Author's Note: We return to Josh's own inner conflict.

A quick recap: "I'll be wearing a green dress." I finally said. "So make sure you don't clash."

Chapter Seven:

Concern

[Josh's P.O.V.

Oh, Molly, I thought with a sigh, what have you gotten yourself into? I was in over my head – no number of lies to my sister could protect her from the horrible truth about the boy, once she inevitably found out. Nathan Lancaster had a police record – a gang related history. Drugs, theft, the beating of an innocent man; I was surprised that a sixteen year old human could accomplish so much devastation in such a short amount of time. There was no firm evidence of his guilt in several local murders, but there were plenty of suspicions. Nathan Lancaster was on the run – it was quickly obvious that he had moved away from his old town to save face. In our town, there was more than enough money to cover up anything from a traffic violation to teenage drug rings; if he wanted to hide his past, the talkative soccer moms would look the other way.

I marveled at the irony for a moment. He was as human as they come, and as evil as a vampire. As vegetarian vampires, driven to goodness, we had committed fewer crimes than this boy. The irony - we chose this location so that we might hide easily, blend in easily, and leave easily. I deleted the search history and turned off my console, leaving my assistant editor in charge of finishing the day's work – I was going to be late to the store, yet again.

Edward's car was already in the mall's parking lot when I arrived. I locked up and hurried towards the department store – my shift began in two minutes and, for being a vampire, I had a horrible history of being late. As I jogged at a human pace, I plotted my entrance – hurry to the back of the store, and then walk onto the floor as if I had no worries in the world."Running late?" The manager, Mr. Beasley, raised his eyebrows as I effortlessly ran past. He put up a hand to stop me – it took all of my self-control not to bowl him over.

"In the girls department today," he instructed. I looked around the store – Edward was standing behind the cash register in the center of the room, looking more than a little smug.

I took a deep breath and prepared to dazzle my way out of punishment. "I'm sorry, Mr. Beasley," I smiled calmly, "I had responsibilities at school."

Mr. Beasley didn't fall for my more-than-just-good-guy charm. "Get to work on time in the future."

I ran my fingers through my messy hair as I moved, slower this time. I clipped on my I.D. tag and made my way to the front of the store, smirking at Edward – he would be relieved of teen ogling for one day, but tomorrow, I was beating him here. Silently, a competition had been initiated – and I was determined to rise victorious.

I folded clothes slowly, stacked them neatly, and tried my hardest not to look sexy while doing so. Still, I heard more than a few giggles when I bent over or moved past a group of girls. I thought angry thoughts whenever in the presence of my mind-reading friend, just to spite him.

We took our break at the same time, and I pulled him into the busy mall so that no one would overhear our conversation. The situation was more serious than we'd thought, and I didn't want to attract notice.

"The guy has done jail time." I spoke in a low murmur. "He's got gang-related convictions. Implications of past murders. I don't like this."

"What can we do?" Edward asked, steering me towards the food court, the noisiest section of the mall. "He hasn't done anything yet. I don't know how I'd explain to the police that I just 'saw it in his head'."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, though I didn't feel any pressure. "I will do whatever I can to protect Molly."

"She can protect herself," my friend reminded me, taking a seat in the far corner of the food court.

"She thinks he's practically perfect, as far as human boys go." I moaned.

"She's not falling for him, no matter how much she likes his eyes," Edward explained, "but she does worry that he may like her too much."

"We need to tell her," I said. "I owe her that consideration, at least. I can't keep lying – it feels all wrong. And stay out of other people's head – it's not polite."

Edward grumbled, holding his hands up in surrender. I knew what he was trying to tell me with his slightly raised eyebrow. Saving Molly from trouble wouldn't absolve my guilt for what happened to Lydia and Sarah.

I looked him in the eye. "I have the power to prevent it from happening again. I have the responsibility to prevent it from happening again."

Edward raised the other eyebrow now and looked across the food court. "You can break it to her, then."

I followed his gaze; Tony Trapp and Nathan Lancaster had just walked into the mall, followed by a group of fawning girls.

"They're headed into our store." He explained. We took off, too fast to be seen.

OOOOOOOOO

"Do you have this sweater in a smaller size?" A petite blonde looked up to me, batting her eyelashes. Not in your lifetime, I thought, but agreed to find the sweater in a smaller size. Edward chuckled as I walked past – I noticed his gaze following the two boys, who were watching the girls with hungry eyes. I felt bad for those girls, for the violent death that they might meet. I heard a low, vampire voice as I passed the cash register once more.

"You can't save them all," Edward reminded me as he handed a customer, impervious to our quiet exchange, their receipt. I nodded in acknowledgement as I handed the girl the smaller size, and then suggested a rack of jeans that would match the sweater well in style. The boys would follow, and Edward would be able to focus better on their thoughts through the loud music and the haze of other minds.

When our shift ended, Edward explained that Nathan was glad for the attentive entourage, but wasn't tempted enough to commit more crimes against humanity. Nonetheless, I drove home in silence, my thoughts too jumbled as I tried to decide how and when to tell Molly that her dear friend was a malicious murderer. I wanted to do the right thing – it had been so easy my whole life. The Bible was clear about what was right and what was wrong; I knew that I needed to love my sister, and with that love I would protect her. But, in loving her, I was lying to her. I'd never been faced with such a conundrum in one-hundred and nineteen years.

OOOOOOOOO

"Murder most foul, as in the best it is,

But this most foul, strange, and unnatural."

- Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5, Line 33-34.

Author's Note: Comments are appreciated – what you did and didn't like, what confused you, what is keeping you reading, etc.