❦𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓮❦

I feel my body and mind slowly waking up.

Disorientated, I slowly open my eyes.

As the fogginess clears I remember I'm in Olivia's house. After I ran from the police station I ended up in a random field feeling completely lost, the farther I ran the more broken I felt.

It took me miles to realize that it was because I was running away from everything I always wanted.

I won't leave my friends to face the wrath of my brother alone. I thought running would keep them safe, that I could fix everything by disappearing. But then I remembered how good my brother is at finding anyone with a digital trace.

I'm sure since we were all arrested together, and he knows the station since they left a voicemail, that he will figure it out.

And If I'm not there for him to get his hands on, he'll take it out on my friends.

I won't let that happen.

The only way I can assure that they will be safe is if I somehow get him away from them, if and when he finds me that is.

I ran back to the station as fast as I could, only to find out they had all been released and took my phone with them.

I ran to Blake's, they weren't there, so I ran here.

I guess I fell asleep right after Olivia worriedly helped me inside, she offered to get me a glass of water and that was the last thing I can remember.

I've done my fair share of running in my lifetime, but nothing that far and certainly not being so worried as I was. It's a different kind of fear, being worried for someone else.

When my brother came after me before, when he beat me or locked me in the basement I was always frightened, scared for my life. But the crippling fear I felt when I realized I left my friends, that they might get hurt because of me, was something unworldly.

I try to sit up, but a weight is holding me down.

An arm actually, and when my eyes land on the face it's connected to I feel tears burn my eyes.

Blake sits criss cross on the floor beside me, head resting on the bed, arm draped across my waist.

I can't wrap my head around why he cares for me, but he shows me everyday.

I try to ignore it, to not read too far into it because each day I'm around him I can feel myself growing attached.

He makes my heart skip a beat when he smiles at me, butterflies flutter in my stomach every time he looks in my direction.

I hate myself for feeling it, I know he's just being nice because he feels bad for me, he's a good guy who can't leave a girl to live on the streets.

But I like him, as more than a friend, I know I shouldn't, but I do.

The way he makes sure I eat, or get enough sleep or his worried eyes scan the room only relaxing when they land on me, how could I not catch feelings for him?

I've never felt anything like it before, it's overwhelming and getting harder to ignore.

Blake's captivating blue eyes flutter open, my breath catches in my throat as they land on me. "Hey." I whisper.

He blinks a few times, trying to wake up and then his face shoots off the bed. "Hey! Are you ok? Why did you take off? Are you feeling ok? Do you need anything? I'm so fucking sorry Rose, I didn't know Conway would take it so far and you got hurt because of it and now your brother is in the mix and God I'm so sorry." He rambles, gasping for breath at the end.

"It's ok, I'm ok. I'm sorry for taking off. I got worried so I ran and when I came back you were gone already." I sit up and reach my hand out to hold his. His heavy breathing calms down, his own hand grasping mine tightly.

"I looked everywhere for you." His voice cracks, breaking my heart.

"I'm sorry." I whisper regretfully. I didn't think for a second about how much worry I would cause, my brain said run and I did without thinking of the consequences.

"Please, don't run from me anymore." He begs. His eyes tear though me, the intense steel blue eyes plead with me to never leave him again.

"Ok." I choke out, throat dry from all the running I did earlier.

I never would have imagined that this would be my life, I truly thought that I would be alone forever. But that's all been flipped upside down and I couldn't be happier.

"Here, drink." Blake hands me a glass of water, I'm not sure how or when he got it, but he always seems to know what I need and makes it his mission to get it for me.

Last week I really wanted cookies, I didn't say anything but when he came back from the gym he had a grocery bag with cookies in it.

I was in awe as he placed them on the couch beside me, he gave me his signature know it all smirk before walking off to take a shower.

I take the glass from Blake's hands and gulp it down. I shift as I place the cup beside the bed, causing the blanket to slide off me. Blake's eyes snapped down to my knee that got really scraped up when it hit the road.

"Fucking hell." He grunts, pinching his nose he takes in a sharp breath.

"Come on, let's clean that up." His hand pulls me off the bed and leads me to a bathroom where he lifts me up and sets me on the counter. I watch him gracefully move around the bathroom, his eyes pinched together in a mixture of worry and anger.

He grabs a washcloth and wets it, bringing it to my knee to clean it. I was so entranced watching his face that I didn't see the cloth being brought towards my knee, I hiss out in pain as he makes the first swipe.

"Shit sorry." He jumps back slightly, eyes shooting up to mine, the distress in them vibrant.

I shake my head, "It's ok." I try to reassure him, but the look in his eyes stays the same.

His hand slowly reaches out to my knee again, but this time I make sure to mask any pain I feel. I don't like seeing Blake this stressed, none of this is his fault but he treats it like it's his responsibility to keep me safe.

Blake moves gently but hastily to get the wounds cleaned up. My knees are the worst of it, they had little pebbles from the road impeded in then that he had to dig out with tweezers.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, it's not your fault." No matter how many times I say it he refuses to accept, he shrugs it off each time.

I can see the guilt physically eating away at him, every swipe of the cloth or digging of the tweezers push his eyebrows tighter together, the rest of his body tensing to a rigid state.

"Done. We should get you some food." He holds his hand out to me, when I place my hand in his tingles run up my arm.

I stay silent as he helps me off the counter and leads me downstairs. I don't know how long I was sleeping for, but the sun is starting to set, the pool in the backyard is lighting up with vibrant sunset colors.

It's beautiful, I feel happy, truly happy, with a view like that and Blake holding my hand, how could I not be.

I was too distracted by the pool to notice that at the table was Olivia, Ace and Isaiah all staring at me.

"She needs some food." Blake says as he guides me to the seat at the end of the table.

"Of course, what would you like?" Olivia asks me sweetly. I'm not even hungry anymore, the feeling of hunger when I was at the station has completely vanished into a numb feeling.

"It's ok, I don't want anything. I'm not hungry." I dismiss, a smile on my face.

Blake clears his throat next to me. "I didn't say you wanted food. I said you needed food." He points out, leaning down so his head is right above mine.

I have to crane my neck to look up at him, his face tells me not to even think about arguing with him. "You haven't eaten since this morning and you probably ran a whole marathon today. You need food." His voice is stern.

I swallow the lump in my throat when he continues speaking. "So do you have a preference or should I pick you something?"

Suddenly a pbj sounds like something I could stomach. "Pbj?" It comes out as a question.

I'm not sure how he's able to get me to eat like this, when he says I need food my body always agrees, even if I tell it otherwise.

His response is a smile, he holds this aura about him like he just won. And I guess he did, he has the ability to get me to do almost anything just by looking in my direction.

Minutes later a sandwich is placed in front of me. I take a bite and slowly chew, feeling the stares of the guys sitting around the table burning through my skull.

I sigh, putting the sandwich back on the plate. "I'm sorry." I mumble. I've already apologized to Blake, but not to the rest of them.

"Fuck, I wanted to yell at you... but I can't do it when you look all sad and shit." Isaiah grumbles, crossing his arms across his chest.

I pull the collar of my shirt over my face, "Go ahead and yell now." I say giving him a thumbs up.

I can't see him because my face is covered, but I hear him snort. "She's funny." Ace mummers to no one in particular.

Blake tugs my shirt down while shaking his head in amusement.

"All we ask is you lean on us a little more, ok?" Blake says wholeheartedly.

"Ok, I'll try." I lie. I won't involve them if I think my brother will hurt them.

My number one priority is to keep them safe, and if that means I need to handle it alone and get hurt, I won't hesitate to do so.

I know I'm being reckless, but Blake has already put himself in the line of fire for me so many times.

My brother is my problem, they shouldn't have to worry about it. I know they would protect me at all costs and that makes me anxious, because I also know my brother won't bat an eye at hurting someone else if it also hurts me in the process.

I'm not sure what my plan of action is going to be, I thought about reaching out to him, to tell him to stay away, that I'm stronger now and I'll fight back if he tries anything.

But deep down I know it would be a lie, he holds power over me and he knows it.

He'd instantly call my bluff and I'd just make everything worse. So I'm crossing my fingers, maybe he changed his number and won't ever get the message.

And even if he does, none of us were charged for anything, so maybe he won't be able to find any Information on me. We live in a decent sized city, and I've kept a pretty low profile so even if he knows approximately where I'm at, it would still be extremely difficult for him to find me.

"Thank you." Blake places a comforting hand on my shoulder. I don't feel worthy of it though, not after lying to them like that.

"Now finish your food." He nods to the abandoned sandwich on my plate.