"I'm so glad you're here" I smiled to Jaymi as Parry, Riley and I sat in Riley's room, battling it out in turns as we played the PlayStation.

Jaymi and I sat beside each other watching Riley and Parry collect gold coins on their game.

"Well, I'm glad too" She smiled bright and happy towards me.

"I know what it's like to have to hang around a bunch of halfwit boys like these guys and its torture" She laughed

"Just because we're concentrating, doesn't mean we can't hear you" Parry grunted as he leaned forward, swivelling the ps3 remote around.

"Whatever" Jaymi narrowed her beautiful blue eyes at him, tossing back her long wavy red hair.

Jaymi and I - so far - had a lot in common, she was beautiful and kind, but I sure wouldn't have liked to get on her bad side, even though she was the same height as me, and probably the same weight, I had no doubt she would be fast, and agile.

"So why did you agree to come on this dangerous journey anyway?" I asked curiously as I looked towards her and Parry

"I just like to fight" Parry growled as he concentrated hard on the television

Jaymi rolled her eyes before turning back to me

"Parry's had it out for Ryde ever since he was turned" She started tilting her head sideways as she spoke casually

"I agreed to it after I heard that there was another cure alive. I knew Thomas and his family... " She trailed off looking down "I used to babysit his little sister" She confessed smiling weakly

I placed a hand on her knee "I'm sorry" I apologised, meeting her eyes

"It's okay. What's done is done, right?" She smiled, patting her hand on top of mine on her knee

"So what happens from here on out, do we just sit around here waiting for them to attack?" I asked, changing the subject

"Dang it, we missed a coin!" Riley cursed, throwing his hands up in the air

"There's a few plan's circulating. That's what the others are doing downstairs at the moment, trying to figure out which one is the best course of action" Parry spoke, leaning back in the sofa, as he turned his head towards me.

"So why aren't you guys down there?" I asked

Parry shrugged, "We don't needa' be, were just recruits, whatever plan the boss's come up with, we just go along with" He shrugged

"I know Harris and Grant have powers and that, along with Duke and Seth, but, what about the rest of you?" I asked, digging

Jaymi smiled and Parry just rolled his eyes

"Parry doesn't and Darius doesn't. But I do" Jaymi licked her perfect teeth

"It comes in great use when around a ton of boys that annoy you"

"We all have that ability Jaymes, you're just more advanced in it than the rest of us" Riley defended, clicking buttons on the controller

I looked in between them waiting patiently for further answers

"Has anyone told you about what we do when we drink from humans to erase memory?" Jaymi began, watching me

I nodded "It's like glamouring from true blood" I replied

Parry let out a wild roar of laughter "That's such a lame show" He mumbled, shaking his head

"Well, I'm extremely good at it. Unlike the others that have to touch a person, or look deep into their eyes, I simply just have to concentrate hard enough. Sometimes I can even manipulate them into doing exactly what I want" She smiled, explaining herself

"So you're like a remote to a robot?" I tried

She lightly laughed "Yeah, I guess it is like that"

"What other questions do you have?" She beamed, crossing her legs on the sofa as she faced me with her body

I scratched my chin for a moment thinking of more questions to ask "How old are you, in human years?"

"Nineteen" She happily responded "Want to know how old I really am?" She winked

I quickly held my hands up

"Nope, no, no, far too much for me" I whined as Riley and Parry laughed

"Fair enough I suppose" Jaymi giggled, her voice light and sweet

"Anything else you want to ask?"

"Not right now, but I'm sure more questions will come up later" I mumbled, running a hand through my light locks of curled hair

"I can cut your hair for you if you want" Jaymi randomly spoke, holding her hands out and playing with the ends of my brittle long hair

"The ends are dead, and it's causing some split ends" She continued eyeing the pieces in between her fingers

"Sure. Have you cut hair before?" I asked, unsure of her professional expertise

She made a duh expression, "Of course I have Rosie. I'm a girl, and a hell of lot older than you think, with loads of experience" She answered

"Okay. Just checking" I held my hands up in defence "Beside's the length of it seems to be an invitation for people like Bruce to grab and drag"

Jaymi's face turned suddenly serious "Bruce?" She repeated

I just nodded. I was fearful I'd given something away that I wasn't supposed too

"He attacked you?"

Once again, I just nodded

She whipped her head around to Riley who was staring at her with a wild expression stuck to his face. What was I missing?

My eyebrows creased

"Did you guys kill him?" She asked Riley as Parry just seemed agitated his game had been paused again

"Sure did. Was loads of fun too" Riley smiled, staring directly at her

She punched him hard on the arm "You dick! I've always wanted to do it, God, why didn't you call me here earlier?" She growled at him

"It was kind of a spur of the moment thing" Riley shrugged, pretending to rub a sore arm

"Whatever" She shot back, before turning her head back around to me "I used to know Bruce. My sister dated him one time. I've never liked him, counted on the day him and my sister split and he turned, just so I could turn him into dust myself" She explained

"You scare me" I snickered

"It's simple, don't hurt the ones I love, or you're as good as dead" She warned pointing a finger at me as she smiled

"Good to know" I retorted.

It had only just occurred to me that the part in which Jaymi had spoke about 'turning him into dust' clicked. Thoughts flashed through my mind of the day Duke shoved me into the back of his Rolls Royce, while an ear piercing scream sounded from the hidden side of the van. The boys had returned seconds later covered in what looked like soot.

Or now as I'd discovered, Dust.

"How exactly do you turn a vampire into dust?" I asked, narrowing my eyes as I thought aloud

"You snap his dead cold neck" Jaymi answered casually, an evil grin spread across her face as she made a snapping gesture with her hands in between us

I gulped, but smiled weakly. Was that what they had to do to destroy Ryde, Dodge and the rest of them?

"What else do you know about Ryde and Dodge?" I asked, once again changing the subject

"Well Ryde. He's cocky, and angry, and way in over his head. I could snap him like a twig. He's too inexperienced to fight people like us" Parry interjected smugly.

"And Dodge? He seems pretty powerful from what I've heard" I continued

"He is. He's been around just as long as Duke and Darius' father Victor. He's always had an evil streak in him, bad blood, even when he was human. Victors family used to be close with Dodge centuries ago, but when he turned completely mad with power, all connections were cut off. The main reason Darius and Duke hate him now is because they think he'd had something to do with the death of their mother. Along with Thomas and his family" Riley explained

"Was their mother human when she was killed?" I asked, thinking about the meaningful conversation Duke and I had had on the pier

"Yep, an absolute gem of a woman too" Riley answered, his face sympathetic "The brothers never got over it. Everybody's pretty sure Ryde and Dodge have it out to kill off Victors entire family after he cut connections with him. They owe the Victor line a lot of money too" Riley raised an eyebrow

"You really think you'd be able to take Dodge on?" I asked, looking in between them all

"I like to think I'm capable, but I think the only people realistically capable of taking him on, and succeeding, would be the brothers" Parry spoke, leaning in behind Riley "They're angry enough, and strong enough"

"What about the rest of them? How many more are there?" I pushed for more

"There are only about five others as far as we know. Some we've never heard of, some we have. There's Lyle and Viv, they're brothers and an extremely good tactical team when together. But when separated, they're easy targets. Then there's one other were familiar with, Archer" Riley told me

"Archer's the angriest thing I've ever come across. He's vicious, violent, and will stop at nothing to succeed in what he wants" He continued

"Awesome" I nodded sarcastically

"Don't worry, they're as good as gone when it comes to us" Jaymi sighed, patting me on the back as she shot the boys a warning glance, as if they were making me worry unnecessarily.

I wanted the truth, I needed to hear it.

•

For the next hour, we all took turns in playing Riley's game. It took our minds of the fight ahead and it made me feel a little less nervous. Their confidence definitely made me a whole lot more at ease about it all.

We were interrupted when Riley's bedroom door was swung open. Riley and I were the only ones to turn as Jaymi and Parry were in deep with the game.

"Hungry?" Duke asked as he stood in the doorway, looking directly at me

I took a quick glance at Riley who rolled his eyes and turned back towards the television. I nodded towards Duke and lifted myself from the couch to leave the room towards the kitchen.

"I hope you actually meant I was going to get something to eat this time, because I am genuinely hungry" I sighed as we headed down the stairs

His lips turned upwards as he side glanced at me

"Yes" He answered as we entered the kitchen

Every time I entered the kitchen I thought of Anna, and always expected her to be there, waiting to take my order.

I had to remind myself why she wasn't there anymore. It was an adjustment.

I took a seat at the dining room table facing away from the large breezy windows as I watched Duke enter behind the granite bench tops.

"What do you feel like?" He asked, turning to rummage through the fridge

"What are you good at?" I shot back

"Anything and everything" He challenged as I watched the corners of his lips turn up

"I'll make this one easy for your first go. A sandwich" I smiled

•

Luckily, the sandwich he'd made wasn't bad, however it still didn't compare to the small triangles and squares Riley had always cut for me.

I took a large bite as Duke tidied up the mess he'd made, before sitting across from me.

"I told you they weren't all that bad" He commented, watching me

I hated it when people watched me eat, especially him.

"You and I both know I was only nervous about Grant and your brother, Jaymi a little too"

"Yes, but they haven't bothered you have they?"

"Not yet" I quickly snapped

He just smiled and shook his head as he looked down at the table

"So what plan have we all decided to go with?" I asked, curious about their meeting

He traced a pattern on the table with his fingertips

"It'll take a few days to figure it out completely. We'll have to keep tabs on Ryde's tactics, but so far, the plan is to draw them all out at once and take them all on. But seeing as you're the one they want, someone will have to take you away, keep you safe and far from the action" He explained

It seemed simple, but I knew that it wasn't going to be that way. Something would go wrong, it always did when I was involved.

I just nodded and continued to eat while Duke looked down and traced the table's pattern with his fingertips.

It was silent and calm as we sat for that extra five minutes until my sandwich was gone.

I leaned back when I was done "Not bad" I shrugged

Duke watched on, amused as we held an intense stare on each other.

Our eyes were fixated and refused to move from one another, making my heart flutter wildly in my chest like a cage of trapped butterflies.

Duke was about to speak when thudding boots interrupted into the room, ripping our eyes apart

"Not interrupting anything am I?" The deep soft voice spoke in the doorway.

Duke's soft expression immediately changed as he looked towards Darius's figure.

The thick tension could be cut with a knife as I glanced in between the two of them.

I wanted to slide down under the table.

"What?" Duke sternly asked, his entire demeanour changing gears

"I'm just checking the old place out. I missed it here, but, I've most definitely interrupted something here" He gestured in between us as he smirked and narrowed his eyes

He was definitely also getting on Duke's nerves, I didn't need any super abilities to sense that.

Silence ensued as the boys stared off, it was becoming unbearable, so I sighed and stood, picking up my empty plate. Both boys' gazes immediately flickered to me as I walked towards the kitchen to rinse off my plate in the sink.

"Or is she your new maid?" Darius bravely began the battle, causing my eyes to widen.

Did he want to die? Luckily my back was turned away from them as I shut off the water flow.

I could just imagine Duke's wild expression.

"Walk away Darius" Duke's stern voice began as I cringed

Darius just scoffed as I turned, unbothered by the insult in my presence

I didn't want to be involved, I didn't want to be near them when they exploded in rage.

I headed straight towards the exit, but in the doorway Darius was quickly in front of me, blocking me, standing tall.

I noticed that he wasn't as tall as Duke, but he was still just as intimidating.

I looked up at him, unsure what to say

He lifted an eyebrow while looking down at me, studying my every inch uncomfortably.

I tried to push past the small gap in between him and the doorway, but it was impossible.

He was fast and angled perfectly to block me.

I noticed that Duke was now standing directly behind me. I was unfortunately sandwiched in between the hostile vampire brothers.

"Move" I demanded half brave, half uncertain, placing my hands on my hips.

He seemed amused as he smirked down at me

"Wow, the tension in here is absolutely terrible. I could almost feel it all the way up from the top of the stairs" Riley joked, walking up behind Darius with Jaymi in tow

Darius took one last grin at Duke and I before turning and walking away

"We came to save you" Riley winked at me as I stood still, frozen with shock.

Suddenly, Riley's gaze turned on Duke who remained behind me.

"C'mon Rosie, I'll cut your hair for you now if you want" Jaymi interjected as she moved toward me and pulled on my arm.

I let her pull me along, glad to disappear from the situation.

She was saving me. I wasn't sure why, but I preferred her to save me over Riley.

I hated looking weak, and I wished I could have reacted better when the tension rose to such unspeakable heights.

•

"Your colour is beautiful, and it's going to be so pretty by the time I'm done with it" Jaymi chirped as she had set up her own little salon out in the small backyard patio of the home

"Did you bring all this stuff with you?" I asked, eyeing off the scissors and spray bottles on the small table beside me

"Maybe" I could hear the smile in her voice

For the next hour, Jaymi and I chatted while she pulled and tugged on my hair

"How short do you want it?" She asked

"Whatever you suggest"

I trusted her.

I looked with a still head around the garden. It was beautiful.

The grass was a luscious earthy green, with a large oak tree standing tall in one corner.

The leaves were a thick green as they swayed down close to the ground, creating large shadows projecting on the grass.

Around the edges of the large brown picket fence were small gardened flowers, vibrant with colour. It was simple, but mesmerising.

"Okay, well I'll just trim it to remove all the dead ends" She shrugged, beginning to snip pieces of hair

"Jaymi..." I started

"Yes?" She dragged her e's out as she concentrated

"Can I ask you something personal?" I tried

She paused for a moment before answering "Sure"

"How were you, you know, turned?" I asked, fidgeting my hands under the towel wrapped around me, protecting my clothes from falling hair

Once again she paused before continuing

"It was awhile ago, well, decades back. I had just a normal day like any other. I had attended school with my best friend Beck, and afterwards we headed over to the old arcade to play a few games of Pac-man and Donkey-Kong" She started

"We were there for too long, we had lost track of time, and by the time we headed home, we were walking in complete darkness. As we walked, we began through a tunnel towards my home, before we knew it, we were ambushed by 3 men. They were drunk and..." She trailed off.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to" I whispered, feeling guilty for bringing it up

"Long story short, Beck and I lay in a bloodied heap in that tunnel. Next this I remember is a man picking me up and carrying me away. After that, I woke up, clear, unscathed, like this" She sighed "The man that had saved me had turned me. Beck however, she couldn't be helped" She continued to explain, sadness deep in her voice.

"I'm so sorry Jaymi" I whispered, mentally hitting myself for bringing it up

"It's okay Rosie. It was a long time ago"

I had to admire her bravery, and her strength. We were nothing like each other.

For the rest of my haircut, we only spoke about happy memories, nothing to dampen the mood further. When Jaymi had finally finished, she slammed the scissors down on the small table and was instantly in front of me, smiling.

"All done" She smirked eagerly for me to see it, "I'm jealous"

I rolled my eyes.

How on earth could she possibly be jealous of me? Even after a fresh haircut she was still the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen.

She leaned in close to my face

"Duke is going to love it" She winked, causing my heart to skip a beat

"What are you talking about?" I scoffed

She rolled her eyes "Gee Rosie, do you really not know or are you just in denial? Nearly everyone has noticed the way he looks at you"

"You, like Riley, are delusional" I teased, screwing my face up.

I wasn't ready to face the rumours, whether it was true or not.

"Mh-hm" She mumbled, unconvinced

"There is no way he would even be thinking about something like that, especially something like me like that, I'm human remember?" I reminded her, lifting my hands to pat my smoothed out ends of hair

"Oh like that matters" She lightly slapped my arm, standing in front of me as she admired her work