I don't have a chance to ask what he means.

The house this time looks much more lived-in than the others. We walk up a long, swirly driveway until we reach a large house atop a hill, so that one can see any intruders from all sides. Giant maple trees surround the house, enclosing it in a protective shield. As we draw closer, I notice that the grass looks freshly cut, that the blue paint isn't fading and no windows are shattered. It's like someone has been here, and recently. I wonder if this someone is Sebastian. I wonder if this is his home.

I follow him around the backyard and through a stone path to the front steps. The front porch lights turn on because of our presence, illuminating the darkness. Sebastian fishes into his pocket and pulls out a key when we reach the front door. There's a click, and he pushes the door in, revealing the interior of the mansion.

The lights turn on automatically, filling the room with a bright yellowish color. The house is large and grand, with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and silky rugs spread across the floor. The walls are painted a perfect white, and the floor is marble, cool at the touch. Heat pours in from the house, warming my skin, and as I step inside, I feel instantly at home. I have no idea why or how, but something about this place feels familiar, almost like I've been here before.

Sebastian follows me inside, closing the door behind me.

A large dining room table is positioned at my right, complete with a bowl of fake fruits and freshly lacquered wood. The scent of cinnamon fills the air, and as I look in front of me, I notice a winding marble staircase stretching to a floor above. The whole room is full of color, with old paintings hanging from the walls and a brown leather couch and flatscreen TV positioned off to the right.

"Welcome to hell," Sebastian says without a trace of humor.

I look around the house, my eyes shining. "It's beautiful, Sebastian," I breathe.

He grimaces. "Not to me," he says to himself, and then he disappears into the kitchen before I have time to ask why.

I drift over to the couch, relaxing my sore muscles as soon as I collapse onto it. I close my eyes for a while, flipping through the TV stations and just listening to the different actors and their voices, letting the total normalness of the sounds and their laughter calm me, make me feel okay.

When Sebastian returns, he's carrying a glass of milk and some pre-heated pasta. He sets it down on the little table in front of me, then pulls out a match and lights the three candles surrounding it. He pours me a glass of wine and dims the lights in the room, and, finally, he takes a seat beside me. His warm body feels nice this close to mine, and the touch of him is so inviting and relaxing all at once. I turn to Sebastian, who stares blankly at the TV. I notice the dark circles chiseled beneath his eyes, see the stress on his face he's trying so hard to hide. And it hurts. It hurts to think how much he's going through to save me. How he may be going overboard with all of this, but it's all for one reason: me. He's just a man in love, I realize. He's just lost in translation. He needs guidance, needs healing, needs me as much as I need him.

We lie there for a while, breathing heavily, looking at the TV and recounting everything that just happened, thinking about how close we were to death, but how, even now, we still have each other. We're still just pieces of what we once were, but I can feel the pieces of my heart coming together, and they're here for one thing and one thing only: him.

I love Sebastian.

I love everything about him.

Even though I shouldn't.

Even though I know it's wrong.

I love him.

I love that I'm his prisoner.

I love everything about our setup.

After a while, Sebastian sits up and brings me a small dinner, saving only a small portion of it for himself. "Eat up," he says quietly, offering me the plate. I take it with a thank you.

Sebastian looks beautiful in the candlelight, his face so mysterious and masculine, tortured and vulnerable. I find myself entranced with his lips, with the way they move as he speaks, so much that I just want to reach out and kiss him. I barely keep myself from doing so.

I turn back to the TV as I eat, letting myself sink back into the world of pointless reality shows and crime dramas, feeling normal for the first time in a while. The food and wine tastes so good after everything that happened today, and I find myself feeling happy again for the first time since the night Ash died. Feeling… less scared. Feeling like this all will work out, as long as Sebastian is with me.

"Are you okay, angel?" Sebastian says quietly, turning to me. His blue eyes are like jewels in the dim light.

I frown. "What do you mean?"

He sighs. He reaches out a hand and starts stroking my dark hair, smiling a little to himself, one of those secret smiles I wish I could be a part of. "I mean, you," he breathes, his words tickling at my ear. "How are you?"

"Oh." I look down at my feet. "I'm… okay, I guess."

Sebastian keeps running his fingers through my hair. It's so relaxing, making me want to close my eyes and let everything but this moment, this feel of him stroking me, melt away. "And you still don't hate me?" he asks hopefully.

"No." My voice is quiet, mixing with the sounds of the crickets outside. "No, I guess I don't."

Sebastian forces a smile. "I'm glad. You know I'd never hurt you, right? I just want to be here for you. I've been hurt so many times before. I've left everyone I cared about in my life. I don't want to leave you too, or for you to leave me. You're my one constant. You're the one person I need."

"I need you too, Sebastian," I whisper, sipping my glass of wine and lacing my arms around his body. "And I know. I know you… mean well."

"I do, angel," he coos into my ear, nipping lightly at my earlobe with his teeth, and suddenly I'm back at the hotel room, loving the feel of him on me. "I do care about you." He continues to kiss me, this time on the neck, and I lean my head back, taking it all in--the heat from his lips, the tingles he gives me.

I let him kiss me for a while before asking, "Where are we?" I motion at the house around of us. "Is this… is this where you live?"

Sebastian sighs, pulls back. "Sort of," he admits, but his voice doesn't sound convincing. It's more distant than anything, like he himself is lost in another world. In another time, another place. Maybe back to when we were in hotel room 364, when nothing mattered but each other.

"And where do we sleep?"

"We sleep downstairs." Sebastian says quietly.

"Why not up there?" I ask through a bite of pasta, pointing to the staircase leading to a floor above us.

"Just trust me, angel. And please don't go upstairs," he says. "Okay?"

"Okay."

We don't say anything for a while after that. I go back to eating and watching TV, relaxing as Sebastian's arm slips around my own, warming me at the touch. It feels good to be with him again. It feels good not to worry. And while we weren't out of the woods yet, something about this house is so familiar and safe and homely, that with Sebastian beside me, everything feels complete. Everything feels okay, if only for a little while.

"Will you tell me about the man who was… torturing you?" I ask after a minute, locking eyes with him. "What did he want?" My voice is quiet and soft and I regret asking it as soon as the words leave my mouth, but I know I have to. I have to know.