I stumble towards Graverobber, hoping he doesn't notice the grimace on my face that appears with each step I take. He does. I try to assure him that it is nothing, that I'm fine. Clumsy words topple out of my mouth, yet I find time enough to whisper, "Graverobber, it hurts so bad." There is a stab wound in my abdomen, courtesy of Amber Sweet.

"Kid, what the hell?" he rushes towards me and all I can think is, 'Wow, his eyes are so beautiful.' I'm not totally sure if it is the pain making me think that, or if I've noticed it for the first time today.

"I had a brief run in with Ms. Sweet," I hear myself say from a million miles away. My eyes have got tunnel vision, and I can't take my eyes off of him. My hand floats up to lightly touch his long, colorful hair. He smiles a tiny smile before looking down at my stomach. He pulls my short, black dress up, and at first I think about pulling it back down, but then I think, 'I'm dying, fuck modesty.'

"Why did you leave the house? I told you not to leave!" His words are spoken harshly, but I know he says it only to mask his worry and concern. I can see how hard he is gritting his teeth against the tears. His black lipstick is smudged ever so slightly and I can see, for once, how old this man is. You'd think, considering I'd just turned 18, that running around with a 30-something year old man might have creeped me out, but he was the only family I had left in the world.

The pain in my gut left me breathless, and all I wanted was for sleep. Sleep and maybe to get out of the rain.

"Graves, please," I gasped.

"What, kid? What can I do?" his voice was losing it's cool; he sounded frantic and upset now. It must be worse than I thought.

"Kiss me."

Graverobber's POV:

"Kiss me," she says, and all I want to do in that moment is to oblige her. That, and kill Amber. But that would have to wait.

"Kid, are you sure you want me to? I mean, you're pretty hurt." I don't want to break her heart, but I also don't want her to die on me. Right now, she reminds me of the scared little girl I saw stumble out of the Opera that fateful night. Covered in blood, Shilo looked certain to those who didn't know her. But to me, she was broken and ready to crack. Giving her space, I waited until she was half way home to surprise her.

'Hey, kid. Rough night?' I worked hard to sound blase.

'Go to hell, Graverobber.' Her black wig was askew and her full bottom lip trembled. I could see how much effort it was taking her to remain calm.

'Woah, now. No need to be feisty. I just needed a place to crash for the night. I figure since...well, you might need a housemate.' Tact, fuckwit. I lacked it. And what the hell was I doing, anyway? The kid was only 17, and me? Well, let's just say I long ago stopped counting my age.

After the opera, I lived with Shilo; I dreamed every single night of the day I could kiss her. But now? Seeing her like this? I wanted to puke.

"Kiss me, please?" She asked again, and this time I couldn't refuse. I leaned down to lightly brush her lips with mine. We had just made contact and I could taste her sweet breath when I heard, "Wow, protector turned pedophile? Low. Even for you."

The kid jumped at the voice, and I knew, before I even looked up... Amber Sweet.