"I won't let you hurt him." Erica said menacingly and unemotionally, as she looked at the woman with anger lingering in her eyes.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET IN HERE YOU BRAT?! Mind your own damn business."

Tobias looked across the room as Erica shielded him. Watching the square glass bottle remain completely still. Until...

The hand holding it started twitching. Like.....like it was in pain.

The blood flow to the hand becoming weak, and unstable.

But...

The bottle dropped to the floor, shattering.

The pale hand holding the woman back released its grip.

"If you ever so don't mind. I will clean my...unfortunate...mess up." Erica smiled, and turned around swiftly. "Tobias? Please lead me to the broom closet?"

He shook his head in reply, calmly, but anxiously.

He walked in front of her hastily, and then turned the knob to a door, revealing that it's a closet. He grabs the broom and dustpan, but Erica stops him.

"Oh. Don't worry about it. I'm the one who caused the mess after all. You go get whatever you forgot! I can handle a bit of broken glass. And, please ma'am. Don't try to use whiskey bottles like a bludgeon. That's quite rude. Thank you." Then, she hummed as she began to sweep up the shards of glass, glinting in the light that shone from the ceiling lights.

The woman looked with anger, but didn't dare say a thing.

Tobias then walked downstairs, with nervous glances.

Erica waited until Tobias was by the door, and then she handed the broom and dustpan to the woman, and politely said, "Here is your whiskey bottle. Have a nice day."

And then proceeded to walk out the door, after Tobias, and closed the door.

They began to walk towards the dark, looming house.

"I-I'm sorry. Because of me, you could've gotten hurt. I-I forgot m-my wallet. I can never leave it or she'll find it. She looks in my room. Every day. Trying to find whatever ounce of money she can. I'm so sorry."

"You almost got hit with a bottle, yet you say that you're sorry. You don't have to be.  It's nothing. I'd risk my own life for you. My family. My friends."

"But.....you shouldn't have to worry about me."

He stopped walking. And stared, with a look of dejection.

"Of course I should! You're a person. Just like I am. And, you shouldn't think that you're the root of your mother's problems."

Erica turns the knob to the front door.

"You know." She continues, "You could always stay with us whenever things get tense. We have some spare rooms. We could always tidy one up for you. I'm sure Father won't mind."

Erica opens the door, and invites him in.

"Hmm..." Erica says, and sighs,"Looks like they aren't back yet. They probably won't be for a while. We should probably start walking and getting Weiss back where she belongs. Feel free to look at the rooms if you want while I get her. All of them are upstairs. The ones that we're not using will probably have a few boxes in them, that never got moved to the attic."

She then started walking up the staircase.

Tobias hesitantly followed.

Erica walked into the third room in the hallway.

Tobias started with the second door, as the first one seemed to hold some type of emotional attachment.

The second room, painted maroon.
Posters littered the place.

A bed, neatly done with dark blue sheets.

Another door inside the room. Presumably a bathroom.

Taken.

He hesitated, but looked at the third room.

The walls were painted black. Posters of various characters from different series were neatly put up onto the walls.

But, something else on the walls was peculiar.

Various weapons were hung on the wall.

Swords.

Knives.

And, one gun. Sitting in a case on a shelf.

The bed was neatly done, with red and black sheets.

There were also matching curtains.

Unlike the bed, however, the table sitting by the bed was messy.

The table had a black table lamp sitting on it. There were papers stacked messily on the table. Bright orange bottles sat on it, some laying in their side. A cord was visible by the table. Probably a phone charger.

Like the other room, it had another door in it.

The room was taken.

Erica hadn't noticed that he stood in the doorway. She was bent over by Weiss, picking her up.

She turned around before Tobias could ever notice.

"Oh. Hi! Haha, this one's taken! The next one over is, too. But the one on the end isn't. So...is...the first one." She smiled, but it seemed fake.

Both Erica and Tobias walked over to the last one.

Tobias turned the knob on the door.

The room was basic. A simple light fixture in the ceiling. The room painted white with a bed sitting in it by the window. Simple black curtains hung in front of the window.

"It's nice, right? I hope it'll do. O-Of course there is the other room. Before you say anything...I-I'll show you the other room.  Follow me."

Erica started to walk away, but stopped.

"Oh. This room next to mine..."

She stopped to turn the handle and opened the door.

"This is Cecilia's room...for when she visits."

She started walking again.

"This room here...is not exactly finished, per say. But, it is vacant."

She slowly opens the door.

Weiss immediately becomes distressed, and squirms as she "asks" down. Erica lets her go, and watches as she trots back into the room where she came from.

The room was unsettling.

It was empty.

Completely empty.

No bed, no curtains, and the light fixture was dim, unlike the others.

The only thing in the room was a large box.

Right in the middle of the room.

"U-Um. I can take the one at the other end of the hall...but only if it's okay with your parents. I don't want to cause you trouble."

"He cares about everyone in the school. I'm sure he would gladly welcome you. Now, let's get Weiss home."

To be continued...

[EDIT 12/21/17: Fixed a sentence that was not capitalized.]