My phone woke me. I reached over groggily and picked it up to answer.

I coughed, but my throat was still dry. "Hello?"

A frantic Emily replied back. "Nicole! What happened?"

"What do you mean?" I pulled my left hand to my face and dragged it down to my chin in an attempt to rip away the sleepy haze over me.

"I've been texting you all night, and you didn't answer a single one. Have you been drinking again? Do I need to come over?"

I blinked up at my ceiling and pulled the phone away from my ear. She was so loud even without being on speaker phone. The light from her picture illuminated my arm and I saw a deep bruise on my wrist. My phone dropped onto my chest as everything clicked in my brain.

"Nicole? Nicole? You are, aren't you? You're drinking again. That's it. I'm coming over."

"No, no. I'm fine." I cut in, now wide awake and not needing her to snoop around with my fresh injury. "I just forgot my phone in the car and started gaming. That's all. I completely forgot about it until I went to bed. Don't worry so much. You just saw both me and the apartment, right? I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"Look, I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. I really wasn't drinking. I don't want to drink after what happened last time. Just give it a rest, okay? What time is it now anyway?" I sat up, pushing the covers off and saw that I was in a different shirt, not one of mine.

"Sorry, you just really scared me earlier today. It's quarter after eleven. I've been trying to reach you for hours."

I shook my head, but regretted it the moment everything spun. "Wait, you saw me like seven hours ago. Why are you freaking out? I've gone off the grid for longer than this before. What's going on?"

"Nothing, I was just concerned. You know, wanting to check up on my bestie to make sure everything's okay. Who did you say made breakfast for you again? It bothered me that you never told me. I just wanted to thank them if I see them."

With my eyes closed, things began to settle out again. The short-sleeved button-down smelled familiar, that woody herbal smell. It was definitely Ian's.

"Hello? Nic? You there still?"

"Sorry, yeah. Um, it was Roberta. Sorry, I have to go to the bathroom. Can I just call you tomorrow?" I carefully stood up and wobbled over to the doorway of my bedroom. Why did I keep waking up in different places than where I fell asleep? Did I sleepwalk back down here? I needed to check on Ian, to see if he was okay.

She was quiet for a few seconds. "I guess. Just give me a call if you need anything. Anything, okay?"

"Yeah, I will. Don't worry so much. Get some sleep. It's way past your bedtime, old lady. Night." I gripped the door and balanced myself while I waited for her goodbye and hung up. Stuffing the phone into my pocket, I looked around my apartment. Everything was as it had been before I rushed out after him. I glared up at my ceiling and whispered. "I hope you're okay because we need to talk."

~

I knocked gently on his front door, but it slowly swung open since he'd broken the lock earlier. There was no response so I whispered his name.

Still nothing.

My heart pounded against my chest. I flipped on the lights in the living room and the couch and kitchen were empty. With deliberate steps, I walked over to his bedroom door. Pushing it open hadn't allow much light in so I pulled my cell out and flipped the flashlight on.

"Ian?" I spoke normally now, but saw that he wasn't on the bed. "Ian? Where are you? Are you okay?"

I turned around and the light from my phone reflected off of a couple of pictures on the wall. Holding the phone up more I saw a few more pinned pictures and articles. There was even a map behind them. "What is this?"

With another glance around the room, I found a lamp and twisted the knob on. The wall to my right was covered in a map of the US and had several articles pinned to certain locations. I stepped closer to skim a few: Woman, 34, missing from Rogue County; Wife, 27, found dead on side of interstate; University Student missing after failure to show up for finals; Female Pre-school teacher's body discovered outside of town.

There was one happy article pinned to Minnesota, a marriage announcement, but it had a suicide story stuck overtop of it with a picture of a young woman with short black hair, brown eyes, and a timid smile.

Body found in Lake Tahoe thought to be missing student. Fairplay Campgrounds 31 year old Jane Doe discovered by teens.

My heart pounded loudly in my ears and I forgot how to breathe. They were all women around my age, some with different hair colors, but all about the same build: tall, a mix of slim and athletic. The ground must have shifted under my feet because I tumbled back onto the bed for support and noticed the empty cello case next to the wall. Whatever it held was not a musical instrument based on the foam placed inside. Weren't cellos massive? There was no way one would fit in there with that much cushioning.

As I approached the case, there was an odd smell like oil and something metallic. It was something I associated with cars, not wood or whatever electric musical instruments were made of.

Ian's voice filled the room. "I didn't expect you up just yet. I should've fixed the lock first."

My blood ran cold as I turned to see him standing in the doorway, effectively blocking my only exit.

"Got a call. I just wanted to check on your condition and return your shirt. You were a mess, completely incoherent." I stood up, awkwardly trying to pretend like I hadn't discovered something strange. "But seeing as you're already up, I guess you must be fine so I'll just be going right now."

His brow rose at my feeble attempt to act normal and lie. I didn't need to make eye contact to notice that his eyes were glowing brightly and the arm on his good side was blocking the remaining space through the door. I was in trouble this time.

"So why are you still wearing it if you were going to return it?" A tiny smirk curled his lip in amusement, but only for half of a second. Then there were narrow, blazing blue slits glaring at me. "Nicole, you're not a very good liar. Now, look at me and tell me what you're doing here."

I closed my eyes as my face turned up to his. Nope, we'd played this game before and I was determined not to die or lose. "I just told you. I was coming to check on you."

"Nicole, open your eyes." His voice sounded a bit strained. Maybe he was still recovering because that one felt weaker.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not." I took a small step back, listening for his movements and testing the floor with my foot.

"I'd rather you tell me who sent you."

I tilted my head to the side even with my eyes closed, then shook it. "What?"

"Who are you working for?" A cool palm and five fingers clamped around my neck and squeezed. "When did they get to you? Months ago or just recently, tell me."

My eyes shot open when air struggled to reach my lungs. Blood started pounding in my ears. The sides of my throat hurt as they were squished between his fingers. Tiny specks of colors appeared in my vision and a headache formed above my brow before I managed to sputter out something coherent. "Nobody. This is all me."

His hand released me and sweet, cool air swept into my lungs.

I coughed a few times and tried rubbing the pain away with my hand. It didn't work. "What the hell?"

"Sorry, I can't be too careful right now." He at least had the decency to look a little guilty for nearly choking me out, then he took a step towards me.

I took another step back to reforge that distance and stared at the wall next to him so I could keep an eye on those grabby hands. "Right, wouldn't want someone discovering anything incriminating here."

"Not exactly, I didn't know if you'd been sent to try to finish me off. Now, look at me."

"What the heck could I do besides be a distraction or bait? Which I am neither right now, just to clarify before you get all handsy again." Promptly, I shut my eyes. My options were slim, but I did not want to find out what he could make me do. I nodded over towards the wall of articles and prayed that he was the type that enjoyed watching his victim see what's coming. "Is that your handiwork?"

"Who else would it belong to?" He sounded closer.

I took a step back, knowing I would probably trip over something. At least, I hadn't succumbed to his order yet. Focus on something else, Nic. "I was hoping some squatter that'd been picked up by the cops already."

His chuckle echoed in my ear and his cologne washed over me. It seemed a bit stronger than usual. A cold finger reached my chin and tilted my face up again. "Open your eyes. I'm just going to make you forget coming in here. I'm not going to kill you."

"I bet you say that to all the girls you find in your bedroom before you pin them to the wall." Stupid, don't give him any ideas. My cheeks heated as I felt his breath on my face. "I meant on the map."

"No one's supposed to be in my bedroom, one, and, two, do you honestly think I killed them?" He sounded a bit taken back, but it didn't stop him from placing a hand on my cheek, his thumb gently nudging my eyelid up.

I pushed him as hard as I could and he fell backwards, subsequently so did I, but I was fortunate enough to land on the bed. By the sound of the thud, he might have hit the wall. Ever so slightly I opened my eyes to check on him.

He was clutching his side as he tried to push himself up.

I took that as my chance to escape so I sprinted past him. A few steps out of the bedroom though my legs turned to jelly and I stumbled to the couch for support. My head pounded mind-numbingly loud and my breathing was shallow. "What's wrong with me? What did you do?"

Ian appeared, slouching in the door for a moment, before he wobbled over to me. "You're not turning, if that's what you're afraid of. We need to talk, now."

His arms were sturdier than my legs as he guided me onto the couch, keeping me mostly upright.

"You're just dealing with the side effects of bloodloss, much like I was earlier." He looked at me, no anger present anymore. His lips even upturned in a small, nice smile. "Thank you for helping me, by the way. You didn't need to."

"I'm pretty sure you were going to die, again. I nearly thought you did." I rubbed my wrist nervously, but resisted looking at it.

"Did I attack you? Is that why you're so nervous? I'm sorry if I did. I don't actually remember much past getting into the apartment." His eyes locked onto my wrist and his smile evaporated. "I came to with you collapsed next to me with your arm draped across my chest. It would've been terribly romantic if you hadn't been covered in blood. I was worried I'd taken advantage of you."

My cheeks burned even though I had no recollection of what had happened after passing out. "No, no. I did it. I mean I made you do it. You'd stopped moving and I didn't know what to do. I panicked."

"And you decided to shove your wrist into my mouth?" One of his fingers brushed from my elbow down to the injured area while he looked at me. "You are an odd one."

"Pot meet Kettle." I chuckled, the headache was easing now that I was sitting. A small chill chased his finger as he stroked my arm. It was soothing. "So I'm not going to become an undead creature of the night like you?"

"No, you're still very much human."

Whatever world I'd been holding on my shoulders dissipated and relief flooded through me. My neck muscles relaxed and I slumped back into the cushions. "You don't know how much of a blessing that is to hear. That was the third time, I think. According to Stoker's Dracula, I should be turning."

"Luckily, not everything you read is true." He glanced back up at me with a cocked brow. "Wait, I thought you couldn't handle horror and scary things."

"How else do you think it started? I got a little more than halfway through it and freaked out. After that, I never touched the stuff again." I pulled my arm further into my lap, away from his hand that had managed to numb it with his touch. "I guess you're not the only one out there since you implied that you didn't kill those people. Are you running around like Batman, executing vampiric, vigilante justice?"

"What is your fascination with Batman? I just don't get it."

"You're old so you wouldn't understand. You probably only ever watched the Adam West version of Batman, but I grew up with the animated series and loved it. So sue me." I rolled my eyes. "Stop getting us off topic. You have some major explaining to do."

His eye glowed softly in the light of the living room. "But I'm enjoying the tangents. Let's just continue like this. We've been doing this all night anyway, haven't we?"

I heard his words echoing in my head and my mouth started to open without my consent. Clamping it shut, I crossed my arms and glared at his chest. After a couple deep breaths, I spoke. "Stop it. What's the deal with that anyway?"

He huffed, and folded his arms to match mine. "Normal people do as I say. Call it charm or whatever, but I can hypnotize you."

"Apparently not."

"No, what's weird is that you sometimes are susceptible and sometimes immune. It's really irritating because then I get stuck in situations like this where you know too much."

"You're one to talk. Is that why you didn't erase my memory? You couldn't?" I leaned forward, slowly peeking up at his chin. It probably wasn't safe yet to look him in the eye.

"Precisely, I've come across some who can completely resist it, but you're problematic. I can make you do simple things, but not lasting ones."

"Sometimes."

He nodded, his lips straightened into a thin line.

"That must really eat at you." I chuckled, loosening my arms a bit. "Is that why you were so angry with me all the time?"

"I'd call it frustrated with the situation."

"No, I'm pretty sure you took it out on me."

"My bad," he said and leaned closer. "Half the time you were provoking me though."

"Retaliating, thank you. Now may we continue? You're not the only one out there?"

"No," he said with a quick head shake. "How old do you think I am?"

My fingers squeezed the skin of my crossed arms. "Just confirming. You don't really hang out with any others, do you?"

"We tend to keep to ourselves mostly, but I know of a few others that are decent."

"And others that aren't." I said, my eyes locked onto his and my heart stumbled from its standard rhythm. There was a slight tremor in my crossed arms now.

"Some. One in particular whose handiwork you saw on the map." His head nodded in the direction of the bedroom. "I've been tracking him for a while."

"The man from the marriage announcement?"

He stiffened and slowly shook his head.

That was unexpected. "So what's his deal then? He wasn't the only guy listed, but it was the only happy event tagged."

"He was a friend from my old life."

"And you decided to stalk him in your new one? You and Emily apparently have a lot more in common, but stay away from her." I blinked and the image of the woman from the suicide flashed before my eyes. No, she didn't flash. She was staring at me from the wall. "Oh my gosh, you were stalking his wife."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I'm going to start attempting to update every week now that I've taken the pressure off of simultaneously posting Brethren and Last Night. Both stories deserve proper attention and since this one has been more of the focus as of late, I'll finish this one first.

<3