The harsh, piercing green eyes in the photograph stared back at me.

"R-Rex?" I stuttered. Rami looked at me, obviously bewildered by my reaction.

"You know her?"

"Are you freaking kidding me?! She's been out for my blood for years! Why in the hell are you looking for her?" 

"What? No. No. There's no way we're talking about the same person."

"Riiiiggghhht..." I replied sarcastically. "Because there are so many redheads with terrifying green eyes by the name of Rex." 

"But... She's so sweet. She has to be. I haven't been able to get her out of my mind,"

"Listen, Rami, you don't know what you're getting yourself into. She might look like a sweet girl (if you're blind), but she is really unstable. You can't mess with her. She'll chew you up and spit you out. Then she'll imprison you and make you her slave or something..."

Rami looked at me blankly like I was speaking Latin.

"Hellooooo, Earth to Rami. You need to face reality right now. And the reality is, you can't have her. Or she will kill you."

Rami's knees began to quiver as he looked at me like a lost puppy. He buckled under the weight of whatever the hell he was feeling and I couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. I mean, yes, he's the most annoying person on the face of this planet, he's practically a chain smoker, and he can't work to save his life. But he was in love with the worst possible person on the face of this Earth. So, yes, I actually felt bad for my deranged cousin. A small whimper escaped his mouth.

"Alright, Romeo, time to get you home."

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"He's been staring at that ceiling for hours, what's eating him?" Salma whispered to me as we watched Rami become one with the couch.

"He's in love with my worst enemy. I think it might have hit him pretty hard when he realized she was a raging lunatic out for all our blood,"

"You think?! Poor kid's probably crushed, what is he 20?"

"18. But you know what, there is one thing that's bugging me,"

"What?"

"He's always been the player type, you know what I mean? He practically invented the 'hit it and quit it'. Why the sudden change of heart? And why Rex, of all people?"

"Sounds like you were never much fond of your cousin..."

"I never have been, but blood is blood, and it's not something we can throw away in these times. But, honestly, look at him. He looks dead,"

"Hmmm... This calls for some heart-break cake." Salma winked at me.

"Cake? How come he gets cake? We're in a war, Salma, there's no time for cake!"

"Don't be ridiculous! There's always enough time for cake. Now if you shut up and help, maybe I'll save you a piece,"

I stuck my tongue out at her and rolled up my sleeves.

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Rami stared at me blankly, like I wasn't even there. As if he were in a trance, looking at something beyond me.

"Bro. I am holding a piece of CAKE in my hands. HOW CAN YOU JUST IGNORE ME???"

Rami looked at me for a second, then seemed to break out of his daze.

"Cake?" He looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "Did you say cake?"

I waved the plate in front of him, sending some sprinkles flying into his lap. Don't ask me where Salma acquired these thing, I have no idea. I gave Rami a pointed look.

"Yes, last time I checked this sugary triangular thing is defined as a piece of cake,"

He stared at me and then at the cake for a few more minutes before snatching the plate out of my hand and devouring its contents like a rabid animal. I stared at him in mock horror for a few minutes, but I couldn't blame him. Cake was kind of a miracle these days.

"Feeling better?" I smiled at him.

"Oh, yeah, I've been fine for a while. I was moping to avoid all the work I promised to do,"

My sympathy was quickly extinguished. The urge to smack him over came me so I quickly got up and left before I did something I regretted. Unfortunately for me, he decided to follow.

"Hey, you're not pissed are you?"

"You've been screwing with me this whole time! I don't know what your deal is! You haven't been straight with me this whole time! Of course I'm pissed off!"

"Better to be pissed off than pissed on..."

"Ugh..." I tried to walk away from him, but he grabbed my arm. I glared at him and snatched my arm out from his cold fingers.

"Look, I know I haven't been totally honest with you. But I am in love with Rex. That much is true,"

"Great. Why don't you just go sleep with the enemy and get it over with,"

"Don't worry, I have every intention to," he smirked.

"You're repulsive... I think you should leave."

"No... Zahra! Please!" he looked suddenly panicked. I was already walking away, but I paused for a second despite my better judgment. '

"Why should I give you another chance?"

"I have to show you something."

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 I stared at his motorcycle and then back at him.

"Are you high? There's no way I'm getting on this death machine! Especially not with you!"

Rami looked annoyed, but he shook his head. "We're not taking the motorcycle, I just need something out of it," he stuck his hand into the compartment, rifling through whatever was in there. When he found whatever he was looking for, he grunted, shoved it in his pocket, and began walking west. I reluctantly followed.

"Hey, if you're going to take me somewhere, tie me up, and go all serial killer on me, I'd really like to know," I joked. He rolled his eyes, but he said nothing.

"What's with you? Why are you so quiet all of the sudden? I have a feeling I'm not going to like whatever it is that you want to show me..."

I heard him grind his teeth, "Just shut up. Let's just say Rex is not the only reason I'm here. I'm surprised your lover boy, Chase, didn't tell you."

"His name is Rasheed now, and what didn't he tell me?"

"Shh."

I crossed my arms and shut my mouth. This was not going to be good. Suddenly, Rami stopped and kicked the ground. Not angrily, but like he was looking for something. He took a few more steps and kicked again. He did this a few more times before finding whatever it was that he was locating. He pulled the objects out of his pocket, and after looking a bit closer, I saw that it was a key. A gold key, old looking, and with a large letter K in the middle. A key that I had seen countless times tied around Rasheed's neck.

"Hey! Where did you get that?"

Rami glanced at me. "You'll see," He was scattering dirt all over the place, uprooting grass.

"We're not grave robbing, are we?"

"No."

He stuck the key into what looked like a trap door. It opened, revealing a dusty ladder and darkness below it.

"Ready to go down?"

"You can't be serious."

He gave me a look and grabbed my arm to push me forward. I pulled away and started stepping down.

When I finally got the the bottom, I lost the ability to speak for a moment.

"What in the hell is this?"