Gabe seemed to relax a bit on the trip back to my place. It's not like we were travelling in an uncomfortable silence, in fact it felt like the opposite for me. I felt comfortable, like she was someone I'd known for ages. Time seemed to flow much faster once she relaxed though.

We arrived at the privacy wall and I opened the gates with a push of a button on the remote that lived in the glove box.

I parked my baby, sad about the fact that it may be awhile before I could take her out again.

Gabe got out of the car and tried to look at the house, but her facial expression told me she was struggling to see through the dark. It's not like she has vampiric sight after all and no rings in her eyes to help with the darkness.

I grabbed Gabe's arm, giving her a gentle smile and led her to the path to the house. She didn't have a bag as I'd rushed her out the door without giving her a chance to pack, not that I'm sure she'd even have enough to pack.

The path was illuminated by little blue lights on both sides of the path, giving the illusion that you're walking on air. It's quite beautiful. Gabe said it out loud almost as soon as I thought it.

Thankfully the entrance door was lit up and I marched through it. Gabe did as well, apprehensively and closely in tow.

Rose was sitting at the dining table, steaming hot coffee sitting on the table in front of her.

"Welcome to our house." Rose greeted Gabe with a warm smile before getting up and giving us both a hug. "What brings you here so soon after we last saw each other?" Rose asked Gabe.

It was an innocent question but I felt Gabe tense next to me, so I answered for her.

"Her house mates were having a domestic so Gabe called me and asked if she could stay the night to get away from them."

I'm not sure if it was a convincing lie. After all, I'd never been able to lie to my sister well. Thankfully she took it at face value, but not before giving me a 'you'll be explaining later' look. I groaned internally.

"The room across from Violet's is set up and ready for guests. You can use it for as long as you like Gabe." Rose said to her, looking Gabe over in the better light of the dining area.

I knew for a fact that Rose was now suppressing her urge to feed Gabe, much the same as I was.

"Thank you." Was all Gabe could manage to say, albeit softly. She wouldn't even make eye contact with us anymore. Just what has this girl suffered in the past to make her act this way towards friends helping her? It's almost as if there had been no one to show her kindness.

"Off to bed with you two now. I'm going to wait up for Rhys to get home in a couple of hours." Rose informed us. I looked at the clock, it was 3 am now. Once again I felt sorry for Rhys and his new stupid shifts.

I led Gabe upstairs and into my room as I rummaged around in my walk in closet, looking for a loose shirt and pajama shorts for Gabe to sleep in.

Having found what I was looking for, I exited my room and went across the landing to the room Rose had mentioned. It now had an 'occupied' sign on it.

Opening the door revealed a room much the same as mine, except the bed was a queen instead of a king, the windows were nowhere near as big, nor was the TV on the wall as large. The shower only had one shower head. However the bathroom had body soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and a new tooth brush in it, ready to use. It was a well stocked vampire hotel room.

I sat on the bed and noticed that it was just as comfortable as my bed. It was just a bit smaller.

Gabe was looking at the room like it was some sort of luxurious illusion that may break the moment she touches it.

"Do you like it?" I asked Gabe, referring to the room.

"I love it." Came the reply from Gabe. "But this really is too much for me, maybe I should just head home."

I laughed at Gabe, an action that caused hurt to spread across her face.

"You can try if you like, but you'll have to get past my sister who's waiting downstairs. I guarantee you that she'll lock you in here before letting you go back to a house that's in the middle of a domestic as I told her before. So have a shower and sleep well."

"And remember if you need anything, anything at all,  I'm just across the hall. My room even has my name on it so you can't miss it." I told Gabe.

She nodded before I dismissed myself. "Sleep well Gabe. When you wake up, either come to my room to get me or just go downstairs for breakfast. I promise no one here bites, well except maybe for Mia. But I'm pretty sure she has Dan with her tonight to satisfy that craving of hers." I chuckled as I left the room, shutting the door behind me.

I went back to my room and took my bastard contacts out before jumping through a shower myself and putting my favorite flannel pajamas on.

Crawling into bed I felt sleep overtake me almost instantly. One of the best things about my awakening as a vampire is I never seem to have trouble getting to sleep anymore.

"I hope Gabe actually manages to get some sleep tonight." Was the last thought on my mind before I passed out.

...

I woke up to my phone vibrating as someone tried to call me. A half awake glance at the clock told me that'd I'd slept all the way through to midday.

I answered the phone, my voice still full of grogginess. "What?" I asked unceremoniously.

"I was just wondering if you were awake, I don't really want to come out by myself." Came the reply in Gabe's voice. Prompting me to remember that Gabe had spent the night here after I found out about her living conditions.

"Yea I'm awake. Come on over to my room, it's unlocked. Also sorry about snapping, I'm still waking up." I hung up the phone and sat up in bed, my hair cascading down my shoulders in a knotted mess.

A minute later and the door to my bedroom open and Gabe entered, still dressed in the pajamas I'd lent her the night before. Meanwhile I still had a dazed look on my face and there was probably drool running down my chin. Attractive I know.

"Good morning sleepy head." Gabe greeted me. The fog in my brain lifting enough to realize that she looked much better after a decent night's sleep.

It was an observation I commented on. "You're looking much better today." To which Gabe only smiled.

"Give me a minute to find us some clothes and then I'll shower, after that we can go downstairs and let Rose fuss over you again. How does that sound?" I asked Gabe.

"That sounds amazing, thank you." Gabe replied as I was already rummaging through my stuff looking for loose tee shirts and sweatpants for both of us. I'd choose comfort over style any day.

Twenty minutes and one shower later, Gabe and I were descending the stairs to the common areas. I knew from a glance that Rose was still asleep with Rhys after waiting for him to get home.

Leah, Audrey, Mia and Dan were all sitting around the table. Eyebrows went up as I bought Gabe down.

"Grow up." I shot at them as a collective. "Gabe stayed in the spare room, not with me." I just knew that no one believed me by the way the eyebrows stayed up.

I left Gabe to chat with everyone as I went into the kitchen and started to prepare omelets for the two us. While I'm not as good as Rose in the kitchen, I think I can still hold my own. The trick to making good omelets is to use lots and lots of butter after all. Surprisingly it was Jamie that taught me this trick.

Gabe woofed down her food, which I took as a massive compliment. As we were eating, Dan left for his house and Mia went upstairs to her room. Audrey and Leah stayed with the two of us, reminiscing about the amazing night we'd all had.

About an hour later Rose and Rhys came into the lounge area. "This is my brother in law Rhys." I introduced Rhys to Gabe. "He's the vampire I was telling you about. Rhys this is my good friend Gabriel."

They shook hands in a firm and friendly manner. "That's quite a grip you've got there." Rhys commented to Gabe in a friendly way.

"Violet tells me you have a sick brother, if you ever want help with him just let me know." Rhys told Gabe with a friendly smile on his face.

Gabe reaction was hard to describe. It's like she doesn't believe people can possibly offer to help others without expecting something in return, so she was almost wary. My heart sank even further for the girl.

"Thank you." Was her simple reply. "If he ever truly needs it then I'll let you know."

"Any time you like." Rhys said.

"Thank you for the hospitality but I must be getting home now." Gabe said, changing the subject before more questions could be asked about her family.

"Sure thing, just let me grab my keys." Rose said while walking over to the rack with all the keys on it.

"Thank you but I'd prefer to walk back." Gabe tried to say before Rose cut her off.

"Nonsense, you're a guest here and therefore it's our responsibility to make sure you get home safely. I'm not going to take no for an answer so you may as well accept the ride."

Gabe did not look happy as she was almost dragged out of the house by Rose and shoved in her SUV, still clothed in the tee shirt and sweatpants I'd lent her.

As Rose pulled out of our property, Rhys came up to me and asked. "So, what's the bet that Gabe is coming back here with Rose."

I had to admit, Rhys knew his wife very well.

"Extremely high," I answered. "Rose already knows that something is wrong in Gabe's life and when she sees where Gabe lives she's going to drag her back here. She won't be able to help herself, it'll be like she found a lost puppy."

"I don't believe you." Audrey said to me. "I bet you $50 that Gabriel will not be dragged back here by Rose." "Gabe" I automatically corrected her, "She prefers to be call Gabe".

"Fair enough, but I stand by my bet Vi" Audrey repeated.

"You're on," I agreed to the bet. "But be prepared to lose your $50."