Two words that explain the delay :College Applications. I've been doing applications essay and a bunch of other crap that has been holding this update back, sorry. And sorry this chapter is pretty short but it was the best I could do under the circumstances.

Don't forget to review :)

"Wake up Kagome," The soft voice said.

My eyes blinked open as I tried to remember what had happened.

I had spent house screaming for Inuyasha to let me out of the room. I had screamed until my voice gave out and I finally stopped pounding on the door once my hands were blistered.

I must have fallen asleep after I cried for a few hours.

"Kagome," The voice repeated.

My eyes focused on the person in front me.

"Morning sleepyhead."

"Rin?" I gasped and she shushed me.

"I'll make you some tea and then we'll talk." She said and helped me stand up before we walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.

I checked a nearby clock and saw it was nearly five in the morning.

I had been locked in the room for at least seven hours.

Rin placed a cup of tea in front of me and I took a few sips before I tried to speak.

"Where is he?" I croaked.

"I don't know exactly, He dropped me here and took off." Rin said. "He has a black eye."

"Probably from when my barrier sent him flying across the room." I thought to myself.

Rin disappeared for several minutes and came back with a first aid kit.

We sat in silence as she bandaged my wrist and checked the back of my head to see if it was still bleeding.

"Are you hungry?" She asked and I nodded.

I watched as she warmed up the mac and cheese Inuyasha and I had made moments before he attacked me.

"You know he loves you right?" Rin said as she put a plate down in front of me.

I picked up my fork and tasted what we had made together.

"I know," I said with my voice still raspy. "I don't think he knows I love him too, no matter what."

"He just needs time Kagome," Rin told me but I shook my head.

"What he needs is me but last night he pushed me away. He wouldn't let me be there for him."

"Kagome," She started but I shook my head.

My throat hurt too much to continue talking and Rin could tell that I didn't want to hear anything else so the only sound in the room was the sound of my fork scraping against my plate.

Inuyasha pov

I watched as the crimson liquid dripped down and hit the grass.

It was like a leaky faucet.

Drip drip drip.

My arm was bleeding and I was doing nothing to stop it.

Hell I had caused it.

The smell of Kagome's blood on my claws was killing me, so I stuck my claws as deep as I could into my own arm and was able to hide her scent with my own.

I didn't want to lock Kagome in that room but I had no choice. I tried sleeping outside, I was no better than a common mutt so I decided to try and sleep like one.

But Kagome screamed for hours, and the sound of her pounding on the door made my heart constrict. No way was I getting any sleep.

I couldn't risk being around her so I drove to Rin's place and asked her to be there to help get Kagome home.

I dropped Rin off and told her to tell Kagome that I loved her, even though I doubt she would believe me.

I continued to watch my blood drip down my arm before I could smell him coming.

I could not catch a break.

"Should I have them put you on suicide watch mutt," Kouga barked when he raced up to me.

"Not now Kouga." I growled.

"What's wrong mutt, your fleas acting up and Kagome put you out."

At the mention of Kagome's name I tackled Kouga and we fell to the ground with my bloody hands wrapped around his throat.

"Just don't." I hissed and he pushed me off of him.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" He demanded to know as he jumped back to get some distance between us.

"I'm not in the mood wolf cub, why don't you just get outta here." I sat down on the ground and ran my hands through my hair.

"You realize you look like a serial killer right?" Kouga said tentatively.

I pulled a few strands of my hair towards my face and realized that the blood from my hands stained my white hair.

"I act like a monster, it's only fitting that I look one took."

"Mutt, you okay?" Kouga asked and I shook my head before standing back up.

"Go check on Kagome for me, text me how she is."

"Sure thing Takahashi." He said and gave me one last concerned look before running away in a whirlwind.

I turned to look at Kagome's favorite spot in Avalon Park, the huge boulder beneath my favorite tree.

I need to get out of here before she showed up.

Kagome pov

Rin and I stayed at the beach house for awhile before she called for a ride.

Once we got picked up I told Rin to tell her limo driver to drive me to the park instead of home.

Rin said she'd only give me five minutes and if I wasn't back in time she would personally knock me out and drag me to the car.

I waved her off as I approached my favorite spot in the park.

With great difficulty I climbed onto my boulder and breathed deeply in and out.

My grandfather once told me that the park was connected to me spiritually so I figured I would feel better if I spent some time there.

I was mediating when I heard something dripping from above. I looked up at the trees hovering over me and saw nothing but when I looked back down on the boulder was a tiny pool of blood.

From the corner of my eye I noticed some grass was red in the distance. I hopped off the boulder and approached the "red" grass.

Upon examination I could tell it was blood too, I look back at the tree that was above my favorite spot and shook my head.

Inuyasha had been watching me and he was bleeding.

"Kagome!" Rin yelled and I turned to see her a few feet away.

"Let's go," She barked and grabbed me by my forearm to drag me back to the car.

I stared at the trees as we walked away, Inuyasha was shutting me out and right now I didn't have the strength to fight back.

Rin took me home and ordered me into bed.

She gave me some sleeping pills with a glass of water and told me that I needed to rest.

I would have protested if my throat didn't still hurt so much.

I curled up under the sheets and tried not to think of Inuyasha bleeding somewhere.

When I woke up I could smell food, my eyes blinked open and I saw Rin standing next to my bed holding a tray which had a bowl of soup on it.

"Time to eat," She beamed and I sat up in bed as she handed me the tray.

"It's shrimp bisque." She said and I took a spoonful then cringed.

"With bourbon." She added with a smile. "It should help with your throat."

After a few spoonfuls my throat did feel better.

"Even though it's pretty strong, this is really good." I hummed.

"And for dessert." Rin said loudly and Sota walked into the room with something behind his back.

"Chocolate cheesecake." He said as he presented it to me.

"Thanks Sota." I said and ruffled his hair a little before he left.

"Have you heard from him?" I asked quietly and Rin shook her head.

"I asked Sesshy to look for him but he said Yasha will come back when he can."

"I keep pushing him and he's the one that keeps paying for it." I sighed.

"You're not exactly getting out unscathed." She replied as she sat next to me on the bed and held up my wrist.

"Keh, it's a flesh wound." I countered and Rin giggled.

"You sound like Yasha." She laughed and I tried to smile but couldn't.

"What makes me mad is that he keeps pushing me away, I honestly don't know how much more of this I can take." I sighed and Rin nodded.

"I'm going back to sleep," I said and was crawling under the sheets when my door opened and Ayame and Kouga stepped in.

"Kagome's going to sleep," Rin said firmly and I closed my eyes.

"But-" Ayame started but Rin cut her off. "You can talk to her tomorrow at school."

Rin turned off the lights and closed the door behind them.

Hopefully tomorrow would be a better day.

Inuyasha pov

Only saw her for a second, but she looked okay.

I read Kouga's texts over multiple times but it wasn't enough information so I decided to call Rin.

She picked up after a few rings.

"How is she?" I asked and Rin scoffed.

"How do you think she is Yasha. She feels abandoned, she feels like this is her fault. She's mad as hell for you locking her in that room but she's scared to death about what you're going to do now."

"I had to lock her in there, to protect her from myself, you don't get it Rin. You've never almost killed Sesshomaru because you're a fucking monster!" I yelled into the phone and Rin's voice softened.

"You can't run away every time you get scared Yasha otherwise one of these times, you won't have anyone to run home to."

The reality of her words hit me like a ton of bricks and left me speechless.

With unsteady hands I hung up the phone and tried to not think what a life without Kagome would be like.

I entered my room through my window with the hopes that Sesshomaru would get the point and know that I didn't want to talk.

But two seconds after I entered the room my door burst open.

"I don't want to talk about it." I muttered but knew my statement was useless.

"I don't even know what do you with you, I honestly don't."

"You don't have to do anything with me," I snapped. "I can take care of myself."

Sesshomaru grimaced as he stepped closer.

"You can take care of yourself?" He laughed. "If Kagome didn't have advance spiritual power she would be in the hospital right now. Did you even go back, see the dent in the wall and the blood on the floor."

"SHUT UP!" I growled as I stood up, standing so close our noses were almost touching.

"Once again little brother, you act without thinking and manage to fail as a mate."

"Sesshomaru get out of my room," I said through gritted teeth.

"Start living up to your name Inuyasha, Takahashi doesn't translate to mean pathetic fool."

He turned to leave but then looked down at my arm which was caked with dried blood.

"The meds aren't enough anymore, you need to start taking other precautions."

"I've been taken all the precautions short of breaking up with her," I retorted.

"Then I guess you haven't taken all of the precautions."

He left and I slammed the door behind him.

I went into my closet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey from a shoe box.

I threw it back like it was water and smirked sadly at the taste.

I stopped drinking so I wouldn't lose control around Kagome but as Sesshomaru so eloquently pointed out the precautions I had been taking were not working.

So I figured I might as well self medicate.

I took another swig and collapsed onto my bed with the bottle.

I kept drinking until hurting Kagome seemed like it had been dream, but deep down I still knew it wasn't.

"Get up," Sesshomaru barked as he stood over my bed.

I opened one eye but the sunlight that streamed into my room made me groan and shut it again.

Damn hangover.

"You have school, now get up." He barked before leaving the room.

I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled into my bathroom.

After dry heaving for five minutes I splashed some water on my face and looked in the mirror.

My eyes looked bloodshot and bags formed underneath them.

I looked like death warmed over.

I threw on some clothes and grabbed some shades before jumping out my window to avoid Sesshomaru.

I walked slowly to school, one because running was making my head feel like crap and two because I still didn't know what to say to Kagome.

When I reached the ADH parking lot she was already there. I hid behind someone's truck as I watched her.

She wasn't sitting on the trunk of her car, bopping her head along to the music like usual.

Instead she was standing, her arms wrapped around herself defensively and her head tilted downward.

When a car playing loud music approached, her head shot up but then drifted back down after looking at the driver.

She was hoping it was me.

I was about to go talk to her when someone's arms wrapped around me from behind.

"Hi Inuyasha." Tsubaki beamed.

"Let go of me," I growled.

"Why so mad?" She laughed as she held on tighter.

"I really don't have time for your advances today okay, you're barking up the wrong damn tree. I'm in love with Kagome okay."

"But I bet you thought you were in love with Kikyo too."

This girl was so aggravating.

She moved her arms around me so she was now hugging me from the front.

"Whoa," She gasped and waved one hand in front of her face. "Smells like someone has been hitting the bottle pretty hard."

The taste of the whiskey was still on my tongue so I guess I should have known it would be on my breath.

"Tsubaki, I really have to go okay." I pried her hands off of me before she could say another word and turned so I could go talk to Kagome but out of nowhere Tsubaki started to fall.

I reached out to pull her up but instead I felt her pull me down.

We rolled and hit the ground with a thud.

I groaned as my hung-over head bounced against the concrete and I tried to focus my vision.

Tsubaki had fallen directly on top of me and people had started to gather around us to see what was up.

I stretched my neck to see and sure enough Kagome was staring at me from the exact same spot I saw her earlier.

Before I hadn't been able to see her face clearly, but as I stared into her chocolate eyes which were glazed over and her cheeks which were already stained with tears I knew that Sesshomaru was right.

I hadn't taken all the precautions I could to protect Kagome.

And it was about time I did.