JJ's POV:

The pogues and I have drifted over the years. Everyone was grown up and lived farther away. We still texted every now and again. Kie had been with the same guy, Dylan for years. They moved to the Outer Banks and bought a house on Figure Eight.

I haven't been there, but I knew where it was. I hated showing my face on Figure Eight. However, tonight was different. I had just gotten in the worst fight of my life with Rafe. He showed up and pretty much attacked me. I don't remember how, but I was standing outside Kiara's house.

I knocked on the door and it took a few minutes before she opened the door in her pajamas. She looked half asleep and that's when I remembered it was like two in the morning and she was definitely asleep.

She took one look at me and she knew I had been in a fight. My eye was puffy and swollen, my lip was busted open, my face had dried blood on it, and my knuckles were swollen.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly

"I'm fine, you know what, I shouldn't have came here" I said turning to leave but she stopped me by saying, "Get your ass in here, now"

I walked into her house and she said, "Follow me"

We walked upstairs to her bedroom and I stopped and said, "I'm not going into your room where your boyfriend is asleep"

"He isn't here" She said turning the bedroom light on and bringing me into her spacious bathroom

I knew the routine. She gathered supplies and then began cleaning me up. She didn't ask what happened or who I got into a fight with. She just cleaned me up, asked me what hurt, and that was all. Once she was done she said, "There, all done"

"Thank you, Kie" I said as I really appreciated her doing this

I got up and we left the bathroom. I walked downstairs and she asked, "Where are you sleeping tonight?"

"Uh.." I said trying to think of a lie but I already hesitated

"You can't go home to him..."

"He didn't do this, it was Rafe..."

"Well, it's not like he's going to have any sympathy for you. He'll still pick a fight with you. I have this big house basically to myself and honestly, being here alone scares me at night. There is a guest bathroom and bedroom that's all yours"

"I'm not staying here" I said laughing it off

"Why not?" She asked not understanding

"Because I'm done being your fucking charity case"

"What? You aren't my charity case and you never have been. You're my best friend, JJ and I worry about you, especially when you get into fights like this. If you leave, I'm not going to sleep because I'm going to be up all night worrying about you. We might not talk like we used to but nothing has changed, P4L."

"A lot has changed, in case you haven't noticed the four of us aren't that close anymore"

"No, we aren't... I can't speak for John and Pope but I know that if any of you needed anything, I'd be there and help however I could. Dylan is on a work trip tonight and he comes back from Washington tomorrow night at 7 pm. Please just stay for tonight and we can talk in the morning"

"How would he feel knowing you let a pogue spend the night?"

"I don't really care what he thinks because it's important to me and it's not like you're going to be in bed with me"

She looked at me and said, "Come here"

She led me over to the guest room and said, "Here's your room. Please be here in the morning. I'm making breakfast"

"I promise, thank you"

"Don't thank me, I'm upstairs if you need anything"

Kie left and I was alone in the guest room. I went into the bathroom and she had one of those cute baskets with new toiletries and I brushed my teeth and then took my clothes off and got into bed. This bed was like sleeping on a cloud.

I instantly fell asleep and I woke up and checked my phone and it was 10 am. I've never slept in this late before. I noticed my clothes were neatly folded on the chair. Kie must have washed them for me. I got dressed and went out to the kitchen and Kie was sitting at the kitchen island sipping her coffee while on her laptop.

"Good morning" I said

"Good morning, sleepy head" She teased me

"Sorry..."

She cut me off and said, "Don't apologize, I know sleep is hard for you. I'm glad you slept well"

She made eggs, pancakes, and bacon for breakfast with a side of fruit. It's been longer than I cared to admit since I've had a proper meal like this. We talked about everything over breakfast and just caught up. I helped her with the dishes and then I told her that I needed to get going. She offered to drive me and I accepted the offer.

She parked outside my dad's and she handed me a key and said, "Here's a key to my house. The guest room is yours whenever you need it, no questions asked. Make yourself at home, stay as long as you want to, hell you can move in if you want. I'm going to tell Dylan and I don't want you to worry about it. You're my best friend and I'll always care about you. I might live on figure eight now in my own house but that doesn't mean I'm not still a pogue and pogues don't leave other pogues when they need help"

"Thanks, Kie"

"You're welcome" She said hugging me before I left her car holding the key to her house

She made sure I made it inside safely before leaving. I smiled to myself as I realized she still cared about me. She gave me a key to her house.

A few days passed by and I ran into Dylan at the beach.  He gave me a small smile and said, "Hey"

"Hey" I said back wondering what Kie told him

"I just wanted to let you know that it's cool for you to crash in the guest room. It's a big house, plenty of space for you"

"Thanks, appreciate it, man"

We went our separate ways and Kie and I communicated a little bit more than we used to but it was nothing like it used to be. I didn't use that key for six months but when I did, it worked and I snuck into the guest room after texting Kie to let her know I was here. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in" I said and Kie was there

"Are you okay?" She asked

"Yeah, all good" I said

"Need me to clean you up?"

"No, I'm okay... I can do it" I said wishing she would do it but I wouldn't let her because she has a boyfriend and I could feel the tension between us when she cleaned my wounds

"If you need anything, text me. Goodnight, J" She said closing the door as she left the guestroom

It was about a month later and I showed up at her front door covered in blood and completely hysterical in the middle of the night. I knocked on the door and Kie came down in her pajamas and opened it. 

"What the fuck, are you okay?" She asked and I nodded my head yes

Dylan came downstairs and he asked, "Should I call the cops?"

"No" Kie said firmly answering for me

"JJ, what happened? Are you okay? Did you kill someone?" Dylan asked

I stayed quiet and Kie whispered, "JJ, you can tell me anything. If you need me to help hide the body, I'll do it. If you need to get away from here, I've got you. But you gotta tell me what happened"

"He's dead..." Was all I could get out 

"Who is dead?" She asked

"Luke, someone murdered him... I tried to stop it, but I couldn't. I couldn't save him" I sobbed

"Let's get you cleaned up" She said helping me to the guest bathroom

She helped take my clothes off and get me in the shower, leaving me in only my boxers. She washed my hair and scrubbed the blood off my body with a fluffy loofa. She turned the shower off and Dylan had brought me new clothes. Kie left me alone to change but then quickly came back and I sat on the bed, completely numb.

Dylan saw Kie holding me and he said, "Let me know if you guys need anything, I'm going back to bed"

He closed the door and Kie didn't move. She just held me as I was shaking.

"JJ, who killed your dad?" She asked

"I don't know, guys that he owed money to. The cops are all over there now. Shoupe told me I should leave as it's an active crime scene"

"I'm so sorry you had to witness that" 

She kissed the top of my head and lightly rubbed my back until I fell asleep. I woke up in her arms and she softly said, "Good morning"

I didn't say anything, I just got off her before he boyfriend saw me laying on her tits. I headed to the bathroom and turned the shower on but I didn't get in. I sat on the bathroom floor crying. I shouldn't have even bothered turning the shower on because Kie knew. She opened the bathroom door and left the shower on but sat beside me.

"You don't have to hide your feelings about this from me"

I broke down again in her arms and then she turned the shower off and helped me off the bathroom floor. She spent the whole day with me and Shoupe came over to ask me a bunch of questions about my dad, his jobs, the deals he was involved with, etc. I felt bad making Kie miss work, but I'm glad she was here with me. That night, she made dinner for me and Dylan but I wasn't hungry. I picked at the food and went to bed early. Kie came in and checked on me throughout the night. I slept in until noon Kie made me eat breakfast. John B and Pope came over and hung out for a bit. They got me set up to talk to a therapist and John B had me move in with him. 

It's been about a month and Kie would constantly check-in with me and make sure I was okay. The pogues helped me plan a small funeral for my dad and we all spent the night at the chateau, just like old times. My dad was a horrible father and a pretty shitty human being, but he didn't deserve to be murdered. Two more months had gone by and I was back living in the house where my dad was killed. It was fine at first, but tonight I had the worst nightmare. I woke up sweating and screaming. I got on my bike and drove to Kie's house.

I went into the guest room and sent her a text that I was here before falling back asleep. A few seconds later, Kie was crawling into bed with me and hugging me. 

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No, just a stupid nightmare. I'm okay"

She hugged me and was laying on my chest. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want her in here with me, but I didn't want Dylan to come in here. I told her to leave and she did. I got in the shower, and walked back into the bedroom in my towel. Kie opened the door and I said, "I don't want to ruin your relationship. It's best you just leave so I can change and head out"

"Where are you going to go?"

"Doesn't matter, I'm not staying here tonight or ever again" I said going into the bathroom and coming back out in my boxers

"JJ" She said frustrated

"I'm not going to be the one who is responsible for ruining your relationship"

"There's no relationship left for you to ruin" She said softly

"You mean, you're done?"

"Yeah...." She said fighting back tears

"This is all my fault... If I wouldn't have ever come here..."

"JJ, this isn't your fault. You did nothing wrong and it's not you... Dylan isn't blind, he could see that I'm in love with you no matter how hard I tried to hide it. I broke up with him"

"You did? You are?"

"Yes, I ended it with Dylan after the funeral because it's not fair to him and it doesn't matter how you feel because Dylan's isn't the one for me..." She started to say but this time I cut her off by saying, "Kie, I've been in love with you since I first met you and I've fallen more and more in love with you every day since"

She leaned in and kissed my lips and suddenly, I just knew that everything was going to be okay. we broke apart and she said, "You're moving in tomorrow morning"

"Damn, taking our relationship a little fast aren't you?" I joked

"Jayge..."She said seriously

"I know, thank you"

"You don't have to thank me, I love you"

"I love you too" 

We were making out and she was the first one to break the kiss. She said, "Let's take it slow, starting with getting your shit moved into our house"

"Our house, huh?"

"I mean you do have a key and you'll be sleeping in the same bed as me" She smirked

"I plan to do a lot more than just sleep in that bed" I smirked back

"Come on, let's go to bed" She said grabbing my hand and bringing me up to her bedroom

We got into bed and I pulled her into my arms. She fell asleep on my chest and I knew this was how I wanted to end every night and start every morning, with Kie asleep in my arms. She's my safe place, she's my home, and I think that I'm hers now too.