𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐏𝐎𝐕

"Are you sure you guys have to head back today?" Nora asks, toying with the hem of her shirt between her index finger and thumb as she sits on the edge of my bed.

I place a folded shirt inside my open suitcase on the floor and take a seat beside Nora.

"Yeah," I sigh. "The ride will be a lot easier for me to handle since it's only Thursday."

"Can you text me as soon as you get home?" she asks.

I give her a small smile. "Of course I will," I say, wrapping my arms around her.

She returns the gesture as we sit on the bed, hugging each other for a few moments.

A soft knock sounds from the door as it slowly opens with Jax's head poking through.

"Hey, Al. The car is all packed up," he says softly.

"I'll give you two some privacy," Nora says as she stands slowly and makes her way to the door.

Jax opens the door more as he steps inside, bowing his head playfully as Nora makes her way past him. Once she is out of the room, he strolls over to the bed and plops down beside me.

I lay my head on Jax's shoulder as the scent of his cologne envelops me. He smells like spiced sandalwood and warm lavender, making me want to stay like this forever. I look up at him as he lowers his head, placing a delicate kiss on my forehead.

"I guess we should get going before traffic picks up, huh?" I murmur.

Jax's lips pull at the corners slightly, and tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear as he says, "whenever you're ready, love. Don't rush yourself."

"Promise you'll drive carefully?" I ask nervously.

He holds up his pinky with a mischievous grin. "I pinky promise."

I let out a soft chuckle as I gently curl my pinky around his, feeling the warmth radiate between us. He brings our hands together, kissing the palm of his hand beside mine as our gazes lock.

"You kiss your pinky promises?" I ask curiously.

"Of course. It seals the promise," he says with a smirk. "Or so my niece informed me."

I lay my open hand against his cheek, feeling the rough stubble tickle my palm as I bring our foreheads together and draw in a deep breath. Jax places his hand on the back of my neck, rubbing his thumb soothingly beneath my hairline.

The feel of tears prick my eyes as I blink them back and whisper, "I'm ready."

Ana, Jax, and I make our way outside after a tearful goodbye from Nora. I feel horrible leaving her here, but she should talk to Gareth by herself to figure out a plan. Even though she's barely considered pregnant, it's better to have something in place now rather than later.

"Bye! I love you guys!" Nora shouts from the doorway.

We turn around one last time as we wave up to her when a black sports car suddenly pulls into the driveway. I look over to Jax, quickly noticing how tense his body language has changed. I walk over to him as he snakes his arm around my waist, shifting his weight beneath him.

We stare at the car for a moment before Gareth climbs out, pulling his sunglasses off his face and moving them to hang on his shirt. He stops short, noticing us standing on the sidewalk as he nods in Jax's direction.

"You guys heading out?" Gareth asks curiously.

Jax nods before saying, "Yeah. Allie's car has officially been deemed totaled, so I'm driving them up and coming back tonight."

"Oh, alright. Well, you guys have a safe trip. I'll see you at the studio tomorrow, Jax?" he asks as he walks up the walkway to Nora.

Jax looks genuinely perplexed as he answers, "I'll be there."

I shake my head slightly with confusion as I look up at Jax. "Are you sure everything's okay?" I ask, motioning towards Gareth.

Jax nods with a tight-lipped smile, "Yeah. I'm just not sure how we're recording without a drummer."

My eyes widen as they dart between Gareth and Jax. "What do you mean without a drummer?" I ask, feeling stunned. "Did Casey leave the band?"

He sighs as he wraps his arm around my shoulder and tells me everything that happened when he went to his hotel room a few days prior. From the derogatory comments, to throwing Jax into a glass coffee table, and finally, Jax leaving not knowing if the band was still standing.

My hand covers my mouth in shock as I slowly shake my head. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to cause any—"

He quickly takes my face in his hands, cutting my sentence off before I could finish.

"This isn't your fault, Allie," he says shaking his head. "We can replace a band member, but I can't replace you."

I search his eyes for any signs of uncertainty, coming up empty as I give him a small smile, leaning in to press my lips to his.

"Are you sure?" I ask, feeling slightly selfish at the way my heart races with excitement at the thought of him moving closer.

"I'm sure. Now, let's get you back home," he says, opening the car door for me.

After an hour of traveling, my grip finally loosens around Jax's hand. I didn't realize just how hard I was squeezing until I saw my knuckles were white from the pressure.

"I'm sorry," I say, rubbing my other hand across Jax's knuckles, attempting to soothe them. "I didn't realize I was squeezing that hard."

"Don't be sorry, love. You can squeeze as hard as you need to," he says, briefly looking at me with a reassuring glance before returning his eyes to the road. "How are you feeling?"

I let out a shaky breath before replying, "I'm a little better now."

Giving me a side-eye, he moves his hand to my thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Are you sure?" he asks softly.

I slip my pinky around his and bring it to my mouth to "seal the promise," as he called it, and whisper, "pinky promise."

I keep our pinkies intertwined in my lap and take in a deep, shuddering breath to help ease my anxiety as we pass state lines.

Only a few more hours and we will be safe at home.

My phone dings in my lap as I flip the phone over to see a text message from Ana.

"Girl, I'm right here why are you texting me?" I chuckle.

"Oh, just open it," she replies.

I slide my thumb across the screen, opening the incoming message as my heart nearly skips a beat. It's a picture she took of me kissing the pinky promise between Jax and I with a caption that says, "was too cute to not capture."

I save the photo to my phone's gallery as I send a copy to Jax's in a text. Thankfully, he was able to grab a new phone while he was out yesterday.

I open my eyes, feeling slightly disoriented after accidentally falling asleep, to see familiar roads pass by my window. The radio gives a soft hum you can barely distinguish within the confined space of the vehicle. Turning my head slowly, I catch a glimpse of Jax mouthing the words to the song that plays through the speakers as his finger lightly taps against the steering wheel.

Adjusting myself in the seat, I feel the warmth of Jax's hand resting against my thigh as I grab hold of it and give it a gentle squeeze.

He turns his head to the side slightly before returning his attention to the road. "Good morning," he says softly. "Did you enjoy your nap?"

I lay my head back on the seat, instantly mesmerized as I stare at his profile. "Surprisingly, yes. How much longer until we're there?" I ask with a groggy voice.

"We'll be home in like fifteen minutes," Ana chuckles from the back seat.

I sit up instantly, gawking out my window as we drive past the Dunkin' Donuts we stopped at on the way to Boston just a few weeks ago. My stomach drops with disappointment as tears well in my eyes.

How could I sleep more than half of the way home? These were the last moments I have with Jax until God knows when, and I wasted it on sleep. I silently wipe my eyes, not wanting them to know I'm upset as I let out a shaky breath.

Jax's hand squeezes my thigh slightly as he looks over at me. "What's wrong, Al?"

"I'm fine," I say, trying my hardest to mask the sadness in my voice.

"You know I can see your reflection in your window, right?" Ana announces.

I roll my eyes as I turn my head to look at Jax. "I didn't mean to fall asleep," I say as a lump forms at the base of my throat.

"It's okay, Al. You needed to rest," he reassures as he grabs hold of my hand, interlacing our fingers seamlessly together. "I didn't plan on leaving right away."

I lean across the center console and gently press my lips to Jax's cheek, feeling his smile grow as his stubble pricks against my lips.

A few minutes later, Jax pulls the SUV into my small driveway as he looks around through the windshield.

"So, this is your place?" he asks curiously, taking the keys out of the ignition and tucks them into the front pocket of his jeans.

Ana lets out an exhausted grunt as she opens her door and lets her legs dangle outside. "Yeah, isn't it the biggest mansion you've ever seen?" she jokes as she hops out.

Jax chuckles and hits the button on the roof to open the trunk for Ana as he opens the door and exits the vehicle.

I take off my seatbelt and toss my cell phone into my purse on the floor as my door suddenly opens beside me. Jax holds his hand out to me as I place my hand in his and carefully step out of the vehicle, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. The air up here feels easier to breathe in, not as harsh as the big city.

"It's beautiful up here," Jax comments as he walks toward the back of the SUV. "The mountains were an incredible sight on the way up."

"Yeah," I say, leaning against the tail light. "It's quiet up here. I can sit outside on my back porch and just think."

He removes my suitcase and one of Ana's from the spacious trunk as he backs up, giving me room to shut it for him. We make our way up the small steps as we stand in front of the entrance to the house. I place my hand on the handle, hesitating before opening it as I look up at him.

"Just a warning, it's nothing like the Airbnb," I warn, then slowly open the door.

As we walk inside, I reach for the light switch, brightening the inviting living room space. Thank God I cleaned up before we went on vacation. If the girls were here, I'd be embarrassed to have Jax walking inside my messy home.

"It's better than the Airbnb," he says, stepping further inside.

I give him a small smile as I take his hand in mine, guiding him past the navy blue couch. Pushing open my bedroom door, I welcome him inside as I sit gingerly on my bed, sinking into the wine-colored duvet. He sits beside me, carefully placing his arm around my waist.

"We should probably talk about what to do, huh?" I ask shyly.

He presses his lips together, forming them into a straight line before nodding.

"I'm not sure how we can make this work," I shake my head. "Trevor would never allow me to move away with the girls."

"I wouldn't expect you to move them away from their father, Allie," he says with understanding.

My chest tightens, trying to find a plausible solution that would benefit everyone, and not just ourselves. There should be a handbook for this called, "Falling In Love With A Rockstar For Single Mothers." I wonder if I could find that on Amazon, or even Etsy.

"Let's figure it out as we go," I suggest. "We can video chat for a while, and we can come up with a plan as we go. We don't have to make big decisions right this second."

He smiles brightly as he cups my face in his hands softly. Pulling me into him as our lips connect, they move in sync passionately as my heart longs for us to stay like this, but also breaks, knowing he has to leave for who knows how long. Jax glides his thumbs across my cheeks as he holds my face, our kiss slowly deepening. Tears spill from the corner of my eyes as he catches them, instantly wiping away their existence.

He breaks our kiss as he looks in my eyes, tears brimming in his as well as he whispers, "I love you, Allie."

A choked sob escapes my throat as he pulls my head to his chest. He rocks me soothingly on the bed as I cry uncontrollably into his shirt. Jax smooths my hair down, continuously whispering, "it's okay" and "I know" in my ear.

After my breathing has slowed, Jax rubs my back and hugs me tightly. I look at the clock mounted on my bedroom wall, seeing that it's already one o'clock, and Jax has a four-hour drive back to Boston.

"I don't want you to leave," I whisper against his chest.

He lays his cheek on top of my head as he takes in a deep breath. "I don't want to, either," he admits.

Jax's phone dings with a notification as it echoes in the quiet room. He lets out a deep sigh as he takes his cell phone out. With a quick glance, he reads the contents of the message and slips it back into his pocket.

"James might have found us a fill-in drummer for now," he chuckles. "I guess we're meeting him when I get back."

I stand from the bed, holding my hand out to help him up. Jax smirks as he gently takes my hand and unexpectedly pulls me onto his lap.

He holds me for a moment before murmuring in my ear, "you are my sunshine, Allie. When I can't see beyond the storm, when nothing makes sense anymore, I think of you and suddenly everything makes sense again."

After holding each other a few moments longer, we finally rise from the bed and make our way to the front door. I open the door slowly and step out onto the front porch as Jax follows from behind.

He grabs my hand, pulling me in for one last hug as his fingers lightly dig into the back of my head. I breathe his scent in deeply, desperately wanting to remember it every time I know I'll miss him.

"I'm definitely buying fifteen bottles of your cologne," I chuckle, looking up at him.

He laughs as he meets my gaze. "Good thing I left you one of my shirts in your luggage," he says, lifting my chin to kiss me tenderly.

"I'll see you soon," he says, raising his pinky. "Pinky promise."

We lock our pinkies together as we both kiss the ends, both locking in our promise that this isn't the last time we will be together.

While he climbs into his car, I stand on the porch and watch as he drives by with a heavy heart. I slowly walk back into my living room and bolt for my bedroom and unzip my suitcase. Quickly finding Jax's Metallica shirt folded neatly on top of the pile of clothes. I lift it up and bring it to my nose, breathing in the scent with my eyes closed.

As I stand there with Jax's shirt pressed against my nostrils, there's a soft knock that echoes through the house from the front door.

I smile brightly at the sound as I walk leisurely to the front door and swiftly swing it open.

"What did you forg—" I stop talking as soon as I get a look at my visitor. "Can I help you?"

"Are you Allison Windsor?" the man asks, dressed in khaki-colored pants and a dark green shirt adorned with a New Hampshire State Police badge.

My stomach drops as my hairs stand on both arms. "Yes, I am. Is everything okay?" I ask nervously.

"Ma'am, my name is Sheriff Ecklie," he says as he stamps a paper that rests on a clipboard in his hands. "I'm here today because we received a court appearance for you. We tried to stop by yesterday, but nobody was home."

"What is it for?" I ask, taking the papers as he hands them to me.

"I'm not sure ma'am, would you like me to go over them with you?" he offers.

"No, that's okay," I say quietly.

He tips his hat and mutters something I don't hear as he walks back to his cruiser and drives off.

I glance down at the papers, seeing that it was filed through our local court system, so it's not from the accident. As I continue to read the papers slowly, my heart falters and I feel as though I can't breathe.

"He can't take my babies," is all I can say as tears stream down my face.

Ana opens the front door abruptly with concern. "Hey, what's going on?" she asks. "Did I see a cruiser take off?"

He can't take my babies. He can't take my babies. He can't take my babies.

"Allie?" Ana says, trying to grab my attention.

"He can't take them," I muster to say, looking up at her slowly.

She takes the papers from my hands as she reads them over. She looks up at me suddenly, her eyes wide.

"Trevor filed an emergency custody order? Why does he 'fear for his daughter's safety?' On what grounds?" she exclaims, still looking at the paperwork.

He can't take my babies. He can't take my babies. He can't take my babies.

This isn't over.