As I drive through the early morning mist, I start crying again. It became so easy over the past two months. My eyes become irritated after the first hour and a half of the two hour drive to my parents' house.

Concentrating on the road gets harder so I close my eyes for a second. I reopen them and press the gas suddenly when I see a figure in a black hoodie run across the road. Then I hear a thud against the car and the figure sprawled out on the hood.

Oh my gosh!

I hurriedly get out of the car to assess the damage done. Fortunately, the figure in the black hoodie - which turns out to be a man - groans and turns on his side. He's alive!

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Did you break anything? I'll take you to the hospital-"

"I'm fine. I don't think anything is broken," he interrupts. As he tries to get off my car he groans again and holds his left arm.

"Oh God. I'm so sorry," I repeat. "Let me take you to the hospital, please. It's the least I could do."

He hesitates but agrees. He sits in the passenger seat of my car as I drive him to the hospital which I remember to be about fifteen minutes away.

When we get to the hospital and he appears in the hallway after getting checked up, I take a good look at him. I didn't want to but my eyes seem to have a mind of their own. He's lean and tall, about six feet. He has short blonde hair that highlights his green eyes and thin pink lips.

As he makes​ his way over to me, I notice he's unharmed. He doesn't have a scratch on him at all. I guess my car's the one I should've taken to get checked out.

He notices I'm staring and he smiles. Pearly white teeth flash before my eyes, drawing my attention to from his dimpled cheeks. "I know what you're thinking and...no I'm not a vampire. I work out a lot, though. Don't freak out or anything. Guess it was just the shock from the impact that made my arm hurt but I'm fine. No harm done so you don't have to worry."

I nod and ask him if he needs​ a ride back but he says he'll call his driver. Plastering on a fake smile, I say goodbye, apologizing again. But before I could leave he stops me and asks me my name.

"Evelyn," I say. "Yours?"

He raises an eyebrow. Am I supposed to know who he is?

"Nicholas van Hale. You can call me Nick," he replies, smiling broadly.

I just nod and walk away.

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"Mom, I'm here!" I yell as I enter my old family house. It isn't very big but it always feels​ like home.

"In the kitchen, sweetie," I hear my mother say. That was typically where my mother, Maria Brady, would be. She loves to cook and she's damn well good at it too. "What took you so long?"

"Ran into a guy on my way..."

"Oh." She knew about me and Marcel so hearing about another guy makes​ her unsure of what to say, I can tell. I quickly clear things up.

"With my car."

"Oh my Lord! Is he alright?" she exclaims. "What happened?"

"He's fine. I took him to the hospital. No harm done, like he said." I shrug, sitting on a stool around the kitchen island.

"Be more careful next time, sweetie. Who was he?"

"Nick van something."

My mother stands, agape. "Nicholas van Hale? As in son of Luther and Cara van Hale?"

"Who?" Is my dumbfounded reply.

"The van Hales, Evelyn! They own almost everything in this town," she exclaims. No wonder he thought I would know him. "I'm going to have to give them a call. Oh my Lord."

I look at my mother. She looks genuinely concerned.

Give them a call? Does she know them that well?

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