I'd been hoping to have this done on Saturday…clearly that didn't happen.

So…thanks for the reviews. Can't wait until summer is over…maybe this no review thing will end. There is still hope for a non existent romantic relationship between Derek and Lilith. Just have to have people give me their opinions of what is getting updated. It's simple really. I am kind of liking the idea though…so I might just do it anyway, just because I feel like it.

Anyway, enjoy or not. Whatever.

Disclaimer: DP is Kelley Armstrong's, not mine. Not like we didn't know that already or anything.

Nothing Is Ever Easy

Chloe

"Is that everything?" Kit asked loading our bags into our vehicle.

"I think so." Simon said glancing at Tori and I. "You guys have everything?"

We nodded in unison.

"Alright, let's get out of here then."

I watched Simon walk around to the front of the Tahoe and climb in the passenger seat. He seemed to have adopted Derek's scowl and usual bad attitude. I had watched him change from the fun loving goof we all loved to laugh with to this hardened, generally angry man and I hated it.

Kit and Tori copied Simon's actions.

The hairs on the back of my neck instantaneously stood up and I began looking around for a cause. I felt as thought we were being watched and when I turned I noticed a woman wearing a black hooded sweatshirt sitting on a bench, staring at us. She was hunched over but the angle of her body and the way her head was turned let me know that she was the reason I suddenly had this feeling.

When she caught me staring she jumped up from the bench and began to dig around in her pockets like she was looking for something. When she pulled something relatively small and black out of her pants pocket she turned her back to me.

"Chloe, come on. We have to go," Simon said. Even his voice had turned hard and commanding.

I glanced back at the woman one more time before reluctantly getting in the SUV.

Derek stood in the kitchen waiting for Melena. He was a few minutes early and he expected her to actually be late. The way she had been acting with Robert, like she never wanted to leave his side even when she had to, made him thinks she wanted to spend the rest of the day with him. It reminded him a lot of how he was with Chloe.

Melena walked into the kitchen right as the clock struck noon. The look of slight shock on Derek's face made her smile.

"I'm always punctual. Are you one those people who is always early? Or were you just expecting me to be late so you came early so you could tell me how long you've been standing here?"

Derek gave her a puzzled look. "Neither?"

Shaking her head, Melena said, "I was kidding."

She glanced over Derek from head to toe. Her expression was one of intrigue rather than lust but the look still made him nervous. But, Melena was quick to catch onto his thoughts.

"Relax. I have no intention of trying to jump your bones like my sister. I am merely assessing you. Everyone here, we all know who you are, what your life has been like, I was just seeing if you live up to how everyone describes you. If you were to fall short, getting rid of Thorn would prove to be a bit complicated."

"You know you are a bit confusing right?"

"Only because I haven't explained anything yet. See, Robert has a plan. It wasn't until he met you that he knew his plan to kill his brother would work but he's had the plan none the less."

"How do I fit into it?"

"You, my unfortunate friend, must befriend Thorn and earn his trust. Robert and I can do the rest."

"I had already planned on earning his trust."

"Did you have a plan pertaining to what you would do once you had it?"

Derek shook his head.

"Well, at least we were almost on the same page. Earning his trust will take awhile though. And unfortunately for you, befriending my sister will put you in the right direction with Thorn."

"Why?"

"The reason is her business to share with whoever she wants, not mine. However, I can say he pulled her out of a bad spot in her life and offered her a new life here."

"What about you? You said your loyalty doesn't lie with Thorn. It's obvious it lies with Robert. But how did you wind up here too?"

Melena shrugged. "She's my sister. My twin. We are always together. We are all the other has had since we were nine. My loyalty is split now though. I'm torn between Robert and Lilith. I love them both and I don't think I will be able to choose one over the other. That's another reason I would like you to befriend my sister. Maybe she will see the error of her ways if she has one true friend, aside from me."

Melena caught Derek's look before his face turned to a mask of impassiveness. It could be summed up in three simple words. You are crazy.

"I know you don't want to Derek but please, give her a chance. We are very much alike, her and I. Clearly you can tolerate being in my presence, just give her a chance."

"And when she tries to grope me? Do I just let her? Because that doesn't sit well with me."

Melena's face turned bright red. It was the first time Derek saw her perfect image falter a bit. She wouldn't look him in the eye and she started to fiddle with a string holding a button onto her shirt. "N-no. I would never ask you to do that. I know you have Chloe and that you love her very much. Just brush Lilith off nicely and try to talk to her instead of letting her-" her voice became even quieter than it had been. "-grope you," she finished.

"Sorry," Derek said quietly, "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Still staring at the floor, Melena replied, "It's okay. I kind of led myself into that one. If Lilith tries anything, do what I said. She just…has a bit of a problem. When she finds something she wants, especially a guy she finds attractive, she goes after it. She bursts in, guns blazing, and takes out anyone in the way of the aforementioned want."

"Great. Sounds like I don't have a chance with pushing her away from me."

Melena shrugged and turned her gaze back to Derek. "Maybe you do, maybe you don't."

"That doesn't sound very reassuring."

"Sorry. I wish I could help you more where she is concerned. She might be my sister, but she is her own person. I can't make her do, or not do, anything. So, befriend her. It'll put you one step closer to earning Thorn's trust and one step closer to giving us the opportunity to kill him."

"Is that the only plan we have?"

"Basically. I'll let you know if we come up with one that involves keeping my sister at an arms length for you but just go with that for now. Okay?"

"Yeah, alright."

"Thank you," Melena said with a smile. "I'll talk with you later. I need to go find Lilith and try to convince her to tone down her flirting just a bit. That probably won't make her stop though." Melena turned and left the kitchen.

Derek took note of how perfect her posture was when she was standing and walking. She almost seemed to be a completely different person than her sister. Almost like they never even grew up together or shared the same experiences. It was weird how two people could be identical in looks but not in personality. Where Melena was a bit stiff but friendly, Lilith was loose, having characteristics closer to a streetwalker rather than a prep school student like her sister had. Twins or not, at the moment Derek thought they couldn't be anymore different from one another.

Leaning against the marble counter, Derek contemplated what he would do next. There didn't seem to be anything to do in this place unless you were running errands for Thorn. He considered investigating another seemingly random hallway but decided that he wanted to have a chat with Thorn rather than go digging through old dusty rooms with nothing in them. Before he came back into the kitchen to meet Melena, he had been nosing around down one of the hallways and he had found nothing important or interesting. Just more empty rooms that seemed to have no purpose.

Derek's only problem now was finding Thorn in the maze the man seemed to call home.

Review! Or don't…I actually don't have the time to care right now. This is the last update before I go to my county fair. No internet there so all week all I can do is write and not update anything. Hope you enjoyed this last update, there won't be another one until like the 21st or 22nd of this month (hopefully).