I sat down on Liam's bed, thought better of it, then slid down to the rug. Liam came in shortly after me, shutting the door behind him.

"Lift your right arm," Liam said, suddenly serious.

I tried. I couldn't even feel it, let alone lift it. "I can't," I said.

"But why?" Liam groaned. "Why can't you? It doesn't make any sense."

"I...it doesn't feel like it's mine anymore," I said, trying to put my feelings into coherent words. "You took out all the stuff that made it mine and now it's just...not."

I looked away, toward the plain, brown Band-Aid on my wrist. It was only a shade or two darker than the olive skin tone I shared with my mother.

I winced as the thought of her filled my mind. Just over an hour ago I'd been so sure I'd be able to escape, that I could save her the worry and trouble, only to be rendered completely useless by a single person. But no, not a person at all, really.

I glared up at Liam, the strange, numb feeling I'd had melting away slightly.

"So this was your plan all along, huh? Make me all weird and useless with your big scary teeth?" I asked, clenching my left fist hard enough for both of them.

Liam rolled his eyes, plopping down on the floor in front of me. He grabbed my arm, wiggling it.

"Of course not, idiot. If I'd known I could, I probably would have just drained your legs way back in that park instead of letting you run like I did," he said, shaking my own hand at me condescendingly. "I've never seen this before."

I pulled my arm out of his grip using the other one. "So what are you going to do?" I grunted, still trying to get back my arm.

"I dunno. Make you some tea? Put you to sleep?" He said, waving my arm in careless circles. I tugged harder. I couldn't feel it, so it didn't really matter to me either way.

Suddenly, Liam let go, slamming me backward into the bed behind me. I yelped, and he snickered.

"I swear, you're just like some 14-year-old kid!" I said, righting myself as gracefully as possible. "And do you even have any tea?"

"I'll have you know, I'm an eternal being with more power than your puny little people-brain can ever comprehend," Liam sniffed, haughty. "And yes, of course we have tea."

"Why the Hell would an eternal being drink tea?" I said, wrinkling my nose.

Liam's eyes went wide, his mouth turning down slightly. He stared at a spot somewhere by my head. I almost waved a hand in front of his face, when he spoke.

"Everyone likes tea," he said, gaze shifting slightly toward me, expression never changing. I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, he popped up suddenly.

"Be right back. Stay here, Blythe," Liam said, messing up my hair.

He was right at the door when he turned back, face ominous. "Oh, and be careful. There are monsters in this house."

"I think I'm looking at the worst one right now." I muttered. Liam's face split into a grin.

"You wound me, Blythe. You really do," he said, voice dripping with mock-sadness. And then he was gone, shutting the door behind him. Then, I heard the telltale click of a lock.

Damn. No escape for me. I glanced around the room looking for something to do. I got up, walking over to his dresser, and crouched in front of it.

It was pretty small, only 3 drawers. I opened the first one, bracing myself for human hearts or something equally awful. But no, it was just socks and-I retched a little-underwear. Surprisingly neatly folded.

Next drawer was a lot messier. Various random t-shirts and sweatpants strewn about, so disorganized that I had trouble pushing the drawer back in. Though that might have been due to my incapacitated arm.

The last drawer, to my annoyance, was completely empty. There were a few suspicious stains, but I didn't dwell on those for long. I didn't have any real desire to know what they were from.

I stood up, stretched then noticed something I hadn't before. There was a closet, right by the bed's headboard. I couldn't see it from the door because the bed was in the way, and I obviously couldn't have seen it from my place in front of the bed.

I dashed over to the closet, morbidly curious about the sorts of skeletons that lived in a vampire's closet. I jiggled the knob, surprised to find it locked. Who put locks on closet doors?

I crouched down to peer into the little keyhole, not really expecting to be able to see anything. I was right, of course. Behind the door was only darkness, so dark it made me shiver a little. But to my surprise, a different sense came in handy. Even from that distance, I smelled the overwhelming, chemically clean scent of bleach.

I wrinkled my nose and stood up. Did he really have a closet full of bleach?

I remembered what Liam had said about his talent for stain removal, supposing that, in a house that prone to bloodstains, a closet full of bleach wasn't entirely unlikely. But if that were true...

I looked around, confused. Where did he keep his clothes?

Without warning, I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. I squeaked, heart jumping in fear.

"Hey there," Liam hissed in my ear, voice cold as his hand. "Snooping around my room, huh?"

I whipped around, trying to keep the blush off my cheeks and the guilt off my face. "What? No!"

He crossed his arms, mug in hand. "Oh yeah? You weren't trying to get into my closet, is that it?"

I sighed. No real point in lying to someone who could probably read my mind. "Well...I wasn't trying exactly...just kinda, you know, wondering."

Liam leaned in close, glaring right into my eyes. "Hm. Fine. Just leave it alone from now on."

I leaned away. "Sure, fine, whatever," I muttered, snatching the mug as quickly as you should snatch hot tea (which, I suppose, isn't very quick at all), and sat on his bed.

"It's green tea," Liam said distractedly, examining his closet door. I watched him closely, taking a sip of my tea. Warm, but not too hot. Pretty good.

"Thank y-" I stopped myself. No thanking the enemy. "I mean, tea's good," I grunted.

"Sure," Liam said, finally pulling his gaze away from the door to grin at me. "I'm heading out for a bit. You rest up, okay?"

"Sure...will do," I said, eyeing the closet door discreetly. Liam noticed.

"Actually, I think I'll call in a babysitter," he said, walking over to his bedroom door.

I gasped in horror. "What? No! You can't do that."

Liam laughed. "I can do whatever I want. Someone'll be here in a few minutes," he said gleefully. "Bye Blythe!" Liam yelled, slamming the door behind him.

I just glared in his direction, taking a sip of my tea.