A/N: songs to set the scene:
- mi gente - j balvin, willy william
- strip that down - liam payne, quavo
- lift me up - rihanna
*Picture above is Jamie & Sofia's Halloween Costume
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October 29, 2021

Jamie's POV

Having your little brother give you the cold shoulder for an entire month is way more depressing than I thought. It's even more depressing that Sofia has been in LA the past three weeks. We've talked every night and I've kept her updated on everything going on around here, but having her here would lessen the blow of EJ ignoring me.

I wipe the sweat from my forehead and watch the young group in front of me inhale their waters. Since we found out about our deployment happening in January, Jessica and I have been putting Echo Company through the dreaded early morning PT. It helps take my mind off what's going on at home for a few hours.

"Alright, good work today. Enjoy your evening, but no getting into trouble," I dismiss the group and head towards the concrete steps to grab my duffle bag. "Any plans this evening, Sergeant?" Jessica comes up beside me, grabbing her bag. "Going to hand out candy until about 9 and then going out with my friends and sister," I shrug my bag on my shoulder and turn towards Jessica. "What about you?" I ask and she takes a sip of her water. "My friends are wanting to soak up as many fun nights out before we leave in January, so club hopping," she falls into step with me and we walk to the parking lot.

"You tell your family about us getting sent out in January?" Jessica asks and I remain silent as I nod my head. "Take it they didn't take it well?" She pushes further and I have no clue what to say. I sigh and stop in between our cars. "I haven't heard from EJ since I told him. He took off and has been staying with a friend all month. Kimberly barely says a word to me, but she at least keeps me updated on her plans," I run my free hand through my short hair.

"What about the girlfriend?" Jessica raises her eyebrows and I shake my head. "First, she's not my girlfriend, and she took it pretty well. She's been very supportive even though she's been in LA all month," I smile and Jessica scoffs. "You let her leave without even asking her to be your girlfriend?" She asks and I shrug, "Sounded like it would be too soon and I didn't want her to feel like she had to accept it with everything going on."

"Well I'm sorry about your brother. I'm sure he'll come around before we get sent out," Jessica comes over and rubs my arm. We exchange a short goodbye and go our separate ways. I check my phone and see that Sofia and Paulina left LA an hour ago heading for Oceanside. I reply quickly with a 'drive safe and see you soon'. I take a deep breath and make my way home. Only looking forward to finally seeing Sofia and getting to hang out again.

~~

After a nice shower, I settle on the couch basking in the silence that surrounds me. I sip my coffee and stare out the sliding glass door. I haven't heard from EJ at all, but Kimberly has told me that he's been going to school and attending football practice. My mind wanders to the first time I was deployed and how EJ reacted. He clung to me like a koala, begging me to stay. Kimberly told me that he slept in my room the entirety of my deployment. As much as EJ won't admit it, he's an emotional kid.

I take another sip of my cooling coffee and hear the door click open. I keep my eyes forward as my sister's footsteps slowly approach the living room. I've memorized the sounds of both my siblings' footsteps. Kimberly isn't as heavy footed as EJ, but her shoes are never quiet. "Hey, you're home early," I say without looking her way. "I had the night shift since I wanted to make sure I could hang out tonight for any Halloween fun planned," she drops her body onto the other couch. I hum and nod my head, "Sof and Paulina should be in about thirty minutes, I'll leave the decisions about tonight up to you three."

"You know EJ won't be mad at you forever, right?" Kimberly lays back on the couch. Just by her words, I can tell she's exhausted. "I know, but he's older now so it's harder on him especially since mom's no longer here. He's my responsibility-" "You're responsibility?!" Kimberly cuts me off with her sharp words. "EJ hasn't been your full responsibility since we moved here with you. I've been making sure he goes to school, eats, has every basic need met, while you're off in another country acting like you're proving anything to anybody!" She springs to her feet, face red with anger.

"I've been more of a parent to EJ than you have since we moved here. I won't fault you for doing the best you can for us, but being a Marine can't be your job forever. One of these days you're going to be deployed and you won't be coming back," she pauses and I see the tears building up. "Then what? EJ needs you," she sucks in her breath, "I fucking need you." The tears escape like two waterfalls cascading over the side of a mountain. I walk over and pull her into my grasp. Her tears soak the front of my shirt as I rub her back letting her emotions flood through her.

~~

I draw large circles on the center of her back as her tears continue to fall. My phone vibrates and I hold it up to see who it is. I see Sofia's picture on my screen and take a deep breath. I kiss my sister's forehead and answer the phone. "Hey," I speak softly since Kimberly is clutching onto my body like I'll disappear. "Hey is everything okay?" Sofia quickly notices my quiet tone. "It's complicated. You two almost here?" I ask, continuing to rub Kimberly's back. "That's actually why I called, we just got through the guard post and wanted to make sure you were home," Sofia's words quicken my heart. "Yeah, Kimberly and I are both home actually. The door will be unlocked," I let a small smile appear on my face. We exchange a quick 'bye' and I slide my phone back into my pocket.

"Kim, I'm always here for you. I'm your big brother and will do my best to come home to you and EJ. I'm sorry I haven't picked up more slack with EJ. It's not fair to you and he needs me to be more of a parent now that mom's gone. Let's plan for the three of us to go to mom's beach spot and just spend time together. No phones, no friends. Just us," I hold her close and feel her squeeze my body. I kiss her head once more and hear the door creaking open.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Paulina's voice carries to the living room and I feel Kimberly's body shake a bit from her giggle. "We're in the living room," I shout and hear their approaching footsteps. Kimberly steps back and quickly wipes her eyes. "Did we interrupt something?" Paulina comes around the couch and pulls me in for a quick hug. "Just a sibling chat/rant session. Much needed one at that," I state, stepping aside for Paulina to hug Kimberly.

Sofia's eyes meet mine and I can't help the butterflies running rampant in my stomach. "Hi," I smile and hold out my hand to pull her in. I wrap my arms around her waist and breathe in her sweet scent. "Hi," she mumbles into my shoulder and runs her fingers over my scalp. "Everything okay?" She asks, stepping back but not too far so her arms hang loosely over my shoulders. "Yeah, Kimberly just needed to get some stuff off her chest," I shrug and see a hint of concern in Sofia's eyes. "Nothing I didn't see coming. Just some stuff I needed to hear. Reminding me what I have here, what I need to come home to," her eyes soften and she nods her head.

I hesitate for a split second before deciding to lean in for a soft kiss. Reminding myself how soft her lips are against mine. "I missed you," I whisper and hear her hums of approval. "I missed you too," she says, resting her forehead against my chin. We remain still, taking in each other's warm body. Transported to a world where it's just us.

The sound of someone clearing their throat breaks our moment of bliss. "I hate to break up this very cute but disgusting moment between you, but we need to figure out tonight's plans," Paulina voices and I look at Sofia, who's glaring at her sister for interrupting.

I chuckle at the sisters and turn to face Paulina and Kim. "We have a few options, there are several bars and clubs in the surrounding area having Halloween related events. There's also a Halloween party happening here on base but that'll be a lot of families looking for a few hours of family fun," I express my thoughts and look at the three women for any type of emotion. The last option will more than likely be what we decide but I have to pitch it correctly.

"Or the Pier is having a large Halloween party. There will be a DJ, a semi-cheap bar, and we already have tickets for it," I squint my eyes at the last part waiting for one of the girls to hit me. "So you told us the other two options, having already decided what we're doing?" Kimberly's voice shocks my core. "You have a smart brother," Paulina states and I chuckle. "He's alright, but should've just said we had plans already," she retorts and I open my eyes.

"So it's settled: Pier Halloween party. Party begins around 8 so we've got a while. I have some paperwork to do, but if you ladies want to make plans don't feel obligated to include me," I kiss Sofia's head and start making my way towards my bedroom. I hear a few murmurs as I open my bedroom door. I head straight for my desk to get to work.

I get settled at my desk and update my daily briefing for Sergeant Collins. These briefings could be done in my sleep, I've been doing them for so long. I look over my notes from this morning's PT and prep. I'm pretty sure Collins isn't paying too much attention to these nowadays, but I'd hate to miss any necessary details in regard to Echo Company and our preparedness for our looming deployment.

My door creaks open, pulling my attention away from my laptop. I watch Sofia gently close the door trying her hardest not to disturb me. I turn my chair and smile at her attempts to sneak in and not bother me from my work. "What ya doing?" I ask, startling her a bit. "How'd you hear me?" She walks towards me and I open my arms for her to sit on my lap. "I've got great hearing," I smile and she looks unimpressed. I sigh, "my door also creaks louder than the other two." She nods her head and looks over my shoulder at my laptop, "You almost done?" "Almost, why? You three make plans?" I ask and she shakes her head.

I look at her confused, but she just runs her finger nails over my scalp. "Paulina and Kimberly made plans. They left a little bit ago. I was wondering if you wanted to grab lunch and we can catch up," she fiddles with the collar of my shirt. "I'd love to. What were you thinking?" I admire her soft features and get so lost that I barely hear her answer.

"Did you hear me?" Sofia asks, brushing her fingers gently across a scar over my left eyebrow. "I'm sorry, I was lost in your beauty," my words bring a pink tint to her cheeks and she moves to hide in my neck. I squeeze her sides and hear the angelic giggle leave her lips. "I said that I'm down for anything," she peppers my neck with kisses and I lean back in my desk chair. "I've got a place in mind, you ready to leave now?" I run my fingers along her back and feel her nod.

Although we were ready to leave, neither of us moved. Having her back in my arms was something I didn't realize I needed. Feeling her soft breaths against my neck, her freshly manicured fingers gently scratching my neck. My mind becomes clear and I've officially found that I'm falling in love with this girl. It's too soon to say anything and I don't want her to feel I'm holding her back from her life since I'll be leaving in a couple of months.

"You okay?" Sofia pulls me back from my wandering thoughts. "Yeah, just got lost for a second," I smile and kiss her forehead. "I'm happy I found you then," she rests her head against my chin and then sighs, "but we should get going if we want to eat before our sisters get back." I nod my head and wait for her to get off my lap. Sofia turns and takes my hand to help me from my chair. I should really think about taking this girl on a proper date.

~~

After lunch, Sofia and I walked down to the pier to enjoy the beautiful October weather we were having in Oceanside. It wasn't too crowded since many were either at work or in school since it's a Friday. My brain couldn't focus solely on my time with Sofia with my looming deployment and EJ still not talking to me.

I feel Sofia squeeze my hand, bringing my attention back to the present. "You okay?" She asks, but already knows my answer. "Yeah, sorry. Just worrying about EJ and the usual," I shrug and Sofia gives my hand and forearm another squeeze. "You don't have to apologize. I can't imagine if Paulina just stopped talking to me. Has Kimberly been telling you anything she hears from him?" Sofia continues leading us down the wooden path to some benches looking over some people fishing off the docks.

"Kim's told me he's going to school and football practice, but that's about it. I just want him to come home," I sigh and look at all the old men doing their best to catch some fish. "He'll come around," Sofia tries reassuring me with her words and I know she is doing her best to be supportive. I kiss the side of her head and fix my eyes towards the water. She cuddles closer into my side and I wrap my arm over her shoulders.

Time moves as I watch the waves hit the wooden decks housing various boats. I hear a phone vibrating and see Sofia reaching into her bag. "Paulina says they're on their way back. Should we get going?" She finishes looking at her phone and meets my eyes. Her eyes sparkle and I forget to answer as I get lost. "Hey, what's wrong?" Sofia asks and I shake my head. "Nothing, your eyes just pull me in every time," my smooth words cause a pink tint to coat her cheeks and she moves to hide her face in my neck.

I rub my hand in circles on her back, chuckling as she lets out an exaggerated sigh. She brings herself up and I just smile at her. "You're lucky you're cute cause some of these cheesy lines are just," she sighs and laughs. "They're just what? Clever?" I wink and she rolls her eyes. "They're very bad," she moves closer towards my lips and hovers her mouth over mine. I smile and close the space between us.

"Prepare yourself honey cause I've got cheesy lines for the rest of my life," I kiss her forehead and hear a content sigh. "Seems worth it," Sofia looks up at me and my heart skips multiple times. The urge to say 'I love you' creeps on the edge of my tongue, but I know if I let those words leave my mouth I'd scare this girl away forever. Instead, I kiss the top of her head one more time and take her hand. "Let's get back to see what those two have been up to all morning," I kiss the top of her hand. We walk hand in hand back towards my car and focus on just enjoying this weekend.

~~

Once we had gotten back to the house, Paulina and Kimberly were already back and excitedly showing us the clothes they found for their Halloween costumes. They looked like two small children with stars in their eyes and excitement radiating off every part of their bodies. They had decided that they and Emily were dressing up as Sadness, Joy, and Disgust from the movie Inside Out. Sofia had turned down the opportunity upon hearing it, but told me she had already thought of what we were going to the Halloween party dressed up as.

Listening to the three ladies get lost in who should dress up as, I didn't hear the front door open. "Hello?" Jonathan's voice fills the house. "We're in the kitchen!" I yell and sip my cup of coffee, knowing that I'll need to be awake as long as possible to make it through this party later. "What's going on in here?" John comes up and we fist bump. I shrug and gesture towards the three women gracing my dining room table. "They're talking Halloween costumes. What are you wearing tonight?" I ask and he just shrugs, "Whatever your sister tells me to wear."

John pushes off the counter and makes his way across the room to the table. Watching him and my sister be together is strange, but I'm happy to see my sister with someone who treats her right. I zone out looking at the scene in front of me and don't hear the door open again. I quickly notice that everyone is staring at the kitchen entryway. I turn my attention and see EJ. He looks okay and a wave of relief cascades over me.

"Why's everyone looking at me like that?" EJ asks, walking towards the fridge to grab a water bottle. My eyes follow his every move and I don't know whether to just hug him and never let go or to be upset that he never told me where he was. I choose to let Kimberly take the lead.

"We're looking at you like this because you've been gone with few updates on where you were. We've been worried sick about you," Kimberly speaks up, just as I'd hoped. My eyes move to look at Kimberly and I see Sofia watching me. I quickly move my attention back to EJ and release a shaky breath. "Kim's right. We've been worried about you, but we're happy you're home," I slowly approach him and watch his body language to make sure it's okay. His body is relaxed and doesn't look like a scared cat ready to run.

I open my arms and pull him towards me. "I'm sorry," I whisper and can feel him release a deep breath. "I'm sorry too," I hear him faintly say against my chest. I hold him as tightly against my body as I can. As much as I know I've hurt my little brother by being in the Marines Corp and having to leave a lot, it's not something I can fully avoid. "Please stay home," I keep our conversation low for no one else to hear. He doesn't verbally respond but he just nods his head. I kiss the top of his head and step back. He wipes his face and takes a deep breath.

"I know I haven't been around awhile and you know I love the both of you, but why are Paulina and Sofia here?" EJ asks, walking towards the sisters to hug them. "We're all going to a Halloween party tonight, do you have any plans?" Paulina asks, keep her arms around my little brother. "Michelle and I are going to a friend's party tonight," he rests his head on Paulina and I can't help but love how our family has grown and will continue to grow.

"That sounds fun! What are you dressing up as?" Sofia tries to keep the conversation light, knowing that Kimberly is still a bit upset with EJ being MIA the past few weeks. "We're doing Jack and Sally from A Nightmare Before Christmas. It's Michelle's favorite movie," EJ shows a picture of him in his face paint that Michelle tested out on him.

My eyes meet Kim's and I know she's wanting me to say something, but I don't want to keep him from his friends. "EJ, do you want to come with us this weekend?" I randomly ask and everyone shoots their attention my way. "Where are y'all going?" His interest peaked. I think through every option and I make a rash decision. "We're going up to LA to go to Halloween Horror Nights. Jonathan and I got discounted tickets and figured it'd be nice to spend a weekend together," I see EJ's light up and it's the happiest I've seen him since I've been back home.

"Can Michelle come with?" His innocent question makes me smile. "Of course! We're all going and we'll probably come back Monday morning so make sure her parents are okay with her skipping school Monday," EJ bum rushes me and koala bear hugs me. "We'll be there. You guys leaving tomorrow morning?" He asks, slowly sliding down my body. "Yep, it's only a two maybe two and a half hour drive. We got two day park tickets along with the Halloween Horror Night tickets," I don't even get to finish my statement before EJ is daring out of the kitchen.

I look at Jonathan and chuckle. "Someone is excited," he states and I finish my mug of coffee. "When were you going to tell us we were going to LA this weekend?" Kimberly asks and I shrug. "Did either of you know?" She looks at Paulina and Sofia, and they both shake their heads. "We were just going to wake everyone up, get in the car, and drive to the hotel. Once we got there, we'd say 'Surprise!'," Jonathan jokes and I walk towards Sofia. "We were going to tell you before we left for the party so we'd all have a bag packed. Emily already knew since she needed to take the day off for Monday. We wanted to have as much fun before we leave as possible," I wrap my arms around Sofia's waist and kiss the side of her head.

"I better get to packing then," Kimberly gets up and heads to her bedroom. "I'm going to help her and ask for forgiveness," Jonathan follows closely behind. I chuckle and look at a slightly annoyed Paulina. "What?" I ask and she pushes me a little. "You couldn't have at least let us in on this secret trip?" She asks and I shrug. "I knew if I said anything, you'd guys probably try pitching in to cover the hotel or tickets. We wanted to treat everyone," I give my logical reasoning and see her seem a bit defeated by my answer.

"Thank you for including us. We won't intrude on the hotel since there probably won't be much space for us and our place isn't too far from there," Sofia rests her head on my shoulder and I shake my head. "Nope, all of us are staying at the hotel. Jonathan and I planned for every one of us to be present and we've already figured out room arrangements. You both can leave whenever you want Sunday, but we haven't gotten to go to Universal for awhile so we're milking this trip," I rest my chin on Sofia's shoulder and see them both smiling at me.

"We'll happily spend the whole weekend with you all," Paulina smiles and heads towards Kimberly's bedroom, I assume to get ready. Sofia turns her head towards me, "Thank you for including us, but you seriously shouldn't have paid for us." I shrug and kiss her. "I wanted to do something nice for you two," I smile and she rolls her eyes. "Come on, let's start getting ready," she pulls me towards my bedroom.

~~

While Sofia got ready, I packed a bag for our weekend away. Since I knew the girls would take way too long to get ready, Jonathan and I took naps in the living room. After a while EJ came and woke us up to actually catch us up on what we had missed the past several weeks. He already has ideas of where he wants to go for college and he shocked us when he mentioned the Naval Academy. I know he'll need to start visiting schools and actually finding out where he'll want to apply next year. I'll have to talk to Kimberly about what our plan will be for him in the next couple of months to a year.

He eventually left us to start getting ready for his own party. Jonathan and I remained silent for a bit, but I knew his mind was reeling with the fact that he'll start having those conversations with his unborn child eighteen years from now. "You'll be a great dad," I state to try easing his mind. "That's if I live through this next deployment. Have you heard at all what's happening over there?" He looks bewildered. I shake my head and he runs his hands through his hair.

"Putin is insane and says he'll kill anyone who gets in the way of trying to stop him. The Ukrainian people are in danger and we're going there to make sure their military is ready for whatever Russia and Putin are going to throw at them," his voice is serious and harsh. I understand his fear and it's crossed my mind a few times since finding out. "Yeah, it's a situation we're going into that we hopefully won't need to be in for very long," I say with the utmost confidence. We've seen plenty of situations where soldiers are told they'll be gone for several months, but end up being away from their families for a year or two.

"Hey, you two. You need to get ready," Emily comes around the corner and sits next to me. "Are you ladies done?" Jonathan asks since Kimberly, Emily, and Paulina were taking over Kimberly's room to get ready. "Yes, we are. Kim is the only one in there now. Paulina was helping Sofia get her dress on," Emily sits back and I glance over her costume. She got Sadness, which is pretty ironic since I've never seen Emily extremely sad before besides the first time Jonathan and I got deployed.

"Have you and Kimberly decided on Thanksgiving plans yet?" Emily asks and I shrug. "No, we haven't really discussed it either. I'll have that week off from training and EJ doesn't have school either," I think for a moment, "but I could see what Sofia and Paulina plan on doing, but I don't want to impose on them."

"I don't think it would hurt to ask, but you should go do something as a family. My parents still have that beach house. I can ask them if you can use it," Emily's idea doesn't sound half bad. "You let me know and I'll talk to Kimberly and EJ about us going somewhere. This will be our first Thanksgiving without mom so it might be hard. You know it was her holiday, along with Christmas," I smile thinking about the preparations my mom would go through for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

"She cooked so much food, you'd think she was preparing food for a dozen families," Emily reminisces and it reminds me of all the hard work Kim and I will have to put in to make it feel remotely close to a normal Thanksgiving. "Jamie, you can get ready now," Paulina comes out and sits across from us. "Very nice costumes by the way. You ladies knocked it out the park," I stand and make my way to my bedroom.

The sight of an exposed thigh catches my breath. My eyes roam Sofia's body in her black dress. "You see something you like, Sergeant?" Sofia's sultry voice makes heat rise to my cheeks. She slowly approaches me and bites her lip. "You look sexy," I smile and she lightly pecks my lips. "Your outfit is on the bed. Paulina said she wants a picture of us when you're ready," she pecks my lips once more and walks past me. I look at the bed and see the simple outfit: black dress pants, white dress shirt, suit jacket and a pair of black dress shoes. Sofia's idea to go as Mr. & Mrs. Smith was great and incredibly easy.

~~

Everyone left the house ready to have a night where we didn't have to think about long distance relationships or deployments. EJ and Michelle left the house before us and their costumes looked amazing. Michelle really did a great job on their make-up. She even came prepared and dropped off her bag for the weekend trip to Universal. We all looked great. Sofia and I had toy pistols for our costumes that added to our Mr. & Mrs. Smith look, but I told her we'd leave them behind since we don't want to cause any issues.

(EJ & Michelle's Halloween Costume)

(Jonathan, Kimberly, Emily & Paulina's Halloween Costume)

We arrived at the pier, and the party was in full swing. We headed straight to get drinks and get our night started. I grabbed my Jack Daniels and Coke, and followed the group to a tall, round table. "Here's to friends, lovers, and family. May we dance all night and drink until we can't remember our names," Jonathan gives his iconic toast and we each kick back the shots he brought to the table.

The DJ starts playing J Balvin's "Mi Gente" and the girls instantly want to get to dancing. I follow Sofia's lead and head to the mass of bodies dancing near the DJ stand. She drapes her arms around my neck and I hold her hips close to my body. We sway to the music and I feel the sweat already dripping down my back. Sofia turns her body and puts her back to my front, leaning as far as she can into my body. I can't help but get turned on by her body pressed against mine.

My lips find her neck and she moves it further to the side to expose more skin. I rub my hand down her thigh and move it under her dress. As much as I'd love to feel her here, I know that prying eyes would have it plastered all over the internet about how Sofia Carson is a slut or something ridiculous like that. I move my hand back to her stomach and continue moving with her.

We've gotten lost in each other and I only notice the song having changed when the beat seems to change and a lot of the people around us are singing along with Liam Payne's "Strip that Down". Sofia and I don't change our movements with the new song. I catch Jonathan and the girls walking back to get more drinks, and I squeeze Sofia's hip to get her attention better. I put my lips close to her ear, "Want another drink?" She nods her head and I lead her to the rest of the group.

John is already handing us another shot. We quickly tap the glasses and throw the burning liquid down our throats. I watch Paulina lean towards her sister and whisper something that leads to Sofia biting her bottom lip as she looks at me. I guess I take shots in an attractive wave. John hands me another Jack and coke as a guy bounces off my body. In turn spilling my entire drink on my white dress shirt. "Hey douchebag, watch where you're going," Jonathan yells at the guy and I immediately recognize him.

"Nick?" Sofia asks and I feel a twinge of annoyance radiate through me. How'd he know we'd be here? "Oh hey, Sof!" he says a bit too excitedly and quickly goes in for a hug, pushing me to the side. I look at Paulina and her eyes are daggers at the British man before us. "I heard about this great party and since I loved this area so much while we were filming, I figured I'd come back and check it out," his British accent feels like knives to my ears. "It was nice bumping into you. I'll see you Tuesday for filming, yeah?" Sofia tries to get him to go away, but this guy isn't budging.

"Let me buy you a drink," Nick waves down the bartender, who completely ignores him. "She has a drink," Paulina is quick to point out. "Oh, well dance with me," he pushes once more and I see Sofia giving me pleading eyes. What's with this guy? Doesn't he get a hint that she doesn't want him here? "Dude, she doesn't want you here," Jonathan is quick to step in and it doesn't bode well. "What'd you say to me?" Nick pushes up against John's chest, and this just got heated way too quickly. I push between the two and feel a fist connect with my face.

I fall to my knee and grab my jaw. I shake my head, the pain already starting to radiate throughout it. I slowly stand up and see a few random guys holding Nick back. "Is there an issue over here?" A large security guy comes walking over towards us. "Yeah, he just punched my brother for no reason," Kimberly states and the security guard looks at Nick for an explanation. "He put his hands on me first!" He yells and I hear Jonathan scoff.

"He was trying to make advances on my friend's girl and she respectively told him to leave. He wouldn't leave and got in my face about it. My friend here was simply making sure neither of us did something stupid, but it appears one of us still did," Jonathan gives the best run down of events he can and honestly, we do this on the regular for work so it makes sense he did so well.

"Are you alright, sir?" The security guard asks and I nod my head. "I'm sure I'll be alright," I state and regain my balance. "We won't call the police, but we will ask that both parties leave. We're sorry to ruin anyone's night, but we can't have any more altercations happening," the security guard calmly instructs us and we all nod in agreement.

I turn to hand the bartender a $50 tip since drinks are included in the party fare. We exchange a quick nod as he hands me a small bag of ice. I lean against Emily as we walk out of the large crowds and towards the open sidewalk towards the strip of restaurants and shops.

"You alright, Jay?" Kim comes up beside me and inspects my head. I wave her off, "I'll be fine. We have everyone?" I don't bother looking around since I'm starting to feel the headache. "Sofia was making sure Nick made it to a cab back to wherever he was staying," Jonathan adds and I feel a little hurt. "Paulina is with her so don't worry. She can handle her own though," Kim rubs my back trying to reassure me.

"We should head back home. I don't want to mix your headache and alcohol," Kim wraps her arm around my free side and I let all my weight go between her and Emily. I've definitely been hit way harder, but I wasn't expecting to be punched in the face tonight. The left side of my face throbs a bit, and I know I'll have a nice little black-eye tomorrow morning, but I've definitely had injuries a million times worse than this one.

We stop walking for Kimberly to answer my phone. "Hey, where are you guys?" Kim asks, and I immediately know it's Sofia. "Okay, we'll see you guys back at the house," Kim hangs up the phone and hands it to Jonathan. "Pau and Sof are gonna meet us at home. With the crowds, they think they'd get more lost trying to find us and vice versa," Kim explains the girls' reasoning and it makes sense. Jonathan quickly hops on his phone to order an Uber and within minutes we're headed home.

~~

It's not until we are stopping in front of the house that I realize we're home. John helps me to the front door and I'm engulfed by the sweetest smelling perfume. I wrap my arms around the now shorter girl and my body relaxes. "I'm so sorry. I don't know why he was here or even was acting that persistent," Sofia mumbles into my neck.

"I know why," Paulina says, nonchalantly. "Nick thinks you two should be together because you have such great chemistry and media outlets are agreeing with him," she continues and I pull back. "I've told him we're nothing more than friends and that I'm not interested in him. It's been like this since we started filming," Sofia is quick to turn down what her sister is saying.

"Guys, it's okay. I'm not intimidated by Nick or worried about anything that happened tonight. Let Nick know there are no hard feelings about the punch. He probably had one too many," I hold Sofia's gaze as I mean every word. There's no point in holding grudges or letting another guy intimidate me. At the end of the day, Sofia is getting into my bed.

"You're a way more forgiving person than me. I don't care whether you're sober or drunk, you can't punch me over a girl," Jonathan chimes in. I ignore him and lean my head against Sofia's shoulder. The room feels off kilter and I don't know how much longer I can stay standing. "Kim," I say my sister's name and the room suddenly turns black.

~~

I don't know how long I'm out for but the room around me feels cold. I'm surrounded by darkness and can only assume I'm in my bedroom. I roll over onto my side and see a body lying next to me but their back is to me. I went to wrap my arm around their waist and quickly met with a cold puddle on the other side of them.

I feel around and my fingers touch something slimy and worm-like. I grab at it and look over to see intestines falling from an open stomach wound. I jump onto my feet and bump into another body. "Where do you think you're going?" A strong, Russian male accent comes from somewhere in the dark abyss surrounding me.

The decapitated body in front of me is dressed in military cammies, but I can't make out the color. The body grabs me and I try fighting off the cold, dead arms wrapping around me. "Tie him down! He shall meet the fate of the others!" The same Russian voice commands. A small medical light swings from the ceiling and I finally catch a glimpse of the colors gracing this decapitated body. It's variations of blue meaning it's a Navy soldier.

I scan over the markings and my body goes limp with the sight of whose decapitated body is holding me down: Thompson. I stop fighting and accept my fate. I'd rather join my best friend than live life without him. The Russian man comes closer and I finally see his face. It's Nick.

"Did you really think you'd make it back to her? She doesn't love you. She could never love someone so broken and so different from her. You're a freak and that's all you'll ever be," his Russian accent became his usual British one as he spit his words at me. He grabs a machete off the table and holds it up against the faint light, "Now it's time for you to be where you truly belong." He holds the sword up and brings it against my neck just as fast.

~~

I jolt up from my bed covered in a cold sweat. I look down at my glistening chest. I'm only in sweatpants. "You're okay," Sofia says from across the room. "How'd I get here?" I ask and she makes her way closer to the bed with a glass of water she had in her hand. "You passed out not too long after we all got back from the Halloween party. Jonathan and Kimberly got you out of your clothes, cleaned you up and dressed in some sweatpants. Kimberly checked over your head and luckily you don't have any bumps, specifically from hitting your head on the floor," she chuckles and hands me the glass of water. "Kim told me to give you these when you woke up," Sofia hands me two round, red pills and I throw them into my mouth.

"Thank you," I manage to get out and she shakes her head. "Did you have another nightmare?" She asks and I don't hesitate to respond. "I thought I was in my bedroom after passing out. But I was really in some sort of Russian camp, or so I thought. A decapitated figure grabbed me and held me down on this cold, metal table. The body was Jonathan's," I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"There was this Russian man giving orders. When he came into view, he wasn't Russian anymore," I pause and didn't know whether to tell Sofia the truth or not. I choose the latter. "He was someone I know and then he decapitated me too," I avoid more details and take a sip of the water.

"You need anything other than water?" Sofia asks and I shake my head. "Is EJ home?" I ask and she nods. "He came home a little bit after you collapsed. We just told him you had a bit too much to drink," she gives me a brief run down and I nod along. "Okay, I appreciate you looking after me," I place my hand on her thigh and she falls into me.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbles into my bare chest. I wrap my arms around her and let her release whatever emotions are boiling over. "There's nothing for you to apologize for," I rub her back and she sighs. ""Nick's a really nice guy. I didn't take him as a guy who would turn to violence in any situation," Sofia tries reassuring me and I believe that what she's saying is how she genuinely feels about the guy.

"Listen Sof, I believe you. Shit happens in the heat of any given moment and I can tell that Nick feels some sort of attraction towards you and I'm not threatened by it. We haven't defined what we are yet and even if we had, I'm pretty self confident enough to not worry about someone you work with. You've taken time to get to know me and my siblings, and you didn't run the moment I told you I'm in the military. There is no reason for you to be sorry about anything that happened tonight," I hold her against my body and try pushing the terrifying images that were filling my brain moments ago.

"Let's get some sleep since we've got a long weekend ahead of us," Sofia kisses under my chin and I pull her back onto the bed with me. I keep her body close to mine as she drapes one leg over my waist. My breathing slows as I feel her fingers tracing a scar over my ribcage. Shortly, I'm drifting off into a world where jealous co-workers, deployments, and busy film schedules don't exist.