"Of course I remember, silly! I'm coming up there with your mom. I just got off the phone with her."

Kylie's heart, poised to make the leap, did a nosedive right into her stomach. The thought of Sara coming to Shadow Falls sent a wave of shock to her brain.

Sara was from Kylie's old life.

Everything at Shadow Falls was part of her new life.

Old life and new life didn't go together. They were like peanut butter and hot dogs. The two were fine separately, but they should never meet.

Never.

Ever.

"Uh, Sara. You ... you..." She swallowed hard. "You can't just visit Shadow Falls. I mean, you have to ... have to get permission from the camp leaders, and they are very funny about-"

"Duh, your mom told me that. So I took the bull by the horns and called and spoke with a Mr. Burnett James about twenty minutes ago. He said it would be fine for me to ride up with your mom. I can't wait to see you, Kylie. And I can't wait to meet all those hot guys you told me about. We're going to have such fun. Oh, and what was the name of that really bitchy girl you told me about? DeAnn, no, wait, it was Della. We can tag team her ass."

Della's eyes widened. Bitchy, she mouthed.

Kylie's hand wrapped around the phone and started to shake. "Ugh. I never said she was bitchy, I said she was blunt."

"Same thing," Sara said. "And the other one with the weird hair? Tell me, are they the ones who taught you how to heal people?"

"I'm sorry." Kylie's heart started to jump beats. "I have to go. Someone just ... someone just called me." She punched Della in the arm.

"Hey, Kylie!" Della yelled out, and grinned as if she enjoyed playing a part in the shenanigans. Or not. "Oh, you're on the phone. We can talk later. I wouldn't want to be a bitch or anything," she said in her snarkiest voice.

"I'll call you later," Kylie told Sara. "Yeah ... later. Sorry." She started to hang up and then said, "But I'm happy about you being okay, Sara. Really happy."

Kylie snapped her phone closed and then looked at Della. Della, who seemed to be immensely enjoying Kylie's discomfort. Della, who looked part pissed off and part amused.

"So," Della said. "We finally get to meet Miss Sara, huh? Your oldest and best friend, who has always sounded like a self-centered bitch, if you ask me. You totally upgraded when you came here. Personally, I'd have let her die. But on second thought..." Della flashed her fangs. "Hmm, what type of blood does she have? Think I could talk her into donating a pint or two, maybe more? Tag team my ass!"

"Kill me," Kylie said, and brushed her hair back to expose her neck vein. "Just kill me now and get it over with!"

* * *

"So we get to meet Sara. Cool," Miranda said later that night as they sat around the kitchen table.

"Not cool," Kylie said, seriously unhappy about it, and gave a demanding Socks a scratch behind his ear.

"Why not cool?" Miranda asked.

"She doesn't want us to meet her," Della said. "We might find out what the real Kylie Galen is like."

Kylie scowled at Della, and yeah, she could pull off a pretty mean scowl, thanks to living with Della. "It's not that at all. If anything, you guys know the real me. It's just ... over-the-top weird to have her coming here."

"Why?" Miranda asked. "We've met your mom."

"And your philandering dad," Della added.

"That's different," Kylie said, and frowned at the philandering comment. Though she didn't know why she was offended, because it was true.

"How's it different?" Miranda asked. Before Kylie could answer, Miranda added, "Hey, I hope you two get a chance to meet Todd on Friday night. Will you guys wait with me in the parking lot when he comes to pick me up?"

Both Della and Kylie frowned, but they nodded.

"It's different for you," Kylie said to Miranda, still stuck on Sara coming to visit on Parents Day. "You've known you were supernatural all your life. You don't have a presupernatural life." Socks, still on the tabletop, jumped down to the floor with a catlike elegance. "It's like I was a different person back then. And yeah, you met my parents, but it's almost as if they don't count-not the way your friends count."

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand," Miranda said.

"I do," said Della. And she said it as though she hated to admit it. "Kylie's right. It's different when you had a different life. I tried to imagine how it would be for you guys to meet Lee, or one of my old girlfriends. It would be freaky." She met Kylie's eyes. "I'm sorry I gave you a hard time about this."

"Wow," Miranda said. "You'd better be careful, Della. In the last few days, I think you've used up your vampire quota of apologies for the next ten years."

"Kiss my apologetic ass!" Della snapped.

* * *

Later that night, Kylie woke up to the mist forming around her. She didn't know where she was, but for some reason she wasn't afraid. Her gaze stayed on the soft, moist mist. She looked at the trees; the leaves, even in the dark, were a perfect shade of verdant green. Beautiful sprays of moonlight spilled through limbs that seemed to reach up into the heavens with pride. Perfect. Fairy-tale perfect. Even the sounds of the forest at night were like a symphony. She heard the water, like a babbling brook, a peaceful, beautiful sound playing in the background.