After over an hour of explaining what happened to the cops, I finally saw my brothers prized possession pull up behind one of the patrol cars.

"Austin!" I gasped, wrapping the blanket tightly around me as I watched my brother approach an Officer, Luca at his tail.

"All right, I'm going to go speak with my partner, please stay put, Miss Cyrus." I watched the cop walk back down to his car, where Jayden was currently sitting in the back of.

"Quinn!" My brother's voice broke through my daze as the cop moved the police tape from in front of me and allowed my brother into the front yard. I threw my arms around him, burying my face against his chest as the tears I had been holding in since Jayden had picked me up escape my eyes.

"It's okay." He whispered, "You're okay." I could feel his grip tighten around me as I collapsed.

"You did the right thing. You called me." He whispered, his hand on my back, "If you hadn't called I wouldn't have been able to get Luca to track your phone." I pulled away a little, but never got the chance to say a word. The officer approached us again, shaking his head.

"Are you her legal guardian?" He asked Austin, frowning.

"No. I'm her brother, our parents-"

"How old are you?" The cop cut my brother off, waiting for an answer.

"Twenty-two."

"And you're the one that called us?"

"Yes." I could feel the pain and exhaustion finally washing over me, making my legs feel like nothing but Jell-O.

"From what your sister has told me, I think it's best that she gets some rest and comes into the station in a couple days to testify against them." He said something else to Austin, before I felt my legs get lifted from the ground and my face fall against my brother's chest.

"It's okay, Quinn. It's over, you're safe." He assured me, shifting me in his arms as if I weighed no more than a doll. After a second of trying to protest, I let my fall back against his chest and shut my eyes.

**

I was immediately aware that I wasn't at home when I woke up the next morning. It took me a second to realize that there was also someone else in the bed with me.

"Ssh, belle. It's okay." I threw my hand over my chest and sat up as everything from last night begun to speed through my mind like a movie. Luca was propped up against the headboard beside me, looking as if he hadn't slept all night.

"I've got to get home." All I wanted was to be back in my bed, in my house, I wanted my Mom and Dad.

"Quinn." Luca said quietly, "Sit." I slowly sat back down, swallowing hard.

"I need you to tell me what the texts from this Max mean. What did he mean by he messed up?" I shook my head at the question.

"I don't know. He. . . he's the one that called Jayden to pick me up and. . ." I broke off, tears stinging my eyes again.

"Hey, calm down. I'm sure this Max didn't know what those kids were going to try and do." I ran a hand through my hair, pushing it out of my face.

I jumped up when the door opened, revealing Uncle Colt. His eyes fell on me, then Luca a few feet away.

"Hey, kiddo." He said with a quick grin. I only stared blankly at him, a bitterness setting in my stomach.

He had been one of the reasons for my parents fighting, for them getting a divorce. And here he was acting like he didn't do anything.

"You're awake." Austin said, slipping past his father and handing me a bagel.

"I want to go home." I whispered, picking off the edges of it.

"Sis, hey. Look, it's fine now. We're-"

"It's not fine! Mom and Dad are trying to talk me into living with just one of them! Kacey is constantly with Troy, Max is acting like I did something wrong. And. . . and I just almost got raped. Tell me, Austin, tell me how that's okay!" I exploded, throwing my hands in the air.

It was rare for me to finally break, but I guess everything had finally built up and I had reached my breaking point.

"Quinn, look. I understand that everything seems big and scary right now. I remember how it was for me. But sis, I promise it gets better. Things will start to work out." Austin squeezed my hand as he spoke, smiling sadly.

"You can't promise that." I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.

"You're right, sis, I can't. But I can promise you that life has a funny way of working, and no matter what, it finds a way to smooth the road out after a bumpy one." I nodded, hugging myself.

"Uncle Colt wants to ask you a few things, Q. He wants to help with our case against those assholes." I let my eyes flicker from my brother to my Uncle, and with one final skeptical look, nodded.

**

Once we had sorted through everything, Luca offered to go get Pizza and we ended up binge watching movies on Netflix and eating through three boxes of pizza.

"Aus?" I whispered sometime after Luca had passed out in the recliner. He looked up from where he was on the other side of the couch, his eyebrows drawn in confusion.

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared. I. . . I think I might like Max." Even after his outburst yesterday, even after him sort of being to blame for what happened, my feelings hadn't changed at all.

"No way, my Tomboy little sister likes the biggest prick in all of Wisconsin? What has this world come to?" He joked, pushing at my feet on his lap.

"I'm serious, Austin. What happens now? Why do I like him? What if I try to make some really big move and he rejects me?" The questions left my mouth quickly. It felt nice to be able to think about something other than last night.

"As much as I wish I could help, Q, I'm pretty sure you can answer all of those yourself. Why do you like him? What do you like about him?" He questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"I. . . I like his dedication to things. As much as he can be an ass sometimes, he's loyal. When he finds something he likes, he makes sure to keep building on it." I said, "And I like the way his eyes turn brown in certain lighting and green in other. His smile, I really like his smile too. The way it lights up his whole face and his eyes." I felt my cheeks flush at the confession, at the way Austin was looking at me.

"It sounds like this whole thing is more than a crush, sis. You sound like you're in love with him." I shook my head, snorting.

"What? No! That's impossible, we've only been hanging out for like two months." I said.

"That's long enough to start falling for someone, Quinn." I sighed at the answer, rubbing my face.

"What do you think I should do?" I whispered. He pushed my feet off his lap and sat up, grabbing my hand.

"I think you should listen to your heart, Q. You've got a better one than most people out there in the world. And despite all the times you forgave that piece of crap, it hasn't failed you yet, has it?" I nodded, staring down at the bracelet on my wrist.

"What is your heart telling you to do?" Austin asked, his eyes searching mine.

"I. . ." I shook my head and stared out the window into the dark night, "It's telling me to take the chance, but I'm scared." My brother sighed, dropping my hand and staring at the ceiling.

"But, Quinn. That's what life is about, taking chances, even if we're terrified of the outcome. It's what makes us human, and sis, I really think this is a chance you need to take. Because I'd rather see you sad knowing you tried, then sad knowing that you missed an opportunity."

***AN***

Hope you enjoyed!

Let me know what you thought!

~ChasingMadness24