Tate isn't in this one yet, but he'll show up soon. A thank you to ShiloCoulter for messaging and the Anonymous for reviewing. It makes my day when I get feedback, so I accept any and all comments, ideas, and constructive criticism. :)

Chapter 2

Inside their house, it felt even bigger than when I viewed it outside. Everything was clean and well put together. Not even the wood floors creaked like they did in my new house. My eyes were trained on the wallpaper when we were led into the living room until I realized someone was calling me.

My dad shook his head, signaling with his hard eyes to pay attention next time. "Iris, where are your manners?" He said it lowly, but not enough for the woman because she heard.

Embarrassed, because I could see the slight sympathy in her eyes from my dad's question, I shook it off and pulled on a smile. "I'm sorry. It's nice to meet you Mrs. Harmon. I'm Iris."

The woman with the pretty long hair shook my hand and nodded. "Oh, please. Mrs. Harmon makes me sound old. Call me Vivien." She waved the Mrs. off and continued to smile. "I'm sorry, Ben should be coming down in a moment. He had a last minute patient."

My dad nodded. "That's okay. I hope it's okay, I brought these." He indicated the cookie platter. "If we could've gotten everything unpacked today, they would be homemade-"

I had to refrain from rolling my eyes at that one. If we had finished unpacking, I would have had to make those cookies. Vivien just shook her head. "No, thank you. They'll be great for after dinner. Excuse me, where are my manners. You've been holding them since you walked through the door." She lightly took the platter, giving me a friendly wink at her words over the 'manner' part.

At least she noticed my father's parental attitude and was making an effort to ease it. Hardly any adult did that.

"I'm just going to set these in the kitchen. Please, take off your jackets." Vivien said to make us feel more comfortable. "Oh, Iris. My daughter is actually around your age. Her name is Violet. Do you think you can tell her to come down? Dinner is almost ready." With that small yet polite request, the woman turned for the kitchen.

I turned to look at my dad who had shrugged off his jacket and held it. He nodded at me to go do what Vivien had said to. It was just strange for me, which is why I hesitated at the foot of the stairs. How my neighbor, a complete stranger, could trust me to go upstairs and further into her house. My father hardly liked me out of his site. He's always been a paranoid man, even before what had happened to us a year ago.

My hand was set on the banister of the house as I walked up. The staircase curved slightly in that Victorian Age kind of way. The windows were pretty with their different colors. It almost looked like stained glass, which reminded me of a church. This house was a little too modern for that though.

It was silent on the second floor, which was kind of eerie when I was faced with the option of going left or right. Vivien hadn't told me which direction her daughter's room was. So I chose one at random. The doors on either side of me were all closed. At least they had that luxury of privacy here. I never did.

I came to one open door and stepped towards the door frame. The light was on and the girl was sitting back on her bed. Pillows propped her back and she had a small book open in her lap as she nodded her head to the music blaring through her earphones.

As if she suddenly realized my presence, her eyes snapped to meet mine. She let out an annoyed breath while pulling out her earphones. "Ever knock?"

"I'm sorry." The apology was at the tip of my tongue. "You must be Violet."

The girl was indeed around my age and had a judgmental glint in her hazel eyes, like she was waiting for me to do something in order to settle her opinion of me. "Wow, how'd you know?"

The sarcasm in her voice was evident, so I didn't want to respond to it. Even the distance between me and her made this conversation feel more awkward than it should be. I lightly cleared my throat and looked down. "Your mom says dinner is almost ready."

"Oh, you must be the new neighbor joining us for dinner. I heard you came from across the country. So did I." There was a little bitterness mixed into her voice, but I couldn't be sure of it. "You know you don't have to just stand there. You can come over and sit if you want."

I looked at her to see she had turned back to reading her book. Hesitating a moment outside her door, I glanced down the hallway back where the staircase was around the corner. What if my dad had expected me to hurry and return downstairs? It sounded like Vivien wanted Violet to go down as well. But Violet hadn't so much as moved. So I walked into her room against my instincts and slowly moved to sit on her bed.

My back was to the door so that I face her, but since she wasn't paying me mind, I decided to let my eyes roam the room. It was exactly how a teenage room should be. There was a little speaker for her iPod and it was clean for the most part. There were only bits and pieces astray to tell the room was inhabited, like a textbook open on the dresser with a few messy papers in it and a pencil that had fallen to the floor. A large mirror and a small set up of make up, something I never put on. My dad would have a heart attack if he even saw lip gloss or nail polish in my hands.

"Holy shit, what happened?" Violet asked then, bringing me back from my small daze.

I raised an eyebrow at her surprised and curious face until I realized I had been playing with my hands on my lap. I set my right palm face down and placed my left hand over that one. "It's nothing, really."

She wasn't convinced. "Fine, don't tell me." She shook her head and shut her book. "I have to use the bathroom anyway. I'll be right back." Violet got up and left then. I listened to her retreating footsteps until letting out the sigh stuck in my throat.

My fingers when to my right hand then, now that Violet wasn't around to peek at it. The scar running down my palm. It was the second scar my body had to carry and thankfully, those were the only two. I gripped my hands, closing my eyes so I didn't have to look at anything. At the moment, all I could wish for is for the dinner to be over and for me to get some rest.

As I sat there, a sudden chill of goosebumps ran up my arms. I couldn't shake the feeling of a pair of eyes on me, but as I quietly listened, I was sure Violet hadn't come back. Her footsteps would have made some sound to tell me she was on her way.

No this feeling, it wasn't natural. It was one I couldn't shake.

After silently counting to three in my head, I turned around to face the open door, but no one was there. A wave of relief went over me. Why would there be someone there? The new surroundings, that's what must be getting to my head.

I set my elbows on my knees and put my face in my hands, rubbing at my eyes. Everything was getting to me, to be honest. And what was taking Violet so long? I dropped my hands back in my lap and sat up straighter, but that was when a flash of something walked past the door. I only saw it out of the corner of my eye, but couldn't be mistaken that someone had walked by.

"Violet?" I called, quickly walking over. But as I peered out the door, the hallway was empty. There had been no footsteps, no sound of the doors opening or closing. So who was it?

The hallway was dark as I slowly walked down it, trailing my fingertips along the wall. After a few good paces from the original room I had been in, I stopped and listened. Yet it was still quiet. Maybe I had imagined it.

"What are you doing?"

The voice made me jump and turn around. Violet raised an eyebrow, waiting for my answer. I hadn't even heard her walk up to me.

I shook my head. "I thought I saw something, but..." But what? I couldn't even explain myself.

She smirked and nodded her head in the direction of her room. "Don't let that get to your head. I was like that when I first moved here too. Come on, you can tell me why you moved here before we both have to embark through this boring dinner."