"Y-you'll catch me," she stuttered.

"Mhm. Now, jump."

Jessica bit her lip. "Y-yes Master." She took a step forward. Her sneaker was now halfway off the cliff. She's actually going to jump, isn't she? I've never gotten anyone to jump this quickly. Did she have a death wish? Or was she actually that trusting of me? She's an intriguing one, that's for sure.

One of her feet stepped off of the ground and into the abyss. She did it. Her life was in my hands.

I sped and grabbed her by the arm. She let out a terrified scream. They always do. I let her dangle over the canyon and her eyes flickered to me, realizing that I actually had caught her. I could hear her heart beat start to steady itself out. "Good job. You did well." She had done perfectly so far. This week should be a breeze. She wasn't the problem, Tanner and Jared were, figures. I set her back down on the ground, and she let a long, anxious breath out.

"T-thank you for catching me sir." Her hands were on her knees, she looked practically faint. I doubt she had trusted me. It was more likely she was just scared of the consequences. That was okay though. The point was, she jumped for me.

"I told you you could trust me. I wouldn't let you die." Her body was quivering as she sat in the dirt, her tattered jeans now turned red from the clay. I had scared her. But hey, she still obeyed. I respected that. It was easy to see why Tanner likes her. She's smart. "Will you be okay to walk back to the car? Or shall I carry you?" I held my arm outstretched. She took my hand and pulled herself up.

"I-i can walk sir, thank you though." Jessica staggered to the car but this time walked to the trunk and stood by it, silent. She bowed down in shame. What was she doing?

"The front of the car is this way, hun," I joked. I sped to stand in front of her and lifted her chin with a single finger. "Is something wrong?"

She stared into my eyes confused, "I-i didn't jump right away...so I thought...I thought I had to go in the trunk."

A light chuckle slipped out of my lips. "Trust me. No sane person would jump off a cliff for a stranger after they're asked once. You're okay. Come on. We're burning daylight."

We climbed into the car and continued up the road. I turned on the radio but the only station that came in this far up was a news show. I frowned and muted it. I turned and glanced at Jessica, she seemed perplexed about something... "Tell me what's on your mind," I said in a nonchalant tone.

"Its nothing. I just have a dumb question I want to ask. But I know better than to talk unless I'm spoken to, sir." The tone she returned to me hid underlying frustration. Why does she think I'm such a dick? We had barely met. I bet it was my asshole of a little brother. I'm sure he filled her head with a bunch of lies about how awful I am. I wonder if he demanded her to not talk to me. It didn't matter. Regardless of what he's told her I'm going to change it. This was my training, and right now she was my girl.

"I want you to speak freely to me. We will reinstate formalities when in public or if you get into trouble. Until then, I want you to converse with me. It'll help us through the half an hour left that we have in this car." Jessica glanced at me with a raised brow. She thinks I'm testing her.

It made me wonder how many silent car rides she's had to endure with Tanner. What was the use in that? Silence only creates space, and that's not what you get a pet for. "I'm serious," I clarified. We locked eyes for a moment before I returned mine to the road.

"How are your eyes colored something other than red? I know they aren't contacts, there's no outline. Yourdad's eyes are like that too. I thought all vampires' had to be red."

I shook my head, "that wasn't a dumb question. A lot of humans don't know the answer, actually. Blame that on the onslaught of baby vampires created after V. v H. When a vampire reaches 200 -double a human's life- they go through 'vampire puberty'. Our eyes change to a different color, we no longer need magic to go outside during the day without our skin burning and a few other nifty things. My brother and his friend have yet to reach that age. That's why there's are still red."

Jessica nodded, "thank you for answering, sir."

"You got anything else for me," I asked. It was exciting that she was acting semi-normal. See this I what I liked about humans, their curiosity. Many vampires lack. Our old age and it makes our species frustrating and dull.

Jessica continued talking to me about random topics until we reached the cabin. Although, the word 'cabin' wasn't the right word. This wood mansion housed: 8 bed rooms, 9 bathrooms, a home theater, basement, attic, full kitchen, living room, dining room, and entertainment room. It belonged to my father, but I used it more than anyone else in the family. I popped the trunk and climbed out of the car. "I"m going to unlock the door. Stay here until I've got the house opened. I don't want you to catch a cold, okay?" Jessica nodded and I closed the door behind me.

It had to be below zero out here and Tanner had dressed her in a tank top and jeans. What an idiot. It's a good thing I cared more than he did. I jogged up the dark cherry oak stairs that matched the rest of the cabin and fetched the keys from the lock box adjacent the door. After unlocking the front door I sped back to the car. More importantly, back to an empty car.

Jessica had disappeared.