Our walk was dead silent.

Not that I expected it to be anything else, but this silence was different than the one I initially imagined it would be.

Even with Xander gone, the tension from before was still there and only breeding in the silence.

I wondered if he felt it as well or if it was just all on me.

Being the partially guilty one here, the latter one wouldn't surprise me.

I looked up a bit, picking up my pace once I realized that I had fallen more behind than I was used to.

Nico walked a lot faster than Xander did, and that only shortened the time I had to plan before we were at his room

I hadn't expected to get this far in my plans so soon.

A plan as to what I was going to say or do hadn't yet come to me.

All I knew was that I needed to apologize, but even that much could be risky.

I glanced up at Nico's back, noticing the tightness in his shoulders.

Regardless of whether or not he said anything about it, it was obvious that he knew what happened.

I just hoped that my apology doesn't start something else.

I don't know what I'd do if it somehow lead to Nico questioning me for answers on Xanders actions.

Having to lie to him didn't seem like my best interest, nor was it  something that I wanted to do in general.

I didn't want to have to tell him Xander's real intentions over the ones I knew he was trying to convey.

As easy as it would be to tell Nico the whole truth... about everything that's been going on with Layla and Xander, I never did.

I stuck with Xanders lies.

Because although that would possibly end what I had to go through, it wasn't my problem to fix on Xander's behalf

That wasn't my place, nor was it my job to try to help him out of the situation he's stuck himself in.

Plus, for as long as this had been going on, doing such a thing could end up angering Xander.

And that is still something I would rather not have happen.

I paused next to Nico as he stopped in front of his door.

He took in a deep breath, trying to compose himself before placing his thumb against the reader and opening his door.

I followed close behind him as he entered, fighting to search the room right away.

Luckily the tension felt like it lessened as we walked in.

Not entirely, but enough so that I could breathe without feeling in on my chest.

"How was breakfast," A timid voice spoke soon after the door was closed.

I lifted my head a bit, eyes widening once I spotted her at the window sill.

That was the first time I heard her voice.

I didn't exactly get to hear much last night, so it felt good to finally match a voice with her face.

And it felt a lot better to see her sitting there, seemingly okay.

"Fine," Nico's hard reply ended my thoughts for the moment.

I instinctively rose my brow at the... interesting response.

Great. They're both in denial.

He didn't say a word beyond that, just lead me over to the couch I had grown accustomed to being on whenever I was here.

"She's here because Xander claimed that she's been having stomach problems," He said to her as I situated myself.

One look and I could immediately tell she was wary about me being here at all.

Which wasn't a good sign.

Nico tossed the end of the leash beside me before turning towards his bathroom

"My guess is that it's just a common stomach ache," he met my eye for a moment as he walked away, "so I'll keep you here for a couple hours so Xander will get some work done. If it gets worse then just tell me and I'll do some further inspection."

I gave a subtle nod, allowing myself to lean back for a moment.

Okay... I made it here, now I just have to get it out.

And hope that it just goes smoothly.

Nico has to have known that his brother was mainly to blame... even if I admit some fault right now.

Maybe I should take the chance while I can... if he's not focusing in on it, maybe he won't hear what I say from the other room.

I looked to my left, seeing Khloe look away once I spotted her again.

I couldn't discern as to why right away.

It didn't seem like an act out of fear, but more out of just awkwardness.

My eyes flickered to the bathroom for just a moment, the last of Nico's presence causing me to just come out and say it.

I needed to do this. I needed to get this done.

One night of restless sleep due to the guilt eating at me was enough.

"Khloe?" My voice came out soft, still not wanting to catch Nico's attention.

She slowly turned her head back, eyes warily settling on me.

Her eyes held an innocence that caused all of my pent-up guilt to rise into my throat.

That added to my nerves that were steadily rising as to what could come of me doing this.

Of admitting some fault in front of a vampire who was already mad about it.

I had to do this either way... I lied. I made a mistake and she had to pay for it.

Now I have to do my part in trying to amend it.

I had to force my words to be louder, in fear that she wouldn't hear them.

"I'm sorry." I got out.

She drew back in surprise, eyes searching my face.

"What?" she questioned.

That strain in my chest came back harder than ever, knowing that I needed to explain myself.

I couldn't look at her as I did, but made myself hurry up and spit it out.

"If I had known what Xander was going to do to you, I never would have-" I stopped once I saw Nico step back out of the bathroom.

His eye were furrowed, piecing something together as he stared at me.

The look alone caused me to lose my words entirely.

"You've been faking it?" It sounded like a question, but I knew it wasn't.

It was a confirmation.

Shit.

"I-I um-"

I didn't get to finish, the familiar feeling of something I experienced just a few nights consuming me as my back hit the wall.

My entirety immediately began to panic, imagesof Layla flashing behind my closed eyes as I winced.

What I saw once I opened them wasn't much better.

Unlike last time, my feet weren't on the floor, and I guess I can only be grateful that his hand was bunched at the collar of my shirt instead of around my neck.

Still, my body acted on instinct, kicking my legs and grabbing at his wrist.

My fight didn't last long, figuring that if it didn't work with Layla it definitely wasn't going to work with him.

Nico scared me in a different way than she did.

I knew what she could do and I've already experienced most of what she was capable of.

Nico on the other hand, I had no idea and quite frankly I didn't want to find out.

Just a look from him was enough to make me want to surrender.

And it was that same look he was giving me now, his face mere inches from my own.

Yet was so much worse once his eyes reflected that of a serpents, finally showing the anger he's been trying to contain all morning.

Wanting to get out of this as quickly as possible, I did the only thing I could think of.

Talk.

"I-I didn't know that Xander was going to-" The sudden rush of panic I was trying to fight off caused my words to fumble, only to get cut off again as Nico's grip pushed me harder against the wall.

"Just answer the question," He annunciated each word carefully through his clenched teeth.

He wouldn't hurt me, right?

Right?!

I used to believe that, but that thought was slowly diminishing.

Whether it was my true thoughts or my memories of what followed after living through this pattern before with the women who set this whole thing in motion.

I scrambled for words once again, trying to find the right thing to say without it being a lie.

He was probably looking for one, and the last thing I wanted to do was anger him any further.

"N-Not at first!" Tell the truth, just tell as much of the truth as you can, "I felt fine the day after w-we visited you, but I kept acting like I didn't so he w-wouldn't drink from me!"

Despite what I warned myself, a lie slipped out anyway.

He.

I just hoped it wasn't enough for him to notice.

The low growl that rose in his throat caused me to believe that he caught it, but his words thankfully proved otherwise.

"So because you didn't want to do what your Master wanted, you ended up getting my pet hurt. Is that what you're telling me?"

I didn't care what he was saying, I didn't care that he didn't understand the situation, I was panicking too much to focus and just wanted this to end.

Or at least just to be put down.

My brain was too busy thinking this was Layla for me to come up with a proper answer.

Its happened so many times with her that I couldn't even blame myself for thinking that way.

"I didn't want this to happen I-I just didn't want to be fed from!" Is what I spewed.

It wasn't a lie either.

He leaned forward a bit and I instinctively flinched my head to the side, preparing for pain in one way or another.

And then when he grabbed my jaw to face him again, I was seconds away from begging if this got any worse.

"You have a responsibility as a pet, Doe," His words were slow, giving them time to sink in, "To give your Master what he needs so shit like this doesn't happen."

His grip on my face became painful, forcing a whimper from my throat and tears to brim in my eyes

No... No god, please.

I frantically began blinking them back

I knew I was mere seconds away from breaking.

The fear Layla had built into me mixed with everything else happening right now was more than enough.

Still, I fought it.

Squeezing my eyes shut, somehow I contained it.

"And don't ever drag my pet into something just because you're too selfish to deal with it yourself again." he finished, the threatening tone from before showing itself again.

I nodded frantically, anything just to get him to let me go.

But he didn't, and once I willed my eyes open, it didn't take me long to understand why.

His eyes had fallen onto my most recent bite from Layla.

With how his hand was holding my shirt, it would have been in plain sight.

There was a new pinch in his brows, his sight switching to Khloe for barely a second.

He had to have noticed the difference in the bitemarks.

Despite just the obvious fact that Layla tore whereas Xander just bit.

He looked back to me, hopefully thinking about what I thought he was thinking about.

But he still hadn't dropped me, and that's what I wanted more than anything right now.

And I had only one way of getting that done.

I knew it was stupid, but I guess that's what I get for living with Xander

All I knew was that it wasn't like him to leave his pets like that outside of his room like that.

And the fact that Khloe didn't seem fearful of Nico told me that however she got out there last night wasn't her fault.

With my own deduction, I thought he would have punished her in some way if it was.

So, sucking in the last ounce of bravery I had left in me, I spoke.

"Why was she even alone in the hallway in the first place?"

The way he immediately froze and his eyes grew wide was enough to tell me that it worked.

He dropped me not even a second later, leaving me to catch myself.

The wall aided as I steadied my legs, limbs still trembling.

I barely got a moment to feel relieved before he grabbed at my leash.

"That's none of your consern," He spoke.

Right... he dropped me but I was still in deep shit.

His anger in general still forced me into a fearful state regardless of what I wanted from it.

I kept silent, eyes on the floor.

The move was his now, and I hoped more than anything it included getting me out of there. The thought of staying there any longer at this moment was mortifying.

There were a few seconds of silence before his sigh cut through and he turned for the door.

I followed behind him, a bit further back than before as he took me out the door.

We paused just for a moment to allow him to close the door.

Every muscle in my body tensed as he cupped his hand behind my neck and lead me that way, his steps just as quick as before.

I just swallowed hard and kept with him, honestly wishing that we could move faster.

Nico didn't stop at the door, he didn't even hesitate a second before opening it himself and letting himself in.

He had always had access to this room, but he hadn't used it in a while.

It seemed like he spotted us, and we spotted him all at the same time, staring at him from where he sat at his office chair.

His brows rose at what I can assume was the whole scene that just walked in, his lips parting a bit before he focused on me.

The look on my face had to have been pretty bad for him to have actually shown some kind of emotion in front of his brother.

Xander stood from the chair cautiously, whatever chaotic front he put on this morning now being completely gone.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Nico beat him to it.

"Here's this back," he hissed.

A gasp left me as Nico abruptly jerked me forward towards Xander.

Not expecting the force and the already existing tightness in my legs, I quickly found myself stumbling.

I fully expected to hit the floor, and braced for it accordingly.

But instead of the floor, I sooner found Xanders arm extending sideways to catch the front of my waist, and cutting my fall short.

For some reason, Xander decided to not be a complete dick while his brother was around.

I'll admit that I was glad that out of all times, it was now.

I didn't know how much willpower I had in me left to keep myself from breaking down after that.

My arm set itself over his, grabbing his wrist for some added support as he helped me balance myself.

He tried to pull his arm back but I held him there out of my own selfishness.

For the moment, I wanted to keep him like this, not enjoying it in the slightest but figuring that being like this was better than somehow ending up back in Nico's hands.

He got the hint, straightening himself now as I tried to gain control of my heavy breathing.

There was a slight relief to being back in this room.

Now I just wondered what Nico was going to say.

Anything he could repeat from what I told him wasn't anything that I'm sure Xander didn't already know.

"Your pet is fine," He began, already beginning to leave, "And you can start using her for blood again."

My fingers curled harder against his wrist.

"Wait!" Xander called out.

Nico's footsteps stopped.

I could only imagine the glare he heald.

Xander didn't have to move much, just reached over to grab the files he had finished for Nico.

Wordlessly, Xander extended it to him.

I looked back just enough to see Nico step forward to take it.

He examined it, an interesting mix of emotions showing on his face as he realized what it was.

Still there were no other words spoken as he turned and left, the door closing right behind him.

Finally, I allowed myself an audible exhale.

My shoulders slumped forward as any of that remaining tension finally released now that he was gone.

I pulled Xander's arm away from me, but almost just as quickly, he stepped right in front of me.

His eyes searched me, pausing at the remaining trembling in my hands before searching my neck for some sort of injury.

"Are you okay?"

I've heard him ask me that so many times in my life, but this one sounded different.

It still heald that concerned tone, but this time it was almost stern.

I met his eye and compelled my back to straighten and my shoulders back.

"Yeah," was all I said, looking off to the side before I rubbed my sore jaw.

It wasn't believable, I don't even know if I was trying to make it seem that way.

But Xander didn't retort it in any way other than eyeing my action.

"Did you get what you wanted?" His voice was quieter this time, his tone genuine.

I thought for a moment.

I did get an apology out.

And I guess through all of that, Khloe also heard my explanation.

She heard the truth.

Or as much of the truth as I was willing to give.

"Yeah."