| Jack |

It's oddly quiet in the house without Cody. She and Alex left for California two hours ago, and I'm missing my best friend already. It probably sounds weird to some people...or a lot of people, but we haven't been seperated for years. Growing up, our families weren't friends, but my mom and I couldn't afford to go on vacations and for reasons I never understood back then, the Dennings never travelled either, so my holidays were always spent with Cody. Now that she's gone, I don't know what to do with myself. I guess it's showing because right now I'm getting some weird looks from Hope.

"What the hell are you doing, Jack?"

"Huh? Watching TV, what are you doing?"

"I'm watching you, staring at a blank screen." She says and then I realize that I hadn't even switched the TV on.

"Are you okay?"

"Yep." Is my very convincing answer. Not.

"Come on, we're going out for lunch."

_____

We've been in the car for twenty minutes, and while Hope, as well as the others, have gotten better at knowing where everything is around in our small town, I'm beginning to feel lost but on an emotional level. I don't notice we've stopped until Hope puts a hand on my shoulder, which makes me flinch.

"Relax. It's only me." She says, her eyes full of concern. I'm not sure what she's thinking but she starts the car again, opting to go the drive thru. We order and eventually we're driving again.

Hope stops at a small lake near the outskirts of our town, where we eat our lunch before she initiates the conversation.

"Are you still thinking about him?" She asks me. She doesn't have to explain what she means, I already know.

"Hope, can we talk?" I ask sheepishly, knowing I'm interrupting her time with Kelley. They're my family now but I still sometimes feel like im intruding.

"Of course." She answers immediately, kissing Kelley on the head as she takes my hand, leading me to another room. "So, what's wrong?"

"I'm worried about Cody." I blurt out and I don't miss the look of utter confusion on my adoptive mother's face.

"Why are you worried about her?" She asks, and I begin to bite my lip, looking everywhere except her face. I don't want to out my best friend.

Quite childishly, I had hoped this was a phase she would get through, but I was wrong. It's getting worse, to the point where she leaves her pills in her lockers. Yes, lockers, plural. For her books and other crap and for her soccer gear.

"She's popping pills." I rush out, glancing behind me to be sure that nobody else can hear this conversation, especially Alex, I know I'll bring it up eventually but I have to talk to someone else first. That someone is Hope.

"Wait. Are you sure?"

"I know the signs, Hope!"

"Calm down, Jack." She puts her hands on my shoulders and I feel myself physically relax. "What do you mean you know the signs? Is this something she's done before?"

"No...not her", I answer and once again avoid all eye contact.

"Jack, what's going on?"

"I haven't told anyone this...not even Cody." I finally look at Hope, "But my dad-" I choke on what I say before I break down. Hope wraps her arms around me, holding me close as I let my tears fall, and she doesn't let go until I've calmed down.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I want to. I feel like I have to." I say and she nods, motioning for me to continue. "When I was about 13, I began to notice my dad acting...weird. You see, up until then we were a regular happy family, or so I thought and all of a sudden my parents would be fighting. My dad, who encouraged me to play soccer, lost all interest. I'd ask him to play, he would tell me to go away, I'd ask him if we could go to games and he would always say no. He didn't want to do anything with me anymore, I began to feel like he didn't even want me anymore. I brought it up with my mom and she brushed me off like it didn't matter." I take a deep breath before continuing. "I walked into the kitchen one day for a glass of water and I seen my dad throwing back a handful of pills. I acted like I hadn't seen anything, I didn't say a word to him when he turned around and seen me standing there, I just walked away. I was a kid, I...I thought it was normal" I chuckle wryly, rolling my eyes at my younger self. "Uh...anyway, my mom was at work, turns out she worked for the household, my dad didn't do anything - I didn't even know he got laid off until a few years later. I was just a kid, I didn't pay that much attention, anyway like I was saying, she was at work and it was getting late, I still hadn't had dinner and I was beginning to get hungry, so I searched the house looking for my dad, I couldn't find him. I went to the kitchen as it was the only room I hadn't looked in and when I opened the door...my dad was lying on the floor, right where I had last seen him."

Hope wrapped her arms around me again as my body began to violently shake as I broke down, reliving the memory of my last moments with my father, how selfish I had felt that I just left him standing there. I had grown up with the thoughts that if I had just stayed there five minutes longer then I could have did something to save his life, but I left. I left him and he died.

"Cody is acting the same way, Hope. She's constantly blowing me off, she keeps multiple bottles, she barely eats. She's not even caring about soccer, it's her life and she doesn't give a shit!" I yell out, though it gets muffled towards the end as I bury my face in Hope's shoulder, trying to hide from the world. It's another 15 minutes before I resurface.

"I can't lose her too, mom. I can't. I don't know what I'd do without her but I don't know if I can save her, I couldn't save my own dad. I'm so fucking useless. You have to do something Hope."

| Hope |

I listen to Jack as she rehashes her father's death, and I can't help but draw similarities between our pasts. I may not have given birth to this girl but I still love her like my own, and seeing her in pain, worried sick about her best friend, breaks my heart.

She eventually cries herself to sleep, and I stop fighting back my own tears. A few of them slip and Kelley comes into the room as I life a sleeping Jack into my arms, preparing to take her to her bedroom.

"Shit, are you okay?" She asks, half whispering as she wipes the tears from my eyes. I can't fight the smile that grows on my face as I thank the Lord for the family I have now.

Growing up I spent a lot of time with my Aunt and Uncle, my parents weren't the most stable, much like Jack's dad towards the end, so I know exactly what she's been through, and why she's so scared for Cody's health, she doesn't want that for her best friend, and I don't either. I'll do anything and everything to make sure that doesn't happen.

"I'm fine, I'll put her to bed and I'll be right back, okay?" I kiss her before taking Jack to her room, making sure she's fine before I leave.

. Still Hope's POV

"Yeah, I'm thinking about him again. Ever since I found those pills in Cody's lockers he's been on my mind everyday." Jack confesses as she finishes her coffee.

"He'll be proud of you. After everything you've been through, look at you now."

"Yeah, dealing with another addict." She answers bitterly, her face instantly glowing with guilt over her statement.

"It's okay, I get it." I say, making the teenager look at me, but she doesn't push for more information. I'm thankful for it, I'm not ready to tell her how my aunt and uncle took me in to get me away from my own addicted parents, only to overdose themselves. It's probably why I'm so determined to make sure that it doesn't happen to Cody, or anyone else in my life. I don't want that for her, for Jack, for Alex and pretty selfishly - myself.

"You don't think I was too hard on her?" I ask Jack. Truth be told, I've been feeling guilty about my handling of the situation. I was overcome with emotions that had nothing to do with Cody. That, and I couldn't take the look on Alex's face anymore. She was a mixture of heartbroken, guilty and confused. She kind of resembled a lost puppy that pissed on someone's carpet.

"Nah. Cody wasn't responding to Alex and her guilt trip. You actually got through to her, even if it was because you threw her pills out." Jack chuckles, reliving the moment her friend lost her shit.

"No, I wasn't the one that changed her tune, that was you." I tell Jack, and she looks at me with confusion, and a look that says 'the fuck are you on?'

"I'm serious. You didn't see it because you left the room but she cares about you more than anyone, Alex included, I'm guessing it's because you've been there through everything, but she doesn't want to disappoint you, not for a second. When you left, it looked like she had lost everything."

"Do you think she'll get through it?" Jack asks me after a few minutes of silence.

"I think she will. We just have to be there for her every step of the way. It won't be easy."

"I'm not expecting it to be. With Cody, nothing is ever easy. They really fucked her up."

| Cody |

Ugh. I hate flying. Sure, this is my first time flying, but I've made my mind up, this shit sucks.

"Are we there yet?"

"Oh my God, Cody. Shut up." Alex complains, probably because it's the tenth time I've asked in the space of five minutes. I was genuinely curious at first, but now I'm just asking to annoy her. I'm happy it's working.

Truth be told, I'm nervous as fuck. I've never met a grandparent before, I don't even know how to talk to old people. They probably don't like being called old, who would? I mean, can they be old, Alex doesn't look that old...

"Why are you staring at me, Cody?" My mom asks once she does a double take of my face, noticing that I'm not looking away from her.

"You don't look that old..."

"Wow. Thank you for the huge confidence boost."

"Yeah right, like you need one, World Champion.", I roll my eyes playfully, smiling when I hear my mom laugh. It's hard to believe that two days ago we were having arguments about addiction.

I just hope the rest of our time in California goes as smoothly.