I heard the door knob jiggle as Karson's eyes snapped to mine. "Who is that?"

I pleaded with my eyes, trying to hint at them to get out of the house. If my mother saw them in the living room, I'm not sure how she would react.

Before I was able to respond, the door shot open, roughly hitting the wall from the force my mother used. I slightly flinched, my body rigid as my mouth went dry. I didn't know what to do.

"Dakota?!" My mother's voice boomed, echoing throughout the house. Olivia slightly jumped in Braxton's arms as she squeezed her eyes shut and nuzzled her head further into his shoulder.

I quickly grabbed Karson's arm as Jace grabbed Braxton's. We guided them to the farthest end of the house to make sure my mother wouldn't see them. I placed my finger above my mouth, trying to tell them to be quiet.

They both looked confused, not having a clue as to what was going on. I didn't have time to explain it to them, but I prayed they would listen and stay right where they were.

Now, all Jace and I had to do was keep my mother from going into the living room, and that would not be fucking easy.

"Yes?" I responded to my mother, a few moments later as I tried to figure out what to do with the two boys in our house.

"Where the fuck are you?" She growled, her voice slightly raising as I grabbed onto Jace's hand and pulled him along with me.

He grunted in response, shocked by the sudden movement, but we eventually stopped in front of our mom who stood in the foyer. She slightly leaned against the door frame as she brought the beer bottle she had in her hand to her lips, taking a few sips.

She released the bottle from her lips as a small burp crawled out of her throat. I scrunched my nose in disgust as I could hear Braxton and Karson ruffling around in the living room.

Those fuckers.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" My mother questioned as she slightly swayed back and forth.

I gulped. "L-like what?"

"Are you fucking hiding something?" She growled, taking a shaky step forward as she ignored my question.

I internally cringed as I thought about Karson and Braxton hearing the way my mother talked to me. How was I going to explain this to them?

"I'm not hiding anything," I responded quickly, my voice small and tight.

"You seem on edge," she pointed out, taking another swig of her beer as she narrowed her bloodshot eyes at me. Does she ever sleep?

"I'm not," I replied, fiddling with my fingers as I heard Jace sigh in annoyance.

"Whatever, I don't fucking care," she finally decided as she rolled her eyes. "Now, get the fuck out of my way."

"Sorry, mom, uh, maybe you should go back to the bar. Did you forget something?" Jace stuttered, cutting into the conversation as he quickly made something up to try and get her out of the house.

"I said, get the fuck out of my way," she growled, completely ignoring what Jace offered as she roughly pushed me to the side.

My body collied with the wall beside me as I slightly groaned in pain. My head bounced off the wall as I tried to regain my focus to see my mother's swaying figure. I leaned against the wall, slightly rubbing my head as my blurry vision caught my mother staring at something.

"What the fuck?" I heard a rough voice growl as my body stiffened. I squeezed my eyes shut as my head began to spin. This was not happening.

I hesitantly opened my eyes and was welcomed with those beautiful emerald eyes staring at my body slumped against the wall. I grit my teeth and took deep breaths, trying to contain my frustration. I watched his eyes travel to meet my mother, his jaw clenched as he stared at the drunk woman in front of us.

My mother's mouth was hung open as she stumbled back in shock. It didn't take long for her to comprehend that there were two random boys in the house because she quickly jerked her head to meet my gaze.

"Who the fuck are they?" She shouted, pointing between Karson and Braxton. Braxton no longer held Liv as he wrapped his arms around himself. I briefly glanced over his shoulder and found my little sister curled up into a ball on the couch as she watched the scene unfold.

Jace rubbed his forehead in defeat as he took a step back to get further away from our mother.

"They are my friends," I sighed, my eyes downcast because I was too afraid to meet anyone's eyes. Why did they have to move?

"Your friends?" She gave a humorless laugh as she stepped towards me. "You don't have fucking friends."

I slightly winced as her sharp words dug deeper into my skin. "Yes I do."

"You fuck them, don't you?" She accused, my eyes widening as I glared at my mother. "You're a whore! You're a goddamn whore. First Jason, and now these two fuckers?"

I felt a lump form in the back of my throat as my lower lip trembled. I cringed knowing Karson and Braxton could hear every single word she was saying. I shook my head as I tried to fight back the tears that threatened to fall down.

"Get the fuck out," Jace growled, his eyes dark as he lightly pushed our mother.

She swatted his hand away. "Don't put your hands on me."

I didn't say another word as my mother took another swig of her beer. I took a risk and looked up to see Karson and Braxton staring at my mother with pure rage swimming in their eyes.

"You know what?" My mother continued. "Maybe I will go back to the bar so I don't have to be around my whore of a daughter. I didn't raise you to be like this."

"You didn't raise me at all!" I shot back, having enough of her shit. She needs help. My heart pounded with rage as she gave me a death glare. I bit my lip, trying to hold back my tears of rage and embarrassment. I could taste a metallic substance, not realizing I was biting down on my lip too hard as it drew blood.

We all stood in silence as we watched my mother shake her head before stumbling to the front door. She grabbed her keys as she still held on to her half empty beer bottle. I hated that she drove with alcohol in her system, but if I tried to stop her, I would somehow end up getting verbally and physically abused.

It took a few times for her to reach the door handle, her vision probably blurry from how much alcohol she had consumed. When she got the door open, she stepped into the night and roughly slammed the front door behind her.

I held a hand over my mouth as I heard Jace curse in frustration. I gripped my hair in frustration as I shakily met Karson's hard gaze. "Dakota."

"Please," my voice broke as tears welled up in the corner of my eyes. Karson's eyes slightly softened as he took a step towards me.

"Is that why you wanted us to leave?" Braxton hesitantly asked as his lips morphed into a frown. His forehead was creased as he looked at me with pity.

Jace stayed quiet the whole time, not very sure how to react. He just leaned against the wall across from me as he took his head in his hands.

I numbly nodded my head as my teeth released my lower lip. Karson strode towards me before stopping right in front of my shaking figure. He scanned over my face, not saying a word as his eyes lingered on my trembling lips.

"Dakota," he whispered as he gently placed his index finger below my chin, slightly raising my head to meet his gaze. A single tear fell down my cheeks as a small frown grazed his lips.

More tears began to fall as I heard his gentle voice. He told me it was okay to cry, and so I did. A rough sob came out, my throat feeling tight as I shut my eyes.

He immediately wrapped his arms around me as my face rested against his chest. The warmth of his hold traveled throughout my body as I slightly shivered from his touch.

I hesitantly wrapped my small arms around his waist as more tears traveled down his shirt. He rubbed up and down my back as his other hand possessively wrapped around my waist.

I grabbed a fistful of his sweatshirt as his masculine smell engulfed me. He knew how much my mother hurt me.

After a few moments, he gently pulled me back as he scanned my face once more. Tears streamed down my face as I tried to put on a brave front, smiling at the gorgeous boy that held me.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice tender and calm as he used his thumb to wipe away the tears that escaped my tear duct.

I watched as Braxton slowly walked up behind him, glancing over Karson's shoulder as he studied my tear stained face.

"I'm not very sure," I admitted, a small frown tugging at my salty lips as my eyes traveled between each boy. I gave Braxton a reassuring smile, trying to tell him that I would be okay.

"Oh, pretty girl," he frowned. "I'm so sorry."

Karson dropped his arms to his sides as his features contorted with worry. He took a small step back as he continued to stare at my tear stained face.

Everyone stood in silence, no one mustering up enough courage to say anything. Braxton shifted on his feet as I heard Olivia's small footsteps run to us.

She wore a small frown as she ran to me. I felt the breath get knocked out of me as I watched my little sisters face contort with pain. I slightly crouched down and picked up her petite body.

"I'm sorry, sissy," she mumbled as I gently wrapped my arms around her securely.

"It's okay, gorgeous," I whispered into her curls as I slightly rubbed her back.

"Is your mom always like this?" Karson questioned, his gaze hard as his jaw clenched.

I heard Jace cough across from me, his eyes narrowing at me as he anxiously tapped his foot. He wanted me to be careful with how I answered Karson's question.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to spare us some time as I tried to beat around the bush.

"Dakota," Karson growled, his emerald eyes turning into a darker shade of green. "You know damn well what I mean."

I pressed my lips into a thin line. "Yes, she's always like this."

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath as he gripped in hair in frustration. Braxton kept his eyes down, his jaw clenching and unclenching.

"We're okay," I tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach my eyes. I wrapped one of my fingers in Olivia's curls as I gently combed through it. I needed a distraction because this was getting to be too much.

"Dakota, if she's like that all the fucking time, it's not safe here," Karson scowled, his nostrils flaring as I saw Jace rub his forehead out of the corner of my eye.

"It is safe," I lied. "She's practically never home, so it's okay."

"That's not okay, pretty girl," Braxton frowned, cutting in as he stood directly by Karson.

My breath was lodged in my throat, I didn't know how I was going to get out of this. "I promise, we are fine."

Karson's lips were pressed together tightly as his dark eyes watched my every moment. His eyes traveled to my hand that was playing with Olivia's hair.

"Look-"

"Can you guys please leave?" Jace cut in as he got off the wall, heading towards us.

Braxton opened his mouth, but immediately closed it when my brother gave him a hard look. Braxton looked uncertain as he was trying to figure out what to do. Leave us after what he just saw, or stay to try and get answers.

"Will you guys be safe?" Braxton gave in, only staring at me.

I briefly nodded my head as I gave him a fake, yet reassuring smile. He hesitantly nodded his head before slowly walking up to me. He slightly bent down to place a small kiss on my forehead.

I mouthed to him a thank you as he sighed.

"I'll be in the car," Braxton mumbled, his shoulders slumped as he walked out of the front door. I knew he felt guilty for leaving, but it was the best decision.

Karson remained standing in front of me before he whispered only loud enough for me to hear. "Meet me at the park tomorrow after school, got it?"

I bit my lip, smelling his strong cologne as it danced around in the air surrounding me. I numbly nodded my head before I had any time to process what he said.

"If anything happens, call me," he whispered before turning on his heel. He gave a small nod to Jace and gently patted Olivia's back before heading towards the front door.

He reached out to grab the door handle, but abruptly stopped as he turned around to find my gaze. His eyes landed on me for a brief second, an unrecognizable emotion flashing through them before he quickly stepped out of our house.

Once they were both out, my shoulders slumped in defeat as I gently placed Olivia back down on the floor. I ran a shaky hand over my face as Olivia ran back to the living room.

Jace's footsteps echoed through the foyer as he walked up to me. With no words being shared between us, he just wrapped his arms around my neck as he pulled me into a hug.

"I'm so sorry," Jace mumbled into my hair as I quickly returned the favor and wrapped my arms around him.

"Why are you sorry?" I frowned.

"I'm sorry mom says all those fucked up things to you," he admitted as we pulled away from each other. "She's wrong, so don't fucking listen to her, Dakota. I know how much you get in your head, so please try to understand that nothing she said is true."

I gave him my best attempt at a smile as I ruffled my little brother's hair. He glared at me, swatting my hand away as he ran his fingers through the top of his hair to try and fix it. "I'll try, little brother."

He rolled his eyes before flipping me off and running into the living room. I smiled as I watched his retreating figure, but it soon faded when I was left alone. I felt my exterior deteriorate as my back rested against a nearby wall.

The thought of Karson and Braxton hearing the way my mother talked to me made me feel nauseous. I held my stomach as I gripped tightly onto my shirt.

"Shit," I whispered under my breath as my mind starting racing. Karson knew something was up and that's going to be a fucking problem. Karson has been fucking with my mind recently and I don't like it.

He's made me second guess myself and now, he's making me feel something I've never felt before when I'm around him. I slightly screamed into my hand as I remembered that I had to meet in the park tomorrow after school.

What did I just get myself into?

—————————————————————————————