Weston:

Are you busy?

Carter:

No

Carter:

Why?

Weston:

505 Amber Road

Carter:

?

Weston:

How fast can you get here?

Carter:

Probably in thirty minutes.

Weston:

K.

Shifting the gear into park, I cut the engine and glanced out the passenger side window, hoping I was at the right place. I wasn't sure why I was here, parked out front of a rundown house. But if Weston was the one messaging me, I had a good feeling it was something urgent. I sent off a text to let him know I had arrived.

A week had passed since the run-in at the office with the woman TJ had identified as Mom. And just like before, it had been radio silence from her end. This time I had sent her a text, asking if she was alright. However, after I had been left on read I took it with a grain of salt. I wasn't sure what she was going through, especially since she had told me her mother was dead, but I assumed that it was more than I could imagine.

After a minute of sitting in my own silence, I noticed Weston walk out the front door of the house and stand on the lawn. Exiting my car, I double-checked that it was locked, before heading towards where he stood.

"Care to finally tell me what I'm doing here?"

Weston looked over his shoulder as if to check that the couple on the lawn wasn't listening, before saying, "She needs you, alright?"

"Who does?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes at my oblivious question. "TJ. She won't admit it. But, I know she does."

"So she can't tell me that herself? She has to get you to do it?"

"She doesn't know. And besides, you really think she'd do that?"

I shrugged. "I'm still trying to learn the rules of our friendship."

"Friends," Weston muttered in disbelief, "I'm not sure if you've been paying attention or not, but TJ doesn't have friends." He continued before I had the chance to speak, "I didn't get you to come here to sort out your little lovers' quarrel, alright?"

"Why can't one of you just help her then? I don't even know what's going on!"

"She's been drinking and snorting whatever she can ever since her mom-" He cut himself off. "She's just trying to cope. Look, Pat will just do whatever he can to make her happy. The kid doesn't have any willpower to say no to her. Silas always plays up his overly protective brother role and pisses her off. I, on the other hand, know what she wants." He paused and pointed his finger at me, "She's too damn stubborn to admit it."

"And how do you know that?"

"Like I said," he shrugged his shoulders, "TJ doesn't have friends."

That was just absurd. Of course she had friends. Right?

I shook the thoughts from my head as I followed Weston inside the house. Whether or not TJ had learned the importance of friendship was the least of my priorities right now. I had no idea what state she would be in. By the sounds of it, it wasn't good. I was hoping she would at least be conscious.

This house was not as crowded compared to the last party a few nights ago. A few people looked in my direction as I walked in but quickly resumed their conversations. There was a haze of smoke with a smell that was once again becoming all too familiar to me.

"She's in there," Weston said, nodding towards the door.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"See if she'll talk to you," he said quietly, "She normally talks to us. But this time, she just completely shut down. And, we don't know what else to do to help her."

Reaching for the handle, I hesitated briefly, wondering what could be on the other side. I wasn't sure why Weston thought that out of everyone, TJ would talk to me about what was going on. However, I was happy to try and at least make an attempt. I swallowed the lump in my throat and opened the door. A rush of relief flowed through my body when I saw her alone in the dark room, looking out the window.

TJ turned her head as I entered the room, closing the door behind me. It was empty space, for the most part. Aside from the couch pushed against the wall and a table cluttered with an array of substances.

"You're here?"

I walked towards her with slow steps. The lack of emotion she expressed caused me to question whether Weston was right about all of this. The dim light from the night sky illuminated her face, allowing me to take her appearance in. Her hair was pushed back behind her ears, allowing her features to be on display. Yet, she resembled almost a shell of the TJ I knew. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, with dark circles that told me she had barely slept. Her cheeks appeared more hollow and her skin was drained of colour.

"Are you alright?"

The corners of her lips lifted into a smile, one that was so forced it looked painful. "Of course."

"How much have you had to drink?" I asked, noticing the bottle she had in her hand.

"Enough." She held up the glass bottle, swaying it from side to side. "Want some?"

I quickly grabbed the bottle and placed it on the table.

"No fun," she pouted, stepping closer to place her hands on my shoulders.

"What's wrong, TJ?"

Her eyes met mine. "Nothing's wrong," she said, shaking her head.

"Then why are you here?"

TJ rolled her eyes, continuing to force her weak attempt of a happy expression. "It's a party, Carter. Some people like to go to them. They are fun."

I raised a brow. "Is that what you're doing alone in here then? Having fun?"

"I know what could make it more fun," she whispered, running her hands down the front of my shirt. Her lips went to my neck, momentarily distracting me from noticing that her hands had begun undoing my belt.

"TJ," I warned, trying to pull myself out from the pleasurable distraction she was causing. I grabbed hold of her wrist. "Stop."

She pulled her head back. "Why?"

I tightened my grasp as she attempted to pull free. "Because I'm here to help you, TJ."

"Help me then," she said, guiding my body backwards. "Distract me."

The back of my legs pressed against the couch. Her nudge caught me off balance, as I fell backwards, landing on the cushion. TJ dropped to her knees in front of me, her hands running along the inside of my thigh.

"TJ, stop." I grabbed hold of her wrists again, tugging her upwards.

"Oh." She sank her teeth into her bottom lip, easily getting to her feet. I realized she had somehow gotten the wrong idea as she straddled my waist on the couch and said, "Just want to get right to it?"

I began to go frustrated as my hands grabbed hold of her hips. "TJ, stop. I'm not having sex with your right now."

She appeared genuinely confused. "Why not? I thought you wanted to help me?"

"I do," I said, "But, not like this. Talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

The smile dropped from her lips. I wondered if her drunken mind was beginning to piece together what I was saying.

Her eyes averted from mine. "Nothing's wrong."

"TJ-"

"I said nothing's wrong!" She said louder, squeezing her eyes shut.

The volume of her voice caught me off guard. I responded with a nod, falling silent to give her a second of peace. I slowly moved a hand from her hip up to her cheek. TJ leaned into my touch as my thumb gently grazed her skin.

"Let me take you home."

TJ shook her head, moving from her position to the cushion beside me. "I don't want to go home."

"Then let me take you to mine." I reached my hand out to touch hers, but she quickly pulled away.

"No," she shook her head, standing from her spot. "No, no, no," she mumbled, as she walked back towards the window. "No, you're going to make me talk about it. I don't want to talk about it."

I stood from my spot, staying a safe distance away. "I think talking about it would help you. I saw how you looked when you saw your mom, TJ. I don't know what happened-"

TJ quickly turned around. "No, you don't know what happened. Okay?"

"I know, I'm just trying-"

"Trying to what? Help me?" She spat, narrowing her eyes. "You don't fucking know me, okay? You think you do, but you fucking don't. What? I tell you something that was already in every gossip magazine and suddenly you think you fucking know me?" She began to pace back and forth by the window. "You don't know what goes on in my head. Okay? You don't fucking get it."

I opened my mouth to speak, wanting to defend myself in any possible way I could. My intentions were good. Yet, she made them sound so dishonest. I swallowed the words down. I knew what was happening with her right now. I had seen it before. However she truly felt about the words she was saying, the concoction of substances she had in her system was increasing her anger. And I knew better than to contribute to it by wanting to selfishly defend my character.

I had become lost in my own thoughts, I hadn't realized what was happening to her. TJ stood, bent over with her hands on her thighs. The sounds of her heavy breathing filled the room. Hearing the patterns of her breath quicken, I walked towards her. I wanted to touch her, let her know I was there, but I was hesitant with how she would respond.

"TJ?" I asked, trying to suppress the concern that wanted to escape, "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "I can't... I can't breathe," she panted, "Carter?"

Instinctively, my hand reached out to hold hers. "I'm right here," I told her softly, "Can you look at me?"

Her head lifted and her eyes met mine. Slowly, TJ straightened her back, her chest heaving as she stood up.

"Just, relax. Breathe in through your nose," I said, demonstrating my own instruction, "And release. Again, breath in," I couldn't help but smile as she closed her eyes and followed along, "And out."

After leading her through a few more deep breaths, her eyes fluttered open. Her shoulders appeared less stiff, her jaw slightly unclenched. Yet, the look in her eyes told me a few deep breaths did not cure whatever was running through her mind.

"Let's sit you down," I said softly, leading her back towards the couch.

TJ followed without any protest.

I crouched down in front of her. "What did you take?"

TJ shook her head. "It's not... from that," she said, in-between heavy breaths. "There's just too much going on."

"Where?"

Her head rested in her hands, her fingers combing through her hair. She tugged at the strands of her pink hair. "In my head," she whispered, "There's too much in my fucking head."

"I'm going to get you some water." I stood from my crouched position and looked around the room.

A stack of red solo cups was placed on the table, and to my surprise, appeared unused. Pulling a cup from the pile, I brought it up to my nose for a smell test. It appeared to be clean. However, a quick wash wouldn't cause any harm.

My eyes scanned the rest of the table. I did my best to evaluate the substances scattered around, which was hard to do so it all resembled a similar white powder. Quickly glancing at TJ, I was relieved that her head was down. I looked back to the table and reached for a small orange bottle, reading the label.

Don't do it.

As tempting as it was, I knew feeding that desire was wrong to do right now. This wasn't about me. It was about her. I was here for her. Listening to that irritating voice in my head, I placed the bottle back down on the table.

After filling the plastic cup with water, I returned to where TJ sat and kneeled in front of her.

"Here. Drink."

Her head peered up. She grabbed hold of the cup, and with shaky hands, lifted it to her mouth. Reaching forward, I brushed a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. TJ quickly drained the contents of my cup and licked her lips once she had finished.

"Better?"

I was unable to read her expression as her gaze held mine. Her lips parted to speak, yet no words escaped. Instead, she pressed her lips into a thin line and shook her head. TJ leaned forward, resting her elbows on her thighs and covering her face with her hands. "Get out," she mumbled.

"What?"

"If you're not going to distract me, I don't want you here," she said, "Please, get out."

I slowly rose from my position, honouring her wish. I ran my hand over my chin, letting a deep breath out. It was wrong to be annoyed with her while she was in this state. I knew that. Yet, I couldn't help feeling that way. I wanted to help her. However, doing so was impossible if she didn't let me in. Let alone, want me around at all.

"Where are you going?"

I was surprised by the sound of her voice. As I turned around, I was even more taken back by the look on her face. Her eyes were wide, appearing alarmed and confused at the same time as if she didn't know why I was leaving. "Home," I told her. With my last attempt, I lifted my arm forward, extending my hand to her, "Come with me."

Her eyes look at my hand before meeting mine again. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Then we won't talk," I said, shrugging my shoulders. I took a half step back towards the door. "Just come home with me."

I waited with desperation for her to rise to her feet. Instead, her eyes fell to her lap as she fiddled nervously with her hands. My arm dropped to my side as I turned and opened the door, exiting the room and leaving her behind. As much as I wanted to pick her up and carry her out, I knew it would have to be up to her to leave.

Leaving the room, I walked down the hall to where Weston stood with his eyes fixated on his phone.

"Guess you were wrong."

He looked up. "What do you mean?"

"She doesn't need me, or whatever you said." I bit the instead of my cheek, before mumbling, "She just wanted sex."

"What?"

"Nothing," I quickly said, clearing my throat. "I'm going to head out. Just, uh, make sure she gets home in one piece, I guess. She's still in there."

I headed out the front door. My hand fumbled around my pocket for my car keys.

"Carter," Weston called from behind. "Look, man. I'm sorry for making you come down here. I really did think that-"

"It's fine. I'm sure whatever's going on isn't easy. For any of you."

"You can say that again," he scoffed. "I know she..." he looked over his shoulder, "cares about you. She'd kill me for telling you that, but I know she does. She's just not good with her emotions. Especially when she's trying to deal with it on top of the shit already going on."

I nodded in response, wondering why he felt the need to tell me. Maybe he could sense what happened in the room. Obviously, it was nice to hear that she cared. In any other situation hearing that would have warmed my heart. But now, it barely sparked anything. It barely did anything to diminish the doubts I had.

"Well, if there's anything I can actually help with, give me a call," I said before turning around and walking back towards my car.

I knew saying that was more of a formality than anything. It was unlikely I would ever be called in for help following that encounter. I was more than aware of that. Maybe it was for the best, after all.

Only a few feet away from the house, I heard a familiar voice behind me ask, "Is he gone?" I forced myself to not turn around, wanting to avoid the pain of not seeing her face. Footsteps from behind approached closer, "Carter?" I stopped at the sound of my name. TJ met my glance with relieved eyes as I turned around. "Thank god," she whispered, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around my neck. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

I let myself stay silent for a moment, as my arms wrapped around her, keeping her body close to mine.

"It's okay," I finally mumbled into her shoulder.

TJ leaned back. "No, it's not. I don't know what came over me. I just couldn't-"

"It's okay," I repeated softly, noticing how her eyes glazed over. I could tell by the way she bit down on her bottom lip, that she was doing everything she could to hold back her tears.

"Can I still come with you?"

The corners of my lips turned upwards hearing her question. I leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Of course," I said, taking her hand in mine.

The car ride home was silent, the only noise coming from the saint sound on the radio. I would have thought I was alone if it weren't for TJ holding my hand with such a strong grip. I glanced over a few times throughout the drive, wanting to ensure she was still breathing. She was. TJ sat silently, with her eyes focused on the window.

Turning the car into the driveway, I cut the engine and let out a deep breath. At least she was here. At least she had decided to come with me. That had to mean something.

"Thank you."

The soft sound of her voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked at her, noticing the single tear that ran down her cheek. Reaching my hand forward, I wiped it away. "Let's get inside."

TJ's hand found its way back to mine as soon as she got out of the car. I glanced down, feeling her fingers interlock with mine. It was odd that it made me feel closer to her in a way. Almost like she trusted me. I shook the thoughts from my head as we walked into the house.

"Do you want to take a shower?" I asked her, turning on the light, "Or some food? Tea?"

"A shower would be nice."

"And food?"

TJ shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

"How about I make you something small just in case you change your mind?"

"Okay," she said quietly, nodding her head.

We walked towards my bedroom and into the connecting bathroom. I released my hand from hers to turn the shower on. Turning back towards TJ, I noticed she had wrapped her arms around herself, as she leaned against the counter.

"Take as long as you want," I told her, "And you can use anything in there. I'll get you some towels, okay?"

TJ nodded. "Thank you."

"It's alright. I hope you don't mind the scent, but-"

"No," she quickly interjected. "For everything. Thank you."

I stepped towards her, leaning my head down to press a kiss on her forehead. "You don't need to keep saying that."

"I do."

I left TJ to shower and made my way to the kitchen, opening every cabinet to try and find something to make for her. I wasn't sure what her likes or dislikes were. Every time I had been around her and food she seemed disinterested, pushing it away.

I settled on toast, knowing it would help soak up whatever was in her system. Besides, it seemed like a safe bet. Everyone liked bread. Right?

Placing the pieces of bread in the toaster, I took another look around to see if any inspiration would spark. I wasn't sure what was comforting to eat or drink for a situation like this. I decided to make her some tea – she didn't say no to that when I had brought it up.

After grabbing a few clean towels from the hall closet, I walked towards my room and rummaged through my drawers, looking for clothes for her to wear. Normally, the two of us went to bed without any clothing at all. But tonight, she was here for a much different reason. And so instead, I opted to grab her a cotton shirt, a clean pair of boxer shorts, and a sweater in case she was cold.

It was good that she was here. It had to mean something – right? Could it mean that she trusted me? Maybe. It was obvious, however, that whatever was clouding her mind, was not a topic of conversation for tonight. If it was one to ever have with me, I wasn't sure. I wouldn't push her. That's clearly not what she needed right now.

I knocked on the bathroom door and opened it slightly. "TJ?" I called, "I brought you some towels and clothes." I paused, waiting for a response that never came.

The water was still running; maybe she couldn't hear me. I opened the door a bit more. "TJ?" I called again.

No response.

"TJ?"

The only sound came from the running water. My mind began running to the worst-case scenario. I opened the door and walked into the bathroom. The last thing I wanted was to make her feel like I was invading her privacy. But I just wanted to make sure she was okay.

My head turned towards the shower. Alarm bells sounded off in my head when I was unable to see her figure. Placing the towels and clothes onto the countertop, I took a step towards the glass. That's when I noticed her. She was sitting on the tiled floor, her knees drawn into her chest, arms wrapped around, her head down. I paused for a second. Was she crying?

"TJ?" I asked for what felt like the hundredth time, "Are you alright?"

As I swung open the glass door, I noticed her entire body trembling. Without a second thought, I stepped inside and kneeled in front of her, gently touching her arm. As she tilted her head up, my suspicion of her crying was confirmed.

"You're getting wet," she whispered.

"What?"

"You're getting wet," she repeated, pointing to my clothes.

"Oh," I looked down at my soaked shirt. The thought of getting into the shower fully clothed hadn't crossed my mind before doing so. "It's ok... It'll dry." She smiled. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay. You got me worried there for a second."

"Sorry," she mumbled. "Normally no one hears me." 

bleh sorry for the wait. this took me SIX rewrites. anyway, I hope you still enjoyed 

as always, don't forget to vote/comment if you enjoyed this chapter <3