"It may take me a bit to get this out" He started "I'm not very good with words, or telling people how I really feel, so bear with me"

There was a long pause as I waited for him to continue.

My heart was already doing little flips inside my chest. He seemed awfully vulnerable and it was something I rarely got to see.

"It took all my strength to let you leave with Ryde and Dodge, Rosie. I've never wanted to tackle someone so badly in my entire life" His voice was low, his eyes wandering.

"Watching you walk out the door with them" He had said 'them' like it was a filthy word

"It killed me. I was in that much of a rage when I returned here, Riley and Parry had to calm me down. And I know I've been very confusing, with you, and it's frustrated you, but it's only because there are two sides of me, fighting one another" He kept his eyes distant

"One side is telling me to give in to what I really want, but the other is telling me to be sensible and keep away" He tried to explain.

He was practically fighting with his heart and his head. I knew the feeling.

"I realized that after you had been taken, one side in particular had won"

Once again my heart attempted to jump from my chest. I watched closely, terrified.

"Look" He started, grasping my hands with his "Its obvious that I care about you. We can stop playing games and see where things go, but I just want you to take into consideration the risks you'd be taking" He stopped, watching me cautiously.

He was admitting to me what I had assumed.

There was something between us.

Of course I wanted it, but of course I didn't want the risks that were attached to it. I tossed up the pros and cons in my head.

"You don't have to choose right away, I don't expect you too" He cut me from the war that was going on.

Heart, head, heart, head... the internal conversation continued as we sat in silence.

I wanted to give things a go, I knew that, and as for the risks, I was already in danger, it couldn't get any worse than it already was, could it? If I was with Duke, I liked to believe that I was safe.

Unfortunately, a small part of my brain jumped in. The risk of Duke losing control of his anger and snapping my neck, was high, Anna was a clear for example for that. Did I want that to happen to me? Of course I didn't, but I wanted to believe that he wouldn't ever hurt me too.

He was the one part of my life that had felt normal, despite not being normal.

It was programmed inside of me. It was right.

"I do. I do want this, I'm just-"

"Unsure?" He finished for me

I nodded and gave him an apologetic smile

"I understand" He nodded back, moving his hand from mine and back to his lap.

He stood to leave, but I stopped him, reaching my hand and to take a hold of his wrist. He turned his head sideways, but didn't directly look at me.

"Do you have to go?" I asked, sounding desperate. I didn't want him to go. I wanted him to stay with me, curl up beside me like he had at the cabin.

"I should. There are a lot of things to be dealt with" His words weren't harsh or sarcastic. It was honest. After everything that had happened I was sure there needed to be some sort of damage control.

"Okay" I gave in, letting go of his wrist.

I was glad he wasn't looking at me, because I looked desperate.

I laid back down and curled up towards the window, the moon shining down on my face.

I closed my eyes, but didn't hear Duke move to leave. I assumed he was still standing where he was, probably debating what he should do and what he wanted to do.

"Just for a little while" I heard him whisper, my eyes opening. I felt his body sit on the beds edge before lying down beside me. I bravely looked over my shoulder and saw him crossing his ankles and overlapping his hands on his rising and falling chest.

I turned my neck towards him, keeping my body angled at the window.

"You look like you should be sleeping in a coffin" I teased, taking in his position before settling my eyes on his face

He turned to look at me "It's a natural instinct I guess" He smiled, unclasping his hands, leaning them behind his hair, his elbow inches from my head.

I turned back to face the window and nestled into the pillow, taking in the double scent of Duke's bed and Duke himself beside me.

Although I wanted to be closer to him, I settled for what I already had and let myself fall into a deep needed sleep.

-

When my eyes flickered open the next morning, the sun's rays beamed lightly into the room highlighting the dust particles flying gracefully around the room. I expected Duke to be well and truly gone, back to business, so when my eyes adjusted and I realized he was still there, I froze. I was lying exactly like I had been the time I'd woken up in the cabin. My head was lying on his chest, his arm wrapped around me as his chest lightly rose and fell with his humble breathing.

I shifted my head to look up at him, expecting to see him asleep.

He wasn't. Instead he was staring back down at me, smiling like I was as if unfazed by our intimate position.

I felt my cheeks burn from heat, along with my ears. I looked down - not that it would hide much.

"I've been awake for a while. I just didn't want to move and wake you" He started, his breath caressing my face. I gave him an unconvinced glance, one eyebrow raised.

"Fine, I wanted to stay a little longer. You look incredibly peaceful when you're asleep. Are you aware you snore?" He asked, smiling briefly.

I almost died of heart attack at the fact he'd confessed to wanting to stay with me.

"I do not snore" I retorted back, trying to make sure my voice wouldn't crack or disintegrate into a jumble of mixed words.

"Don't worry, it isn't loud, just be grateful it isn't dribble" He joked, creasing his eyebrows together as one of his hands lifted behind me, poking my middle

His face soon turned serious when I flinched, and not in a good way. I was bruised, sore. He slowly sat up, causing me to move from his cold body. I sat up beside him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, knowing something was bothering him

"How's your arm?" He asked, his hand lifting and lightly touching the bruises on my face

"Hurts a little" I lied, not wanting to sound too weak. It hurt, a lot, most of my body did.

"I'll get you some pain killers" He sighed, his eyebrows still creased together.

I didn't like seeing it. I didn't like seeing him angry, or upset, making wrinkles with his face.

"Stop doing that" I whispered as I lifted a hand to smooth out his furrowed perfect eyebrows

He seemed to freeze under my touch, dropping his hand from my face.

"I just don't like seeing you like this" He mumbled, trying to crease his eyebrows again, fighting against my fingers that fought them back

"I'm fine" I assured him, tilting my head

"Barely" He scoffed, taking a light grip of my wrist that hovered over his face "I'm not going to let anything like that happen ever again Rosie. I promise" He lightly kissed the top of my hand as he kept his eyes on mine

I blushed, but couldn't rip my face away from his eyes

"I believe you" I smiled

Silence lingered before he dropped my hand and got up to stand.

"As much as I'd like to stay-"

"You can't. You have things to handle" I finished for him

He just smiled and walked off.

I sat there for a moment dazed.

It all felt impossible. It all felt unreal, like a giant dream.

Maybe I had died down in Dodge's basement. Good things didn't happen to me, they just didn't. Why now?

I rubbed my eyes and sighed before dragging myself out of bed. I planned on taking Duke up on his offer of calling Clora and organizing a meet up with her. It would be hard to lie to her and tell her that I was staying with a sick family friend when I was really staying with a group of Vampires.

I walked to my old bedroom, and sure enough, it was back to normal. Someone had already fixed it while I was asleep. I walked towards the dressers that were now fully fixed, no dings and dints. I pulled one open and there sat new clothes, neat, tidy folded and waiting for me.

I assumed it was Jaymi.

I pulled out a pair of blue faded jeans and a jumper with the tag still on them. I liked it, Jaymi had good taste.

I headed to the bathroom which was once again spotless, indulging myself in another warm shower.

When I got out, I blow dried my hair and brushed it through, tying it up into a loose ponytail before exiting. I almost jumped from my skin as Riley appeared, perched on the end of the bed, watching me.

"Don't scare me like that" I spoke, holding a hand over my heart as I walked towards him.

"Sorry. Bad habit" He smiled, standing and walking towards me, enveloping me in a hug. I liked Riley's hugs, they were somewhat ironically warm. They gave me a sense of hope.

"So" He started, raising his eyebrows as he let go of me "You and Duke hey, Last night hey?" He was being suggestive as he winked at me.

I rolled my eyes, "You don't know what you're talking about" I knew exactly what he was talking about. But once again, nothing really did happen. Not even a kiss, just confessions, like in a church.

"Mhm" He smiled before turning serious and looking down at the floor. I knew at the moment, we were thinking the same thing. Seth.

"I already miss him" I walked towards the bed, sitting on the edge. Riley gave me an indescribable look and sat down beside me.

He just mumbled, causing me to turn my head, he was looking at me from the corners of his eyes, almost as if he was hiding something.

"Don't you miss him?" I asked, curious as to why he was acting so strange

"Of course" He weakly smiled, only confirming further that something deeper was going on

"There's something you aren't telling me, isn't there Riley?" I asked, turning my whole body around to face him. He couldn't lie to me. He never had been able to.

"Nope" He shook his head, not looking at me

"Riley. Tell me. Tell me right now" I demanded, flicking him on the nose

All of a sudden he was standing, looking down at me "Look Rosie. I can't say anything. All I can say is, don't cry over Seth. It's seriously not worth it" He spat.

My mouth gapped, my eyes wide. I was livid, confused, my brain reeling as I readied myself for a tirade of anger to boil over. How dare he, why would he say something so cold?

Watching with an explosion of emotions, Riley quickly fluttered from the room, like a coward running away from a fight.

Something severe was going on, and it wasn't right, it clearly surrounded Seth.

I needed to know, I needed to know now.

I stormed my way down the stairs, hoping to run into Riley, Duke, or Darius. If I did, I would demand to know what on earth was going on. I was part of this little game whether they liked it or not. I deserved to know the truth.

Surprisingly, the first person I ran into was Jaymi and Duke. They were sitting in the living room, talking intensely about something, until they spotted me. Duke was leaning forward, his head in his hands, frustrated. Jaymi's face was just as unreadable as Riley's was, she turned to look at me, weakly smiling.

"I need to talk to you" I spoke looking in between the two of them

"Who exactly?" Jaymi asked

I folded my arms over in front of me "Either of you, both of you. I don't care" I spat

"What's wrong?" Duke worried, standing

I walked towards them and stood in front of them

"I know something's up with the whole Seth situation. So, what is it? Tell me" I demanded. They immediately looked at each other with alarm.

"What do you mean?" Jaymi played stupid, leaning back in the lounge

"Riley, he can't lie to me, he's a terrible liar, so I know, I know something is up. What is it? Was Seth one of them? Was he a traitor or something?" I shot out, probably getting Riley in trouble for blowing the 'secret'

"He's probably just upset about it all. He feels as guilty as the rest of us do" Duke cut in, watching me carefully with eyes that were false. I could tell that he too was lying. It seemed that I'd found a fault in these mythical beings - they were all horrid liars.

The twisting feeling inside my stomach didn't help their case either. It told me something was most definitely wrong.

"Duke, don't lie to me. I deserve to know what the hell is going on, or was lying one of the risks I would have to take after this mornings chat?" I spoke angrily, glaring at him

If he wanted to start something with me, then being honest was the most important thing to be, something in which he was not being.

Duke shook his head, pulling something from his back pocket, holding out his mobile phone for me.

I looked at him, confused

"What?"

"Call Clora, you obviously need time away from us, you need time in the real world" He offered, calm and casual.

I however, was not.

"You're just going to change the subject?" I spat, pushing the phone back towards him "I thought you guys were my friends"

"We are Rosie, but it seems you need your normal friend too" Jaymi spoke, standing up and placing a hand on my shoulder

I looked in between them, and knew they were just pushing the topic away, but they were right. I wanted to see Clora. I wanted some part of normalcy back, especially when they were keeping me in the dark.

I snapped the phone from Duke's grip and stormed off, stoping in the living room doorway, turning my head back towards them

"You know, I thought we were past all this lying. I thought you were different. I guess Archer was right" I spat, heading back up the stairs to my room

I knew my words were harsh, but it was harsh keeping me from the truth about someone I cared about, someone I felt responsible for killing. They were letting me carry that burden by hiding me from whatever was true.

I sat on the side of my bed and dialled Clora's number, holding it to my ear, nervous about how she'd react, hearing from me after all this time.

"Hello?" Her pixie voice answered, causing me to instantly smile

"Hey Clora" I replied, a little shaky

"Oh my god, Rosalie where the hell have you been, you haven't even called me! You've disappeared! I was going to call the cops Rosie, do you understand what's going on down here?!" She rushed out all at once

I closed my eyes and wanted to tell her the truth, but knew I couldn't. "I know Clora, I'm so sorry. I've just been so busy-"

"Your mother Rosie, are you aware?" She spoke cutting me off, this time her voice was soft and cautious

"Yes. I know" I answered, looking down at my feet shuffling on the floor

"Are you even coming to her funeral Rosalie Jean?" She asked, slightly angry again as she spoke my full name

I stumbled for answers, another thing Duke and the rest had forgotten to tell me, there was a funeral. Was there even a body?

"Yeah" I lied "I just need a time and place" I spoke, knowing that I'd have to have another war with Duke to be able to attend. Although I was sure he wasn't cold enough to deny me from my own mother's funeral.

"It's two days away, Saturday. Ten in the morning" She informed me.

I was surprised that I'd even forgotten what day it was. It was Wednesday, which meant I'd been here for about a month.

"I'll be there. But that's not the reason I called..." I trailed off, waiting for her response.

"Rosie, I'm starting to think something's wrong, I don't believe the whole family friend thing anymore, I'm sorry, it just isn't like you" She changed the subject.

"Clora, it's hard to explain okay. I just need you to trust me at the moment. I'm okay, it's just a sticky situation right now" I tried, hoping she'd drop it and actually trust me enough to stop the questions

"Fine, but I do expect answers at some point" She gave in "So what's the reason?"

"I wanted to know if we could catch up maybe tomorrow or something, after school maybe" I offered, hoping she'd say yes.

I needed to see her, I needed something normal back.

"Really? Yes, that'd be great!" She beamed, somewhat surprised "What time, and where?"

"I'll meet you after school. Out the front, we can walk to the cafe in the mall if you want, catch up, have some coffee" I suggested, excited

"Cool. Sounds like a plan" She agreed happily

I smiled and began talking to her about how things were going since I'd left. I didn't want to talk too much, I couldn't slip up. I also wanted to make sure we had loads to talk about tomorrow, so with a swift quick goodbye, we hung up.

I looked down at the phone, looking forward to tomorrow, it was as I did, an idea came to mind. I looked towards the shut door then back down at the phone in my hand. I slowly clicked a button and brought up the phones inbox.

My eyes widened and I near dropped the phone. One of my hands flew up to my mouth in complete disturbance.

Messages from this morning, from Seth.

It was impossible. He was dead. Everyone had told me so.

With a shaky finger I clicked on one of the messages, opening it up.

It read, from Seth. She? Meaning me?

I was doing horribly. I hear my friend has been killed rescuing me, and then I find myself reading text messages from him a day later. I was not doing well, at all.

I bravely clicked through to the sent messages from Duke and continued reading their conversation.

-Duke

Seth

-Duke

- Seth

-Duke

- Seth

I felt my body start to shake. They were pretending he was dead. I was being lied to, led to believe that one of my friends had died in place of me.

They had no right to lie to me about something like this. I cried thinking I'd killed someone for my own welfare. Now I discover he's alive and well.

I clicked out of the messages and sat bobbing my leg up and down for a good five minutes in thought of what to do next. As much as I wanted to storm down and tell them off for doing this to me, I knew it wouldn't end well.

Suddenly, I had the inescapable urge to flee, leaving the life I'd been thrown into. They'd crossed the line and I wanted out.

It took me a minute to recuperate and calm down. Finally, I stood with the phone clenched in my hand and headed downstairs.

I wanted to get out of here. I wanted to go home.

They'd poured salt in my wounds and I didn't like.

Once I reached the bottom of the stairs I walked straight up to where Jaymi and Duke sat, frustrated expressions on their faces. They fake smiled at me when I entered, angering me further.

I slammed the phone down on the coffee table with force, and narrowed my eyes on Duke.

"I want to go home, now" I spoke coldly. I didn't care what they thought, I was full of rage, and I was sure Duke could tell.

"What do you mean?" Duke looked at me, confused