Jax sat next to me on the couch while Austin went out front with Kyle. Kyle said he needed to ‘talk’ with him, whatever that means. Austin had already bandaged my ribs and gave me some pain relievers so they weren’t sore or anything at the moment. Jax looked at me and his eyes were a beautiful bright blue. I could stare into them all day, but they were slightly big and filled with fear. I didn’t like it when he worried. “You okay?” he asked, his voice cracking.

I sighed and looked at my hands then back at him. My throat suddenly felt dry and I wiped at my forehead with the back of my hand and licked my drying lips. “You know, that’s all you guys have asked me. If I were okay.”

“And what did you tell us? I kind of forgot…” I know he didn’t forget. He isn’t that forgetful.

“That I’m fine.”

He looked at me closely, brows furrowing together. “Did you ever mean it?”

I thought that over a bit. Did I ever mean it? I know he wasn’t only talking about my ribs but also about my dad, I overheard him, Austin, and Kyle talking about it when they went to get the gauze. I finally just stared at Jax and said softly, almost heart-brokenly, “Ask me tomorrow…”

He looked at me sadly and hugged me tight to him, resting his chin on the top of my head. “It’ll be okay, I promise you that.”

There was nothing else I could do but take his word for it so I nodded as Kyle came back, followed by my brother who was looking tense. “Aussie…? You alright, bro?”

He just snapped his head to look at me then nodded quick. “Yeah, of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

I just shrugged and was about to say something else but just dropped the subject, Even though I still wasn’t convinced. I looked at everyone in the room and felt tension and drama in the air, I need to get out. “Hey guys, do you want me to get anything from the store, I need candy.” I got to my feet slowly and picked up my jean jacket, thrusting my arms into the sleeves.

“You’re not going out there!” yelled my brother protectively. “It’s snowing and you’re not fully healed. You could hurt yourself even more!” I was about to tell my brother he shouldn’t yell because of Thomas but then I realized him and mom went out so I just kept my mouth shut and let him yell. “Get back on that couch,” He pointed to it with anger. “And stay put!”

My brows rose at him and I tilted my head. “Why are you acting so…. Protective?”

“Because you are the only sister I have and I don’t plan on losing you to some frost bite and broken ribs!”

“Why are you yelling…?”

“Yeah, man,” Kyle gently said, putting a hand on Austin’s shoulder. “She just got some of her ribs bruised, I don’t thing it’s a good idea to yell at her.”

Austin’s expression slowly relaxed and he closed his eyes, as if to calm himself, then opened them and looked at me. “I’m sorry, Hun.” He wrapped his arms lightly around me and hugged, I hugged back.

“It’s alright, bro.” I rested my head on his shoulder and held onto him until I heard a car pulling into the driveway and the slam of a car door. I jumped away and looked up at him. His eyes quickly turned hard, cold, and dark then he pushed me toward Kyle. I kept looking at Austin worried and scared.

“Grab her and Jaxon, take them to your house, I’ll be there soon.” Austin firmly told Kyle and he nodded, grabbing my wrist softly and pulling me toward the back door, Jax following. We ran out the back and through the back yard. The snow was sticking to the ground and was probably at least three inches. We ran straight through the woods in our back yard and I almost lost Kyle and would’ve too, except that Jax was holding onto me and guiding me where to go. The tree branches were whacking me and I kept tripping over tree stumps and roots, my ribs aching. When we exited the woods I slumped over, breathing heavily from all of the running. The snow was covering my dark hair and it looked kind of like Austin’s. I hate it! The snow, I mean. It was cold and it covered every inch of my body, making me shiver violently as I fought to retrieve my breath. Kyle didn’t stop because he didn’t know that I did but Jaxon quit running and watched me. When I regained my breath, he grabbed onto my right arm.

“Come on!” He screamed and ran with me, not giving me time to protest. He was running too fast and before I could think about what was happening, we were at their house and Jaxon was shoving me inside lightly, getting in himself and shutting the door.

“What’s going on?” I asked, wetting my lip nervously and wheezing. My hair was dripping wet now and my clothes were soaked, I shook from the cold. Jaxon wrapped his arm around my shoulders in a side hug before leading me towards the fireplace that wasn’t lit yet then sat me down, sitting beside my freezing cold body. Kyle had disappeared, I don’t know where though, probably to get new clothes or something.

Jax took some of the logs that were beside the fireplace and threw them in, striking a match and starting a fire. “It’s complicated, Caroline.” He told me as he rubbed his hands together hastily, breathing on them to make them warmer.

“What do you mean ‘complicated’?” I asked slowly, staring at the features in his face as it stayed blank, showing no true emotion but worry. The only one I seem to see on him anymore.

“It’s hard to explain.” He grabbed my hands and started rubbing them and breathing on them like he did with his own and I smiled at him. His warm breath tickled my cold skin so much that I shivered. “Still cold?” He asked with a tilt of his head. I didn’t really know what to say at the moment so I nodded my head slightly, bringing my knees to meet my chest. “Alright, I’ll get you a towel to dry off then you can borrow some of my clothes while we put yours in the dryer.” Jax said as he rose to his feet and walked out of the room, probably to the hall closet to get the towels first. I stared at the burning embers and thought of my brother. As bright as the light that shone from the flames but also as dangerous as the flames itself sometimes. I missed my brother. What was he doing? Was Thomas beating the sense out of him? Was he dead… I stopped thinking right there and blinked away tears as Kyle and Jaxon draped a towel over me, hugging me tight.

“It’ll be okay, dear,” Kyle tried to reassure me, fixing his glasses on the bridge of his nose and sighing. “It’ll be alright.”

Before I could respond to Kyle, the front door flew open and Austin stood there, straightening his shirt and wiping dried blood off of his hands. But it wasn’t only his hands that were covered in blood. He was covered in it from head to toe! I gaped at him and went wide-eyed. He, ironic enough, had a triumphant grin spread across his bloodied face. He looked… victorious? Then a thought dawned on me and my eyes widened even more, my jaw dropped. “Austin…”

He looked at me, then down at himself, and back to me. “It’s not mine,” He started wiping the blood off of his face and I saw no cuts or marks. “See?”

I sighed from relief but softly shook my head. “I know it’s not yours. But is Thomas…”

“Dead?” He said and leaned against the wall, stretching. “No. Knocked out? Yes.” He cracked that one of a kind Austin grin and walked towards where I sat. He barely touched my cheek before he yanked his hand back, cursing softly. “Carolina, you’re freezing!” The towel was still wrapped around my shoulders and I glanced at my brother, teeth chattering. “If I would’ve known you would be soaked I would have brought some clothes.”

“It’s really okay, Aussie,” I reassured him, smiling a weak but meaningful smile. “Jax said I could borrow some of his clothes while mine dry.”

“Wow,” Austin said and turned to Jax who was holding a navy T-shirt and grey sweatpants in his hand. “That was…thoughtful of him.” He gave a look of suspicion and helped me up off the floor, taking the outfit from Jax’s hands and placing it in mine. “Now go get dressed. I got something important to tell you.” He didn’t have a smile on his face at all, so I knew that he didn’t like what he was gonna tell me. But I nodded and held the clothes tight to my chest as I turned on my heels and walked out of the room and down the hall, looking at the pictures that hung on the wall. I stopped and stared for a minute. I saw what looked like a six-year-old boy holding his little baby brother, I knew who was who instantly. Kyle had a little adorable smile and was holding Jaxon, who was staring up at him in awe. Kyle’s hair was a little lighter than it was now and Jax didn’t have any. I laughed softly and looked at the other pictures but once I got to a specific one, I stood still and didn’t move. Just stared. I saw the picture that Kyle took of me and Jax. I was on his back and he was holding on to my thighs to make sure I wouldn’t fall. We were about nine and my hair was longer than it is now. Jax still looked the same. In the picture, his smile lit up the whole room, it made me melt inside. That was one of the best days of my life. My hands were tangled in his hair as I grabbed it to keep from falling because he pretended to lose balance. We were both laughing. Smiling. I let a sigh escape my slightly parted lips. I miss the good ol’ days… I miss them. I just shook my head to get rid of the thoughts then went down the hall some more and walked into the bathroom which was a few doors down. I stripped off my clothes and tossed them on the floor then I slipped on the navy shirt and the sweatpants before grabbing the hair tie off of my wrist and tying my hair back into a high ponytail with it. I was happy to be out of the soaking wet clothes and into some dry ones. Then I paused. And sniffed. I grinned instantly. That was Jax’s smell. The clothes smelled just like him and I loved that smell. Well, what was I gonna expect, these are Jaxon’s clothes after all. I lifted up the bottom of the shirt to my face and inhaled the sweet fragrance that was all Jaxon Lanzet. I smelled Axe Body Spray and cigarette smoke. But that last part was probably from being around his brother. Kyle had been no older than me when he first tried a cigarette. He was hooked on them ever since. Jaxon doesn’t smoke though, Kyle won’t let him and Jax says he doesn’t want to make his short life even shorter.

Jaxon has told me many times before that yes, now he’s scared of death but when the time comes, and he’s ready to let go, he won’t be scared anymore and won’t bother putting up a fight. He convinced himself that people are born, they grow old, and then they die. That’s just how things work. I straightened the T-shirt and slowly opened the door to the bathroom, walking out after putting my clothes in the laundry shoot then walked back into the living room, seeing that the fire was no longer blazing. Austin was sitting on the couch with his eyes closed as he laid his head back, then he let a sigh escape his lips.

“Man, it’s like a funeral in here,” I blurted out as I took a seat next to Kyle. “It’s too depressing.” Austin jumped a little as if he wasn’t expecting me to be back so soon then he looked dead at me. No expression whatsoever. “What?” I asked, clearly confused. Aussie opened his mouth but before anything could come out, someone entered the room and my jaw dropped when I saw who it was.

“D-Dad?”

My Dad was leaning against the doorway and he wore an uncomfortable looking smile on his face. I haven’t seen him since, well, ever. He left me and Austin a few years after I was born. He had a clean-shaven face and hair exactly like my brother’s. You could definitely tell that they were father and son. You could also tell that everyone in the room kind of felt a little awkward and uncomfortable at the moment but finally Kyle spoke.

“Hey, Mr. Skye. Do you remember me?”

My dad raised his eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t I remember you, Kyle? You were Aussie’s best friend since grade school, am I correct?”

“Yes, sir.” Kyle grinned.

“Son, please call me Johnny.” My dad said nicely but his face was still twisted in an uncomfortable way. He had a determined yet mean look in his charcoal eyes.

Kyle just nodded and pulled on Jax. “And this is Jaxon, my little brother and Carolina’s ‘special friend’.” I heard Kyle’s laughter ring throughout the house. I thought I even heard Austin chuckle a bit. Jaxon on the other hand, was as red a tomato and glaring at his brother who smiled cheekily in return. I blushed a light crimson as well and looked down.

“Dad, this is Carolina,” Austin wistfully said and placed his hand on my shoulders before pulling me close to him for a hug.

Dad looked puzzled for a minute and leaned closer, looking into my eyes. He looked shocked that he had a daughter and that made Austin cringe by my side, narrowing his eyes. “Carolina?”

“Hi, daddy,” I said, my voice cracking on ‘daddy’. I looked down at mine and my brother’s All Stars shoes that were on our feet as I pushed back all of my tears and blinked my eyes a few times. I felt scared a little to see my dad standing in front of me.

“My have you grown…,” He whispered in a cracked voice as he looked me over. He had deep circles under his eyes and I could tell he probably hadn’t slept for hours on end. It almost made me exhausted just looking at him, “I haven’t seen you since you were a little tike. Around five if I remember it correctly.”

“You were gone for a long time, pop. We changed. People change,” Austin said hoarsely and narrowed his eyes at our father like it was all his fault. Well, technically it was all our dad’s fault in Austin’s mind.

I sighed and mentally shot myself and Aussie for listening to how cruel and heartless he said when he barked those words out to our father. Sure, dad hasn’t always been there for us but he was here now and that’s all that mattered, right?