I woke up the next morning with the sounds of some shuffling going on downstairs. It was a Sunday, and Sundays usually meant peace and calm in the house.

Dad already left us for good. He'd told us he was going for a business trip but Archer and I weren't dumb, it was the "other woman" he was spending time with and that was a lot for Mom to take and she'd left to stay a few weeks at grandpa's house so I didn't really understand why anyone was making loud noises at nine-freaking-thirty in the morning.

I brushed my teeth and hurried downstairs to find Archer packing stuff into a box. He picked up a new edition PlayStation and packed it inside, including some comic books, board games, a skateboard, Blu-Rays and Marvel and G.I Joe figures. He even put the limited edition ones, so I knew how bad the situation was.

These were all gifts from Tyler over the years. Some had not even been gifts; they were stuff that Ty forgot to take it home with him and never bothered to pick up because he hung out in this house so often.

Archer barely acknowledged me standing by the staircase as he proceeded to dump stuff inside. "I'm returning the things that Tyler gave me." He explained, without looking at me, "Don't think I would need it here anymore. If you got stuff that you need to return too, you can put it in here."

"I'm not returning anything." I clarified. "Whatever happened it's between you and Tyler. It has nothing to do with me."

He passed me an incredulous look as if I'd just confessed to being a murder. "He called your brother a child molester. A fucking child molester and you're still going to support him?"

I glared back at him. "He caught Maya sitting in your lap in your car. She's only thirteen, Archer! What did you expect?"

"She was upset about something, okay? And she asked me if she could hold me, and when I said yes, she climbed into my lap without asking for permission. She was sobbing so much, I just let her sit there. That's all. Look, I'm not a monster. Maya is still a kid and I know it. She and I are just friends, but Ty blew this way out of proportion."

"And you called him a psychopath."

"Because that's exactly what he is. Thought you should know. He's diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder. It runs in their family, mostly among the men. The only reason Ty isn't a serial killer is because his mother hired some of the best therapists in the world and he'd been coached secretly from a very young age, but if you noticed, he slips into the role of a manipulative asshole every now and then, like yesterday. He got an Anaconda and a King Cobra recently that's been added to his pet collection. If that's not madness, I don't know what is. You have to be very careful too because he gets fixated over things he likes."

"The way I see it. You two called each other names, so you're even."

Archer's hands were balled into fists; the vein in his forehead was twitching. "It's not the same thing! You're not getting the point. I'm not sexually attracted to a thirteen-year-old kid. What he said is not true, but Tyler is a psychopath and that's God's truth."

"Look at me, Archer and tell me that what Tyler saw was actually nothing."

Archer was my brother; he was also sweet, kind and collected. He was someone you could trust with your dog and a sack of gold. But, he wasn't a saint when it came to Maya and neither was he perfect.

He stared at me dead-on, his silver eyes so much like mine, cutting through me like a sharp razor. I stared back in defiance, and finally, his gaze faltered and I knew he was hiding some guilt.

"I won't judge you," I assured him. "No matter what it is."

He caught his head in his hands and heaved a sigh. "I kissed her, and Tyler saw us. I didn't mean to kiss her but she initiated it and I couldn't stop myself, but before it could go any further, I told Maya to get out of the car and Tyler probably didn't see that."

"Let me ask you one question, Archer, and please be very honest. Imagine Hazel is thirteen and you saw her making out with a guy who should know better. What would you do?"

Archer gritted his teeth. "I would beat his ass."

I smiled, "So you see, that's exactly how Tyler was feeling. Maya is his baby sister. Of course, he wants to protect her from harm."

Archer appeared a little resigned, "so I'm a monster then."

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, you're not, but I really think you should be careful until she's at least sixteen."

He gave out a humorless laugh. "And it would still make me a pedophile because I'll be twenty when she's sixteen." He looked at me, "I'm not attracted to her in that way, Vicky. It's just...I don't like seeing her with other boys, even if they are of her age. It's confusing. I feel protective of her, but I also understand that I don't have brotherly feelings for her either. I wish she was our age, you know."

I gave him a smile filled with sympathy. "You just have to wait a few more years."

"I don't think that would actually matter, considering the fact that my relationship with her was always doomed from the start."

"And why would you say that?"

He chuckled. "Look at us, Vicky and look at the Lockhart's. She's a daughter of a billionaire. My parents own a small bakery in a town her family practically owns. Do you see the colossal fucking difference? It's like comparing an ocean to a swimming pool."

Archer made us sound dirt-poor which we not, but I understood where he was coming from.

"Besides..." he continued, "she's still a kid. She may not have those feelings for me when she's older."

I sighed. "Are you really going to return all of Tyler's stuff?"

"Yeah," He said staring hard at a Gundam figurine which was probably his most favorite. "Just not this one. He wouldn't even know I still have it."

I had to laugh.

The fight that Archer and Tyler had in the amusement park hadn't affected our relationship much; or rather Tyler refused to talk about it with me. Since Ty's suspension period was over, the two would pass each other in the hallways but refuse to talk or even exchange greetings. One of them needed to extend an olive branch, and it sure wasn't going to be Tyler.

I'd tried to apologize to him for my brother but Ty wouldn't listen so I dropped the issue completely.

He was also demanding when it came to sex, he'd been clear what he'd wanted before we started dating so this didn't come as a shocker. Although what was surprising was my eagerness to do whatever he wanted me to. It was almost like I was a completely changed person when I was with him as if Tyler slipped love potions into my drinks.

Just yesterday, he'd cornered me an hour before hockey practice and demanded that I follow him in the empty classroom, then he'd locked it from the inside and taken me into a blind-spot away from the surveillance cameras and fucked me deep and hard. My cries were muffled by his hand in my mouth which I'd bitten into as the pleasures rolled from within my body.

Later on, he'd helped me straighten my appearance and kissed me for such a long time that we didn't even realize someone was trying to open the classroom from the outside.

He asked me if he could study at my place and I said yes so he climbed through my window that night. I'd purposely worn the pink nightie that was see-through and inside I was wearing a matching set of bra and panties.

Okay, fine. I admit I was part of the reason his mind was always in the gutter. I was seducing him because I couldn't get enough.

Tyler's smoldering predatory gaze followed my body from bottom to top and he passed me that lady-killer smile, one that had most of the school's female body salivating over. "You expect me to get any studying done with you dressed like that?"

I laughed. "Yes. We have plenty of time for other stuff after that."

He became cozy on top of my bed as he took off his shoes and continued to stare at me like a creeper, "Vicky, you didn't broach the subject so I never brought it up."

"Well, I tried to apologize for Archer but you—

Tyler shook his head. "I'm talking about what Archer told you about me."

"Okay?"

He chuckled, "I expected you to come storming into my house and demand an explanation and then leave screaming bloody murder because you thought I was like Patrick Bateman or Dexter Morgan."

I rolled my eyes, "Sorry to disappoint you."

"You surprise me is all," he said softly. "You realize that I'm not normal, don't you?"

"Yes, I know."

"I'm very good at reading people and situations so I act accordingly. That's the way I've been taught. When I was younger, it used to be difficult, but not anymore." He took my hands in his and kissed them.

"What am I thinking? Can you tell?"

"You're thinking if Tyler will be your future husband and the father of your dozen children."

I laughed and slapped him playfully. "A dozen? Are you insane?"

Was he secretly hinting towards our future?

"Two dozen then?" His eyes danced with mischief as his thumb traced my lower lip. "Why aren't you running away from me as you should be?"

"You're you, and it really doesn't matter to me what you're diagnosed with. My dad was a completely normal man, but that didn't stop him from having an affair with his secretary, right? What you do defines you, and not what you are."

Tyler grinned. "I think I should send your brother a personalized 'thank-you' card. He did a huge favor by outing me. I don't even need to hide anymore."

"You don't, never with me."

We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, it's like Tyler could see through the depths of my soul.

"I love you, Ty."

I always said it, whenever I could and tried not to feel hurt when he didn't say it back. Maybe he just needed more time.

Or maybe he didn't love me at all...

I was going to pretend the last thought never came to my mind.

"I know, baby." He said as he pulled me into his lap and kissed me with such a fierce passion, it curled my toes.

Even though he didn't say it, he showed me how much he loved me.

And that was enough for now.

"That bracelet looks familiar," Archer said eyeing the charm bracelet that Tyler had given me at the amusement park.

I beamed at him, proudly showing it off. "Ty gave it to me. It's a gift. It's pretty, isn't it?"

Archer did a double-take. "It looks expensive. Wonder how he could afford it when his cards have been revoked. He had no access to his daddy's money."

"Maybe it's not expensive. Probably something he picked from Walmart or something."

Archer snorted because, like me, he had doubts about Ty picking anything up from a departmental store that wasn't expensive.

He looked at it suspiciously and then his eyes lit up. "Hold on a sec. I know where I saw it."

I stood in the doorway looking like an idiot as Archer rummaged through a bunch of magazines lying under the coffee table. He picked up one magazine and threw it on the table. "Bam! There it is."

The magazine's front cover featured Tyler's parents Jasper and Kiara Lockhart posing for a magazine in their Royal glory with Tyler and Maya standing beside them. It was a cover story about their excessively glamorous billionaire lifestyle talking about the perfect family (note the sarcasm).

"Why are you showing me this?" I asked him.

Archer pointed at the picture. "Look at Mrs. Lockhart's wrist. See anything familiar there?"

I was shell-shocked.

His mother wore the same bracelet like the one he'd given me. The exact same. The charm had colored stones and an 'L' hanging to it among other things and 'Lockhart' monogrammed over the metal.

"Maybe he made a new one for me with the exact same design," I said.

"And where do you think the money came from? I told you, Vicky. He's still grounded, and his father is working him to the bone all day, and not paying him any coin."

I couldn't believe this...Tyler couldn't do it!

"So you're saying...

Archer looked me dead in the eye. "He stole the bracelet from his mother."