Author's Note: Ah, yes! Chapter 4! How excited I am to see you... this chapter has one of the first major rewrites I've done so far. If any of you were here before the rewriting process started, you might remember that a character named Carmen Conquest appeared in this chapter. She was meant to Lucy's main rival and nemesis, but I slowly started to realize that I wanted the main focus of Lucy's story to be focused on her life mostly outside of school, and the inclusion of Carmen's character sort of ruined that idea. So, sorry, Carmen. Guess you're out. But maybe you'll appear later on ;)


The rest of my day surprisingly flew by quickly, and I suddenly found myself headed to my luxurious car, my hair thrown up in a messy ponytail due to gym. I had that class with Vanessa and Motorcycle Dude, who I later found out was actually named Ben, and we all huffed a few conversations as we jogged around and around in gossiped like tween girls, but oddly enough, were refined about it.

But now it was time for home, and I took this opportunity to stop by one the coffee shops I was eyeing this morning.

"One iced hazelnut macchiato, please. And don't get skimpy with the espresso," I said to the hip-looking girl behind the counter.

Her ruby lips spread into a smile as she writes down my order. She gazed back up and gave a wink. "Trust me, your cute face won't let it happen."

She rang up my order and I scoured my wallet for exact change. After I put a few coins in the tip jar and earned myself another smile from the cashier, I moved over to the cushioned chair by the window and waited for my coffee. As I did, I pulled my phone from my bag to check to see if I had any messages. I did. And they were all from Mommy.

I sighed and delved into what I knew was going to be a guilt trip imparted from my own mother, talking about how much she missed me and wanted me to move back. I scoured through the messages and locked my phone without responding. She was going to try harder than that. Besides, what was wrong with me moving in with my dad anyways? She was always harking on me to visit him more when I was living with her.

All thoughts of my overbearing mother dissolved as my name was called out in the crowded coffee shop. I bounded forward and grabbed my drink, and whisked out the door to head home.


After I parked my Mercedes in the driveway, I locked it up and sauntered up to the front door. As I entered, I tiptoed to the kitchen and threw open the fridge and cabinets, grabbing what food there was, and piled it all into my arms. I managed to balance the package of Oreos on top of the box of Cosmic Brownies as I headed up the stairs and down the main hallway, opening up my bedroom door with a swift kick.I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Silence of the Lambs, quoting the notorious Doctor Lector and Clarice Starling while munching on a variety of junk food. After the credits rolled, I yawned and sprawled out on my bed, staring out the window to the night sky, wondering what I should do now. With a sigh, I got up and decided to pass some time picking out my outfit for school tomorrow.

In my closet were all of my dresses, ranging in color, length, tightness, lace patterns, etc. I was drawn to an oversized t-shirt dress with a dozen rips and tears and I immediately paired it with some red fishnet stockings I had stuffed in my dresser. Suddenly I remembered a tube of lipstick I had the exact shade of red, and after finding that in a bag I had shoved underneath my bed, there was a knock on my door.

As I opened it, I met the gentle face of Rem, the housemaid.

"I see that you've survived your first day of school, Lucy. Welcome home," she said with a bright smile.

Night had fallen and I hadn't even noticed. Everyone else in the house was awake now. I mirrored her smile. "Thanks, Rem. You don't know how happy I am home."

She nodded, and promptly informed me that dinner was ready. I told her I'd soon be down, bid her goodbye and closed the door. Quickly, I gathered all of the trash from my snacks, the wrappers of Jolly Ranchers, the empty container of chocolate-chip cookies, dumping them all in the small wastebasket by my door. I kept the uneaten food stashed behind my desk.

I slipped out the door into the hallway. The hallways was littered with paintings, all portraits of my father's extended family. Some were dressed in the regal gowns popular in the period before the French Revolution, others in Victorian era fashion, and some in Confederate or Union uniforms. It's amazing even to me how much vampires have affected the world's history. Wars, treaties, famines and times of prosperity revolved around the actions of the society of vampires. I personally found the life of a vampire frightening, wondering how modern vamps have found their way to this time, seeing all the weaknesses they possessed. With the threat of garlic, sunlight, stakes, and the fact an angry mob can form quite easily, vampires should not even exist. With so many ways to be destroyed, how did they make it this far?

I bounded down the stairs to the dining room. My father was waiting at the head of the table, busy reading the newspaper, his glasses sitting on the edge of his nose.

"Hey, dad," I greeted, excited to see him.

A smile beamed from his face as he saw me approaching and sets the paper down, folding it onto the table.

"Lucy," he said, discarding his glasses. "Did you have a good day?"

I sat down in the left throne-like seat beside him, clasping my hands in front of me. "Yeah, it was... good. Good. Today was good."

Father eyed me warily and gave a shrug. "Whatever you say."

A moment passes before I indicated to the newspaper he was reading before I came into the room. "Anything interesting happening? Are the stocks good?"

Dad gave me a wry grin as I made my joke, clearly catching on that I was kidding. "Nothing much...", he mumbled, but as he looks away, murmured, "No... I should get this out of the way."

My eyebrows claw up my forehead as I searched my father's face. "What is it, dad?"

I expected him to mention my mother, dreading to hear that maybe she had boarded a plane and was currently on the way here.

My dad's eyes narrowed. My blood turns cold as he stared at me. "There's a vampire loose, Lucy," he says as he flips the newspaper back over. The headline read: '3 KNOWN DEAD, 17 MISSING; HOMICIDE EXPECTED'.

"And they show no sign of stopping."


End of Chapter Four! Favorite and review as you wish 3