“You didn’t do ANYTHING!” her father screamed. “That’s exactly it. You DISSAPPEARED!”

“I had to,” Rachel said vaguely. “Trust me.”

“Did you not stop for one second to think about how that affected your family? Did you?” her father yelled. “You have no idea the toll it took on us. Especially your mother.”

“Did you even hear what happened to Mom?” Marc asked.

Rachel couldn’t imagine what it could be and said, “No.”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t even think you’re worthy of knowing,” her father said.

“Worthy of knowing where my own mother is?” Rachel questioned.

“Yes. You probably wouldn’t even care anyway,” her father remarked.

“Tell me, please,” Rachel begged. “I must know.”

“She’s not well,” Marc said. “She’s not well at all.”

“What do you mean?” Rachel asked in worry.

“She got very ill. She fell into a deep coma and she’s in the hospital now,” her father said.

“Coma?” Rachel asked, devastated. “But I don’t understand.”

“She couldn’t take it anymore. She got sick from worrying about you and then once everyone started talking about your death, she tried to kill herself, too. She overdosed on pain medication and just about died herself. She lapsed into a coma and has been like that ever since,” her father sighed.

“How long?” Rachel asked in fear.

“It’s been a while now. Almost five months,” Marc added.

“Five months!” Rachel exclaimed.

“Why didn’t I know about this?” Rachel asked.

“Probably because you didn’t come back to us,” her father said. “You don’t seem to care about anyone else but yourself these days. It serves you right really. What’s happened to your mother is all your fault. Imagine if she’d died. How would you have felt?”

“But, I …I,” Rachel said. “I didn’t do anything. Really, it wasn’t my fault. Stop blaming me for something I didn’t have control over!”

“Control over!” her father yelled. “You’re the one who left!”

“Dad, please. Please. You have to understand. I had to go. Things changed for me. You have to believe me. But now I’m back, but only for a short time,” Rachel said.

“Yeah, why did you come back here anyway?” Marc asked. “And how did you know we were here.”

“I went back to Bedford and the guy who lives in our house told me you’d moved. So, he gave me your phone number and it was the same as before, so I figured you’d just moved back to our old house. And I was right. Here you are!” Rachel said.

“So why did you come back here?” her father asked.

“I had to come back for my kaleidoscope,” Rachel said.

“What?” Marc said.

“What kaleidoscope?” her father asked.

“This one,” Rachel said, holding it up in her hands.

“What’s that dumb thing?” Marc asked, laughing at her. “Why would you ever come back for a dumb toy?”

“Shut up, Marc! It’s not a toy. It’s much more than that,” Rachel said. Then she realized she’d never convince him it was magical so she stopped trying to defend herself and just let him think whatever he wanted.

Then, Rachel noticed it. There was something missing on her kaleidoscope. It was the golden flower knob that fit onto the side of it. How did she not realize that before? she thought to herself. It’s the piece that holds the top and the bottom of the kaleidoscope together. She knew it felt a little loose, but didn’t stop to make sure all the pieces were together. Then, she wondered where she’d put the flower knob. She remembered taking it off one day before she’d left to be with Benji because she didn’t want anyone looking in her kaleidoscope and finding her. She didn’t want anyone else to use it.

Then, she remembered! She’d put it in her small jewelry box with the twirling ballerina. She put it under one of the felt padded drawers. She knew she had to find it. She’d just been through all her boxes, but it was not there. She couldn’t imagine where it would be. Then, figured she’d have to ask her dad since he was probably the one who packed up all her things.

“Dad, I need to find my small jewelry box. Do you know where it is?” Rachel asked, changing the subject on them.

“What?” her father asked. “Why would I know where your stuff is?”

“Well, who packed it all up?” Rachel asked.

“Your sister and I did it together. Your mother had already been in the hospital for some time now before we moved and we didn’t want to tell her about the move either. We couldn’t add anything else to her plate,” her father said.

“Well, are there any other boxes that are mine here?” Rachel asked. “I have to find something else. I promise I’ll leave once I find it!”

“Leave? Again?” Marc asked. “Where do you keep going?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Rachel said, trying to avoid the question.

“Dad, please help me find it. I beg you,” Rachel said.

“Why do you need that dumb thing anyway?” her father asked.

“I need it. I just do!” Rachel said, starting to get upset.

“I think there may be some more boxes of your in the attic. You can have five minutes to look and then I want you out,” her father said.

“You’re not welcome in our house anymore. You’ve caused enough trouble already. Take what you need and then leave. We don’t want to see you again,” her father yelled.

Rachel understood. He did have a point. Ever since she’d been turned, and actually, even before that she had caused a lot of stress and hardship for her family.

“You’re dead to us,” Marc said, with a cold face. “You shouldn’t have even come back. Nobody wants to see you here.”

Rachel sat there, holding her kaleidoscope and a tear started rolling down her cheek. She felt emotional by the words that her father and brother were saying, but she knew they were right. She knew that they had a point and to be honest, she felt a little bit bad about how she’d left them. They didn’t deserve that, but she also didn’t deserve to be disowned like this either.

“Five minutes!” her father said, “And then we want you gone!”

She couldn’t believe she only had five minutes to rummage through who knows how many boxes in the attic to find something smaller than her pinky toe nail. It was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack, but she was up for the challenge. She had to be, without this flower knob, she couldn’t save Benji and then, her life would be over.

She began to run for the attic, but before she got there, Marc stopped her, in the other room.

“I’m sorry I was tough on you in front of Dad,” he said, looking guilty. “I actually just moved back myself. When they sold the house I went through a tough time. I stayed back. I crashed with friends. I went down a bad slope. Did drugs. Got in with the wrong crowd.

“Then I ran into your old friend Rob at a party. We fought, and when I woke up, it was like the weirdest thing—I felt different. Stronger. Not like myself. I don’t really understand it. I haven’t felt the same since. I didn’t know what to do. So I came back here. Anyway, sorry. I just want to say I know how you feel, in a weird way. I don’t really like our parents either. I have to get out of here soon. I just don’t know where to go, or what to do.”

To Rachel’s shock, Marc started to tear up, looking down.

She stepped in and placed a hand on his shoulder. As she did, she could feel the vampire energy, and she pulled away, shocked. Had Rob turned him?

“What is it?” Marc asked. “You look freaked.”

“Um…nothing,” Rachel said. “I just want you to know I understand what you’re going through. You may not think I do, but I do. When you’re ready, find me. I will help you. I promise. I will become the good big sister that I never was.”

A smile crossed Marc’s face. The two of them hugged.

Then Rachel took off, sprinting back to the attic, knowing her Dad would kick her out soon.

She quickly ran into the house, which surprisingly felt like home again to her. It was almost as if she’d never left. Part of her actually wished they’d never moved in the first place because then none of this would be happening. She would be human again. How she longed to feel what it was like to be a normal human girl again.

Then, she snapped out of it, pulled the string which hung from the ceiling on the second floor and pulled down the steps that led to the attic. She climbed the steep, dusty steps, gripping the sides of the steps with her one free hand. The other hand still clutching onto the kaleidoscope with all her might. As she got to the top of the steps, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The attic was filled with boxes; it was like a sea of boxes. It must have been their entire life up there. She couldn’t believe she had only five minutes to find the flower knob in her old jewelry box. She know it was going to be impossible.

Then, she started digging through the boxes one by one. Time was ticking and it was only a matter of minutes before her father came in and kicked her out for good. Honestly, she was surprised he even let her in in the first place. She figured he must have been in a relatively forgiving mood today, since he didn’t kick her out the moment he saw her. She deserved it, she thought to herself. She deserved to be treated terrible after what she’d put them through.

“Rachel, three more minutes!” her father yelled. “You better move fast!”

Rachel scurried along, searching through box after box and still finding nothing. She was about to give up when she came across a red box. It was unlike any other box she’d seen before. It was vibrant in color and it was almost as if there was a glow coming out of the box. She went over to the box and cut open the tape that covered the top. As she opened it up, there was a bright light emanating from it. She was confused and surprised all at once. It reminded her of the old Coven Book and how it glowed when she’d opened the cover. Was this a magical box? Rachel questioned herself.