The smile on my face was gone. Melted away like liquid wax that had dripped down the side of candle.

Jax's gaze was on me instantly. He walked through the door, with Cain close behind him. He was smirking, like he always is. But his eyes, they were angry. He quickly ran them over the two of us. Me, clutching Zane around the neck like my life depended on it, and Zane squeezing me around the waist.

"I hope we all get hugs like that, Seren." He teased into the air.

Zane set me down when he heard Jax's voice. He made to step away from me, but I didn't let him. I glued myself to his side, like a scared toddler would to their parent. I snaked my hand into the arm of his hoodie, wrapping my fingers around his bare wrist. Zane looked down at the sudden contact in surprise, before glancing at my face. He understood my expression instantly, and he started to canvass around us.

I wanted to yell and point at Jax, scream the danger is right there!

But I couldn't. I could never.

"Are you good?" Zane asked, peering back down towards me.

"Mhm." I hummed out. I willed myself to remain calm, to remain impassive. "Just glad you're here."

Zane smiled back at me, like my words genuinely made him happy. He opened his mouth to say something further when he was interrupted.

"Who brought you here, Seren?" Jax asked as he inched closer to me. I wanted to shrink away, fade into to pale blue wall behind me. Obviously, I couldn't do that. I turned my body towards Zane instead, trying to box myself away from Jax.

"Yeah, Seren. Gavin told me that Austin brought you?" Zane looked back at me curiously.

"Austin?" Cain interjected as he approached us. "What are you doing with Austin? He's not a good guy, Seren."

"Why, because he sells weed?" I wanted to roll my eyes at Cain, but I couldn't look in that direction. I couldn't look in that direction because I knew what else was waiting for me there. Jax.

"Among other things." Cain replied, and I watched as Zane's eyes flickered up to his.

"Seems like Zane here isn't so special." Jax added. It sounded like he was joking. I would have laughed, if this was two weeks ago. I would have laughed and rolled my eyes. Maybe even swatted his arm.

I knew better now.

But Zane didn't. Zane rolled his eyes, muttering for Jax to shut up, under his breath. Zane's eyes didn't see the danger. Mine did.

"Are we going in?" Cain asked, gesturing to the entrance way we were standing in.

"You sure you're okay?" Zane asked me again, his eyes were narrowed slightly. He knew I wasn't.

I nodded, trying my best to smile. I didn't trust myself to speak because then I would have to lie. Zane knew when I lied, he always did.

He nodded back at me, before pulling on my hand. It had still been clasped around his wrist, I hadn't realized how tightly I had been squeezing.

I was disappointed, the feeling exploding deep inside my stomach, as he pulled my hand away from his wrist, disconnecting us. I felt like I was watching someone pull the needle of my lifesaving IV line out of my arm. That feeling only lasted a second, however, as he intertwined his fingers with mine. He gave me a reassuring squeeze as our hands fell to his side.

He looked at me cautiously, making eye contact with me. As if he was reaffirming my permission for him to touch me like that. He didn't just have my permission, he had my gratitude.

"Thank you." I said quietly, as if hoping that Cain and Jax wouldn't hear. I knew they would, they were close.

"Come on." Zane said with a sweet smile, pulling me back towards the living room.

As we were walking, I was painfully aware that Jax was walking right behind me. He wasn't touching me, but I could feel him there. I could feel his eyes on me. I could his breath on my neck. He was too close. I moved closer to Zane, who didn't hesitate before letting go of my hand and wrapping his arm around me. He held on to my shoulder, pulling me into his body. He did it so effortlessly, so thoughtlessly. Like it was nothing. It wasn't nothing.

And then, I made a mistake.

I don't know why I did it.

I looked backwards.

Jax found my eyes instantly, and I knew the look in them. I had seen it before. I saw it when I closed my eyes. It was possessive. It was threatening. It was pained. It was desperate.

It was evil.

I bumped into Zane as he stopped walking. Gavin, O and Cassidy were sitting on the sofa. Hearing us approach, their eyes flicked to us. All three of their eyes zeroed in on me, tucked under Zane's arm. It was comedic, almost, the way they grinned and looked at each other.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." Gavin said, gesturing for us to sit down on the couch with them.

Zane lowered his arm from me before collapsing down. I didn't hesitate before following his lead. I'm sure I would have laughed too, the way Gavin did when he saw me sit so close to Zane that I was practically on his lap. Zane didn't let a second pass before wrapping his arm around me again. It's like he could sense my anxiety. Like he could feel it, the way he said he could at my house the other day.

I watched Zane's face as his friends gave him knowing glances. He didn't look smug, or confident. He just looked like Zane.

I couldn't concentrate on the conversation they were all having. They were all laughing. Talking, like it was nothing. I guess to them, it was. All I could concentrate on was actively looking anywhere but Jax's face. Why didn't anyone else notice how he was staring at me? His eyes hadn't moved. Even when he joined in the conversation, he was focused on me.

"Seren." Cassidy called out to me, dragging me away from staring at Zane's zipper on his sweater. "Let's get some girl time." She was standing in front of me, her hand out stretched, smiling down at me.

She didn't have to tell me twice. Any where but here would be better.

I placed my hand in hers and followed her into the kitchen. She leaned against the counter, as I had been earlier. It felt like a different world that I had been in this room with Austin. Drinking, laughing, joking.

"Are you okay girl?" Cassidy asked me as she poured herself a drink.

"Uh. Yeah. Yeah I'm fine." I said, my hands almost desperate as they opened the vodka. I didn't bother with a cup. I drank it straight from the bottle.

"Are you sure?" She asked me again, she titled her head as she observed me. "I know we don't know each other, but I was hoping we could be friends."

"Really?" I could almost hear the desperation in my voice. How long had it been since a girl had spoken to me this way?

"Of course." Cassidy smiled at me. "Also, you don't have to be nervous."

"Nervous?" I asked her. I didn't know what she meant.

"About Zane." She said it as if it was obvious. "He really wants to be good to you. After Henry... you know... it's important to him, anyways. You know he told us about you after his first day at your school?"

"Really?" I asked her, genuinely surprised.

Cassidy smiled. "Yeah. He came running into O's house. He was like guys I met a model today. I bet she's famous. He spent like an hour trying to find you on Instagram."

"Oh. Yeah, I don't have social media." I told her. I was shocked. I don't remember the day I met Zane. I couldn't tell you a single thing about it.

"Cass!" O called her from the other room.

"Oh. Give me a sec. I'll be back in a minute." She waved at me before leaving the room.

I sighed as I turned towards the counter. I picked up the bottle of vodka again, bringing it to my lips and gulping it down as if my life depended on it. I felt my face contort as the sharp taste over powered my mouth, but I didn't stop. I didn't stop until I felt hands on my waist.

"So what?" Jax whispered into my ear. "Carter is out and Zane is in?"

I had to stop myself from coughing the vodka out. I slowly put the bottle down, trying my best not to move. White hot fear had taken me by the hand, paralyzing my mind.

"Let me take you home, Seren. We can talk about this." Jax pleaded. He wrapped his fingers around my hip, using pressure to turn me so that I was facing him.

"Why are you doing this to me? Please. Let me take you home. We can talk about everything." He almost sounded like the Jax I used to know. But I knew he wasn't. I'm pretty sure that Jax was dead.

"Jax." Zane's voice startled me. If he startled Jax, he didn't show it. Jax simply turned to face Zane, as calm as could be.

"Hey Zane. I was just about to take Seren home. She's pretty drunk." The way Jax lied was like he was a con man trying to get someone to write a check, effortlessly convincing.

"I'll take her. We can leave now, Seren." Zane wasn't looking at Jax, he was looking at me.

"I don't mind, Zane. It's no trouble." Jax argued. His voice sounded so light, how is that possible?

"It's okay. I can go with Zane." I slurred, causing the both of them to look at me.

The way they looked at me was so astonishingly different, especially when side by side, like they were now. Jax looked at me so desperately. Zane looked at me like he wanted nothing more in life than for me to have peace.

Zane's hand reach out to me, and I quickly took it. I watched Jax's eyes on our joined hands. It was fleeting, but it me made me sick.

Zane didn't say anything as he led me out of the stranger's house. He didn't say anything when he opened the door of his car for me. He didn't say anything when I asked him to pull over so I could puke my guts out on the side of the street.

I wanted to know why he wasn't saying anything.

"Do you need help inside?" He finally spoke as he pulled into my driveway. I didn't want to attempt to form words, knowing that anything that came out of my mouth wouldn't make sense, so I nodded instead.

Zane quickly exited the car, jogged around it and opened my door. I was expecting for him to help me stand, but he didn't. He scooped me up, one of his arms under my knees, and one of them under my back.

"You need to lock your door." Zane said as he swung my front door open.

I thought I had.

"Where's your dad?" He asked, looking around the house. He gently dropped me on my feet, placing his hands on my back to steady me.

"Gone." I slurred out. "Philli... delphia."

"Alright, let's get you to bed." Zane chuckled at me.

He held my back as he led me up the stairs and into my room. I barely glanced back before jumping into my bed. I didn't change, or brush my teeth. I just wanted to sleep, and forget the last two hours happened.

"You okay?" Zane asked, and my mind flash backed to the night at the lake house.

"Do you care?"

I heard his answer this time.

"Yeah, Seren. I do."