My dreams were strange.

I was in a dark room. Dark shapes that resembled humans surrounded me on all sides, shifting around in a sea of shuffling feet. But other than that, there was no sound at all.

"Hello?" I whispered. None of the shapes replied. Suddenly, I felt tears drip down my cheeks. Confused more than sad, I wiped the steady streams away. But no matter how much I did, they still came even harder than before, blurring the figures around me into blobs of grayish-black.

"I-I.." I blubbered out around my sobs, not even sure what I was trying to say. A hand touched my shoulder.

"You're welcome," a girl's voice whispered softly. I whipped around, but there was absolutely no one behind me. Just gray.

I felt another hand join the first, this time on my other shoulder. I turned again.

Two white-gray figures stood behind me. They were comically tall, almost as if I'd shrunk.

"Hello?" I said, my voice echoing against the walls.

"Hi there honey," cooed a voice. It was my mom's voice, but with a lilting tone I'd never heard before, like she was talking to a young child.

I didn't dwell on it. I threw myself at her legs, squeezing her tight.

"I missed you," I mumbled against her shirt. Mom laughed, ruffling my hair.

"I missed you too, Blythie," she said. "Now why don't you go give your dad a hug, huh?"

My...dad?

I looked up at the other figure. He was shrouded in gray fog, so much that I couldn't begin to make out even the shape of a face. But I could see his arms, strong and open, inviting a huge hug.

I didn't ask questions. I pulled away from Mom, running into the arms of a stranger who wasn't really a stranger.

The hug felt foreign and familiar all at once, and tears once again filled my eyes.

"Hi, Blythe." With my head right on his chest, I felt his words more than heard them. I pulled back.

"Hi-"

My greeting died in my throat as I found myself staring up at Liam.

"Bye, Blythe," he said. I screamed as I felt fangs graze my wrist.

Before they could bite down, though, I was pulled out of harm's way.

"Thank you! Thank you!" I cried, grasping my savior's hand and squeezing tight. Liam smiled at me, gently squeezing my hand back.

"Anytime, Blythe."

I woke up with a scream. The first things I felt were the tear stains on my cheeks. Apparently, the crying had been real. With a yawn, I sat up and looked outside.

It was morning, but my sleep had done little to ease my exhaustion. If anything, it only made me jumpier. I glanced over at the bed to see Helena still asleep, blankets on the floor beside her.

I walked over to her, trying to shake her shoulder as gently as I could. She didn't budge.

"Helena?" I sing-songed, shaking her a bit harder. Suddenly, Helena shot up, an expression of horror on her face. I jumped back.

"What?" Helena said, eyes darting left and right before she caught sight of me. "Blythe?"

"Yeah. It's just me," I said quickly, trying to reassure her. Helena sighed in relief.

"Oh...just a dream. Of course it was," she muttered to herself.

"You okay?" I asked. She nodded, scratching her hair absently. She didn't look okay, but I decided not to pry. I'd need time to decipher my own weird dream. I didn't need to go forcing my way into her's.

"Hey, where's the bathroom?" I asked, somehow only just realizing that I really had to go.

"Right across," Helena said faintly. I nodded, leaving her alone with her thoughts and me with mine.

I sat on the throne, musing my dream. Some details were kind of fuzzy, but I remembered the big things. Remembering them, though, didn't help me understand any better.

I sighed, tapping my foot on the clean tiles. Cleaner than any in my bathroom. Hell, the whole house was better than anything I owned. Where did a group of vampires get enough money for a house like that anyway? I shook my head. Best not to dwell on pointless stuff.

Maybe my dream hadn't meant anything. Perhaps it was just an odd dream. The one thing I couldn't write off, though, was my father.

I kept replaying the dream over and over, trying to see his face, trying to hear his voice. I just couldn't. The closest I'd ever gotten to him and I couldn't even remember what he looked like.

I washed my hands, adjusted my dress to make it look like I hadn't slept in it, then walked back down the hall.

Helena had gotten dressed while I was away, her short hair in a ponytail. She gave me a smile as I came in.

"Good morning, Blythe! Today is going to be a great day!" Helena said cheerfully. I grumbled something, still tired from last night. I'm usually great at waking up in the morning, but nothing about my situation at that moment was what I'd call usual.

"Wait, why's today...so great?" I asked through a yawn. Helena just held her door open.

"You will see!" She said, leading me downstairs. Still too tired to argue, I just followed her down two flights of stairs, to the floor right above the main floor.

The floor with Liam's room.

"Oh no. If you're doing what I think you're doing, you can stop right now because this is a terrible idea." I said, halting on the steps.

"I have no idea what you think I'm doing, but I think this is a rather fantastic idea." Helena sniffed. She walked up to Liam's room and knocked, but I stayed right where I was.

"Come on!" Helena said, waving her hand at me. I yawned, then shook my head vehemently.

The door creaked ominously and Liam emerged, hair sticking out on all sides. Oddly, he was wearing a black tank top and fluffy-looking red pajama pants. Not scary at all. Completely ordinary, actually.

"Hey," Liam grunted, scratching his chin. "What're you doing up so early, Hel?" He sounded just as tired as I felt. I snickered, glad at least that he didn't get good sleep either.

"I thought it would be nice for you and Blythe to spend time together. She hasn't exactly had the best experience so far."

I groaned. It was worse than I'd imagined. Maybe Ruby had misguided views about Liam but this? She'd never go and orchestrate something like this.

"Blythe?" Liam asked, sounding incredulous. "Are you sure she agreed to this?"

"Not exactly, but it would be beneficial," Helena said.

"No, it wouldn't!" I called before I could think better of it. Liam glanced my way, then quickly averted his eyes.

"I agree with Blythe. Thanks anyway, though," Liam said, going back inside. He'd almost shut the door when Helena jammed her foot in it.

"Wait! The others and I are doing a raid soon. If I'm not mistaken, you are staying in today, and I doubt having Blythe wander the halls all day would be ideal for anyone, right?"

"I guess that is today, isn't it?" Liam said, poking his head back out. To my horror, he sounded resigned. "Fine. If she doesn't mind too much, that is."

"I mind!" I yelled back. Helena hung her head.

"I suppose that's it, then. I apologize for bothering you so early in the morning," she said, sounding sad enough to make me feel kinda guilty.

"Don't worry about it. You'll be great out there," Liam said, holding up a hand. Helena smiled, but not much, giving him a high-five.

"Thank you," she said, turning around.

I sighed, then stood up. I supposed it (probably) wouldn't really hurt me to at least try to see Liam from her point of view. It wouldn't work, and my day would be even longer than the one before it, but...

"Fine, I'll do it. I'll hang out with you," I grunted, stomping over to the door. Helena perked up, and I smiled back. "Just know I'm doing it for her, not for you."

Liam nodded. "Yep."

Helena hugged me for a second, still grinning. "Thank you! I'll be back later today, so see you then!"

I gave her a thumbs up, and she dashed back upstairs, leaving Liam and me to ourselves. I turned to face him.

Definitely another long day.