That was another moment in my life when time didn't make sense. I lost perception completely, both from the frenzy in my mind and from the physical pain I was feeling. I couldn't say how long Luke stood there in the middle of the night, in that stone-paved little street, staring at me completely dumbfounded. He stood perfectly still for long enough that anyone passing by could think he froze in place or maybe that he was another statue, like we had so many in that city. When he finally moved he ran his fingers through his hair and turned his back on me.

"I need to take you to your parents."

"Fuck, Luke, the hell you will. I need to get moving ."

I shoved past him and to my surprise even in my state I managed to move him aside though I was so much shorter and lighter than him. Desperation really does make wonders.

"You're not well, Ma. You have been going downhill ever since that bastard attacked you, you need to recover from that. You are not letting yourself heal and it's fucking up your head."

I kept walking as fast as my body let me and he began walking by my side, all the while trying to talk sense into me.

"Please, listen to me. Better yet, listen to yourself ."

I can't do this right now, I have to get the fuck out of here.

"You don't have to believe me, you just need to come with me or let me go. There are no other options, I will not back down from this. You don't know what I've seen, you can't judge me."

He seemed ready to fight me again so I spoke before he could.

"Come with me or go back. Choose."

He cursed under his breath, keeping up with my pace so he was still right by my side as we talked. He never stopped, he decided to go with me.

"I can't let you leave by yourself as you are" he repeated more to convince himself than me, "I can't, you're all hurt and totally out of your mind."

I refrained from telling him to go fuck himself. Hearing I was crazy for thinking Alec was a vampire was starting to really get on my nerves.

"You never told me why you kissed him" Luke suddenly changed the subject. "If you don't like him and think he is dangerous, what happened?"

I had not the slightest inclination to discuss that matter at that specific time but since I was dragging him along and risking his life I forced myself to think about it through the fog in my head to answer carefully and honestly.

"I do like him" I admitted "but I am also scared shitless of him. He had been nothing but perfectly nice up until that point. I was very upset and confused when it happened, it was right after the guy cornered me when I left the bar."

"Right after?"

"Yes. Alec found me right as it happened."

"He was following you?"

"Yes."

He cursed a bit more. I didn't risk a glance at him, afraid that if I stopped walking I wouldn't find the strength to start again but he was obviously having a hard time assimilating everything I was disclosing to him.

"So he found me" I went on "and stayed with me all through the night. When I left the police station he was waiting for me. I was really frightened and stressed and I don't know what happened..." I sighed to regain control of myself because my words started coming out on their own. "He was there and he comforted me and I guess I got confused."

"Jesus Christ, Marina. I feel ridiculous saying this because look at him " he let out a joyless laugh. "But he a hundred percent took advantage of you."

I was the one to laugh then.

"Are you saying he seduced me?"

"You were very clearly vulnerable..."

That sounded utterly ridiculous.

"Luke, don't try to find excuses for me. I fucked up, I take responsibility for it. If you want to forgive me that is another thing, it doesn't mean that I didn't make a mistake."

He grunted but didn't press on.

"As I told you, after that I apologised and said I shouldn't have done it etcetera" I was getting out of breath from walking so quickly and talking so much at the same time "and he got really mad. He told me to leave you or he would kill you slowly and painfully."

"He really said that?"

"These were his words exactly."

"This is surreal. Completely unbelievable. And still you believed him."

I could finally see the street where the bus station was located and thanked God with an exhausted whisper. I could barely wait to collapse on top of my seat and pass out until we reached the capital.

"He is dangerous, I know that. I was terrified for you."

He stopped walking again and I almost screamed in frustration because we were so close , but he did it to hold me in another tight hug and I allowed myself to enjoy it for a little.

"Nothing is going to happen to either of us," he promised. "You are letting him get to your head, we will be just fine. But I will keep you company until you realise that."

I crushed him when I hugged him back but he didn't complain. I felt Alec's necklace weighing me down like an anchor from the pocket where I put it in my backpack and I thought about how I had been letting myself sink into his obscure trap since the first word he spoke to me in front of my house all those weeks before. I wondered if he would be sad that I left or just annoyed and if he was missing me at all.

I felt really fucking unlucky.

Luke wouldn't let me try to board any plane to another country. We made it to BH and then to the international airport but he kept reasoning that it would be irresponsible of him to let me leave the country in the state I was in. I couldn't blame him but I did it anyway, if only just a little. He never told on me to my parents, I have to give him credit for that.

We lost about two hours discussing where to go and he finally conceded that we could go to Rio and wait a few days before doing anything else. I knew he wanted me to get better, calm down and see that I was being unreasonable but I warned him to not really expect that to happen. It was much more likely that they would find us but I tried not to think of that.

We stayed downtown in hopes of easily blending in with all the people and to be close to an airport in case we suddenly needed to catch another flight. I considered getting rid of my phone because of the risk of it getting tracked but that ended up in another two hour long discussion with Luke.

I did start to get better and to calm down eventually.

The very first 24 hours were awful. I couldn't think of anything besides keep moving and Luke had to constantly make an effort to keep me grounded. After getting through that first day and not having anyone show up to slaughter us I relaxed a little bit and we went out to see the city in the afternoon.

We went to Cinelandia to see the Municipal Theatre and walked around holding hands. It was so nostalgic and felt so perfectly mundane that it made me think that maybe I was exaggerating a little bit. Maybe I had blown everything out of proportion and we should just head back when that day was over. I would wait a few more hours and we could go back home and there would be no-one waiting for us. Maybe Alec had given up or none of them cared enough to really chase after me.

We were right in front of the theatre when I admitted that to Luke and I had never seen him so relieved.

" Of course you did" he nearly rolled his eyes at me. "You were not in your right mind, you couldn't possibly think straight or make any decisions. That was exactly what I tried to show you."

"Yeah, I see it now. I'm sorry I dragged you along in this."

He smiled at me, his face showing some lightness for the first time since I saw him in my room to break the news that wrecked us so much.

"Let's go back, right? This evening, please."

I nodded and smiled back at him.

"Let's enjoy the city just a little longer. I can't remember the last time I have been here."

He agreed and we made our way around the square, walking slowly and appreciating the architecture of the buildings. We went inside some of them but I didn't want to stay out in the streets for too long.

"Are you scared of walking around in the dark?" Luke mocked me when I voiced that thought.

"If I am?"

"Ma, I don't want to offend you or anything but since you realised you were being crazy about all this I have to ask" he paused to give me a concerned look. "You know vampires are not real, right?"

I sighed heavily.

"I know" I lied. "It's still a big city and I don't want to risk anything."

That seemed enough for him.

When the sun began to set on the horizon I urged him to go back to the airport. He happily agreed but made a point of hitting a Starbucks first.

"We don't have that back home, let me appreciate the little things this mad adventure can offer me."

"There is one inside the airport."

"This one is right here . Jesus, just hold on for a few minutes. If the vampires appear, scream for me."

I laughed and watched him go inside. I felt much lighter in many ways compared to when I passed by his house. I didn't rest much but I napped every time we were inside a vehicle and I put my mind to rest for a little while. I could feel my head clearing up and felt able to see much better through the faint remains of the fog that had taken over it.

I sat on a bench in front of the Starbucks at the square glancing around to see how safe it was at that moment. There was a patrolling car near me so I felt it was enough to take a quick look at Alec's necklace.

It was such a conflicting feeling. I wanted to see him again because I missed him every time I thought of the nice boy that quietly kept me company for so many weeks. I held most of my memories of him very fondly, I had stressed out so much about him. I did really like him and much more than I should, in fact. Then I also couldn't help but feel tricked, like he lied to me to some extent to gain my trust, hiding his true face so he could lead me into a trap.

I wanted to see him again, I admitted to myself. I missed talking to him, seeing him, touching him. What I also admitted to myself was that it wasn't wise to do so. What I needed to do was very different from what I wanted to do and I needed to stay away from him. He probably had no real feelings for me after all, he was most likely performing his job in the most effective way and that way happened to be by trying to get me through my heart.

It really was a ridiculously easy way, the wretched thing was made of butter.

I held the pendant of the necklace without taking it out of its place in my bag while I contemplated all of that. I held it carefully for its apparent value but also for the sentimental load it carried. A single teardrop made its way down my cheek to hit the crest and I heard a voice from my left as I sniffed softly.

"How adorable."

I turned to the girl that spoke, who was sitting right by my side on the bench and felt the blood leave my face at the sight of her.

She was definitely Alec's sister. She looked just like him.

"You don't have to miss him anymore," she informed me gleefully, "we are here to take you home."

I looked around and noticed the sun had set while I waited for Luke. I lost track of time once again . I held back a curse and tried to look at the big clock in the middle of the square. Luke had been gone for over half an hour. The lines in the store tended to be long at certain times so I tried not to jump to the worst conclusions.

Do not freak out, you don't know what they are capable of doing.

I turned back to the girl.

"I'm Marina" I offered in the most polite tone I could accomplish under pressure. She chuckled, the clear sound made her even more lovely.

"I know. I am Jane."

My breath was already becoming erratic. I noticed she had the same dark eyes as Alec's and asked myself if they wore lenses, if their eyes were all bright red. Her hair was a lighter colour compared to his but they looked extremely similar in every other way.

"Nice to meet you, Jane" I nearly whispered, afraid my voice could betray me. "Where is Alec?"

"Can't wait to see him?" She asked playfully. "Don't worry, he will be with you soon. I just could not wait to meet you, I was really looking forward to it."

My heart was loud in my chest as I thought of both Luke and Alec being nearby but nowhere in my sight. Jane could clearly tell where my mind went to, because she smiled reassuringly and took my free hand in hers.

Her skin was just as cold as her brother's.

"And what do you think so far?" I inquired.

Making conversation with a vampire while another one is possibly killing Luke, God what am I trying to do?

"You're pretty enough" she conceded nonchalantly as her eyes appraised me carefully. "Well-mannered and soft-spoken just like Alec said. Older than I thought you would be."

I tried not to laugh at her last assessment.

She took the necklace from me without letting go of my other hand. I started to feel like fidgeting because of her touch but she wouldn't release it.

"You do feel for him" she commented as she contemplated the object for a moment "or you wouldn't have brought this with you." She then looked at me. "Why try to escape?"

The words left my mouth before I could help myself, so quietly that for a second it seemed she wouldn't hear me.

"Because you are vampires."

But she did hear me.

"You do know."

I was so tired. I wanted to be rid of all the weight I had been carrying. As soon as I thought the load had gotten lighter Jane found me and I felt awfully tense again. I just wanted it to be over, I wanted to stop bearing that shadow. I met her eyes and spoke a little louder, very clearly.

"I have known since I first saw Alec."

"How very clever of you." She spoke to me kindly but with a hint of condescension, as if I was a well-behaved child. I tried not to think of how old they really were. "And how did you know?"

"I could see the real colour of his eyes from where I stood."

"And you just thought he was a vampire right away." She smiled. "What are the chances?"

What were the chances, really? Any normal person would have doubted themselves and shaken it off. It had to be me right there.

"I hope you didn't tell anyone. It's a secret." She winked.

I shivered under her gaze, thinking of the implications of my previous actions. She gave me back the necklace and stood up, releasing my hand and looking at something I could not see in the distance. Luke went back into my mind.

"My friend has not returned."

Jane hummed.

"You should go look for him, then." She seemed pensive as she said it but I could tell she was mocking me again. "Perhaps you will bump into Alec while you search for him. Who knows?"

I stared at her in shock. She was looking in the direction of a certain alleyway so without even thinking about what I was doing I ran right into that alley.

So much for being clever.