I cracked my eyes open, looking around Jack's room. He was asleep next to me, his arm lazily slung over my torso.

                "Hey," I said, elbowing him.

                He grunted and buried his face against the pillow. "It's too early to be alive. Go back to being dead."

                I elbowed him again. "Rise and shine, princess."

                He picked his head up and glared at me through tired eyes. "What? What do you want? I was sleeping, asshole."

                "Not anymore," I said, sitting up. He let his arm slide from my torso. "Is Delaney home?"

                "How should I know? You've been awake longer than I have," he grumbled, dropping his head back onto the pillow.

                "Sure, let me go strutting out of your bedroom so he can see me. I'd love to tell him about last night," I said, grinning.

                "Stop making it sound like we had sex. We just made out," Jack said, rolling over and rubbing his eyes.

                "We could have sex," I said, kissing his neck.

                He shoved my head away. "Oh no, I don't fuck guys who wake me up this early in the morning."

                He sat up and leaned against the headboard, rubbing his eyes again. He reached over and grabbed my phone off of his nightstand, tossing it to me.

                "Your friends kept texting and calling," he said.

                I opened it and saw that I did have a bunch of texts and missed calls from the guys I lived with. They kept going through the night, asking me where I was, if I was alive, saying that if I was dead they got my room, shit like that.

                I locked my phone and set it down because I didn't know how else to feel right now. Had they actually been worried about me?

                Jack put his hand on my shoulder. "Shocking, isn't it? Who knew that many people actually gave a shit about your annoying ass."

                I shoved him. "Shut up, Jackass."

                "What are we, Ace?" he asked.

                "Tired."

                "Okay, smartass."

                "There's a lot of ass mentioning this morning."

                "It's the only ass you're getting. Now, what are we?"

                "Confused."

                Jack sighed. "Ain't that the damn truth." He looked up at the ceiling. "Do you have work today?"

                I shook my head. "Nah. I have today and tomorrow off."

                "Let's go on a date, I guess. No better way to find out whether or not we have a chance." He shot me a bitter grin. "Also, I'm not going to turn a blind eye to your faults. Making out with you doesn't change the fact that I know you're dangerous."

                "You know what's dangerous? Delaney finding us in bed together," I said.

                "He's probably hungover at his friend's house," Jack said, getting out of bed. "But just in case, I'll check."               

                He left his bedroom and I looked around. There was a picture of him with a couple who were clearly his parents, framed on his nightstand. I eyed it carefully, looking at their expressions as they stood frozen in time on a beach. But they all looked genuinely happy, Jack's mom wrapping an arm around him and his father leaning in close to them.

                Jack came back into his room, running a hand through his messy red mane. "The coast is clear, we're here alone. I'll take you home so you can shower and change. I'll pick you back up at noon. Don't eat anything heavy and we can get lunch."

                He tugged on a clean shirt and grabbed his car keys. I got out of his bed and made sure I had everything before following him out to the car.

                We both got in and he drove towards my house. I stared out of the window, wondering if I would change my mind about everything now that I was sober.

                But some part of me longed to try this. I liked being close to Jack and I knew it. Maybe I'd stop coming undone if I just quit fighting all the urges I was getting. I'd just be careful about it, that was all.

                Jack pulled into my driveway, putting the car in park. "See you at noon."

                "I won't smell like alcohol anymore," I said, sniffing my shirt. Shit, I smelled like I was made of booze.

                "Good. You're gagging me. Get out," he said.

                I climbed out of his car and went up into my house. I kicked off my shoes and sniffed my shirt again. Apparently I drank more than I thought last night. But Jack must've given me pills at some point to help me fight off a hangover, because I felt pretty alright. Besides, I could still remember last night, so that was always a positive sign.

                "Ace!"

                I spun around and just barely managed to duck away from Jer's fist. The others were behind him, watching me in annoyance.

                "What a welcome home," I said, stepping away from Jer before he could strike me.

                "You're such a piece of shit!" Jer snapped. "You ignored all three of us. Christ, I thought we were really going to get a call that they found your corpse strangled under a damn bed."

                "I knew you cared about me," I said, smirking.

                "I'm going to strangle you and stuff you under Ike's bed," Jer snarled.

                "Not my bed. He'll start to decay and it'll smell bad," Ike said.

                "The least you can do is text us," Christian said, tone annoyed.

                I felt a similar annoyance, though. None of us could bring ourselves to say we cared about each other. This was how we showed it. With anger and threats and a hidden concern.

                I looked at Christian and Ike, with their matching expressions of annoyance. But I knew that when he was thirteen, Ike had waited with his little brother for a mother who would never come home from work. A mother who hadn't answered her phone when they called her over and over again because she was dead and no one would know it until they finally got a call about the fire that had taken her life.

                I looked down at myself, smelling of booze and messy from the deep sleep of the intoxicated. Me. They had been worried about me. They didn't want to lose me.

                But I didn't understand that. My own family had surely been happy to wake up and realize that I was gone for good. So why weren't these guys happy when I didn't come home?

                "Shit, you smell like a fucking bar, Ace," Jer said, glaring at me.

                "I don't even work today. Don't lecture me, mom," I said.

                "Someone has to since your mom ran out before she got the chance," he grumbled.

                "Harsh," I said, the smirk spreading on my face. But it felt fake. My emotions were a jumbled mess in my stomach.

                "Next time, answer your phone," Ike said. "If any of us are dying young, it's you. So if you're not dead, let us know. We were already trying to figure out what to do with all the junk in your room."

                "I'm still kicking. Don't touch anything in my room," I said.

                "Piece of shit," Jer snapped and stormed away into the kitchen.

                "He's not wrong. You have a phone for a reason. Use it," Christian said before disappearing after Jer.

                Ike shook his head at me. "Go shower. You smell like an alcoholic. You can't afford to be one of those."

                We looked at each other for a moment, and I could read it in Ike's eyes. He wanted to say something else, something more. He wanted to scold me the way he'd scold his younger brother. Maybe he wanted to tell me he was glad I was okay.

                But instead, he just turned and walked away from me. I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to remind myself that this was how we lived. The world kept a watchful eye on its prey, and if it knew you loved something, it would snatch it from you and laugh in your face as you begged for it back.

                I went upstairs and into the bathroom, stripping out of my clothes and stepping into a warm shower. I let the water run over me, closing my eyes and leaning against the wall as my muscles relaxed. My hair plastered against my face and I left it there, suddenly too tired to move.

                I wondered what it felt like to be one of those people who thought that the world was beautiful and full of goodness. Sometimes I wished I was that naïve.

                I forced my limbs to move and cleaned myself before shutting the water off. I wrapped a towel around my waist and looked up at the mirror.

                Sometimes I was shocked by the man staring back at me. Narrowed eyes, sharp features, and an expression mixed between mean and cocky. Had that man really once been a boy with big, wide eyes and a gentle smile? How had I been molded into this?

                Shaking my head, I left the bathroom. No sense dwelling on it. We all had to grow up, and not all flowers that bloomed were beautiful.

                I got dressed and towel dried my hair, pulling my beanie on without bothering to fix it. It messily spilled out from my beanie and I swept it away from my eyes.

                I dropped back onto my bed, folding my hands behind my head and staring up at the ceiling, my mind wandering to places it shouldn't.

                Would Alexis have stayed if I'd just been able to tell him that I cared about him? That he was my brother and I was sick of losing my family?

                Closing my eyes, I pictured my mother and father sitting in the backyard together, watching me play on the grass. Why did she leave? Did she leave for the same reasons that I did? Why wouldn't she take me with her?

                Had she sensed my father's personality leaking out of me?

                I snapped my eyes open and sat up. No, no, no. I was nothing like my father. I was Ace Foley, and I was my own man. I'd been out of his clutches for five years. He didn't have a hold over me anymore.

                I got up and went downstairs. The guys had all left for work, the house empty and silent. I found myself missing Micah. Even a timid little five year old could keep me occupied. But now I had no one until Jack came to pick me up. Hopefully he would come early.

                I grabbed a book and spread myself on the couch in the living room. A book was always a good way to get my mind off of things.

                Luckily, the book did manage to distract me, and before I knew it, my phone was buzzing. I jumped up and left the house, making sure I locked the door before sliding into Jack's car.

                He tossed a CD at me. "Good enough for you?"

                "Don't know the band," I said.

                He snatched it back. "Well, it's good enough for me."

                He popped the CD in and let he first track start as he began to drive. I leaned back against the seat and looked out of the window.

                "Where are we going?" I asked.

                "We're going on the least cliché date in history," he said.

                "Lunch and a film?"

                "Hell no, there aren't even any good films out. Lunch and winging it," he said.

                I pat my pocket for my wallet, feeling it there. I guess I was already on a role after last night. Might as well blow some money on food too.

                Jack drove of us out of town and I raised an eyebrow. "Worried someone will catch us?"

                "Nah, no good restaurants in town besides the one you work at. And I doubt you want to go there on your day off," he said.

                "True," I said, rolling the window down so I could feel the wind whip against my face. Fresh air felt good. It helped clear the stuffy thoughts from my mind.

                "You're like a golden retriever," Jack said, glancing at me.

                "I wish I'd been born a golden retriever. Then I'd just get pampered and never have to work a day in my life," I said, rolling the window back up.

                "You'd be the pup to get stuck with a family who chains you up outside," Jack said. "You have pretty shitty luck."

                "I'd just bite them until they put me down," I said.

                "Wow, what a fantastic life," he said. He glanced at me again. "You ever have any pets?"

                "A few fish. They all died, I was always heartbroken, and my dad refused to buy anymore," I said. "Always begged him for a dog, but he never caved."

                "We have a dog. He's old and gross and smells awful now, but he used to be kind of cute," Jack said. "My mom babies the poor creature."

                I tried to think of something to talk about, realizing how bad I was at this. I was used to bar small talk, which never lasted long and usually ended with me drunk, high, or laid.

                This was different. This was actual conversation I had to carry on. The only people I ever really had full conversations with were Ike, Christian, and Jer nowadays. So naturally, this wasn't a very strong spot for me.

                Jack seemed at ease, though, as if he had expected this lack of conversation. Instead, he turned the music up higher and focused on his driving.

                He pulled into a parking lot a little while later and I looked up. I let out a disbelieving laugh as I recognized the nice restaurant.

                "How much money do you think I have?" I asked. "Hell no. This place is wicked expensive."

                "Good thing you're not buying," Jack said, getting out of the car. "You're just paying the tip."

                "This is the first time in my entire life I'm glad to hear that I'm only getting the tip," I said in relief.

                "You are disgusting and I highly recommend bathing in holy water," Jack said, leading me into the restaurant.

                "Two?" a cheery waitress asked.

                Jack nodded and she grabbed menus and led us to a table in a quiet part of the restaurant. She took our drink orders and left us to look over the menus.

                "Ace, have you ever dated before?" Jack asked.

                I shook my head. "Nope."

                "This is going well," he said.

                "Sorry we didn't all grow up like you, Jackass."

                "I'm going to change my name."

                "I'm still going to call you Jackass."

                He sighed and looked down at his menu, eyes scanning over his choices. I copied him, trying to find the most delicious sounding thing. Hey, if he was paying, I was going to treat myself.

                The waitress returned with our drinks and we gave her our orders. She left to put them in and Jack leaned back in his chair, looking up at me.

                "Look, if you're serious here, we need to both be honest," he said. "I can't date someone who I can't even drop my guard around. I'm not saying we're going to dive into a relationship. I'm just saying that we need to work on this. Because right now, you're the last person I'd be willing to do trust falls with."

                "I'm always honest," I said, snickering.

                "Yea, sure, and I'm planning on dropping out of college to be a prison bitch," he said.

                "Should I be jealous?"

                He flicked his straw wrapper at me. "You can't be afraid to be honest with me."

                "I'm not afraid," I said, brushing the wrapper off of the table and kicking it away from us.

                "You're afraid that if anyone learns too much about you, it could come back to bite you. You keep a low profile so no one can find you." The meaning was clear.

                I narrowed my eyes at him. "How much did my friends tell you?"

                "Nothing. I Googled you to see if you had a criminal record when you first got involved with Dex." He raised his hands innocently. "Don't give me that look; it was a plausible concern. Anyways, you were a total ghost. Which didn't make sense considering you work at the most popular restaurant in town. You should've been on their website, or in their group pictures, or even in a newspaper article about the place. But nothing."

                I looked down, realizing that I was playing with my napkin. "I asked to keep my name out of all of that."

                "Because you were afraid your family would search for you," he said.

                "I've never looked up my own name. I doubt they have, either," I said, forcing myself to meet his eyes. "You don't get it, do you? I ran away for a lot of reasons. My family was a nightmare. I doubt they ever came looking for me."

                "Then keep up the low profile, because they did," he said.

                I tore the napkin, my face paling a little. "What?"

                "Your dad had some pretty nice missing flyers for you. A few newspaper articles. Some cries for help online. Ace, he's still looking for you," he said. "It's none of my business and maybe I shouldn't be telling you this. But if what he did to you was bad enough that you've kept hidden this long, then you should know to keep hiding."

                I stared at him, not seeing him. My father had looked for me? Hell, according to Jack, my father was still looking for me. But why? Why wasn't he happy that I was gone?

                He didn't love me. He couldn't. That's not what love was supposed to be. It shouldn't be emotional abuse, caging your own child in your possessive world. If that was love, then I never wanted to experience it again.

                "Let him try to find me," I said, forcing a grin despite how shaken up I felt inside. "Even if he does, I'm 21 and he can't do anything."

                "This is what I mean about the whole honesty thing," Jack said. "I know you're afraid of him finding you, regardless of how old you are. So quit pretending around me. I'm not going to judge you for it. Ace, you have your reasons."

                How good it would be to drop my grin and share the weight of this terror with someone else. But I didn't know what it felt like to walk around without my burdens, so I kept the grin on my face and just met Jack's eyes.

                Jack sighed. "Okay, okay, baby steps. Got it. Look Ace, you said you wanted a chance, and that's what I'm trying to give you. But you have to take it."

                "I'm here, aren't I?" I said.

                "Baby steps," he said, sighing again.

                "What about you? What skeletons are in your closet?" I asked.

                "Nothing major," he said. "Although I do have an overwhelming terror of the fact that I graduate college soon. I'm not prepared to work and pay taxes and kill spiders by myself."

                "At least you have a shot at making good money," I said. I'd probably be stuck as a waiter for the rest of my life. Not much available to guy who ran away at 16 and had a limited education.

                "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to make a lot of money. But money isn't everything. I don't want to live my life just working to earn cash that I have no time to spend because I'm so busy working for it. I want to travel and have a family and spend an obnoxious amount of time watching movies and reading books." He swirled his straw around his drink. "I want to live my life and be happy."

                "I spend most of my time working. I don't know what I'd do if I had a lot of extra time. I barely know what to do with these days off," I said.

                "You have to find your hobbies. When I have time off, I like to watch movies and study the techniques used in them. Or I read books. I also like to go for walks," Jack said, shrugging.

                I frowned, realizing that I didn't actually have any hobbies. I'd never really had any time for them. I'd always been working, and when I wasn't working, I'd been babysitting Micah.

                Jack noticed my expression. "We can try a little hiking tomorrow, if you want. There's a fair trail not too far from here."

                "Yea, sure." God, how had this become my life? When had everything changed?

                The waitress came and set our food down for us, leaving us to eat. I dug in, savoring the flavor of the delicious meal. It was always a blessing to eat something other than pasta.

                Jack and I ate in comfortable silence. When we were done, the waitress gave us our check and Jack pulled out his wallet.

                I checked the price and grabbed my wallet, making sure to leave a good tip. I hated people who didn't leave nice tips. The worst were people who would leave me notes instead of cash.

                "Generous tip. First generous thing I've ever seen you do," Jack said, standing up.

                I copied him and tucked my wallet back into my pocket. The two of us left the restaurant and got back in Jack's car.

                "What do you want to do? I didn't plan anything past lunch," he said.

                "Let's get some CDs," I said. "There's a store about fifteen minutes from here we can buy them at."

                Jack started the car. "I know the one you're talking about."

                So we drove to the store. We both randomly grabbed a few CDs and paid for them before going back to Jack's car. He picked one out of the bag and put it in the player, beginning to drive around.

                And that's what we did for the day. We drove around and listened to our CDs and Jack occasionally stopped where the scenery was nice so we could relax. We talked about the schools we had gone to and our favorite shows and movies. We talked about bands and I listened to Jack go on a highly amusing rant about vaccination. It was all easy chat, nothing too deep and personal, but enough to break the silence and map out future territories of conversation.

                As it got late, Jack drove to another nice spot and parked the car. The sun was starting to set below the line of trees in front of us, and Jack turned the music down.

                "Sometimes it frustrates me that you're human," he said.

                "I know you were expecting me to actually be a wombat, but this is my true form," I said.

                "Sometimes it frustrates me that you were born with the ability to speak," he said.

                I smirked. "I can do a lot more with my mouth."

                "Prove it," he said.

                I leaned over and kissed him, his arms wrapping around me to hold me closer. I cupped his cheek in my hand as I kissed him, the music from the CD playing low in the background of the moment.

                Jack slowly pulled away from my lips, still holding me close. "You have a chance, Ace."

                "I'm taking it," I said, and kissed him again, letting go of all my fears for the moment to be closer to Jack. He was offering me a chance, and I wasn't going to pass it up.