After my long earned warm shower, I got dressed and peeled the wet cling wrap off of my neck.

I stood in front of the mirror, and to my horror most of the bandage was now covered in blood. I hissed out when my fingers made light contact.

I left the bathroom and made my way down to find Duke, Seth or Riley, whoever I came across first.

I treaded down the hallway and walked down the long wide stairs lined with red runner carpet that I hadn't noticed before.

The quarters of the entry hall were floored in cold white tiles, so I tried not to slip over in my socks. Wincing in pain, I continued through the large living room, turning to face Duke's study room.

In the middle of the room stood Duke and Seth, deep in conversation as they turned their heads to look at me. I felt awkward and shuffled my feet as they stared at me.

"S-sorry to interrupt, but I'm having a fair amount of blood loss here" I stammered as I pointed to my saturated bandage

Duke immediately walked towards me and lifted a finger under my left jaw line, tilting my head up examining the bandage.

His finger was cold, and as soon as his skin touched mine, my face felt hot and a rush of heat travelled furiously through my body.

He dropped his finger and turned back to Seth.

"We'll finish our conversation later" He nodded at Seth to leave, Seth complying with a nod in response.

"Sit" Duke ordered me, as he moved towards his desk, pulling a draw open and shuffling around inside

I did as he said and sat myself on the white sofa Harriss had earlier been seated on. I kept my eyes away from Duke, looking out a nearby window.

It was dark.

"What time is it?" I asked curiously.

Come to think of it, I was tired, and the last time I'd slept was when I'd woken from this entire ordeal of being attacked by Ryde.

"It's about midnight" He replied, moving back towards me carrying a medium sized soft bag.

I turned my gaze back towards him, but never met his eyes, only watching his hands or my own in my lap

"I'm surprised you aren't asleep yet. I'm also assuming that's why you're bleeding again. You've been running around like a chicken without its head when you should be resting. Your body needs to heal" He lightly told me, his face concentrating but soft

"I had my reasons" I defended as I watched him sit beside me, feeling the sudden closeness of our bodies.

He unzipped the edges of the bag, and lifted the top of its lid to reveal its medical contents.

"Are you part-time doctor full-time vampire?" I asked, worried he had no idea what he was doing

He began pulling things from the bag, such as a small vial of yellow disinfectant, and a roll of stitches, and sticky patches.

He tilted my head again with his finger, once again creating the same reaction as it had before.

"I am" He replied seriously as his face became uncomfortably close, his eyes wondering around my neck. He pulled the sticky tape holding my bandage down from my skin. I winced as he slowly pulled at the tape.

"Sorry" He apologised taking in my reaction

"Doesn't the smell make you want to... you know... chow down?" I asked, trying to break the awkward silence between us

He lightly chuckled, something I'd never heard before from him. It was sincere, and the only time I'd seen his tough angry persona disintegrate.

"No. Although there is a certain appeal to your blood that I have never endured before" He continued, slowly peeling the last of the white medical sticky tape from around my neck.

"Great" I huffed as he threw the soaked bandage onto newspaper he'd placed on top of the coffee table.

I looked away immediately after he'd thrown it there. It made me sick to look at the blood soaked material.

I could see from the corner of my eye his eyebrows creased together.

"From now on, seeing as we have our basis of you staying here, I would advise you to rest from now on. No more running around. No more eavesdropping. Rest only. I'll have to give you some medication as your neck is beginning to look infected" He continued as he picked up a cotton bud dabbed in yellow disinfectant. He warned me, "It's going to sting" before applying it to my neck.

"Ryde, this is all his fault, he makes me sick" I spoke angrily, wincing from the dabbing.

What right did he have to inflict this kind of pain and disablement upon me?

"What's going to happen to him anyway?" I asked, worried he'd soon be let free and able to find and munch down on my blood now that he knew the freedom it gave him.

"He won't be able to get to you, so don't worry about him" Duke replied wiping blood from around my neck, tracing the wet wipe down to my collarbone.

Every time his fingers brushed against me, it sent sparks of adrenaline through me, from my neck to my feet.

I wondered if he'd felt it too.

"I'm going to warn you now. Tomorrow morning, there will be a gentleman here to test his abilities on you. He also happens to live here from time to time. His name is Grant." He continued, breaking another silence of tension.

"What is his ability?" I asked, watching Duke's hands drop from my neck and wipe them in the paper towel holding my old wrappings.

"He can erase memory" He answered watching closely for my reaction.

I'd done what I'd begged myself not to do. My eyes met his and held there, as I answered

"Oh"

He looked away from me, pulling me from the gaze he tightly held. He stood back up and took the dirty papers and wrappings from the table, dumping them into a trash bin beside his desk. He then quickly lit a match he'd pulled from nowhere, and threw it inside, engulfing the contents

"So, what happens if it does work? I won't remember any of this" I spoke again as he took a seat back beside me. He tilted my head with his finger again, causing another unwanted reaction from my body

"Is that necessarily a bad thing?" He weakly smiled as he pulled out a new bandage, this time a smaller one

I shook my head, "I guess not"

I paused before a thought popped into my head.

"Do you have any abilities?" I asked, suddenly curious if Seth or Riley had any either

"I do"

I waited for him to tell me what it was, but I figured he wasn't going to. I didn't push for the rest.

For the rest of the time he re-bandaged my neck, we sat in silence. I wasn't enjoying the awkwardness of the tension, and I felt myself quickly grow tired, fighting the urge not to sleep.

"There. Now go get some sleep" He spoke after he finished attending to my wound

I got up from the sofa, and walked towards the living room

"Thanks" I smiled

Duke smiled back towards me.

Another rare moment his tough persona shot down in flames.

I walked back to my bedroom, and noticed my suitcase was now leaned against a closet beside the small living room, empty. I narrowed my eyes and walked towards the closet, pulling the squeaky wooden doors open.

My clothes were neatly stacked and sorted in the closet. I smiled to myself.

Something told me it was Seth, seeing as the same pair of black and pink panties he'd been holding up before were placed neatly on top of the middle pile of my shirts.

It was creepy, but I couldn't help but smile.

I pulled out a pair of dark blue sweatpants, and a plain white tight t-shirt, quickly dressing, hopping into the king sized bed for warmth.

It didn't take me long to fall asleep, sinking into the comfortable mattress.

I thought about Clora, and my mother. I knew Clora and Kenai, and a few of my other friends would notice me gone. Would they call the police? Would they try to contact my mother? Would they think she'd killed me out of a drunken rage and buried my body deep in the woods? I knew for a fact my mother Florence wouldn't notice, and if Clora asked her where I was she'd simply slam the door in her face or reply with something drunken, like, 'Don't know, don't care. Maybe she's out with a boy. It's only typical of her to be out and not here taking care of her dear old mother'. I actually pictured her wobbling in the front doorway, spitting as she spoke, flailing around her bottle of vodka as Clora stood there awkwardly.

Would I ever be found? Or would I simply vanish and that would be the end?

-

When I woke I stretched my limbs out wide and felt my knee knock onto something.

I flipped my eyes open and sat up on my elbows to be greeted with the familiar smile of Seth, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Morning sunshine" He smiled as he stood up and walked over to my closet, pulling it open.

"Morning" I groaned groggily

"Get up. Grant will be here soon. We need to dress you up in something so conservative that not even I can find you physically desirable" He glanced at me

I tossed my blankets off of my body and swung my legs over the side

"What are you talking about?" I asked, rubbing my eyes

He pulled out some shorts and threw them aside

"Grant is young, attractive and highly flirtatious. And I already know that when he takes one look at you, he's going to be pulling every move possible, just to get into your pants" Seth explained as he tossed aside a low cut shirt

"Great" I rolled my eyes and slowly slid out of bed "And I take it he will be staying here when he gets here after what Duke told me yesterday"

"What did Duke tell you yesterday exactly?" He narrowed as he pulled out a pair of black jeans and a loose dark blue t-shirt with a single pocket on one side

"Just that Grant is coming, and he lives here from time to time" I answered, looking at myself in the golden rimmed wall mirror.

My neck hadn't bled out overnight, it was still intact. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey Seth, I was wondering" I started, changing my tone slightly higher

"Yes?" He quickly gave me a tilted sideways glance

"I was wondering about Duke... He said he also had an ability, what is it exactly?" I asked innocently, pulling a brush from my bedside table, beginning to work out the knots

"Did he not tell you?"

"No" I answered back

"Well then, it's not really my place to tell you. Is it?" He replied as he shut the cupboard doors and threw me the clothes he held

"Fine, so, what about you and Riley, do you guys have any?" I asked, edging for more

He gave me a suspicious look before answering as I walked towards the bathroom, stopping at the door

"No. Riley and I do not have any gifts" He answered taking long strides towards the bedroom door.

It was sincere, and I believed him, or it was a perfect lie, a skill they also had.

-

I made my way down to the bottom of the stairs with Seth after I'd changed into the black jeans and t-shirt.

I'd left my hair out and lightly dabbed some makeup on my face after finding it in a small compartment of my suitcase.

"You should have skipped the makeup. Grant's going to eat you alive" Seth groaned as we reached the living room.

I soon saw Duke and another man I assumed to be Grant seated.

"Nice choice of wording Seth" I shivered

Grant turned from the lounge and stood.

Seth was right. He was young, and attractive.

His hair was smoothed back into deep waves of dark blonde. His eyes were a light blue, almost a light white twirled with blue.

His features were perfect and graceful, his build tall and lean.

Although he wasn't as tall as Duke, or as built as him when they stood beside each other.

He was dressed in a darkish grey suit, with a dark blue tie. He looked as average as a business man dropping into the diner as he passed through our dingy little home town.

He looked me up and down, smiling a gleaming perfect set of teeth.

Seth rolled his eyes and made a small grunting noise before he turned from my side, leaving me standing alone.

"Don't be afraid beautiful. Come. Sit" Grant instructed, still smiling at me, gesturing towards the sofa.

I walked towards the men and took a quick glance up at Duke.

As always he had his poker face on, meeting my quick glance.

I took a seat beside where Grant stood, both men sat after me, Duke on a vertical lounge.

"It's very nice to meet you Rosalie" Grant continued to smile as he held his hand out towards me

"You too" I faked a smile, lightly shaking Grant's hand.

I didn't correct him when he spoke my full name. I felt that for some reason if he'd spoke my shortened name it would invite him in on a more personal level.

"You seem to be causing quite a stir in our world. I came across news that you were immune to Harris's telepathy, interesting stuff." He began "Have there been any other revelations?" He asked Duke, turning slightly

I expected Duke to tell him about Ryde, and what had happened with his physical state after he'd drunk my blood.

But he didn't, he simply shook his head

"No. Nothing" His face was stern and hard, his eyes quickly flashing towards me

"Well, I guess I should get straight to it then, shouldn't it?" Grant beamed as he turned his body back towards me

"Just relax. Stay still. Now, anything in particular you'd like to forget about?" He asked, folding the sleeves of his suit up

I took a quick glance at Duke before answering; he just nodded towards Grant, leaving the question to me

"Ryde attacking me?" I suggested "Sometimes I can't get the pictures out of my head. It's not a pleasant thing to have to recall" I spoke, looking at Grant

"Sure thing" Grant nodded as he slowly held his hands out towards me.

I watched as he lifted his cold fingers to my temples. His eyes closed, like Harris's had, in pure concentration. His face softened and he relaxed as he lightly pressed his fingers into the sides of my head.

After a minute, exactly like Harriss had done, Grant's eyebrows furrowed together. He seconds later, removed his hands away.

His eyes flickered open as he looked at me, then to Duke.

A small smile began to play around the edges of his lips.

"It didn't feel like it had any effect on her. Now, tell me beautiful Rosalie. Do you remember a man named Ryde?" He asked

It felt silly. Of course I remembered Ryde. His powers hadn't worked on me either, and for some reason I felt proud of it.

"I remember everything. It didn't work" I answered with a sigh, watching their reactions.

Duke looked once again shocked, but it was missing the same pitch it held when he'd discovered I was immune to Harriss, and healing, and the whole momentary cure thing.

I guess he just assumed my body was completely immune against vampire's of all shapes and sizes.

However, Grant's face was just as surprised as Harris's had been.

"Amazing" Grant spoke, his smile widening like from ear to ear

"This one's a keeper. She's special, immune, smart, and beautiful" He chirped, patting me on the knee as I slightly flinched

"Well there's definitely something about her..." Duke trailed off as he stood "Anyway, make yourself at home as usual Grant" He sauntered towards his office

"Oh" He turned "And please, keep your hands to yourself" He warned, his face as serious as my situation

"I'll try my best" Grant smiled, holding up his hands in defence, obviously not taken back by Duke's cold glare and threat.

After Duke had returned to his study he sat at his desk and shuffled through some papers. I could see him lean back in his chair and rub his temples like he was trying to massage out a headache. Could he even feel pain?

"So, tell me about yourself young Rosalie" Grant spoke snapping my eyes away from the distant Duke.

Grant leaned on the back of the lounge, his arm draping across it behind my head.

I felt uncomfortable and shifted slowly.

"Oh, um ... I don't know" I spoke, just wanting to leave and find Riley or Seth.

Where were they anyway?

"How old are you?" He started as I looked around the room, looking for an out

"I'm eighteen" I replied, glancing at Grant's face

"Wow, pretty young. Good years. I miss them" He smiled, looking into the air as if he were reminiscing.

I thought about it for a moment and decided to use this as an opportunity to get some answers and information.

"How old are you, you know, permanently?" I asked, facing him and plastering a smile on my face.

He laughed, "I'm twenty one"

"That's pretty young" I mumbled

"Want to know how old I am really? You know... in vampire years?" He winked

I shook my head dramatically

"No, no not really" I scoffed

I was curious about how old they all were, but I had a feeling it would terrify me even more so than I already was. I needed more time to soak in the information I already struggled with.

"Fair enough" He smiled, leaning a little closer again

"So which room do you stay in when you're here?" I asked, breaking the silence before he could move in any closer

"Any I can find. What room are you in?" He shrugged, licking his lips

I felt my stomach roll.

I faked a small smile. I needed to flee.

But it would be difficult.

How could Duke leave me alone with him, knowing what he would be like? I felt a little angry at him for putting me in this situation.

Right then, I remembered what Seth had said the previous night;

'We have extra sensory perception'

I began to converse inside my head

"Riley? Seth? Please someone help me. I can't take his closeness anymore. He's attractive and charming but I'm not buying it. Not today, not ever. Please" I thought all the while smiling. Suddenly, it had just occurred to me that Grant was a vampire.

Didn't that mean he had extra sensory perception too? I hoped to god he didn't.

I hope to god he was too wrapped up in his pick up lines to pay attention.

Without a sound, Riley appeared

"Hey Rosie, want to come finish our Playstation game?" His head popped around the corner of a doorway

"Oh. Not you again" Riley sneered as he spotted Grant.

"Nice to see you too brother" Grant smiled.

It was fake.

"Whatever. C'mon pretty, we have a date to attend to" Riley smiled, pulling me up by my arm, interlinking them

"It was nice to meet you Grant" I called as I went willingly with Riley

"Thank you so much for saving me" I sighed as we raced towards Rileys room "Did you actually hear my pleas for help or did I just get lucky?"

"I didn't hear anything. Seth did. He called me and told me that you needed rescuing from Grant's slimy grasp" He confessed casually as he stood at the end of the bed, his hands on his hips.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, I looked up at him

"Seth? I thought all you vampire's had extra sensory perception?" I asked confused

He gave me an uncertain look before quickly softening to a more amused expression.

"That Seth... He's a trickster" He shook his head

"Rosie, Seth has the gift of intrusion. When he concentrates hard enough, he can dig into people's minds" He explained

"That liar! He told me he had no ability" I stood

"He only tells people that because he doesn't want them to know that he can get inside of their heads" He laughed

"So, that means his gift worked on me, why did his gift work and the others haven't?" I mumbled shaking my head.