Downstairs, Edge and Matt were talking with Amarice and Sebastian, Edge catching up on his sister, Matt learning about Jeff’s girl when she was little. Christian and Melissa came down the stairs softly and sat on the floor. They listened to what was going on, enjoying each others’ company. All were happy that Jeff and Dakota were gaining their strength back. Nobody seemed as happy as Edge and Matt. They had taken care of them, with no help from either Christian or Melissa. While Edge listened, his thoughts drifted to Dakota and Jeff.

Jeff opened his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling. And as he looked down at the sleeping girl, the sleeping angel, he realized he had to go. He had to leave. He didn’t know why, nor where he should go, but he just knew he had to get out. They weren’t together again. They were just lying together because that was what their bodies needed to heal. They were feverish, and their bodies would not relinquish the fire without the other’s help. Jeff rolled out of bed and onto his feet. He walked over to the closet, pulled on a pair of boxers, and grabbed a backpack out of a box at the base of the closet. The fever was still there, but not nearly as bad as it was before, and Jeff reasoned that it would go away when he fed off of human blood again, not Kindred blood. He stuffed some clothes into the bag and zipped it shut. In the front pocket, he placed his keys, his wallet, and a picture. Somewhere in the bag went paper and a pen. He tossed the bag near the door. He pulled a pair of black jeans over his black silk boxers. He yanked a black tee-shirt on over his smooth white chest. His black boots went on over his white socked feet. He scribbled a note on a piece of paper, walked out of his room and tacked it up on Edge’s door. He walked back down the hall and into his room. He leaned over and kissed Dakota’s forehead. "Good-bye, my angel. I hope that someday you can understand why I must leave. I will be back, when I am ready to face you and what I have done. I hope that you always remember that I love you, no matter what, until the end of time." With that, he slung his bag over his shoulder, and dropped out of his window. He went to the garage and walked his bike down to the end of the driveway. He put the key in, slipped his helmet on, and rode off, looking for answers.

Edge went to go find his picture of himself and his sister to show Sebastian. He discovered a note on his door. He pulled it down and opened it, reading the scratchy handwriting, recognizing immediately that it was Jeff’s. It read:

Edge looked at the note in disbelief. What was he going to tell Dakota? He could hear her moving in the next room. He put the note down and went to Dakota. He pulled her into his arms and let her cry.