Kate opened the door to her house and was met with her mother glaring at her. "I asked you to take these boxes to your room before you left."

Kate sighed. "Sorry Mom." Balancing two boxes and her guitar case, she walked to the bedroom she had claimed and gently set the boxes down on the rug. Closing the door, she looked around the room again. It seemed clean enough, but her mother would make her disinfect every square inch. Sitting down on the floor, she opened the first box. Clothes. They would have to be washed before being worn. Kate pushed the box away and grabbed the other one. Tearing the tape off the top, she looked inside. A bunch of journals and photo albums laid on top of her CD collection. Leaving the CD's in the box, she pulled out the journals. Running her hand over the leather cover, she debated whether she should read them or not. She had written in these journals when she had been having a hard time. Before her mother had gotten help. Before a lot of things happened. Kate tossed the journals aside, frowning to herself.

What was the point of bringing back bad memories? She had every chance of making a new start soon. In a few months she would be eighteen and she could leave, go anywhere she pleased. Kate stood and pulled out a rumpled pair of pajamas from the clothes box. After changing, she turned off the lights and went to the window. The shadow of the house on the hill loomed over the community like a monster ready to attack its victim. Kate stared at the house for a few more minutes then laid down in the bed, pulling the comforter her mom had brought in over her body.

Four hours later, Kate awoke suddenly. Throwing the blanket off herself, Kate sat on the edge of her bed. The elderly voice from her dream still echoed in her head. 'You must take care of him or the monsters will get him. Don't make the mistake others have made. Leave him be where he is.'

Kate squinted into the darkness, trying to make sense of the weird instructions. If she was supposed to take care of someone how could she leave that person be? There was no way to look out for someone without getting involved in their life. Kate laid back down. It was just a dream. There was no need to over analyze anything.

The next morning, Kate woke up at eight and threw all her clothes into the washing machine in the basement. She had hoped to escape breakfast, but, in typical Mari Grant fashion, her mother had gone all out and cooked a feast. Kate sat across from Tom and watched her mother pile food onto her plate. Pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, all perfectly browned, lay steaming before her. Kate stared down at the food. How was she supposed to finish this? If she didn't her mother would think she didn't like the food. Gingerly picking up her fork, Kate stabbed a piece of sausage and took a small bite.

Mari sat across the table from her husband. "So, what are everyone's plans for today?"

Her three children just shrugged and continued to eat. Mari pursed her lips and then smiled at her husband. "Are you excited about work, Shawn?"

Her husband nodded and took a drink of coffee before standing. He kissed his wife and nodded to his kids. "I'm be home around six, Mari."

"Alright, dear. We'll have dinner at six thirty then. Have a nice day!"

Kate took this opportunity and stood, covering her half-eaten plate from her mother's view. "That was good, Mom."

She walked into the kitchen and threw the rest of her food away. Going down into the basement, she grabbed her clothes out of the dryer and went back up to her room. She grabbed a few hangers out of her parents' room and started hanging up her clothes. A quiet knock interrupted her thoughts. She turned. Justine stood in the doorway.

"What's up," Kate asked, surprising herself at the happy tone she had adopted. Justine walked into the room and sat on Kate's bed.

"Nothing." Kate looked up at her sister. Justine was almost thirteen. As if being that age wasn't hard enough, she had had to deal with her family's problems and a sudden move. Kate smiled at her sister. Justine was the only normal one in the family, she had decided years ago. Finished with her clothes, Kate sat next to her sister. "Look, I know it's really shitty that we had to move but you'll fit in fine. Don't be nervous. By the time school comes around, you'll be one of the most popular kids on the block."

Justine smiled and stood up. "Thanks Kate." She walked out of the room. For some reason, Kate always knew what to say to make Justine feel better. She wished Tom was as easy to get along with as Justine.

An hour later, Kate was stepping out of the shower and into a freshly washed outfit. A brisk knock on the door interrupted her hair brushing. "Kate, there is someone at the door for you."

Kate wondered who it was. She didn't know a single person in town. Well, except for Edward and she really didn't know him at all. Kate walked through the living room to the front door. Standing behind the screen was a tall, muscular guy in a letterman jacket. "Can I help you," Kate asked.

The slow smile that appeared on the boys face made Kate uneasy. "I was just coming by to welcome my new neighbors. If I had heard a girl as pretty as you lived here, I would have been here when you pulled into the driveway."

Kate raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you would have."

"By the way, my name is Mark Baker. My parents, Jim and Kelli, live a few blocks over. I'm having a party, a sort of beginning of summer thing. I was hoping you'd like to come."

"She'd love to." Kate turned, her eyes as big as saucers. "MOM!"

Mari smiled matronly at her daughter, then at Mark. "She's just a little shy."

"I am NOT shy!"

"She'll be at your party, Mark. When did you say it was?"

Mark flashed another annoyingly confident smile at Kate. "Tomorrow at three. I can pick Kate up, if it's ok with you, Mrs. Grant."

"Oh, it's perfectly alright! See, Katey, I knew you'd make friends quickly."

Kate's blood pressure rose another few notches as she struggled to ignore the urge to strangle her mother and slap this Mark kid. "Yup. That you did."