So, I'm finally back!

I know, I know. It took like two weeks of December for me to finish it and I'm so sorry. It's really been a few hectic weeks for me, but Christmas break is coming up next week and I'm planning on writing my ass off ;)

Anyways, I found an amazing picture when I was on the Internet yesterday. Half of the link disappears when I put it here, so instead I'm going to put it on my profile ;) I don't really know how I came to that picture, but I sat for a whole minute just staring at this picture. It's like exactly how I imagine Isaac (except for the eyes ;D)!

I don't know how you see the characters of my story, or if you even see them like that in your head. But if you have any image of how you think any of the characters look like, it would be awesome to see it :D

I hope you enjoy the chapter! (;

/BeCkYbOnG

The trees passed by the car with a speed that made me flinch every now and then, but my wincing didn't make Isaac slow down. Even though I knew he wouldn't crash the car, I couldn't stop myself from biting down hard on my lower lip while I felt the car sway as it avoided ramming into something.

"How far do you think he's gotten?" I asked tensely, while the car jerked harshly enough to make my body fly to the side.

"I don't know," Isaac answered in a voice that sounded like a mix of a growl and a mutter.

His gaze was intently focused on the road in front of him and his hands gripped the steer wheel so hard that it looked like it would break any second. But there was something hiding deep in his eyes that made me think that the panic and fury weren't the only emotions that ran through his body at the moment.

His eyes almost looked pained.

"Will he really hurt anyone?" I whispered, suddenly unable to speak in a louder tone.

There was no answer to my question, and I couldn't stop a shaky sigh from leaving my lips. No matter how hard he pushed the car forwards, we obviously wouldn't get there in time to stop him from doing something I couldn't even bare to think of.

I glanced at the car window, but after only a few seconds of watching the rushing trees, I settled on looking at Isaac again. It felt like the hard silence in the car was choking me, but I had no idea what to say to make anything better.

"I'm sorry," Isaac suddenly said, his voice almost as quiet as a mumble.

"It's not your fault," I replied just as silently, though his words confused me slightly. Did he really think it was his fault?

"I should have heard when he got out of the car," he continued, as if he hadn't heard me. "I should have..."

"Stop it," I cut him off, my voice so much louder than before that it made him flinch lightly. I pulled in a quick breath before I continued, my tone slightly calmer. "You can't blame yourself for everything, Isaac. You haven't done anything wrong."

I could see the disagreement appear in his eyes before I was even done, so it wasn't much of a surprise to me when he spoke up the second I was finished.

"But I could've stopped him," he said, his voice low but frustrated.

"And how exactly would you have done that?" I asked, my tone echoing his.

He hesitated before he answered – obviously he hadn't really thought of that. "I don't know," he admitted, though his voice showed that he was thinking very thoroughly for another reply.

"Then give it up," I said with a quiet sigh. "There's nothing we can do now, anyways."

He watched me silently for a short moment with unreadable eyes, until he turned his gaze to the road in front of him. Instead of slowing down, like I'd expected him to, his foot pressed down even harder on the gas pedal which caused my body to press back into the seat.

"It's not too late yet," he said determinately with his gaze still fixated forwards.

I wasn't sure whether to feel even more frightened by the way the car roared over the slick road, or to be relieved by how he seemed to be sure that we would be able to stop this bloodbath.

"When we get there," Isaac continued, oblivious to my wavering emotions, "we have to split up. If you go back to the house, I'll go…"

"Split up?" I interrupted. I didn't like where his sudden plan was leading.

He glanced at my face with strangely calm eyes, as if the panic and pain had just flown out of his mind – they looked too calm. "That way we can find him faster," he explained.

"But…"

"It's just for a few minutes, Jessica."

"I know, but…"

He cut me off again. "The second either of us find him, we'll meet up again. I don't think anyone will disturb us, since…"

"Since they think we're dead," I finished his sentence, my voice more quiet.

We both sat silently for a few seconds, and as I glanced back at the window, I noticed how the area outside the car had changed while I'd looked away. It couldn't be much longer before we where there.

"I still don't like this idea, Isaac," I mumbled while I gazed out at the sky.

His fingers entwined with mine and the feeling of his soft hand squeezing my own made the worry cease slightly.

"I told you, no one will bother you," Isaac assured me, his voice softer than before.

"No one but your brother," I muttered.

The quiet chuckle I got in response to those words made the corners of my lips lift up slightly, although I hadn't meant my sentence to be very amusing.

"If you're lucky, I'll find him before you do," Isaac said, his tone edging between sour and humoured.

I didn't say anything in reply, which was not only because I wasn't sure what to say. Just a second after he finished his sentence, the trees outside the window changed, revealing the town that I'd thought we'd left for good.

I immediately noticed how my stomach twisted as I continued looking out at the new surroundings. As if it wasn't enough that we had to go back here, I would have to search through the town alone without holding Isaac's hand as support. I wasn't quite sure how my shock had gone over to fear as I'd realized how much hatred there existed in the town, but…

"Jessica?"

Isaac's soft voice interrupted my thoughts, and I glanced at his face in surprise.

"Did Lucas do anything earlier today, before I got there?" he asked, watching me cautiously, obviously assuming that I would avoid answering the question.

Which I tried.

"No," I mumbled, trying to hide any emotions from my eyes.

"Hmph," Isaac said in a mutter, apparently not fooled.

"Nothing happened," I sighed. "But even if it had, I wouldn't have told you anything about."

His hand, which was still holding mine, tightened slightly. "So you're saying something did happen?"

"No!" My voice was nearly exasperated. "What I meant was that if something had happened, I wouldn't have said anything. I know you would have reacted a hundred times worse than this."

"Than what?"

I glanced down at his hand meaningfully and his grip instantly loosened up.

"I get it if you don't trust him, or even me, when you're not there," I continued after a few seconds, my voice softer. "But nothing happened."

He nodded, though his eyes revealed that his thoughts were still doubtful. I knew there wasn't much I could say to make it better, so I sat silently while he drove the last bit. I tried keeping my gaze on the road, but I couldn't stop from watching every movement Isaac made from the corner of my eye. A twitch with his mouth, a tightening of the hand he kept on the steer wheel, a glance in my direction every now and then…I didn't know what to read of it, but it felt like he was deliberating on whether or not to tell me something.

Finally, the car pulled to a stop, turning the night dead silent.

"So we split up now?" I asked, managing to keep my tone calm.

He only nodded again, and I sighed before I pushed the door open to get out of the car. I was frustrated with the silent treatment I received from him and knowing I was about to search for Lucas, it didn't make my mood very much better.

"Jessica?"

His sudden call stopped me from slamming the door shut. He was leaning across the passenger seat, which looked quite hard with the seat belt still locked around him, and his face showed a worry I hadn't been expecting.

"What?" I asked.

"Be careful," he said, his eyes almost pleading.

I leaned into the warmth of the car and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"I will," I promised.

The night felt cold on my skin as I wandered around, but I was sure it was just an imagination. I didn't like feeling the smell of burned wood coming closer every second, and neither did I enjoy thinking about the fact that anyone could show up and see me. Just the thought of meeting someone who could have been behind the fire sent chills down my spine.

I was glad that Isaac had taken the more dangerous task of searching for Lucas in town, though it wasn't that much of a surprise. He did whatever he could to make me as safe as possible.

But the idea of going back to the house wasn't very comforting.

"Lucas?" I called quietly while my eyes darted around, searching for his shape in the darkness.

The only reply I got was the wind rustling the leaves.

"Lucas," I tried again, my voice quiet but frustrated.

I continued walking for a long moment until the burned smell clung so tightly in the air that I knew I couldn't be far from the house. With steps that would be inaudible to human ears, I hesitantly walked over the fresh grass, waiting for the house to torn up in front of me. But the only thing meeting me was a mess of black walls and a large pile of ashes covering the ground.

I was about to walk over there to take a closer look, when I noticed the person standing just a few metres to my left.

Lucas' back was faced towards me, but the dark curls of his hair assured me that it couldn't be anyone else than him. I took a few steps closer so that there weren't much more than a few feet of space between us, but even though I knew he could hear me, he didn't move.

"No slaughtering, huh?" I asked quite loudly, though I knew he could easily hear me.

He only shrugged in response, remaining still without turning around. "Then why did you come back here?" I said, and when I continued, my voice took on a sarcastic tone. "To enjoy the sight?"

"You don't think I saw what you did earlier?" he replied calmly.

I felt my eyebrows furrow together in confusion, but before I could ask him what he meant, he slowly turned around to face me. In his hands was the black album I'd thrown out earlier, and I felt slightly nauseous as I was reminded of the panic I'd felt in that moment.

"Why did you save it?" he asked, staring at me with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

His intense gaze made me uncomfortable, and I rocked back and forth on my heels for a few seconds before I answered his question.

"I don't know," I admitted, my voice slightly lower than before. "I couldn't just let it burn up. All of the memories in there are just…they're just too valuable to throw away."

He continued staring at me for a long moment while the emotions in his eyes dissolved and changed until it was impossible to read what was in his gaze.

"You're welcome," I said sourly before I swirled around to walk back the way I'd gotten here.

There was a well-known, swishing sound behind me, and I wasn't surprised when Lucas appeared on my side. I kept my gaze focused forwards as I continued walking, but I could feel his eyes on my face, which made me feel a bit frustrated.

I couldn't stand more than a few seconds.

"What?" I asked, my tone much louder than before. I immediately shut my mouth close, remembering that no one was supposed to see or hear me.

My eyes darted quickly to his face and back, but it was long enough for me to notice the tiny grin on his lips.

"There's got to be another reason you saved this album," he replied. From the corner of my eye I noticed how he waved the photo album in the air, as if he thought I didn't know what he was talking about.

I couldn't stop my gaze from wandering back to his face. "And why is that?" I asked.

One of his eyebrows arched upwards. "I don't believe that you only did it because you didn't want it to burn up. It's not even pictures of you."

"Believe whatever you want."

He rolled his eyes at my short and sour reply. "I didn't even know you'd seen this," he continued, obviously not so keen on changing the topic. "It's kind of…private, you know."

"And how would you know what private means? The last time I checked, you were eavesdropping on every single word that Isaac and I shared."

"Your attempts to change the subject are pathetic," Lucas replied, obviously not fooled by my way of trying to talk about something else.

"Well, so are your attempts to find out why I saved that photo album," I retorted, feeling the need to snort something back at him.

He rolled his eyes again. "Why won't you just tell me?"

I remained silent while I moved my feet faster over the cold ground.

"Does the pictures have some sort of sentimental meaning to you, or what?" he continued. "Although, that would be kind of odd, since I don't even care much about them."

"Those photos doesn't mean anything to you?" I asked, shocked by his words. "It's the only pictures you have of your past!"

"Well, maybe I don't want to remember my past," he said in such a sudden quiet voice that I wasn't sure if it was meant for me to hear.

I pulled to a stop so that I could look clearly at him, and he quickly stopped walking, too.

"Maybe those photos don't mean a thing to you, but I don't think Isaac shares your opinion about that. And neither do I. Like I said, you can't just throw away that album – it's the only thing that can remind you of who you are…or who you were at that time."

I closed my mouth quickly when I realized how my last sentence had flown out without me thinking of it. The picture of him and Isaac standing beside each other with beautiful smiles on their lips was still lingering in my mind. And I knew for sure that I wouldn't let that photo ever disappear.

Lucas stared at me in silence for a long moment, his green eyes boring into mine with enough intensity to make me look away after only two seconds.

"We should probably keep on going," I mumbled awkwardly and turned around to hurry towards the area where Isaac had left the car.

I heard Lucas' steps behind me. "Who I was at that time?" he asked, and I could hear the amusement in his voice.

"Oh, shut up," I muttered and he chuckled quietly in response.

We walked in silence for a short while, and for a moment I wished he wouldn't open his mouth until Isaac had joined us. I felt way too awkward to be able to keep a conversation with him. And I didn't feel like talking to him at the moment.

But of course he didn't share the same feelings.

"So, where's my little brother?" he asked when the trees began to surround us.

"Out looking for you," I replied without glancing over my shoulder at him. "Unlike you, he actually has enough responsibility to search for his own brother."

"I doubt that," Lucas said in a tone that was just as bright as before. "He's out there because he has enough responsibility to save the others from his own brother."

I rolled my eyes, though he couldn't see it. "Well, at least that means he's a good person. Which is something you might want to check up on."

He scoffed something incoherently and I couldn't stop from rolling my eyes again.

"You know, you could at least be a bit grateful that he cared enough to turn back here to get you," I said, throwing a glance over my shoulder at him.

"Haven't you noticed how grateful I am?" he replied, his voice sarcastic. "I'm so happy to spend a few more hours in the car with him."

"Well, I'm not very happy about spending more time with you, but I don't complain about it," I shot back.

"Then why bother finding me?"

I shrugged, knowing he could see it. "You may be an irritating jerk who cares about nothing but himself, but you're still Isaac's brother."

He sounded amused when he said, "Part of that might be true."

"I wouldn't have said it otherwise."

I caught a glimpse of the moonlight dancing on the sleet surface of the Mercedes a second later, and I quickened my steps to see if Isaac was back there yet. The whole car came in view quickly, but to my dislike, Isaac wasn't anywhere near it.

I pressed back a sigh in my throat.

"So, what do we do now?" Lucas asked, his voice a bit closer.

Knowing the car doors would be locked, I hopped up on the front part of the car instead. "We wait," I then said, taking in the way Lucas had pulled to a stop a few feet away from me with an odd expression on his face.

"You have any idea when he'll be back?" he asked, looking around as if he was expecting to see Isaac jump out of one of the bushes.

I raised my eyebrows. "You really expect me to know how long he'll take to search for you?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "I was just asking."

I wasn't sure what to say in reply, so I just let my eyes wander away from his face while I hopefully waited to hear Isaac's steps in the woods around us. After a minute of nothing but a compact silence, though, I gave up with a sigh.

I glanced back at Lucas' face, finding him staring up at the sky with an absentminded look on his face.

"Where were you?" My words flew out before I could think of stopping them.

His eyes darted to my face and I could see the questioning look in them.

"Before you came here," I explained, knowing I wouldn't be able to lie about what I meant. "Isaac wouldn't tell me."

The realization appeared quickly in his gaze, but he didn't answer me right away. Instead he walked over to where I sat and hopped up beside me. I felt an urge to scoot away, but I didn't have the energy to do it. It wasn't until now that I realized how long it had been since I'd gotten any blood and I knew it was starting to wear off on me, though just the thought of what my body craved for made me slightly nauseous.

"It's not exactly a secret," Lucas said, turning his head to look at me while he spoke. "I don't see why Isaac didn't tell you."

"Then where were you?" I asked, sounding almost like an impatient child.

His facial expression turned severe in just the split of a second. "I was…everywhere. I went to all the places I'd been in, all the places where I'd…Where I'd killed someone."

I didn't like the answer, but instead of sitting silently, I quickly burst out, "That must have been quite a lot of places."

"Quite," he agreed with a roll of his eyes.

There was a short moment of silence before he spoke again.

"It just felt like something I had to do," he said, the graveness suddenly back in his voice.

My eyes instinctively lowered to the my hands – I was so used to do it when it became awkward that it was nearly a habit.

"I wish you were doing it for yourself," I replied more quietly.

There was no answer to that, and I sat silently for a long moment while I let my legs dangle slightly – a movement that distracted me from thinking of how steely it felt to sit beside him.

If it hadn't become so silent, I'm not sure if I would've heard the sound of footsteps as soon as I did. They came from a long distance, probably from just the beginning of the forest, but they were audible enough for me to lift my gaze to the direction it came from. But it didn't take me more than a few seconds to realize that the steps landed way too heavily on the ground to belong to a vampire.

I lifted my gaze to Lucas' face, and his eyes showed the same shock that I could feel inside of me. Even with my heightened senses, I felt confused when everything around me suddenly started swirling. I could feel a hand gripping my wrist tightly, and it was the only thing that kept me from shouting out in surprise.

It was shocking when I suddenly found myself being deeply hidden behind trees and branches, but I didn't have time to ask Lucas what was going on before he put his finger to his lips to show me to be quiet.

Obviously, I wasn't the only one who had realized that it wasn't Isaac who was coming.