She let the warm water completely cover her body, and closed her eyes tightly. She felt that problems could best be solved if the person was in complete and total relaxation. Now, she thought to herself. What should I do about Evans?

She couldn’t think of a solution. She had never met anyone like him. No one had ever gotten to her like he did. She had been angry before—who hadn’t? But she had always been able to control it. He was rude, obnoxious and obviously ignorant.

Besides, she added mentally. He was a creep! There was more, although she didn’t want to admit it. He scared her. She had never been scared before in her life-not ever. She didn’t like the feeling…it made her feel so vulnerable. He was disturbing. The look in his eyes—it wasn’t like anything she had seen before. He viewed her as a thing…a thing he wanted to be in control over.

How far would he go to achieve his goal? Annette shivered at the thought. The water, which she had taken care to make sure it was especially hot, was now freezing. Goosebumps raised on her arm, and she couldn’t help shivering again. Annette suddenly felt a feeling of dread run through her body. She slowly lifted her eyelids, and looked down into the water.

She screamed.

The water had turned a dark, luxorious red—almost the color of blood. Her stomach had been gutted, she could see her entrails. Fear, followed by dread, followed by horror swallowed her body whole. Her body erupted in shakes. She couldn’t feel herself breathe.

“No…” she sobbed, slowly sinking into the water. “God…No! Stop it! Stop it!! Stop it!!!”

She looked up again, and let out a terrified moan.

Directly over her floated two, indescribable eyes. Eyes that Annette would recognize in the dark.

Evans' eyes.

“Are you sure?” Victoria squealed, for the hundredth time. “I mean, maybe you fell asleep? Or you could have had a hallucination from the hot water?”

It was all Annette could do to nod her head no. “I’m sure,” she said, shaking again, wrapping her bathrobe more tightly around her. Her hair had dried in an uncombed mess around her shoulders. Tears occasionally streamed down her face.

“He’s evil,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. Victoria, now visibly upset, grabbed a brush, sat down behind her friend on a chair, and began combing her friend’s hair.

“I know,” she said softly.

“I’ve never been that afraid,” Annette continued, her eyes distant, her voice weak. “And his eyes—They were just over me…staring at me. He was basking in my pain…and Vic…he was enjoying it…” Annette said, her voice cracking.

Victoria dropped the brush and stood up. Anger flared up in her. How dare Evans? He did this on purpose! How dare he take her best friend and knock her down to a barely coherent vegetable?

“Annette Isabella Guerin!” Victoria growled through closed teeth. “How dare you let him get to you?” With that, she pulled her best friend up to her knees, and began to form a connection.

What are you doing? Annette sent through the bond.

Doing exactly what you needed to do upon meeting, she shot back. I just needed extra juice.

The air pressure changed all around her, and she knew she had been successful. She used Annette as a medium, and through Annette, she began to send herself into Evans' head. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she saw Evans.

“Evans,” she growled. He spun around in surprise.

“Victoria?” he said, as surprised as Evans ever got. “You can’t send yourself into other people’s minds!”

“You’d like to think that wouldn’t you?” Victoria snarled, advancing towards him and using her powers to create the illusion of the walls moving back. A brief spell of fear flashed in front of his eyes, but he quickly hid it.

“What exactly are you going to do,” he said, backing up.

“You already know,” Victoria hissed, and then she started laughing. “Drive you crazy, of course.”

“What?” he said, slowly.

“No one brings Annette down to the level you brought her down to!” she spat out. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to see your sister, the girl whose always gotten her way and the girl you’ve always admired, tremble and cry because some ‘peeping Tom’ played his mind games!” She jerked her hands above her head, and lightning flashed. Evans continued to move away from her, until an invisible block stopped him. Victoria continued to move closer to him, getting so close that he could feel her breath on him. She grabbed his face in her hands, holding it so tightly he could feel her long, sculpted finger nails digging into his skull. Horrifying images flashed through his head. Images of torture, Images of pain. His head jerked with every image. Victoria just looked on with a satisfaction. She finally stopped.

“How did you like that?” she whispered, leaning on him to get as close to his ear as possible. His eyes, once blank, suddenly snapped to life. He grabbed her shoulders, and shoved her back up against the invisible wall, not releasing her.

“You’ll have to do better then that,” he said smirking, pressing his entire body up against hers, and using his arms to hold her wrists up. He could feel her trying not to tremble, he smiled with satisfaction.

“What are you?” she murmured, clearly horrified. He ran his tongue up her neck to her jaw line.

“Someone you don’t want to ever mess with,” he said slowly, pronouncing every syllable as if he was going to murder the next one. Suddenly, Victoria was traveling through the connection. Every color echoed all around here.

Annette’s room came into full view. She inhaled sharply, and saw her best friend do the same. “What happened?” she gasped. Victoria shivered.

“He’s dangerous,” she shivered. She slowly looked up at Annette. “We need to take him out now.”

“What do you think he’s going to do?” Annette asked, unsure completely. “Go into our heads and drive us crazy?”

“No,” Victoria said quickly. “He wants to do it the human way. He wants to kill us Anna…. and there’s nothing that’s going to stop him.”

Annette stared out into space for a few minutes. “What about V.D.?” she asked. “Is he on our side or Evans’ side?”

“Our side,” Victoria answered quickly, then blushed realizing how she came across as. “He’s on our side,” she said again, slower.

“Then we need to call him,” Annette answered, her eyes still distant. “He needs to be in on this too. Our lives could be in danger.”

“Not tonight,” Victoria said slowly. “It’s getting late. Mom will get worried if I’m not home soon. Unless, you still want me to stay? You know, in case he comes back.”

Annette shook her head no. “I think I’ll be okay,” she replied. “I think I have better control over my emotions now. If he comes back, I’ll show him who's boss.”

Victoria smiled, clearly not believing her, but attempting to hide it for conversation’s sake. “If you’re sure,” she said quietly, then got up to leave. “Call me tomorrow,” she said at the door. “We’ll make plans, do lunch,” Then she left.

Annette sighed, paced the room, and plopped down on a couch in her sitting room. Everything was done in designer. Of course, that was the story of her life, but this room was no exception. The tall ceilings were hauntingly beautiful, and the long draperies that reached from ceiling to floor bordered the tall windows, which overlooked the city. Sighing again, she walked into her closet and dressed in one of her old fashioned nightgowns that she absolutely adored. There was something in the fabric that appealed to her, she couldn’t understand what.

She entered her bathroom, sat down at a mirror, and began her nightly ritual of preparing for bed. First came the hair, then the teeth, then off went the makeup. She would have to take her shower in the morning. After her bath, she wasn’t to anxious to be submerged in water.

She exited the bathroom, and went back into her sitting room. She was very confused. Never before had anything like this ever happened in her life. Why did it have to begin now? She didn’t like to be scared. She didn’t want to be scared.

She walked through her sitting room into her bedding area. All she wanted to do was snuggle up in her down comfortable and drift to sleep. She’d had the worst day of her life!