Chapter one

"Raven, could you come here for a moment? We need to have a family discussion." I moaned in irritation and turned off my Edward Scissor Hands lamp before I trudged out to the kitchen where my parents and little brother, Billy boy were waiting, at the kitchen table.

I could tell it wasn't good news by the grim looks my parents wore, but I also knew it wasn't my fault because they were looking angrily at the table not me. I sat next to my dad and exchanged confused looks with Billy boy, he had no idea what this was about either it seemed. My mom took a breath and let it out in a long aggravated sigh.

"What's going on mom?" I asked in response I got a muttered and incoherent sentence. My dad sighed and decided to tell us for her. "Your mother's brother, your uncle, and his wife asked us to watch your cousin Victoria." He muttered.

Billy boy looked confused and I didn't blame him, he was just a baby when Victoria last visited. I don't remember much about her other then I hated her. I remember her pushing me when ever she got the chance and was always telling me to get over myself. Every now and then we heard stories of Cousin Victoria's 'adventures'. She was into hard drugs and apparently whoring herself on the side to pay for them.

"Why?" I asked

"Because," my mother's tone was tight and angry. "My brother can't handle her. He thought we could take care of a problem child. 'You can keep Raven mostly under control.'" She mimicked my uncle. "Honestly! You have never behaved as badly as Victoria!"

"Who's Victoria?" Billy boy asked not wanting to be kept in the dark.

"One of your cousins, whenever we've had a family event she had more important 'things' to do." Dad responded venomously.

"By that do you mean illegal?" I asked

He sighed and nodded. Billy boy's eyes widened. "A criminal's gunna live with us?" he asked sounding waaaaaay too excited.

My mom buried her face in her hands and nodded. "He just sounded so desperate. I didn't have the heart to tell him no." My dad rubbed her back lightly.

"She'll be staying in the basement, so starting tomorrow we're going to be doing some mad cleaning." Dad explained. Billy boy and I both moaned.

"Don't moan or whine, I understand you guys are confused and don't see why you should have to clean, but we're all going to have to just deal." Mom said quietly.

We all sat in silence for a minute or two. "…I'm going to go see Alexander." I said standing up and grabbing my coat.

"Be back before twelve, it may be the weekend, but we have work to do."

"Alright…when's she getting here?" I asked

"Wednesday." Dad responded

"I nodded and ran out of the house towards the mansion. Alexander met me at the door. "Hello Raven."

"Hey." I responded slowly walking up the steps towards my knight of the night. He smiled and I instantly forgot why I'd been a bit ticked when I left the house. I'm sure I smiled back like a goof. He pulled me into a hug and I felt my heart rate increase and a blush make it self comfortable on my cheeks.

"What should we do tonight?" he asked still holding me.

"Mm…I dunno…as long as we do it together…and I'm home by twelve."

He released me and looked down. "Why so early?" he asked. I felt my mood do a complete one-sixty. Alexander looked worriedly at me; he must have sensed the change. "What's wrong? What's happened?" he asked urgently.

"Nothing, nothing," I assured. "It's just my cousin is going to be staying with us and I'm not looking forward to it. We have to clean the basement and last time she was here, she pushed me down a lot and called me stuck up." I vented.

He looked at me curiously a small smile on his lips. "When was the last time she visited you?"

"About…ten years ago, I was six…obviously."

He chuckled. "So how do you know it won't be better this time, hmm?"

"It's because she's a whore who does hard drugs." I responded flatly.

"His face fell a bit. "Oh…how long will she be staying?"

I told him I wasn't sure.

"I see…well while she's here, come over anytime, sun up or down, and you can take a break here, and just relax…and at night we'll have extra 'us' time." He promised lacing his fingers with mine.

I smiled up at him; Alexander always knew how to make me feel better! We decided to just take a walk around the cemetery. It was so nice just holding his hand and talking with him.

It was quarter to twelve when he brought me back home. I wrapped my arms around him and he leaned down to kiss me good night.

"If you're still cleaning after sundown I'll come by and help." He promised quietly rubbing his hand lightly across my cheek. I felt my self blush again. He kissed my forehead on last time before disappearing into the night.

I gave a satisfied sigh and entered my house with two minutes to spare.

Chapter two