Oye Linda!"

"Bonita, Bonita. Que tal?"

Kate ignores the catcalls from the drunken group of guys outside of the bar and keeps moving toward the motel. Their voices grow increasingly closer, she can hear them following her. Two weeks ago she would have already had her gun out and pointed at them; now, she keeps walking. Truthfully, she's not even sure if there's a weapon in her bag.

Suddenly a pair of hands grip her arm tightly, yanking her around. There are two men leering at her, their intent clear on their faces. To them she's something to be used and discarded, and instantly she regrets her previous ambivalence. Following her instincts she knees the one closest to her in the groin, shoves the other, and then starts running. Fear rushes through her as they chase her down the road, yelling things at her she doesn't understand.

All of a sudden, it goes deathly quiet. There are no more footsteps following behind her.

She looks over her shoulder, and is stunned to discover both men on the ground, their bodies twisted into mangled shapes. Slowing down, she comes to a stop. Her heart is pounding in her chest, she struggles to catch her breath.

"I never took you for an idiot, Kate."

She looks up to find Richie standing a few feet away, watching her with contempt. Anger rages in his eyes, a dark storm threatening to erupt.

"There are vampires after you, hunters stalking your every move. And you decide to go on a midnight stroll without any weapons?"

Filled with mixed emotions, she stares at him silently.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Kate?"

He's mad, agitated, but it pales in comparison to how she's feeling. How dare he speak to her like that? After all the stupid things he's done? Richie and his brother have turned her world upside-down repeatedly, and just when she thought she'd found some stability, a semblance of a real life again, Seth took off, leaving her completely lost and alone in this world.

The pain that runs through her is sharp, almost paralysing, a physical manifestation of the devastating heartbreak that haunts her. She grips the sides of her waist, takes a deep breath in.

"Are you okay?" Richie asks, his voice much softer now.

"I'm fine!" Clenching her teeth through the pain, she watches him angrily. Even in this heat he's dressed impeccably in a suit, like he's about to do a cover shoot for a magazine. He's untroubled, coasting through an undead existence with the love of his life, while Kate's entire world is spiralling out of control and falling apart. Bitterness flows through her, the sensation so strong it burns her throat, her heart, and she wants to scream, yell, anything to end this agonizing hurt.

"Really? Then why do you have a death wish?"

"That's none of your business, is it?"

"What are you still doing here?" Richie demands, closing some of the distance between them. "I thought you would have left Mexico by now."

"And go where exactly?" she fires back. "I don't have a home anymore, remember? Or a family. I thought I had Seth, and even he took off. But I guess you know that already, don't you?"

Guilt flashes across his face, but it's quickly replaced with irritation. "It's not safe for you here."

She scoffs. "I don't care." Arms crossed over her chest, she walks past him, ignoring the piercing glare of his eyes.

"Kate," he calls her name.

She quickens her stride.

"Kate!"

She ignores him, keeping her attention focused straight ahead when he catches up to her in a matter of seconds.

"I know you're hurting right now-"

She shoves him hard, filled with terrifying rage. "Don't you dare pretend like you know what I'm feeling, what I'm going through! You have no fucking clue what it's like to be all alone. You've always had Seth, and now you have your stupid stripper girlfriend. Me? My mom preferred dying than being alive for us, I killed my father, and my brother..." Her voice cracks. "Scott would rather be a soulless vampire than be with his family!" Tears streak down her face; she feels overcome by despair. Her body starts trembling, no matter how hard she tried to remain calm. "All I had left in this world was Seth. He was everything to me. And even he left."

Richie attempts to put his arms around her, console her, but she struggles against him, pushing him away, hitting him.

Silent but firm, he overpowers her to hold her tight in his arms, hugging her tightly until she's too exhausted to fight back.

It's a long time before her body stops shaking with rage, before she can actually breathe without breaking into sobs. His fingers run through her hair, tugging gently, his lips graze her forehead, and she finds herself leaning into him, returning his embrace.

"I'm the one who convinced him to leave," Richie confesses after a long time.

She pulls away. Even though his words don't really come as a surprise, not after pondering over every possible reason Seth could have left, it still hurts like hell.

"With you he's a constant target, his life will always be in danger, and I can't have that." There's no uncertainty in Richie's words. He doesn't regret what he did, not at all. "I have to keep him safe, and the only way to do that is to keep him away from you."

She stares up at him blankly. "Then why are you here? If I'm such a threat, then why don't you stay the fuck away from me?"

His face is an empty canvas, free of any emotions.

"You think you're the only one who loves Seth? You're not. I love him too," she whispers.

"Then you should be happy he's gone."

"Fuck you!" she snaps at his condescending tone.

"Are you in love with him?"

She averts her gaze, suddenly finding it very hard to breathe.

"Are you?" he probes again.

She replies with the most honest answer she's capable of. "Probably."

"Do you love me?"

Her gaze narrows at him. "You have no right to ask me that."

"But I'm asking. Do you love me?"

"No."

The air is thick with tension, his blue eyes penetrating right through to her core.

"You're a fucking liar."

Richie fists the back of her hair and pulls her close against him.