Him.
Moaning again, she pulled the pillow more firmly over her head. The gesture was useless; it dimmed the pounding, but it did nothing to shut out the image of him seared into her brain.
She recalled the story her mother told about the first time she'd seen her father, and how the world seemed to disappear. Nausea twisted in Isabelle's stomach. She didn't want to be her mom and dad. She wanted a peaceful life where she needed only herself to survive.
With another loud moan, she finally conceded defeat; she wasn't going to get any more sleep. Sighing angrily, she threw the pillow aside and tossed off her sheet. She was getting ahead of herself where he was concerned. Just because the world seemed to disappear when she saw him didn't mean he was her soul mate. All it meant was she finally encountered her first vampire, outside of her close-knit family and friends, and it jolted her. That was all. It was the only reason things were so strange last night.
However, no matter what she told herself, she couldn't shake the image of him from her mind, or the strange feelings he invoked in her.
Thankfully, he would be gone today. Hopefully, he already was. She’d thought the notion would be pleasing; it disgusted her to realize it wasn't.
"Isabelle!"
Her door burst open with a loud bang as it slammed against the wall. She jumped as her sisters burst into the room like a tsunami. She didn't bother to turn and face Abby and Vicky as she swung her legs out of bed. She had never known privacy; she didn't bother to try and have any now. She quickly gathered her clothes as she moved toward her small half bath.
"What's up?" she asked tiredly.
All she wanted was to wash her face; it would help her feel better and wake up. "What's up?" they demanded as they followed her to the doorway.
"Don't you know?" Abby charged.
No, she didn't know what their new melodrama was, and she didn't particularly care. Isabelle shut the door on Abby and leaned against it. "Hurry up!" Vicky yelled.
She moved away from the door, turned the cold water on, and splashed her face with it. Feeling much better, she dressed quickly, pulled her thick hair into a ponytail, and opened the door. Her sisters sat on her bed; their hands clasped before them as they stared eagerly at her.
She knew she would regret asking, Vicky and Abby could go on endlessly when something excited them. Isabelle usually ended up with a headache from trying to follow their inane chatter by the time they finished, but ask she did. "Know what?"
"They're staying here!" Vicky exclaimed. "We can't get in the bathroom now, let alone with two more people in the house!"
Isabelle blinked in confusion as she dropped her nightgown into the hamper. "Who is staying here?"
"Kathleen and her kids!" they cried in unison.
Isabelle swung toward them as her mouth dropped open. She’d completely forgotten about Kathleen, Delia, and Jess in her confusion and self-pity last night.
"What?" she nearly yelled.
"Yeah," Abby said, nodding her golden head enthusiastically. "Kathleen starts a new job in two weeks; she thought it would be fun to stop by and surprise mom. They invited them to stay for the entire time!"
Isabelle felt as if someone dumped a bucket of ice water over her head as her entire body went completely numb. "What about Jess's boyfriend?" she croaked.
"He is so hot!" Vicky batted her eyes dreamily as she folded her hands under her chin. "Do you know he's the one who told David what was going on with mom and dad? He's over two hundred years old!"
Isabelle didn't care about any of that. There was only one thing she cared about. "Is he staying here?" she managed to choke out.
"Yeah, he's helping out with the new house right now!"
Isabelle's throat went dry, and her heart jumped into her throat. There was no room in either house now, where would everyone stay? A cold chill of apprehension began to trickle through her as she gazed around her room. There was more space at the other house. There was an extra bathroom, and if someone bunked up...
Isabelle shut the thought down as panic began to constrict her chest.
"He's going to stay at the other house with Jess. She doesn't go back to college for a few weeks. Maybe they're soul mates like mom and dad! That's so romantic!" Abby cried.
Isabelle felt like a fist slammed her in the gut. She fought to catch her breath and absorb everything they were saying. Was he staying here? With Jess? For two weeks? Her thoughts were a scattered mess, none of which were the least bit romantic.
"I don't think they are," Vicky contradicted Abby. "They sure don't act like mom and dad. I mean he didn't even see Jess after he left with The Stooges last night."
"That's true," Abby said as she bit her bottom lip.
"Isabelle, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost?" Vicky demanded.
Blinking herself out of her horrifying thoughts, she forced herself to focus on the identical faces before her. "Ah, nothing. How are they going to stay here? I mean, Kathleen is mom's friend from school; she fainted when she saw her last night! They can't possibly stay here! How can any of them explain how they haven’t aged in the past twenty-five years?"
"Stefan took care of that. His powers are really strong since he's so old!" Abby breathed reverently. "He made it so whenever Kathleen, Jess, and Delia look at mom, dad, and The Stooges, they see people in their forties."
Isabelle gaped at them in dismay. She could manipulate people's memories, but only a moment or two of them, and it always left her tired and drained. She couldn't begin to imagine the amount of power it would take to accomplish such a feat.
"He can do that?" she breathed.
"Yeah, isn't that awesome?
