Yesterday with Karson was like a breath of fresh air. He truly didn't know how much I needed that day. With everything going on, I needed just one day to let go. One day to let go and not be in reality.

Yesterday also didn't help the feelings I had for him. If anything, it made the flutter in my stomach intensify by so much more. As much as I hated to admit it, my feelings grew even more when he took me out for ice cream. A date.

I lightly shook my head as a small smile tugged at my lips when I walked into the familiar coffee shop. Yesterday, I tried calling Nora after the date with Karson to give her details about everything that's happened in the past few days, but when she answered, she didn't even let me get any words out. Before I could talk, she bluntly said she was busy and hung up the phone.

I didn't bother texting or calling her the rest of the day. As much as I loved my best friend, sometimes I felt I was only her best friend when it was only convenient for her. She's always been my best friend, but I don't think the feelings were mutual.

I huffed, trying to forget about Nora as the strong smell of coffee hit me all at once. I happily inhaled the bitter smell as a genuine smile tugged at my lips. Oh how I missed this place.

I inched towards the back as I let my eyes wander throughout the coffee shop. I spotted a few regulars that came here very frequently, while the others just sat silently in their own little world as they sipped their coffee.

I trudged towards the furthest end of the shop, placing my hands on a metal door as it quickly swung open. I stepped into the kitchen, noticing the flour stained countertops as I made my way to Stan who was hunched over as he used all his body weight to push down on the dough.

"Stan," I mumbled, my voice small as I put all my weight onto one foot. I watched his body visibly stiffen when he stopped what he was doing and narrowed his eyes at me. I was taken aback as I tried to fight the amusement that was written all over my face.

"What did I say?" He bluntly asked as his eyes flickered to my injured palm. Technically, it was almost completely healed, only a few stubborn stitches that didn't want to dissolve were left. I let out a nervous chuckle as I swiftly moved my hand so it was hidden behind my back.

"Oh, come on, Stan!" I whined as he rolled his eyes and began to knead the dough once more. "It's practically healed and I really need the money."

I heard him mumble a few incoherent words under his breath as his eyes shot up to meet mine. "If you so much as even get a paper cut, you're going home."

I breathed a sigh of relief as I gave him the biggest smile I could muster up. "Yes! Thank you Stan, I won't let you down!"

He grunted, rolling his eyes, but I was still able to see the amusement dancing across his face. "Go take orders before I change my mind."

I lightly chuckled as I turned on my heel and walked towards the metal door. It quickly swung open as I fiercely walked out of the kitchen and towards the front counter. One of my coworkers was in the middle of taking orders, so I stood by her and started to reorganize the pastries in the glass cases.

A permanent smile stained my lips as I thought about finally being able to come back to work. I loved Stan and every person that stepped foot into this coffee shop. This really was my second home and I was so grateful that I found Stan when I did. He's helped me in so many more ways than I could imagine.

I really couldn't have asked for a better boss.

~•~•~

"Come on, Jace!" I heard Olivia's small voice pout as I stepped into my house. I sighed, gently rubbing my hand down my face, trying to shake away the exhaustion after working a long shift. I was so tired, but I was so glad I got to catch up with Stan and work.

"Olivia, no more cookies!" Jace argued, his voice sharp as I heard a few rumbling noises come from the kitchen.

I mumbled a few curse words under my breath as I set my bag aside and headed towards the kitchen. I slowly placed one foot in front of the other as I trudged towards the direction of where their voices were coming from.

"I've only had five," Liv whined just as I entered the kitchen. I watched the scene unfold in front of me as Jace held the cookie jar high enough to where she couldn't reach. I bit my lip, trying to suppress the laugh that threatened to slip out as I watched her small figure jump in the air to try and reach the jar.

I cleared my throat causing both of them to jerk their heads up to meet my gaze. Jace looked at me with wide eyes as he hesitantly placed the cookie jar on the counter top. Olivia let out a nervous chuckle as she slowly walked to me.

"Hi sissy!" She squealed before she abruptly turned on her heel and sprinted up the stairs. Her blonde curls bounced up and down as her loud footsteps pounded against the stairs. "Bye sissy!"

"Five cookies, huh?" I raised one of my eyebrows at him as I playfully crossed my arms over each other.

He scratched the back of his neck as he cleared his throat. "That bruise is practically gone, Dak. I can barely see it."

I narrowed my eyes at him as he tried to change the subject. "You dumbass."

"Oh, come on, Dak!" He whined as he rolled his eyes. "She was being so annoying, so I gave in. It was the only way to shut her up!"

"She's five, you fucker," I hissed as a small laugh seeped through my lips. I quickly covered it with a cough as he raised one of his eyebrows up in amusement.

Jace was about to respond, but a knock on the door cut him off. I groaned, not in the mood to talk to anyone. I gave Jace a knowing look before I turned towards the front door.

I hesitantly opened the door as a small yawn escaped. When the door was fully open, I watched as a young, female officer shifted on each foot. I met her gaze for a brief second before my eyes flickered to meet the notepad held tightly in her hands.

"Hi. Are you Dakota Anderson?" The officer asked as her hazelnut eyes bore into mine. Freckles were scattered around her small nose and her brunette hair was pulled back tightly into a neat bun, no hair out of place.

"Yes ma'am."

"I was just coming here to check up on how you three were holding up," she explained, her voice firm as she glanced behind my shoulder to glance around our house.

"Everything has been going very well actually," I told her almost truthfully. Everything was fine except for Jason, but she didn't need to know that. "I actually went back to work today so we can live off a steady income."

"That's wonderful," she smiled as she pulled out a pen from her back pocket and began to write against the notepad. I awkwardly stood at my door as she continued to write whatever she was writing. I didn't hear Jace behind me, so I assumed he just stayed in the kitchen. "You have two younger siblings, correct?"

"Yes, I do," I began. "Jace is fifteen, almost sixteen, and Olivia is five years old."

She hummed as her hand moved fast at a pace against the paper. She continued to write as an awkward silence settled between us. I cleared my throat as I briefly glanced at the belt that held many weapons and gadgets. "Is this how every check up is going to go?"

"Yes," she started, not even looking up from her notepad. "It's very simple. If I think you three are doing well, then I don't have to pester you with too many questions. I don't want to bother you for too long."

"Oh okay," I mumbled, grateful that this wasn't supposed to take long. I knew she needed to do this, so I wasn't necessarily annoyed, I was just so exhausted that I wish she didn't come right now.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" She gasped as her eyes finally met mine. "Officer Dawson wanted me to tell you that we have set a court date for your mother. Your mother's hearing will be this Tuesday at 1pm."

I sucked in a sharp breath as I stiffly nodded my head. This was really happening. My mother was going to jail. If I was being honest, I didn't want to see her again. After what she did to me the last time I saw her, I was scared to even be in the same room as her.

"Oh wow. That was fast," I breathed as I lightly shook my head. "Thank you so much."

"Of course! If you are confused about anything, you can always reach out to Dawson. He told me that he was going to send you details with everything you need to know. What to wear, where the courthouse is located, and other sorts of stuff," she gave me a polite smile as she stuffed her pen and notepad in her back pocket.

"Thank you," I smiled, even though it didn't quite reach my eyes. No one was able to tell my real smile and fake smile apart, only Karson.

"You're welcome," she nodded. "Well, if you don't have any questions, I'll be on my way. I can tell you're a good kid, Dakota, so I'm not worried about how well you take care of your siblings. With what I've heard, you'd do anything for them, and I really admire that."

I felt the breath get lodged in my throat as her words replayed in mind. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I couldn't form any words so I gave her a shaky smile and nodded my head.

I heard the belt around her waist that carried almost everything make noise when she walked away. I remained standing at my door, my eyes following the officer as she got into her police car and eventually drove off.

"Dak?" Jace asked from behind me as he broke me away from my trance. I felt shivers shoot down my spine as I quickly closed the door and turned around to face my brother. "Was she here to check on us?"

I nodded my head as we both walked shoulder to shoulder to our living room. "She also told us when moms court date is."

I watched him as he sucked in a sharp breath before connecting his gaze with mine. A saw a glint of worry flash through those similar blue eyes before his smile lines contorted with exhaustion. He was just as tired as I was dealing with our mothers shit.

"When is it?" He hesitantly asked as his voice sounded hoarse.

"This Tuesday at 1," I grunted as I let myself sit down on our couch for the first time in hours. I released a huge breath as my head rolled back until it rested against the back of the couch.

I closed my eyes as I felt the couch indent next to me. I heard Jace place his feet against the coffee table as he mirrored my position. I opened my eyes as I watched him rest his head against the back of the couch. We were both looking at the ceiling as we stayed in a comfortable silence.

"We can never catch a break, huh?" He mumbled as a humorless laugh slipped out.

"Never," I huffed, my voice small as I gingerly placed my feet on the coffee table as well.

"Let's stop talking about mom," he grunted as I slightly turned my head to the right to see his nostrils flare in annoyance. We both hated talking about our poor excuse of a mother. "Let's talk about you and Karson."

I groaned as I tried to ignore the small flutter that just appeared in my chest. "What's there to talk about?"

"Cut the bullshit, Dakota," my little brother rolled his eyes as I looked back up at the ceiling. "He's the person you always call and you two literally went to get ice cream yesterday, as a date. Need I say more?"

I let out a long breath. "Fine. Maybe I like him or something."

"Ha!" Jace shot up, his body facing me as he wore a huge smile. "I fucking knew it!"

"Keep it down," I grunted as I slowly sat up to where we were both sitting upright on the couch.

"Do I need to remind you what I say quite often?" He asked as an arrogant smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

I glared at him, my gaze hard as he barked a laugh. I knew what he was going to say, and I was so tired of him saying it. There's a thin line between love and hate.

"Don't say it," I hissed as my nostrils flared in annoyance. He raised both of his hands up in surrender as he continued to laugh.

"I won't, I won't," he reassured as he let his back fall against the couch. "I'm just glad you knew what I was talking about."

"How could I forget?" I deadpanned. "You remind me almost every fucking day."

"Exactly," he winked as his contagious laughter filled the room. I couldn't help the smile that broke through as I gently shook my head. My brother was something else.

"How's football, huh?" I asked, trying to divert the conversation away from Karson and I. Not being able to get Karson off my mind was already hard enough. I didn't need to keep talking about him because we all knew what would happen.

"It honestly sucks," he grunted. "Our games keep getting canceled for some reason and no one knows why. God, and Brody? He's being a huge dick."

"Not surprised," I snorted as I tried to compress the nerves that filled the pit of my stomach.

"He thinks that just because he's the team captain, means he can be a dick to every person he talks to," Jace grunted as he gently rubbed his temples. No one liked Brody, especially Karson.

"He needs to learn-"

My words were cut off when my phone began to ring. I sighed, slightly lifting my body off the couch so I was able to reach behind me and grab my phone out of my back pocket. I looked at the caller ID, another sigh escaping as I read Nora.

I glanced at Jace before he slowly got off the couch and walked into the kitchen to grab something. I heard him fumble around in the pantry before hearing a bag of chips opening. I rolled my eyes as I clicked the answer button and held it against my ear.

"Hello?"

"Dakota, hi!" Nora breathed from the other side of the phone as I heard some rustling in the background. Where was she?

"Is everything okay?" I hesitantly asked as I began to pick the fuzz off of my pants as I patiently waited for her to answer.

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?" She abruptly snapped, causing my eyes to widen in shock even though she couldn't see me.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," I hissed as anger began to well up inside of my chest. I was so tired of her bullshit.

"You don't need to get mad, damn," Nora chuckled as a small hiccup followed right after. She was drunk.

My body stiffened when I put the pieces together. She was God knows where, drunk. "Where are you, Nora?"

"I'm at this guy's house, I think," her voice trailed off as she yelled at a guy to get off of her. Oh God.

"Nora, how did you get there?" I asked, genuinely feeling worried because anything could happen to her in her drunk state of mind.

"I walked, it wasn't too far from my house," she giggled as she began to yell at someone else to get their hands off of her. As much as she's been pissing me off, I couldn't let her walk home alone while she was drunk. I don't even want to imagine the possibilities of what people will do to her. I don't want her going through what I went through with Jason. "I think it's like a block away or something."

"Stay there, okay? I'm going to go to the party so I can walk you home whenever you're ready to leave," I hesitantly explained as I was already off the couch, grabbing my keys as Jace looked at me with concern swimming in his eyes.

I'll be back, Nora needs help, I mouthed to Jace as he nodded his head before turning on his heel and walked back into the kitchen.

"You're a good friend, Dakota," she mumbled into the phone. "I think I'm in a big room or something. Maybe a game room?"

I kept her on the phone as I got inside of my car, quickly driving to her neighborhood. I didn't know exactly where the party was, but she mentioned it was only a block away so all I had to do was drive around until I found bright lights flashing inside a house.

I briefly glanced down at what I was wearing, just a simple pair of leggings and a t-shirt. I needed to remind myself that I was doing this for Nora, so I didn't give a fuck about how I looked. I knew that if I was in this situation, I sure as hell would want someone to look out for me too.

I held my phone against my ear, reminding Nora not to end the call until I got there. When I drove around her neighborhood, I finally stopped at a house that had a few people lingering outside with plastic cups in their hands. Bingo.

I quickly parked my car in the nearest spot I could find before I got out and walked towards the house. I let Nora know I was here and she told me where she was.

"Stay where you are and I'll find you-"

She ended the call before I could finish what I was saying which made my nerves spike up. I picked up my pace as my eyes scanned my surroundings. I was standing in front of the teen filled house before I quickly walked inside.

My nose immediately scrunched up in disgust when I smelled a mix of weed and alcohol. My eyes scanned the room, watching bodies grind against each other as the loud music pulsed in my ears. "Jesus Christ."

I shook my head, trying to ignore the odd stares as they watched a girl walk through the crowd in comfy clothes to find her best friend. I quickly pushed through the crowd until I reached the bottom of the stairs. I huffed, already out of breath as the sweaty bodies around me made the house humid and disgusting.

I remembered her telling me that she was in some sort of game room upstairs, so I quickly made my way up the stairs. I had to squeeze through a few people who were making out in the middle of the stairs until I finally reached the top.

My eyes darted across the upstairs before my eyes landed on a larger room filled with even more people. I huffed as my fists clenched at my sides. This bitch better be grateful I'm doing this for her.

I quickly shoved past another large crowd until I made it to the middle of the large room. I let my eyes wander until I found a certain redhead being pressed up against the wall by some douche that had a drink held tightly in his other hand.

I felt my nostrils flare as I watched Nora struggle under his hold, her head turning sideways as tears profusely streamed down her cheeks. I felt my heart pound in my chest, angry at everyone in this room that didn't give a shit about what was happening in the corner of this room.

I quickly strode over to where they were, only seeing red when I saw how horrified my best friend looked. No one should ever go through this type of pain. It's traumatizing.

"Get off, you asshole!" I raised my voice over the music so he could fully hear me. I roughly grabbed his arms and pushed him back until he stumbled on his feet.

Nora immediately let out a huge breath when her eyes met mine. Tears continued to stream down her rosy cheeks as she crumbled, slowly sliding down the wall until she hugged her legs tightly against her chest.

I quickly broke my gaze away from her to see an angry looking douchebag to my right. I narrowed my eyes at him as I watched him down the rest of his beer. He crumpled up the plastic cup before throwing it to the floor.

His eyes narrowed at me as a disgusting smirk pulled at his lips. "I wouldn't have done that if I were you."

"She's drunk," I fumed as I pointed to Nora who sat on the floor. I swear I could see red clouding my vision because of how fucking angry I was.

"So?" He snorted as the loud music drowned his laughter.

"You're disgusting," I bitterly spat as I turned away from him to see how Nora was doing. I needed to get her out of here.