We drove all that night and made it to Arizona. We stayed once more in a hotel to wait for nighttime and then went on our way once it was.

We entered Ruidoso, New Mexico, just as the sun shone over the tips of the mountains.

"Now what do we do?" I asked.

"Hmm, well we should probably go hunting. Then we can just hid out in the forest until Twilight." He suggested.

I nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

Remembering from when I was human, I found an old abandoned building right next to the forest to park my car behind so no one would see it and get curious. We got out and ran into the woods before our skin could sparkle too much.

Once there, we started hunting. I tried to keep the fear brewing inside me at bay.

What if I kill someone again?

No, that won't happen, Ben won't let it. I won't let it. I told myself firmly.

I managed to kill a deer and a fox without incident. I decided that was fine, I didn't want to push my luck. I left the blood-drained carcasses and found Ben.

He was bent over a large buck; a doe lay dead and bloodless beside it. When he heard me he stood and turned around, absolutely spot less.

"You dripped" He teased, pointing at my bloody clothes.

I pushed him playfully, "Oh Shut up. I need to go change, you coming?"

He nodded, "Yeah, we need to stay together."

We found our way back to the car. Ben waited in the forest as I go a clean shirt and pair of jeans form the car, then locked the car and joined him again.

I went behind a huge oak tree and changed into a light blue long sleeve shirt and a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans.

"Better?" I asked coming out from behind the tree.

Ben nodded, "Much."

~0~0~

At twilight, I found my way to my old home. By the time we found it, it was 8 o'clock.

I took a deep breath, "Ready?"

"Whenever you are" Ben said.

I nodded, "Let's go."

I had the letter clutched in one hand and Ben's hand in the other.

I looked into one of the living room windows. Mom and dad were sitting together on the couch, watching a show on the TV. I let go of Ben's hand and crept silently to the front door. I set the letter on the doormat and rang the doorbell. I hid behind a bush and watched as the porch light came on.

"Hello?" Dad asked when he opened the door.

He looked around, and started to close the door. He spotted the letter on the doormat and stooped to pick it up. He closed the door and I joined Ben back at the window.

I could see my parents clearly through the window and hear them perfectly through the wall.

"Who was it?" Mom asked.

Dad shrugged, "No one was there, but this was sitting on the welcome mat."

"What is it?"

"Looks like a letter" Dad replied.

"Well yes, I can see that. What's inside? Who's it from?"

Dad ripped open the envelope and took out my letter. He read the heading and went pla and grabbed the nearest chair for support.

"It's from Reagan." He whispered.

"What?" Mom asked, "Let me see that!"

She grabbed the letter from him and read the heading also. Her reaction was similar to dads.

They sat down together and read it. I watched helplessly as tears welled in their eyes and poured down their cheeks.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea I thought.

"We should show Chase" Mom said. Dad nodded and they both headed upstairs.

Ben and I climbed silently up to the second story balcony next to Chase's bedroom and looked in.

He was lying on his bed, reading a magazine and listening to music.

"Come in" Chase said when mom and dad knocked.

He looked up as they came in. His expression became alarmed as soon as he saw their faces.

"What's wrong?" He asked immediately.

Mom handed him the letter silently. He gasped as he started reading. He looked up once he had finished. He had tears I his eyes, just as my parents.

"What does she mean she might hurt us or get us hurt? Is she in some kind of cult or something?" He asked.

I swallowed hard. How could he think I was I a cult?

"I don't think so. She wouldn't do that." Mom said.

Chase nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're right. But do you believe it? Do you think it's actually from her?"

Dad sighed, "Well, it is her handwriting. Who knows, maybe she's telling the truth. IT doesn't look like someone forced her to write it to me."

"So does that mean you're going to stop the investigation?"

"I don't know, maybe. We'll have to talk about it. What do you think?" Dad asked.

Chase was silent, thoughtful.

Finally he answered, "I think Reagan would want us to listen to her. The only leads we have is what was at the crime scene, and that's not getting us anywhere. She said we'll never find her, she's probably right. Besides, we keep think up horrible things that might have happened, but I think she's right. We need to start thinking up good things that might have happened. Even if that means acknowledging the fact we're likely to never see her again."

Mom and dad both nodded in agreement.

"I think you're right Chase." Dad said. Mom nodded in agreement.

They all gathered in a hug and I turned away, not being able to watch how much pain I inflicted them with anymore.

Ben put an arm around me and kissed my forehead.

"Come on, let's go" He whispered in my ear.

I nodded and let him lead me away. We dropped silently to the ground and ran back to the forest.

"Ben?" I asked as we walked hand-in-hand on our way back to my car.

"Yes, Reagan?"

"Why did you come with me?"

He stopped and turned to face me.

"Because it seemed important to you and you needed someone to come with you." There was a short pause before he added, "And because I wanted to. So we could be alone together."

I stared into his eyes, trying to figure out the meaning of his words. He placed his hand under my cheekbone and ran his thumb along my cheek. I closed my eyes and leaned into his hand. When I reopened my eyes his liquid topaz eyes shone with a new intense emotion.

"Kiss me" He whispered.

I knew it wasn't an order, but I wanted to just as much as he did. So I leaned in, and so did he. It felt like an electric shock as our lips met and moved together.

I never knew someone could feel this much passion, especially not someone without a heart. Of course I knew emotions actually came from your brain, not your heart, but still.

He moved his hand to the back of my neck and put his other hand on the small of my back, pulling me closer to his stone-hard chest. I tangled one hand in his hair and put my other arm around his neck. We could have gone on forever, but we finally pulled apart, breathing hard.

"Thank you" I said, "For coming with me."

Ben's face lit into a smile, "You're welcome. I'm glad I came."

I grinned, "Me too."

"Let's go home" I said.

He nodded in agreement. We got in the car ad I started the engine and started back home. We traveled just as before, only during the night.