Things seemed to finally settle down once we were back at the hotel. A huge wave of relief washed over my body as I tried to push the memory of the hospital lights out of my mind. Julia was going to be okay. We were all relieved when we finally put her in her bed for the night. The doctors had told us she would need to sleep it off.

An awkward silence filled the room. Everyone sitting around as if they had something they needed to say. I was still fuming though. Trying to relax with every breath I took.

"I still can't believe we let her go with that man," Aria cries. "How could we let her just walk away with a stranger!" Breygan avoided her, his head in his hands.

"Why did you guys let her drink at all?" I question, my brain trying to figure out how many drinks they had in the very short amount of time we were there. It felt like time flew by. Breygan had one drink in his hand and suddenly the three of them were too drunk to function. "This is why I told you not to drink any of your drink," I mutter to Staton.

"He didn't drink any of his?" Breygan looks up for the first time since we had gotten back to the hotel.

"No I didn't, because we shouldn't have been there in the first place. It wasn't the night to party man!" Staton's temple began to flare, he lunged forward just slightly glaring at Breygan. I knew he felt guilty for all of this. Beating himself up that he wasn't able to protect me from all these moments. These were life-changing events.

"Julia almost got raped tonight Breygan and you are fucking worried about if Staton drank any alcohol? What the hell is wrong with you!" My blood was boiling. Breygan leaned back in his seat, wiping his face with his hands. A loud groan leaves his lips.

"It wasn't my fault okay!" He shouts, jumping up from the couch as his face changed to the deepest shade of red.

"It was mine," Aria muttered, her voice cracking, a hiccup cutting her off, the tears pouring down her face like a river. "The man approached me first, and I pushed her into going with him, he handed her the drink. She never had any of our alcohol. She knew you were watching her and didn't like it. She ran away from home to be her own person and said you've been doing nothing but watching over her like a hawk since. She just wanted a minute to be alone." Aria shook her head.

"She thinks I've been overbearing, by caring, by wondering why she left her parent's house in the first place!" I couldn't believe what they were saying. It wasn't fair for Aria to put the blame on me.

It wasn't fair for Breygan to act as if it was all Aria's fault either.

"You guys have some serious issues to work out, and right now I feel like you two are fuckin' perfect for each other!" I began to pace. Tracing the living room with every movement. What the hell were we supposed to do now?

I thought the shooting was bad, I thought I would have a few days to be able to process those emotions before we had to immediately work on a whole new problem. I couldn't do this anymore.

"What am I supposed to do?" I looked at Staton, hoping my rock would be able to answer the question. He was struggling just as much though. Feeling like a failed protector, hoping he could make things better for us when we ran away. This was something we had talked about for a while, hoping that it would just be the two of us.

Why did we have to leave on a whim? We should have planned this out. We could have thought about it a little more, slowly pulled out cash, packed snacks, had clothes other than the few bags there were. We were not prepared for any of this and here I was getting blamed for being the only one trying to take care of everybody.

"I'm done!" I shout, throwing my hands in the air. "It's not worth it for me to try and take care of all of you! None of you give a shit, so I'm done." I finally took a seat. Staton leans on the couch behind me placing his hands on my shoulders.

"Maple, don't be like that." Breygan groans, rubbing his hands across his face one more time.

"Don't be like what!" Staton moves to the other side of the couch getting in Breygan's face. "Are you upset because she doesn't want to let you walk all over her anymore, allow you to cause all the fires and she will just put them out for you? How clueless are you to not realize that you may not have given Julia the drink tonight but you sure as hell didn't knock it out of her hands? Who was it that wanted to go to the damn club so bad? You! You were the one that wanted to go out and party. The two of us wanted to stay here, to get settled, and start thinking about what we were going to do as a group. Where are we going to live? How are we going to make money? You and Aria may think Maple and I are being party poopers or whatever the hell you want to call us, but it's cause we are the only ones that give a shit about any of our futures! Grow up and figure your own crap out, because if she is done, then I'm done too, and that will be on you guys to make it better." You could see the fire growing in Breygan's eyes. He wasn't going to answer him though. His jaw was clenched, his hands tightly wound into a ball.

Slowly he stood up from his seat, but Staton never backed down. Without another word Breygan left, heading for his room he closed the door behind him.

I glanced at the clock realizing it was near four in the morning. The people in the suites next to us were probably hating us right about now. My body craved sleep in a warm bed. Aching for the comfort of a mattress since I'd been stuck sleeping in the bed of the truck.

"I'm so sorry..." Aria whispers. She pulls her hair away from her face looking at me. "What can I do to fix this?" I shake my head. I wasn't sure if there was anything she could do to fix this. It was one of those things where we were just going to have to figure out how to deal with it and move on. Our new normal.

"You don't need to fix things with me, what you need to do is take care of your cousin. She needs you now more than ever and you haven't been there for her. This is not about me, this is not about us. It's about Julia." Aria nodded her head as if she was understanding what I was saying. Hopefully tonight would be a wakeup call and she and Breygan would get their crap together. We needed everyone in the group to work as a team.

That's the only way we will make it through this.

I got up off the couch, realizing there was nothing left to say. I left Aria to work through her feelings. Staton trailed behind me, closing the door to our room. I found myself staring in the mirror at my reflection, noticing the lines that were forming on my face. I was too young to be looking like this. The stress, the crying, the lack of quality sleep over the last three days had really taken a toll on me.

I grabbed a makeup wipe off the counter using it to remove whatever was left on my cheeks. I was so thankful the hospital let us just pay out of pocket, instead of contacting our parents. We had lied and told them we were on a vacation, much like spring break. The less they knew the better.

But they watched us with judging eyes.

Maybe they too knew we weren't ready for something like this.

Staton stands behind me and I can tell he was also looking over his reflection. His eyes pucker up as if they aren't too happy with what they see. His hair buzzed close to his head, his lips not curved like they normally were. For the first time in the six years, we've known each other, Staton didn't look like himself.

"Not happy with what you see?" I question, turning so I didn't have to stare at my reflection either. My hair was a mess, tangled from the events of the night. There was no way I was going to be able to handle any more situations like these.

"I'm not happy with how any of this has gone." He sighs, kicking at the floor. His hands find the counter, trapping me from leaving.

"I'm not either. We didn't deserve any of this. It was supposed to be so special when you and I finally ran away when we got married and left town. This has been nothing but a mess, things that no one should ever have to deal with. I guess I never realized how awful the world really was. I mean I know there's always been crime in Tacoma, but I figured that was just cause it was the city. I didn't realize the bad luck was going to follow us." I placed my hand on his cheek, feeling the scruff of his beard that was slowly working its way in.

"I'd take every bad thing away if I could." His voice was soft, a mere whisper. If I hadn't been looking at him I wasn't sure I would have heard him.

"Just by being here and being by my side you do take all the bad away. I wouldn't have made it through any of this without you." I reached towards him, pushing myself with my tippy toes, planting my lips against his.

The kiss started off sweet, before Staton pulled me in deeper, his hands wrapping around my legs begging to lift me up. I allowed him to pull my feet from the ground, planting me on the counter. He leaned even deeper into the kiss. His lips crashing with mine, his breaths quicker now than they were before. He planted every kiss like it was a bomb, setting off explosions under my skin. He pushed his body closer to me, closing the distance between us.

The light flickered for a moment, setting a wave of startle sparks tingling across my spine, but Staton had pulled me back in. His body tense, his hands working their way to my lower back as he shoves me into him.

I needed this.

I needed a moment to be just the two of us.

To feel all the passion we have, everything that's building up inside of me. I was able to finally release all the energy I'd been holding on to. Staton picks me up, startling me once again as he leaves the bathroom, dropping me on the bed.

He separates his lips from mine for just a moment, his breathing like a racing horse.

"Maple Baker, let's just go get married," He mutters, he pulls away but only to remove his shirt, his body crashing against mine, the weight of him comforting me.

"You mean like tomorrow?" I whisper, trying to catch my very own breath. Was he being serious about getting married? Or was he following the high of our young adult hormones?

"I mean like today," He smiles, his hands tugging at the edge of my dress.