Sorry for any errors. I'm doing this on my phone so autocorrect is a killer.

Chapter Two

The boy, Tommy according to his name tag, cocked his head to the side. His dark eyes caught mine and he stared for what seemed like an eternity.

"Huh." He huffed. "I don't see the resemblance." Eden almost rolled her eyes but decided to play nice.

"We get that a lot." She lied. True they looked nothing alike, but since they've spent barely any time together in the past six years it wasn't like she heard it often. When she thought about it, she didn't think any of her friends from school even knew about Jessica. "She here?"

"Nope, sorry. It's her night off." Now he was the liar. She knew her sister was close by. She plastered a smile to her lips and lowered her voice.

"Listen, Tommy," she made a show of reading his name tag. "I've been looking for Jessica non stop for the last six months. And honestly I'm exhausted. So believe me when I say that I have no patience for a little twat like you lying to me." His face contorted with range at my words, eyes narrowing in on me.

"No you listen bitch." He said loudly, causing eyes to snap up our way. "I don't know what the fuck you are or what you want with her, but you best leave Jessica alone. Or somethin' real bad might happen to ya."

His threat was almost romantic in a psychotic sort of way. Eden prayed that it was just a little boy crush and that her sister wasn't actually... involved with this guy.

"Tommy!" An older man swooped in and stopped him from taking a step towards Eden. What his intention was she couldn't be sure. To intimidate or to actually harm her? Either way, she wouldn't forget it. "Go." The man ordered.

"What?" Tommy looked betrayed. "Sam she..."

"Is a paying customer and a lady." The man cut in. "Go cool off in my office." With one last irritated look at Eden, the boy stomped away from them.

Sam turned to Eden and absently rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry about Tommy. He's..." he paused, seemingly at a loss for words.

"Youn and stupid?" Eden offered. Sam gave a small laugh and nodded.

"Yeah well, most younger siblings are." He sighed. Eden felt the same kind of intense heat when Sam held her eyes as she had with Tommy. It sent small sparks of warning up her spine. Something was off. "I heard you say something about your own sister?" He promoted.

"Uh, yeah." Eden brushed off her urge to back away. "My little sister is here. Jessica."

Sam nodded slowly and narrowed his gaze.

"Look, I've made it clear that I won't have any of y'alls vamp business in my bar. If that's what this is then please take it somewhere else."

The words hit her like a speeeing truck. Yeah, she'd known that her must have been turned, but to hear someone say it. To hear someone refer to her as a vampire. It hurt.

"I just wanna see my baby sis." Her voice was a whisper. Sam must have heard the sincerity in her voice because nodded again but this time towards a table in the back.

"She's there. With the guy in the plaid." He said softly. "The first sign of trouble and I'll ask you to leave." Eden stared at the table. There was a girl, a woman, with her back towards the door. Long bright red hair cascading down her back from a pony tail. She wore the same uniform the other waitresses did; a small black skirt and white fitted t-shirt.

"There...there won't be any trouble." She sniffed, surprised by her own reaction. She saw Sam nod again out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't look at him. Instead she took a few timid steps towards the table.

It was as though she were walking in slow motion. The faces of the people she passed blurred together, becoming one big swirl of colors. When she got closer the man in plaid looked up. He must have realized that she was coming their way because he look backed down and whispered to the girl across from him.

Her head spun around, red hair whipping over her shoulders. She was beautiful. More beautiful than Eden could have ever imagined. She remembered her as an awkward looking kid with limbs so long she couldn't work them properly. She's always called her a baby giraffe when they'd argued. The ultimate insult to the 12 year old. But the girl in front of her was anything but awkward. Her eyes were such a stunning shade of blue that Eden wondered if they could hypnotize people. But of course they could. She was a vampire. Her oval face was, as always, free of any blemish. Even as a prepubescent little girl, Eden had envied her sister's flawless skin.

"Jess?" I asked quietly, unsure if she was the right person. Could her gangly little pest of a sister really be this perfect woman now? Now and forever. She reminded herself.

"Do I know you?" Jessica asked, her voice sweet as honey. Eden felt her uncertainty. Her curiosity. Her sudden recognition. "Eden?" She gasped. Eden couldn't form words. She could only nod.

She'd grown up okay. She'd survived their bible kissing, belt whipping father. She'd escaped. On her own.

"Eden." She repeated, rising from her chair. "Oh my..." she towered over Eden by at least 5 inches. Her lengthy arms suddenly wrapped around Eden's neck, pulling her in for tight hug. "I can't believe it's you." She heard her breathe into her ear.

They stood there for a long time, locked in an embrace. Eden knew people were staring, but she didn't care. Her mind was racing with conflicting thoughts. Her sister was alive, by she was dead. She was here, but she was in a sense gone. She was Jessica Hamby, and yet she was someone else entirely. And she was good, so good. But she was a vampire.

When her younger sister stepped back, Eden's eyes widened at the sight of the blood leaking from Jessica's eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry." She groan and turned her face to hide the blood. She dabbed at her cheeks with a napkin she took from the man she had been sitting with.

"So it's true then." Eden couldn't stop herself. "You're a vampire."

"Uhhh, yeah." Jess dropped her eyes to the floor, clearly embarrassed. "Yeah I am."

"Mom and dad think you're dead." She couldn't keep the disgust out of her voice. Even though she couldn't stand her parents, the image of them weeping over her coffin would forever be seared into her mind. "They buried you Jess."

"I wanted to come home, honest I did. But Bill..." she stopped as of trying to find the right words.

"Who's Bill?" I scowled at the man still sitting at the table. His eyes widened in fear.

"No, no." Jess shook her head vigorously, fresh blood streaking down her cheeks. "This is Hoyt. Bill is... my maker." She waited for a response. Eden was frozen, unsure of what to say or how to feel.

"Maker?" She repeated the word. "Tell me you didn't do this for some fucking boy!" Red hot rage flashed over her. How could she be so foolish?!

"I didn't DO anything." Jessica blinked at her sister. "I didn't ask for this. I didn't want this." She gestured to herself. "This was not my choice." With each word her voice grew stronger, louder, more confident. "So don't come in here accusing me of doing something wrong when I haven't done a damn thing."

It was then that Eden saw how different she really was. The little girl she remembered was quiet and soft spoke. She was a people pleaser, always striving to be the perfect picture of a daughter.

Being this close to her, Eden could feel Jessica's emotions as if they were her own. The resentment mixed with joy left a bitter taste in her mouth. She could also feel what she thought. It's not like she heard a clear voice or could understand her exact thoughts. But she knew that Jess felt just as confused and overwhelmed as she did. What was the right thing to feel? Eden had abandoned her, left her alone with their rotten daddy and she never once checked up on her. But yet, her big sister was here. Right in front of her. The only person from her human life that she'd ever seen. A person she never imagined seeing again.

Eden felt just as torn. Her sister was dead and in her place stood a vampire. The walking dead. A zombie like creature. But she was so wholely Jessica. Still so innocent and yet tainted with danger at the same time.

"Well?" jess broke her concentration. "You gonna fucking say something?"

And in one terrifying thought, she realized that this life suited her sister.