As tired as we were, we couldn't help but stare in awe at how beautiful the house was. Everything looked antique and fragile. I was too scared to even touch anything, not like I had the energy to anyways. All of a sudden, my mind became strangely aware of somebody right next to me. Darian... "Like Mrs. Holden said, my name is Darian. What are your names?" He asked in a nonchalant way. He combed his fingers through his slicked back, jet black hair, and again, I couldn't help but stare. He stood there just staring back at me with those damn green eyes for what felt like an eternity. "My name is Inna and the person you're burning a hole into is my sister, Ivy," Inna replied with a mixture of sarcasm and annoyance. God, I felt like an idiot. I quickly looked away and Darian did the same. "You both must be tired. I'll show you to your rooms," he said so fast that I could barely understand if that was even what he said. We followed him up the grand spiral staircase and walked all the way down a dimly lit hallway where a large window stopped us in our tracks. The darkness made it so hard to see that I didn't even realize there were two large bedroom doors to the left and right of us. Darian motioned towards the door on the left. "This will be your room. There are two bedrooms that are adjoining so you each can have your privacy." He gently pushed the door open and tiny sensor lights came on throughout the spacious room. Like the rest of the house, the room was just as beautiful. Despite the complete silence running through the house, Inna let out a rather loud scream of excitement. "Finally my own room!" She exclaimed, running high speed into the room and disappearing into the adjoining one. It was too late to calm her down so I awkwardly stood outside the bedroom door, not knowing what to say. He seemed to feel the same way because we both just stood there, looking out of a large window that overlooked a field of flowers barely visible by a crescent moon. The tension was thick, and I didn't know how to break it. But out of nowhere, he turned away and retreated into the room opposite of ours. Okay...don't just stand there, dufus. I mentally slapped myself for feeling stupid for what felt like the millionth time today. As I turned around to enter our room, a hand touched my shoulder, causing me to jump slightly. "I'm sorry for scaring you. Here are the keys for both the front doors and your bedroom door. Not sure if you really need them though." Darian quietly chuckled. Damn, you're handsome. My eyes scanned over him, my voice stuck in my throat. Stop. I need to snap out of whatever this is before I look like an idiot again. He stared back at me, placing the keys in my hand, and when his skin touched mine, I felt some kind of tingling sensation. Like electricity, like energy. I pulled my hand away and looked back into his eyes, realizing that he was mirroring the same reaction of surprise. He lingered there for a second before whispering good night under his breath, entering his room, and slamming the door shut behind him. "Good night," I whispered to myself before retreating into our room. For the past ten years, Inna and I have never had a stable home. I can't stress that enough because home to me was where where my mother was, but now she's gone. Thinking back to that time will now and forever be a nightmare. An endless nightmare that I rather suffer alone. Looking at my little sister jumping on the king size bed in the adjoining room filled me with momentary happiness, but I wasn't sure if it was best that we stayed here. We aren't like everybody else, and worse, there's a darkness out there that I feel will eventually catch up to us if we stayed here. I know she will hate me forever if I tore her away from this place, but that might be the hardest decision thus far that I'll have to make for her safety. With all this stress, I felt like I was freaking ninety. My mind was filled with these thoughts for the rest of the night as I laid in my own new bed. My body felt warm, but my mind was on high alert and my heart was a mess. With heavy eyes, my thoughts began to drift to a boy with emerald green eyes. And then, as my eyes began to flutter closed, I fell deep into a memory that I wished I could forget. We stood frozen as we heard heavy footsteps approaching the dining hall. I held onto my uncle's hand, nudging my face into the side of his overcoat. Mother held Inna in her arms as she walked closer to the entrance of the room to greet him. The once happy atmosphere shifted to uncomfortable tension, and I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest. "What's going on here? Go to your rooms immediately!" He said with such ice in his voice that my mother put Inna down and motioned for me to take her up to our rooms. She smiled at me, silently telling me that everything was going to be okay. My father's dark eyes held so much hate that I rushed Inna up the stairs as fast as I could. "Inna stay here. I'll be right back." I handed her the dolls our mother made us and rushed to the bottom of the last flight of stairs. I couldn't see anything, but I could hear yelling. "Stay out of this, Serrano! You're a worthless excuse of a man. You give our family a bad name!" My father roared. My uncle was so sweet and kind. I wanted so badly to run in there and save him. "Enough! The both of you! Please, Augustine. I beg of you. Please, don't do this," My mother pleaded, her voice so close to tears. The house began to shake and the lights started to flicker. "Tears are for the weak! You will obey me, Iridesa. This show of disobedience warrants punishment!" The shaky ground beneath me made my legs wobbld, but I couldn't hold myself back any longer. I was in the dining hall before I could catch my breath. I gulped as I took in the scene before me. Uncle Serrano was pinned against a wall by ropes of darkness. His face that was strained with anger suddenly changed to fear as he caught sight of me at the corner of the room. My father noticed the direction of his gaze and turned towards me. That's when I felt the tears on my face. They trickled down my cheeks with no sign of letting up. "You're no daughter of mine. You're just like your mother. You're weak!" His eyes turned pitch black as he motioned his hands towards me, casting me off the ground and against the back wall. I couldn't stop crying, the wetness of my eyes blurring my sight. As hard as I tried to fight the darkness, I slowly became numb as everything turned black around me.