"Don't you stop loving me"

Song- Love on the brain; Rihanna

"So we might be lost." Theo looks backs at us and then to Cameron in the passenger seat. He's pulled over to the side of a weird neighborhood.

"We were almost these, how are we lost?" Grayson asks, pulling his earphones out.

"I got confused and took a wrong turn." He says in distress.

"We can just turn around then." Cam suggest cooly, looking around.

"I thought I could figure it out so I kept driving and now I have no idea where we are." He bangs his head on the steering wheel. The loud honk causes me to jump.

"How do you manage to get lost driving the same way we've driven the past 17 years?" I shake my head, leaning forward.

"How do you manage to get with my best friend?" He retorts while turning to glare at me.

This little-

"It's not her fault we're lost!" Grayson defends me.

"If we didn't stop a million times because someone had to pee, we would be there already!" Connor sends me a look. It's not my fault I have a bladder the size of a pea.

The 4 of us erupt into a fit of arguments. There's no specific side, we're all just screaming at each other. Theo is turned completely around and the three of us are leaned forward.

"Everyone shut up!" Cam shouts, silencing the car. "Fighting isn't going to magically help us get un-lost."

"I don't think unlost is a word" Grayson interrupts awkwardly scratching his head.

"I don't care, here's what we're going to do." Cam opens the glove compartment and pulls out a map. "There's no connection here so Marlee you'll sit up here and read the map to Theo. Grayson and Connor will try and find connection to pull up the GPS and Theo will drive."

"What are you going to do?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Make sure you guys don't kill each other."

We eventually found our way back and made it to the correct town. The second we saw the beach over the small houses all of the aggravation and anger drifted away. A sense of peace and comfort filled me as I imagined my toes in the sand with the waves crashing over them.

Theo knew the rest of the way to the house by heart. We drove through a neighborhood until we saw the blue 2 story house. The driveway was big enough for 4 cars with a big porch. The grass was green and the second the car turned off you could hear the sound of the ocean.

Mom sat on the porch, playing with Ella. "Well finally you guys are here, I thought I was going to have to put out 5 missing persons reports."

"When did you guys get here?" Theo asks, climbing out of the car.

"2 hours ago."

Dave trots outside with his usual wide grin. "There they are!"

I gather my belongings and so does everyone else. I try to lug my suitcase up the stairs of the porch but when I failed Cam carried both of ours. I send him a grateful smile and follow the group, kissing Ella on the cheek.

The front door opens to a wide living room, kitchen and dining room combined. The back wall is a giant window with sliding glass doors that show a perfect view of the back porch and the ocean.

There's 2 bedrooms and a bathroom downstairs that the parents always take. We head upstairs which is also a open space with another couch, a tv and a snack bar. There are 2 bedrooms on each side along with a bathroom.

I go to my room which I love even though it's the smallest. It has a bay window that has been my happy place since I was young. Connor and Grayson go to their room which have bunk beds that for some reason their still obsessed with.

Cameron and Theo take the other two rooms that are pretty standard for a guest room. I throw my suitcase onto the bed and unpack my things into the dresser. Once I'm done I go to the window and sit, looking out.

Most of the houses in the neighborhood are vacation houses a lot like this one. Our schools spring break is a different time than most other schools so the beach was mostly deserted besides a few people 5 houses down.

"Marlee! Get your bathing suit on and come outside!" Connor bangs on my door. I hop out from the window and go to my dresser. I put on a bright red bikini and throw my hair into a ponytail to stop it from frizzing.

When I leave my room in a rush to get down to the beach I bump into Theo. "Oh, sorry."

I hoped he would say something about me being clumsy or tease me in a stupid way but instead he walks away while muttering "it's fine."

It was getting kind of late in the day but we always spend a couple hours at the beach on our first day before ordering pizza for a late dinner. When I get downstairs everyone else is already ready.

Ellas in a little baby bikini with some sunglasses and an adorable sun hat. She was slamming her hands on the glass door, excited to go swim. Mom opens the door and everyone pile out of the house. I go to follow when A hand locks around my wrist and I'm pushed against the wall.

"You look incredibly sexy." Cam whispers in my ear.

"Don't I always?" I retort, raising one of my brows.

"Always." He kisses me softly. Our parents know about us now and aren't as fazed at we thought they would be. But we're trying to refrain from the PDA until Theo removes the stick from his ass.

"Can we go swim now?" I pout, crossing my arms.

"Only if we can play mermaids." Cameron kisses the tip of my nose.

"Are you stupid?" I question, peering up at him. "Of course we can play mermaids."

After swimming for a couple hours we order a pizza and stuff our faces while watching a movie. Once done we all split up and go to bed. The next morning I take Ella outside to walk around the beach. The boys were all going to see some baseball game with Dave. The moms went shopping around the boardwalk.

Ella would run into the edge of the waves and squeal when the water approached her before waddling back over to me. After a couple hours of playing she got hungry so I grabbed her diaper bag and stroller. The boardwalk was only a 30 minute walk and I gave her some goldfish to hold her over.

I walked through the neighborhood burning up even though I was wearing shorts and my bikini top just like very one else at the beach. Ella and I got many looks from passing people when I got to the more crowded part of town.

Some older lady's thought she was my baby and gave me disappointed glances. A few guys couldn't stop starring at my chest and teens girls obsessed over how cute Ella was. After getting stopped a million times and fighting through crowds I made it to the street the moms were on.

They texted me to tell me they were at a little cafe that they always go to. I knew the directions immediately and walked straight there. When I got inside I sighed in relief at the cold air.

"There you are." Sara waved me over to her and moms table. "You have to try this muffin, it's to die for." I do as she says and physically groan at the delicious taste.

"What time are the boys getting back?" I ask, tearing apart another muffin and putting it in the stroller tray for Ella.

"The games still not over and it takes at least an hour to get there so they'll be a while." Sara looks at her watch and then back to me.

"We're gonna take Ella to some stores, do you want to come?" Mom asks before taking a sip of her coffee in a gigantic mug.

"I think I might just walk around town if that's okay?"

"Of course, do you have your diabetic bag?" She wonders. I pay my backpack that was slung around my shoulder and nod.

After talking with them for a minute I leave and walk back on the busy street. The neighborhood we stay in is pretty secluded but everything around it is a tourist spot so there's tons of people here. I just walk around for a while, taking in all the beautiful buildings and the ocean right behind them.

Somehow I end up getting lost on a secluded street. The beach was far away from me and the only thing around were old buildings that mostly looked abandoned. I'm about to turn around when two guys whistle at me.

"Looking good cutie, you lost?" One guy says, both looking in there mid 30s. They walk closer to me and I slowly back up.

"No" I say shortly, shaking my head. My heart feels like a ticking bomb ready to explode any second.

"We can give you a ride if you want, our cars right down the street." The other man winks, running a hand through his sparse amount of hair.

"I'm okay." I straighten myself up and clench my fist.

"Are you sure?" The first man persist, taking a step closer. I can feel the alcohol radiating off of him causing me to gag.

"I said I'm fine." I spit out, glaring. I act as tough as possible even if I feel like crumbling. Evan plays through my mind for the first time in what feels like forever. I'm so terrified it's going to happen again. It can't happen again.

"Don't be like that baby." The second guy tries to grab my arm. Before he can I punch him straight in the nose. "You bitch!"

"I'll call the cops." I threaten looking at the other guy while one holds his nose.

"We don't want any trouble." He shakes his head, grabbing his bloodied friend and pulling him away, the second they're out of sight I run.

I run all the way back to the empty house, the second I reach my room I collapse. I feel the anxiety building in me and before I can stop it, it overflows. The room closes in on me and my chest can fill with air fast enough.

"Marlee, honey you have to breathe." Mom says, I open my eyes and her and Sara are in front of me both with concerned looks. I don't remember how they got there or how long I've been here. My breathing slows and my brain stops spinning.

"What happened dear?" Sara speaks softly as if she spoke to loud I would shatter. I take another deep breath and look to them.

"I-I don't know. There were these guys, they didn't hurt me but I thought they would." I say quickly "and then I just thought of Evan and I felt like he was going to hurt me again."

Moms hand holds me cheek as I sob. Sara rubs my back and wipes some tears from my face. Mom leans in and kisses my forehead "I'm so sorry."

"I thought I was getting better." I wipe my nose, leaning my head against the wall.

"You are, one bad day doesn't make it a bad life. You have made so much progress, this is just a little bump in the road." Mom explains, her caring eyes pouring into me.

"You are the most strong person I know and you'll get through this." Sara soothes, brushing my hair back.

"Thank you guys." I sniffle while trying to control my panic. They lead me to bed where I fall asleep soon after. When I wake up I creep down the stairs hearing voices.

"Something happened to Marlee today." Sara says, I freeze and push myself against the wall to listen in.

"What?!" Cam basically shouts.

"Is she okay?!" Theo's voice was filled with worry and panic.

"Where is she?" Grayson asks loudly.

"She's fine and she's upstairs. She's not hurt just go easy on her today. She's been through a lot." Mom tells the boys.

"Well what happened?" Connor butts into the conversation.

The parents dive into the entire story they heard from me. Cam and Theo curse under their breaths angrily the entire time. I can hear Gray pacing back and forth and Connor trying to calm the older boys.

"I thought she was getting better?" Grayson question when the parents are done explain.

"She is honey. It's a process and she's going to have bad days" moms voice was soft and soothing like it always was.

"Just be extra nice to her for a while and let her have her space." Sara instructs and they all agree. I sneak back up to my room, lock the door and spend hours staring out at the ocean mindlessly.