Slowly I sat upright and looked with tear drenched eyes on the girl I now realized I loved. Her lips was shaped in a little, happy smile and I could feel how she had died peacefully. She was happy, and I should be it too, for her sake if not for my own. I wanted to smile and say goodbye to her. I wanted her to be alive again. But I couldn't do anything of what I wanted. I wasn't able to.

When my mother found me I sat with my head bowed and cried silently. I couldn't raise my eyes and look at Iva again; I knew I would break apart inside if I only heard her name. Zoeys hand was suddenly on my shoulder, sending a flush of Spirit inside me and making me feel a little bit better. I had just enough energy to look up from my thighs and meet my mothers' gaze. I knew that she would know everything as soon as she looked me in the eyes. Behind her stood my father, Stark. He looked sad, strangely enough.

"Poor girl…" Zoey whispered and knelt beside me. "She rejected it…" She said, stating the fact. "It's awful to see such a gifted fledgling return to the bosoms of our Goddess."

"Gifted?" Stark asked quietly. He knelt down on the other side of Ivas' body.

"Yeah. She was a healer, but she could also sense what was coming, not quite like Aphrodite, but still the same. She didn't get visions, she just got a feeling…" I could tell that Zoey just pronounced the words that Nyx was telling her. And I knew that they were true.

"She knew this would happen…" I whispered slowly. She had been telling me it, but I hadn't gotten it until now.

"At least she's found peace," Stark said, a sneaky smile on his lips when he looked up at me.

"Stark!" Zoey gasped, unable to cover up the little smile that was on her own lips.

I didn't have the energy to protest.

"Follow the other kids back to the school, Zane, go get something to eat, and we will take care of Iva," Zoey said and looked at me with sad eyes. I just nodded.

Slowly I stalked towards the others. I couldn't identify the hurt in my stomach, but it hurt so bad I was scared to start wailing again. I could see my friends stand in a clung and talk. They were in the middle of something when I came limping against them.

"Where's Iva?" Matthew asked. He knew that Iva and I always went everywhere together. The others did to, and I could see that they wondered as much as Matthew did, they just didn't have the guts to ask.

"With Zoey and Stark," I answered, without any emotion in my voice.

"She's hurt?" Matthew asked again.

"No."

"Then why's she with your parents?"

"She rejected."

I could see the hurt, the shock and the sorrow in their eyes when they got the truth thrown in their faces. But I could also see the anger they fought so hard to hide.

"She's… She's dead?" Michael whispered with so much pain in his voice I could have touched it if I wanted – I didn't. I couldn't open my mouth – I couldn't confirm that she was gone. But she was. The love of my life was gone – and she wouldn't come back. Ever.

I simply nodded, before my legs gave in and I was crying again.

***

It wasn't until later that I could stop. And then I was already back at the House of Night.

I hadn't yet been able to wash the blood away. I would never be ready to wash of the last I had of her. I wanted to remember her and never, ever forget. I wanted to keep her as long as I could.

There was some that knocked on my door, trying to get me out of there and talk to them. But I never answered. I didn't want to talk to them; I never wanted to see any of them again! Not until I heard my mothers' voice, I opened the door.

"You wanna go over to her room and see if there's anything to keep?" she asked gently. I nodded at her, stalked after her out of the boys' dorm and into the girls' dorm. She led me to a door and opened it. The room was empty, apart from all the stuff that covered the walls and the floor. Ivas' stuff.

Slowly I bent down to touch a paper with a small text on it. "The drawer." Confused, I looked up and stared at the drawer, as if trying to open it with my gaze. But since it didn't work, I walked over to it. There was another paper. I looked at the text. "The third."

With a confused wrinkle between my eyebrows, I reached down and opened the drawer. It was as if the world stopped moving around me and I stopped breathing. Quickly I turned around to see if my mother was still there, but she had closed the door and wasn't anywhere in sight. I turned back to the drawer and slowly knelt down in front of it. My heart was beating faster when I saw Ivas' most precious things lying there.

It was as if I could feel her spirit when I reached down to lift up a book. It was titled The Awakening and was the first in a series of Vampire books. It was written of one of her favorite authors, L. J. Smith. I knew it 'cause she told me once. I didn't think I would remember it, but I really did. I remembered everything she had said to me.

Review, Review, Review.

I don't any of the characters from the basic books! I only own the ones I've created myself.
(Iva, Zane, Matt, Les, Mitch, Rose - and others)

This is only what I've written 'cause I want it to be like this. :')