"Rin."

The door to my room opened and my mom poked her head in. I looked at her from the spot on my bed. She took one look at me and her brow furrowed.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

I looked down at my hands. Sleep had escaped me. My eyes wouldn't close. Perhaps, I had dozed off a couple of times but it was not enough to call sleep. Even the tears hadn't come. Sonia's gift was kept under my pillow within reach. It was still there, hidden. I'd gotten up early to put concealer on my neck and hoped my mom wouldn't see it. I hadn't used a lot of her makeup so there shouldn't be a problem. Plus, I think I did it correctly. The web page I found online made it seem easy enough.

"Hey mom," I said, my voice hoarse. "Can I stay home today?" I cleared my throat. "I'm . . . not feeling well."

My mom crossed the distance between us. Her hand flew to my forehead checking for the temperature. She lifted my chin up and quickly moved my head.

"I'm just checking your tonsils," she told me.

Reluctantly, I opened my mouth up to the light. She pursed her lips. "Hmm," she said.

Without another word, she released my chin. My heart raced in my chest. Had she noticed the makeup? My eyes started to burn.

"Just for today," I pleaded. "I'm so exhausted. I don't have the energy to go to school today."

My mom cupped my face in her hands. She planted a kiss on my forehead. "Rin," she began.

"What's the hold-up?" Dad's voice came from the doorway.

Mom straightened and released my face. We both turned to look at him. "She doesn't want to go to school," mom explained.

Concerned, Dad stepped into the room. He looked at me and then at my mom. "I'll call the school," he said.

My parents looked at each for some time. Finally, mom nodded. When she looked at me, she smiled. "Alright," she said. "Just make sure you lock the doors. Don't let anyone in. Call the police if anything happens, okay?"

My chin trembled but I was able to force a smile on my face. "Thanks."

I didn't hear when they left for work. All that was left was the silence. I undressed and slipped underneath my comforter. My body felt heavy. Somewhere in the distance, I heard ringing. It took me a while before I realized it was coming from my cell phone. With my eyes closed, I searched around my bed until my hand touched the familiar device. I looked at the screen and grimaced at the sudden light.

Catching the name on the Caller ID, I frowned. Nevertheless, I answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Rin," Carlos said on the other end. "How's it going?"

"What is it?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"What? N-no, nothing really."

Impatiently, I waited for a couple seconds. "Carlos," I began.

"Sorry," he said. Again, he hesitated.

"If you don't tell me why you called, I'm hanging up," I warned. Granted, I could have been a little nicer but I was not in the mood to play a guessing game.

"I heard that you and Sonia got into a fight," Carlos blurted out.

I let out a sigh. Honestly, I was surprised Sonia told him. "Okay," I said. "Is that why you called? To tell me to make up with her?"

He didn't say anything. I let out another sigh. "Carlos –"

"Let's talk at school," he suddenly said. "You're probably already heading over there . . ." He trailed off.

"I'm not going to school today," I admitted. "I don't feel like going."

"That's funny," he said. "I'm not going to school either."

I sat up. "Is there a reason?"

"Sometimes you get those days, no?" he asked. "When you don't want to do anything?"

"Yeah," I told him.

For a moment, we didn't speak. It felt like he was on the verge of saying something but couldn't spit it out.

"You called for a reason?" I prompted.

"Just thought I asked how your weekend went. You know, with the conference and what not."

My mind flashed back to the car crash. "It, it was okay," I said. "A lot happened. I mean, you watched it, right?"

Carlos chuckled. "Not really. I was caught up with something else. Listen, since we're not going to school. Do you wanna hang out? Just to, I don't know, pass the time?"

Honestly, my plan was to stay in bed all day until my bladder and stomach prompted me to get up. I was about to tell him as much when I stopped. Sure, Carlos and I weren't the closest of friends but it had been a while since we had hung out but it had always been with Sonia around. Thinking back on it, I think I had mostly avoided spending time with him in case he asked me to be his girlfriend for the hundredth time. Plus, I'd been so caught up with what happened to me, I hadn't even asked how he was holding up. Probation couldn't be an easy thing. Besides, it wouldn't hurt. I had just to make sure I wasn't caught by my parents.

Against my better judgment, I asked, "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Half an hour later, I saw a beat up green car driving down the street. I hadn't lied to my parents that I was exhausted. I was. I was exhausted by all the people at school and I didn't want to deal with them today. And sure, hanging out with Carlos didn't seem like resting but at least – well, I hoped – the vampire Prince wouldn't show up. Or maybe what I really needed was a distraction from everything that was happening.

As the car pulled up, I watched it from the window in the living room. After Carlos had ended the call, I opted to wear a pair of sweat pants, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. It wasn't necessarily cold outside, but it was a bit cool and it was comfortable. When the car stopped, my cell phone buzzed against my leg.

'I'm outside in the green car,' the text read.

I glanced out the window again. The window from the passenger side rolled down and Carlos poked his head out. He waved. I stepped back, chewing on my lip. I trusted Carlos but his friends, they I didn't even know. My phone buzzed again.

'What's the hold-up?'

You can do this, I told myself. You're already out of bed. You're dressed. Sort of. Just go with Carlos and distract yourself from . . . nearly dying last night.

I checked outside once more. No paparazzi. It seemed like the vampires did hold up their end of the bargain. Wallet? Check. Phone? Check. I took a deep breath and went outside. The sun was already shining brightly when I stepped out. After locking the house, I took the house key with me. My parents and I had a copy of the house key which was left buried in the potted plant beside the door.

As I walked, I stared at the ground. Mentally, I was preparing myself. I was used to seeing the same people over and over again, meeting new people was entirely different. As I reached the car, the passenger door opened and Carlos stepped out.

"Morning," he said cheerfully.

I looked at him. It'd been a while since I really looked at him. He had bags underneath his eyes but I didn't look so different. Before I could react, he pulled me into a hug and quickly let go. I stood shocked still for a moment and gave him a look: 'not in the mood today.' Clearing his throat, Carlos pulled the seat up. I eyed the gap. Did I really want to go through this is?

"Rin?" Carlos asked.

Without replying, I squeezed through the gap. There were two people in the car beside Carlos. The woman was driving. She looked like a college student with dark hair tucked underneath a cap. The other was a guy, he had his face pressed against the window with his mouth hanging open. I might have spotted a bit of drool on his cheek but I didn't stare long enough. I nestled into the old leather seat. Carlos pushed the seat back and got in.

"So, you're Carlos' girl," the driver said.

"Um, no," I said. "We know each other through his cousin."

I avoided all eye contact with Carlos. Instead, I focused on finding the seat belt.

"Name's Pat, by the way," said the girl.

"Rin," I told her.

When Carlos had closed the door, Pat shifted the car into reverse and we peeled out of my driveway. I held the seat tightly, my knuckles turned white. The car suddenly stopped and the impact hurt my back.

"I would say put your seat belts on but I haven't gotten them fixed."

I met Pat's gaze through the review mirror. "Lovely," I muttered.

The car bounced and wobbled down the neighborhood. I pulled the hood over my head and tried to keep a low profile. There was a high chance we were going to get stopped by sector police. Maybe I should dial my lawyer and give him a heads up. I kept my eyes closed, trying to keep my breathing evenly. Last time I was in a car, it had crashed.

"You alright?" Carlos asked from the front. "You look pale."

I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak. Carlos muttered something and I heard Pat laughed but the car didn't slow down. Feeling my stomach churn, I placed my head against the window. The taste of bile rose in my throat and I shuddered. Ugh, motion sickness. Thanks to the open window, the air rushed in, pulling and twisting against me.

When I finally managed to open my eyes, we were out of the neighborhood. As a matter of fact, we were at the edge of the sector. Here there was only abandoned buildings and warehouses. Large overgrown grass grew everywhere. It was an old town, as far as I could tell. 'Town' wasn't the proper word. It was more like a cluster of buildings.

"Carlos?" I asked. "What's going on? Where -?"

"Don't worry," he said quickly. "We're going to be hanging out with my friends."

"We're in the middle of nowhere," I said, my jaw clenching.

"It's cool, girl," Pat said. "We are almost there."

The street ended but Pat kept driving. The car bounced with every rock and hole it hit. We traveled a couple of blocks before coming to a stop in front of a small store front. There was no name on top of the doorway. The door was new. That much I could tell.

Pat parked the car in front. I followed Carlos out. The wind nipped at my face and I drew my hood closer.

"Marco, get up!" Pat hollered.

I stood uncertainly in the shadow of the building. Carlos and Pat were half way towards the door. I dragged my feet towards them. The gravel shifted under my shoes. Behind me, the car door opened.

"Do you really have to be so loud?" Marco asked.

Pat pounded rhythmically on the door. As I approached, I heard a voice. "Password."

Password? What kind of friends were these?

"Let me the hell in," Pat demanded. "It's me."

No answer.

Pat sighed in frustration. "Lemon sickle with three grapes."

A dead bolt snapped back and the door opened. Pat went in, followed by Carlos then, myself. The inside was small. Everything had been taken out and replaced by long tables that made a maze throughout the room. A couple of people were sitting at these tables on laptops. Someone was fiddling with a radio. The place was brightly lit with make shift lamps across the ceiling and along every corner of the room. There was a door adjacent to the one we came through and another to the far right corner. However, the one thing that stuck out to me the post was the sign. It was painted against the opposite wall.

It was a basic silhouette of a vampire with a cape and a red cross on it.

"Rin?" Carlos asked.

But I didn't even look at him. My gaze was fixed on that sign. No, it couldn't be.

Carlos . . .

Carlos.