A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Most of her focus was on the cup of water in her hands. Her hands wrapped around the item and enjoyed the warmth that it gave off. She only wished that the creature hadn't been the one to have made it for her. It was still too hot to drink, so she didn't have to worry about calling him over so that she could partake of a sip.

After their conversation outside, they hadn't talked. The creature seemed his usual demented, cheery self, though, and he continued about the room and cleaned up the mess that Haley had left. If he started to whistle, it wouldn't shock her. (F/n), however, was recovering from it all. Her energy had been spent, and her healing wounds weren't helping her state of exhaustion. Thankfully, her shoulder bleed had seemed to stop, and there was only a little bit of dried blood on the bandages there.

Her eyes followed the steam coming off of the water, but her mind shifted its focus on the creature's last words. In the end, she truly wouldn't gain full peace, only some. That caused her heart to ache, but it was true. They really did have a dreadful bond. Even in death, it wouldn't break. What made matters worse was the fact that the creature reveled in that knowledge.

(F/n)'s lips parted, and a sigh left them. Her attention shifted to her lips, but no warmth greeted her cheeks. Once again, he had kissed her. She would've enjoyed that ... caring kiss if he had been someone else, someone that she returned feelings for, but he wasn't, yet he was unfortunately the only one that she had at the moment. Her fist ached to punch him again, but she was too tired to perform the action.

Probably, though, no one could compare to how much he was obsessed with her and in love with her. She accepted that likely truth, but she refused to surrender to him. If she did, she would be betraying her parents and Laura. Not only that but also she would be disloyal to herself. (F/n) would be his murderer and nothing more. To him, that may be intimate, but she only found the job to be awful.

Such a responsibility weighed heavily on her shoulders, and temptation nagged at her. It tickled her skin, waiting to find the right place to pierce her flesh and sink into her bloodstream. To fall into it would be easy. She had no one else at the moment but the creature. The memory of his gentle wiping of her tears and soft kiss boomed in her mind. Those actions invited her to look at the creature in another way.

There was even the fact that he didn't hide from the truth. He admitted to his wrong acts. The creature wasn't afraid of seeming like a monstrosity to others. Rather, he utilized that to his benefit. Her own words, which she had meant to be harmful, had been turned against her and had ensnared her in a terrible bond.

"What had you been looking for?" At first, she didn't register that the creature had spoken to her. Her mind was too deep in thought. It wasn't until his mopping stopped that she looked up to him. She didn't stare down to the mop or the ground. No more blood needed to greet her eyes presently.

"Wh-what?" she questioned, seeming to have just woken up from a long slumber.

"Before you had come outside, you had been moving around. If you hadn't been planning an escape, what had you been looking for?" Before she could answer, he went back to mopping. Her words were cut off again. "Had it been your phone?"

She couldn't prevent her eyes from widening slightly, but her voice was steady. "Why would you guess that?"

"From what had happened outside. Something must've brought that on, and I think that your inability to find your phone was part of that. You probably had wished to call someone so that help would come out here, but you had realized that someone might not come. You might've been abandoned. Those thoughts only had fueled what had occurred outside." His eyes glanced over to hers, and there was an amused spark there. "Is that close?"

A heavy frown painted her lips, and fear crawled into her eyes. It was terrifying how he could fit pieces together so well and figure out what had transpired. Her eyes stared back down to her water.

"Looks like it had been." He giggled. "(F/n), you shouldn't waste your time on searching for that. I had smashed it to pieces before we ever had come here. I had seen no reason to hang onto it any longer. Besides, I didn't need to turn it on accidentally at some point and have my location discovered."

"Then ..."

"Of course, I had known about the tracking. I've been around humans long enough to know such things. That's why I had kept it off for most of the time that I had it."

"Most of the time?" She already knew about the texting to Nick, but she acted confused. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, and the creature giggled. Hopefully, he hadn't seen through her.

"Yes, I had to contact someone the day before we had left. Haley's timing had worked out perfectly. My location had probably been tracked to your house, so it most likely had been best for me to remove my things from your room and leave town for a bit."

"Where had you disposed of the phone?"

"In the cemetery." He giggled and opened the front door to drain the dirty bucket and clean the mop. "I had heard you tell the two guards that. It had been a nice save, my little helper." She didn't smile at the compliment.

"And, who had you contacted?"

"I would've told you if I had wanted you to know." The creature soon brought the items back into the house and set them down, avoiding the wet places on the ground. He lifted up his right thumb and pulled out a splinter before he tossed it out the door and closed it. "Besides, that's not important anymore, and I'm supposed to be the one asking you questions."

Standing in front of her, she tensed. His hands wrapped around the cup of the water, and it had cooled a bit down. He tilted it up to her lips, and she took a hesitant sip before he gave it back to her. "What had your plan with Haley been?" He remained close, and one of his left nails trailed along her right arm. A shiver ran up her spine.

"You should know that I'm not going to answer." His nail stopped and pressed into her skin a bit. It didn't break the skin there, but she winced. "Take your dessert. I'm not giving you anything."

Giggling, he shook his head. "You're cute, my pink flower, but you even know that your statements are false. You're going to submit what I want to me. I may not kill you, but you've been exposed to the pain that I can cause much more than others."

"And, you should be able to comprehend that I won't beg for death from you." His eyes lit up, and he pressed his nail in harder. She winced again as a drop of crimson decorated his nail's tip. He lifted it up to his lips and sucked on it. Every second of the taste, he thoroughly enjoyed. A light moan escaped his lips. The sight disturbed her, and she glanced to the side.

Removing the nail from his mouth, he rested his hand against the side of his face. "Really? I think that I could break you, (f/n)." He leaned in close, but she didn't divert her attention his way. "You want to live, but beforehand, you had known that I could and would possibly kill you. You had understood that I might deliver unbearable pain to you, but at some point, you would be freed from it. Now, though, that's not the case."

He walked around her and pushed her chair away from the table. His arms draped over her shoulders, but they didn't press into her skin there much. The creature was mindful of her wounds. Nails tapped against her arm again, and his fingers touched the thin stream of blood descending down her upper arm.

"I can administer a dosage of agony to you again and again, but I'll never execute the final blow. No, I'll repair you so that I can start the process all over again because I love you and I'm your protector. You're a flower that won't die." Her heartbeat picked up due to terror. His words were chilling, and each one felt like a spear of ice jabbing through her heart. "At some point, you'll break and lose a few petals, but you're still be alive and in my arms."

Moving around her, he caringly picked up her arm. He crouched beside her, and she held onto the cup with her left hand. (F/n) didn't move otherwise. His nails were in such a position that they could tear through her whole arm if he wished them to. The creature dragged his tongue across the small cut, and her stomach turned. She had to shift her gaze again.

"I'd rather not have that happen, though. I'd like you to keep all of your petals and your spirit. Even if I break you completely, I doubt that I'll ever receive your love in turn for mine, so I'd rather keep up your fire." He stood up and patted her on the head. Each pat felt like it would bring her close to death. "Now, are you going to tell me? Or, will I get even more tastes of that delicious crimson flowing through your supple and seductive flesh?"