I'd agreed that I was to be dropped off with Clora while she was wiped free from her memory.

Jaymi said she was to be the one to do it.

Riley had dropped the three of us back at my home for it to all happen, and after Clora had been wiped I would explain that I could no longer keep up the finances up on my home and was moving to a family friends house an hour away.

I was sure she would ask questions, and I knew it was going to be hard, but I knew it was for the best.

We were sitting in my lounge room talking before Jaymi simply gestured to me with a nod that it was time.

"Hey Clora, has Jaymi told you she can read people's minds?" I beamed, looking directly at her

"Oh my god, no way" She chirped in response

Jaymi laughed and shook her head, playing along

"Go on Jaymi, show her" I urged

"You want me too?" Jaymi continued as she gestured towards Clora sitting beside her

"Yes, of course" She agreed, almost jumping up and down where she sat

"Okay, cool" Jaymi then took her fingers against Clora's temples.

She stared directly into Clora's soul and I knew that Jaymi quickly had her hook line and sinker within that second

"After work on Sunday, you went straight to Rosie's place. You weren't feeling well enough to go home so you stayed until tonight. But everything is okay now, you already rang your parents and let them know on Sunday night" Jaymi began as she brainwashed my best friend in front of me.

And it was half true, Clora had rung her parents the night I'd been attacked and told them that she was sick and staying at my house.

Jaymi then let go of her face and before Clora could blink, Jaymi was gone, whooshed from the room.

Clora sighed and stared at me

"Anyway, I should go, I feel a bit better, so I may as well get home just in case it comes

back" She sighed

"Yeah, they'd be getting worried soon" I agreed as we stood and walked towards the front door

"Oh Clora, I have to tell you something too" I started as we stopped on my front porch

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking worried

"There's been some bad news about the house; I can't afford to live here anymore" I began

"But you have no one or nowhere else to go, what are you supposed to do?" She protested

"While I was in Camden my friend told me that they have a few friends that live an hour away. They're really nice and have a spare room for rent. They said that I could move there if I wanted too" I shrugged, making it seem as casual as possible "That way I can still go to school here and see you guys" I added, trying my best

"Serious? I mean, it sounds good I guess, but are you sure?" She stumbled, unsure

"It's the best I've got so far. Everything would still be the same, it'd just take me longer to get to and from school" I shrugged

"Okay, well that's good I suppose. I'm happy for you" She smiled as she began backwards down the stairs on my porch

"I'll see you at school tomorrow" I added

"Yeah, I'll message you. Hopefully I'm better by then" She shrugged as she walked down my driveway

"Okay" I waved as she disappeared.

She thought she was sick, when really she wasn't, at all. It was incredible how powerful the mind could be.

After I watched her disappear, I stood motionless, amazed at how drastically my life had changed.

It just wasn't real, it was so quick, so surreal. I had no idea what my future held for me, and there was no point even trying to guess.

"Hello?" Riley waved a hand in front of my face.

I hadn't even noticed he'd pulled up out the front of my house.

I snapped out of my trance and smiled as he stood in front of me holding a large cardboard box.

"C'mon then, let's get your stuff" He instructed as he pushed past me into my house

I followed, catching up to him as he was already making his way up the stairs to my bedroom

"Ooo, pretty room pretty" He smirked as he twirled around looking at my posters

I rolled my eyes and snatched the box from his hands sitting on my bed and pulling out my bedside drawer.

"Was it hard to watch her forget about it all?" Riley asked as I shuffled through my belongings

"A little, but I know it's for the best" I shrugged

"She at more risk if she knows" He agreed as fiddled with an ornament on my dresser

"So, Dodge is still out there hey" I sighed

"We'll get him, eventually. All that matters is that he thinks you're dead, so you're at no risk" He shrugged

"Until he does find out, then it starts all over again"

"He won't. And by that stage, we'll have killed him. You're safe now pretty" He smiled as he turned his head to watch me put things into the box

I wanted to believe his words but I couldn't, not just yet. I knew I'd be safe, as long as I wasn't curious enough to walk up to a stranger to tell them to buzz off again.

"What did Clora say about you moving an hour away?" He spoke, changing the subject

"She was actually fine with it. Probably because I'd still see her at school every day, I mean, things won't be that different, will they?"

"You'll be living with a house full of Vampires if that counts as being different?" He started "And, one of those Vampires happens to be madly in love with you" He winked

"I know how you feel about me Riley, and I'm sorry, I just don't feel the same way" I joked as I shook my head

"Seriously though, the angst is getting annoying, I'm sick of listening to his bleeding heart, especially when he thought you weren't going to make it" He continued

"It's complicated " I sighed

"Mh-mh, its weird too. Duke isn't one to let his guard down, and then you came along"

"What does he say?" I edged

"He's trying to keep his distance so you have the opportunity to live a normal life, but the other part of him wants you to give in. He told me he gave you an ultimatum and that you weren't sure, but he seemed pretty gutted about it" He started.

"And between you and I, when he found you on the floor downstairs, nearly dead. He let the 'L' word slip" He winked at me

I froze for and stopped what I was doing to look at Riley in disbelief.

I'd never thought about the word love before. Sure, I knew there was something passionate lingering between us, but the word never came to mind. I wasn't sure if it made me happy, or terrified. I'd never had anyone besides my own father love me and I had long forgotten what that had felt like.

"In what context was this?" I turned, eager to know Riley wasn't over exaggerating

"Please Rosie, please wake up, don't do this to me, wake up, wake up" He flatly mocked "Then he leaned right into your ear, assuming we couldn't hear him" Riley reenacted dramatically "Then he said: I love you Rosalie" Riley smiled, proud of his acting skills

He pulled back from me and continued rummaging through my belongings "And something tells me if you had been awake, you would have said it back"

I shrugged "Never really thought about it like that"

He raised his eyebrows questioningly as I continued packing my goods, moving towards my desk.

"It's still complicated. He is after all an ancient Vampire. I don't understand how he being who and what he is, could feel that way about someone as average as me" I shrugged

"You and I both know you're not average" He spoke, giving me an unconvinced look

"I'm not tall, I'm not busty, I'm not whimsically talented and mesmerising" I replied, tossing in my laptop

"You are however, naturally beautiful, intelligent, strong and courageous" He continued as he shrugged "And the 'ancient' part doesn't matter either"

"It kind of does" I laughed, pulling open my desk drawer

"I'm sure you'll get over it" He replied, sighing as he stood up and stepped behind me, peering inside my box

"Ah, the laptop, you got Facebook?" He asked, changing the subject

"Yeah, but not recently for the obvious reasons"

"Have you ever played Farmville?" He asked, his tone serious as he placed his arms over his broad chest

"Definitely not" I smiled briefly before it quickly vanished

"What's wrong?" Riley asked, clearly worried at my sudden change in expression

I was staring down at a small picture I'd pulled out from my drawer. It was me when I was about thirteen, with my dad. We were smiling at the camera as we stood in front of a beautiful lake I went to as a kid. It brought back a lot of memories. Mostly good ones when my dad and my mother and I would go every second weekend and have lunch by the water.

"Is that your dad?" Riley asked, taking note of what I held in my shaky hands

"Yeah" I mumbled

"You look like him" He spoke from close behind me, looking at the photo over my shoulder

I smiled and pushed back tears before stuffing the picture into my box

"I miss my parents too" He continued placing a gentle hand on my shoulder

I turned around and gave him a sympathetic smile.

At least these Vampires knew what I was going through. They knew what it was like to not have parents around anymore.

I shook it off and continued my shuffling and sorting until I was finished and my box was full of the important things.

I stood in my bedroom doorway for a moment, staring around at the room I was leaving behind.

It was hard, but it was the right thing to do. I was moving forward with my life, and this was what I had to do, it was what I wanted to do.

"Ready?" Riley asked softly as he opened the back car door for me

"Yeah" I smiled weakly, taking one last look at my childhood house filled with good and bad memories before hoping inside

The ride toward my new home was strange. Exciting, yet strange, I was now on my way to live with a house full of Vampires.

I was feeling jittery inside at the thought of seeing Duke again. I wondered if he was going to admit it to me, I wondered what would happen in the future between us.

What if it didn't work? What if it did? I'd eventually perish and he'd be left alone, would I be able to live with that fact? Would it ever change, or would I ever change? What were the limits and sacrifices for love?

I didn't know, but I knew I'd find out eventually.

"Home sweet home" Riley smiled as he opened my back door for me when we arrived.

I smiled and got out, just as Jaymi came running outside to meet me

"Afternoon" She chirped happily

It was just about nightfall as Riley pulled my cardboard box up to my bedroom, placing it in the middle of the room.

I didn't feel up to unpacking it yet, so instead, I spent the night talking to Jaymi, Riley and Seth.

Duke was apparently with Darius sorting out the last of information with their father.

"Welcome to the family" Seth spoke as Jaymi and Riley battled it out in Wii bowling again. Like always, Jaymi was winning.

"Thanks" I smiled as Seth joined me on the lounge

"Was it hard?" He asked as we watched the game in front of us

"A little" I shrugged

"You know, I think you're the best thing that has ever happened to this household"

"Whys that?"

He shrugged, "Everyone seems happier, and besides all the fighting that's been going on, we've been a lot closer. You've brought us together, shown us just how important family is, even when you live forever" He explained smiling

I looked towards him, "Really?"

He nodded and faced me, "Really"

I smiled, turning back to the game as Riley cursed at Jaymi for cheating

"I've seen a dramatic change in Duke since you've been here too" He added, smiling suggestively

"So I've heard" I lightly brushed it off

"So, what's Parry up to these days? He must be pretty disappointed the fighting all over" I asked, thinking about the others that had left

"He's moving to and from states, looking for fights. I don't think he could live without fighting, which J don't understand. I hate fighting" He shrugged

"Doesn't he ever want to stay in one place, settle down?" I asked, almost making it sound like he was a normal human

"Not really. That's the joy of being immortal" Seth smiled

"Do you ever think about dying? I mean, after all you made me think you were dead" I asked

"I think about it. Most of us don't want to live literally forever" He answered

-

When midnight eventually came, Duke had arrived back home.

Soon he had ushered me out of Jaymi, Riley and Seth's insomniac night life.

"If you're going to be living here Rosie, you need to go to bed at a reasonable time. You still have to go to school, you still have to do homework, and you still have to let your body rest" He bantered, acting more like a father figure

I rolled my eyes as we walked into my room

"Do you still have to 'night watch' me?" I asked using air quotes

"Not if you don't want me too" He sighed, a small hint of a smile on his lips

I smiled back, but I couldn't shake the information Riley had given me about what Duke had said.

After changing, I walked towards the bed, snuggling myself under the covers.

Duke was still standing near the door.

I had guessed he was waiting for permission to stay.

Sitting up, I patted the spare space beside my body in gesture for him to sit.

It was all he needed.

"Duke, can I ask you something?" I began as I ran my fingertips over healing scabs on my hands.

"It depends" He turned his head to face me

I went ahead anyway

"When Dodge took me in your room, he had the same scars as yours on his knuckles. Was he the man you were talking about fighting? He was the one that killed you, wasn't he?" I guessed

Duke's head turned to face mine and he smiled weakly, confirming what I had pieced together.

"Yes" He answered as his eyes reached mine, smouldering like a fire

"So it's all over, for now" I whispered

Duke nodded

"What do we do now?" I leaned my head back

"Live"

"I'm looking forward to it" I whispered reaching my hand out to place it on top of his

"Me too" He whispered back, turning his body to face me.

He lifted a finger up to my face, lightly tracing my jaw line.

I leaned into his touch and closed my eyes.

I could feel his face near mine as his breath ran over my nose.

Seconds later, be lightly kissed my lips. Instantly, I kissed him back.

When he pulled back, our eyes were instantly on each other, smiling as we felt the flames ignite between us.

He kept his forehead rested on mine.

It was a perfect moment, he was perfect. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else, or without the man beside me.

He was my home, he was where I belonged.

I'd been through a lot of misfortune throughout my life already, and I was sure that it would never end or change, until now.

Sure, there was going to be tough times ahead but as long as I had my new friends, my new family, and Duke beside me, nothing else mattered.