Had Alexander forgotten his passport? There was an empty spot where his photo had been torn out. I touched the space, wondering what picture a vampire could have taken.

I flipped through the pages. Stamps from England, Ireland, Italy, France, and the United States.

If I had Alexander's passport in my hand, he couldn't have gone back to Romania. No one can travel out of the country without a passport.

Now I had one thing I didn't have before.

Hope.

"Slow down!" my mom said when I burst through the kitchen door. "You're tracking mud all over the floor."

"I'll clean it later—" I said hurriedly.

"I'd like to invite Alexander over for dinner this week," she offered, catching up to me. "We haven't seen him since the party. You've been keeping him all to yourself."

"Sure—" I mumbled. "We'll talk later. I'm going to study."

"Study? You've been studying since the party. Alexander has had a positive effect on you," she said.

If my mother only knew I had been holed up in my room, waiting for e-mails, calls, and letters that never arrived.

Billy Boy and my dad were watching a basketball game in the den.

"When's Alexander coming over?" Billy asked when I passed by.

What could I tell him? Maybe never?

I quickly settled for, "Not for a while. I don't want to overexpose him to suburbia. He might want to start playing golf."

"I think you've found yourself a keeper," my dad complimented.

"Thanks, Dad," I said, stopping for a moment, thinking of the family picnics, holidays, and vacations Alexander and I wouldn't be able to share. "Please don't disturb me," I ordered, heading toward my bat cave.

"Could she actually be doing homework?" Billy Boy asked my dad, surprised.