Sliding my long sleeved oversized sweater on that hung down over my black leggings, I checked my phone. No messages from any of the boys… Maybe they don't really want me anymore. There's no way to know unless I go over there. My uniform hung on the hanger, with a beer stain on the front. I'll have to try and clean it later. "I have to go," I told myself in the mirror.

"Have to go where? You've been gone a lot at night, Saki," Satoshi said, creeping into my room. He moved silently, afraid to wake our sleeping father downstairs. He'd passed out over an hour ago from exhaustion. It would take a hurricane to wake him.

I smiled at him, brushing my hair out of my face. "To study with some friends. It's way past your bedtime, Satoshi. You have school in the morning." We went to the same school, but he went during the daytime to avoid staying home with our father. Usually when I was gone to school, and Satoshi was here alone, our dad was out drinking his life away.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't like school, Saki. It's boring." He was only a first year in the junior high building, but he was smart. Smarter than I am.

"I know, but you have to go. You need to get good grades so that you can go to a high school far away from here. I'm gonna pay your tuition, but you," I poked his chest. "Have to pass the entrance exam. That was the deal remember?"

Satoshi nodded. "Yeah, I remember… You're going to come with me, right? You also promised to get us a place to live."

"One step at a time, okay? Now, get to bed. I'll be back to walk you to school on my way to work," I said, patting his head before ushering him out of my room. Making sure he was safe in bed and the lights were out, I crept down the stairs to the front door.

All the lights were off in the house, except for the color the tv provided from the late-night news. Sneaking out had become a habit for me over the past 2 months, and every time I went out, I felt more at ease doing it. Dad never wakes up, because he's drank so much that he might as well be in a coma. Navigating the streets at night had become much easier as well.

It only took ten minutes to make it to the Mukami household. The front door was unlocked, like always. What would vampires need to use a lock for? If anyone ever tried to rob them, they'd just end up dead. Kou probably wouldn't be here. He worked most weekdays. From the big open windows, I saw Yuma out tending to his garden. Azusa is probably in his room.

"You didn't follow my directions," Ruki said, startling me. He was sitting in one of the chairs in the foyer, with his book open in his hands. Had he been siting there the whole time?

I smiled brightly. "My little brother called. He needed me to come home. I'm sorry for not telling you." My brother had been my excuse for everything, because he was my everything.

He closed his book loudly, standing up from the chair. "Come with me."

Following Ruki up the stairs, I smiled more because he was finally talking to me! Even if he is mad that I left school, at least he is acknowledging me! Anything was better than being ignored. I knew this path upstairs well. We were going to his room.

He held the door open for me, waiting for me to go in first. The door closed soundly behind me, and silence took over. Ruki slid his hands up underneath my shirt, pulling it upward. Obediently raising my arms, the oversized sweater came off, leaving the tank top underneath. His teleporting of us to the bed sent a wave of pain through me. He said it's disorienting for humans because our bodies weren't made to move that fast. "Up," he said, slipping his fingers around the band of leggings.

Raising my hips to allow him to get the leggings off with little effort, I bit my lip. Unlike with Kou and Yuma, who liked to move very quickly, Ruki always took his time getting what he wanted from me. His room felt colder then usual, making goosebumps appear on my skin.

His eyes narrowed as they scanned my body. "Who bit you?"

"No one," I replied. As soon as I'd said it, I realized what was puzzling him. He could smell my blood from the open wound. Before I could stop him, he'd ripped my tank top and bra off at once. My cheeks flushed and I covered my stomach with my arms. "You said that-"

"I remember what I said," Ruki cut me off. He snatched my wrists in one hand, holding them above my head. His free hand traced along the many scars that were scattered on my stomach. "What are these from?" He asked, sounding more interested than angry. His fingers ran along the sensitive open one. "This one is fresh."

"It's nothing."

His eyes lifted from the wound to meet mine. Licking the blood off his fingers, he said, "The cut is upwards. Self-inflicted. Did your father make you, do it?"

I managed to tear my wrists free and covered the scars again. Turning my head away, I said, "I thought we agreed not to talk about my home life." They know a little bit about my dad, only because it became hard to lie about the bruises when Kou could see right through me. He said he could feel my fear, even though I hid it well behind my smile.

Ruki grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. "You belong to me, Saki. Harming your body isn't up to you. Only we can do that to you." He only said that because sometimes Azusa likes to make shallow cuts with his knife. "Why did you do it?"

"It's not your problem! What's the big deal? It doesn't affect you drinking my blood, so leave it alone!" I replied, raising my voice. My eyes grew wide when I did. This is the first time I've ever yelled at him. Regretting it instantly, I laid my head back on the pillow. "Don't ask me about it. I don't want to tell you."

"You don't have any right to deny me."

"You agreed."

Ruki clenching his hand around my throat, squeezing hard. "And now I've changed my mind. You will tell me. I won't allow you to leave this room until you do." He released my throat, making me cough for air. He leaned down to bite the top of my ear. "I'll keep you here forever if that's what it takes."

I shook my head. He's never been like this before. He's never cared to press the issue.

"This will be torture for you, give up and tell me what I want to know," Ruki said, softer than before. His lips met mine with a soft kiss. It took me by surprise, because he's never kissed me on the lips before, only on my neck and other parts of my body to rile me up.

My heart pounded in my chest, realizing what he meant. Though Ruki never jumped to sex right away, he didn't exactly make it… slow. This kind of feeling bubbling up inside of me was the feelings for him Kou had saw in me tonight. Was this their end game all along? Something in my head snapped and I pushed my hands against his chest hard. "Stop!"

Ignoring me completely, Ruki snatched my arms again, pinning them down above my head. He teleported so quickly that I barely realized he'd left at all. With my hands securely cuffed to the headboard, he had free reign of my body. Capturing my lips for another gentle kiss, Ruki slid my underwear down my legs, leaving me completely naked. Trailing kisses over to my ear, he lightly traced the curves of my body with his fingers.

"R-Ruki… please don't do this. I… I c-can't…" My heart won't be able to deal with the aftermath.

His hot breath on my ear, Ruki kept his voice barely above a whisper. "Isn't this what you wanted? For me to love you?"

Attempting to turn my head away from him, I took a shaky breath. "You don't love me. I'm not a human worth loving."

"Yes, you've said that before. Do you believe you deserve it? Is that why you came to us? So that whatever you needed atonement for would be found through your degradation from us?" One of his hands found its way between my legs, rubbing in all the right places. He kept his eyes on me, watching for the information he wanted.

They already know all that? It was obvious that I didn't give any worth to my life, as they'd discovered over the past few months. "Yes," was all I could muster before I bit my lip to stop a moan.

Ruki dipped one finger into me, slowly pulling in and out. He smirked when my hips rocked forward, wanting more. He went quiet for a long time, just teasing me and kissing my skin all over. He was right, this did feel like torture. It felt like he loved me, that he cared for me. The hard truth was that he only wanted my blood and body.

My whole body started to tremble as I almost crossed the line of pleasure, but it all stopped. Ruki withdrew from me completely, leaving my body unsatisfied and cold. With his chair perfectly placed to watch me from across the room, Ruki opened his book. "Whenever you're ready to tell me why you have those scars, I'll love you even more."

Love.

Stop it!

"Your heart rate sped up as I said that. It seems our little human has developed an attachment to me."

Holding back the tears, I let my head fall back on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. My breaths were ragged. My whole body craved his touch and his fangs, which he has yet to bite me. Swallowing down my sob, I bit my lip hard to keep in. Smile through the pain, Saki. That's what keeps us going. Try it! Go on! You have a beautiful smile! Her words floated through my head, like a sad melody that haunted me every night. She's the reason I ended up here, because I screwed up so badly. There was no way I'd ever be able to make up for my sins.

"I killed her."

Ruki looked up from his book, surprised at my sudden confession. "Hmm?"

The feelings of regret and hurt in my body took over and the tears spilled down my cheeks. "I killed my best friend and my dad covered it all up."

I'm a murderer.