A sliver of bright sunlight drifted through the curtains. It tickled Blaire's eyes, forcing her awake. Unaware of her surroundings, she let out a morning moan. When she buckled her butt back, she bumped into another body. For a moment she was confused. Then she turned. Tate's dreamy eyes looked down on her.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," He whispered softly.

"Morning," She said in her best morning voice. "How long have you been up?"

"I don't know," He admitted. "Long enough."

She reached up a hand and pulled his face down to hers, kissing him softly. She ran her fingers along the soft skin of his porcelain face. It was still strange to her how real he felt to her.

He pulled away, dragging his lips away slowly. He pressed his forehead against hers. She could feel his tender, sincere smile sink into her skin.

For a second, she allowed herself to be happy. She cherished the moment. Nothing else mattered but the two of them, lying there. Time didn't exist. Entangled, they were one single being, their cold bodies mocking warmth under the heat of the sun.

But she couldn't be happy for too long. She concluded that it was a curse. No matter how hard she tried to love her afterlife, negativity reigned supreme. She was bombarded with thoughts of Violet, the man she had just killed, her father's abuse, her destructive last day on Earth.

Blaire stirred out of Tate's grasp. She sat up in bed and draped an arm across her bare chest.

"Where are you going?" Tate asked.

"Vivien is probably worried about me," Blaire said as she searched for an outfit. "I came back late last night."

"Why?" Tate snorted. "You aren't her daughter."

Blaire ripped a yellow sundress off a hanger and slipped it over her head, "I might as well be."

She plopped on the bed next to where Tate was sitting and kissed him softly on the cheek, and then headed to the stairs. As she began to unlock them, Tate called out after her,

"Can I come back tonight?"

She turned from her spot on the second step and smiled, "Come back every night."

Blaire scampered down the stairs and into the kitchen. She'd spotted the time on the clock, a little after 10, and figured Vivien might still be enjoying breakfast. She was right. Vivien was seated at the island, her eyes fixated on the news program running across the TV screen.

"Hey!" Blaire greeted, leaning against the counter. "Sorry I got back late last night. I lost track of time. I hope I didn't worry you."

"With all the terrible things that have been happening to this family lately, I couldn't help but worry."

The inside of Blaire's dead body radiated with warmth. Vivien had just included Blaire in her family.

"I'm sorry," Blaire apologized again. "I didn't have any way of contacting you."

"Which is why," Vivien grinned, sliding off the stool. "I got you this."

She pulled a box out of a bag that had been lying next to her on the counter. There was a picture of a sleek black phone on the front of the box. She handed the box to Blaire.

"Surprise! I got up early this morning and headed over to the Alltel store. I added an extra line to the plan and got you this phone. I've already programed my number, Violet's number, and Ben's number in. Oh, and the police department, of course."

Blaire set the box on the counter and hugged Vivien, "Thank you."

"It's partially for me, so I'll stop worrying constantly. It's been taking a toll on my body, and I really can't afford to hurt the babies any-"

"Babies?" Blaire corrected. "Don't you mean baby?"

Vivien's face contorted, "Surprise number two! I'm having twins!"

Blaire steadied herself, "Holy shit, Vivien."

"You're telling me. The doctor said they're both healthy and perfect as they can be."

"Have you thought of names yet?" Blaire asked. "I love thinking of baby names. I'm never going to have kids, but I like to fantasize about what I'd name them if I ever did have them."

"Why can't you have kids?" Vivien asked.

"I'm infertile," Blaire lied with a frown. "I had a lot of hormonal problems when I first started my period. By the time I got it checked out, it was too late to fix anything."

"You can still adopt."

"Yeah. Maybe."

Blaire spun around to pour some coffee, and Vivien unmuted the television. Blaire didn't pay much attention to the broadcast until Vivien exclaimed.

"Oh my God. Listen to this story, Blaire."

Blaire steadied her gaze on the set. It was a local news story, running in vivid colors. The headline sent a shock down her spine: "Gruesome motel murder victim identified as Mayor Reynolds' son." She listened closer as the reporter described the murder as one of the worst police has seen in years.

She tried to steady her breathing- to not panic. She had killed a prominent government figure's son. Not only killed, but brutally murdered. The story was running on every news channel, each feature giving a little more detail. All of the reporters, however, confirmed that police had no suspects.

"It's so sick- what people can do," Vivien frowned. "I'm honestly afraid to raise my children in a world where these things happen."

"I know," Blaire agreed. "Horrible."

"Hey, will you go get Violet up?" Vivien asked. "She's been trapped in her room for hours."

Blaire gritted her teeth and agreed. She stomped up the stairs and burst into Violet's room. Violet was awake, lying under the covers in the dark. Blaire flicked the lights on and hovered over Violet.

"You don't look too well."

"Leave me alone," Violet creaked. "I'm sick."

"Yeah," Blaire leaned over. "Like I said, you don't look too well. What's wrong? Nausea-Heartburn-Indigestion- Upset Stomach-Diarrhea? There is medicine for that."

"Just go away. I want to sleep it off."

Something wasn't right. Blaire felt it. The air in the room was heavy, casting a morbid spell around everything. Everything felt…. lifeless.

"I don't think you can sleep this off," Blaire mused.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Go back to sleep. Your mom wants to see you, but I'll tell her you're sick."

Violet rubbed her jawline and muttered a thanks. Blaire scurried back down to the kitchen. She shouted a brief explanation to Vivien, and then went to the door leading to the basement.

"Tate," She whispered loudly. "Tate, come here."

A set of familiar arms wrapped around her torso.

"What do you want, Bug?" He muttered softly against her skin.

As much as she didn't want to, she wiggled out of his arms. He was wearing a rare smile, his black eyes lit up with life. It made it extremely difficult to get him to take her seriously.

"I need you to tell me the truth," Blaire said. "I need you to tell me what happened last night with Violet."

His face fell, "What do you mean?"

"I didn't stutter, Tate," She said. "What happened? Why was Violet unconscious? What happened to her?"

"Nothing."

"I can tell when you're lying," Blaire said with a half-smile. "Tell me what happened."

Tate sighed and nodded, pulling her over to the dusty seats in the corner. They sat down, and Tate rested his head on the dusty cushion.

"She took pills," He said. "A lot of them. All of them, actually. The bottle was empty when I got to her room. I couldn't let her die. I couldn't. So… I took her to the bathroom. I figured I could wake her up. When the cold water didn't help, I tried to get her to throw up. She did… a little bit. She just took so many, Blaire."

"So what are you telling me?" Blaire muttered, not wanting to know the answer.

"She's dead."

"Fuck!" Blaire jumped out of the seat and cursed. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! She doesn't know? She doesn't, right? How are we going to tell Vivien? And Ben? Oh my God, Tate."

He stood up and grabbed her arms, "Shhhh! Don't you think I've thought of that? I've handled it."

"You've handled it, how? By not doing anything."

"Don't get angry!" Tate exclaimed, his voice shaking. "Don't get mad!"

Blaire rubbed her face and took a deep breath, "I'm not mad at you. Calm down. I'm just trying to figure things out. Where is the body?"

"I've taken care of it."

"Never mind. I don't want to know right now. I need you to make sure Violet doesn't figure out she's dead- not until we have a way to tell her. I'll take care of everything else."

She wasn't sure how she would take care of everything. All she knew was that she needed to think of something that didn't hurt her new family or Tate, and she needed to think of it fast.