By the time Darell and I got home I was too tired to stay up. I decided to just go straight to bed. Mom called up after me, but I ignored her. That was payback for the finger-shapped bruises on my arm from Darrel. What a jackass. Mom thought that after getting pregnant he would drink less. Yeah, well, she sure was wrong.

Falling asleep was easy. I was so tired. Yet staying asleep, not so easy. My dreams were plagued with evil things with fangs that hid in dark places. I woke up three or four times in the middle of the night, panting. Waking up wasn't anymore fun, though. The new house was big, and kind of creepy. Back in New York we lived in a nice apartment not far from Central Park. I loved it. I loved the fact that if I had to get a drink in the middle of the night, I only had to go down the hall. Here I had to go down the big, creaky staircase.

I know, what kind of 17 year old girl is scared of going downstairs at night. Well, I'm not ashamed to admit that I freaked out and ran fast down the stairs and flicked the lights in the kitchen on as fast as I could.

There was still a bunch of boxes to be unpacked, but mom had already unpacked the coffee mugs. I grabbed one and made a pot. The kitchen was already messy, somehow. There was beer bottles everywhere. One had spilt all over the floor. The dishes weren't done, and there was half eaten food in plates all over the counter.

The clock on the microwave said it was 4:38 am. I guess this probably isn't the time people usually clean up their houses, but I couldn't sleep anyways. Plus, if I didn't do it, chances are no one would. After doing the dishes and throwing the beer bottles out, I sat down and enjoyed my coffee.

A sudden knock at the door made me jump and alost spill my drink. Another thing that doesn't usually happen at four in the morning: people stopping by for random visits.

I tiptoed to the front door and looked out the peephole, trying to figure out what crazy person would be coming by at this hour.

It was a girl. A goth girl. She wore a lot of eyeliner, which I sometimes like to do, though I wasn't seriously goth, it just made my blue eyes stand out more. This girl was seriously goth though. Her tights even had skulls on them.

"Quick, open the door! Please!" She begged. And for some weird reason, I obeyed.

She ran in breathlessly just as something, or someone, appeared on my front step behind her.

"Shut it, shut it!" She shouted, pushing me out of the way and slamming the door. When it was closed she sagged against it.

"Oh, my god. Thank you so much. You just saved me life!" She said, looking extremely thankful. "I guess I deserve it, going outside alone after dark, even in my car. Sorry to bother you, but your light was the only one on, and, you know, vampries."

"Excuse me?" I asked, staring at the girl. Is this town full of crazy people, or is it only the ones that I choose to talk to?

"Random vamp. I don't know who he is, but he's been following me for a while. I couldn't lose him, so I ran up to your door. " She said. Then she blushed. "You don't mind if I stay here for a bit, do you?"

I ignored her question. "Vampires?" I asked, looking skeptical. "Is this some practical joke? You're the second person to bring up the word vampires tonight."

The girl looked at me closely. "Oh, shit. You're not from here, are you?" She said, looking suddenly shocked. "You probably think I'm insane."

"A little bit." I admitted. "No offence."

"None taken. Do you happen to have any coffee? And do you mind if I stay here, just until dawn?" She asked. She didn't wait for an answer, just headed straight to the kitchen.

"How did you know where the kitchen is?" I asked, following her. "And what's your name? If you're going to just walk around my house I think I might as well know it."

"My house is exactly like this one. There's a couple of them all over the city. They're called founder's houses." She said. She sat down at the small table and waited, looking like she was expecting something. "And I'm Eve, by the way."

"Emma." I said. Then remembered what she was waiting for. "What do you take in your coffee?"

"Just black." She said, with a huge smile. Figures.

"So, vampires, huh?" I asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this. From what I could tell, Eve was a normal, yet goth, girl. She didn't seem insane, completely.

"I know you probably think I'm crazy, but come on. You saw that guy just appear on your step, right? I didn't make that up. They're real." She looked me straight in the eye. "And they run this town, so you better be careful."

Suddenly, I started to believe, just a little bit. I know, crazy, right? But after the guy with the fangs, and then the guy who was following Eve practically teleporting onto my door step? Those things couldn't be a coincidence.

"If... if vampires are real, and they really... kill, you know, people, then why were you outside after dark?"

Eve's smile turned down a notch or two. "I was looking for my brother. I haven't seen him in a few days, I'm getting worried." She said, looking down. "I'd ask you if you've seen him, but you look like a nice girl. Definitely not the kind of person who would hang around with my brother."

"I hope you find him. " I told her, and I meant it. Before Darell, my mom dated this one guy, Joe. He was creepy, maybe not as creepy as Darell, but he liked to just up and take off all the time. One time mom went with him. I was thirteen, and my mom was gone for two weeks. I knew what it was like to be missing a family member, temporarily.

"Me, too. He's got a bad rep, but he's... he's changed." Eve said with a sigh. "By the way, this is great coffee. Seriously. You should apply at Common Grounds, they need a new barista after I quit. It's not bad, just stay clear of the boss. Oliver may seem nice, but, he's kind of a bad ass, emphasis on the 'ass' part."

"I'll think about it." I said, with a smile. Then my smile faded. "But... isn't Oliver- I mean, someone told me he was a, you know... vampire."

"Totally. That's why I said avoid him. Common Grounds is awesome, the best job I ever had. Only quit because of... conflicts with the boss." Eve said with a small wink.

Eve staid, but only for a little while longer. When the sun came up, she was gone. She had promised to put in a good word with Oliver for me, though, if I wanted it. I said I did. I needed a job, money of my own.