Leah and Audrey arrived shortly after we did, with Rose. My sister obviously wanted to take a look at the rather impressive set up they had here.

The next to turn up was Alex. Like usual, he had a girl on his arm and also like usual, it was never the same girl. How in the hell did he get so many different girls to fawn over him? It can't just be his angelic face that I wanted to punch. I'm surprised none of the girls have killed each other in a jealous rage yet.

Last, but not least, to arrive was Gabe. Gabe looked tired and was wearing the same black jeans, button up non formal shirt and converse that she'd worn every day since I met her. I know some people are fond of the same outfits but change it up a bit girl.

I also noticed the distinct smell of blood on her.

"Sorry for being late." She apologized to everyone, even though she was only 10 minutes late. It's not like she kept us waiting for hours. "I just had to donate some blood to the Red Cross blood bank." She explained.

Well, at least I know why she smells of blood. But should someone that skinny really be donating blood? The urge to feed Gabe was coming back again, stronger this time.

"It's no trouble." Alex said, waving his hand dismissively. "More to the point, who is this fine woman." Alex asked, looking at Rose.

"That's my elder sister." I answered for her. "She's married to my brother in law so paws off of her."

Alexander's eyes flashed with annoyance at me. "I don't remember asking you." He said in a low voice.

"I really don't care if you asked me or not Alex. Keep your hands off my family, that goes for both blood and spiritual. Do that and we'll get along fine." I retorted.

For the first time Alexander's mask of upper class snob slipped for a second and I caught a glimpse of the anger and frustration before his mask slammed back into place.

"So does that mean that you'll take their place by my side angel?" Alex asked, apparently serious.

"I don't date and I certainly don't do hookups. So if that's what you're after then enjoy the conquest of each girl you have on your arm each day. How the hell do you get a new girl everyday by the way?" I asked him.

Alex just gave me a knowing smile before turning back to give his attention to the blond bimbo he'd bought with him.

Rose had never really gotten to do a lot of stuff like this when she was young due to her sickness so I asked everyone if it was alright if she stayed with us. No one had a problem, of course. The teams were reshuffled and it ended up being Rose, Gabe and myself on the team. Which suited me perfectly.

I can honestly say we had an amazing time at the alley. Gabe and Rose got along really well and besides the fact that the three of us were the only ones not drinking out of the entire group, it didn't mean we weren't having fun.

I ordered fish and chips for the table and made sure that Gabe ate her fair share of them, much to her protest. I had a bad feeling that she didn't eat enough, I just wasn't sure if it was due to a sickness or her family situation. She never talks about her family except her brother.

Gabe kicked our asses a few times, which surprised me. Rose may be terrible at it but I thought I was quite a good bowler until Gabe knocked my ego down a few pegs. Gabe and I decided to head into the Galactic Circus arcade to play around. Rose opted to stay and watch over the other three who were becoming quite intoxicated.

We played around on different machines for hours. It was so much fun, from kicking Gabe's butt at the basketball machine to getting us both to scream in the roller coaster simulator.

I'd never had to much fun just hanging out with anyone, Leah being the exception. It came as a surprise when Gabe announced that she had to go. I looked down to my watch to realize that we'd been bowling and playing around for nearly five hours. Time sure flies when you're having fun.

"I have my car here, would you like me to drop you off home?" I offered to Gabe, who I knew walked here.

"That's sweet of you to offer but I don't live far from here so I'll just catch the train then walk." Gabe replied with a small, honest smile on her face.

We went back to where the others were to find Rose chatting with the blond girl Alex had bought with him and the two couples consisting of Leah and Audrey as well as Mia and Dan sitting in private booths doing heaven knows what. At least they didn't have their tongues down each others throats again I suppose. Alex was nowhere to be seen.

Gabe said her goodbyes to everyone and left to catch the train home. I was honestly sad to see her go.

Soon after Rose, as the designated driver, made the decision for everyone that it was time to go home.

It was decided that Dan would be coming with us and after Alex reappeared, he would take miss blondy home. I really should learn her name, but there was no real point as I wouldn't see her again after tonight anyway.

I went back to my car before the others, not wanting a bunch of drunken young adults to drool over my baby and left the car park.

I wasn't in any particular rush to get home and I had some thoughts to sort out so I took the slightly longer route home to give myself some time to think.

I was worried about Gabe. She was one of the nicest and most respectful people I'd ever met, but she walked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. I hated seeing good people in such bad situations.

I was travelling through a run down part of town, when I caught sight of a familiar black pair of jeans and button up shirt. We were nowhere near a train station which means that Gabe walked here from the bowling alley. That's not a small distance.

Curiosity got the better of me and I followed her at a distance, having vampire sight, hearing and smell really helps with staying undetected. Even in a sports car that stands out like a sore thumb in this part of the city.

Gabe continued to walk for another thirty minutes until she arrived at what must have been the most run down apartment complex I'd ever seen. It looked like it should have been condemned years ago.

She went to the second floor and used a key to open it before disappearing inside.

I couldn't believe it, did sweet and respectful Gabe live in what was possibly one of the worse apartments in all of Australia?

Before I even knew what I was doing, I'd parked my Audi outside of the complex and walked up the stairs to the second floor before locating the door Gabe had gone through. The nameplate on the door read 'Everleigh', which was Gabriel's last name. Apparently she does live here.

I could hear movement inside, my vampire senses telling me that Gabe was alone. So I decided to knock on the door.

"What do you want at this hour of the night!" Gabe demanded opening the door in an angry tone. Only to stop in her tracks when she saw that it was me.

"W-What are you doing here Violet?" Came Gabe's next question, her tone instantly switching from pissed of to frightened.

"I was driving home and saw that you'd lied about taking the train. I was curious about why you lied, so I followed you." I answered her with a straight face.

"So is this where you live?" I tried my absolute best to say that in a completely non judgemental way. Gabe obviously didn't tell anyone where she lived because I'm guessing she was ashamed.

"Yes it is." Gabe admitted. "It's all that was left to me after my parents passed away." That statement alone made my heart ache for her.

"What about your brother?" I asked.

"Thankfully, he lives with Alex who's helping him. So he's all taken care of." Hearing Gabe say this made me feel a little relieved.

"Final question, are you going to invite me in or are we going to stand in your doorway at 1 am to keep chatting?" I asked.

Gabe didn't look happy about it, but she stood aside and open the door wide enough to allow me to pass.

The inside of Gabe's apartment looked like a converted hotel room. There were two rooms in total, the lounge/bedroom/kitchen area and the small bathroom consisting of a toilet and small shower.

There was a couch in the living area that I assumed doubled as Gabe's bed and a small fridge wedged into the tiled area that also housed the sink.

All in all, the place was tiny and I had a suspicion that many of the other residences here would regularly bring in parasites. Places like this tended to attract those type of crowds.

"Can I offer you tea or coffee?" Gabe asked as I sat down on the old couch.

"Coffee would be amazing thank you." I responded.

Gabe prepared the drinks in silence as she waited for the electric kettle to boil. Once she was done she came over to me on the couch and handed me a hot coffee before sitting down herself. I had to admit after taking a sip, the girl makes a mean coffee.

"So," Gabe started before trailing off, attempting to put what she wanted to say into words. "I know it's not much, but this is all I have. Please don't tell anyone else I live here, I don't want to be the laughing stock of the university or have people take pity on me."

I sipped my really good coffee as I considered Gabriel's request. "Ok I won't mention this to anyone, but I have one condition." I informed her.

I quickly continued when I saw the panic flash over her eyes. "All I want you to do is spend some time at my house regularly. You're so thin it's not healthy and I want to fix that. Also know that we have spare bedrooms at my house and you can have one for as long as you need, whenever you need, for as long as you like."

Gabe's eyes showed that she didn't know how to process what I'd just said. It made me wonder how long it had been since this girl had anyone to truly care for her.

"But for tonight I want you to come back to my place anyway. You look like you haven't slept in days and using this couch as a bed won't be helping." I told Gabe.

I could tell Gabe was conflicted about accepting kindness from someone else, but I took the choice away from her by grabbing her arm and leading her out the door. Gabriel locked it behind her.

As we made our way back to my car I texted Rose and let her know that I was bringing Gabe back with me and she was to have one of the spare rooms.

"One more thing." I told Gabe before we got to my car. "Don't let Rose know anything about your current living conditions."

Gabe looked at me confused. "Why?"

"Because my sister has taken a liking to you and if she learns that you're living like this, she will come here and drag you out by your ears. She's a bit of a den mother." Came my reply while I smirked at her.

Gabe was obviously trying to think of how to respond to that when she spotted my sleek black Audi R8. She was gazing at it longingly.

"Do you like the car?" I asked Gabe as she nodded her head, a wishful expression on her features.

"Then get in." I said as I unlocked the car. Gabe's expression went from wishful to shocked, it was priceless.

"Yes, this is my baby and I'm going to marry her one day." I told Gabe, referring to my car as I hugged it. "Now hurry up and get in so we can go home."

I'd never seen Gabe speechless before, but she didn't utter a single sound as she got in the Audi and did her seat belt up. Her eyes taking in all the details like it may be the last time in her life that she'll get to see something so beautiful.