I wake up the next morning to my alarm clock blaring. Quickly shutting it off, I get dressed, my stomach in knots. The feeling only increases as I arrive at school. Tara greets me as I walk to my locker, a sympathetic expression on her face. "Hey."

I open my locker, then gasp at what falls to the ground. A newspaper article. And not just any newspaper article. Dread flows through me as I scan the words. Local forest quarantined after apparent vampire attack. Mom's picture is next to the article.

I blink at the article, my exhausted mind not comprehending the words. A sudden rush of anger flows through me as I crumple the article in my hands. Ross did this. I'm sure of it. My eyes begin to sting, and I blink away the tears threatening to fall.

Tara comes up to me and gasps as she reads the article. "I'm so sorry. I'm going to have a talk with my dad when I get home." My phone buzzes and I grab it. 'Hey honey. I'm sorry for the timing, but I have to go out of town. Could you speak to Tara and see if you could stay with her for the next few days? I can't explain everything over the phone, but I promise we'll talk when I get back.'

I sigh as I grab my books, closing my locker. The bell rings and I walk to class, taking a seat beside Tara. Grabbing my phone, I quickly text her. 'Hey. My dad just texted me saying he's going to be out of town for the next few days. If it's not too much of an inconvenience, could I stay with y'all until he comes back?'

My phone buzzes seconds later. 'No problem. Whatever you need.' A sigh of relief escapes me as I read the text.

I try to pay attention in class, but my mind keeps going back to the article. After school, I walk to Mom's grave, a red rose in my hand. As I lay it down, I notice someone else has already been here.

A bouquet of roses is laying against the grave. I hear footsteps behind me, and whirl around, coming face-to-face with Zach. "My dad texted me during school to mention he was going out of town for a few days. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Zach looks at the ground, shuffling his feet. "Apparently, the human-vampire relations are a lot different up there than they are down here. After your mom passed, he was appointed ambassador for this town, and goes up there frequently to settle arguments and disputes between vampires and humans."

A surprised gasp escapes me. I had no idea. Zach nods at me before leaving and I rush to Tara's, my hands shaking. Without a word, I run to the guest bedroom, closing the door behind me. I collapse on the bed, exhaustion gnawing at me, and toss and turn for hours before finally falling asleep.

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