"Mom, are you crying?" I look over at where she's hovering by the edge of the porch, her hand covering half her face as she sniffles.

She shakes her head and waves her free hand. "No. No, I'm fine."

Yeah, sure.

With a smile hinting at the corners of my mouth, I pat her on the back and turn to walk inside. "I'll go see if they need any help while you dry your nonexistent tears."

Kwan and Mila are upstairs collecting the last of their things. The morning has been bittersweet for all of us. None of us want to see the twins go but at the same time, we know that when they return it'll be for good.

Slowly walking up the stairs to look for them, I pause just before reaching the top as I hear soft whispers coming from the guest bedroom around the corner.

"You should stay," Mila's quiet voice urges firmly.

A deep scoff follows. "You're crazy if you think I'm letting you go back by yourself. It's too dangerous for you to be on your own."

"It's too dangerous for you." Mila hisses. "If they find out what you're planning, they'll...well...you know." Her voice breaks on the last word, sending a spark of fear and pain to the center of my chest.

What in the world is going on with them?

"All the more reason I have to go back. If you show up without me, they'll just target you. If anyone should stay here, it's you. I can handle myself," Kwan replies, his voice sounding just on the edge of...scared?

"That won't work either and you know it. Sungmin knows neither of us would leave the other behind for long. If he found out I stayed, it wouldn't be hard for him to figure out you're planning on leaving too. Then he really won't let you out of his sight. You'd be stuck there...or worse."

Kwan's weary sigh fills the hall. "So...together."

"As always," Mila answers. "Where you go, I go."

"And vice versa."

"So, it's settled. Let's grab our bags before someone comes up here to get us," Mila states confidently.

Light footsteps sound from the next room and I quickly shuffle back on the steps, nearly stumbling in the process.

"Wait," Kwan calls. "One last thing."

The footsteps halt.

"If things go south before we can leave and come back here, you have to go on your own."

"Kwan..."

"No, I'm serious, Noona," Kwan snaps, his voice deepening with the strength of his determination. "Everything I've done the last few years has been to protect you and Mom, and in the end, I couldn't even save her. I won't let that happen to you too. So, I'm begging you, don't make everything I've done be for nothing."

Mila gasps. "That's not fair!"

"Neither is having to do every-fucking-thing I've had to do, Mila. But I did that for you and Mom!"

"I didn't ask you to do those things!"

"You didn't have to!"

Silence spreads for a few seconds, the only sound I can hear is the heavy beating of my heart and the twins breathing.

Finally, Kwan speaks again, softer this time, like the weight of the world is bearing down on his shoulders. "I'm just saying, if I tell you to take the car and go, I need you to listen to me...Please."

Mila quickly huffs. "Fine, but I won't wait forever. If you aren't close behind me, I will come back and get you myself."

"Whatever you say, Noona."

"Ugh," Mila growls. "You are so infuriating sometimes!"

The footsteps sound again, only faster this time. Taking off at the speed of light, I rush down the stairs, skipping a few and almost falling on my face in the process. But by the time the stairs creak again with the twin's descent, I'm already on the first floor leaning against the wall. I try to control my heavy breathing from moving so fast and fail miserably. When Mila appears on the bottom step, she looks at me with a cocked brow.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." I nod. "I...uh...was coming inside to see if you two needed help but I tripped on my way in...almost fell on my face."

Not a complete lie.

Mila chuckles and shakes her head. "Maybe we should carry our own bags if you're having trouble walking without the extra weight."

"What's going on?" Kwan asks, joining Mila at the bottom of the stairs.

Mila waves him off. "Just Lexi being clumsy. Come on, let's get this stuff thrown in the car."

Following the twins, I walk back outside to the porch as my head swims with everything I heard. I don't know what Kwan and Mila are involved in but whatever it is, it has me scared for them. They sound like they're in trouble and it's killing me to think they have to go back to a place where neither of them feels safe.

But what can I do?

"Ms. Cheryl...are you crying?" Kwan asks, pausing next to Mom where she's still huddled against the porch railing.

"No." She sniffs. "And how many times do I have to tell you? Just Cheryl is fine."

Kwan shrugs with a crooked smirk slowly appearing on his face. "Not sure I can do that. Sorry."

He doesn't give her a chance to insist and quickly jogs down the porch steps. As he pops the trunk on his Mustang, Mila locks eyes with Mom before suddenly dropping her bags on the porch. In two big steps, she closes the distance between them and wraps her arms around Mom.

"I'm gonna miss you, Cheryl," she says sweetly, her own eyes shining with unshed tears before she closes them tightly.

Mom sniffs louder, squeezing Mila just as tight. "Aww, Mila, I'm going to miss you too." She speaks up loud enough for Kwan to hear. "I'm going to miss both of you."

"We'll be back," Kwan calls from across the yard. "June will be here before you know it. You'll hardly notice we're gone."

Mom scoffs at that.

I can't say I agree with him either. Having the twins here for the last few weeks has been nice. The five of us together really feel like a family. Not that me and Mom weren't a family before but having siblings has been nice. I've always wondered what that would be like and now that I know, I can't wait for them to finally move down here this summer.

Leaving Mom and Mila to their hug, I walk down the steps and over to Kwan.

"You gonna cry too?" Kwan softly teases as he throws his last duffle into the trunk.

"Eh...Nah." I shake my head, pretending to be unaffected before a laugh breaks free. "Okay, I might miss you two after all."

"Of course, you will." He nods. "And we'll miss you too. But for real, six months isn't long."

"I know."

Leaving the trunk open for whenever Mila and our parents decide to join us, Kwan walks around the car to stand in front of me. His dark brown eyes watch me carefully, reading every tell in my expression. I try to appear calm but it's hard not to squirm when his gaze narrows like he can tell there's something more I want to say.

"Lex?" He asks quietly despite it only being just the two of us on this end of the yard. "You alright?"

"Mmhmm." I nod and look down at my feet.

"Everything's gonna be okay, you know? The Derek situation and all that. I know you can handle it and if there's anything I can do from afar, all you gotta do is call. Besides...you're not alone here. Once you talk to Jace, I'm sure everything will get fixed pretty fast."

Of course, he thinks that's what I'm worried about. Over the last two weeks, they've done everything they can to help and even though I sometimes worried why or how they knew what to do in this kind of situation, I never asked. But thinking back on his and Mila's conversation upstairs, guilt tears into me.

I should've asked more questions. I should've been trying to help them the way they've helped me. Now they're leaving and all I can think about is what kind of world they'll be returning to.

I chew on the inside of my cheek, mauling over the best way to bring it up before deciding on subtlety. "I'm sure you're right, I'll get Derek handled soon, but what about...you two? How easy is it gonna be to get things ready back in New York for the big move in June?"

Risking a look up at Kwan, I'm surprised to find a small smile pulling at his mouth.

"I thought I heard the stairs squeak," he says with amusement in his voice.

My eyes double in size. "What? The stairs? What do you mean?"

Shit, shit, shit.

I don't want Kwan to think I was being nosey. I didn't mean to eavesdrop but once I heard what they were talking about, I couldn't just walk away. It sounded like something was wrong. How could I turn my back on that?

"Yeah, nice try," Kwan chuckles softly. "So how much did you overhear?"

"I wasn't trying to snoop. I swear."

"I'm sure you weren't." He nods.

With a deep breath, I go for what I really want to say. "What's going on with you? Why does it sound like if you go back I might never see you...either of you, again?"

The smile slowly fades from Kwan's face as he takes his turn to look down at the ground. Leaning back against his car, he shoves his hands in his jacket pockets and sighs.

"It's...complicated."

"Isn't everything?" When he doesn't say anything else, I dig through my memory and pull out something I hadn't thought second about before now. "You once said you've been around a lot of gang activity, is that what this is about?"

Please say no.

He doesn't lift his head to make eye contact, choosing to continue staring at the ground. It's so unlike the self-assured and capable Kwan I've come to know, causing knots of worry to tighten in the pit of my stomach.

"Kwan?" I whisper.

He takes a deep breath, his long dark strands of hair feathering across his forehead and shielding his eyes from me. "It's not really something I can talk about, Lex."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

He shrugs. "It is what it is."

Riddles, that's all I'm getting. He isn't going to give me a straight answer no matter how hard I push. Even if this version of my future stepbrother is less sure than usual, he's still just as strong-willed and stubborn.

Pick your battles, Lex.

Sighing heavily, I ask, "Can you at least tell me that you'll be careful? I've kinda gotten attached to the idea of having a brother and sister. I'd like to keep you two around if that's possible."

A smile breaks across his face along with a small chuckle that brings his gaze up to mine. With the tension fading from his sharp features, he nods. "Yeah, I think that's possible. I'll be careful, sis."

With a wide smile, I surprise both of us by stepping forward and throwing my arms around his neck. Kwan freezes for a second, making me second guess my actions before he finally relaxes and returns the hug.

Squeezing him tight, I softly say, "Good, cause I'd really hate to drive all the way up there to bust some heads in."

Kwan laughs as we break apart and runs a hand through his hair. "Bust some heads, huh? Sure you can do that?"

I scoff. "Please, haven't you heard? I'm a tough-ass secret spy chick now."

"Sure," he drawls out with a disbelieving nod. "If you really think that, then I'm more worried about what you'll get into while I'm gone. I might have to give you some fighting lessons when I get back."

Crossing my arms, I act offended for a minute before laughing. "Alright, maybe you're right. I should probably learn how to defend myself at least."

"Say the word when I get back and I'll be happy to teach you a few things."

"Teach a few things about what?" Mila's chipper tone asks from behind me.

I look over my shoulder to see her, Mom, and Carl coming our way. While Mila saddles up next to me while Carl takes her bags from her hands and heads to the trunk with them.

"I was saying when we get back, I should teach Lexi some taekwondo or jujitsu," Kwan answers.

"Oh, I wanna help. I can fight too," Mila excitedly says before turning to me. "Now where's my hug? You didn't give it to Kwan did you?"

I laugh and shake my head. "Of course not. I have plenty of hugs for everyone."

Mila and I wrap our arms around each other in a big bear hug while Mom heads over to say her goodbyes to Kwan. A few more tears are shed, along with denial of said tears, before Kwan and Mila climb into the Mustang. Carl wraps an arm around Mom and pulls her close, his eyes shining with unshed tears as the woman in his arms sniffles.

I can't imagine how hard it must be for him to see them go. Sure, he's done it many times before, and yeah, they'll be back to stay—hopefully—but it still has to hurt. I imagine he would rather them just stay but he's doing the right thing by letting them finish the school year with their friends back home.

Kwan and Mila offer us small smiles as the car starts, the engine roaring to life on the quiet street...only...it's not completely quiet. A second roar fills the air and before I know it, a black motorcycle is jetting down the road towards us.

Jace.

He slows down and pulls up behind Kwan's car, making quick work of shedding his helmet and climbing off. When his crystal-clear blue eyes find mine, I get a sense of urgency shooting through my veins. It's not like somethings wrong, but there's definitely a reason for him being here at this exact moment.

I look at Kwan who offers me a guilty shrug from his driver's seat.

Oh, no...he didn't?

I narrow my eyes at him to which he simply lifts a challenging eyebrow and I know without hearing a single word exactly what he's trying to say. "You made a promise. Now you have to keep it."

Damnit.

As Kwan shifts the car into drive, he and Mila give us a final wave. We wave back, even Jace waves as he walks over to stand beside me. He and Kwan lock eyes for a brief moment and if I wasn't sure before, I am now. Kwan told him something. He must've.

Which would explain the fresh bandage on his arm yesterday.

I could literally face-palm right now. I should've known.

The mustang pulls away, leaving me with the urge to hold the twins close, keep them from leaving, and also choke Kwan at the same time for going behind my back.

Mom and Carl don't linger long. They watch the car until it turns at the corner and disappears before they head inside, leaving me and Jace alone in the front yard.

Crossing my arms, I turn to face him, finally giving him my attention. "Hey."

"Hey." Jace smiles but when I don't return it, the corners of his mouth slowly tip down. "You don't look happy to see me."

I am happy to see him. Despite losing the video and ignoring Derek's texts for the last two days, I'm still all in with Jace. I gave him my word...Just like I gave the twins my word that I would finally tell Jace the truth.

But why is it so hard to form the words?

Sucking in a deep breath, I roll my shoulders in an attempt to relax. "No...I mean yes, I am happy to see you." I blow out another shaky breath, fortifying my resolve. "Did you see Kwan yesterday?"

Guilt instantly flashes in his eyes before he offers an uneasy smile. "You mean he didn't show you my handy work? That kinda sucks. I thought I did a pretty damn good job on his ink."

I'm sure he did, just like I'm also sure the reason Kwan didn't show me the tattoo had more to do with not wanting me to know who did it rather than him not liking it.

"So...you only gave him a tattoo? That's it?" I look down at the ground, feeling like I'm walking on eggshells rather than taking the plunge and diving in.

"Lex," Jace softly calls.

I squeeze my eyes shut and bite my lip. I don't know why this is so difficult. Maybe after keeping something locked away for so long, it can be tough to finally let it all out. Or maybe I'm just too embarrassed to admit that I've let this go on for too long.

I should've come to Jace sooner.

Realizing that hits me like a stab to the center of my chest, so sharp I open my eyes and nearly gasp for breath.

"Alexis?" Jace asks again with so much softness in his tone that the pierce of guilt only grows stronger.

His tender touch meets my chin, lightly forcing me to lift my head and look him in the eyes. The look that shines back at me isn't judging or even angry. All I see when I look in Jace's gaze is encouragement and hope.

"You already know Kwan did more than just get a tattoo when he came to see me," Jace says, continuing to hold my chin. "Baby, just tell me what's going on."

With a heavy sigh, I nod and take his hand. I lead him to the porch and sit down on the steps, pulling him to sit beside me. My mind is racing with everything that's happened over the last several weeks, live a tornado of memories and emotions wreaking havoc in my head.

Rubbing my temples, I decide to go with baby steps. "Why don't we start with what Kwan told you and I'll fill in the blanks?"

I watch Jace nod from the corner of my vision before he turns to face me. "He said that Derek's been forcing you to..." He grits his teeth and tightly folds his hands together. "forcing you to fake date him because of some video he has...of me."

Jace's eyes bore into my and I nod to confirm the information.

"Mother fucker," he grinds out under his breath before continuing. "Kwan said he didn't know exactly what's on the tape but that you, him, and Mila were spying on Derek to get info. Saw him do some kind of exchange with the Vipers?"

I nod again before Jace moves fast as lightning shifting from sitting beside me to kneeling down in front of me in the blink of an eye. His hands cage my face as his midnight ocean eyes connect with mine and nearly steal my breath away with the intense emotions shinning back at me.

"You should've told me the second the Vipers were involved! What the fuck were you thinking, Alexis? Do you got any idea how dangerous they are?"

"Y-Yes, but..."

"No, there's no buts," Jace snaps. "Those guys are murderers. They wouldn't pause to think about taking someone's life, and they don't even need a reason to do it. But some chick spying on their business deals is one hell of a reason, Lex!"

"I know. I know." I nod furiously, my vision blurring at the edges from the waterworks threatening to fall.

My heart and my head hurt with everything piling on top of each other; Derek, the video, the Vipers, Jace, all of it. And the way Jace is looking into my eyes and gripping me tightly only spikes more emotion inside of me. He's scared...no, he's terrified, and that's my fault.

Breaking from his hold, I throw my arms around his shoulders and bury my face in the crook of his neck. "I'm so sorry. I fucked up. I thought I was protecting you but all I've done is make a mess of everything!"

Jace's arms envelop me, crushing me tightly against him. "Baby, I'm not gonna lie to you and tell you it's okay, 'cause it isn't. You should've come to me from the start, but I'm here now and I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

"Me?" I pull back like a slingshot to look him in the eyes. "Jace, I'm worried about you! Everything I've done, even if it wasn't right, was to protect you! That video Derek has, I watched the whole thing, and if he shares that with the cops you could get in a lot of trouble. I can't sit by and watch you be thrown behind bars."

Jace's lips thin and brow furrows before he says, "You gotta tell what's on this video."

My stomach drops with those words, not because I don't want to tell them but because doing so will confirm everything. It'll make the video more real than it's ever been for me. I know Jace has probably done some stuff I wouldn't like due to being a Guardian, but that video was intense. The look on the guy's face, the brutality in which they treated him, and the fire that almost took a life; it's too much to stomach.

Needing more air, I move around Jace and get up from the porch steps. I begin pacing in the yard, shaking my hands out to keep them from trembling as I try to recall all the details from the video.

"It was some kind of security footage; the video was super grainy, but it looked like it was a sports equipment closet." My heart's racing with each word that leaves my mouth, but I can't bring myself to look at Jace. So as I burn a path in the grass, I keep my head down and my eyes on the ground. "There was a guy, big guy with a baseball cap. He was shoved into the closet and then...then you, Kade, Wilder, and Travis appeared. You guys looked like you were arguing with him and when he started shouting Travis punched him. Then...then..."

I blow out a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts. The next part of the video is the scariest for me because it shows the lengths that Jace and these guys I consider friends are willing to go.

But why?

That's the one question I haven't allowed myself to ask, even in my head. Why did they go after this guy? What was their reason?

"Then Wild and I went and got gasoline cans and we lit the room on fire with the guy still inside," Jace's voice softly states, breaking me from my thoughts.

I whip around, finally willing to look at him, and what I find surprises the hell out of me.

Is...is he laughing?

His inked hands cover his face, but his body lightly bounces with each faint chuckle that shakes free.

Shocked, I stand frozen in place with my mouth hanging open. I can't process what's going on. He's confirmed what's on the tape and yet...he thinks this shit is funny?

"Jace," I call, my voice filled with astonishment. "Jace...are you seriously laughing right now?"

His laughter grows until he drops his hands and reveals a smile that's equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking. It's like he's smiling through some deep-seededdeep-seated pain.

Getting to his feet, he rushes over to me and grabs my shoulders with both hands. "I swear to god, Alexis, I could strangle and kiss you right now."

"What?" I cock an eyebrow at him. "You better be joking."

He tips his head to the side with a come-on-now kind of look before adding, "If you would've come to me from the start, we never would've had to go through all this bullshit. I could've stopped this before it ever began."

"What do you mean? How could you have stopped this? You guys burned down a high school and almost killed a guy!"

"Except we didn't," he says, the corners of his mouth pulling into a small smile.

I narrow my eyes at him, more confused than ever. "What?"

"We didn't," he repeats. "We didn't kill him, we were never going to. We just wanted to scare the shit out of him and rough him up a bit. And as for burning West County done...baby, we burned down a sports shed."

My growing confusion must be clear as a day on my face because he shakes his head and smiles wider.

"We burned down the old sports shed that sat all the way on the other side of West County's football field, far away from the school. And even better, Wild and I put the fire out before things got too crazy."

Blinking several times, I'm unable to close my mouth. It's like my entire body has gone on lockdown and is currently trying to reboot.

"Baby, do you hear me?" He asks, closing the little space between us and placing his hands on my hips. "Lex, I didn't burn down the school. This is a good thing. It means Derek's got nothing."

"But...but, the date on the video..."

"Same night the school burned down, I know." He nods. "But it's not connected, not to us. That fire at the school was an electrical issue. It had nothing to do with that."

"Are you sure? I mean...that's one hell of a coincidence."

He shrugs. "Its what the report said that my uncle got. We never thought there was any reason to doubt it. The cops that gave him that report are close friends, old co-workers. He trusts them so we do to."

Worrying my lip between my teeth, I'm having trouble ignoring the feeling in my gut. Somethings not right here. There's no way the fire was a coincidence. I just know it.

"Why would Derek feel like he could get you guys in trouble for it then?" I ask, trying to look at all the angles but feeling as if I'm missing core pieces.

"Maybe he just misunderstood what he saw on the tape, just like you did."

"Maybe," I drawl out, still not ready to believe it but willing to let it go, for now, only because there's another question that I need the answer to. "Can you tell me who the guy was? Why were you guys trying to scare him?"

All humor instantly drains from his face. The calm ease that was in his gaze a second ago turns into a deep burning inferno.

"That was the football coach and gym teacher, Coach Lewis."

My eyebrows shoot into my hairline. "So...you guys went after school personnel?"

"We had to," he answers through clenched teeth. "He deserved it."

"Why?"

He huffs and yanks his hands through his hair. "Because he was a predator! He was going after girls at school, setting up cameras in the girl's locker rooms, and trying to trap them into giving him sexual favors."

"Oh my god." I cover my mouth at the same time my stomach churns and my blood boils.

"We...we were gonna turn him in but then...he went after Raegan."

If I thought my blood was boiling before, that's nothing compared to now. "That mother fucker!"

Jace nods. "Now you get it."

Yeah...I get it. Travis seemed angrier than anyone in that video. He's the one who threw the punch, he's the one who lit the fire, and now I know why.

"Poor, Rae," I whisper, feeling my heartbreak for the girl who just can't seem to get a break.

It makes me all the more pissed off when I think of the trouble she's been getting from the football team and Coach Carson at FFHS. She doesn't deserve that. No girl does.

Jace places a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Rae's strong. She'll be okay. She's got all of us on her side."

"And me." I nod. "God...this is all just so much."

"It's gonna be okay, baby. We'll figure this out together."

Turning around to burry myself in Jace's warmth, I tuck my head under his chin and feel secure in his arms. "Yeah, but what do we tackle first."

"Derek," Jace answers without hesitation. "That fucker needs to know he's got no more control over you. Have you talked to him since New Year's?"

"No. He's texted but I haven't answered."

"Good, we're gonna handle this one my way."

Pulling back, I look up at him. "And what way is that?"

The smile that takes hold of Jace's face blinds me with how gorgeous he is. "Publicly of course."

💘____________________________________💘

Hey, loves!

First off, let me start by saying that I am SO sorry for being late updating. As I've said on my profile a couple times, my mom is visiting from out of town and so I haven't had a lot of time to write while spending time with her. But I still am so sorry for being this late. 

That said, chances are that I won't be getting much done with her here. She's leaving at the end of the month so when that happens, my writing schedule should go back to normal. Until then, updates will most likely be sporadic and a little slow. 

I'm also sorry if this chapter isn't everything you were hoping for. It's a little shorter than I wanted but this felt like a good place to leave it in order to lead into something fun next chapter. Hopefully, you all still enjoyed it!

Now, onto the chapter questions!

Firstly, what do you think of Mila and Kwan's conversation? Any ideas what kind of trouble they could be going home to? Do you like the idea of Kwan teaching Lexi to fight or should Jace do that? What do you think about Jace's explanation of the video? Do you think the school burning down the same night that they torched the shed is a coincidence or is something going on there? And what idea do you think Jace has cooking in his head?

You can leave your thoughts in the comments and if you like what you read, please hit that star button! I look forward to hearing from all of you!

Can't promise I'll have a teaser for the next chapter since my writing schedule is all over the place this month, but I will try my best to post a chapter 21 teaser on my Instagram and Twitter!

Until next time, loves! 💜 xoxo