Chapter 55

A cool breeze carried strands of my hair in the air as I took a stroll along the concrete sidewalks of the suburban neighborhood we lived in. I took in the familiar sight of row upon row of the identical-looking villas that completed the subdivision. I mused over how all the homes looked exactly the same on the outside, but were most likely radically different on the inside.

Sometimes, that's the way it is with people. You think you can tell what they are based on the patterns that you see, but when you take a look inside, they're nothing like you expect them to be.

That's how it was with Vivienne. Of course, I never really understood her. She was always cold and aloof toward me while I was back at The Shade. It wasn't that she disliked me. She just seemed indifferent, like I wasn't deserving of her time, nor was I deserving of Derek's.

Then she allowed me a peek inside her mind by sharing with me certain select memories from her past, and I knew that I would ne