Unfortunately, I barely saw Hannah for the rest of the week; She came in and out, but it wasn't like I wanted to sit her down and have a deep conversation about how her boyfriend sucks while she was rushing to get to work. Now, the weekend was already here, and she headed off to Drayden's house for the weekend before I even got back from my last class on Friday evening. Part of me wondered if she was avoiding me. Maybe she was embarrassed that Jax and I had witnessed that kind of behavior from her boyfriend; not that it was her fault. But, since I'd moved in, she hasn't been gone this long without at least checking in or trying to make a plan with me. I stretched out my arms, getting ready to get up for the day. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but Jax told me yesterday he had an idea. I made my way to the bathroom, brushing my teeth and taking a quick shower before returning to my own dorm. I pulled out my phone, seeing that I already had a text from Jax. Mason: Let me know when

Luckily for my growling stomach, there was a pizza place right across the parking lot. We were immediately hit with the air-conditioned interior and open seating. The friendly hostess brought us back to a booth as the scent of fresh pizza filled my nostrils. It didn't take long before we were seated across from each other and scanning the menu. "I could really go for a drink right now," I sighed as I viewed the selection of soft drinks. "Why did they have to make me 19?"Jax shrugged, "We both are 19."I looked around, making sure nobody was in ear shot. "No offense, but you look like you're 25." "I am 25," he chuckled. My mouth popped open for a second. "Really?" He nodded, "How old did you think I was?"Now it was my turn to shrug. "I guess I hadn't really thought about it, but I would have thought 21ish. Technically, I turn 21 in 4 months." "That explains why you can't handle your alcohol." I rolled my eyes, preparing to shoot him a comeback when the server came over. Since I

Hannah was right, the bouncer definitely had a crush on her. Not only did he willingly let us in, but he also let us skip the line. I tried my best to avoid making eye contact with the angry people who were still waiting their turn. Once inside, I forgot all about the people in line, and I was actually having a really good time with Hannah. We drank, we danced, and Hannah flirted with any semi-decent man in the bar. Even better still, was the sense of security I felt just knowing that Jax was here somewhere. I had stuck to my internal promise of not drinking too much more at the bar, but Hannah was spiraling faster than I could keep up with. It seemed like every time I turned around, she was taking a shot or had a refilled drink in her hand. I started trying to spill them or even take them myself when she had her back turned, but eventually she was a drunken, slurring mess. I watched as she clung to the neck of some man who was swaying her around the dance floor. It looked like she

Blake offered me a hand as Jax and I stood from the ambulance. I set the blanket down and removed my mask, following behind Jax as we started to leave the scene. "Hold on-" one of the EMTs said, "you guys should really get checked out at the hospital"My eyes widened and I shook my head. I didn't like hospitals, they reminded me of the worst days of my life. "We're going to decline treatment," Jax said in a matter of fact tone, "we're okay. Thank you for your help." Jax reached out a hand and I held on tight as he lead me away. The 4 of us quietly made our way away from the scene without being stopped again. Jax still had my hand held tightly in his, as if he was afraid I might break if he let go. When I looked to my left, I was surprised to find that Blake was also holding Hannah's hand. It made me happy to see; she had been through a hell of a lot in the last week. "So... what the hell was that?" Blake asked after a while of nobody talking. "I don't know," Jax said, "but we s

Only a minute later, Jax was back, draping a blanket around my shoulders and crouching in front of me again. I must have been a little out of it, because I had completely forgotten that I still had my shoes on. I sat still as he gently removed my shoes and discarded them on the ground before settling in beside me. I knew that Jaxon and I had a sort of... complicated... client-bodyguard relationship; but in times like this, I wasn't sure how close I could get to him. I felt like I needed him; I needed to have him close to me. But at the same time, I didn't want any continued awkwardness. Without overthinking too much, I closed the distance between us, curling into his warm side. I felt him stiffen momentarily, but after a second, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me tighter to him as he leaned us back onto the futon. “Em, I know that you're scared, but I won't let anything happen to you. I will keep you safe. The fire was unrelated, so you don't need to worry. They don