'How is your vacation going so far?'

  'Good,' Melanie replied to his text.

  'Did you have your dinner?'

  'Eating,' and Melanie added, 'You?'

  After hitting send, she wondered when they started talking to each other as friends?

  'I have been in the infirmary since this morning, and I am sick.'

  Reading it, Melanie frowned. She replied to him, 'I thought you can't fall sick.'

  It took a minute before she received a message from him again. And this time, his message read—
'Of course, I can fall sick. Mel-sick.'

  Melanie stared at the message for a few seconds. She would have never thought that Simon could be this cheesy. And what did he mean Mel-sick?! Blood rushed up to her neck, and she hoped it didn't reach her cheeks. Her mother interrupted her thoughts, "Everything alright, Mel?"

  "Yes, mom," Melanie smiled at her mother, and she placed the phone on her lap. "It was just about the schedule for the next year."

  "Your university sure works fast, doesn't it?" said her mother, and Melanie gave her a nod while hoping her mother wouldn't ask what the schedule was about. "Did Julie go to visit her uncle's place? Poor child doesn't have parents."

  Not knowing what else to say, Melanie replied with a yes, "She's staying at her uncle and aunt's house."

  "Maybe if we are free, we should all go on a picnic. What do you think, Mel?" asked her mother, and Melanie wondered if she had run out of luck. "Just us and her family. Maybe we can have Conner's family along with us."

  "I will be sure to ask her about it," answered Melanie, and her mother looked pleased with her answer and continued to eat.

  Once she was done eating her meal, she watched the television with her family like any other time when she was back home. Her parents sat on the couch opposite her. Melanie quickly texted Conner, letting him know about what her parents told her.

  Before leaving Veteris, both Julie and Melanie had already discussed the possible questions that Melanie would ask, and the answers had been discussed. Which was why Melanie had no trouble in answering where Julie was right now. She could make up such that Julie had gone out of state with her relatives. She wouldn't have to worry about her mother asking her to join them.

  Her eyes carefully shifted to look at her parents, and she wondered how many vampires were held as hostages in their basement.

  Feeling the vibration from her phone, she pulled it out and checked—
'Where did you disappear to, my stolen heart?'

  Melanie internally cringed at Simon's attempt, and she could feel goosebumps forming on her skin just by reading his words.

  'Maybe someone took it to run a stake through it,' replied Melanie. Was he not satisfied with annoying her in the university that he was now trying to annoy her through the phone?

  She received his text right away, which read, 'If that someone is you……' and another text came after the suspense, 'Perhaps I should come to your place and get it. What do you think?'

  Melanie rolled her eyes, 'You are really courting death. And no my name is not death.'

  'But I feel like I am going to die at any moment. I wonder how long it will take for you to miss me. It is unfair that Conner gets to stay right next to you, while I am far away.'

  Somewhere, Melanie wanted to shake her head at Simon's antics. He was truly a prankster, and now that he asked her, her thoughts went to his question. Missing him…
She wasn't going back to Veteris right now, and once the next academic year would start, he wouldn't be there in the university. She hadn't realized it until now. Like Julie had earlier pointed out, her heart had let go of Conner during the time of waiting, and she had continued to hold on to the lingering feelings. And during that time, someone had sneaked into her mind, invading her thoughts.

  She turned her phone on silent mode after sensing her father look at her because of the number of times her phone had made noise. When she felt no one was looking at her, she saw Simon's reply had arrived, and she opened it,

  'If you were death, you would be the most beautiful one.'

  It seemed like Simon was indeed sick. And he was possibly sick with all the cheese he had eaten for spouting these cheesy things right now. She would have asked if he had no shame, but was it even worth asking?

  When she didn't reply and got immersed in what was going on on the television screen, she felt the light on her phone flash.

  'What are you doing now?' he asked her.

  Melanie clicked the words on the keyboard and sent the reply, 'Watching a 80's movie. Why?'

  'Do you mind if I join?'

  Melanie rolled her eyes, 'The movie will be done before you join and no.' Staying away from him would put her thoughts on the right track, and maybe she would figure, under all the annoyance and her tolerance, if she liked him.

  He was in the infirmary of Veteris, acting sick right now, there was no way he would come here to watch a movie. Not to mention when her mother was suspicious about him. Though a few days ago, Simon had introduced himself to be a hunter, her parents had only bothered to ask about Julie and not him. And that was enough of a red flag in Melanie's book.

  'So harsh with your replies. Now that our exams are done, I was supposed to take you out on a date. When are you free this week?' he asked her.

  'I am busy trying to find the solution that was prepared by my mother. Apparently she gave them away to another party, who needed it. I need to go and take a look if she probably kept one sample for reference.'

  'Such a hard working girl. You would be a wonderful girlfriend of the vampire. How is mother and father-in-law doing?'

  Melanie stared hard at his question. If possible, she would have thrown him to the sharks right now for making such a joke.

  'My parents are watching the movie with me. I am going to watch the movie now, bye,' she sent the message to him before keeping the phone away when she didn't receive his reply. And though Melanie stared at the screen right now, her thoughts went back to the words that Simon had sent her.

  Even though Simon wasn't here, he was invading her thoughts, and Melanie muttered something under her breath that had her parents turn to look at her.

  "Are you alright, Mel?" asked her mother.

  "I was just scolding the person there," Melanie pointed her finger to the television.

  Melanie wished her parents goodnight and went to her room when the movie was over. Putting her phone on the table, she turned around and nearly screamed if the person in front of her didn't cover her mouth.

  "Who keeps the window open? Waiting for thieves to break in?" asked Simon.