It was now the end of her shift, and Ellen was in a rush to get out of dodge and check on both Zariah and Stella. Who knew what that freak was doing to either of them, the thoughts that ran through the female's head almost drove her to the brink of insanity.

Hastily putting on her jacket, Ellen made her way towards her vehicle in the parking lot; Scott following behind as he reached out and grabbed her arm gently to stop her. "Hey, hey, hey! Slow down a bit…" He murmured as an annoyed sigh left his girlfriend's lips. Glancing back at the taller male, Ellen frowned a bit and motioned towards her car with her head.

"Come on babe, I need to get to the apartment and check on everything. Make sure the grape hasn't caused any trouble."

"I know, I know. But you don't want to get yourself all worked up for possibly nothing. I'm sure everything is okay, Vincent may be….erm, strange at times – well, 99% of the time…but when it comes to Zariah, I get this strange feeling that he won't treat her like the rest of us. If that makes any sense?"

Ellen blinked her brown orbs a couple times, noting in her past two encounters with Vincent and Zariah involved that he did indeed act differently than other times. But even still, the bad thoughts would rush into the female's mind and etch themselves there. Shaking her head a few times, the black trusses moving slightly, Ellen pulled her arm away slowly and continued on.

"Fair enough. But I'm all that Zariah and Stella have left, besides their 95 or another year old Grandmother who's two freaking states away! If something were to happen to either of them…I-I wouldn't know what I'd do. I just, I need to go. I'll talk to you later, okay?!"

Scott took off his red telephone mask and let out a saddened sigh, the frown now visible on his handsome face as he watched Ellen get into her vehicle and pull rapidly out of the parking lot and off towards the apartment complex. Although he tried to remain positive with her, Scott knew Ellen was correct. And even though Vincent acted differently with the blonde female, it didn't negate the fact that he was Vincent Bishop: notorious charmer of both men and women as well as a huge pervert.

Ellen arrived at their apartment complex and put the car into park (just barely) before rushing out and into the building, trying to remain calm but somehow found herself panicking. Taking the stairs two at a time, the female couldn't help but realize how paranoid she was acting, but the thought of Vincent's usual behavior being exhibited around Zariah and her younger sister made Ellen cringe. Not that she didn't think her best friend could handle herself if need be, but what if those pills he had given to her still had her knocked out cold? Hard to defend yourself when you're unconscious…

Finally arriving at apartment 210, Ellen took a deep breath as she prepared herself for the worst before opening the front door and stepping inside. The female inhaled deeply and was met with the smell of food cooking or already cooked….which meant that Zariah was most likely up and making herself and Stella dinner.

"Oh thank God…"

Ellen let out a hearty laugh as she dropped her purse on the end table next to the door and made her way through the living room and towards the kitchen. She could also hear Stella from there giggling and talking with Zariah. Happiness once again filled Ellen's mind instead of gruesome thoughts as she rounded the corner to the kitchen.

"I'm so glad to see you're awake. Hey, that purple freak did-"

She stopped speaking when her eyes fell upon the site in front of her. Yes, Stella was in the kitchen sitting at the island…drawing a picture while giggling and talking, but it wasn't with her older sister. Nope. Not at all. It was Vincent. Who turned his attention towards the shocked female in the doorway and grinned wide with raised eyebrows. The little girl too turned towards Ellen and once her eyes fell upon her, Stella jumped down from her chair and ran to give the older female a hug.

"Ellieeee! You're hereeee! Mr. Vincent made me dinner and we played tea party after he helped me with my homework! He's so nice, don't call him names!"

"Hello Ellen, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but yes….the purple freak is still here."

The female's pale complexion now had a flush to it from embarrassment as Ellen shuffled her feet and weakly gave Stella a hug back, bending down to the little girl's level with a meek smile, ignoring the purple guy's comment.

"Sorry….it's not very nice to call names, huh? Hmm, say, where's Riah? Have you seen her?"

Stella blinked her amber eyes a couple times as she tilted her head to the side as if contemplating the question she was just asked. Grinning, she nodded her head and pointed in the general direction of the bedrooms.

"Yeahhhh, she's so lazy! She's been sleeping this whole time! Mr. Vincent said she wasn't feeling good and was taking care of her until you got back from work! But you're here now! …Wait, does that mean you have to leave….?"

Stella turned towards Vincent with a large frown on her tiny features, as her eyes widened (imagine puppy eyes) and Vincent grinned down at the younger female before patting her head a couple times, speaking to her but locking eyes with Ellen.

"I suppose it's time for me to go….but I'll be back tomorrow, to check on your sister okay? Maybe we can also play tea party again, or I can take you down to the playground. Sound fair?"

Stella grinned, and much to his surprise, she hugged Vincent's leg tightly and squeezed it for a few moments before letting go.

"Okie dokie! That sounds fun! I hope Zariah is up when you visit tomorrow, so I can tell her all about our fun! Speaking of fun, it's time for my cartoon, bye-bye Mr. Vincent!"

With a quick wave, Stella ran into the living room now leaving the male and female in the kitchen alone. Vincent let out a soft chuckle as he shook his head and turned back towards the stove, moving the pan that was sitting there and moved it to the sink. Ellen stood now, crossing her arms over her chest as she studied the purple male who was now humming while tidying up his work area.

"I thought you hated kids?"

"Eh…I do, but she's tolerable than most."

"Don't think I can't see what you're doing Vincent…"

Turning now to face the female, Vincent offered an evil grin and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Oh? And what exactly am I doing, Miss. Ellen~?"

Ellen blinked her orbs and her lips formed a thin line. What was he doing? Taking care of Zariah and Stella with no troubles, as he said he would? Letting out a small huff, Ellen soon took over at the sink as she began to do the dishes.

"Whatever. Maybe you're not doing something for once, but I still don't understand what your fascination is with Zariah. You literally just met her not too long ago…..you couldn't possibly have a connection with her already."

Vincent was adjusting his lilac pony-tail as Ellen spoke to him, and as she finished, a smirk fell on his lips as he leaned against the kitchen counter, watching the female wash the dishes he dirtied.

"That's where you're wrong, Ellen. Zariah and I go back, quite a long time actually. But for whatever reason, the poor thing can't remember. So, I am trying everything in my willpower to remind her of her past…"

"So, then you're aware of what happened to her parents then correct? What happened to her?"

Ellen noticed Vincent suddenly tense up, and he slowly started towards the front door with a lazy shrug, as if trying to brush off the tension he hoped the other female didn't notice.

"Yes, I'm fully aware. But that's not what I'm trying to get her to remember. Listen, I'll stop by tomorrow and check on the both of them. Thanks for trusting me not to fuck things up, it truly means the world to me."

His last comment was dripped with sarcasm, but the look in his eyes suggested sincerity as he nodded to Ellen and walked down the hallway and out the front door….Ellen heard him and Stella exchanging quick "byes" as he left. Letting out a deep sigh, she stopped washing the dishes and dried her hands off before starting towards Zariah's bedroom.

Slowly peeking into the room, Ellen was met with darkness before her eyes landed on Zariah's sleeping form in her bed. She was out of her work uniform (which laid neatly in a chair) and in a night shirt, but looked content and peaceful. Smiling softly, Ellen entered quietly and sat gently next to her best friends sleeping form, carefully moving a strand of blonde hair out of the sleeping woman's face.

'Well….it seems that our purple friend isn't as bad as I thought…'

But little did Ellen now, there were many secrets that would soon be uncovered….

[A/N: I'm so so so SOOOO sorry for not updating sooner guys! I've literally had no motivation for this story, and although I love it, I feel like I might start a new one. Not sure….what do you think? This was also kind of rushed because I wanted to at least throw out another chapter, but as I said….might just start a new story! Not 100% sure yet though! If people are enjoying this then I'll get my head back in the game and continue on…otherwise, yeah. New content will happen!]