Being back in Caiden's room felt awkward and weird. For starters, there was no darkness anymore. The blinds were up, the curtains pulled away, and the sunshine seeped over the grey carpet. He still didn't have a roommate and I appreciated this little detail. Perhaps he wasn't a complete stranger to me.

Caiden sat at the table and typed away on his computer impossibly fast; strange letters and number shifted before my eyes as I stared at the black screen. As far as my programming skills went, I knew how to restart a computer router.

"Do you think you can do it?" I asked, unable to stand the awkward silence any longer.

Although, I was pretty sure the silence was only awkward for me. Caiden seemed lost in his own little world.

"I think I might." Caiden said, his eyes still glued to the screen. "But it's going to take time. And there are a couple of classes I have to get to today."

"Of course." I nodded quickly, afraid we were terribly incommoding him. "And I'll pay you."

"That you will." Caiden chuckled. "No way I'm hacking an ancient vampire cult for free."

The Sacred Order murdered his parents. A part of me wanted to remind him of that, to evoke anger and hatred, and to make him understand I was trying to do good here. But that would be selfish, and all I'd really do is remind him of the trauma and loss. So, I kept my mouth shut, even if that meant he wouldn't understand me.

"How have you been, Cai?"

His back slightly tensed at the use of the old nickname and his fingers stopped moving on the keyboard. It only lasted for a moment and then he continued.

"Okay." He mumbled. "I interned at an IT firm this summer, they'll probably hire me once I get my degree. I do a job on the side every now and then." A small pause. "I'm dating Angie."

I knew that. Angie has been posting their photos on Instagram all the time. She's also been liking all of my Pinterest nails pictures, so I didn't mind her overuse of the platform.

"That's great." I offered a genuine smile. "You know I'm happy for you. You look better, you look happy."

"I am happy." Caiden turned in his chair and faced me. "Chloe..."

His eyes met mine and everything we've been through flashed in my mind.

"Hmm?" For a moment, I decided to pretend dumb.

The last time he's seen me, he told me he wanted to leave campus. I wouldn't make this conversation easier for him.

"I'm sorry." He spoke and glanced at the carpet. "I was a jerk, a traumatized jerk. And by the time I've realised what I've done, you were already gone. I'm really sorry, I didn't truly want you to leave."

"What's done is done." I shrugged, deciding not to tell him it was fine yet. "I needed to get away anyway. This place was suffocating me."

"It's just..." Caiden looked around, either thinking of what to say or avoiding my gaze. "You dropped out of college."

"Yes, well, I can finish anytime." I offered a tight smile. "So, can you hack the system?"

"I think I can." Caiden nodded. "I'll start this afternoon. Should be done by morning."

"Please, you can get some sleep in the meantime." I laughed.

"It's fine, it's a challenge." Caiden shrugged. "It looks like someone really did a good job creating security. Whoever you're up against, they have a tech guy."

"Wouldn't it be nice if they only had rakes and stakes?" I mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing." I shook my head and stood up. "William and I will stick around until you're done. Invoice me later."

"Chloe..." Caiden uttered right as I approached the door. "Is this all because of him?"

I leaned against the doorframe and took in a breath, "Not only because of him."

Caiden let out a small, humourless chuckle, "You would have never gone that far for me."

"I wanted to." I opened the door. "But you wouldn't let me."

Caiden didn't answer, he faced his screen again and I walked away from him.

By the time I've reached the café, William was on his third glass of wine. He stared through the window and fiddled with the glass in his hand. We've spent a few hours just sitting there and drinking, until both of grew hungry and restless. After getting something young and college-y to eat, William disappeared somewhere, because he drank from a drunk sorority girl, and I ended up at the same café with gin and tonic in front of me instead of coffee.

I found it interesting how no one seemed to want to talk to me. These people knew me, they've met me, but no one even stopped by to greet me. Did they feel the difference between us? Did they subconsciously know it was better to stay away? And if so, how long would it take to change their minds if I so much as approached them?

"Chloe?"

The gin went into the wrong hole and I coughed out rather inelegantly.

"Sheila?" I turned in my seat to look at my ex best friend.

I had to consciously reprimand myself, because my mouth involuntarily fell open and my eyes widened. Sheila was... thinner, way thinner than she used to be. She was a basketball player; she was always muscular and strong. Now, the muscles were gone. Her hands and legs were very slim, sickly slim, and her face was gaunt, her skin somewhat ashy and tired.

The need to shake her, to ask her what was wrong, to hug her and smack her in the mouth all overwhelmed at once, and I had to dig my nails into my palms to stop myself from reacting. Whatever was going on, she didn't need me reacting that way. That wasn't going to make her feel better.

"I heard you were back." She sat on the bar stool next to me. "What are you doing here?"

I pointed at my drink, "Boozing my troubles away."

"Do you mind if I join you?" She asked.

"Not at all." I called for the waiter, enjoying the moment of not having to look at her.

Perhaps she was sick, perhaps something was seriously wrong and I had no idea, but her Instagram page revealed nothing. Gosh, I tended to be so dumb. Why would she let the whole world know she was sick?

Panic and pain mixed in my gin-filled stomach. There had to be something I could, but how would I even ask her?

So, like an absolute creep, I sniffed her blood. Sickness had a peculiar smell, like there was something rotten in the blood, something dying. There were no traces of anything like that in Sheila, but the blood had zero potency. She was low on iron, as well as vitamins.

"So, you're back." She ordered a beer and stared ahead. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

I squeezed the gin glass, needing to do something with my hands, "I'm sorry, we needed help hacking something and, well, Caiden was the only person we could trust."

"Who's we?" Sheila asked.

For a moment, I thought whether telling her William was here with me was a good idea, but there was a possibility she would run into him anyway, and me keeping it a secret would be even more awkward.

"William and I." I shrugged. "And Thomas, but he's not here."

"William is here?" She glanced at me sideways.

I nodded, "Well, I don't know where he is now, but he came with me."

"Huh." Sheila took a sip of her beer. "Didn't think I'd see him again either."

"You must be disappointed." I mumbled, not sure how to read her words.

"You just disappeared."

My gaze snapped to her. Was she serious?

"You told me to leave." I said, turning in my seat.

Sheila avoided my gaze, her eyes jumped over the liquor bottles on the opposite wall. She squeezed the bottle in her hands, her knuckles turning white, and her heartbeat picked up the pace.

"I didn't think you'd really leave. Not without a trace."

A small, strained chuckle left my lips, "You people have no idea what you want with me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Her eyes narrowed in my direction.

"Exactly what I said." I laughed. "You told me to leave campus, you said I was too dangerous and you didn't want me around anymore. Both you and Caiden. And somehow, you're both now acting like you're, oh, so offended that I actually left. What the hell?"

Sheila's plump lips tightened, "It's been two years."

"Well, I took you seriously." I said. "So, we stayed away."

"And now you're back just because you want Caiden to hack something for you." Sheila spoke. "Did you even think how that would affect us?"

"What exactly did you want me to do?" I crossed my hands on my chest.

"I don't know." A scattered breath jumped off her lips. "I guess I thought you wouldn't listen to us. I thought you'd realise we didn't truly want you to leave."

"Maybe you should have said that." I said. "Hell, you blocked me on Instagram. I had to stalk you over Pinterest nail pictures!"

Sheila met my gaze, "That's you?"

"What did you think?" I squinted.

A small, warm smile awaited on her face, "You stalked me over a fake account?"

"Of course." I puffed. "I had to know if you were okay."

"That's both creepy and sweet at the same time." Sheila smiled.

"That's me." I mumbled. "Both creepy and sweet at the same time."

"So..." Sheila turned to me. "What did you need Caiden's help for?"

I was glad she changed the subject so abruptly. The guilt had already begun to gnaw at me and I just knew I had to re-evaluate my own departure. Was my reaction hastened? Should I have waited for a few days to see whether they truly wanted me to leave? Did I cause more harm than good?

I shook the thoughts away, realising she was waiting for an answer.

"Will found some sort of a website or a software that the Sacred Order uses to, I don't know, recruit employers or do their taxes or whatever. We hope we can find out what they're going to do next if we manage to hack it." I explained.

Sheila frowned, "William? Found a website? Over the Internet?"

I laughed out loud, "Yeah, I was surprised, too. Turns out he's learned a thing or two over the last two years."

"Good for him." Sheila's voice trailed off.

Awkward silence settled between us. I bit my lower lip, not knowing what to talk about. I wanted to ask her desperately whether something was wrong, but I felt like it wasn't my place to prod. Perhaps I should have known something was off, perhaps I should have come sooner.

"How long are you staying here?" She asked.

"Until Caiden does his magic." I shrugged. "He said he'd let me know when he's done."

"Well, it was good to see you, Chloe." Sheila stood up, leaving her beer barely touched.

Panic seized my veins. I needed to do something, say something.

"Listen," I stopped her, "You can come with us. For the weekend. We have a house in the mountains."

"It's Monday." Sheila's smile didn't reach her eyes.

Alright, that wasn't an outright 'no.'

"Take the week off then." I suggested. "It's, uh, the mountain air. It's good for the soul. Plus, we have plenty of wine and an outdoor pool."

"Wait, who's we?" She repeated her question from earlier. "You and William?"

"Thomas and I." I said.

"You're living with Thomas?" My ex best friend offered a familiar smirk.

"Yes, and it's not weird, I promise." I chuckled.

"Right." Sheila let out a small laugh. "Well, I'll think about it."

"Please, do." I said. "It's a nice house."

Sheila pursed her lips slightly and said nothing while she gathered her stuff and walked away, leaving me alone in the bar.

I prayed to any god that might be out there that she'd join us. Something was happening to her, something I wasn't aware of, and I needed to now what. In a way, I felt responsible for whatever happened to her.

And if there was anything I could do to help, I would do it.