Richie moves swiftly, grabbing Kate before she collapses to the ground. "Kate! Kate!" He nudges her to wake up until Seth grips his arm, forcing him to pause.

"Richie, stop shaking her so goddamn hard! You're gonna hurt her."

Terrified, he looks to his brother for help. "I don't know what to do."

Seth puts his hand on Richie's shoulder, holding him close to comfort him. "We'll figure it out. Let's just get her back to the hotel first."

"I should give her some of my blood."

"No, don't!" Seth says right away. "Remember how it fucked her up the last time she had it?"

Richie shakes his head, grateful that his brother can still be rational while he seems to be falling apart. "Yeah, you're right."

"Let's get outta here," Seth says, helping him stand up.

As he carries Kate to the car, following behind Seth, fear courses through his veins, intensifying every minute. Her eyes are closed, her body fragile, and he feels utterly powerless to do anything for her, like all those times when he tried to protect Seth from their bastard of a father but failed.

Seth opens the door and helps Richie get into the back seat with Kate. "Be careful with her."

Richie nods, clinging to her while Seth moves to the driver's seat and starts the car. With Kate pressed against his chest, Richie grazes her temple, silently pleading with her to wake up. His gaze lands on his brother, noting how tightly Seth's fingers grip the steering wheel, how tense he is as he maneuvers the car through traffic. Seth may be acting calm but Richie knows well enough to realise it's just an act, probably for Richie's benefit or maybe even to assuage Seth's own worries, and that inside Seth is freaking out. When Santanico was fucking with his head years ago, Seth behaved the same way. "You think Santanico's doing this to her."

"You don't?" Seth bites out.

"What the fuck does she want with Kate?"

"I don't know, Richard, but we've got more important things to worry about right now than that bloodsucking bitch."

"Maybe Santanico is behind this but what if she isn't? What if Kate's sick? I mean, what if it's a tumour or something? We have to get her to the hospital."

"We can't take her to the fucking hospital, Richie. Think! What if someone recognises us? What happens to Kate if the cops are hauling our asses back to jail? Who's going to look out for her, protect her? We might as well hand Kate over to that bitch ourselves!" Seth says, his angry voice betraying the calm facade.

"Yeah, you're right. But we need-"

"I'll find someone to check her out, at the hotel."

Just then Kate trembles in Richie's arms, a soft moan escaping her lips. He peers at her, hoping she'll come to - she doesn't. He embraces her tightly. "She's going to be okay. She has to be, right?"

Seth casts a quick glance at Kate's unconscious body. "Right. Nothing is gonna happen to her."

Richie wishes he could believe Seth, but his brother doesn't seem to be convinced of his own words let alone reassure him.

Kate sits at the edge of the bed, watching horrified while her mom takes a knife and begins to slice her skin. There's blood everywhere, slowly filling up the ground, tainting the walls, an endless supply that never seems to end.

"Mom, please stop!" Kate begs, reaching out to help but Jennifer shoves her hand away.

Sobbing, she continues mutilating her arm.

"Why are you doing this?" Kate cries.

"I have to. It's the only way I can be at peace."

"How?" Kate demands. "You're hurting yourself, can't you see that?"

"This doesn't hurt as much as what you've done to me."

"What are you talking about?"

Her mom locks eyes with her and a piercing rush of fear runs through Kate's spine. Jennifer's eyes are pitch black, and a cold menacing smile curves across her face. "I died to protect you but I shouldn't have. I should have killed you instead."

She lunges at Kate, knife in hand.

The blade cuts through her skin like knife into butter, the pain so sharp Kate cries out in agony. And then, suddenly, she's lying on the beach, staring up at the stormy sky. She's still bleeding, hurting from the open wound, and as hard as she tries to take the knife out of her body, she can't. It doesn't shift, permanently attached to her.

"Here. Let me help you with that, pumpkin."

"Daddy!" she cries, tears of relief and joy burning her eyes.

Jacob pulls the blade out of her effortlessly and helps her sit up. No longer gushing blood, she feels safe once again. Loved and protected, like her daddy always made her feel. She rests her head on Jacob's shoulder, both sitting on the sand and watching the storm that's drawing threateningly close.

This all feels so familiar, like they've shared this moment time and time again.

Jacob takes her hand and brings it to his lips, pressing a loving kiss on her palm. "I miss you, Katie-Cakes."

"I do too, Daddy. So, so much."

"How's Scott?"

Guilt floods over her. "I don't know. I can't find him."

Her father gives her an affectionate smile. "When we brought him home, you were so jealous. You hated all the attention we paid him."

"I don't remember that."

"Doesn't mean it's not true."

Confused by his words, she peers at him closely but Jacob turns his attention back to the storm. The wind is howling, screeching actually, the air cold and gusty as rain pours down on them.

Jacob takes off his jacket and wraps it around her, holding her tight in his arms. "I never wanted to adopt, you know. I wanted a little boy who looked like me, or maybe my pa."

"But I thought you said you always planned to adopt."

He shrugs his shoulders. "You learn to lie, and then you convince yourself the lie is the real truth. It's the only way to cover up the disappointment when your kid turns out to be a monster."

A strange feeling creeps up in her stomach. She can't quite explain it, only that something doesn't feel quite right.

"But your mama was determined not to have another kid. She said you were enough, that passing her genes onto you was a mistake to begin with. I never really knew what she was talking about. Until, you know, she went crazy."

"Mama thought I was a mistake?" Kate asks, her voice trembling with tears.

"She thought you had her devil in you." He tucks his finger under her chin, smiling at her warmly. "Guess she was right."

"Don't say that!"

"Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve my fate. But then I remember, I pressured my Jenny into having you. I forced her to bring you into this world and in turn it destroyed her. For that, I deserve to rot in hell."

"You don't mean that, Daddy!"

"I love you, Katie-Cakes. I always will." His eyes are loving, gentle, tugging at her heart. "But you're an abomination. You should never have been. And because of me, Jenny paid the price. She always knew you would turn out to be a whore, a filthy dirty whore. Just like she was before I met her."

Suddenly it all clicks, everything makes sense again. In one swift move she takes the bloody knife from the sand and drives it into her father's heart. Bruised and bleeding, he stares up at her in shock. "Honey?"

"You're not my father."

"Please don't do this, honey," he begs, pleading with her.

"I don't know what you are, and I don't care." She pushes the knife in deeper. "But you never, ever get to call me a whore again. And you definitely don't ever get to say nasty things about my family."

"You're making a mistake."

"No, I'm not." The storm is gone, the sky clears up. And she feels free again, like a burden has been lifted from her shoulders. "My dad was the most wonderful person in this world. And he loved me, and mama and Scott. He would never say the things you just did. You're not him! You're just pretending to be him."

Her father's body morphs and transforms into a gruesome creature, something about it oddly familiar. Kate steps back, but she isn't afraid. Not anymore. The creature flaps its wings, gives her a threatening smile.

"Stay away from them, Kate."

"Them? Who?" She feels a gentle sensation in her hand, like someone's squeezing her palm. "Seth and Richie?"

The creature's eyes narrow.

It dawns on Kate that the monster looks almost afraid. "Why?"

"Do as I say, or you'll regret it."

"Don't threaten me. I'm not afraid of you."

"You'll pay the price, and so will your brother."

Kate wakes up with a start, heart pounding heavily in her chest. It's dark, her surroundings strange and unfamiliar, and it takes her a second to realise that she's not in her hotel room but someone else's. The sound of something breaking brings her out of her docile state and she slides out of the bed, silent on her feet. Grabbing one of her heels from the floor, pointy side up, she tiptoes to the bathroom. The door is slightly ajar, and she can see someone hunched over the sink.

Seth.

His hand is bleeding, the mirror in front of him shattered in places. It looks like he deliberately punched the mirror, and she knows instinctively he would only be frustrated enough to do that if something happened to Richie.

"Seth, what's wrong? Where's Richie?"

He turns around, startled, staring at her.

"What happened to him? Is he okay?" she asks, throwing her shoe to the ground.

He remains quiet, still watching her like a hawk.

"Say something!" she bites out, rushing over to him.

He finally speaks. "You're fucking unbelievable, you know that?"

Before she can respond, he pulls her close and captures her mouth in a rough, desperate kiss.