely doubt it. We don’t live

in my era, Gabs. Nowadays, there are plenty of ways to stay connected,” she reminds me. Sometimes I wonder if there are creator gods that tell exactly what to say to our creature; it dumbfounds me how easily she nails it. “You’re right, as always.” I flash a grateful smile at her, highly appreciative of her magic. Then the sense of Vanessa caught my attention as she very quickly flashed up behind me, appearing right before Daniel’s eyes. “Gabby!” she squeals, wrapping her arms around me as she practically jumped up onto my back. “Oh! You again…” She sighed in surprise as she quickly noticed Daniel, casually letting go of me at the same time. Daniel is unable to hide a smirk as their eyes meet, nature giving me a helping hand. I peek at Stefan, who was also peeking at me, giving me that tick, took look. I simply smiled at him. Fate’s already doing it for me, I pointed out in my thoughts, causing Stefan to buckle in defeat. Vanessa quickly notices. “What!” she snaps, lightly of course—it is Vanessa. It’s rather cute. “Nothing,” Stefan and I both quickly answer in synchronization, unintentionally causing more suspicion. Luckily, Vanessa instinctively brushes it off, and for the first time I’m glad she’s expecting the worst, now desperate to redirect. As her eyes trailed their way back to me from Stefan, a very light smile in the corner of her mouth formed briefly as her eyes meet Daniel’s again. Some might not even have noticed, but I certainly did. Witnessing it gave me the same effect. We were now both smiling as we locked eyes again, the scent of cupid in the air. That’s when I wondered if that aroma existed around Ben and me. I never noticed. What I did notice was Stefan in the corner of my eye becoming tense at my thought. That gave me a pretty probable answer. “So as if Ben’s letting Sylas go with you! What the hell is up with that?” Vanessa jumped to ask with distinct shock, managing to retrieve my full attention again. I chuckle to myself. “It really isn’t that big of a deal. Sylas is harmless. Plus, we’ll be back before you know it. Try getting rid of me then!” Both Vanessa and Chelsea chuckled with me while also receiving a gentler hug

this time from Vanessa. Her presence is always inviting. And then there it was, the sense of Ben, numbing my every limb. I had only seconds to prepare myself, not nearly long enough. I almost panicked, but by then I could see him, and all those nasty feelings vanished into line air. They think I didn’t notice but everyone else slowly started to make their way away from me as Ben made his way closer. was probably a good idea. His beauty was breathtaking, no matter how many times I’ve seen it; it never ceases to amaze me. I was going to miss him so much that it already ached. Though again, that quickly disappeared as Ben’s lips crashed into mine ionately before saying a word, literally taking the breath right out of me. That will never get old. He held me tightly against him by the small of my back, his other hand lightly caressing my neck. I ran my fingers through his hair, grasping to keep his lips locked on mine, heating me up from the inside out as I gently caressed my finger down Ben’s chest with my other hand. Even though we spent all night having sex to avoid last-minute sex, it didn’t seem to have made a difference. I still wanted to fuck him, right here, right now. His very friendly erection that was pushing against me agreed. Unfortunately, the time didn’t. I forced my lips to give him up, resenting this moment. “Damnit, I’m gonna miss you… ,” I whined like a child not getting her way. “You have no idea what I’m going to do to you when you get back,” he whispered in my ear, nibbling on it in the process. He wouldn’t be Ben if he wasn’t purposely pushing all of my right buttons. Two can play that game. “You are one glorious man, Mr. Row,” I whispered back seductively, looking him dead in the eyes as our lips seemingly made their way back to each other. The fact that everyone minus Daniel could hear us was irrelevant to us. Neither one of us was about to hold back anything just because we had a small audience. Luckily they were very good at pretending to be paying more attention to themselves. They should be, they’ve had enough practice. “I don’t want to leave you.” I sighed, drowning in the thought. “What am I possibly going to do with myself?” he teased, gently kissing my forehead. “Oh I think you can find someone to keep you warm at night,” I teased back, gently

running my finger down his hard chest again. “Yeah, probably, but I doubt she’ll have an ass like yours!” he grins, grasping mine with both of his hands. I instinctively giggle, lost in my own little world consisting only of the two of us, his lips naturally finding mine with short soft pecks, teasingly. Until Sylas arrived, disturbing the peace as always. “Let’s go, lovebug. You’ll have the other brother to keep you company.” He smirks, playing with fire as always. Ben tensed up “Ugh, why did I agree to let him go with you again?” Ben sneered under his breath, glaring at Sylas but speaking mostly to me. I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck, pushing myself against him. Then I forced his eyes back to mine. “Because as arrogant as he may be, I need him and you love me,” I reminded him sweetly, glaring up at him with all the love in the world in my eyes. He kissed me one last time, making me weak. Sylas rolled his eyes in disappointment and got on the plane. As Ben took my hand to walk me over, we stopped at Luka. I quickly hug him. “Take care of boss man over here. He’s gonna need it a little more than you,” I teased. We laughed and said good-bye. It was twice as hard to leave him. I had to leave the biggest part of me with him just for me to gather the will to get on the jet. With my obsessive clock ticking faster, my only focus now was getting there. I couldn’t dwell on leaving any longer. So I neglected to look back. I merely gave Stefan a simple exchanged nod as I got onto the plane, and then that was it. We were off to Florida. Then it hit me—this was it. In just a few short days when I return all will have been laid to rest. The only way left to go will be forward. After sounding like a broken record, I couldn’t have been more anxious, even more so because I didn’t have to worry about Stefan picking my head apart in the process. His absence was nice already. I sat directly across from Daniel, unfortunately next to Sylas. Luckily for him his recent decent behavior was enough to bring myself to actually need his assistance. Therefore, I can’t complain; it was my idea. For the next couple of days I had to allow myself to tolerate him, regardless. I didn’t have room to complain even if I wanted to. Staring at Daniel, my only thoughts consisted of the truth—telling him. It was practically killing me. The longer I stared, the harder it became to resist and the easier it was for Daniel to

notice. When he gave me that are-you-thinking look I knew it was time. I couldn’t wait any longer. Plus, if it freaks him out, he doesn’t have anywhere to run to. I just have to hope to Satan he sheds no fear. Otherwise, he’s pretty much screwed. Luckily I had an urge for a little danger. I focused hard, choosing my words very carefully. “Daniel…” I breathed. “There is more I should tell you… A lot more,” I said as heavenly as psychologically possible. Daniel hardly flinched. Huh, I guess he is more like Caleb than I had originally presumed. He simply stared back at me, utterly lost. I was about to attempt something I had yet to even try; I flashed to my feet and to Daniel, forcefully placing my hand on his shoulder as I used my ability backward. Sharing my visions, I showed Daniel exactly what I’ve seen. Even as a human. First I flashed various images and memories of losing Caleb and meeting Ben, having Luka, and then becoming a vampire. Then I showed him just exactly what my gifts were and how I was using it right now. Finally followed by the exact vision I had of Daniel and Vanessa and how I came about receiving the vision. It was exhausting, completely draining, but well worth it. Daniel’s face was priceless as I slowly stepped back away from him, sitting back down next to Sylas across from him to give him his space. Satan knows he needs it. His breathless shock was antagonizing, wishing I had Stefan’s gift right about now. The anticipation was horrendous as I waited for some sort of reaction; any at all would be better than his hollow, shock, smothered expression. Even Sylas was starting to worry after a moment. He slowly looked over at me with raised eyebrows, oblivious. I decided to quietly fill him in but loud enough so that Daniel could hear every word I was saying. The last thing I want to do is freak him out more. I don’t want him getting paranoid on me. Every instinct I had told me to protect this boy, make sure my vision is fulfilled—easier said than done. As Daniel’s color began to return, my anxiousness settled along with it. Daniel took a long, deep, actually relaxing, envious breath. “So… you-you’re… vampires . . . ?” he says under his breath, hardly able to speak. Sylas and I both nodded in unison, causing Daniel to shift in his seat. “And you were shown the, uh, same way you just, um, showed me?” He attempted to chuckle to himself in hopes it’ll make it easier to absorb. Yeah right. I nod again. Keeping it simple,

most likely a little more worried than he is. That sure says a lot . . . Daniel relaxed. “Huh…” He breathed in thought. “Why didn’t I see this?” he asked himself. “There’s no way you could have guessed and gotten it right. The way the world thinks of vampires and what we actually are, are two entirely different things for that exact reason. We’ve survived this long under the radar for a reason… ,” Sylas answered for him, seemingly attracting Daniel’s full attention. Oh now he’s interested! What a relief that is . . . Sylas began explaining all that could be said to a human facing immortality in his near future. The rest he’ll have to learn afterward, just like I did, along with any other newcomers who knew beforehand. Rules are rules. would be explained later, along with what some of us to do to enforce them. He doesn’t need to know my job title just yet either… Once all is answered, he hesitantly gazed at me. In that moment I saw what he was now going to ask me. It allowed me to finally relax with him. “What about your vampire sister? What does it have to do with her?” he asked, desperately trying not to smirk. I grin and level my eyes with him, staring deep into his soul. “Everything!” I whispered, smirking back at him to fasten that mind of his. With nothing more left to ask yet, I really relaxed. I quickly searched for and found Vanessa’s travel sketch pad and ired each drawing one by one to the time. All of us were in it, drawn from perfect photographic memory of her favorite personal choice. Others were drawn merely imaginatively. Each was magnificent, and each was unique and marked by Vanessa in their own little way. When there was no more to look at, I stared at my favorite one of Ben until I was lost in our little world all on my own.

Chapter 34

The Last Piece of the Puzzle

F ive hours, forty-seven minutes, and nineteen seconds later, we began to descend into Orlando International. Since we’ll be staying at ’s house—as painful as it may be—it was easier to land there, even though we’ll be driving two and a half hours to Jacksonville shortly anyway. The elephant in the room had disintegrated but was most likely to return at the drop of a dime. Or the first sign of anything inhuman. I made an extra point not to for that very reason. Unfortunately, I can’t say that much about Sylas. He flashed off of that plane as soon as he could, and I inevitably understood why. I felt the same way. My entire body felt weak and restless at the same time while my throat sizzled of fire all the way down to my stomach. I could only imagine the darkness of my eyes when looking at Sylas’s and I had absolutely no idea how we were going to pull this off without totally freaking Daniel out. I had a lot to think about. As expected my rental car was ready and waiting right there, very expensive and very sexy rental car. Even Sylas rolled his eyes at me. I was just too in love with it already to care. All my thoughts about missing Ben and Luka and worrying about Daniel were nowhere to be found as soon as I stepped into the driver’s seat of my brand-new Ferrari 458. “You really are Ben’s devil sent. No wonder he’s so in love with you,” Sylas teased as he got in, jealous he didn’t have a girlfriend as into sports cars as me. Daniel was still picking his jaw up off of the ground as he got into her. as soon as I put her into gear I knew I’d be denting my bank soon on an upgrade. It was a perfect time for it.

We sped out of there almost as quickly as we arrived, heading for my old neighborhood too Eddie’s house. Luckily for me the car distracted me enough so that I wasn’t tempted to realize how hard it was going to be being back in Florida without him. We sped around the corner the entrance to my old high school sat on. Then proceeded to speed north until the end where I sped in and out of a couple side streets until finally we were entering the neighborhood I grew up in. A couple streets up was my parents’ old house, down the street from that was Sara’s. Being here made me stiffen a little but not enough for anyone, even Sylas, to notice. As I pulled into the driveway in broad daylight I suddenly realized there was no way I was going to get in and out of this neighborhood without the whole street knowing about it. As I had to force myself out the car after Sylas and Daniel jumped out, my theory was proven. “Welcome to suburbia… ,” I sneered under my breath as I noticed Mrs. Delpheno waddling her way across the street. smirked over at me; I wanted to slap it away. Mr. and Mrs. Delpheno have been a part of my life for as long as I can . They came to America from Italy with my grandparents. Well, Amy’s. Ever since Amy died and I moved in across the street, Mrs. Delpheno cherished Jon and me like we were one of her own. The older I got, the more I resented her. Because of her I wasn’t capable of getting away with anything. Living with Eddie, it was hard enough to be a normal rebellious teenager without him finding out as soon as it came to thought. Mrs. Delpheno made it impossible. Until I moved to Tampa, of course. That’s when she became the sweet old lady I’ve known all my life. Except today I wasn’t up for her badgering, but I had nowhere to run… “Gabriella!” she exclaimed with her bright Italian accent, her arms already widened to greet me. I wanted to cringe, but I held it together, as thirsty as I was. Being an entire four feet tall, her arms barely hugged my chest. Still I greeted her back as sweetly as I possibly could.

“Mrs. Delpheno, how nice to see you!” I replied, finally letting go of each other. “I just saw Johnny here with that scary looking friend of his. I wasn’t expecting to see you!” laughed a little inside at her thought of Stefan as scary. “I wasn’t going to come, but then I decided I should get it over with now so I can finally move it all behind me. And I wouldn’t worry about Stefan, Mrs. Delpheno. He’s back in California for good.” She smiled that same old trembling grin she’s always had and took a quick peek over at Sylas and Daniel waiting patiently behind me before peering back at me anxiously. knew what that meant. “Mrs. Delpheno, this is my soon-to-be brother-in-law Sylas and Caleb’s halfbrother, Daniel.” She blinked repeatedly for a moment, which almost made me smile; it meant she was almost frightened away. awful as that sounds. “I have to get going now, Mrs. Delpheno, I’m only here for a couple of days. It was nice to see you again. Take care!” I added with my fake suburban tone as I hurried my way to the side door between the house and the garage. I stuck my hand into the porch light and took out the spare key, quickly opening the door and rushing inside. I felt so exposed here, being able to hear and smell everyone around us was smothering. I was aching for a drink. Unfortunately the awful familiarity of this house unwillingly took my mind off of it. All of the family pictures still hung in the exact same places they always did, even the ones of Caleb. I even noticed a couple of newly added ones put out since the last time I was here. That told me exactly how much Eddie had missed Caleb, because he never mentioned it to me for my own sake. I didn’t have a clue. But now I did. I stopped dead center in the living room, dropping my luggage to the floor. “Daniel, you can have the master bedroom behind me at the bottom of the stairs, and, Sylas, you can have Jon’s room across from mine upstairs on the left,” I informed while mostly focusing on one picture in particular.

It hung in between a picture of Jon and me at my high school graduation party and a picture of Eddie and Jon at the racetrack a few years ago. I ed the moment I was staring at perfectly. It was the last anniversary Caleb and I spent together. Eddie had taken it without us knowing about it at the time. I that the sun was just starting to set, and we wanted to wait for it so that by the time we got done with dinner we could come home and have sex under the stars on the same hammock we were sitting on. Eddie had taken the picture as I laid my head on Caleb’s shoulder while his fingers caressed my hair. As much as the memory still stung at an opened wound, it made me smile. Then as I sensed Daniel in the master doorway watching me. I quickly turned around. Except he wasn’t looking at me. As I followed his eyes I saw that he too was looking at the same photo. I naturally felt the need to explain it to him, like he deserved to know everything. And I planned on telling him everything he wanted to know about Caleb Adam McAurther. That’s why he’s here. It wasn’t until Sylas decided to break it up by coming downstairs that the talk of Caleb came to an end for the moment. Instinctively I felt very uncomfortable talking about my dead ex to his very live half-brother in front of the brother of my fiancé; my soon-to-be-brother-in-law. “We ready to get started?” I peered at Sylas. Relieved to be on track, I wanted to keep it that way. Sylas grinned with a nod. Ignoring him, I smirked at Daniel and proceeded back out the door, letting Sylas follow while I walked with the enemy. Fortunately, we managed to make it out to the car without the rest of the street coming out to greet us. They didn’t even notice until I sped out of there in my brand-new Ferrari. Neither of us spoke to each other as I drove to the cemetery. I was still in disbelief that I was actually doing this while Sylas and Daniel took in their unseen surroundings. After the first three minutes of being stuck in the car with a human, I was starting to unwillingly test my limits. I still hadn’t fed, and neither had Sylas. To say it was torturous would be an understatement. Luckily, Greenwood cemetery lies in the center of Orlando, so it didn’t take much longer to get there, especially with the way I drive. Luckily for Daniel, he didn’t even notice.

Neither did Sylas once we got out of the car and I was whiplashed by a very familiar scent in the distance. It took over my excessive need to eat and replaced it with strong curiosity. I instinctively began to follow it without hesitation while Sylas and Daniel trailed behind me, allowing me to lead the way. Greenwood isn’t exactly a small cemetery. It took us six minutes to walk in a fast human pace from the entrance to my destination. It wasn’t until I actually ran into the somehow familiar scent that I fully recognized it. Having not seen these people since I left the first time, I was surprised I even recognized it in the first place. Luckily, they were just as surprised to see me there. probably should have been offensive had my life not consist of hiding from these exact people. They’re more likely to notice just how much I have changed in the past year. Two of Caleb’s friends that he stepped with him stood staring at me with blank expressions as I grew closer to them until I eventually stopped a couple of feet in front of them, in front of the headstones. On the left was Eddie’s:

Edmond D. Love Retired US Marine & Beloved Uncle December 13th 1962-March 31st 2011 On the right, it said: Caleb A. McAurther Athlete. Friend. Lover. Son. May 24th 1987-April 11th 2010

I hadn’t seen any of Caleb’s step buddies since his funeral, and that was for good

reason. For some reason even today I feel as if they’re responsible. Caleb died for winning at step, yet he was the only one targeted. Not even after the house invasion did any of them realize the extent it brings to the ones around them. As far as I’m concerned, they’re useless garbage. But because I know that Caleb doesn’t blame them, there’s nothing I can do about it that will make me feel any better. So I don’t, and I didn’t. I flashed a fake yet believable smile at the boys I happened to run into here on the anniversary of Caleb’s death. With Sylas standing closely behind me they were a little more than intimidated. It was obvious to me, but because they’re men, they desperately tried to hide it. So I desperately tried to hide the fact that they failed. The last thing I needed was for them to become suspicious of my newly formed ability to read people even better than I did before. “G. Love! I wasn’t expecting to see you here!” Scott muttered with a shit-eating grin as he didn’t even try to take his eyes off of me. Underneath my sunglasses I rolled my eyes, looking over at Hayden. If anyone of Caleb’s friends respected him and me both enough not to hit on me, it was Hayden Browning. “Hey, boys…” I sighed, glaring back at Caleb’s headstone. “I wasn’t expecting to be here either… But things change,” I added. The two quickly exchanged a glare before responding. All the while Sylas and Daniel continued to eye them suspiciously from behind me, as if I didn’t notice. “Oh, yeah, this is Sylas, my soon-to-be brother-in-law. And this is Daniel… A long-lost relative of Caleb… ,” I introduced. “This is Scott and Hayden. Caleb used to step with them…” “More like we stepped with him. It’s been brutal without him… ,” Hayden added, glaring at the headstone. It was all far too emotional. Exactly why I hadn’t planned on doing this before. I didn’t need any more emotional havoc on my plate. I crossed my arms over my chest and stiffened as my throat began to sizzle stronger. Sylas must have felt the same thing because his hand soon attempted to keep me soothed on my shoulder. As I felt Scottie’s eyes burning on me again, I glanced back over at him to see

that he was staring at the even more intimidating rock on my finger. Or he was using that as an excuse to check out my chest at the same time. Once he realized I had busted him, his eyes snapped back up, and he stiffened. “Engaged, huh? To who?” he quickly asks, becoming extremely awkward all of a sudden. That naturally caused me to chuckle at his pathetic ways. “Do you really think I would ever get involved with anyone from around here?” I laughed. “Or did you not notice that I’ve been in California since last June?” Scott blushed, embarrassed by being so underinformed, I assumed. “I’m just here to clean up the mess I left behind so that I never have to come back here again,” I added. Their eyes widened, as expected, completely caught off guard. I just wanted them gone; I didn’t come here to play catch up. “I never proclaimed you as a runner, Gabby… ,” Hayden muttered ever so sincerely. It naturally aggravated me more. Out of options, I nudge Sylas, hoping he’d do the honors. I couldn’t take any more of these two, and I had absolutely no idea why I was so appalled by them. Besides the fact that they were a part of the reason Caleb died, but I accepted that already. likely, it was the thirst. I periodically feel the need to convince myself of that. Sylas patted my shoulder and casually stepped around me toward the boys. As both of them naturally looked over at him, Sylas caught them in his gaze, drawing them in. “You’re done here. Say good-bye and be on your way,” he compelled them, as silently asked. he’s not even the telepathic one. Stefan isn’t that much more useful than everyone else. Both of the boys nodded at Sylas in unison and then turned their heads toward me. “Glad to see that you came today, Gabby,” said Scott. “Hope it’s not the last… ,” Hayden added. The two then turned and proceeded back the way we had just come in, finally lifting a little bit of that edginess off of my shoulders at least long enough to visit

my dead boyfriend’s memorial site. Once they were out of sight I sat down on the ground between the two and lit a t without a care. It was exactly what both Eddie and Caleb would have wanted me to do. It was my first one since my change, probably even before that. After I met Ben, none of that stuff mattered as much anymore. He’s all I need. But on this day, my recently ed boys wouldn’t have expected anything but from me. It made me miss them even more. Though as terrified as I was of this exact feeling, actually facing their ing, it gave me much more peace than I had expected. I once thought I wouldn’t be able to handle it. That they meant too much to me. I couldn’t let it destroy me. But after seeing that I was strong enough to face it without being destroyed, I knew I had been foolish. I’m a vampire; I shouldn’t have to fear anything. In my exact moment of reconsideration, the feel of my phone vibrating in my pocket grabbed my attention. Naturally I stuck my hand in my pocket and pulled it out just to see who it was. As I saw that it was a text message from Ben, I instantly slid my thumb across the touch screen to open it. “Thinkin’ of you babe.” Of course it made me flush, and I couldn’t help but reply. “I fucking miss you. 2 days n I’m done. I’m yours. Always.” message alone was as enough to convince me that I was now right. As long as I have Ben and Luka, there isn’t anything I can’t handle. I’m stronger than most, I’m wiser than many, and I have an ass that tares apart families. Most of all, I have an entire coven that would line up with me at the drop of a dime, no questions asked. Loyal, dependent, mostly honest partners, each connected in our own way. Why was it that my biggest enemy was myself? I could see now how mortal of me it was. sign of immortal immaturity. I was now even more ready than ever to go face Janet. Sylas and Daniel followed me out of the cemetery and into the car, having absolutely no idea. Loving not having Stefan around was far to easy, it almost made me feel a little guilty, and then I laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Sylas sighed. “Not having Stefan here to pick apart my head means I don’t have to answer you, and you’ll never know the answer.” I chuckled again. “Okay. Now you’re just being ridiculous,” he complained. “Am I? Because last time I checked, I’m allowed to be…” I flashed a wide grin at him, itching under his skin. It was all the more amusing. Then it hit me. I felt so naturally high off my breakthrough that I had almost managed to forget how unbearably thirsty we were. That was the stick up his ass. So without saying anything to him, I quickly pulled into the closest parking lot and shut off the car. “We’ll take turns. You go first. I’ll stay with Daniel… ,” I suggested. There was no way I was about to leave him alone in a car that thirsty with Daniel. Not without me there to at least try to prevent another tragedy. Plus, the less Sylas has a stick up his ass, the better chances we have to make it back to California without permanently causing some damage to our future relationship. Considering he’s going to be my brother-in-law, I had to want to put in the effort. He flashed out of the car so fast and into the city that Daniel’s eyes circled around him to distinguish which direction he went in but came up dry with a sigh. “He went behind us down that side street… ,” I informed him to ease the curiosity as we waited. I had to distract him somehow. I may have trusted myself more than Sylas to be alone with Daniel thirst dry, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t capable of hurting him too. With each beat his heart pumped, the temptation grew stronger. I had to focus every thought to keep my fangs from exposing. I gripped my door handle tightly and closed my eyes, listening distinctly to Sylas’s every move to time his return. Meanwhile, Daniel’s heartbeat continued to haunt me while I desperately tried to hide the fact that it did. It’s not like he doesn’t know what we’re doing; he’s not stupid. He just doesn’t realize the full extent. I had to hope he didn’t learn now. He sheds even one ounce of fear, he’s done for. I’d never be able to forgive myself.

As Sylas flashed back to the car, just in time, he opened his door to get in, I opened mine to get out and flashed the opposite way he had gone all in the same moment. It wasn’t a time to be picky or the time to actually enjoy the hunt. I simply snagged the first adult human I saw and drained the bitch dry in the alley, tossing her to the ground to burn. Now I was ready to drive the two hours to Jacksonville. No one said a single word as I got back in the car and drove back into the street as if we simply stopped for a bathroom break. That was the advantage of being inhuman; when it comes to food our consciences cease to exist, making it much easier to continue about our day. But the silence was itching at me. The anxiety had already begun to take hold at the thought of confronting Janet. So in my best interest, I decided to put my biggirl panties on along with my legendary front. In order to make it to Jacksonville without turning around, I transferred my mind onto an entirely different topic. I wasn’t going to allow something like emotions get in the way of completing my steps toward moving on. We were made not to have them; we do this to ourselves by holding on in order to stay civilized without risking exposure. It’s a never-ending cycle. I peeked over at Sylas. I haven’t had very many opportunities to talk to him while being almost three thousand miles away from his brother. If I was ever going to get answers to the questions that I didn’t feel okay asking Ben about, it was now. “What are ya bakin’ up now?” Sylas asked curiously as he caught my gaze out of the corner of his eye. I glanced in my rearview back at Daniel for a short unnoticed moment before executing my distraction. But before I did, I had to make sure Daniel wasn’t already uncomfortable from our little pit stop before I started getting personal. Luckily, he seemed rather at ease to me. Almost as if being here gave him hope for a purpose. I certainly that feeling. I looked over at Sylas again. This time smirking. “It’s a long way to Jacksonville… I think it’s time for another one of our chats… ,” I suggested. “The privileged kind?” He chuckled. “Always!” I replied, flashing a fake humorous smirk at him.

He grinned from ear to ear, rolling his eyes at me. “Only you could get a guy to spill all of his brother’s dirty little secrets.” “I am marrying the guy, can ya blame me?” He laughed. “What do you want to know now?” Ben would have gone into a state of shock if he had heard Sylas say that to me, which made it feel all the more better. The way I see it, I can ask all the questions I want and can expect honest answers. He was the one that decided he wanted to learn everything he could about me before he even met me yet. If anyone is owed more answers, it’s me. Now I just have to decide what I want to know first. That didn’t take long; “He never talks about your mother. Why?” With all of my recent thoughts regarding my biological mother, it was a question I needed to ask. Sylas let out a low sigh before answering. The dread on his face made it more than obvious that it hit home for him too. As soon as I saw that look I knew that they shared the reason. But the still visible glow in his eyes told me he cared enough about his brother to answer me. “Our mother… was sick in a lot of ways. Even she knew it. It was part of her sickness. She was convinced that the rest of us were sick too, especially after Drake died. She always said that it was God’s way of picking up his mistakes and that none of us should have been born to begin with, that’s why God was punishing her. I always dealt with her a little bit better than Ben. Even back then he kept everything inside, expressing everything with anger, worst then he is now. It only became easier for him when he was turned. I think that’s why he ended up so strong and defensive. His need to stay alive and prove our mother wrong fueled him to make him who he is. You’ve only now just turned the light on in that room for the first time in over a century,” he explained, crackling through the memories.

I was so grateful that I wasn’t human in that moment. Otherwise, I would have been embarrassing myself by crying my little baby eyes out. I also realized that I was lucky to have had no mother rather than an unfit one. Which is exactly why my father took me from Stasia in the first place, eventually leaving me motherless, but at least I wasn’t abused emotionally and or physically. It also filled in a lot of blanks. But it was not enough to fill the empty holes in my knowledge of the man that I’m in love with. “So then after he lost Isabelle too, he just gave up and shut it all off? Just like that?” “Just like that.” Sylas shrugged. “Until one day I heard that he was fused with a human. At first I just thought it was one of his twisted pleasures. He was tired of breaking stone hearts and decided to make a meal out of it instead. That was until I actually saw the two of you together, then I knew immediately that my brother wasn’t that guy anymore. I hardly recognized him… Eventually, I realized it was a good thing.” “You are so much easier to talk to when you actually talk like a person and not a perquisite, ya know that?” I grinned at him. “So I’ve heard.” He chuckled. In the backseat, Daniel was shaking his head at us with an amused smirk spread across his face. “Do you have a comment, Daniel?” I asked, just how comfortable he is with us. Is he comfortable enough to express himself honestly? Or will he quiver like a coward? At first he shrugged and shook his head. But as I looked away he changed his mind. “It’s just if your marrying this guy, shouldn’t you be able to ask him anything you want yourself?” I was stunned. So was Sylas. “You didn’t actually meet my brother, did you?” I rolled my eyes. “It’s not that! I could ask him anything I want to myself and trust that he’ll tell me the truth. I just care about him too much to drag him back through it just so I could know more about it when Sylas is perfectly capable of filling in. It’s less hurtful for me that way too. We’re just as selfish as humans sometimes. Get used to it. There’s no escaping the patterns of life.”

“Well put.” Daniel nodded. “So tell me why you’re marrying him.” Caught off guard is one thing; being whiplashed is another. I have to say that I did not see that one coming. Being a psychic kind of dampens things. I’m not as used to surprises as much anymore. Of course it was a question I had no problem answering, I’ve only asked myself why since the day I met him. “First of all, Ben isn’t just the dark knight that saved me from destruction after I lost Caleb. That only explains my state when we met. I fell for him because from the moment I saw him, even before we actually met, every single fiber of my being tingled. It stuck with me. Then the night I met him he said barely five words to me, each sinking deep into my gut. I realize now that after that night there wasn’t anything that could have stopped me from seeing him. It took both of us weeks to accept the full extent of our feelings, but as we grew to that point, it was like we molded each other into the people we were meant to be. Once we got there, it has only been sky-high since. Ben’s not just a boy toy, he’s everything to me. I wouldn’t trade him for anything. Not even if Caleb were still alive” Daniel didn’t ask me that question again. Sylas seemed rather impressed, almost in awe. I hadn’t realized that he hadn’t heard it all before. It was new to him too. As far as Sylas knew, we were just two damaged souls in need of a companion and happened to find the perfect one. to a little help from Chelsea. Now that he knew differently he seemed to look at me in an entirely new way—positively. Luckily for me, we were near our destination. He didn’t have time to pick it all apart to find out more juicy details. Unfortunately, I knew that it wouldn’t be long until he found that opportunity. Just like I do to him. I did have it coming. Right now, I had to focus my attention back to my strong points. I had to face Janet in minutes. I had to maintain my full grasp of things in order to stay in control of the situation at all times, no matter what the circumstance. Being a vampire in the light takes all of the extra brain power we have. I parked on the side of the street in front of her house but sat absolutely still for a moment while gathering myself as I shut the car off. “Okay, this isn’t exactly going to be easy… Janet has a lot of issues. There’s a reason I’ve only been here maybe seven or eight times out of the five years that she’s lived here,” I warned.

“Sylas, you wait here with Daniel until you hear your entrance. I don’t want to overwhelm her. She’s the definition of a drama queen…” “Are you sure you want me to go in there with you?” he asked, openly skeptical. I had a subtle feeling that this would happen. “Let me make this simple for you, Sylas. I brought you on this trip with me so that I could rely on someone I trusted when I needed because Ben couldn’t be here. I’m going to need you in there. With Caleb dead and gone, I don’t have any reason to hold back from this woman anymore, in every sense. I need you there to stop me if I end up ripping the bitch’s throat out.” Sylas raised his eyebrows as his jaw slightly dropped. Apparently he underestimated my feelings yet again. As I glanced back at Daniel even he seemed stunned. Unwilling to deal with any of that I simply rolled my eyes and got out of the car. The house sat at the dead end of a small street on the water. Four other houses around it created a crescent, making the end of the road a circle. Approaching the house, I turned it all off. I had to. It was my safest option. We don’t want to hurt people; we simply have to in order to survive, the same way humans eat to keep from starving. That’s what makes choosing our victims so important. Not just because of the consequences from the agency but because of our own consciences. We do still have them, as unlikely as it may sound. We just have a natural excellent way of hiding it when we need to. Like right now, only now opposite. The way it’s supposed to be. Luckily, I still have an excuse—I haven’t reached my first-year mark. That’s when it all slowly begins to fade away. Good-bye, humanity; hello, hell. rang the doorbell. The sound of heels against a hard floor echoed behind the door, along with her steady heartbeat and light breathing. A television in the distance sang. As Janet’s footsteps became closer and louder, I was absolutely still again, inhuman like. Until the door quickly swung open. Janet froze quickly herself at the unexpected sight of me. I couldn’t blame her. I made it pretty clear that I had no need to ever see or speak to her again. Frankly I wouldn’t be surprised if she gave me a cold shoulder.

Unfortunately I wasn’t that lucky. After the brief shock had worn off, her expression became delighted, and I think even slightly relieved. “Gabriella! I wasn’t expecting to see you. I heard just your brother had come and left already.” “I’m not here because of my uncle, Janet. I’m here to set things right. I just came from both of their gravesides… Have you been?” Janet tipped her head down from a moment in shame, answering my question. As expected. “That’s not the only reason I’m here. I brought somebody with me,” I informed her. That’s when Sylas and Daniel revealed themselves behind me. For a moment I worried that Janet wasn’t ever going to snap out of the shock from the mere sight of Daniel, the only other known result of Kurk Kyle. “The man of evil that crumbled my existence,” as Janet once put it. After nine seconds she finally blinked and then slowly stepped aside. “P-please, come in… ,” she stuttered, giving Sylas and I the official permission we needed to step across the threshold. He must have noticed my slight doubt, or maybe just expected it, but he gently rested his hand on my shoulder as we walked through the door. Even Daniel stood unexpectedly close to my other side. I wasn’t sure why exactly, but at the time I didn’t find it necessary to find out. More than likely, Janet makes him as nervous as she makes me. Just for entirely different reasons. Michelle Morgan died so soon after Daniel was only just born that he doesn’t even her. I’m sure seeing Janet hit a cold, dark place deep down in him somewhere. Somewhere that shouldn’t be explored by others. Unfortunately for him, he’ll end up just like me after he’s changed—chasing the past in order to move on to the future. Janet led us through her foyer and out her stained-glass doors onto her back deck that looks out over the ocean. Each of us quietly took a seat around the table by the Jacuzzi. Before the awkward vibe that was itching to smother us exceeded, I decided to

break the silence, along with the ice. “Janet, this is my boyfriend’s brother, Sylas… and you know Daniel…” She naturally quivered, desperately trying to hide but failing miserably. She never has been the one to even want to hide her emotions. It drives me crazy, hence Sylas’s attendance. “Well, I think it’s safe to say that I never anticipated this visit. I apologize if I seem a little off. It’s just taking a few minutes to settle. Forgive me.” A chuckle from hell echoed through my mind. “It’s hard on all of us, Janet,” I reminded her. “I assume you came for a specific reason?” she quickly asked, finally showing her true self. I smiled. “Yes, Janet. We did. I’d like you to explain to us why you insisted on keeping this from everyone. Caleb should have known… Daniel should’ve too…” The light in Janet’s eyes quickly faded into darkness, replacing any and all peace with the hollowness of evil. If anyone understood that, it was us. Well, Sylas and myself anyway. “I think you owe it to yourself to come clean, Janet. Your son is dead. There shouldn’t be anything holding you back anymore… ,” I reminded her with a hard tone. It was the only tone I could use with her if I wanted it to be effective. She slowly nodded as she accepted my request. Easily bringing herself to actually do it was a different story. The sun was just beginning to set. By the time she actually brought herself to say it, her automatic lights had turned on as the sun set completely under the horizon. As beautiful as it was, and always has been in Florida, I had other things on my mind—the truth. After a slow deep breath, she finally, after twenty years, brought herself to the point of honesty. I was utterly impressed still highly skeptical myself. “Twenty-four years ago… ,” she started to say, taking a hard swallow in between breaths. “I lied to everyone that I ever knew. I told the police and everyone that I knew that I didn’t know the man who raped me. But I did. I was ashamed. It

wasn’t until after I heard about Michelle—Daniel here’s mother—that I brought myself to tell the truth. I’ve blamed myself ever since. I didn’t want to tell Caleb because I knew that he would hate me even more than I already made him. I never thought it would catch up to me. I should have known better, I know. But I didn’t. I can’t change it, as much as I wish I could… “I am so very sorry for what happened to your mother, Daniel. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I want you to know that I do feel responsible and that it has haunted me ever since. That’s why I looked into you. I wanted to make sure that you were okay. I could hardly look my own son in the eyes the entire time he was alive. Now that he’s gone, I feel like hell itself all over again. Seeing you here, it’s like being able to see a little piece of him. Not Kurk. Unfortunately, I can’t correct my mistakes…” Tears slowly began to fall from her eyes, making their way down her rosy cheeks. As strongly as her emotions were attempting to smother us, I pushed them away, unwilling to let it cloud my reasons for being here. I couldn’t fall into her pity trap with the rest of her world. I couldn’t let the boys either. “You’re right, Janet. Caleb never would have forgiven you. Daniel was the only real family he could have possibly had besides mine. The only reason he turned out so good was because I was more than willing to share. Caleb had a very inspiring soul, Janet. If you would have torn your head out of your ass long enough to realize that, maybe he wouldn’t have hated you so much. But you didn’t even give him that choice. You made sure as hell that he hated you. Do you even realize what that did to him? Do you realize how many nights I had to listen to him complain about what a useless mother you were? It hurt me to see him that way just as much as it hurt him. That’s why I too couldn’t help but hate you, Janet. If you really want to make it up, do something about it. Daniel didn’t even have a mother. She gave up the moment she could. guess that’s better than having one that doesn’t even love you. Grow some balls and stand up for yourself. Stop obsessing over what everyone else thinks. It’s pathetic. Is it really that hard to care about someone other than yourself?” Janet began to shake. I rested my hand on top of Daniel’s clenching fist, the first sign a possible blowup. “I did love Caleb, Gabriella. I just couldn’t let that change how I felt about Kurk Kyle. I was lucky that he had you. Otherwise, he probably would have ended up

just like his father…” “They do say that psychopaths stem from lack of love and affection from their mothers,” I reminded her with a strong twisted tone. Again, she quivers like the coward she so proudly is. Sylas glared over at me with a stiff look as if to say, “necessary.” I rolled my eyes. “Okay, ya know what? I’m over it. Caleb’s long gone. I’m done fighting his battles. If you want to make up for your useless existence, you know where to find me… ,” I declared as I stood up from my seat, Sylas and Daniel standing with me at the same time. Janet stood and circled the table between us until she was right in front of me. Her expression progressed the closer she became. When she finally stopped, it was very clear. “I’m sorry, Gabriella. I know that you were always on the receiving side of my relationship with Caleb. I just knew that you were much stronger than me, and you were capable of loving him more than I ever could. I was glad that he had you, at least he could depend on someone. But I am sorry for the pain I caused him. It wasn’t fair of me to rely on you to pick up the pieces. You shouldn’t have had to. I’m sorry.” only it was that easy. Putting Janet’s unstable mind in perspective, I decided to let her believe otherwise. her apology, I nodded with a slight smile in response. But really, every instinctive nerve I had was screaming at me to rip her throat out. Keeping my fangs from exposing was harder than pretending to accept her. Luckily for her, after everything that has happened in the past year, it was what was best for everybody. Janet proceeded to walk us back through the foyer and back to the front door. Again, Sylas and Daniel stayed rather close to my hips. As eager as I was to get out of there, I was also pulled back by the fact that it’s almost over. By this time tomorrow, I will have put it all behind me, never to be thought of again. But as I was reminded of what I was moving on to, I couldn’t have been more relieved. By this time tomorrow, I could finally be with the man that I love without poisoning him with all of my extra baggage.

After saying good-bye to Janet, I couldn’t get in the car fast enough. Especially because I had to hold back my actual speed out of risk of exposure. It’s incredible the things that people will do in order to keep their biggest secrets just that—a secret. It felt like it took days to get back to Orlando. Daniel could hardly keep his eyes open in the backseat while Sylas made it a point to give me space by keeping his mouth shut. silence was nice but itchy. Another two hours later. it was nice to be back to what used to be home. It was the middle of the night, so we naturally made our way quietly to the door. Once inside, I flipped the lights on for Daniel’s convenience and then easily settled for the night. Daniel was soon in his room, having the mortal need to sleep. Naturally, I found it envious. The ability to drift away, even for a moment, into the serenity of your own mind is a gift. One we’re not worthy of, for good reason. It’s the last thing we deserve. I found myself glaring back at all of the photographs that surrounded me from the kitchen and living room. Sylas slowly walked up behind me until I could practically feel his breath on my neck as he looked down at me. “I’m goin’ for a snack… Ya wanna come?” he whispered. I glanced around the room again, standing inhumanly still, I reminisced each and every memory. Then I shook my head. “No. You go. I have a couple things ta do around here… ,” I said. Sylas quickly nodded and flashed out the back door into the dark of the night. As I found myself wondering around in a house that held so many of my memories, I realized once again why it was so important to put it all behind me. Facing eternity I’m going to have to leave everything behind eventually. I noticed my luggage that still sat by the front door and naturally began to walk toward it. I kneeled down and unzipped the front zipper, taking a key out of the small front pocket. I received it with Eddie’s belongings from the hospital. I recognized it from his office keys. Only this one belonged to his home office,

something inside. I’ve never been able to use it. Eddie was very specific about that one thing—we were not allowed to snoop in that cabinet of his desk. Now holding the key in my hand, I suddenly felt hesitant. Eddie never kept anything from us unless it was for our own good. Still, I found myself walking toward his office on the opposite side of the living room anyway. I shut out all of the other sounds around me and slowly walked toward the desk that sat just in front of the windows on the far right of the room. For the first time, I didn’t even bother to instinctively glare over to Eddie’s personal gun collection that took up the entire back left wall. All well kept in a top-of-the-line glass display case; being lit with small fluorescent lights made them even more the beautiful. But I was so distracted that I could have forgotten that they were there entirely. As I sat down at the desk, I focused everything on putting the key into the lock of the cabinet to my bottom right. Blocking everything out, I heard nothing but my own unsteady, unnecessary breathing as I opened the door. At first glance, it all looked pretty ordinary an ordinary eye. Looking closer, I realized that was the point. I quickly pushed everything out onto the floor, emptying the cabinet. Just as I expected, I was now looking at a false bottom. Using the knife that Eddie kept in his lap drawer, I lifted it up. It literally took the breath right out of me as I suddenly found myself staring at one of my most haunted memories. Fifteen years ago, the last thing I ever saw my father do was hand Eddie an envelope that read “Brother” in his handwriting on the front. He handed it to him just as he left after leaving Jon and I with Eddie—for good. I found myself thinking about it more often than not for years. Finally, I got myself a life. As the shock was still wearing off, I contemplated picking it up and reading it. When I came back to Florida I came back to move on from the life I had, not the life I lost a long time ago. I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to know what was in that letter. If Eddie kept it from me, it must have been for a considerable reason. Of course my curiosity grasped the best of me as always. Once the shock was gone, I just couldn’t help myself. I quickly picked up the envelope and tore it open, laying it flat on the desk.

Eddie, My dearest brother, if you are reading this, it is probably the last time you will hear from me. As you know, Amy and I found ourselves in a bind. In the event we do not make it back to you, Amy and I decided it was in the kids’ best interest to be raised by our closest family. I know that you will do right by them; you were always better with them than me. You deserve them, and they deserve you. But before I go, I need to make a confession. I need you to know the truth about my Gabriella. Ten years ago, two years after Amy had to have a hysterectomy, I had an affair with a women I sponsored, she soon became pregnant. I’m sorry that we had to keep this a secret from even you, Ed. Amy just didn’t want anyone to see her as anything but Gabriella’s real mother. I’m only telling you this now because if you take her in, you need to be aware. Her birth mother is Stasia, and she is to not see or speak to Gabriella for any reason whatsoever. For the following reason, as we made the agreement Stasia originally agreed that it would be closed. Gabriella would not know about her. But at the last minute, Stasia had decided to keep her. When I reminded her of her agreement and told her I was coming for my daughter, Stasia thought the only way out was to stuff enough cocaine up her nose to kill an entire posse. If Gabriella ever does find out, I’d like you to sugarcoat it for me. She doesn’t need to know the horrific way that she was brought into this world. She’s far too precious for that. Take care of my babies, brother. Jonathan is going to need a strong man to keep him in line. His own personal boot camp. Keep him safe and out of trouble; he just needs some guidance. Maybe a little kick in the ass once in a while Also, never, for any reason, tell them what really happened to us. They don’t need to know that either; they’re better off. The less tragic, the easier it is to move forward. Just make sure that they never get involved with organized crime. Mainly Italian. They’re ruthless. It was our babies or us. I’d pick us a hundred times over again. They’re in your hands now, brother. Treat them as if they were your own. You always would have made such a great father. Now you have the chance. I wouldn’t trust them with anyone else but you. I want them to live happily—forever. No child deserves anything less, especially ours. I love you, brother.

Always watching over you, Steven H. Love MD

There it was. The truth was right before my eyes, straight from the camel’s mouth. Seeing it in a vision was one thing, reading it in my late father’s handwriting was something entirely different. Suddenly I felt as if everything I was searching for had finally been found. The relief of seeing it was intoxicating. It numbed me to the point of immobility. I sat staring at the letter, unable to take my eyes off of it. I also couldn’t shun the smile off my face. I was too joyous. It wasn’t until Sylas returned a couple of minutes later and followed my scent into the room that I brought myself to snap out of it. He had the same glow I did, only for entirely different reasons. Mine was natural and fatal free. Though naturally, his sure was much more appealing. “Whatcha up to?” he asked, full of enthusiasm. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that he was joyful enough to have had a lucky night in the process of his “snack.” Go figure. “Fulfilling what I came here to do,” I replied, grinning from ear to ear with the sweet taste of success. Finding the letter from my father filled in the rest of the blanks, the ones I would have had to go to Maine for. Now that I don’t, I can go home sooner to my real family without the need to look back. “You seem… lighter all of a sudden…” He noticed. I chuckled. “I’m just relieved to be done with what we came here to do. All that’s left is your specialty… ,” I added. Sylas was now grinning back at me. “On the way home in the morning,” he decided. I nodded in agreement. “But for now let’s have a drink,” he added. I couldn’t argue with that. I quickly put everything back into their correct places and went out into the kitchen with Sylas to make us some scotch on the rocks.

“I need some air. Follow me to the roof,” I suggested. We went out the back door and climbed up the darkest side of the house up onto the roof. With our eyes we could see a good chunk of Orlando. It was nothing like back home where you could see three towns up the highest peak. has its disadvantages. It was still peaceful, just what I needed. I laid down, closing my eyes. I listened to the sounds of the city. It reminded me of when we stayed down in Los Angeles for a few days when Jon was in the accident. I couldn’t catch a moment of quiet for the life of me. I couldn’t have missed the middle of no-man’s-land more than I did then. Right now, I liked the sounds of the city. It was like a small taste of what used to be the only life I knew. Back when life was purely simple. The days we’re most likely to take advantage of are usually the best. Unfortunately for me, that time was now. thing I’ve already seen it all coming. When morning came, after lying on the roof for the remainder of the night, all of us showered and packed up to head to the airport. Even Daniel seemed to be in an unusually bright mood. was probably impressed that he woke up alive. I slept like a rock the first night Ben stayed with me, but as I was falling asleep, I was terrified that I wasn’t going to wake back up. It’s only natural given the circumstances. Either way, it was nice to see Daniel in anything more than a bland mood. Leaving this house, this city, this state wasn’t as easy as I had hoped. But it only made it that much more rewarding when I won the battle of fear. Getting back into that plane was one of the most important moments of my life. I’ll never forget that feeling.

Epilogue

Fairy-Tale Ending

S tepping back off of the plane back home was a million times better. No one was expecting us for a couple of more hours. Luckily, Sylas’s car was still there. As Sylas drove us into town, it finally hit me that it was really over. All of my emptiness has been fulfilled. I didn’t have anything left to complain about. I’m finally free of it all. The closer we got to the house, the more ecstatic I became. I wanted so badly to see everyone. Hear their voices, recognize their scents. Most of all, I wanted to be back with my two most favorite boys, Ben and Luka. “I can see now why it’s like two totally different worlds for you… ,” Sylas randomly muttered. “Why do you say that?” “Your life there was so much different. Being a vampire aside…” I chuckled. “This one is much better… Including being a vampire. I could never doubt that decision,” I informed him. “Never?” Daniel quickly asked. I turned around my seat to look back at him, looking him straight in the eye. “Sometimes, the worst of things can bring out the best. I wouldn’t trade anything for those…” Daniel’s head slightly tilted to the side, his eyes narrowing into mine. I could practically see his wheels spinning, trying to recollect my view of things.

“It’s impossible to fully understand until you live it. Trying to is a waste of time, trust me!” I warned. I didn’t need him getting all burned out just by thinking about it too much. Thinking too much has proven to never end well. Pulling into the driveway, we weren’t so unexpected anymore. You just can’t sneak up on vampires, it’s impossible. Though the familiarity and the warmth it brings just to be back made up for it being so irreplaceable. As soon as the car was stopped, I got out of the car. I didn’t even bother with the bags. Everything suddenly became very quiet for a moment. Then just like that, the front door opened and Ben was leaning in the doorway. His beaming beautiful blood-drenched eyes glimmered down at me while that irresistible smirk of his tugged at me like gravity. I couldn’t help but take a moment to ire him. Until I couldn’t possibly resist any longer. flashed up to him. I stopped barely an inch from him, now up close and personal. His delicious scent seduced my taste buds. After being away from him for only a couple of days, it was still just as intoxicating as it was the first time. must have heard my thoughts from inside because he came out for Daniel. Our eyes stayed locked as he lightly brushed my hair out of my face. His touch lightened me up from the inside out. I flashed my arms around the back of his neck, unable to keep my lips to myself any longer. I craved them since the moment I left. Ben rested his hand on the small of my back and pulled me tightly against him as his lips caressed mine. In that moment, I felt just how much I missed him all at once. At the same time, the relief of being in his arms, kissing him, was everything I needed. When our lips separated and our eyes relocked, I smiled at him invigoratingly. “What is it?” he whispered “I’m ready.” “Ready for what?”

“Ready to marry you,” I informed him. We saw everything else we needed to in the others’ eyes. Not even Lucifer himself could have stopped us now…