I sat up fast, grasping my stomach and searching around. My mouth was dry and my throat burned both inside and out. Where was I? Was any of this even real?

My body forced me to cough and I could feel myself choking as I coughed up more blood. The bed I laid in was clean before but now covered in blood.

"Hey, hey, it's ok." Sutton appeared at my side, holding a small bucket in front of me as I continued to cough. "I've got you. You're going to be okay."

Tears streamed down my face before my body could calm down. The scene I was causing made me feel weak, vulnerable, and worthless. Even this beautiful bed was now ruined because of me.

"I'm sorry about the bed..." I whispered, staring down at the sheets.

"No, don't even think twice about them. They're hideous anyway. Sasha will remake the bed. Do you think you're able to stand?" Her hand held against my back in a comforting way I'd never seen or felt from her.

Slowly I stood up, Sutton holding my arm and guiding me through a doorway into a bathroom. I worried this pristine white room would soon be dirty and disgusting because of me.

"Alright, let's get you cleaned up." She smiled, grabbing a washcloth for my face.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I whispered.

She looked back at me, shocked that I'd ask that question. But not once had she ever been this nice to me. There was really nothing for her to gain from being nice so at this point, I had no idea why.

She knelt down, wiping off my arms and hands.

"You and I may not be best friends, but we still see each other every day. You're basically dating my brother. Though if you ask me, I could see you and Davis together too." She smiled up at me. "We're the only girls here. When I saw you laying there, you just looked so... you looked like you needed help. Both of those guys, they would have helped you, sure. But I didn't want to leave you there all vulnerable. Girl to girl, I thought you needed help."

I dropped my head down, knowing fully well Davis and Thomas had seen everything. It was embarrassing to be this helpless.

She handed me the washcloth and I wiped my face off, looking in the mirror at myself. I wanted to instantly look away. My eyes had sunken slightly and skin paled. My hair was even more crazier than normal. The dress... it was completely covered in my blood.

"Let's change the bandage on your neck, yeah?" She pulled out a first aid box. Slowly and gently she pulled the tape off holding the gauze. I closed my eyes, the tape feeling like needles as it peeled away.

The good news was that it didn't instantly start to bleed when air hit it. It looked disgusting but yet slowly healing.

"How does your stomach feel? David said Derek kicked you?"

My hands wrapped around my abdomen, remembering exactly how he kicked me.

"It's not as bad. Still hurts, but not as bad as before." I looked down. "Thank you for helping me... you don't have to be nice to me just because of Thomas and I..." I knew there was no official 'us' but it stayed in the back of my mind. I knew there was always that chance of not getting married but as each day continued to pass, I questioned everything about us.

"Charlie, Thomas may be blood, but that doesn't make me follow everything he says. When I texted my father, I asked him for Michael to come get me, not Thomas. And when we found out about you and Valencia, he just froze. He didn't look pissed. He didn't look sad. All he did was follow Michael to the room."

She paused and crouched down in front of me. I knew I had confusion written all over my face and she picked up on that. Her first real conversation with me was her basically telling me that he didn't react when told I was hurt. Wasn't a boyfriend supposed to be emotional or upset at least?

"The reason I'm telling you this is because you need to know if one day, you might marry him. If you have any choice in this relationship, any at all, you should know all the details. My dad would never arrange a marriage for me because he knew I wouldn't stand for it. Plus, what's he going to do to me? I get that that's a huge reason you never questioned it as you got older. But Thomas, he'd follow my dad anywhere and do anything he says."

"So... you don't think this marriage is a good idea?" I whispered, dropping my head down to stare at my hands in my lap. I knew the idea of not going through with marrying him had always been a thought. Most of our interactions seemed calculated and not out of pure love or desire.

"No, but by the looks of it, you look like you've gotten yourself a new crush anyway.." She smiled and grabbed my hands in hers. "Don't you dare deny any of it! I see how you disappear at night every day since the ball. It's definitely not like it's my brother meeting you anywhere since you're leaving his room."

"I..." I didn't know what to say. And this point, I was beginning to wish Valencia did more damage because then I wouldn't have to have this conversation with her right now. She knew I was going into the forest. How could I hide that from her?

"C'mon Charlotte! Admit it! Admit you're meeting a guy out there! If you don't have any feelings at all for another guy, I'll drop this right now. But admit it, you like someone!"

As much as I wanted her to drop it and leave me alone on this topic, I couldn't lie to her. Shaw... he was interesting. He didn't care that I wasn't a wolf and that I had my own opinions. Even though I was a vampire, he even took me into his town, defending me from the others.

"See! You aren't even denying it!" She shouted standing up.

"Ok, ok, there is someone!"

"Girl, I've seen my fair share of guys... why are you hiding him? Who is he?" She shifted closer in her seat towards me.. "There is no way I don't know him. I know all the guys around here!"

"You don't know him..." I smiled lightly, my cheeks flushing in embarrassment but also nervousness. What if she found out its Shaw, much less that he's a wolf? Would she kill me on the spot or be ok with it?

"Oh my God, seriously! I don't believe that. I mean, I know you. You don't go and explore places. So there is no way I don't know him. Whatever, you can keep it a secret." She stood back up and turned towards the counter. "You'll tell me eventually. But anyway, what about Davis?"

She opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.

"He and I are just really good friends. I think he understands that Thomas and I are supposed to get married and wouldn't try anything. He's just a flirt I think."

"To my knowledge, he's leaving in less than 24 hours here. We need to get you back to... health again, so you two can flirt some more. It's amusing to watch Thomas squirm while you flirt. I figured these would fit you the best. It's the smallest clothes I have so sorry if they're big."

I stood up slowly, gripping the counter in front of me for support, while Sutton unzipped the back of my dress, helping me pull it off. I felt helpless once again. Just putting on sweatpants was a challenge in itself that I couldn't do on my own. It amazed me that just having an injured abdomen meant that almost all movement was limited.

Both of us plopped down on the newly made bed. Sutton laid on her stomach while I relaxed more upright with pillows holding my back and head gently against her bed frame. It was hard to sip the blood bag knowing I had thrown all of it up just hours prior but I wouldn't heal otherwise.

"Do you think it's cheating for me thinking about the other guy?" I asked as she flipped through the TV channels.

She turned to me with a raised eyebrow.

"You're joking right?" When I didn't continue or shift, she rolled her eyes and laid on her back. "You and Thomas aren't even dating, Charlie. Both of you have said it before. If you're just friends with the idea you should date, that is not dating! You're free game just like he is. Let me ask you something then. Does that make you upset or happy? You're both free game."

"I suppose I'm happy." I whispered.

"Ding ding ding!" She laughed. "You have control to choose, especially in the fact that one of your potential boyfriend is a royal."

I sat there, watching her. She really was a genuinely nice person. Maybe I just was never on her good side but seeing this nice side come out of her, towards me no less, made me feel like I could trust her. She took me as her responsibility when I was suffering. Maybe she was trustworthy enough.

"Sutton," I paused. Was this really a good idea?

She looked back at me again.

"You're not going to throw up again are you?"

"How good are you with knowing secrets?"

It was like a light bulb appeared above her. Instantly she sat up, turned the TV louder and faced me. I raised my eyebrow towards the TV before she spoke.

"The walls are always listening."

"Ok... how would you like to meet my guy friend?" I whispered.