A

/N: Hy! So someone brought it to my attention that I have repeated two chapters because of that I have made some changes. Before reading this chapter kindly go back and reread the previous chapter. The current title is have got you. If you can't see just clear cache at settings. Thank you!

Alyssa felt her heart start racing as she gazed at him. Her eyes threatened to flicker down to his lips, but she stopped herself.

She couldn't do that. She couldn't cross that line. She was just feeling lonely.

"Thank you,

" she told him.

Elias smiled at her.

"You don't have to thank me. I owe you,

" he told her.

"I hate how I hurt you.

"

Alyssa shook her head, not wanting to get into their past. They had grown up a lot since then. They both took the paths that they were meant to take, so it wasn't anyone's fault.

"That's in the past. Let's just focus on surviving for the future,

" she said with a hint of a smile.

Elias trailed his fingertips up her arm.

"It's hard to stay away from you,

" he admitted, watching his fingertips move over her shoulder.

Alyssa nearly shuddered at his touch. She hadn't felt him touch her like that in so long. She used to dream about it.

"Well, I kind of don't want you to. You have to protect me,

" she pointed out, feeling his knees brush hers as they huddled closer together.

She couldn't believe how close they were. This was dangerous, but she couldn't get herself to pull away.

Elias' fingertips found her cheek, drifting along her jaw.

"I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me to go away,

" he said.

Alyssa could hardly breathe. This was a perfect moment to succumb to her hidden feelings and kiss him, but her life was so complicated.

Did she really want to add fuel to the fire right now? She needed to take a pause, but she couldn't pull herself away fully.

"I hope we make it out of this okay,

" she murmured as she placed her on his side, halfway cuddling him as they laid close to each other.

"We will. I'll make sure of it,

" Elias said as he leaned his forehead against hers.

Alyssa closed her eyes, reveling in the moment and in the feeling of having him right next to her once again. It was like old times, but their lives were way more complicated.

Hopefully, they didn't get any more complicated. She wouldn't mind a moment of peace, and she wouldn't mind spending it with him. Just like things used to be.

***********

After saying goodbye to Elias' parents and enduring another flight, Alyssa and Elias found their way back to New York City.

It was obvious that they weren't too happy about being back. All of their problems seemed to be there, but at least they had each other.

"I'll take you back to your apartment and check it out before going to the office,

" Elias told Alyssa as they waited for their Uber in the pick-up area of the airport.

"Thank you,

" Alyssa told him sincerely. It made her feel better knowing that he would check her apartment out before she got settled back in her place.

She wanted to make sure no vampire was hiding in her closet or something, waiting for her to return.

She wanted to be as safe as possible until they figured everything out, which meant having Elias around a lot.

Elias flashed her a grin, tilting his head at her.

"I guess I'm like your bodyguard or something,

" he chuckled.

Alyssa rolled her eyes playfully, nudging him as a black sedan stopped in front of them. She watched Elias greet their Uber driver before throwing their things in the trunk.

She got into the backseat, soon feeling him sit right beside her. They didn't have a great sense of personal space when they were around each other.

"So, we should coordinate our schedules so that I can check up on you,

" Elias told her.

"Oh, right. You're a bigtime billionaire. An important man,

" Alyssa said as she lifted her eyebrows at him.

He hardly acted like he was. He acted normal, like how he did when they first met in college. She admired that about him. He didn't let the money get to his head.

"And you're a hotshot doctor,

" Elias replied.

"Emphasis on hot.

"

Alyssa scoffed, knowing that he was messing with her to make her blush. It worked, but she did start the joke.

"I'll text you my schedule once I know it. We can get dinner or coffee or something,

" she said, figuring that they would fall into a rhythm with each other. They had at one point.

"We should do dinner tomorrow night. If you're free,

" Elias suggested.

Alyssa felt a tremor of nervousness when she thought about them going out together in public a lot. It sounded like a date, even if it actually wasn't.

"I'll let you know,

" she told him with a nod.

They talked about work for the car ride, telling each other stories about crazy days or great accomplishments.

They had come far from the clueless college kids that they used to be. Maybe they weren't actually so clueless since they set out and actually achieved their goals.

Things weren't exactly as they imagined them to be, but life was never clear cut like that.

Once the Uber dropped them off at Alyssa's apartment, they went up to her floor.

Elias carried her bag, walking beside her as they ventured down the hallway. He then slowed his pace, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"What's wrong?

" Alyssa asked him, feeling her anxiety spike.

Elias didn't answer before hurrying over to Alyssa's apartment. He stopped when he saw that her door was cracked.

He turned to her, putting his hand out to make her stop in her tracks.

"Stay here,

" he told her before bursting into her apartment.

Alyssa stared after him with wide eyes, not knowing what was going on. She had a bad feeling since her apartment door was left open.

She knew that she locked her door before going with Elias on their trip. She always locked her door.

She edged closer to her apartment, peeking through the crack in the entrance to watch Elias hurry around inside to look around.

She then saw that the coffee table in her living room was knocked over. She started to notice other things, like broken glass on the floor and broken window blinds.

Someone didn't just break into her place. It looked like they destroyed it. She pushed open the door and strode inside, ignoring Elias' words.

Her heart dropped as she looked at all of the damage done to her apartment. Lightbulbs were busted.

Dishes were shattered. Furniture was broken or ripped. Someone purposely tore apart her apartment. But who? Who would do something like this? This was hundreds of dollars' worth of damage!

Elias walked out of her bedroom with a piece of paper in his hand. He had a grim look on his face as he handed her the paper.

"I found this on your bed, which is covered in blood. Probably just an animal,

" he told her.

Alyssa felt sick to her stomach as she read over the note.

FINAL WARNING