The heavy clash of a thick arm nearly slamming into the locker beside mine drew a small 'eep' from my lips. I jumped, my hand tightening around the binder I had just grabbed, before turning sheepishly to face the tall boy practically crowding me against the open cabinet.

"How did you get to school this morning?"

That was it. No 'Hi, how are you today?' or 'Good morning, did you sleep well?'. Nope, just a blunt, rather rugged question. I wouldn't say his voice was angry, but it definitely wasn't a ray of sunshine either.

"Uh... um. I-I walked?" My voice sounded more like a question, even though I really did walk. I squished further against the locker as the tension strumming through him pushed against my own shoulders.

"How am I supposed to drive you when you walk here at five in the fucking morning?" I ignored the fact that Rex knew the exact time I left my house, and focused on the dark, gruff sound of his voice. My toes nearly curled in my shoes-and not in a bad way.

"Uh, I-I... I'm sorry?"

He closed those dark, beautiful, eyes and let out an exasperated sigh before leaning slightly away from me. The hand that wasn't pressed against the lockers and caging me in reached up to run through his dark hair.

"You can't honestly think walking across town-alone-is a good idea."

"I've done it before. A lot of times before."

"Yeah, before Jason had a rape-wish over you."

My mouth snapped shut, and the dark look in his chestnut eyes made my heart drop to my stomach. Rex was right, of course he was right. He was always the one saving me. I hadn't thought about Jason when I left that morning, even though I was pretty sure he was still in the hospital. Rex hit really, really, hard.

The other boys he hurt that day were still in school, and they did not like me. Well, it was more Rex they didn't like, but I wasn't going to put taking it out on me past them.

I woke up extra early that morning, just so I wouldn't run into Luce or dad. I still wasn't ready to talk about ditching school and running off to the Cape yesterday, and I definitely wasn't going to ask Rex to come at five in the morning just so I could avoid my family. Especially since last night hadn't been a dream.

I didn't realize a tense silence had stretched over us as I got lost in my head, until Rex was stepping closer and easing me back against the still-open locker. "I shouldn't have said that. I..." He paused, his dark eyes flashing before his tongue darted out to lick his lips. My breath hitched at the sight, and it was suddenly insanely hard trying to tear my gaze away from his mouth.

Did it just get ten degrees hotter in here?

"I'm sorry."

The spell his lips put over my foggy brain snapped in half, and my eyes flashed to his. He was apologizing-again. I probably shouldn't have been keeping count, but this was the third or fourth time he's actually said sorry to me and I still wasn't used to it. I wasn't used to anything Rex Turner did.

Just like before, the 'sorry' sounded like a bubble of stress and tension popping out of his throat, and instantly put that familiar feeling of guilt on my shoulders.

"No, no! Don't be! You're right. I shouldn't be walking across town by myself. I know it's not safe, I just didn't want to deal with my dad or my sister, and I wasn't going to ask you to come get me-which is why I texted you that I didn't need a ride-and I wasn't thinking and-"

I wasn't sure what was more surprising, the deep chuckle leaving his chest, or the actual smile pulling on those perfect, full, lips as he reached up and ran the pad of his thumb across my jaw.

"I never realized how cute you are when you ramble."

My face suddenly caught on fire, and all the blood rushed from my heart to my head until I could hear it pounding in my ears.

I think I died.

Rex just said I was cute-again.

"There they are. Hey guys!" The all-too familiar voice of Denton Dimajio practically shouted down the hall as I tried to teach my lungs how to breathe again.

Rex was still hovering over me, our eyes locked despite the nervous shaking in my hands and breathing. Then he gave me a slow, small smirk, one that did nothing to help my no longer beating heart before he eased slowly away from me.

Then like a switch had flipped, that dark, icy persona of his slipped right back into place and he was no longer that apologetic, tummy-turning Rex that made my head spin. "Where have you fucks been?"

"Looking for you. You guys almost ready to head to class? The bell's about to ring." Trey answered behind Denton, those bright green eyes flickering between his best friend and my overly heated face.

My cheeks were engulfed in flames. It quite literally felt like someone had stuck my head in a fireplace and pressed it to the embers. I had to look away from the others so they wouldn't see how red my entire body was turning.

Rex took a small step in front of me, his body causally angling mine behind him like he could feel how embarrassed I was. The boys didn't even notice him move, or at least I wasn't looking at any of them long enough to see if they did.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Rose? Do you need anything else from your locker?" Rex asked casually, like I wasn't dying from shock behind him as he tossed his backpack casually over his shoulder.

Words refused to leave my lips, and all I could do was shake my head, my eyes pointed towards the floor before closing my locker and throwing my own bag over my shoulders.

"Morning Princess!" Trey's voice was very happy-go-lucky, which I appreciated since it felt like every single person in the hall was staring at my tomato cheeks, even if that was all in my head.

"Morning." I mumbled up to him but refused to lift my eyes from the ground.

"I have to get her to class." Rex's voice was back to that dark, disgruntled snap, and his large hand reached out to grab onto the sleeve of my jacket before pulling me down the hall.

One of the boys, I'm pretty sure it was Trey, scoffed behind us. "Jealous fucker." I heard him growl under his breath before Rex pulled me around a corner, the others lagging behind. My lips pulled into a small frown.

Jealous? Of what?

But then Rex's hand was dropping gently down my arm until his warmth was engulfing my wrist, and all rational thought flew out of my head. He wasn't holding my hand, but it was pretty darn close. He said I was cute, was holding my wrist, and apologized to me all in one morning. This was the best day of my life.

Rex gave me a sideways glance, one of his dark eyebrows raised in question as I wrung my hands together in my lap. "You want me to drop you off at Trey's house, so you can walk thirty seconds down the street to yours?"

I nodded, but kept my eyes pointed towards my hands so he wouldn't see the little fib there. I had no intentions of going home anyways. I did not want to face Luce or Tate-and definitely not my dad. Though, I wasn't really sure where I wanted to go instead was any better. Actually, it was far, far, worse.

"You're already in the car, it's literally two seconds from Trey's." He scoffed and turned his dark eyes back to the road, his hand resting almost lazily on the wheel. It was the most relaxed I had ever seen him, and that made my stomach feel all kinds of funny. He was just so darn-good looking. I would say beautiful if he wasn't so rugged and hard all the time.

"But then you would have to turn around and go all the way back to Trey's-"

"Which is literally right down the street."

"And it's just easier for me to walk than you waste the time-"

"Stop it, I'm driving you to your house. It's not a fucking problem." His tone suggested otherwise, even though I knew it was only because I was annoying him.

I tried to shove down the pout desperately pulling at my lips. There was no way I could avoid my family, and sneak away from the house if Rex brought me straight to the front door. If he waited until I walked inside to drive off I wouldn't be able to swerve down the side of the house without being noticed.

The ride from school had been mostly silent besides the alternative radio station playing softly in the background. Rex hadn't really spoke for the rest of the day after he ambushed me that morning, but he did gesture to sit next to him in third period and waited after school at his car. I took those as good signs he wasn't regretting agreeing to be my friend yet.

I had to force down a strangled sigh when he turned into my neighborhood, and the angry people in my house drew closer and closer. "Are you still avoiding your family?" His soft-spoken question caught me off-guard, and my eyes snapped away from the cars parked in my driveway to glance over at him.

"I've been yelled at enough by my sister in the past few weeks to last a life time. I really don't need my father and Tate's reprimanding me on top of that." I grumbled as he pulled the sleek convertible to a stop in front of my driveway.

I gripped tightly onto my backpack that rested between my legs but made no other move to leave the car. I really didn't want to face Luce.

"Never listen to anything that prick yells at you." That soft tone of his voice had completely disappeared and changed into one so dark it made my stomach flip. "Fuck, never listen to him at all." His whole mood went from relaxed and calm to disgruntled and aggressive in a flash.

"Who? My dad? I don't really have an option there, and he's not the one I'm worried about-"

"I meant Tate, Rose." I tried to ignore the way my name rolling off his tongue made my stomach clench as he let out a small, but rather exasperated, sigh.

"Tate?" My frown turned into a confused pout as my eyes darted up to my front door. I couldn't see her, but I could practically feel the heat of anger strumming off Luce all the way down here. "There's nothing wrong with Tate. If anything, he's always the one sticking up for me when I'm in trouble."

"I'll fucking bet." Rex's voice was so low I wasn't sure if I heard him right, but he was already talking again before I could ask. "Listen, I wanted to talk to you about this the other day, but I don't... I'm not..." I had never seen him so uncertain in his words before, except when he was apologizing, and I had a sickening feeling he was about to end this new-found friendship of ours.

"I don't trust Tate." He finally growled out through clenched teeth, his dark, chestnut, eyes flickering to said-person's car in the driveway.

The last thing I ever wanted to do was argue with him or give him another reason not to like me-he already had so many-but he didn't even know my sister's boyfriend. He had no reason to dislike him.

"You don't know him. Tate's really nice and he would never hurt anyone."

I watched as he gripped the steering wheel so tightly his tan knuckles turned white. "I know him more than I would ever fucking like to." He practically growled, those dark eyes refusing to look over at mine.

"I'm a little... confused." I muttered down at my backpack as one of his hands left the steering wheel. I glanced over just long enough to see him grab a cigarette pack from the middle console and flip the top open.

My teeth gritted together.

If there was anything I hated more than myself, it was those nasty cancer sticks.

I watched as he snatched one out of the box, stuck it between those lips of his, and reach around in his pocket for what I assumed was a lighter. But just as I was about to open my mouth to tell him he shouldn't smoke-even after remembering what happened last time I said something-his movements paused.

The cigarette was still between his lips as he closed his eyes and let out a hard breath of air. Tension was as thick as fog swirling around him as he took the cigarette from his lips and shoved it back into the box.

He wasn't going to smoke?

"Tate is... He's my..." He paused, ran a rough, hard, hand through his soft hair before chucking the cigarette pack back into the middle console. "He's my half-brother, alright? And he wasn't always such a 'nice guy'." He snarled the last part sarcastically, though I was too focused on the first to care.

My eyes had widened to the tenth degree, and it was nearly impossible trying to close my mouth. I felt shell shocked. "You and Tate are-"

"Half-brothers, and I stress the half. There's absolutely no fucking part of him I want to share."

I wanted to say something, anything, to ease that tension strumming off him, but I couldn't find any words that would make him feel better. They were brothers.

My heart jumped in my chest when I glanced up and saw my sister standing impatiently right outside the front door, her arms crossed hauntingly over her chest as an angry pout pulled on her lips. Rex saw her too, and he let out a long sigh before relaxing back into his seat. "You should get going before she comes down here and starts beating the fuck out of my car."

I didn't want to leave, but I knew he was right. An angry Luce was not one you wanted to mess with. "Thank you for taking me home... And for telling me about you and Tate." I said softly and reached for the door handle as he rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to teach you to stop thanking me one day." I ignored that comment as I stepped slowly out of the car, my eyes looking anywhere but at my sister. "I don't deserve it."

The sudden sad, remorseful, tone in his voice pulled me to a complete stop. I glanced back over at him, but those dark eyes were staring through the window shield instead of at me, his hand causally gripping the wheel once again.

"You deserve it more than anyone, Rex."

His gaze snapped to mine, and his jaw clenched shut, though he didn't speak the words I saw brewing behind his eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked instead of waiting for an answer I knew I wasn't going to get.

I didn't want to get my hopes up, but my heart was already beating faster at the thought of him coming to get me in the morning-and the morning after that, and the one after that. I watched as those hard-chestnut eyes softened slowly and his clenched jaw eased as he gave me a small nod.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow. And you better fucking wait for me to pick you up. No more walking at five in the fucking morning."

I smiled at the empty threat in his voice. Rex Turner didn't make empty threats, but I knew he wouldn't ever do anything to hurt me. That was just the kind of person he was.

I was just about to close the door all the way and turn to face my death-via Luce-when he called out to me again. "Remember what I said about Tate. I don't trust him, at all."

We stared at each other for a solid moment, his eyes hard again and unwavering as I gripped the top of the door. "I will... be careful." I finally murmured, and the guilty feeling of knowing that I was doubting one of my only friends was nearly completely pushed away when Rex gave me a small, satisfied smile. I'm pretty sure I even saw a dimple flash in his cheek.

"Thank you, Roza."

Luce wasn't as mad as I thought she would be when I finally went to face my doom. Well, at least she wasn't that mad anymore. She did yell at me for a solid five minutes before dad stepped in and reminded her I was almost eighteen and could make my own choices-and choose my own friends. Which is funny since he was never around to encourage or discourage those choices.

I had to shake my head of those hateful thoughts before they got started. There was nothing wrong with my dad. Only me.

I kept shooting glances at Tate though. He stood silently beside Luce the entire time, his arms crossed over his chest like the reprimanding parent Luce was trying to be. All I could think about was what Rex told me. They were half-brothers, and he didn't trust them.

"Why didn't you tell me you and Rex were brothers?" I finally asked after dad got Luce to stop yelling. His eyes had widened briefly, a look of complete shock crossing his face, before his gaze narrowed once again and his hands fell into fists at his sides.

"He told you?"

"Yeah he did, but you should have told me. You knew I was friends with him when he took me home. You knew who he was."

He let out a rugged sigh and ran his hand through his dark haired. It was an action that reminded me a little too much of Rex. I didn't like putting them in the same category, didn't like comparing them. Rex was... Rex was my version of perfection. Tate was just Luce's boyfriend and my friend.

"We have the same father, that's it."

I could tell he wasn't any happier about being related to Rex than Rex was. I ended the discussion there, ignored Luce when she tried to 'ground' me, and skipped out on dinner. I hadn't taken my medicine that day, and the stress was starting to constrict in my throat.

The past couple of weeks had been the first time in nearly a year where the strain put me completely under, and I was horrified they would make me go back to therapy. Going to the Cape had helped but getting yelled at by Luce and worrying about being good enough to keep Rex's friendship put me right back at that tipping point.

I missed Jax. He always knew how to make me laugh when I only felt like drowning. One visit wouldn't hurt, right? I didn't have to actually go to the house. I could just text him when I got to Worcester, and he could meet me there. No one would know-Gerald would never know. It would be okay, everything would be okay.

It was the lie I had been telling myself my entire life.

deep