Is everyone ready to go back to Forks? The more pressing question: Is everyone ready to finally find out what happened to Grace? You'll read about it in this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it! As always, thank you to my wondermous reviewers. I love you all!

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I own an outline for a trip to Forks this summer...hooray!

XOXO-Ka

Right Vs. Good

by: JudeOrion

Chapter Ten: Grief

I couldn't believe it. What had I done?

"Thanks for the ride, Alice," I said as I followed Kimber out of the car.

"Yeah. Not a problem. You going to be ok?" she asked. Damn, she'd noticed my sullenness. I'd tried hard to act like nothing happened. I was thankful (and surprised) she wasn't asking question upon question, though.

"I'll be fine, don't worry. I'll give you a call when we get back into town, ok?"

"Ok. Bye."

I waved and went up the stairs to my apartment.

"Good-night, Bella. Have a good Christmas," Kimber said.

"You too."

Suddenly her arms were wrapped around my waist. "I had a great time. Thank you so much." Her voice was full of emotion.

"You're welcome, Kimber. I'm glad you had fun. Merry Christmas."

She let me go and turned before I could see her face. My shoulder was wet where she had rested her head. I hoped they were happy tears.

When I went into my living room I couldn't really understand what I was seeing. All my dining room chairs were drug into the living room, and the blankets from the hall closet had been draped over them. Not a sound was coming from the apartment, but the TV had been taken off its stand and I could see the cords disappearing under the blankets. I lifted a corner and the sight I saw made my heart melt.

My guys…

They were snuggled up together; Josh was propped up against the coffee table, his head lolling back on a pillow, with his hands holding a game controller in his lap. To his left and under the coffee table, Nicky was laying on his tummy in his sleeping bag, using another game controller as a pillow. The TV screen was blue; I turned it off and carefully replaced a real pillow for the game controller under Nicky.

I looked at Josh sadly. What should I tell him? I sighed and pulled myself out of the blankets to go take a shower. I looked down at my hips as the water rolled off my body and steamed the bathroom. Just as I had thought, a thumbprint showed up lightly on the front of my hip. I'm sure if I twisted around in the mirror I would see the rest of Edward's long, lithe fingers imprinted on my skin.

As I pruned myself up under the hot spray, I contemplated my options. I could tell Josh, like the responsible girlfriend I tried so hard to be, and risk his anger and hurt. Or I could keep it to myself. What could I say, anyway? "I made out with my student, but it's ok, because he's really not a minor"? I don't think that would fly, somehow.

"Stupid damn vampire!" I growled.

A knock came at the door. "Bella? You ok in there?" Josh.

Shit!

"I'm fine." He came in and sat on the toilet.

"How was the dance?"

"It was ok." I closed my eyes and rinsed the conditioner out of my hair. "Kinda boring. All I did was sit in the foyer and collect tickets."

"Bella! What is that?"

"Huh?" I opened my eyes and saw his face peeked in the shower curtain. His eyes were darting between my face and my hips.

"Uh…"

"What happened?" he reached toward me and grabbed my hand, pulling me closer to him.

"You're getting wet."

"And you're bruised. Who did this?" He traced the reddish-black marks.

"Uh…some of the kids at school were drinking in the hallway," I quickly made up. "I tried to stop them and they got rowdy."

"Some kids did this? Did they do anything else? Did they hurt you?"

I felt guilty lying, especially because the look on his face was so full of fear and anger. "No, they didn't hurt me. Emmett and Jasper and Edward came by and scared them off before they could do anything."

"Do you know who the kids were?"

"No. Just a minute, Josh." I let go of his hand and finished rinsing off the conditioner. When I pulled back the curtain Josh wasn't in the bathroom, so I dried off and looked for him in the bedroom. Sure enough, there he was, laying on the bed in just his boxers. I smiled at the sight. He wasn't muscled, but he wasn't limp either. He made a good pillow.

"You ok?" he asked as I pulled on my pajamas.

"Yeah."

"You take things in stride, don't you?"

"What do you mean?"

He pulled me to his side and ran his fingers through my wet hair. "I mean, you were just assaulted by students at your own school and you don't seem worried about going back."

"They were drunk. They probably won't even remember it tomorrow." I snuggled into his shoulder and tried to go to sleep.

Josh wasn't letting it up, however.

"Did you report them?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't know, Josh," I sighed in exasperation.

"Did anyone stay with you the rest of the night?"

"Edward did. Can I go to sleep now?"

"Why are you so calm about this?" He sounded upset.

"Why are you making such a big deal about it?" I pushed myself up from his chest and looked at him angrily.

"Because you aren't. Why are you not upset about this?"

"It's not like it's the first time this has happened!" Don't ask me why I was defending my lie.

"What do you mean?" Josh calmed down immediately and looked at me in concern. I made myself take some deep breaths before answering him.

"When I was seventeen I was walking around this town near Forks, called Port Angeles. I got lost and wandered down an alley and these guys tried to…you know, attack me."

"Oh my God, Bella. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because nothing happened. E—a guy from school saw me and scared them off and gave me a ride home."

"I wish you had told me sooner. Have I pushed you too far?" He seemed genuinely concerned for me and that just added to my guilt.

"No. If you had, I would have said something. So can we just drop it for now, please? I'm tired and you have a long drive ahead of you." I kissed Josh and laid on the bed with my back to him.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad. What happened earlier is just not that important because I know it could have been much worse."

He dropped it, thankfully, and shut up for a few minutes. "I love you," he finally whispered.

"Love you too, Josh. 'Night."

I got no sleep that night. I lay in Josh's arms, regretting my lies and feeling horrible about the kiss. Finally, around four, I got up with intentions of doing some grading in the living room before remembering about the fort Nicky was still under. Damn. I needed something to take my mind off everything. I threw on some jeans and a shirt, slipped my tennis shoes on, and headed out the door to my truck. I didn't even know where I was going, just that I needed to go. I drove around aimlessly for about fifteen minutes until my cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"What's up? Why can't I see you?"

"Hey Alice. I'm just driving, I'm fine. Why were you looking for me anyway?"

"Edward told me what happened tonight. I figured you'd react something like this."

I pulled over on the side of the road. I stayed quiet.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, not really," I sighed.

"Do you want to come over for a while?" I knew she wouldn't have asked if Edward was there. It was a tempting offer, but I looked at the clock and sighed.

"No, I'd better get back. We're leaving at six."

"Ok. Have a safe trip. I love you, Bella. I don't care about what happened, I'll still love you."

"Thanks Alice." A smile crept over my face. "That means a lot to me. Love you, too."

We said our goodbyes and I finished the loop I was taking home. I stopped at a 24/7 grocery store and bought us some things to make sandwiches and drinks for the drive. As an impulse buy I got Nicky a comic book, too. When I got home the lights were on and Nicky was cleaning the living room as Josh was making breakfast. Or trying to, bless him.

"Hey!" I called out as I toed off my shoes.

"Mama!" Nicky ran out of the living room and wrapped his arms around me. "Guess what? Josh an' me, we stayed up all night an' played games an' made a fort, an' it was awesome! When we leavin'? Can I have Coco Puffs for breakfast?" Nicky was literally bouncing up and down next to me as I went to the living room.

"I'm glad you had fun, baby," I laughed. "Finish cleaning up the living room and get dressed, and then yes, you may have Coco Puffs today." I turned to Josh. "Why is my son so hyper?"

He looked guilty. "He may or may not have drank my coffee when I was in the shower?"

"Nicky! Why did you drink Josh's coffee?" I tried to act stern, but the excited look on his face was too much. I hadn't seen that look in so long.

"I thought it was cocoa, but then it wasn't and I drank it 'cause it's good!"

Josh and I were almost bent over laughing. When we righted ourselves, Nicky had the living room cleaned up and was hopping like a bunny to his bedroom to change.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't mean for him to have any."

"It's fine," I said, taking over the eggs that were becoming rubbery in his pan. "How the hell can you manage the diner and not be able to cook?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Have you noticed that I'm never in the kitchen? And when I am there's always another person there with me?"

"True, I guess."

"I forgot—I meant to tell you last night—Nicky talked with me."

I almost dropped the spatula. "Really?"

"Yeah. He came right up to me and asked for ice cream. And then when we were playing games under that fort—all his idea, by the way—he was joking around with me and teasing me about losing. It was great."

"That's wonderful, Josh." I hugged him. "Thank you for being so great to him."

"It's easy, he's a great kid."

We ate quickly and true to the plan we were headed out an hour later. All our things were in Josh's truck, we had just picked up Lola from Josh's house and we were finally gone. We hadn't left town before Nicky was asleep in the backseat. I called Charlie and texted Renee to let them know we were leaving. When my phone beeped I expected my mom's worrying answer.

Be safe. Let me know when you get there, unless you want me to come after you again…on second thought, don't let me know. :)

Talk about creepy. And did he really just use an emoticon? Ass.

Don't over react again, Edward or you will be sorry. I may be just human but I can whip your ass in other ways.

I'd like to see you try, Bella.

I rolled my eyes and didn't respond.

XOXO

It was raining when we got to the peninsula, as usual. Nicky's nose was pressed against the glass, steaming up his window every five minutes; he was beyond anxious to get out.

"We'll be there in a minute, buddy," I said. Lola was salivating all over Nicky in the back seat, anxious at being in a new place.

We pulled up at Billy and Charlie's place a few minutes later. Nicky wasted no time in tearing up the porch ramp and throwing himself into the house without even knocking.

"Nicholas! Get back here and help me with this stuff!" I yelled after him. Josh put the dog on a leash and slung his and my backpacks over his shoulder. I was tugging bags from the bed of Josh's truck as Charlie and Billy came out; Charlie had Nicky piggy-back style over his shoulders.

"Hey!" I called.

"Hey, Bella." He hugged me with one arm and kissed my head.

"Hey Billy." I bent down and embraced him.

"Hey, Bella. How was the drive?"

"Fine. Snowy until we hit Cle Elum, but not too bad, except Lolo Pass was a nightmare. Josh had to pull over and put chains on the tires."

Charlie let out a low whistle. "Well, I'm glad you got here ok, kid." He turned to Josh with one arm still around me and Nicky's hands wrapped under his chin, hanging on for dear life. Josh stepped forward and held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Chief Swan. I'm Josh Watson." Charlie shook hands with him.

"You too, Josh. Call me Charlie."

"Charlie."

"And this is Billy. He's kind of like my uncle," I said, pulling away from Dad and putting my hand on Billy's shoulder. Josh shook his hand, too, and said the pleasantries.

"Jake should be here after Mel gets off work. About six. You guys hungry?" Billy asked as he wheeled himself up the ramp to the house.

Charlie ordered pizza and we ate and talked for a while. A little after six, Jake and his wife, a very pregnant Melanie, showed up.

"Jake!" I shouted, and wrapped him up in a tight hug.

"Hey, Bells." He kissed the top of my head and stiffened. He took in a deep breath then held me out at arm's length.

"What? Do I smell bad?" I sniffed my hair.

"Uh…no. No, I thought—never mind. Is that Josh?" He nodded his head at Josh.

"Yeah. Josh, this is my best friend, Jake. Jake, Josh. And this is Jake's wife, Mel."

Jake took Josh's hand and from the look of Josh's face tried to cut off circulation. Josh didn't lower his eyes from Jake's, though.

Men.

The next morning I was making breakfast for everyone. Josh had gone to get studded tires put on the truck and Sam and Emily were supposed to show up soon. Jake had stayed the night on the floor at Mel's insistence; she went home because she had to work at the hospital this morning. That's what I loved about her, she wasn't jealous of mine and Jake's friendship, she's secure enough with their marriage to leave him alone with me. I was envious of their relationship; I know if the situation was put on me I wouldn't be comfortable with Josh staying with a woman, even if she was just a friend.

You don't have any place to talk, Bella. You obviously can't be trusted.

Ugh.

"Mama! Mama help!" Nicky was squealing from the living room. There was a split second of fear, until I heard him giggling and Charlie growling and laughing with him. I turned down the burner and stepped out of the kitchen to the living room. Jake had Nicky on the floor, pinned with his arms over his head. Charlie was attacking Nicky's sides and armpits relentlessly. Lola was pacing nervously around the living room, licking Jake's face and sniffing Nicky every time he screamed.

"Mama, help!"

"Help? Help with what? What should I do?" I asked, coming over to him.

"Get Jake!"

"Get Jake like what?" I ambled over behind Jake and he watched me warily. Charlie somewhat let up on the tickling while watching me.

"What're you doing, Bella?"

"Me? I'm not doing a thing."

Innocence, Bella. Fein innocence…

My hands shot out to Jake's sides and attacked him. He let go, laughing, and Nicky took his opportunity to jump; he wrapped his arms around Jake's neck and he fell dramatically over, on top of me.

"Oof! Jake, you're heavy! Let up!"

"After you sabotaged me? No way!"

"Billy! Control your son!"

"I have less control over him than Mel," he said with laughter in his voice. Lola was barking his fool head off.

The door opened and I twisted my neck around to see who it was.

"Is this a bad time?" Sam asked.

"Hey, Sam. Would you please pull Jake off of me!" I yelled, digging my elbow into his ribs. It felt like elbowing a cement block. He really had some muscles.

Sam was too busy laughing to come to my aid and eventually Jake got up. It may or may not have been due to a kick aimed precariously close to his groin; I claim innocence.

I served breakfast and everyone ate. And ate. Jeez, Jake and Sam could really put it back couldn't they?

"So the bonfire is starting at six," Sam said to Billy after everyone was done and sitting around the table.

"Great. We'll be there." He piled my plate on top of his and put Jake's on top of that. I grabbed the pile and took it to the sink.

"Bells? You going to be there?" Dad asked.

"Yeah, definitely. We don't have plans for the day, do we?" Charlie shook his head no and I took a deep breath. "I think I'm going to take a walk along the beach then. Would you mind keeping an eye on Nicky?" I asked.

The tension in the air was suddenly palpable. Everyone knew where I was going. No one spoke, but Charlie nodded.

Fifteen minutes later I was walking to the beach, wearing a plain green sweater and jeans with old sneakers. The wind was blowing and I pulled my hat lower over my ears. Less than a quarter of a mile from Billy's house was the ocean; it would be visible if it weren't for a stretch of trees between the house and the beach.

My heart started pounding as I walked north up the beach for a while before I hit the spot. I sat on the sand with my feet just out of reach of the waves and breathed in the salty air.

It started with one tear rolling down my cheek. Then two. Eventually my face was wet and I was struggling for air. I was thankful I was the only person on this stretch of beach. At least, until I felt a pair of arms wrap around my neck and a warm chest against my back. Josh's leather smell filled my nostrils.

"Your dad told me to come down here. What's wrong, babe?" he asked.

"Grace." It was all I could manage.

"Tell me." His voice was soft, but not a question. I took a deep breath.

"It was, not last summer, but the one before. We came here for Nicky's sixth birthday. His birthday is on the first of July, but we had the party on the fourth, so we could see the fireworks…"

Grace's face is covered in ice cream an hour after she's eaten.

"Damn it! Grace, I told you to clean your face!" Mike yells at her. We're in the park in La Push after the birthday party. Charlie's playing with Nicky on the swings and I'm in the gazebo cleaning up the decorations and trash so we can get going to the beach soon; the fireworks are going to start in a couple of hours and I still need to get everything for that ready, too. I hear footsteps on the wood floor. Mike is dragging Grace by her arm into the gazebo toward the wet wipes. Grace is crying.

"Mike, what's going on?" I ask. He's been drinking, I can tell. Where did he get the alcohol from?

"I told her to clean her face a half hour ago, and she ignored me and kept on playing!" He's angry. Great.

I take Grace gently from Mike and clean her face. He's hovering behind me, breathing down my neck. This isn't the end of this. I kiss Grace and dry her tears and send her back to the playground. I turn to Mike.

"What the hell is your problem? Why are you drunk!"

"Because it's a fucking kid's party and I'm fucking bored!"

"Charlie's not fucking bored! He's playing with Nicky! Why don't you play with your daughter!"

"Shut up!" Mike's face is red, he's in my personal space and I'm starting to get afraid. We've been walking on glass so much lately, fighting all the time. This is the first time he's scared me. "You just shut up! I'm a fucking adult, not a child, I don't play!"

"If you're an adult, act like it. For God's sake, Mike, you're twenty-seven and you're acting like you're twelve! Grow the fuck up!"

"Yeah, I'm twenty-seven and have no fucking life thanks to you!"

I stepped back in shock. "What the hell does that mean?" I asked quietly.

"You know what it means, Isabella. You got fucking pregnant and ruined my life!"

"How dare you say that about me; about Grace! You convinced me to marry you, saying it'd all be ok that you would take care of us, and now you treat me like I'm a burden every damn day! If I'm such an inconvenience, and your children are such an inconvenience, why don't you just get rid of us already?" I'm about ready to kill him myself. I'm crying and frustrated and shocked that he could say such things about his children.

"Maybe I will!"

"Are you really that much of an idiot you don't give a crap about your kids?"

My face is burning and my hand is on my cheek before I realize Mike has slapped me. Instantly Charlie is by my side.

"Step away, Michael. Now." His voice is deadly calm and his hands are shaking. His right hand is at his belt, groping on instinct for a gun that isn't there. I turn away and see Grace standing by a picnic table. Charlie leads Mike away and I go to her.

"Grace, baby, how long have you been there?" I ask, kneeling in front of her. She starts crying.

"Why does Daddy hate me?" She's bawling and I hug her tight to me.

"Sweetie. Daddy doesn't hate you. He loves you very much. He's just angry with me and he's drunk. People can say evil, evil things when they're drunk, and they don't mean them. It can bring out a different kind of person in someone, someone that's not really there. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Kind of," Grace says into my shoulder.

"C'mon. Do you want to leave?" She nods and I stand up, taking her hand as I go. Mike is nowhere to be seen. Good riddance. I ask Charlie to bring Nicky to the beach for me later and we go to his house. I make us some lemonade and we sit at the table.

We're quiet for a while until Grace asks, "Did you an' Daddy not want me?"

I'm terrified of this question. I knew it would come, but in the seven years I've had to prepare, I haven't come up with a non-hurtful honest answer. I sigh and try to explain as best as I can.

"Daddy and I weren't married when I got pregnant. We didn't plan to have a baby. But it does not mean we didn't want you. From the second I found out I was pregnant with you, I was so happy. That's why I married Daddy, because I loved you so much, before you were even born, that I wanted to make sure you had the best life you could, and at the time I thought marrying your dad would be the best way to make sure you would be happy. Am I making any sense?" I take her little hand in mine and give it a squeeze.

Grace sniffles. One pigtail is drooping past her ear and the other one is still in place and I realize how fragile she is. She reminds me of my mother at this moment.

"I guess. So…did you not love Daddy?"

"That's a very hard question to answer. Love isn't always like in fairy tales. There's different kinds of love. I don't love your dad like Ariel loves Prince Eric. But I do love him in a way where I want to see him happy, and I want to try and make him happy. Sometimes it's very hard, though, and I let my temper get in the way of trying to love him today."

"Ok." She's thinking quietly, her brow wrinkled in thought. Now she reminds me of myself.

A few minutes later she's come to a silent conclusion but she obviously doesn't want to talk anymore about it. She takes a sip of her lemonade and starts talking again. "How…did you get pregnant, Mama?"

I choked on my drink. "Uh…well...when your daddy and I were dating, we shared a kind of…bond…that grown-ups get to have. Sometimes it can make a baby. Then the baby grows in the mommy's tummy for nine months and comes out." I don't think I gave away too much there…

"Where do babies come out from?"

"There's a tube that goes from the mommy's tummy down through where she goes potty."

Grace's eyes get big. "One or two?"

I can't help but laugh. "One."

"Where did I come out at? In my bedroom?"

"No, at the hospital here."

"Wow. Where?"

I tell her about the delivery room and the nurses and about her little tiny crib on wheels. "I still have your baby bracelet."

"Can I see it?" Grace's eyes light up.

"Sure." I lead her up to my old room and take the shoebox from the shelf in my closet. I don't know why I left it here when we moved. I remind myself to take it back with me. We sit on the bed and I open the lid.

Keepsakes from when I was growing up fill the box. I take out the baby bracelet, rolled up around my own. She looks at it and smiles. I take things out of the box and show them to her, then lay them on the bed. At the bottom of the box is a picture wrapped in a Ziploc bag.

"I forgot I had this in here." It was the only thing Edward had forgotten to grab in his hasty retreat. It was the first time I'd looked at it since.

"Mama, who's that man?"

I sigh heavily. "His name was Edward. We were together in school."

"What's that picture from?" She takes it gently and studies it.

"Prom."

"You were very pretty, Mama." I smiled wanly; after all the years it still hurt. The hole threatened to tear apart again. "Why didn't you marry him? You look like you loved him." Loved him like fairy tales, I knew she meant. So perceptive. She really is so much like me.

"I did, very much." My voice betrays me and a tear falls. "He…didn't want me." I put the picture in the box and the box in my nightstand so I can remember to take it with me back home.

"Why?"

"I don't really know, Baby."

She thinks very hard about something and then flings her arms around me. "I want you, Mama. I never don't ever want you!"

"I want you too, Baby," I laugh.

I dry my tears on her hair and pull back.

"Ok. Enough of the sadness. The fireworks are going to be starting soon, and we need to beat it to the beach."

Half an hour after we're sitting on the beach, a ways away from everyone else. "Girl time," I explained to my dad. He took Nicky and had "guy time".

The fireworks are amazing, especially seeing them with my baby girl. All too soon it's eleven and I'm ready for bed. "I'm going to go to bed, Grace. Grandpa is straight up the beach that way. Go on to him and have him text me when you get there, ok?" I'd had Grace do this many times before. I don't think anything of it this time. I don't see the storm coming. So stupid.

"Yeah, Mama." We say good-night and I walk back to Billy's and crash on the fold-out. Moments later I'm asleep.

I'm wakened by Charlie shaking me. "Bella! Wake up now!"

"What's wrong?" I rub my eyes groggily. What time is it?

"Is Grace with you?"

"No, she's supposed to be with you."

"She's not here. I figured she went home with you because of the storm, but when I put Nicky to bed she wasn't there."

I bolt out of bed and put my sneakers and coat on at the same time. "What storm?"

"A storm rolled in over a half hour ago. I took Jake and Mel home before coming back. Billy's already in bed." He has the phone in his hand. "I'm calling the station."

"I'm going to go look for her." Panic is setting in. I look at the clock—it's been an hour since I came back.

"You can't go out in this! Bella—!" I'm already out the door. The rain is pounding and I can't see very far in front of me. The sand slows my footsteps; I feel like I'm making no progress. Lightning flashes and I see something up ahead—that log wasn't there before; I'm sure of it. I push myself harder and come up to it—it's not a log. Blonde hair. Tiny, fragile little body, soaking wet, overcome by the waves every time they washed over it.

No. Please, God, no.

…Josh held me tight and dried my tears as I spoke. I took a shuddering breath and started again.

"I dragged her out of the water and tried CPR, but it didn't help. The EMT's came on ATV's and tried to resuscitate her, too…but it was too late. I called Mike, but by the time he showed up they had taken her away in the ambulance. Reporters were everywhere and I just wanted to get to Nicky, but Mike followed me to the house and yelled at me, telling me it was my fault, I was a horrible parent and I'd never get to see Nicky ever again. He did the exact same thing not two days before, letting Grace and Nicky walk on the beach! During the divorce, I barely scraped by without supervised visitation. Everyone in Kalispell thought I was this horrible person, this horrible mother, as bad as a murderer."

I fell silent for a minute as Josh held me.

"We don't know what happened. We think she must have just wanted to go in the water, and didn't know the storm would make the water so turbulent. We never let her swim without either of us before, and she knew that. She'd walked the beach that half-mile so much. It was in view of the house and she knew better than to go in the water. We just…don't have a clue."

Josh didn't apologize. He didn't pity me. He just held me, which was more than anyone else had done. A bit later we walked back to the house and continued with the day.

The bonfire was fun. We ate and laughed and told stories until early morning came around. We finally dragged our butts home around two a.m. completely exhausted. Again.

That night, though, as I lay next to Josh on the old, sunken fold-out, I remorsed over the second lie I had told Josh this weekend. It was necessary, though. Not only did I have to uphold the Cullen's secret, there was no sane explanation for what really happened. The nightmare of the truth. As I lay quietly in my insomnia I couldn't help seeing what really happened again and again, unbidden in my mind.

I drag Grace's body out of the water and check her over, getting ready to do CPR. As I bend her neck I feel some little bumps along her throat. I look closely at her, by the light of my watch. What…How the hell? A small crescent marks her flesh, fresh, red and raw. My stomach turns at the liquid dripping from the wound onto the sand.

"No…no…" I lay her back on the sand. "Who are you!" I call out into the storm. "Why did you do this! Come out, come on, coward! She's a child! An innocent child! You fucking demon!"

From the trees I hear a howl and a scream; it becomes engulfed in thunder and I try to convince myself it's the night playing tricks on me. It doesn't work. I turn back to Grace and sob; I start CPR even though I know it's a lost cause.

I have to try.

I never found out what vampire killed my baby. But rest assured if they ever came near me or my family again I would kill them, whether I was changed or not.