Mia knew Claire would be at home; it was a Saturday and she didn't have to work which was lucky seeing as she had left without her keys last night. She gently walked up the steps to the front door before knocking, hesitating momentarily.
Luckily there was no spy hole in the door so when Claire came to see who it was she had to open it to find out and, just as expected, she tried to close the door on Mia.
'Wait, please.' She pleaded, a foot wedged into the gap between the frame and the door, keeping it open. 'Just hear me out.' She heard Claire sigh then the unmistakable sound of wood sliding against the hall table. The door was slowly pulled open, revealing Claire who looked like she hadn't slept. Her mousy brown hair was ruffled and her usually gorgeous chocolate brown eyes were now dull and surrounded by a dark shadow.
'What do you want?' She asked, standing with her back against the wall, a stake, the source of the wooden sound, clasped in her hands.
'Jesus, Claire. Are you serious? A Stake? You really think I came here to kill you?' Claire stayed silent. 'Look at you for goodness sake, have you even slept?' Mia was still stood in the doorway.

'I don't want you here, Mia. You broke the rule, you broke my trust. You need to leave.' Even her voice sounded tired. Mia's heart ached at her words, her best friend was scared of her,
'I came to apologise, to try and make you see that it was a stupid mistake, that it would never happen again,' Claire cut her off abruptly;
'Never happen again? How the hell am I meant to believe that? It's who you are, Mia. It's what you do, eat people. I was stupid to even have been your friend after you told me. I just want you gone.' Mia felt the single tear slip down her cheek before she heard it splash on the wooden floor. 'Take what you need now then pick up the rest tomorrow. I will be back by 5, I want you gone by then.' Mia stood staring at the floor for a moment, looking at Claire's rabbit slippers that she had bought for her two Christmases ago, before slowly walking past her towards her bedroom.
Once in there, she pulled out a suitcase and packed her basic needs for tonight. She already knew where she would go, where else could she go but back to people like her. She had only been kidding herself that she could live like this, only pretending, playing at being human.

By the time Hal had decided to go looking for her again her scent was long gone. He had no idea where to look so when he eventually returned to the B&B he was in a terrible mood. So much so that the only thought keeping him from ripping the town to pieces looking for her was the memory of stealing a kid's ball in the park, after it had hit him in the back of the head, and piercing it with his fingers. The satisfying pop and the look on the kids face were the only things keeping him from killing everyone right now.
He slammed the door behind him so hard that the glass rattled in the frame.
'Tom.' He yelled out, wanting to vent to his friend. He paced the living room a few times before forcing himself to sit down, awkwardly, on the edge of the sofa. 'Tom? Where the hell are you?' He heard movement in the kitchen moments before Tom begrudgingly appeared. At the sight of him Hal stood up, 'I can't find her, Tom. I couldn't find her anywhere. What am I going to do now? I embarrassed myself and now she is gone and I can't make up for it. I can't, I just,' He let out a small yell and kicked the edge of the sofa before hurrying over to his table by the window to rearrange his dominoes.

'Whoa, mate. Calm down. So you couldn't find her, not the end of the world.' Hal looked at him sharply,
'Not the end of the world? My hunger is so permeating right now that I could drink this world dry. It is taking all I have not to run out there and bleed every last drop from this town.' His fingers shook as he struggled to line his dominoes up. Tom took an anxious step backwards.
'I've got something to tell yeh. But I aint tellin' till you calm down. It's important.' Tom stood awkwardly on the spot as Hal eyed him curiously. He clenched his fists before slowly letting his palms fall to the table, closing his eyes he took a few breaths. Confused, he took a few more, there was something here that didn't smell right. He looked at Tom,
'Tom, what is that smell? Did you buy flowers?' Tom looked confused,
'Nah, but that's what I got to tell yeh. I think you should look behind the sofa.' Hals eyes drifted over to the sofa facing him before looking back at Tom suspiciously. He cautiously stood and slowly walked over, edging step by step as he neared the corner to look behind it. His eyes widened as he saw what was sat there,
'It's a suitcase.' He took in more details, the bright colour of it, the flowery pattern and the heart shaped name tag. 'A woman's suitcase.' He looked at Tom again who gestured for him to look at the tag. He gently lent forward and held the soft leather in his fingers before turning it over.
Amelia-Rose Michaels.
Hal's dead heart skipped a beat. 'She's here?' He asked, almost in a whisper.
'She's sleepin' at the moment. Was upset when she got here, tired herself out with cryin'. I could hear her.' He watched Hal as he softly clasped his fingers around the handle of the case and lifted it. He headed towards the stairs and headed up. Tom smiled slightly to himself before going back into the kitchen.
Hal knocked lightly on her door and waited patiently for an answer. When there was none he quietly opened the door. She was asleep on the bed, her back to him. She was still in the same clothes and her bare legs and feet were exposed on the bed. The dim sunlight was seeping through the window and onto her face making her hair almost glow.
He watched her for a few seconds before going inside and putting her case down. He then crept over to the window and pulled the curtains closed, keeping the sun from her face. As he turned around, he studied her; eyes red and slightly puffy from crying, lips dry and cheeks reddened. It was strange for him to look at her and not see her green eyes looking back at him. She gave a slight shiver in her sleep which shook him from his thoughts. Wondering over to the cupboard, he pulled a blanket down from the shelf and unfolded it. He hesitated momentarily before softly laying it over her body, keeping the cold from chilling her.
'Hal?' a soft voice asked. He cursed himself for waking her.
'I'm sorry if I woke you.' The image of her pressed against the door, hand on his chest, flashed through his mind. He took a few small steps back towards the door. 'I, uh, want to apologise for earlier. I don't know what came over me.' He paused briefly as he looked at the shape her body made under the blanket. 'I hadn't slept.' She pushed herself up on the bed so she was sat looking up at him. She ran a hand through her hair, pushing a few loose strands back from her face.
'It's ok. I didn't really help matters, did I?' Hal frowned slightly but stayed silent. 'You do that a lot don't you, your fingers?' He looked down at his fingers to find that absentmindedly he was touching each finger to his thumb. He stopped and shook his hands out, still watching them as the shook slightly.
'It helps. If I keep my hands busy I think of, of other things less. It makes it easier for me.' He kept his voice low and quiet to match the, currently, calm and quiet atmosphere in the room. 'Is everything ok? I didn't expect you to come back.' She looked away from him and down to her suitcase he had bought in for her. She shook her head in silence. Hal felt the overwhelming need to comfort the girl so he walked over and gingerly sat on the corner of the bed furthest from her, he reached out for her hand but hesitated, adjusting the blanket around her feet instead.
'I thought I was coping. I had it in hand but one tiny little mistake and I've lost everything. How do you manage, Hal?' In that moment she looked utterly lost and alone. A feeling he knew very well over the last 50 years.
'Right now, I'm not entirely sure.' He said with a weak voice as he eyed her neck whilst she played with a tissue in her hands. 'You may feel like you have lost everything but you haven't. You have us now, me and Tom. We will stick together, help each other. We will get through.' He pulled something out of his pocket and reached for her hand, curling her fingers around the object. She looked down to see her hand in his and in hers lay a single ivory domino piece. A small smile appeared in the corner of her mouth as she eyed the piece, she leant forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was taken aback for a moment before he held her to him, breath held, feeling her heart beat on his chest.
'Thank you.' She whispered, barely audible but he heard it clearly.
Hal entered the kitchen looking shell shocked as Tom sat at the table eating a bowl of cereal.
'How'd it go?' He asked through a mouth full of cheerios. Hal drifted towards the table and sat down, remaining silent. 'Right. That good was it? Fair enough.'