A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

A softness he hadn't felt in awhile met him. It was over and under him: all around him. His right hand twitched, and his fingers curled into the texture. They about melted at the comforting feeling, and a content sigh parted from his lips. He knew what the texture belonged to, but he didn't want to believe it. Or rather, he was in denial that it could be true. Maybe, just maybe if he reached over more, he would ... he would find her there. Everything with Callest would be a nightmare, and she would be there ... next to him ... in the bed they had shared several months ago.

His fingers moved out even more. They felt for her; they wanted to find her. Even if he just could hold her hand for a second, that would be enough to ease his heart and mind. Then, he would know that his life, his home, his pink flower was safe. The creature stretched out his fingers and tried to grasp her, to feel her soothing warmth. When they didn't hold her, they traveled further and further until they met the end of the bed.

He closed his eyes tighter, and he bit his lower lip. Absent. Gone. Taken. She wasn't there, and he tried with his left hand, but it didn't discover her either. The bed only had him on it. Sheets covered him and provided a veil of security against the world of reality. They offered a false hope, but he already had unmasked that fake truth. Everything with Callest was real, and he was waking up back into that harsh world.

It was even crueler than when he had been on his own and in the tunnels. Back then, he had been alone, but he never had a companion. He never had someone who respected him as more than just some creature preying upon humans, than a monstrous thing. Before, he never held a decent conversation with anyone, but she gave him that and so much more. Now without her, he experienced a new depth of loneliness.

Perhaps, it was pathetic of him; perhaps, it took away his terrifying qualities, but he didn't care. It wasn't like she was in hiding and safe; he knew that she was experiencing atrocities that he didn't wish to ponder upon. And, that tore him apart on the inside; it gave him that awful, agonizing loneliness. The kind only felt upon having a loved one ripped away and thrown into the worst imaginable nightmare while not being able to do much of anything but hope for a string of luck.

Lifting his left arm out from under the sheets, he draped it over his eyes. He swallowed saliva roughly in order to hold back a sob while his right fingers clenched the bed. It was so soft and welcoming, yet she wasn't there to greet him in it. She was ... Something rolled down his cheeks. It was warm and wet. The creature knew what it was, but he didn't stop it. Instead, he let more fall silently.

Everything was breaking out of the shadows. It was as though a torrent of rain had sprung up out of the sky and slammed into him. There was no cold snow around to numb him, to keep him awake and to fight his aching body. In its place, there was warmth that wasn't hers. All of his anger from before, from her betraying him, from Callest snatching her away ... all of it was morphing into a painful concoction of misery and anguish at her absence. He really couldn't cast the blame on her, but he also couldn't bring himself to say the truth. Maybe, that would've saved her from the current situation, but it might've also cost him her forever. And, he couldn't let her go. She was his love, and he never would find another like her; he didn't desire to discover another one like her.

Voices broke him from his thoughts, and he lowered his arm steadily from his face. The creature opened his eyes and wiped the tears from his skin. Footsteps approached the door before they stopped, and people spoke in hushed voices right outside, but he still could hear them. He knew who owned the voices. None of their whispers mattered to him, though, since he expected that he would have to explain himself and why (f/n) wasn't ... with him. His game with her almost seemed like some far off dream now. Pretty soon, he imagined that it would become a dream entirely, and, perhaps, it already was. That game had been, in actuality, a ...

The door opened, and he focused on the people entering: her mother and father. Her father closed the door behind them, and her mother took a seat on the desk chair while her father proceeded to lean against the desk beside his wife. Crossing his arms, the older male's gaze became penetrating and cold. In response, the creature moved the pillows behind him and propped them up before he leaned against them. "Where's my daughter?" her father's voice cut through the air sharper than his left nails.

"She ..." His eyes turned down towards his lap.

"She isn't ..." Her mother trailed off as the absolute worst entered her mind. (D/n) placed a reassuring hand on his wife's right shoulder, but the blood already was beginning to drain from her face. His fingers tightened on her as he needed the support too.

"No." Both parents relaxed, and (m/n) gripped her husband's one hand out of relief. "But, she ..." The creature sighed deeply and gradually met their gazes again. "She made a decision that she shouldn't have, that I didn't know would happen. I ... let my guard down."

"I don't understand," her mother started, worry settling into her expression again.

"I know. But, I came here as a last resort." Seriousness entered his very pale blue eyes, but it wasn't threatening; it was desperate. "I can't look for her on my own anymore."

"What happened?" her father asked as his tone grew harsher. It was clear that the human male wanted to yell, but he was controlling his temper; he was trying to remain calm and not expect the worst. "Where is she? Just what decision did she make?"

"She trusted the wrong person, or I should say..." His following silence crashed against both of her parents, and blood drained from their faces. Her mother shook her head and had to stand up to try and ease her nerves. As for her father, he appeared as though he was a statue.

"No, no and no! That can't be!" (m/n) exclaimed, her fingers grasping at her (h/c) locks. "How can that be?!" The creature shook his head as even he didn't know. It was very possible for there to be more of his species, but he never had come across another one of his kind, so he never had expected one to show up in his life later.

Abruptly, (d/n) rushed forward. The creature knew what he was going to do, but he didn't stop the older male. Her father gripped his hoodie and tugged him forward. Their faces were inches apart, but the creature didn't make any motion to attack. He understood her father's anger as he would've done the same if it had been his child. "You promised me that she wouldn't die by your hands or another's!"

Beginning to shake the creature, her father practically growled out, "Yet, she's not here with you!" He continued to shake him, and the creature allowed it. "She's with ... She's with ..." The violence of his movement began to die down, and his right arm slackened, which caused him to drop the creature back onto the bed.

"She's not dead. I haven't failed on my promise," the creature voiced quietly, but his voice didn't ring of confidence either. Her father about snapped again, but he met the older male's stare. "I've been searching for her, trying to get her back. I didn't know that anymore of my kind existed. I lived by myself for so long and never came across another one of us." His fingers tightened around the sheets, and his left nails nearly poked holes into the fabric. "It's my fault. All of this is. I drove her to trust another of my kind, and I ..." He trailed off; he didn't want to voice what probably was happening to her out loud. That would make it even more of a horrendous reality.

"Yes, it's your fault! You came into her life, and look where's she at!" her mother burst out, clenching her fists. "Our daughter is with another one of you! D*mn right, it's your fault!" Her right fist pounded into the dresser, and it almost tipped over. "My daughter ..." Tears began to drip down her cheeks. "I was worried before, and now I'm ... I just want her back." Grey eyes bore into his very pale blue ones. "Even if you had returned with her and that meant ... that meant ..." She took a breath. "At least, she'd be back here."

"So, what are you going to do? You know more than us and can take on another of your kind. Otherwise, I would've killed you when you walked through the door and passed out." The creature nodded; he wouldn't have expected anything else. "The only reason you're in that bed right now is because we can't risk your exposure. Clients could've come in unexpectedly, and we couldn't have let them see you. And, no one would think to check this room, minus those ..."

"Kids?" the creature asked, cutting him off. Her father nodded. "I dealt with them." Her parents said nothing; they knew the situation regarding that matter, and they didn't need any more details on it. "But if there's more, I hopefully won't be here for long." He shifted a bit on the bed to sit up straighter. "I need to do research on the internet and find whatever clues possible to locate her. I'll keep at it until I know what locations she may be at."

"Fine. We'll help too when we can." Her father's tone had no kindness in it, and the creature didn't expect it too. The circumstance was grave, and the mood was desolate. "For now, clean up and eat something. It's in that mini freezer." Both of her parents turned away from him, and her father rested a comforting hand on his wife's back as they walked towards the door. "Then, tell us what you know. You won't get anything done in that state even if you still could kill us both within seconds." After the creature gave a weak nod, they left him alone.