Ross is kneeling in front of me, a look of pure agony on his face. My hands are outstretched in front of me, palms out. A sort of wicked grin spreads across my face. I know without saying a word that he's seeing his worst memories flash before his eyes. Tara walking away from him... his wife leaving him... A groan slips from his lips as his agony worsens.

A jolt runs through my body, causing me to drop my arms to my sides. I blink, the grin replaced by a look of horror. Dan appears beside Ross, an expression similar to what mine was moments ago on his face. "Having fun?" His grin is sadistic.

"What did you do to me?" I ask, a chill working its way down my spine. I have no memory of what had just happened. It's as if someone has wiped my memory clean.

"It's so easy to slip into someone's mind. Like walking through a doorway to another room."

Nausea roils in my stomach at his words. He blinks, another grin spreading across his face. My eyes widen, a gasp of horror escaping me. Blood covers every inch of my hands. I stumble backwards, breathing heavily. "N-no," I whisper. "This isn't me."

His grin grows wider. "It's me."

My entire body resists as I force my hands down to my sides. "You can't control me. I won't let you."

Before he can so much as open his mouth, a ghostly voice fills my ears. "Bella? Honey, wake up."

I blinked, a groan escaping me as a splitting headache formed between my eyes. "You're going to be late for school." Indeed, a glance at my phone told me I had 20 minutes to get ready. I threw on a sweatshirt and jeans, my hands trembling so much it took me twice as long as it should've. Dad put a hand on my arm, concern in his eyes. "You okay?"

My mouth opened and closed several times as I struggled to come up with a response. I finally nodded, forcing a smile. "Just tired." The violation that Dan had committed remained on my mind as I walked to school. How had he done it? As far as I knew, vampires didn't have any special abilities.

Tara and Caleb met up with me as I got to school. I almost couldn't walk inside- the fear that overtook me was paralysing. I avoided Zach as much as I could, pointedly ignoring him in the classes we shared and in the hallway. He finally stopped me as I was walking to my locker after my last class. "Are you okay? You've been avoiding me all day."

The question bubbled up inside me. I just wasn't sure how to approach it. I grabbed his arm and led him into an empty classroom, closing the door behind him. "Have you ever done compulsion?"

A confused look appeared on his face as he thought. "No. What is that?"

I took a shaky breath, then explained. My hands shook when I got to the part about Dan. His face was pale when I finished. "I've never heard of that. But I'll see what I can find out about it."

The rest of the day passed in a blur. I was on autopilot, Dan's face stuck in my mind. I clutched my pendant as I laid in bed that night, wishing- not for the first time- that Mom was here. Maybe she would know what to do. I finally dozed off sometime around midnight.

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