Lexi's POV:

I quickly decided that leaving him alone up here right away was a terrible idea

So instead, I stood silently, listening to the movements within my bathroom.

This was the one time I was thankful for the creaky floors any many other sounds this house gave, mostly so in my bathroom.

If I even heard as much as a squeak from the cabinet under my sink I was kicking that door down and shooting him in the mouth.

Although AK was making listening pretty difficult with her constant meowing and pawing at the door.

I groaned silently before lifting her up into my arms to get her to be quiet and stop trying to go after him.

"Are you proud of yourself for betraying me?" I asked her under my breath.

She responded with a particularly long meow, her bright green eyes still staring intently at the bathroom door.

The sound of clothes hitting the floor followed by the sound of running water eased my nerves ever so slightly.

It wasn't until I heard the sound of the floor creaking, telling me that he had stepped in, and the sound of the shower curtain being pulled closed that I felt at ease enough to go fetch myself a drink.

Accepting for the time being that AK wasn't going to stop pursuing him, I set her down and began to head downstairs, shutting both doors on the way down.

The boys were still a frenzy, looking everywhere for some sort of clue of where he had gone. Even Dylan, Collin, and Clayton had left, probably to see if they could find some sort of tracks to follow and track him down.

Half of the ones here stopped as soon as they saw me, a kind of fear on their faces.

"Lexi," Dante began, obviously a bit nervous, "I'm sorry but we don't have any leads yet."

I shrugged as I began walking to the fridge, "It's fine, don't worry about it." I said, effectively surprising everyone in the room.

"What?" Spencer snapped quite harshly.

I small chill ran down my spine.

"He didn't take the case," I explained, trying to keep myself sounding calm, "Plus the only information he has on us is our location, which can change pretty easily. He's not worth the hunt."

I grabbed my soda as the boys thought over what I had said.

"I thought you'd be more upset that he escaped," Tanner spoke up before speed-walking to get his claim on one of the couches.

I shrugged again as I twisted off the cap, "I'm just happy that smug psyco is out of my life."

God, if only.

Why the hell did I say I would think about his ridiculous proposition?

Better yet, Why am I lying to all of my friends right now to defend him?

"Well, alright," Dante concluded, pulling out his phone to tell Dylan and Collin to come back.

I took a sip from the bottle, letting the cool liquid calm my mind for a few blissful seconds.

Maybe it would be best if I just kicked him out after his shower.

Just him being here was stressful and probably not worth whatever I could gain from having him here.

But would he really leave that easily?

I'm sure with enough threats anyone would, but Leo isn't just anyone.

So I've come to learn.

I drummed my finger against the glass bottle as I took another swig.

He gave me a choice but something tells me that he already knew my answer. Whether or not I already knew the answer myself.

I wanted to see what would happen if I said yes to his proposition, I wanted to see what I could get from it. I wanted to see what he wanted to get from it.

If he was really convinced that the case was gone, then the only thing I could possibly think of was information or sex... That's the only thing a guy like him could want from someone like me.

And, well, the truth of the matter was that he wasn't getting either one.

But from what I've learned from him so far was that he doesn't really like to follow the actions I think he's going to take.

So my curiosity was getting the best of me.

That and my spite.

At least once I wanted to be the one to catch him off guard.

But was that really worth having to hide him upstairs until Friday? Is it worth lying to these guys?

Probably not.

"Is your shower on?" Ashton asked.

"Yeah I just came down to get a drink while it warmed up," I lied without a moment's hesitation.

My brows furrowed a bit at my own actions I faced away from all of the boys.

I thought I just decided not to do this.

He accepted my answer with an 'ah', snatching his food before plopping down onto a couch.

They believed me without a second thought.

I guess right now it was for the better. Whether I liked it or not.

"Let me know if those boys come up with any leads," I said before heading back upstairs.

All of them gave me some sort of response, all except Spencer.

He didn't say anything, just watched me with narrow eyes.

It took everything I had in me to not look completely petrified until I had entered through and closed the first door.

My back found the door as let out a sigh.

There's no way. There's no possible way Spencer knows what's going on.

I repeated that statement over and over in my head, knowing that it was true, but I couldn't stop myself from stressing.

Spencer literally looks like that all the time, you're just stressing cuz you're guilty, I told myself.

Yeah. Even if he did know something, or was suspicious of something, he would barge into my room himself to figure it out.

So I was fine. Just... paranoid.

I practically ran up the stairs, careful not to spill any of my drink before entering and closing the door to my room.

My lips pursed when I saw AK laying right in front of the bathroom door, both of her paws sticking under it to the other side.

She barely even sent me a glance.

Which I honestly came to terms with pretty quickly.

Once Leo's gone, whenever that may be, fighting for her affection won't be an issue.

I placed both hands on my hips as I looked around the room.

I should probably rearrange the weapons I keep stashed in here.

He already found one knife that I was sure of, but I wasn't sure how much exploring he had done before I found him.

With that I quickly went to work, taking all different variations of blades and pistols and re-hiding them in and place I saw fit.

There were many different possibilities of what's gonna happen once Leo steps out of the bathroom, and I planned to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

So I hid my weapons accordingly.

I didn't even have time to relax before I heard the sounds of the shower stop and the wood creaking.

Alright, here we go.