Douglas remained fixated on me, like a lion that had just caught sight of its prey.

He was the lion.

I was the prey.

And time was a stagnant reminder of just what I'd gotten myself into.

Douglas' eyes glistened with something close to hunger and unbrittled emotion that made me want to look away instantly. Not just want. I needed to look away instantly before I could get lost in it.

But I couldn't. I couldn't look away. I couldn't even begin to explain why I couldn't.

I was like a cobra being mesmerized by music. I was like an alcoholic mesmerized by century old whiskey. I was like...like a girl staring at a guy she had hopelessly fallen in love with.

That thought, however short and sudden it was made me break contact with Douglas' eyes. That stray thought hit me like a bulldozer careening in through the air, endlessly hoping for something to break my fall.

But in this case, there was no safety net, no anything to break my fall.

I didn't even know why that thought was the one that helped me break eye contact with Douglas.

Maybe it was because I was worried Douglas would see the realization in my eyes and he would realize just to what degree he affected me.

Or maybe it was the fact that that thought was so sudden it made me want to draw into myself and ponder over it for a little while longer before I let everyone know just by looking at my eyes and the obvious jealousy that I knew was there.

Or maybe I was just caught off-guard.

That would explain it. After all, before then, now, today... I didn't realize just how far my feelings for Douglas went. I didn't realize that what I'd many times written away as a passing crush on Douglas wasn't just a passing crush anymore.

I didn't realize that between the endless bickering, those surprising little moments he let me see the real him and those days that I realized that we were more unlike than I cared to admit, I had somehow fallen for the person I was sure it wouldn't fall for before I started this job.

But here I was, having just witnessed him in the figurative arms of another and all I could feel rushing through me was wild, unruly jealousy for the raven haired girl that had stolen Douglas' smiles and kisses for the day.

"Krystal," I felt Alex's hands hesitantly touch my shoulder before I pulled myself away from my thoughts and looked at Alex. "Is everything alright?"

She hadn't realized just what had transpired in the last couple of minutes. That is until I instinctively looked over at Douglas again, my eyes like a honing beacon to him, unable to draw or look away.

Douglas' attention was back on the raven haired girl now who was tracing her fingers lightly against his arms and giggling quite loudly.

"Oh," I heard Alex breath out beside me, also witnessing what I myself was.

I stood up suddenly, wanting nothing more than to leave this party right now. "I gotta go," I mumbled out. "I'm... I'm sorry. I just gotta..."

"Krystal, wait," I felt Alex's fingers clasp themselves over my wrist just before I left. Her words were firm and held understanding. "Just wait, okay?"

"Why?" I asked, as I cast a swift glance towards Douglas and the girl again. They were dancing together, too closely for it to be innocent. "I don't want to be here anymore." I turned my gaze back onto Alex, my voice defeated.

"I know how you're feeling right now. Believe me I do. But running away isn't going to solve anything."

"How would you know?" My voice came out more brusque that it would otherwise have been. "You have Dylan and you guys are literally in love."

Alex, despite my rude tone, smiled and replied in a tone that made me feel embarrassed for being rude to her. She didn't deserve it. "It wasn't always sunshine and rainbows for Dylan and I, remember? In fact we got into a lot of bumps before we ever got together. Some of it was his fault and some were mine, but most of it was because we didn't talk it out. Because we just decided to run away from our problems instead of facing each other and settling things by talking."

Alex smiled at something, a fond memory maybe. "Trust me. I know exactly what you're feeling right now. And believe me when I say that things might not be as simple and straightforward as it might seem. Sometimes it's a whole lot complicated and you need to talk it out to sort everything out."

She placed her hands on both sides of my shoulders. "Just talk things out with Douglas, Krystal. Trust me. Everything will make sense when you do, okay?"

I took a deep breath in what felt like forever before releasing a sigh. "Okay," I finally said as I tried to force a smile on my face. "I will. But I need to freshen up before I do talk to him about everything, okay?"

Alex nodded. "Okay. Let's do that." She patted my shoulder softly. "You're doing the right thing, Krystal."

After going back into the mansion and finding an empty bathroom, I splashed some water onto my face and stared at myself in the mirror.

My makeup was still intact and nothing was amiss. I still looked the same as I did when I left the apartment a little more than an hour ago. But I looked different at the same time. I seemed different.

Maybe it was the fact that I'd realized my feelings for Douglas was more than just a crush. It seemed that there was more redness to my cheeks, my eyes were glistening and vibrating with some sort of vibrance as if I'd just discovered the secret to life. I felt different.

I took a deep breath, hoping to calm myself as I pondered over what to tell Douglas.

Was I just going to march right up to him and tell him how I felt about him? Or was I going to go up to him and ask him what he was doing with the girl?

Although I didn't have a right to demand him an answer as to why he was flirting with a girl.

Douglas hadn't really confirmed to me that he had the same feelings for me as I did him. He had just said he was worried about me. That didn't necessarily mean that he liked me, nonetheless loved me.

Before I could come to a clear decision on what I was going to say to Douglas, Alex's voice came from the other side of the door. "Krystal, are you done yet?"

"Yeah," I called back before I finished applying a thin layer of lip gloss. "Just finishing up."

Turns out that all my worrying about what to ask Douglas had all been for naught, because when Alex and I had successfully maunevered through the crowded house to get to the beach where we'd last seen Douglas and raven haired girl, only raven haired girl was there, downing shots with some other half naked guys. Douglas was nowhere to be seen.

•••

My phone ringing non stop broke my attention away from watching Dean stab Abaddon with knife of Cain. And it was so intense too.

I looked out the window where the midday sun was streaming in and wondered again whether I had done the right thing just leaving the party last night without bothering to look for Douglas anymore.

I guess I just couldn't bring myself to go around looking for him and finding another girl with him. What would she be when I did find them? A blonde or a red head or a brunette?

Or to make matters worse, what if I found him liplocking with the girl instead of just dancing with her as he did with the raven haired girl?

I don't think I could take that anymore. Once again, since last night, arriving home, I couldn't help thinking that I couldn't wait until this summer ended and I was free of Douglas Burns.

My phone continued ringing, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I paused Supernatural, just as Abaddon vaporizes into non-existance.

I didn't recognize the number but I answered the call anyway.

Before I could even ask who it was,an excited shrill echoed from the other end, "Krystal, you answered. Thank God!"

"Uh, hi. Who is this?" I asked cautiously, wondering who the excited person was on the other end and how they had gotten my number.

"It's me. Alex," cane the reply, instantly bringing a smile on my face. "Georgia gave me your number. I'm sorry about that. Hope it's okay with you that I just called out if the blue."

"No, it's fine, really. What's up?"

"Something bad's happened and we need your help."

I tensed instantly as anyone would when they heard something bad happened and were waiting for an explanation as to what exactly that bad thing was.

I tried running through anything that it could be.

Did Nancy faint again? But I instantly pushed that thought aside when I realized that that wouldn't be so because the hospital would call me first, not them.

Did something happen to Will or Georgia? That would explain why hey weren't the ones calling me now, but something told me it wasn't either of them.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice coming out barely above a whisper.

"It's Douglas. He's not doing so well," Alex's voice was breaking from the other side of the phone. "He... He's-"

"He's what?"

"He's hurt badly and...and we don't know what to do. We need you to come to the mansion immediately, please. Douglas needs you."

Even before she finished her sentence I was already up and in less than thirty seconds had my purse and the keys in hand, and was out of the house in another five.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. I'm on my way now."

"Thank you, Krystal. Thank you."

"See you in a few," I said into the phone as I flagged down a cab. But before I could hang up, I heard cheers from the other end of the line followed by a shushing sound. I filed it away, my mind lost to thoughts about what exactly had happened to Douglas.

•••

I reached the Burns mansion within fifteen minutes, dialing Alex's number as I started up the long driveway to the house. She didn't answer when I first called her so I tried again.

When she still didn't, I put away to the fact that they were to worried about whatever injuries Douglas had succumbed to that they didn't notice my phone calls.

It didn't even come to my attention that the only car parked there was Douglas' and there was no other car in sight.

I knocked on the door but surprisingly no one answered the door. No Quincy, no Will, not even Georgia.

Just as I was about to call again, my phone rang alerting me to a text.

It was Alex telling me the spare key was under the doormat.

I retrieved the key from there and unlocked the door.

"Alex," I called out as soon as I opened the door.

The house was drowned in darkness. There was no light whatsoever. No electrical one and not even a single ray of sunshine lit the house.

"Will, Georgia... Guys?" I called out once again as I stepped deeper into the house. It was eerily silent and all I wanted to do was step outside again and call for someone.

"Guys?" I called out once again and this time I felt self conscious about being in a big house alone. "Guys stop playing around. Where are you?"

I took out my phone and turned on the flashlight function and started towards the living room. "Guys?"

I heard something move as soon as I entered the living room, so I turned my phone in the general direction of the sound.

There it was.

The painting of the woman. There it sat on the floor, staring back at me.

It was still as radiant, beautiful and lifelike as it was the day I saw it. The day I first started working here. The only day I'd seen it adorning the wall beside the staircase before it was removed and hidden away.

I recognized Athena Burns now, from the pictures that I'd seen.

A cough echoed in the living room bringing my thoughts to the figure that sat next to the painting.

I wasn't the only one in the living room.

There, sitting next to the painting of the beautiful woman was her son, Douglas Burns, unconscious.

Then it all made sense.

What happened last night. What Georgia and Quincy were whispering about that day.

I counted back the days, thinking in how many days had passed before I came to the resounding conclusion.

Today was the 16th of July.