The morning had started with a rush, a crowd of customers lined up to get their hair done. They were of all ages and background - a boardwalk performing here to get his mohawk tips highlighted green, a tourist here for a Brazilian blowout before her family's beach photoshoot. There were even men the age of Taylor's grandfather, who, Sherli told her, came in weekly for a trim, even if they didn't need it. It seemed like Sherli had been overbooked for a long time.

The morning went by quickly, and they closed for a late lunch around 3. By then, Taylor was inexplicably exhausted, her eyes pained from the light shining through the windows. Sherli looked at her new employee quizzically - she certainly hadn't been this worn out yesterday.

"You doin' alright, Taylor?" Sherli said. Although her voice was earnest, she avoided Taylor's eyes, crossing to one of the mirrors in the shop and to touch up her own curls. "You look a little worn down."

"Yeah," The mirror Sherli had chosen was directly in front of the store windows, and Taylor found herself unable to look at her straight on. "Just feeling a little off, I didn't get much sleep last night."

That, Taylor knew, was a flat-out lie. Last night, in her mother's old bed at Grandpa's house, she'd gotten the best sleep she had in the three days she'd been in Santa Carla. For the first time since arriving, she'd felt safe. She'd had someone to take care of her who was actually going to take care of her, unlike her mother and Michael.

"I'll run next door," Sherli smiled, patting her on the arm. "And get you something to wake you up for the next couple hours. I'm also going to grab myself a sandwich, if you want one. Do you prefer coffee or tea?"

The thought of food made Taylor's stomach churn uneasily - even her favorite foods, grilled cheese and warm soups - made her fight back an urge to release her breakfast all of the shop floor. Her lips held together in a thin line, she shook her head.

"You're too kind, Sherli." Taylor smiled at her, but her lips were still firmly together. They were fighting to hold the contents of her stomach inside of her. "I like both, for the record, but today is definitely a coffee day."

With a smile that was meant to be assuring, Sherli took off her smock and headed out the door, sure to shut it firmly behind her. Inside the saloon it was safe, and happy, which made it all too easy to forgot how hard people in the town struggled to stay afloat. Getting gas in Grandpa's Fairlane this morning, she'd spotted another billboard of missing people. While the one by the beach seemed to be for tourists, this one seemed to be focused on local disappearances, on people that lived in Santa Carla, and didn't just vacation here. There were just as many names on this one as they were on the other, and Taylor couldn't help but feel her heart sink, wondering how much of this her family and the lost boys were responsible for.

The sun, even filtered through windows, felt too bright and too violating, and she quickly retreated to Sherli's office, where there were no windows and no streaming sunlight, to wait for her evening coffee.

()()()

The sun was in the process of setting when Taylor arrived home. Only half of it was visible over the horizon, and it shared the sky with the moon. Instead of feeling exhausted, like she had all day, Taylor began to feel like she was waking up. Maybe the three cups of coffee were only just now kicking in, but she started to feel rejuvenated, excited, and antsy. Like she wanted to do something, be somewhere, and she needed to do it now.

The bikes of the lost boys were sitting in her driveway when she arrived. Only this time, they'd parked in two lines surrounding the drive, giving her enough space to maneuver the Fairlane into the carport. From a perch on the rooftop, David watched her do so uneasily, anxious about hitting one of the bikes or scratching her grandfather's beloved car. He fought back a chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" Sam said, poking his head out from his bedroom window, only a few feet away from where David was sitting. David scowled at him instinctively, about to tell him to fuck off, when Sam bravely took a step outside of his window, and onto the roof.

"Just because of what happened this morning doesn't make us friends, buddy." David said the last words bitingly, flashing his teeth at the teenager.

"I know that," Sam rolled his eyes. "But do you know what we become if you marry my sister? In-laws!"

David balked as Sam howled with quiet laughter. Despite their interaction, they were determined not to let anyone else in the house know that the two who hated each other, and Max's arrangement, the most were holding a conversation.

"Marriage? Sam, we're vampires and that's Max's thing, not mine." David sighed. "Plus, I haven't…we haven't…"

"I know, you dummy. I'm just teasing you." Sam laughed. "But it's obvious you care about her."

David avoided Sam's eyes. Usually he was a master at reading people, at figuring out what they wanted and why they were around him. With Sam, he wasn't so sure.

"Is that why you're out here? To give me some 'stay away from my sister' talk because you know Michael won't?"

"No. Besides, I don't really think I'm that intimidating to you anyway. I'm out here because I know you're the only person in this house - and I use that term loosely - who's as upset as me about what Mom and Max did to Taylor." Sam and David looked at each other, the coldness in their eyes wavering as they heard Taylor get out of the car. Their voices dropped. "David, what's going to happen to her?"

"She can be a half, for a little while. Star held out the longest of anyone, and even then it was only about a month or so before…" David trailed off, because Sam knew. Before she started to go mad, before she couldn't take it any more, and she took off and no one knew what happened to her after that. "Is there any chance that she'll accept it, that she'll feed?"

Sam shook his head. "Of course there is, but it's slim. She loves the sun, she loves people and mornings and she even loves stupid vegetables that no one else does. Mom and Max didn't think this through."

Neither one of them would say it aloud, so it remained unspoken, but both boys knew that there was a possibility that Max and Lucy might not have thought of - by turning her against her will, there was a chance they'd lose their newest daughter permanently.

David shook his head rapidly.

"I won't let that happen. I'll help her, I'll teach her, I'll - " And David believed it too. He'd seen the way she'd smirked when she stood up in the bath, revealing all of herself to him. He'd seen the way her head rolled back when he was feeding from her, desperately trying and failing to pretend that she didn't like it. And even now, he'd caught a small smile on her face when she saw how the boys had moved their bikes from the driveway, leaving room for her car to pass through.

"David," Sam interrupted. "We have to do something, but Taylor can be…difficult. She's going to reject all of this, even you, once she knows."

David's heart, which was already hard and cold and shrunken, sunk in his chest just a little more.