Doe's POV:

Darkness enveloped the room once again as he shut the door, leaving Khloe out there alone.

Meanwhile, I felt frozen.

Whether it was from shock, disbelief, or some twisted form of grief I wasn't entirely sure.

He did it... He actually did it.

He somehow managed to be alone with her and he-

My stomach twisted on top of the sick feeling that was already there.

With the knowledge that I could have stopped it before it even began.

If I wasn't pretending like the sickness I was feeling was keeping me bedridden.

If I had just dropped the damn front and gone with him like I wanted to then he wouldn't have gone through with it.

I don't believe he would have attempted it if I was with him.

As much as I didn't want to admit it sometimes, I knew him. And I'd like to think that I've learned his thought process by now.

I definitely knew that this wasn't something that he wanted to do, but he'd do anything to appease Layla despite his own conscience.

He obeyed regardless of his own feelings.

Despite knowing what consequences were going to arise.

What anger was about to crash upon him.

Yet the only anger I could find right now was buried under the overwhelming amount of guilt weighing in my head.

Of course, I was angry at him, any sane person would be, but the knowledge still stayed with me.

I could have stopped it.

I could have absolutely stopped it.

If I was just there before he stepped into the room then none of that would have happened.

He had a poker face and a pretty damn good one at that, but for just a moment after he walked in, I could see his panic.

His turmoil.

And then a pain-ridden, reluctant look of forced determination.

That look he gave me told me that he had already made up his mind.

And although I knew he wasn't a threat to me, I knew better than to try anything after that.

I didn't want to test my luck.

God, I felt like a coward.

I made a decision to lie and it ended with Khloe getting hurt.

With Xander shredding the relationship with his brother even further.

Although I knew the weight of that wasn't all on me, I still couldn't help but think about what different outcome could have happened.

I couldn't blame myself for Xanders actions, but I sure as hell could blame myself for my own.

Then with what happened next, the bullshit he spewed to her before he...

I cringed at the memory.

I didn't know whether to be thankful or no that I couldn't see nor hear much of what he said or did.

But the cry Khloe made when he bit her... I knew that noise better than anything.

My eyes finally moved, to spot Xander's outline, still just standing and staring at the door.

His heavy, perceptible breaths were the only thing cutting through the silence.

Each one seemed to come sporadically

Then, a slight choking sound before he clasped a hand over his mouth.

Next thing I knew, he was no longer there and the light from the bathroom switched on.

The sound of him puking came promptly after.

A shiver ran up my back at just the sound alone.

All that precious blood taken and wasted.

And for what?

Setting my hand on the front of the cage, I pushed it open and began to stand.

I didn't know what I was planning on doing, but I didn't want to just be sitting uselessly in here again.

Not after that.

I carefully made my way closer, eyes just barely grazing over the bed, and the belt that laid on top of it.

He stumbled out of the back room that held the toilet, one hand on the wall for some sort of support.

Watching it, and seeing him like this after what he just did caused a bit more of my anger to surface through my self-reproach.

The bastard was acting like he was the victim here.

Even though when it came down to what Layla did to him, he was.

But unlike Khloe, he had a choice in the matter. He had a brain and he just refused to use it whenever it came down to the woman who does nothing but abuse the power she knew she had over him.

He stumbled over to the sink, breaths still as hard as he grabbed the small cup beside it and filled it with water.

Lifting it to his lips, he swished it through his mouth for a few seconds before spitting it out.

He repeated this process a few times, his hair sticking to his forehead as he finished and just stared at himself through the mirror.

I could tell by the wide look in his eyes that his mind was racing.

He looked absolutely horrified of himself.

His back hunched as he leaned over the sink, claws scratching against the marble as his own unfamiliar eyes stared back at him.

I've only seen his eyes turn that dark shade of red a handful of times, but every time I did it was more and more unsettling.

The look didn't fit him.

Absolutely no look that I was seeing right now fit him.

Again I couldn't help but compare the difference of how he looked whenever Layla was involved versus when she wasn't.

How strong the shift in his disposition was.

How happy he was just thirty minutes ago about helping Nico with his work.

How long and hard he worked on it just to surprise him.

And now this...

"Xander," My voice was stern.

"Don't," he croaked a response, his voice quiet and broken, "Please don't. Not yet. Let Nico get here and do what he pleases and then you can finish me off."

'Finish me off'

The way he said it was so full of remorse yet almost hopeful.

I could yell at him.

I could so easily scream at him about how much of an idiot he was for what he just did.

But I didn't need to. Every part of what I was seeing told me that he already knew. He was already suffering the consequences of his actions.

And honestly, I don't think I had it in me.

Not when I still felt like this was my fault.

My voice softened.

"You didn't try to hide it, did you?" I asked.

He turned his head towards me half of his face being blocked by his arm and shoulder, and the other half now being covered by his hair.

"No," He breathed, steadily standing back up straight, "There was no point, and I needed him to find the bite as soon as possible."

"Why?" I found myself asking.

He didn't say anything at first, just stared.

Finally, he rubbed at his eyes before speaking and walking out of the bathroom.

"The sooner he finds it and realizes it was me the faster he can..." His words died off into nothing, a small wince and a deep breath following after.

Meanwhile, I was standing in disbelief at what he was saying as he approached me.

He couldn't possibly be thinking what I thought he was thinking.

The softness of my voice didn't last long after that.

"He can what?  Come and get some sort of revenge? Come scream at you or beat you into a pulp for what you did?! Is that what you want?!"

"Yes!"

My back straightened, eyes widening at his immediate and desperate response as his next inhale wavered.

He knew what he'd done and he was pleading for that kind of reaction from his brother as some sort of solace.

He was taking that repercussion as some sort of repentance.

If I was feeling guilty about this I couldn't imagine what was going through his brain.

By now I'd think he'd be used to a constant state of guilt, but this was one of the most visceral reactions I've ever seen.

As he got closer, I swore I could see the beginning of tears building in his eyes.

Still, to do something like this for the kind of girl that Layla was... To further ruin the already cracked relationship with Nico.

"Xander..."

I don't know why I was becoming so sympathetic with this, but I was.

Maybe it was because of the thought that my lie got us here, but I still knew Xander's actions were his own.

Still.

He stopped once he was right beside me, both of us facing different ways.

"Look, I fucked it up. I made the stupid decision to willingly fuck it up and now I have to deal with the consequences. I just," he stopped once his voice cracked, quickly clearing his throat, "I just hope it comes quickly."

I didn't say anything else as he continued over towards the middle of the room.

He just stood there waiting.

Silent.

Motionless.

Tense in anticipation of what was about to happen to him.

But nothing did.

The minutes grew into an hour and still nothing.

No sign of the reprisal he was so eagerly hoping for.

"He's not coming," He broke the silence, at a loss, "Why isn't he coming?!"

His desperation grew by the second, and I'll admit that ever I was confused that he hadn't shown up yet.

Nico had to have known what happened by now.

He wasn't the type to just let something like this slide.

Even if his pet was new. Even if he didn't care for her much, he was very protective of his things.

One hour grew to two, and that into even more.

He never came.