I stood just inside of Liam's door, listening for the sounds of agonized screams. Thankfully, though, they never came. I sighed in relief as I heard the basement door creak shut. As Liam's footsteps thunked heavily on the stairs, I dashed back to the bed. 

In an attempt to make it look like I'd been sitting there all along, I sort of lounged back on one elbow. That looked off, so I tried lounging on the other one, which was only more unnatural. I was in the middle of shifting to another pose when Liam entered the room, startling me so bad that I actually let out a squeak.

"What...." Liam started. "You know what? Nevermind. I don't even care what you were doing."

"Wait, you don't?" I asked. "What happened to the 'follow my orders!' shit?"

Liam shrugged. "Mostly for show. Can't have 'em thinking I'm a pushover. But honestly," he shot me a glare. "You could stand to be a little more respectful. You forget that I could literally kill you at any moment."

"It's kind of easy to forget when you're being so...I dunno, non-threatening." I said, realizing too late that that, too, could be considered disrespectful.

"There you go again. I've half a mind to bite your arm again," Liam threatened. Instinctively, I pulled my arm back.

"Don't!" I said sharply.

"Are you telling me not to do the thing I literally brought you here to do? Do you think I won't just because you, a measly human, said so?" Liam challenged, pointedly glaring down at me. Especially with me sitting down, Liam loomed over me like a tree. It was, admittedly, a little threatening.

"Well, I-"

"Nah, I'm just messing with you. I'm not even hungry right now. Not for blood anyway. You want breakfast?"

"I...what?" I blinked. There he went again. 

"I said, do you want breakfast? You know, food? If I'm not mistaken, you haven't eaten anything in a day at least." Liam said, turning away from me. I stood to follow.

"No...I mean yes, that's true, but why do you keep doing that?" 

"Doing what?"

"Changing your personality! One minute you're threatening, the next you're completely normal. A-and then you get so mad sometimes, only to go totally cold! Why?" I said, my voice going shrill. He just shrugged.

"I'm a complicated person, Blythe," Liam said. I scowled. 

"That doesn't really answer my question."

"Maybe I'll tell you. Maybe I won't. Maybe I don't even know myself. Who's to say?"

"You are!" I yelled. Liam just laughed.

"What do you want for breakfast?" He asked.

"God, I don't know. I don't want your blood pancakes, or whatever."

"Ha, ha. But I do have some blood orange juice I think you'd enjoy." I gave him a dirty look. 

"You know....blood oranges? It's funny because that's an actual type of-"

"I got it," I interrupted. "It just wasn't funny."

Liam sighed dramatically. "You're no fun. Helena always laughs at my jokes. So does Ruby. And Lucca, too."

I raise an eyebrow. "No he doesn't."

"Okay, he doesn't. But everyone else does! I'm hilarious," Liam said, so seriously I almost snickered. Almost.

"Yeah, right." 

It suddenly occurred to me how chummy we were acting. Again. 

Damn it, how did this keep happening? What was it about this guy that got my guard down, time after time.

"Whatever. Just give me some food," I grunted, as noncommittal as I could muster. 

"Sure," Liam said. "But you're gonna have to be a little more specific than 'some food'."

I shrugged. "I don't know, whatever's fine," I said, attempting to seem as distant and uninterested as possible.

"Fine. Here," Liam said, setting a glass in front of me. A glass filled with red liquid. 

My face morphed from disinterest to horror in a matter of seconds. "T-that's..." I stuttered, too shocked to find words. 

"Cranberry juice!" Liam cackled. "I've been keeping a bottle around just for this. Oh God, your face is adorable!"

I shoved the glass aside, equal parts relieved and pissed. "What are you, six?"

"Give or take a few years, sure." Liam grinned. It displayed his fangs, but surprisingly not in a menacing way. Hell, nothing he'd done in a while had been menacing. What was he up to?

"You're being really strange, you know that?" I said. Liam wiggled his eyebrows at me. 

"Me? Strange? Whatever do you mean?" 

"You know exactly what I mean, Liam. Whatever you're trying to pull, I'm not falling for it."

Liam sighed, and a twinge of guilt wiggled its way into my heart, too quick to squash.

"Be suspicious all you want. You still need to tell me what you want for breakfast," Liam said, scarlet eyes trained on me in a not-unpleasant way.

What with everything that happened yesterday, I hadn't had much time to think about food. Now that I was, though, I realized that I was hungry. Very hungry. 

"Got any donuts?" Liam frowned, scratching his chin.

"God, I don't know. We usually don't keep sweet stuff around the house because only one person will eat it," Liam muttered, glancing around the kitchen.

"Wait, only one?" I asked, incredulous. Liam snapped a finger at me.

"Exactly! They're insane," he said, scowling. I groaned. 

"It just had to be you, didn't it?" I said miserably.

"What, you don't like me?" Liam asked, grinning. I snorted.

"Understatement."

"Well then I suppose I shouldn't spend money out of my very own pockets to get you your stupid donuts," he said sarcastically. I gasped.

"What? No! You absolutely should do that!" I shrieked, my need for sugar turning my voice embarrassingly shrill. One could say I was a bit of a sugar addict.

Liam chuckled. "Since you insist," he said, turning to walk out of the kitchen.

"Wait! You're just gonna leave me here alone?" 

Turning back, Liam shrugged. "Yeah? I mean, Helena's busy, and I doubt you want to hang out with Ruby..."

"Then take me with you!" I said, thinking fast. There was no way that would work.

"Well," Liam said, drawing out the word as he considered me.

There was no way in Hell this was working. 

"Eh. Why not." My mouth dropped open, and Liam cackled.

"Oh, hahaha. Jerk," I grumbled. So much for escape. 

"No, no, I'm not joking," Liam said quickly. "You were just making a stupid face."

"What, like the one you're making all the time?" I snapped, before I could stop myself. Liam snickered.

"Who's the jerk now, huh?" He asked, motioning for me to follow him.

"Still you. I don't kidnap people," I remind him. Liam scowled, playfully I think.

"Whatever, loser," he said. I valiantly fought the urge to snicker, but a little laugh still snuck out. What was with me?

"But seriously, why are you letting me leave?" I asked, frowning. 

"I don't know. I'm bored, you're bored. This might be interesting," Liam said, wiggling his eyebrows. "Did you have shoes?"

"I think I left 'em in your room," I said. Liam nodded.

"Get those. I'll be out in the car." I dashed over to the stairs.

Halfway up them, though, I turned back around.

"You know I'm gonna try to escape, right?"

Liam rolled his eyes. "Of course I know that."

I opened my mouth to say something, then shrugged. Who was I to complain about my get out of Hell free card?