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Sadie was fun, she was bubbly and her enthusiasm had drawn Roseline out from her depressed funk.
 
Would it be so bad to have one friend?
 
And what about William?
 
If she could keep him at bay, wouldn’t it be nice to have a guy friend again?
 
Oh how she longed to speak to Fane.
 
She missed him dearly but she’d made the decision to sever all ties with him.
 
And as heart wrenching as that decision was, she had to stick with it.
 
His life depended on her self control.

As they crossed a large patch of black ice that led to the parking lot, the siblings laughter began to warm a part of her soul that she’d hadn’t felt since her sister Adela had been taken from her.
 
Sadie, with her crazy clothes and boisterous attitude, reminded Roseline so much of her rebellious younger sister that she simply couldn’t pull away.
 

“Nice car,” Roseline nodded approvingly as William stopped in front of a brand spanking new SUV.
 
William grinned, his lips noticeably darkening against the cold.
 
A twinge of guilt stabbed at Roseline.
 

“It was a birthday present,” William said proudly, motioning towards his blacked out Escalade which was covered with a light sheen of freezing rain.
 
His teeth began to clatter together.
 
“Sadie got a mustang.”

Roseline didn’t have any clue what kind of car that was, but judging by the gleam in Sadie’s eyes, it must have been exactly what she’d wanted.
 
“Your parents are very generous.
 
I’m sure they felt you’d earned such an extravagant gift.”

The automatic door lock sounded and Sadie shoved Roseline into the backseat, laughing.
 
“There you go again.
 
If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were my parent’s age!
 
I’m gonna have to teach you how to talk.”

Roseline was surprised at how much she actually liked that idea.
 
“That would be lovely,” she nodded.
 

“And after that you can join us for tea and crumpets,” William cackled, slipping into the drivers seat.
 
He frantically rubbed his hands together to defrost them before slipping the key into the ignition.
  
The engine roared to life.
 
Freezing air burst from the vents, bring forth a few choice words from William as he rushed to turn them off.
  

“She’s not British you idiot!
 
She’s from
Romania
.”

William glanced back over his shoulder as he backed the car out of the narrow space.
 
The rear windshield was almost completely glazed over.
 
“Really?
 
Could’ve fooled me.
 
Either way I think it’s pretty hot!”

Sadie groaned, shaking her head.
 
Roseline smiled, enjoying their playful banter.
 
If her brother Petru had still been alive, he would have loved William.
 
Glancing out the window, Roseline secretly wiped a newly formed tear from her eye.
 
Her heart ached for the brother and sister she’d lost so long ago.
 

“So where do you live?” William asked, glancing at Roseline in the rearview mirror.
 
He frowned when he noticed her sullen face.
 

“On Raven’s Court.”

William nudged his car out into the long line of traffic.
 
“Is that is Wildwood Estates?”

Roseline pushed the faded memories of her family away, locking them back into her heart where she kept them.
 
Safe.
 
Untouched by
Vladimir
’s wickedness.

 
“Um, yeah.
 
I think so,” Roseline responded, managing a somewhat genuine smile.
 
The home she’d rented wasn’t extravagant by any means.
 
It was a simple two story bungalow in a nice, older neighborhood.
 
She’d been lucky to find the daughter of a recently deceased man putting out the for rent sign in the front yard as she walked past two days ago.
 
Although the woman had been a bit hesitant about renting to a teenage girl with a false passport, her fears were easily calmed when Roseline produced enough money to pay the entire years rent up front.
 

Sure she could have afforded to buy a mansion, but what was the point?
 
Roseline had no one to share it with and she was trying to keep off the grid.
 
And that meant giving up a few of life’s usual comforts.

As William concentrated on his driving, Sadie decided it was get to know the new girl time.
 
Roseline was pleased to find that her morose moment had gone completely unnoticed by Sadie.
 
“So how do you like our weather?” she asked, pointing out the front windshield at the icy mix that’d been falling most of the day.

“It’s ok I guess.
 
I was kinda surprised that it was so cold this early in the year.
 
I thought you guys didn’t hit winter until December.”
 

Sadie nodded.
 
“Freak storm I guess.
 
Supposed to clear up a bit tonight though. Speaking of tonight…you going to the game?”

Roseline couldn’t help but notice William’s eyes locked onto her through the rearview mirror.
 
His hands tensed on the wheel as he waited in anticipation for her answer.
 

There was really only one answer she should give.
 
A flat, no questions asked, no.
 
But her heart had a jump on her brain as she responded only halfheartedly.
 
“I don’t know.
 
I’m pretty tired…and football isn’t really my thing.”

“Oh come on,” Sadie groaned, yanking on Roseline’s arm.
 
“It’ll be fun.
 
Now I have someone to actually go with.”
 
Oh, how Sadie reminded Roseline of her sister!
 
Same pout, same whine and same irresistible plea.
 
She could instantly feel her resolve melting.
 

“Hey,” William cried, pretending to be wounded by Sadie’s words.
 
“I go with you!”

“Yeah but all you do is check out girls,” Sadie growled, looking tragically put out.
 
“It’s so annoying to not have a girlfriend!”

Roseline’s eye brow rose in surprise.
 
Sadie laughed.
 
“Oh come on.
 
Look at me!
 
I’m not exactly captain of the cheer leading squad!”

That was certainly true.
 
Popular crowd or not, Roseline had assumed Sadie had other friends.
 
On the other hand, she could easily see why Sadie wouldn’t be a lot of people’s cup of tea.
 
But then again neither was Roseline.
 
She hadn’t had a close female friend for over three centuries.
 
And as much as Fane had tried to fill the void, he simply couldn’t replace a girl’s friendship.
 

Roseline’s sigh was barely audible but Sadie must have been watching for some sign of weakness.
 
“I guess I’m all you’ve got too huh?”

Roseline masked her sadness, smiling warmly.
 
“I think you’re perfect.”
 
She was shocked to find she truly mean it.
 
Oh this was bad!
 
Already Roseline was breaking all of the rules she’d set for herself, but for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to care.
 
She wanted to be free, yes, but she also wanted to experience the life that’d been stolen from her.
 
And boy was Sadie full of life!

Sadie’s eyes widened, shocked but pleased.
 
William chuckled, braking at a red light.
 
“So I guess that means you’ll be around from time to time.
 
Maybe you two should have a sleep over or something,” he grinned mischievously.
 
“You could paint each other’s nails, have a pillow fight and talk about how amazing I am.”
 
William ducked Sadie’s slap seconds before it hit.
 

Sinking back into the seat, Roseline grinned, watching the siblings duke it out.
 
She was enjoying herself so much that she was surprised moments later when she recognized her house fly by.
 
“Oh!
 
Go back.
 
It was that one two doors back.”

William threw his vehicle into reverse, his tires sliding on the ice as he backed down to her house.
 
Sadie and William exchanged a confused glance.
 
“This is it?”

Roseline nodded, grabbing her backpack off the seat.
 
“Yep.
 
It’s just temporary until my mom can find a better house.
 
It was the only thing we could rent on short notice.”

Sadie nodded, still looking troubled as she noticed the peeling paint and badly sloping front steps.
 
The faded shutters hung at an odd angle, banging loudly against the wall.
 
Instead of commenting, she whirled around, grasping Roseline’s hand.
 
“So…tonight?”

Despite herself, Roseline laughed.
 
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so alive.
 
Sadie might be a bit of an oddball, but her enthusiasm was definitely contagious.
 
“Oh alright,” Roseline conceded.

“Great!” Sadie squealed, clapping her hands.
 
William grinned; looking pretty darn pleased too.
 
“So we’ll pick you up at seven?”

Roseline nodded, ducking out of William’s coat.
 
“Thanks for that,” she called as she hopped out of the car and ran to her front door.
 
Roseline paused as Sadie stuck her head out through the window.
 

“And make sure you wear something warm!
 
It’s gonna be freezing tonight!”

***

Gabriel Marston bounced on numb toes, his gaze darting around the crowd.
 
It was a full house.
 
Not a big surprise since it was the homecoming game against their biggest rivals, the Stanton Greyhounds.
 
It looked like everyone in town had come out to see the game.

But Rosewood’s team captain and star quarterback couldn’t concentrate to save his life.
 
Not since he’d noticed her.
 
The girl with amazing aqua eyes and skin as pale as snow.
 
Gabriel had noticed her the moment he’d exited the locker room but she’d disappeared into the crowd before he could reach her.

He couldn’t explain what it was about the girl that’d called to him so fiercely.
 
Obviously she was gorgeous…but it went beyond that.
 
As cheesy as he knew it sounded, Gabriel felt like something buried in his chest had flamed to life.
 
The pull towards her was so magnetic that it took all his strength to put one foot in front of the other to head out onto the field and away from the stands.

“Dude?
  
Are you ok?” Gabriel’s best friend Connor Bennett asked, clasping his arm.
 
His charcoal hair was plastered to his forehead, slicked down from the falling rain.
 
“You seem a bit tense.”

“It’s just nerves,” Oliver West snickered, yanking his chest pads into position under his jersey.
 
“Gabe’s worried about the scouts.”

Gabriel snorted, shaking his head.
 
“You guys know I couldn’t care less about getting into Notre Dame.
 
It’s just...” he trailed off, knowing he was about to sound crazy.
 
“There was this girl…” he shoved Conner out of the way to continue his search.

Conner and Oliver rolled their eyes at each other.
 
Gabriel was well known for his taste in women, despite the fact that he was dating the hottest girl at Rosewood Prep.