• I wrapped my arms around Aidan’s neck as he kissed me in the moonlight. I pulled back from him, the smile fading from his lips as he looked over my head. A look of fear played across his beautiful face as he whispered to me “Run, Adeline.” I couldn’t move I didn’t know what was going on; all I knew was that he was scared. I turned to look in the direction of what the source of his fear was coming from. I gasped as I saw a dark figure, teeth glinting in the moonlight, with incisors that were too long to be human. My body responded to the fear before my brain had the common sense to tell it to run. I lifted my skirt and petticoat and ran as fast as I could. Suddenly, I felt a jolt, and felt as though I was flying backwards. I hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of me. Then slowly a shadow fell across my face, I looked up and tried to scream. “Don’t worry my dear; this will only hurt a little.” The stranger said a smile on his face. He slowly lowered his mouth to my neck and breathed in. He opened his mouth and closed it around my neck, sinking his teeth in. Then I finally found my voice, I screamed and everything went black.
    It had been over thirty years and I was still stuck in that memory. I had other memories but this one stuck out the most. It was the night that I was reborn. Well, rather, the night that I died. But I was still alive. It was explained to me when I woke up out of the blackout. I was one of “them” now, the living dead, the night walkers. Call us whatever you wanted to call us, I was one of those. I heaved a sigh and continued to get dressed. I tied my midnight black corset and put on a pair of jeans. I was trying to put my long dark hair into a ponytail when I heard a knock on my door. “It’s open.” I yelled. Jay came strolling in and I rolled my eyes. He must have seen me in the mirror because he said, “No need to act like that dear.” I silently cursed him in my head. If you couldn’t tell by now, I really didn’t care for him. He just rubbed me the wrong way. “What do you want Jay?” I asked, hoping he could hear the venom in my voice. “Just wondering if you’re going to go hunting with me tonight.” I finished tying up my hair and whirled around on him, my pupils fully dilated. “You know that I would never hunt with you, I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you.” I sneered. I was being a bit nasty, but he had harmed one of the few friends that I had made in the area. I stalked out of my room leaving him there. I flew down the stairs looking for Lee to see if he would go out hunting with me because I never went alone. It was too risky for me as a female. I got to the bottom of the stairs and stopped dead in my tracks. There was someone that I didn’t recognize in the kitchen. I slowly crept up behind him and grabbed his hand that was on the cabinet door and jammed it behind his back in a chicken wing. “Who are you and what are you doing in my house?” I asked politely. He turned his head to look at me and I almost let go, he had the most amazing blue eyes I had ever seen. He laughed then and in an Irish brogue said, “Your house? I thought that this was Lee’s house.” I was about to make a smart remark when I heard Lee. “Let go of him Adeline, he’s not going to hurt you.” I threw a look in Lee’s direction and against my better judgment let him go. “Say hello to my brother Declan. Declan, this is Adeline.” Lee introduced us properly. We mumbled our hello’s as Jay walked in. He threw a glance at Declan and then looked at me, his vile eyes scanning me up and down.

    As I stepped out onto the porch into the cool night air, I almost regretted making the decision to go hunting with Lee and Declan. I didn’t know this Declan character from a hole in the wall. I walked over to my BMW 8 series and unlocked the doors, Declan and Lee walked towards me. “I’ll drive.” I said, leaving no room for an argument. We climbed in and I started the car, listening to the purring of the engine. Lee sat in the passenger seat, I looked at him quizzically and said, “Well, where to? We could go to the club, if you guys are up for some dancing.” I looked behind Lee to where Declan sat, giving him a sly smile. I loved to dance, the music seemed to pour through my body and it was the only time I could really let go. “Sounds good to me.” Declan said, matching my sly grin. He had no idea what he was in for.
    I parked my car in the closest parking space I could to the club. I opened my door and stepped onto the pavement. The cool night air enveloped me and I closed my eyes, mentally preparing myself for the night. I waited for Lee and Declan to get out of the car. As we walked towards the entrance I let down my long hair, no use for a ponytail when I needed to curtain of hair to hide what I was going to do. We got to the door and I batted my eyelashes at the doorman, getting us into the club, ahead of the long line. No one could resist staring at us as we walked in. We all had porcelain skin and dark hair. Mine was the lightest color out of the three. I walked to the dance floor to start dancing and to look for a male that best suited what I needed. I had to quench my thirst quickly. I looked back at Declan and started to rotate my hips. I tore my eyes from him when I felt a hand at the small of my back. “You’re gorgeous.” The man said to me. I looked at him. Blond hair, deep green eyes. Perfect I thought to myself. “Thank you.” I said to him and turned away from him to start grinding. I saw Declan staring at me. I winked at him at continued dancing.
    By the end of the night, the man I was with, whose name was Ryan, had put the moves on me at least a dozen times. I felt the thirst growing stronger so I took him outside to the alleyway. He tried to shove me against the wall, but I quickly got the upper hand. He looked sort of shocked and I had to remember that a girl with my frame is not supposed to be this strong. I half closed my eyelids and whispered in his ear, “This won’t hurt a bit.” I kissed down his neck, I listened to him moan. Slowly I brought my hand up to his mouth so he couldn’t scream. I grazed his carotid artery with my tongue, feeling his pulse underneath. I sighed and bit down. He tried to struggle and scream but I tightened my grip. I felt his sweet blood roll over my tongue, he started to slump and I supported his weight no problem. When I had my fill, I propped him against the wall, gave him a kiss and wiped my mouth. I sauntered out of the alley and back into the club, searching for Lee and Declan. They were nowhere to be found so I walked out to my car to wait.
    I was leaning against my hood when Declan sauntered over to me, his gorgeous eyes half closed and his dark hair hanging in his eyes. He was almost irresistible. He sat next to me on the hood and stared at me. I turned my head ever so slightly to look at him. He had a sloppy half grin on his face. I knew that was the affect of hunting, it was like a human getting sleepy after eating a turkey dinner. I was alright to drive home though. I looked away to find Lee and felt a hand lightly touch my cheek. I whirled around and pinned Declan to the hood of the car giving him a death stare. “If you know what’s good for you, you will never do that again.” I let him go, tears starting to sting my eyes. The last person to touch me like that was Aidan. I turned and saw Lee standing there. “Let’s go.” He said and we all hopped into the car. I started the car and tore out of there, the engine roaring instead of purring. “Good,” I thought, “Matches my mood.”
    We made it to the house in no time flat. I tried to put Aidan out of my mind for the umpteenth time that night. It wasn’t working. I knew that Aidan had moved on with his life, married, had kids, and had grown old. I stayed at the age I was changed, 21. It was a blessing and a curse in itself. I never would grow older, but everyone around me would. I had seen my parents pass, watched my siblings grow older, and all of my friends had disappeared. You might think this is a bleak existence, and it was for a while until I finally accepted the fact that it is what it is. There was no turning back.
    I stopped the car in front of the house. I yanked the keys out of the ignition and slammed my door shut. I heard Lee’s door slam shut and I locked the car, activating the alarm. I stalked to the porch and was about to open the door when someone grabbed my arm. I turned to see that it was Lee, Declan standing behind him. “Yes?” I said through clenched teeth. “We need to talk.” He said and led me into the house. I saw Declan head into the kitchen. “What is your problem?” Lee asked a look of concern on his face. “Your brother tried to put the moves on me and I didn’t appreciate it.” I told him. Aidan’s face flashed through my mind, knowing what Lee was thinking was utterly annoying. A single tear slipped down my cheek. Lee reached to wipe it away. He always took care of me when I was upset. The first three days after I was changed (by him I might add) I writhed on the floor, trying to tear at my own skin. He made it so I wouldn’t. Here he was caring for me again, just like my father used to do when I was little. “I really need to get some sleep.” I said to him and walked up to my bedroom. I shut the door and flopped on my bed, not even turning the light on. I heard a shuffle and ignored it. I just figured that it was someone outside. I started to drift to sleep just as the sun was coming up. I heard the shuffle again and all of a sudden I was on the floor, lying on my back with a knife at my throat. I was so stunned that I couldn’t move.
    I looked up to see Jay over me, a crazed look in his eye. I almost laughed because I was stronger than him. “Jay, do you know what you’re doing?” I asked him in a sickly sweet and sarcastic voice. “I’m warning you not to cross me like you did earlier this evening.” He sneered. I rolled my eyes and he pressed the knife into my neck harder. With lightening speed and precision I grabbed his wrist and flung him off of me. I jacked him up against the wall, hearing his ribs crack. I wasn’t worried; he would heal in a few hours. “Don’t even think about pulling another stunt like that Jay, or I will tear you apart myself.” I said calmly to him before letting him go. I watched him skulk out of the room and I slammed my door behind him for effect. I lay back down and drifted into a dreamless sleep… Thank goodness…
    A loud voice singing woke me out of my sound sleep. I opened my eyes groggily and looked towards my door. I got out of bed to investigate where it was coming from. I got dressed and opened my door. It seemed to be coming from outside somewhere. I softly padded down the stairs and walked across the living room to the front door. I opened the screen and looked out. I saw Declan lying on the swinging chair, signing, with his eyes closed. I thought he was drunk. I walked over to him and poked him, his eyes flew open and at lightning speed he grabbed my wrist. Recognition crossed his face and he let go of my wrist. “What are you doing out here singing to yourself?” I asked him. “This is how I think. Listen,” he continued, “I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to startle you.” I looked at his face and it looked sincere. I sighed and said, “It’s ok. It’s just past stuff that I can’t seem to get over.” I told him about Aidan, looking down at the floor so I couldn’t see his face. When I was finished I looked at him out of the corner of my eyes. What I saw amazed me, it wasn’t a look of pity as I had expected. It was a look of understanding. “I had a wife once, a long time ago. I killed her.” He stated bluntly. “I couldn’t control myself after I was changed, I just went crazy and I killed her.” He looked at the floor, his face pinched with pain. I reached out and put my hand in his. We were now linked in our pain. I wondered to myself how long it would take, how many centuries, for this pain to fade.
    Declan and I sat in a comfortable, understanding silence, for what seemed like forever. I looked over at him, tracing his jaw line, cheekbones, and the curve of his neck with my stare. Almost as if he knew my eyes were on him, he turned his head to look at me, staring intently at my eyes. His gaze quickly flicked to my lips and back up to my eyes. I knew that he wanted to kiss me, but I couldn’t, not yet, not with the pain still so fresh. I quickly stood, feeling the need to run. “I’m going to go for a walk.” I told him over my shoulder. I needed to clear my head, at least just for a little while. I had always loved walking in the pre dawn hours, even before I had been changed. There was something about the way that the moonlight danced off of the leaves, the way that the ground soaked it up. The tension that I felt on the porch melted from my shoulders as I stopped and tilted my face to the moon, eyes closed.
    I heard a rustling somewhere to the left of me, a little behind me. I didn’t worry about it though, whatever it was I could handle it. I heard the noise again, a little closer this time. I sighed to myself and turned around to see what was trying to scare me. As I turned I caught the scent of a human, close, but not close enough. I could smell the sweet pungent odor of it, my fangs starting to extend. I had already hunted once tonight so I didn’t really feel the need to again, yet I couldn’t resist the bloodlust that was consuming me. I walked forward to meet the human, to prey on him or her, but what I saw surprised me.
    The person that I saw was lying on the ground, blood everywhere gushing from a hole in the man’s neck. I tried to process what was happening but the sound of sirens cut my concentration. I had no idea what to do; I couldn’t have the police involved in my life what so ever! I turned and ran from the scene at lightening quick speed, trying to evade the police and get the images out of my head as well, figuring the faster that I ran the more of a chance I had to outrun my thoughts.
    I ran all the way back to the house, never feeling the searing burn of my lungs as I did before I was changed. As I ran into the house, I slammed right into Jay. “Where’s Lee?” I demanded of him. “He’s upstairs Addie, what’s your deal? Where were you running from?” I had to find Lee and tell him what I had seen. The human’s neck was ripped open, the flesh just hanging there. I knew that there was only one creature that could do something like that, but I thought it was just a myth, that it wasn’t true. I raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time to go pound on Lee’s door until he opened it. When I got to his door it was open slightly, he must have known that I was coming. I knocked and waited to hear his voice come through the opening. He told me to come in and I rushed in, slamming the door behind me. Lee was sitting comfortably at his desk, typing away at his computer. “What is it that you want my dear?” He asked. I tried to catch my breath as I told him what I saw in the woods. As I finished I watched his face for some sort of and expression. He broke my gaze and stared at empty air while I nervously switched from foot to foot. Finally he spoke, “Addie, I need you to help me with something. I need you to follow me please.” He got up from his desk, motioning for me to follow him. He opened his door, with me following right behind him. We walked down the stairs, to the basement door. I thought that it was weird for him to be taking me to the basement; he never let anyone down there. It was almost the only unwritten house rule, besides the fact that no one can hunt alone. Lee opened the door, it sounding a protesting squeak. He flipped the switch to a bulb that gave off just enough light to see the stairs dimly. I followed Lee down the stairs, being careful to watch my step on the old pieces of board; I didn’t really trust them to hold my weight. The basement was an eerie place, even for a vampire. It was mostly all dark, with a few dirty light bulbs with pull strings. The place just didn’t have a welcoming feel about it. I felt something in the air, and smelled something like human blood, but it was near impossible. I would have smelt it all the way upstairs had that been the case. Lee walked to a door that I had not known existed in the far left corner, hesitated and unlocked the door. He motioned me to step through the doorway, him following right behind me. “Please don’t be alarmed when I turn on the light and please don’t make any quick movements.” He whispered to me. He reached over to the wall and flicked on the switch. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the bright overhead lights. I blinked and focused on a body. It took a moment for me to realize that the body was that of a young woman. I didn’t gasp, I didn’t flee the room, and I didn’t want to feed off of her. I knew there was something special about this young woman but I didn’t know what. “Who is she?” I asked of Lee. As soon as I said the words the young woman looked up at me; she had the most beautiful huge grey eyes I had ever seen. As I was staring at her eyes, she slowly got up and walked towards me. I felt lost in those eyes of hers, felt as if I were swimming in the ocean on a cloudy day. She came over to me, broke eye contact and circled me. I glanced at Lee and he had a worried look on his face, I felt no fear though. She leaned in close to me and sniffed my hair. She circled me once more and then stopped to face me, a wondering look on her face. She looked at Lee and asked him, “Why did you bring her here? Is she for me to keep?” Her voice sounded like beautiful tinkling wind chimes, reminding me of when I was a child and would sit on the porch and listen to them sing. Lee looked at the mystery girl and shook his head. “No Tegan, she’s not for you to keep. She is my friend. I thought that maybe you would like to meet someone else other than me. She also saw what happened to the human that you left in the woods. I told you not to leave him there.” I instantly knew what she was, but she was not what I had originally thought had harmed the man. “You’re a Faery?” I asked scrunching up my nose. No wonder I had smelled human blood, she had hurt the human for whatever reason and I could still smell it. The beautiful girl tipped her head back and let out a beautiful melodic laugh. When she was finished, she looked at me, a small smile playing on her lips. “I found Tegan all alone in the woods, wounded, and scared. I took her in but I didn’t want anyone of you to know because I wanted Tegan to be strong enough to handle all of you in case something was to happen.” I looked at Lee as he spoke. There were a million thoughts racing through my head, how long has she been down here, what happened to the human in the forest, what hurt her? “I can answer all of those later Adeline; the sun is almost up and you’ve had a long day. Go back upstairs my love and I’ll see you tonight.” He gently turned me around and guided me out the door. I walked in almost a trance like state up to my room. I had no idea how I was going to try and sleep after what had just happened. I wasn’t sure what time I drifted into sleep, all I remember is Declan shaking me awake, quite violently I might add. I stared at him trying to figure out what he was doing on my room violently shaking me. I shoved his rough hands off of me and propped myself up on my elbows. “Why are you shaking me like a rag doll?” I demanded of him. “You must have been having a bad dream, you were screaming like a banshee.” He whispered. The look on his face was one of concern and I must admit that it stirred up the butterflies that had been in hibernation for so long I thought they had died. I quickly looked away from him and lay back down. I closed my eyes and the dream came rushing back to me. I was standing in the forest with Tegan when all of a sudden a man came out of nowhere and started beating her with a lead pipe. I tried to make the man stop but I was rooted to the spot I was in. I could hear Tegan crying out in pain, begging me to help her, the melodic laugh and voice replaced by a pain filled scream. I opened my eyes and sat straight up, scaring Declan in the process. “Holy s**t, don’t scare me like that!” He yelled at me, but when he saw the look on my face he became compassionate again and asked me if I remembered the dream. I slowly shook my head, trying to process all of the thoughts running through my head. I ran a shaky hand through my hair, trying to make sense of everything. Why was I dreaming about her? “You’re dreaming about her because she wants you to know what happened to her. She did the same thing to me.” Lee entered my mind and gave me the answer to my biggest question of all. “I had no idea that Faeries could do that,” I shot back. “I’ll stay with you until you fall back asleep.” Declan offered to me. I slowly nodded my head, not believing the strange night I was having. “What time is it?” I asked. I was thinking that it was about noon, I thought I hadn’t been sleeping that long. “It’s right around three pm.” Declan told me. I had been sleeping a long time; this night was way too weird for me. I couldn’t believe it, a Faery lives in our basement and she is taking over my dreams. I laid my head down on my pillow and flipped onto my side, away from Declan. I closed my eyes but all I saw was Tegan’s agonized face. I was trying to think of things that would take my mind off of her and the man in the woods when my thoughts were interrupted by a beautiful lullaby. I rolled over to see Declan, eyes closed, singing softly. His voice reminded me of Bing Crosby, or Dean Martin; a crooner’s voice. I lay there watching him, mesmerized by the sound coming from him, it was like I was 8 again and my mother was singing while hanging the wash out on line, the sky blue and a golden sun. The breeze lightly blowing, making the sheets dance, and the tall meadow grass seem like a light green ocean. Declan slowly opened his eyes, still singing, and looked at me. He caught me staring but I didn’t care, I never wanted him to stop singing. Declan reached his hand out and brushed the side of my cheek. I didn’t react as I had at the club; I gave in to his touch and slowly closed my eyes, his soft singing the only sound I could hear. I must have fallen asleep because I felt Declan place a kiss on my forehead and heard his slow footsteps pad down the hall. I rolled over and fell back asleep. I awoke at sunset; my internal clock was set to my morning time. I sat up in bed, trying to process all of the events from last night. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and padded to the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth before I went downstairs. I was a bit apprehensive as the details of when Declan left came back to me. I wondered if he would act differently, I wondered if I would act differently. I mustered up my courage and started down the stairs. I heard noises from the kitchen and headed in that direction, my gaze lingering on the basement door. I walked into the kitchen and stopped dead in my tracks. At the table were Lee, Declan, and Tegan, having a casual conversation. Lee was the first to look at me, Declan and Tegan in too deep of a conversation. “Can she read our thoughts?” I asked Lee, Declan hearing me and finally tearing his eyes from Tegan. I didn’t like the way that he looked at her so intently, then I realized that it shouldn’t bother me because we are not involved what so ever. But it did bother me, and that feeling alone made me a bit uneasy. “No, she can’t. She can only enter through your dreams.” He replied. I looked at Declan, saw him staring intently at Tegan and turned on my heel to get dressed. “Too bad she can’t read our thoughts. I have a few choice words for her right now.” I said to Lee. I tried to not let Declan bother me as I dressed. I also found it odd that my thoughts were drifting back to him while he was downstairs fawning over Tegan. I put on my dark purple and black corset and threw on a pair of skinny jeans. I grabbed my tall black boots out of the closet and put them on over my jeans, lacing and tying them in the back. I walked to the bathroom to put some make up on, to find that Jay was looking at himself in the mirror. “Don’t you ever get tired of staring at that ugly mug of yours Jay?” I said sweetly. He looked me over and said, “No, and I never tire of looking at you either.” I pushed him out of the way with a disgusted noise. He shut the door with a soft click, without me realizing he was still in the bathroom with me. I started to apply my black eyeliner when I felt a hand at the small of my back. I paused in my application and at lightning speed, broke Jay’s wrist. He fell to the ground screaming and holding his wrist. I had warned him once and I’m guessing he didn’t believe me. I heard feet pounding up the stairs and started applying my eyeliner once again. The door flew open and I didn’t flinch, just kept applying my makeup. I saw Lee’s reflection in the mirror, glance at me and then look back to Jay. “I warned him, Lee. He knew not to mess with me, but he went against his better judgment I guess and tried to mess with me. Not smart” I told him, not stopping my make up application. “He’ll heal in a few hours,” I reassured Lee and Declan, who had just arrived. I finished my mascara and turned my body towards them. I saw Declan gape, and Lee’s disapproving look. He didn’t like it when I wore this corset; it was a bit too low cut for his taste. But it wasn’t his taste I was after; it was Declan’s and my next meals.
    I stepped over Jay and sauntered out of the bathroom door, throwing Declan a searing look before I sauntered down the stairs. I grabbed my car keys and walked out the door to start my car. As I reached for the door handle a strong hand closed over mine. I looked angrily up into the person’s eyes and found Declan matching my look staring into my eyes. “No one goes out alone.” He said to me and grabbed my car keys out of my hand. I started to protest but he took my hand off of the handle and gently led me to the other side of the car and opened the passenger door to let me in. I complied and he shut it with a little more force than I thought necessary. I was fuming. No one drove my car but me. He slid in gracefully next to me and started the engine, let it warm up a bit and backed out of the driveway. I stared at him, my angry gaze never leaving his face even when he stopped at a local bar. He turned to me and his eyes flicked from my face to my corset to my face again. “I don’t want you to go in there dressed like that.” He said to me. How dare he! “I can wear whatever I damn well please!” I sneered at him and opened the car door to step out. I had one foot on the ground when I felt his hand wrap around my upper arm. I whirled on him, ready for a fight when I felt his lips crush down on mine. I slowly closed my eyes as he deepened the kiss. I slowly felt my body untensing and moved my lips against his, kissing him back. As the kiss deepened even further I came back into reality and realized what I was doing. I hadn’t kissed anyone since Aidan. I withdrew with a gasp, and touched my fingers to my lips. He looked at me, a pained expression on his face. He let go of my arm and I ran from the car, into the bar, trying to erase what had just happened. I got in the door and leaned against the wall. How could there be that much feeling, that much of a spark with him? My mind was whirling as a human came up to me. “Are you alright ma’am?” He drawled in a southern accent. I turned my head towards him, looking into a pair of sparkling green eyes that looked almost identical to Aidan’s
    “Aidan?” I whispered as I searched his face for recognition. “No, that’s my father’s name. Do you know him?” The human said. I looked down at the floor, and whispered, “I did.” Just as I said that Declan burst through the door, a worried look on his face. “Adeline, please come back to the car.” I felt my blood boil as pushed myself off of the wall and threw a punch. My fist connected with the wall only because Vampire’s can move faster than humans. I whirled around and found myself pinned up against the wall by the southern stranger that claimed to be Aidan’s son. His eyes searched mine looking for some sort of recognition. I could hear his blood coursing through his veins, singing its sweet melody to the animal inside of me. “I’m sorry.” I whispered and pushed him off of me with no effort. Grabbed another human and made my way out the door to feed. After I had fed and left the body slumped behind the dumpster I sauntered my way back to my car. I saw Declan, obviously already fed and fuming sitting on my hood. I gave him a sloppy smile and sat next to him. “I apologize for what happened in the car, yet that is no reason for you to try and punch me. You’re lucky that human pinned you because I would have tanned your hide given the chance.” He said through clenched teeth. “Oh get over yourself.” I retorted. I rolled my eyes, grabbed the keys from him and climbed in the driver’s seat. Declan climbed in and I started the car, throwing it into first gear and sped off; not noticing that Aidan’s son was watching the whole time.
    As we walked through the door of the house, Declan fuming, we were met by Tegan. She pranced up to me, an apologetic look on her face. “I’m sorry about your dreams; I just wanted you to know what I had been through. I like you.” She stated and ran towards Declan, grasping his arm and steering him towards the kitchen. I rolled my eyes and sat on the couch, grabbing a book I had been reading in the process. Lee walked over to the easy chair next to the couch I was on and said his hello. Without looking up I murmured a hello back to him. “What’s going on with you and my brother?” He casually asked. I paused in my reading and turned my head towards him. “What do mean?” I asked. “I know that you two went out hunting together, you wore the corset that I don’t like, and he came back mad. That can only mean one of two things with my brother, either he didn’t get what he wanted or someone messed with him.” He never once looked up from his book. I laughed and looked at Lee. “He got what he wanted but someone messed with him, that someone being me. He kissed me and after the initial shock wore off I tried punching him. Oh, I also told him to get over himself.” He looked at me, let out a loud laugh and got up to walk into the kitchen.