When the doorbell rang the next day shortly after four o'clock, I put on my best fake smile and opened the door for Brandon. He stood there with a crooked grin on his face and a sparkle in his brown eyes that spelled trouble. His brown hair was tousled as always, his pants hung a bit too low, and apparently, a winter coat wasn't stylish enough for him because he wore a black leather jacket. But it couldn't hold a candle to Hiccup's brown, lined one.

Before my thoughts could drift to my handsome boyfriend, I looked Brandon in the face to remind myself why this was happening and what I had to do. He didn't seem to notice that my expression was entirely fake.

I stepped aside. "Come in."

He was all too happy to comply, as his widening grin revealed. Our hallway seemed very interesting to him because he turned around on the spot, looking around before finally setting his eyes on me, standing by the now closed door. I noticed the way his gaze wandered up and down my body. I wanted to hit him, but that would ruin the plan.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" he said as his eyes found mine again.

I motioned for him to follow me, which he did without question. This was my house, my rules, and he would follow them. I walked into the dining room and sat at the table, he sat across from me. While he looked around again, I briefly tapped on my phone, which was lying on the chair next to me.

"You don't like that Hiccup and I are a couple," I began, which earned me a surprised expression.

"Is that so?" he said.

"That's what Hiccup told me. Apparently, you confronted him and tried to convince him that I wouldn't be a good girlfriend."

"That's not true, I never said that."

"You said it to me."

His head jerked back slightly, as if I had actually slapped him. He lowered his gaze. "I didn't mean it like that. I was upset and angry. You weren't a bad girlfriend, you were just ... going through a bad time."

Last year, I would've taken those words to heart, would've let him explain, but today, I didn't care. His apology came too late, far too late, and after everything he'd done, he could shove it. "Still, you tried to talk him out of being with me."

His gaze remained fixed on the table, as if he couldn't look at me. "Yes, I admit I advised him against it. But I only did it because I wanted you back. I was constantly thinking about how I could start over with you, and then one day I heard you had a new boyfriend, so I acted." He looked up but not directly into my eyes.

I just nodded and let a brief silence linger to make him sweat a little. "Did you know his mother is in a coma?"

His eyes shot up to mine. "No, how would I?"

"Your father is her attending physician."

He furrowed his brows. "But I don't know every patient my dad treats."

"True, but one who's been in the hospital on his ward for six years? I know your dad has confidentiality rules, but he's only human and he must mention a patient or two at the dinner table sometimes."

He shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, he does. Now that you mention six years, something rings a bell. But I never saw her."

You just forged her medical documents and blackmailed her son to get close to me.

"Why would you?" I said, flashing him a smile even though I felt like vomiting on the table. He smiled back.

That seemed to give him some confidence back, as he straightened up. "Why are we talking about him anyway?"

Now to the important part. "Because he told me some interesting things about you yesterday." His eyebrows rose in question. "I saw you two talking at school and followed him. I confronted him at the hospital and forced him to tell me everything. Which he did, from start to finish, and I broke up with him. He lied to me for so long, how could I stay with him?"

His expression was one of complete surprise. "Does that mean ...?"

I nodded. "That's why I messaged you. He told me how you tried to get us back together. Honestly, I didn't know, you never gave me any signals. But if you really want to go through with this, then I want you to lay all your cards on the table. No secrets, no lies, Brandon. I won't start a relationship without that."

"Okay," he said, licking his lips. "What do you want to hear?"

"I want to know," I said, barely suppressing a grin, "if what Hiccup told me about you yesterday is true." He knew exactly what I meant.

He nodded and seemed to think for a moment. My heart pounded in my chest. He was actually going to confess, I could see it in his face. The idiot really would do anything for me. Now no one in the hallway could make a noise, or it would all be over.

"Last year," he began then, "someone told me you were getting tutored by one of your classmates. It wasn't hard to find out who it was. Like I said, I'd been thinking about how I could get close to you again, so I came up with something. I went to Hiccup and asked him to give me information about you. I wanted to know what you did during the day, who you met, anything to get your attention. At first, he refused because he didn't think it was right." Brandon rolled his eyes. "So I looked for a little leverage."

"Leverage?" I asked, as if I didn't already know the whole story.

"You know, something to make him change his mind and do what I wanted." He said it so casually, like it was normal to manipulate someone who didn't want to do your bidding. Under the table, I clenched my fists in anger and disgust. "I remembered a patient of my dad's with the same last name as Hiccup. I did some digging and found out they were related. So yes, I knew his mom was in a coma. I pulled some strings and got him to do what I wanted."

"Brandon," I said sharply. "We said no secrets. You'll have to tell me exactly what strings you pulled."

He bit his lip, clearly hesitant. But when he saw the firm look in my eyes, he continued. "I forged a document. There's something that states who's responsible for comatose patients. I faked it so it looks like I'm the one responsible for Hiccup's mother. Technically, he'd need to approve it first, but no one really checks."

"And what does that mean exactly?" I feigned ignorance convincingly.

"It means I could tell my dad to pull the plug on her anytime. That's how I got Hiccup to give me info about you."

I leaned forward slightly. "So you threatened to kill his mother if he didn't do what you wanted."

"In rough terms, yes."

"Blackmail."

He furrowed his brows. "You could probably call it that."

"Do you regret it?"

He looked at me thoughtfully but still answered. "No. After all, it brought me back to you."

At that, I finally allowed myself to grin. "Is that enough or do you need more?" I said a bit louder. Brandon looked confused and sat up straighter.

My father walked into the dining room, in uniform and holding handcuffs. "That's enough, thank you."

Brandon understood instantly. His gaze shot to me just as I stopped the recording on my phone. "You-"

"Yup," I interrupted, standing up. My father pulled him to his feet. "Did you really think we had another chance? That I'd just go back to you? You blackmailed someone using his comatose mother's life, and for what? To spy on me? That's sick, Brandon, absolutely sick. I want nothing to do with someone like you."

He tried to say something, but my father interrupted, clapping the handcuffs on him. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you." Brandon was smart enough not to say another word. My father led him into the hallway, where he came face to face with his own father. In all the time I had known Dr. Miller, I had never seen him look so sad and disappointed as he did in that moment. Brandon didn't seem to know how to react either.

"Brandon, I never expected something this horrible from you. To sink this low for something so stupid." He shook his head. "I can't put into words how disappointed I am in you."

I stood next to Hiccup, who had also been in the hallway. Brandon gave us both a furious look before my father took him out the door. He was shoved into the police car in our driveway. They drove off to the police station without activating the lights.

Dr. Miller turned to us after they were out of sight. "Hiccup, I ... I am so incredibly sorry. When Brandon told me about your supposed decision to change the legal responsibility, I believed him because I understood it. It had been over five years and eventually ... eventually, many people don't want that responsibility anymore. I should have asked you, confirmed it with you, and I'm so sorry I didn't. The mental pressure he must've put you under ... that's on me. I would also understand if you want one of my colleagues to take over your mother's care."

Hiccup shook his head. "No, I want you to stay as her doctor. You've cared for her for six years, you know the routines and her changes by heart, you know what she needs. I trust you. Besides, this isn't your fault, it's your son's. You were just as much a victim of his plan as I was."

Dr. Miller nodded. "As soon as I get to the hospital, I'll shred the document. The responsibility will always lie with you, Hiccup. That won't change, I promise you." He extended his hand and Hiccup shook it firmly.

"Thank you."

He smiled at us one last time before leaving and shutting the door behind him. Hiccup let out a loud breath. "I was so scared he wouldn't confess or that someone would cough. I didn't even breathe for half the time."

I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck. His hands immediately went to my waist. "Me too, but the good guys always win."

He pressed his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me."

The corners of his mouth twitched up. "That was for not leaving."

Not this again. How long would it take until he stopped feeling this insecurity?

"Hiccup, I told you several times yesterday, I'm not-" I didn't get to finish because he pressed his lips against mine. I rolled my eyes, then closed them and grinned into the kiss. He sure knew how to shut me up.

But I meant what I had told him. I wouldn't leave him, he was stuck with me now and I had a feeling he more than liked that. I was staying by his side.