As soon as my eyes close, I am pulled into a hauntingly familiar memory. It's the night Mom died. I've heard and read so much about it that I recognise everything: the trees, the footprints in the dirt.

Her brown hair- strikingly similar to mine- hangs in front of her face, shielding her eyes. Dark stains appear in the ground below her head and I realise she's crying.

A familiar voice speaks then, filling me with bone-chilling fear. "Let her go, Ross. She has nothing to do with this." Dad. I want to cry out, tell him to run, but I can't speak or move.

Ross appears beside Mom, a cruel smile on his face. "She volunteered, remember?" Before I can blink, it's over. My mouth is open in a silent scream, tears rolling down my face. I can't breathe. I feel as if my heart has just been ripped out of my chest.

A scream jolted me out of my nightmare and back into the familiar surroundings of my room. The adrenaline of the dream, coupled with the fear and agony, left me sluggish as I got dressed for school that morning.

Tara met up with me as I left the house, her chatter brightening my mood, if only slightly. "Caleb and I are going to go out tonight and wanted to invite you. He's bringing his cousin along and wanted y'all to meet."

An apologetic excuse immediately formed on my tongue, disappearing as quickly as it came. After everything that had happened, I deserved to go out and just enjoy myself. "Sure," I replied, a real smile on my face.

My smile quickly faded, however, as I walked into my first class and images from my dream floated through my head. Thankfully, it was study hall, so I didn't have to do any actual work.

The sounds of students chattering faded as I was pulled back into the forest, back to Dad's pleas and Mom's agonised face. Once again, I was helpless, unable to speak or move as Mom was killed in front of Dad.

Ross glanced over to where I was, and although he couldn't see me- no one could, since I wasn't really there- a shiver ran through me as his eyes passed right over where I was. The bell suddenly rang, forcing me out of my daydreams. I grabbed my books and merged with the foot traffic walking out into the hallway, taking deep breaths as I walked to my locker. Sleepwalking through the rest of my classes was way easier than it should've been.

Tara caught up with me after my last class. "You excited about tonight?" The excitement in her voice made me smile.

Another real smile appeared on my face. "Of course. It's going to be great." A knot formed in the pit of my stomach, stealing the grin from my face as quickly as it had come, and replacing the excitement in my body with bone-chilling fear. A cold dread accompanied it, making me shiver.

I tried my hardest to forget about it as I got dressed later that night. My pendant was around my neck, a comforting presence. A knock on my front door made me smile. I opened it to see Tara, Caleb, and a black-haired guy around our age. Caleb smiled at me. "Bella, this is Adrian. Adrian, this is Bella."

Adrian had soft blue eyes that sparkled as he looked at me. He and I fell into an easy rhythm, despite only having known each other for a few hours beforehand. We walked to the restaurant, only a few blocks from my house.

The rest of the night flew by. Adrian was a perfect gentleman, holding the door open for me and pulling my chair out for me. Everything was perfect... until dinner ended. When we got up to leave, I grabbed my phone and noticed there was a slip of paper under it.

My blood iced over, all the colour draining from my face as I read it. Having fun, are we? Enjoy it while it lasts. The note wasn't signed, but I knew who it was from. Dan.

Tara noticed, putting a hand on my arm. "You okay?" She whispered. The guys had gone ahead and they couldn't hear us.

I honestly didn't know. I nodded nonetheless, forcing a weak smile. My head was running in a million different directions as I laid in bed later that night. One thought kept poking through the tangled mess, filling me with dread: Is Dan coming after us?

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