Rey wasn't exactly sure how she had gotten home. She didn't have her phone, and her purse had gotten lost in the shuffle. Maybe it was Ren that had made sure she got home without any further bruising, but he didn't follow her. The sun was out, and Rey was beginning to realize why he did all of his business at night. When she stood in front of her apartment, she tried to remember the code for the door. It came to her out of muscle memory, and she sighed when she was allowed into the small, empty studio. She was still wearing Ren's shirt, and she quickly lifted it up and over her head and tossed it into the trash.

She hoped it would be as easy as taking a shower and throwing away a piece of his clothing, but she realized she might be fooling herself.

The apartment felt as if someone had been there, but there was no evidence to suggest that. It just had an air of being moved or shifted in some way. She tugged off what was left of her underwear, realizing that there would be no saving it. She threw it away before streaking into the bathroom, turning the water on in the shower as hot as it would possibly go.

She sat down, feeling the full brunt of the events pressing against her. She tried to recount them all with some sort of logic, but every time she went over them in her mind they became more and more strange. Ren kept pushing against her consciousness, despite her obvious attempts to avoid thinking about him at all...he was always there. She kept thinking about what he'd said. I can't.

She pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them. She pressed her face into the crook of her elbow, feeling the hot water pelt her from above. She tried to refocus her thoughts on anything else. What was she going to do about a job? What was she going to do about school? Hilda had been killed, but she felt sure there were others, others that would come for her eventually.

She felt the need to get out of the city. It became so overwhelming that she became sure that it might have been the only solution to this problem. She felt like she had to pull Ren out of her body like sucking poison from a snake bite. The more she thought about him, the more she ached for him, a deep sort of want that Rey had yet to experience for anyone else, ever before. Finally, she got up and finished her shower, deciding that she couldn't stay still. She had to take some sort of action.

She wondered if he was feeling the same sort of ache.

She had to think that he was not.

She wrapped her towel around herself and released a sob, and once it was done, it was over. The tears and the whimpering came rushing out. All of the fear and the upset of the last few weeks overtook her, and she cried until her eyes were puffy and her nose was swollen painfully. Rey realized she hadn't cried this much in her life, ever. When she was done, she submerged her face into a sink full of cold water and tried to revive herself. It worked, somewhat, and she was able to get dressed in a clean pair of clothes.

Strangely, the first t-shirt she had reached for was a graphic tee of one of her favorite vampire movies. She shoved it down into the bottom of the drawer and found another, painted with a graphic of an old style bicycle. She realized her bike was gone, too, trapped within the SoloTech building. She couldn't go back there, she wouldn't go back there.

She pulled her old, cracked phone out and turned it on. She used the wifi calling to call the phone company, requesting that they switch it back. There would be no recovering the phone that she had lost in the theater. Once the service was switched back over, a steady stream of text messages started coming in. A lot of them were from Rose. There were a few from Poe, who seemed genuinely concerned that she hadn't replied to him. She wondered how long she had been asleep.

She called Rose first. Rose was obviously very glad to hear from her at first, but then it turned to anger when Rey couldn't provide a logical explanation for where she'd been. There was no way she could tell Rose what had happened, and she found herself stuck between the need to tell the truth and the want to avoid lying to her. She said nothing at all, simply allowing Rose to vent at her before she blustered herself out. Rey apologized, saying she would never do it again. Rey had wanted to ask Rose if she could come stay with her, but something gave her pause. If these things followed her, she would only be putting her friend in danger. Without Ren, who knew what would happen. It seemed he had saved her life, loathe as she was to admit it.

When the call was over with, it had gotten later in the day and she sent a quick text to Poe: Sorry I didn't reply, I've been super sick. I'm really sorry to make you concerned. Poe responded a few minutes later, saying that he was glad she was okay. He offered his assistance if there was anything he could do for her. She put her phone down and looked out the window. The world had once been bright to her, but now she was scared. She was scared of going out into it. Who knew what would happen?

Maybe Ren hadn't done her a favor at all. Maybe he had been selfish.

Where would she go?

She thought about her foster parents, but it presented the same problem that it did with Rose. She couldn't talk to Finn and Poe, they might think she was insane. The world had changed significantly after the knowledge of the creeping, dark monsters of fable did really exist. Finally, she resolved to go outside. She gathered up an old purse that she hadn't been using, shoving what she could gather and what was left of her belongings into it. She found her old ATM card shoved into a drawer in her desk. She was thankful for it, at least she would be able to pull out some money.

She put on a dark hoodie and a pair of black sneakers and went out into the night. She pulled the hoodie up, hoping to hide her features. She must have looked terrible, but she didn't care. She had to do something. She stopped at an ATM that stood inside of the grocery store down the street. She pulled out all of the money she could, thinking she might need it for the bus ride. Every time she turned around, she thought she caught a glimpse of Ren.

At first, she thought it was that he was following her, but then she realized she was seeing him everywhere, in everything. It wasn't him. It wasn't ever him, but her brain seemed to want it to be. She rubbed her temples, feeling a burgeoning headache coming on. It was probably a mixture of the crying and the situation. Each time she turned around she thought she saw him, his deep brown eyes and the strange constellation of his face.

She remembered what he'd said. I can't.

She found her face growing hot as she realized she'd tossed herself at him and he'd denied her. It was confusing, the sudden change in them both. Here she was, wanting so fiercely, and he had turned her down after telling her that he wanted to see more of her. She wondered at it. She wondered if it had to do something with ingesting his blood. She thought about going back and demanding answers, but the thought of being so near to him seemed unbearable.

By the time she had made it to the bus station, she had made up her mind about where she wanted to go.

The bus station was creepy. Rey paid for a ticket and boarded her bus, which would take her upstate. She found a seat in the very back where she could keep an eye one everyone that came and went, setting a backpack full of things beside her. It had a few of her clothes, her phone, and the money she'd pulled out of the bank. She wasn't sure if she would ever come back to the city at that point, so she took what she felt was most necessary with her.

Luke had been a friend of her foster mothers. He had always felt like a part of the family, and he had told her when she left that she could come stay with him any time. She had never seen a need to, up until that point. It seemed to be a temporary solution. Luke had a big compound in the middle of the woods. He rescued senior animals that had been neglected or left by people who could not or did not want to take care of them. He was independently wealthy, meaning that he had enough money to do whatever he wanted; which was a senior dog care facility. He had employees and the dogs had their own house. There was a lot of land for them to run, and occasionally he would foster odd animals here and there.

Rey thought he would let her stay for a few weeks, and maybe even allow her to work. She would need to do something if she was going to try and keep her mind off of Ren. She was glad when the bus driver boarded and they were on their way. She called Luke, finding that he still didn't answer his phone, but she left a message to let him know that she was coming. She was sure he wouldn't mind, but she wanted to call anyway. She made herself comfortable in her bus seat. She hoped that the more distance that she put between her and the vampire, the more she could be herself again.

She fell asleep against the window, her bag clutched tightly against her chest.

The vampire was somewhere nearby, though each time she thought she caught a glimpse of him he seemed to dissipate into smoke and gold. She followed after him in a place that seemed only gray. There were no buildings, no wildlife. It was just Rey in her pursuit of a man she was currently running from. She smelled the light, clean scent of his cologne. She caught sight of his dark hair and beneath, his strange eyes. On his face there was a smirk indicating a level of smugness. She wanted to hit him. She wanted to kiss him.

Suddenly, he was there all at once. Solid, and she reached out for him. She felt the fabric of his clothing beneath her fingertips so lucidly it was difficult to tell if it was a dream or not. His hands were everywhere, making her oversensitive to the shock of his touch. He kissed her, this time, like he meant it - not like he was slowly drifting away into smoke.

The moment turned as quickly as it had when he'd appeared. She saw the glint of his fangs, ivory white and sharper than any humans teeth had a right to be. He opened his mouth, sinking his fangs into the curve of her shoulder. She felt the warmth of her blood bubble up, staining his lips red and filling the air with a faint scent of rust. It was horrifying how she didn't feel horrified. She had expected pain, but there was none, just the pleasure pulsing steadily downward, right down to her toes.

When he pulled back, she felt woozy and he grasped her. She saw that same, smug smile on his face, and when he spoke, his words were muggy. Finally, she understood what he'd said:

You are mine.

She woke up with his name on her lips, and she gasped it out with what could only be described as confusion and something far more embarrassing. When she opened her eyes, she realized that the entire occupancy of the bus had turned around and was looking at her. Some looked outright surprised, some looked concerned, and some looked intrigued. Rey's face got so hot she had to fight the urge to lift her hands up and cover it.

She pulled her hood tightly over her face and sunk down into her seat. Eventually people began turning back around, going back to whatever it was they had been doing previously. She heard a small ding on her phone and she pulled it out of her back, swiping it open with a small clicking noise.

She saw it was from Asshole, and she realized it was Ren.

Rey, I'm concerned for you.

And then another.

Can I see you?

It was unlike him to ask, but she didn't respond, angrily shoving the phone back into her bag. She wasn't sure she would ever be able to forgive him for doing this to her, filling her full of all of this awful craving. It was being thirsty and never being able to get enough water.

She ignored any further texts from him, and though he didn't send many, he seemed to get the message after a few attempts. He didn't continue trying, which disappointed her a bit, but she couldn't have trusted her own emotions at that moment, so she did her best just to ignore them. They were a roller coaster, after all. The bus ride was long, and Rey was cautious about falling asleep again. She couldn't even trust that, not after what had happened.

When she got off of the bus at the bus station, it was nearly morning. She was surprised to find Luke waiting there for her.

The last time she had seen Luke, she had been a young girl and his face had been youthful. He had aged, and he'd sprouted a long beard and a gray mop of hair that was so common to all of his grizzly woodsy counterparts. He was wearing plaid, and a pair of boots that were caked in mud, as if he'd walked all the way there. He had a beat up old cruiser that he'd probably found in a salvage yard, and quietly he took her bags from her and helped her into the car.

They were silent on the ride, she found it refreshing that Luke didn't really require a reason why she was there, and he seemed to realize that something was bothering her. He was never one to pry unless it was warranted, however. She was tired, and she thought maybe tomorrow she would try to explain it to him.

The night was cold, and she could feel winter creeping through the trees. The ground was all decay and slush, and the leaves had all completed their change of color and fallen from the skeletal branches of the trees. Rey looked out of the window, up into the sky, tracing the high flying trees with her gaze. Luke turned the heater on, which smelled like it hadn't been used in awhile, and turned the radio station to the local talk station. Rey perked up when she heard the man talking about the city.

Lots of strange goings on it the city these days, from a murder/suicide at the tech giant SoloTech to an old theater burning to the ground just a few days later...

Luke glanced at Rey before flipping the station to some old country music. She leaned back into her seat, and they were quiet for the rest of the ride. Luke had probably been shelter for a lot of foster kids. He had the means and the wherewithal to do so. Rey was thankful for him, considering she still didn't feel comfortable asking her foster parents for any sort of help. He was always willing to help where he could, and it was nice to have some place to go when things got difficult.

The ride out to the ranch was a long one, and it sat way far back in the woods. They crept down a thoroughly dark lane covered with swooping trees and Rey could hear the howl of the wind as it pushed against the car. Finally, when they came upon the large house, it had begun to flurry. The house had a warm, yellow glow, and Rey imagined there were probably fires. Fires and puppies. It sounded good to her.

"Snow's coming," Luke said in his gruff, crabby tones. "Better get inside,"

Rey helped him grab her bags and followed him in. He kicked his boots on the stoop and took them off once he was inside. He was wearing those thick, wool socks, and Rey realized she might not have brought warm enough clothing to be out here. Her boots probably wouldn't stand up against icy mud, especially if she was going to help him work, but she would make the best of it. She was thankful for the distraction, and she realized it had been at least an hour since she'd thought of Ren. He came creeping back into his subconscious, however, and she followed Luke quickly into the kitchen.

"Hot chocolate or tea," He murmured, setting an old beat up kettle on the stove.

"Tea," She said.

She heard the click-click of little dog nails on the hard wood floor and looked to see Lion, his favored pet, standing in the doorway with his tail wagging. He was a huge old husky who had more fur than any dog had a right to, and he was named Lion for his mane of gray fur. She reached down and scratched his head and flank, and he pushed his nose against her before bounding off towards Luke and taking a seat near him where he sat at the kitchen table.

Rey heard the kettle go off, and moved to get it before he could get up again. She poured the hot water into the mugs he'd set up with the tea bags before she set one down in front of him and took a seat beside him. He looked at her, and she looked back at him.

"Gonna tell me what you're doin' here?" He asked, stirring the tea and watching the steam rise off of the water.

"I've just been having a tough time," Rey said, as honestly as she could. "I didn't know where else to go. I needed to get away,"

Luke nodded, his face free of judgement.

"Well, you're always welcome here," He said simply. "It's past my bedtime, though. You want me to show you your room?"

Luke stood up and Rey followed, taking her tea with her. She watched Lion sort of ramble after Luke, thinking that the older they had gotten, the more they looked like one another. He opened a door to one of the guest rooms. It was nice enough, covered in flannel blankets and sheets and there was a walk in closet. She had her own bathroom, too.

"Breakfast is at six, if you miss it you'll be on your own," He said simply. "But it looks like you might need to catch up on some sleep," Luke nodded his head. "Come down whenever you're ready,"

"Thanks," Rey said. Instead of hugging, they shook hands. Luke left her, closing the door behind Lion once the arthritic dog had made his way over the threshold.

Rey didn't know if she felt completely safe, but she felt safer than she had in her apartment. Her apartment had already been violated, so what was to stop them from doing it again. She thought one kidnapping in a week was enough, and she couldn't bear the thought of going back to Ren's, despite the tick in her chest that told her that she really, really wanted to. He didn't want her there, he'd made that clear, and she couldn't trust herself.

She pulled her belongings out, putting them away in the empty dresser. She checked her phone, and there was one message: You can run, but you can't hide.

It shocked her. It wasn't from Ren. She dropped her phone and she realized that there would be no easy way out of this, and as much as she moved around, and hid, it was likely that someone would always find her. She turned her phone off. She wanted to ignore it. She wanted to pretend like it didn't exist. Maybe she could just disappear out here in the woods. Maybe Luke would leave his dog sanctuary to her and she could live out the rest of her years taking care of ailing, elderly canines.

She couldn't comfort herself with the thought.

Rey had taken a couple Tylenol PMs that she hoped would keep her from dreaming. She wanted to sleep through the night without any interruptions from Hilda, or Ren, and she thought if she could manage it she might be able to view her situation more clearly when the morning came.

She didn't dream, and if she did, they were foggy and unseen, only punctuated by the smell of Ren's laundry soap, or his clean scent.

When she woke up in the morning, she felt less groggy, and less pained. When she looked at the scars that had been left behind by the awful night, she saw they were nearly gone. It was amazing. It wasn't the end of the ability lent to her by Ren's powerful blood. When she went out to help Luke that morning with the chores, she found she saw more clearly, she was faster and more agile, and in general more in tune with her own body. She could hear more, see more, take in more air. It came with one painful side effect, the wish that Ren was there. She wasn't even sure that that would be enough to sate it. She was glad for the hard work. Luke seemed to sense it, and kept piling work on her until the sun had gone down and he said they should be finishing up for the day. She hadn't explained any more, and he hadn't asked.

They fell into sort of a routine for the first week she was there. She slept better, marginally, and her phone went free of any sort of strange text messages. She didn't know if they were just making her believe she was comfortable, but she always felt the grip of anxiety each time she took up her phone. Ren didn't message her again. Deep down, it disappointed her, because she never completely got herself free from thinking of him. He would creep on her at odd moments, filling her mind with his voice and his thoughts. Of course, she didn't realize that this connection might go both ways until her second week there.

She had pulled on a pair of long underwear that she had bought in the small general store the day before, as well as a pair of very thick socks. Even underneath the flannel sheets, Luke's house got freezing. He didn't have a central heating unit, he had probably never seen a need for it, and sometimes in the morning when she woke up she could see her breath.

She fell asleep without much to do. It was darker than she had ever lived with out here in the wilds, and there were no blue glowing lights to keep her awake. The only electronic in her room was her phone, and she'd gotten into the habit of shoving it into the drawer and ignoring it as much as possible. She started to receive emails about school, a reminder that if she wanted to go back she was going to have to get back into the city, but she wasn't sure that it felt important to her anymore.

She didn't dream, thankfully. That night was different, however. It was as if she had been transported to another place by will alone, and when she opened her eyes she found herself in Ren's apartment. The fire place was on, and he sat staring idly at it, the light of it sinking completely into the dark of his eyes. He looked up, startled by her sudden appearance.

She stood there, solidly, as if she was really there. She was dressed in her long underwear and her wool socks, the huge plaid shirt thrown over the whole ensemble. It was warmer in here than it was in Luke's house, and she felt the warmth of the fire radiating into her skin.

He stood up, nearly upending the drink he had in his hand. He had certainly sloshed some of it onto his carpet. She jumped a bit, startled by the sudden movement. She took a step back, feeling her back hit the window. How had she come to be here? She pressed her fingertips against the glass, feeling the chill of the night radiating through to her flesh. It was so real, so lucid, it couldn't have been a dream.

"Rey," He said, his features a mask of surprise.

"Ren," She said, swallowing heavily. "What am I doing here?"

"I don't know," He said in reply. It was as if in all of his years as being a movie monster, he had never seen something quite like this.

She wanted to retrace old ground. What had he done to her? Why had he done it? Why couldn't she just let him go? She didn't get much of a chance as Amalia came out from the restroom, her face perfectly painted in the visage of a doll. Rey thought Ren might have been the only one to see her, but it became clear that Amalia could see her as well.

"What is she doing here?" Amalia sneered out.

Ren wouldn't get a chance to answer, as Rey came crashing back to earth. She felt the force of it as she fell back into the chilly bed at Luke's far off ranch. She nearly bounced and rolled onto the floor. She was awake, breathing heavily and grasping the sheets beneath her fingertips to make sure that she was really there and she wasn't just experiencing more of this messed up dream.

She could see the two of them arguing through a fish eye lens before the view closed itself off to her, leaving her alone in the freezing palace of the dog.

i know the pacing of this is a little different. hope u all don't dislike it. if u do, well...just think about adam driver. you'll feel better. there's a playlist for this story. do you want to hear it? let me know fam.