"Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured."
-Mark Twain
Layla.
"You know, I could get in there with you. I've seen you naked before, Layla, and there's no other reason for me not to," Harry humorously commented as he leaned against the door frame of the bathroom.
I rolled my eyes playfully, and laughed. "Yes, I know, and I've already politely declined your offer, Harry." I cocked my head. "No other reason? What if I just don't want you in here with me?" I asked, crossed my arms.
He narrowed his eyes at me. "I meant a reason that was good enough for me not to get in there with you, not your opinion on the matter," He said, his tone once again humorous.
I laughed again, and lightly pushed him. "Just go, I need some time alone so I can clean up and sort through my clothes."
"And look at your secret book that you brought in the quilt?" He asked, and smirked slightly.
I stilled slightly, and stared at him, all the humor draining from my face. "Harry, don't look through that book while I'm in here, I mean it. I don't go through your things," I sternly told him.
"I wasn't planning on it, babe," He said with a secretive smile, and disappeared, my bedroom door opening and closing was the only thing signalling his departure.
I exhaled loudly, and rolled my eyes before I shut the door then locked it carefully. My fingers ran through my hair, and I shook my head slightly in annoyance. If he knew what was good for him, he wouldn't look through that book, he wouldn't even think about it.
Harry.
My curiosity had never peaked this high before, and that was more than a little frustrating. Normally, if I wanted to know something I would find it out regardless of who I wanted the information from, but this time I couldn't. I didn't want to abuse the trust Layla had in me, and even that was more than I probably deserved.
I sighed quietly, and began to pace around my room as I tried to find something more interesting to focus on, but there was nothing. All I could think about was that damn book, and why Layla wouldn't want me to look in it. Was it her diary? No, she didn't seem like the type of person to keep one. Full of secret love notes from that, him, or someone else? No, that didn't seem probable either. She wouldn't keep something like that, especially not in a place where she knew very well that I could find it.
There was nothing else that I could think of that she could have possibly written down. Nothing else fit what I was thinking.
Our of irritation, I grabbed the mattress off the bed, and tossed it against the wall. Nothing fell or broke, but something else caught my eye. A single piece of folded up paper fluttered to the floor as the mattress moved, and I frowned slightly as my curiosity once again flared.
I walked over to the note, and inhaled the piece of paper carefully. Layla's scent was all over it, and the vague scent of another, someone unknown, was also on it. My eyes flashed slightly red, and I gritted my teeth in irritation before I opened the paper and looked down at the words that were written in black pen.
If I were with you, right now, then I'd be wiping your tears away, baby. I know that this whole separation thing must be hard on you, and I'm sorry for taking so long to get you out. However, I meant what I said in those woods, I will be getting you away from that artificial bastard, and you're going to be mine again. I missed my chance with you once by not showing you how much I care for you, Layla, but not this time, no, this time I'll show it to you. I'll show you the world.
All you have to do is wait for me.
I love you.
-D
My blood began to boil to an extreme level, and I hissed lowly before ripping the piece of paper to shreds, and throwing it as far as the small weightless shards would go. My eyes were red, an even darker shade than I had ever remembered seeing them be, and I looked up at the door, weighing my options very carefully.
No one would ever take Layla away from me, whether she wanted to leave or not, she was staying with me forever, and there was only one sure way to do that.
I had to kill Damaris, and I had to hide Layla where no one would ever find her.
Layla.
The atmosphere of the room changed slightly once I got out of the shower, and I frowned a bit at the cold chill that hung in the air. I quickly wrapped a towel around myself, and walked out into my bedroom, then looked around. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, nor did things seem out of balance, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
I took a deep breath, and decided to shake off the feeling. There was no point in dwelling on unimportant matters. I dried myself off, and slipped a pair on white cotton shorts, and a large tee shirt was pulled over my head. I wrapped my damp hair up into the towel, twisted it, and pushed back over my head so that it would dry a little faster.
Slowly, I climbed onto my bed, and pulled one of the blankets over my lap, trying to shake the chill that stuck in the air before exhaling. Nothing is wrong, Layla, you're just being paranoid, I silently told myself, and bit my lip before I reached off the side and grabbed my quilt. I took out my journal from the fabric, then wrapped the blanket around my shoulders.
Staring down at it, it just felt different, almost as if I hadn't written in it in over a lifetime. My fingers hesitantly ran over the bound leather confinements, and I slowly exhaled before finally opening it to the first page.
I frowned slightly down at the words sprawled across the pages. They weren't all mine, I always wrote in a black pen, and these words were written in red ink. I squinted slightly and read over the few lines of the first page, they weren't very readable considering I had just started to decide to write down my thoughts, but I barely just made them out.
I hate writing things out like this, it seems stupid. And I don't think it'll ever really help me, but I'm going to try it. I don't really feel anything at this moment, maybe a bit dull and my hand hurts because I've started this damn entry at least fives times, and scribbled it out.
That was all I could make out of the text because the next part, which wasn't written in my handwriting or with my pen, covered it up.
You shouldn't talk like this, babe. I care about you, and you're not alone. I'll always be there.
My blood boiled slightly, and I quickly flipped through the pages, seeing that each and every one had red ink written on them. The worse part was that I knew this handwriting because of that stupid fucking note that was left on my pillow.
Damaris had found my journal, and wrote in it. He invaded my privacy, and even made comments on my personal thoughts. I shook my head, and slammed the book shut before throwing it against the wall.
How dare he do this? He had absolutely no right to read my journal, let alone write his own thoughts in it. Something told me that he finally snapped, he'd finally went crazy. That was the only explanation.
Suddenly, the door snapped open to reveal a very scary looking Harry. I stood up from the bed, and looked at him with a slightly fearful expression.
"Harry? What's wrong-," I was unable to complete my question as I pinned against the wall with such force that my head smacked against it, causing me to cry out in pain. "Fuck, Harry, what the hell is the matter with you? Let me go!"
He gruffly growled, and tightened his grip around my wrist to the point where they felt as if they were on fire. He didn't seem to care, and only stared at me with glowing red eyes. "When were you planning on telling me about that note your lover sent you?" He lowly asked.
All thoughts of pain, or discomfort faded from my body as I paled slightly and froze while staring at him. "What are you talking about?" I whispered.
"You know what I'm talking about!" He screamed in my face, and if I hadn't known any better I would've thought that he was pained by the thought of Damaris being anywhere near me. "The note that was under my mattress from your idiotic ex-boyfriend from your lamia vampire home!"
I winced at the volume of his voice, but again, he didn't seem to care. He was so angry that I was surprised he hadn't killed me, or drawn my blood. "I-I was going to tell you about it, Harry, I just didn't want you to react like this," I whispered, and tears swam in my vision. God, he was really angry at me. No one has ever been this angry at me.
"Bullshit. You were never going to tell me about that note. You were just going to disappear in the middle of the night with your little boyfriend, weren't you? And I'm not reacting any differently than I should," Harry hissed at me, and his fangs began to brush against his bottom lip.
I gasped quietly, and cowered slightly into the wall. "No, I wasn't...I swear, I-,"
He cut me off by roughly kissing me, his fangs cutting into my lip and making my mouth fill with blood before he pulled away. His gaze lowered slightly at the blood, but then he looked back up at me. "You're mine, Layla, and no one will ever take you away from me. Don't make excuses for him, it won't change his fate."
A couple stray tears fell down my cheeks as I looked at him. "What are you talking about, Harry?" I slowly asked him, and tried not to think about the way my bottom lip was starting to sting from the way his sharp teeth had cut into it.
His eyes seemed to darken as he stared at me, and a sadistic smirk appeared on his face. "Nothing of importance," He said, and began to pull away from me.
"Harry, you can't hurt him!" My words were loud, and echoed throughout the room, and I couldn't help the scream that escaped my lips as I was once again shoved back against the wall.
"I will do whatever I damn well please to the bastard. He's threatening you, and making me threaten you, and I won't have it anymore!" He once again screamed in my face.
I let out a quiet sob, and shook my head. "Please, if you care about me at all you won't hurt him," I whispered in a pleading voice. My entire body was shaking, and my heart was ready to pound out of my chest.
He grinned in a cruel way. "And why exactly do you not want me to hurt him?"
I stared at him, and I finally realized what he was getting at. "H-Harry, I don't love him, and I don't want to be with him. I want to stay here with you," I said, and shook my head.
"Answer my question, Layla," He growled, and when I remained silent it seemed to anger him even more. "Answer it!" He screamed.
"I care about him!" I screamed back at him, and a few sobs trembled through my lips. "I care about him, Harry," I said, a bit softer than before, and sniffled.
"See, that wasn't too hard now, was it?" He asked, and grinned that crue smile once again.
I continued to quietly sob as I looked at him, and I leaned back against the wall. My body ached, but it was mostly my bottom lip and the back of my head. The wood behind me was hard, and I was sure that I'd have a bruise somewhere on my body from this encounter. "I don't care about him in the way you think, Harry, he's my best friend."
"Well, he doesn't seem to think that, he seems to believe that you're more than that," Harry said, and his eyes faintly softened, but his jaw tensed. It was as if he were forcing himself to remain angry.
"I know, and I don't understand why. He's never behaved that way with me, not even when I thought I cared about him like that," I whispered, and sniffled. "But I didn't like him that way, Harry, I never really did...he was just the only one that gave me loving attention and didn't want me to change into something I wasn't. He's just my best friend, and he's delusional," I said, and shook my head.
"Well, regardless of your feelings for him, he's able to get into my home without me knowing, and I don't like that. So I've only come to one solution," Harry said, and his eyes were slowly fading back to their normal green color, but they still held his anger.
"Please don't hurt him," I said, and shook my head quickly. "Please, Harry, I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt him!"
Harry growled, and pulled me away from the wall by my wrists, but then let go of one, only to bite into his wrist and shove it against my mouth. "Oh, I'm going to do whatever I damn well please to him. I'm going to send out a reward for whoever sends me his head on a silver platter."
I whimpered against his wrist, but continued to take his blood, knowing that I would need my strength for whatever would come next.
"But, I can't have you around while I take care of him, so that only leaves me with one thing to do," He said as he took his wrist away from my lips, and locked gazes with me.
I froze, and I knew he was using his compulsion powers on me. I was unable to speak, or move.
"I have to hide you," Harry said, and cupped my face in his hands. "I have to keep you safe and out of the way, Layla, it's the only way for this to blow over. Something is going to take you away from me, and I refuse to let it be me or him."
I couldn't respond, and I wanted to so freaking badly.
"I'm letting an old friend take you away and keep you somewhere safe, an old friend that cares about you just as much as I do. The only problem is that I won't know where you are." His lips ghosted over mine, and I saw a few tears run down his cheeks. It was so strange to see him cry, and I wanted to comfort him despite the intensity of the situation. "I swear you'll be safe, Layla. No one will ever hurt you again." He kissed me slowly, and took a deep breath as he pulled away. "I need you to go to sleep, babe. Just for a little while so that you can be taken somewhere safe," He whispered, and I slowly felt myself loose consciousness.
Harry.
I caught Layla before she could fall to the floor, and I lifted her into my arms, hugging her body close to my chest before taking another deep breath. I laid her on the bed for a moment, but only long enough to pack a bag of clothes for her. I wasn't sure what I'd grabbed, it wasn't like it matter. No one would be seeing her outside of Justin. He was the only one I could trust to take care of her.
Slowly, I lifted her back into my arms after I finished packing her bag, and carried her down the stairs at a quick pace. I didn't want any of the servants to see me, or her, I didn't want anyone to know that she was being taken somewhere else, somewhere safe.
Just as I had planned, a large black van was sitting outside of my house, and I walked over to it without hesitation. I opened the passenger side door, and put Layla onto the seat, buckling her in and putting the bag on her lap.
"Keep her safe, mate," I said to Justin, and he nodded. "I mean it, I trust you with her life."
"I know, Harry, I know. You know I won't let anyone hurt her," He responded, his tone sincere, showing the honesty in his words.
I took a deep breath, and kissed her temple. "I'm sorry things had to turn out like this, babe. I really am," I whispered into her ear, and slowly shut the door. "If anyone tries to hurt you, you know what to do. Her life matters more than yours, or mine, remember that."
Justin nodded slightly, and glanced over at Layla. She looked so small now, so weak and fragile that it hurt my chest just thinking about it. "No one will touch her, mate. I swear no one will hurt my little sister ever again."
"You don't have to tell her about that, if you don't want to, but I recommend you do. She'll probably feel safer with you," I said, and crossed my arms.
He sighed, and rolled his eyes. "I doubt it. She's so fucking stubborn."
I cracked a faint smile despite the situation. "It must run in the family."
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I'll see you later mate." The window rolled up on the van, and he began to drive away with the only human female to ever make me feel like I didn't have to be alone. I knew that there was a chance Layla would hate me for this, but none of that mattered right now. The only thing that did matter was her safety, and that was the only thing I was currently worried about.
Besides, maybe she'll hate me less than usual because she'll get to spend a bit of sibling bonding time with Justin. It would shock her to learn the truth about her family, her real family, but it was only a matter of time before she figured it out. And I hoped that Justin would take it easy on her, maybe even spare her of some the details, but not leave out the important things.
I took a deep breath, and turned around to look at Arthur, the head guard I had told to wait miles away from us for exactly five minutes. I didn't want him to hear anything because right now my vague trust was only in the two people that just left, and the other four lads. "Send out a message to every single made vampire, and even a few lamia if you must, that if they have any information that will tell me where a lamia man named Damaris is, they will be rewarded handsomely. I don't care if someone brings me him dead, alive, or even just information about his whereabouts. Just don't let him get again."
"Yes, sir," Arthur responded, and nodded his head before disappearing to do as I asked him to do. Now I was alone, and it was time to go into my hunting mode, and get to the other lads. They will help me, they just had to.
A/N:
I'm sorry that this is extremely short, guys, and that it's not really the best chapter, but you learn so much and there's so much action. :) Also, I'm sad to say that this story might be reaching it's end (10 to 15 chapters left maybe?) but that could change, so don't hold me too it, haha. Just know it's getting there.
I just wanted to update something soon because I haven't been feeling like writing much of anything these days. A new chapter will be posted soonish, I promise.
If you have a quote of some sort that you believe fits this story, then comment it down below and if I like it then I will post it at the beginning of the chapter. :)
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