I knew without any doubt that there would be no way I could sleep if I didn't go with Zane and find out what happened. Marcus had always been a little on the rebellious side. As a kid, he'd stay out ten minutes after curfew just to piss his parents off. When we got older and into our preteen years, he would stay over at my house whenever he could and not tell his parents or leave the neighborhood in general and only tell Zane and me where he was headed. There had never been any signs of anything more than a phase in Mark, and I could only pray that when I met his beautiful blue eyes through the holding cell bars, I would be burdened with the sight of seeing fear in them.

My mom took over my shift with the baby for the night without a problem, and some part of me was relieved my dad was still at work. I knew he wasn't exactly fond of my decision to keep the baby and legally adopt it in a couple months; he believed Liam was no more than a road block to my future. He would lose it if he knew I was leaving him with Mom so I could go with Zane to bail the baby boy's father out of jail.

"Does my dad know he's there?" I asked, prying my eyes from the brightly lit city streets and to the boy beside me. He shrugged a shoulder, keeping his full attention on the road.

"I don't think so." he whispered. "But the officer that called knows your father, because he made sure to let me know how lucky Marcus was that your father cared about him."

I nodded, not finding enough courage to say anything else. Zane had closed himself off so much on the ride here that I couldn't catch a glimpse of any emotion in his eyes.

He slowed the car to a stop in an empty spot in the parking lot of the station, his fingers dancing along the clutch. "Thank you for coming."

"I didn't think you should have to handle this on your own." I answered without hesitation.

The right side of his mouth curled into a tight smile before he pulled the keys from the ignition and climbed out of the car. By the time I got out myself and joined him, he was leaning into the bumper, hands clasped as he stretched them behind his head.

"It's freezing out here, why the hell didn't you bring a jacket?" Zane started to slip out of his sweatshirt, but I held my hand up in a motion for him to stop.

"You don't need to do that, Zai. This isn't a chickflick." I responded with a laugh. He rolled his eyes and forced me into his sweatshirt before I could protest, ruffling my hair like an owner might do to a puppy as we continued up the street to the front of the dark and seemingly deserted building.

Our eyes both fell on my dad the second we walked through the door. My instincts told me to duck behind Zane and pray he wouldn't see me; my heart and head knew better. There was no way he wouldn't be able to see me, I was right in front of him.

Rather than get lost in my own thoughts, I sat in one of the seat facing the dozing woman at the front desk. I found myself thinking about how perfectly Zane's hoodie fit. I had worn Mark's like they were my own for years, but I had always floated in them, especially heading into middle school. He had grown and filled out so much that his sweatshirts and jackets were twice the size and tended to swallow me whole. Zane's wasn't too tight, as some of mine were, but hung off my body loosely; it just wasn't so loose that I got lost in it. I could actually stick my arms through the sleeves and see them if I rolled them up a little.

I heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor and didn't have to look up to know who it was. "Dad."

"Why are you out this late?" he got straight to the point. "And why are you wearing that? Are you sleeping with Matthew?"

"Zane." I corrected defensively. "We were just hanging out and he didn't want me to get cold."

My father shook his head. "No boy and girl your age just hang out, Paige. Matthew isn't-"

"It's Zane." I said through my teeth.

"His records say otherwise, sweetheart." his eyebrows drew in frustration.

"Whatever, Dad. Is Marcus okay?" I changed the subject as best as I could.

The disapproving look in his eyes told me that Mark was far from being okay.

"He was caught drinking and driving underage, Paige. If it hadn't been Henry that pulled him over, he'd be doing some time. I'll let him off with a warning his time, but I better not see him driving intoxicated on my streets."

I felt the need to thank my dad, but I knew better than to even open my mouth. He would only quiet me and walk off.

When he pushed himself up from the chair, I let my eyes drift toward the hallway in time to find Zane shoving his drunk brother down the hall with a dark look, looking as if he were cursing under his breath.

The moment Mark lifted his head and met my eyes, he grumbled quiely under his breath and pushed through the front doors of the building and out into the parking lot. Zane paused by the doors, hand outstretched as if he were beckoning me to follow him. I knew he was giving me the choice to have him drop me off or stay here for another hour with my dad until his shift was over.

"I'll see you in the morning, Daddy." I kissed his cheek and hurried off toward Zane. He held the door open and let me out before saying anything.

"Do you think we can crash at your place tonight? Mom and Dad are having people over and if they see Mark-"

I waved off his question. "Sure. I'll give you a few blankets and you guys can sleep in the garage."

"Because the guest room is taken?" he quirked an eyebrow.

I opened he passenger door of his car. "No, because the garage blocks out noise, and baby Liam definitely makes a lot of it."

*

I set a glass of water and a couple Advil on the small box behind Marcus' head, my chapped lips parted. Throwing the blanket over him, I paused momentarily to take in the peacefulness lighting up his features. For the first time in years, I saw the soft and kind features of my best friend. I bushed a strand of his dark hair off his forehead before patting his cheek and standing slowly. Zane was still setting up his air mattress, eyes squinted as he tried to read the small print on the manual.

"This manual makes me want to take up learning all the different languages on it." he commented when he caught my wandering eyes.

I smiled a little and started back toward the door leading into the kitchen. He shot his brother one last long look before setting the manual down and hurrying out of the garage after me. I waited to hear the door click and break through the silence to stop in the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" I asked in a hushed whisper.

Zane stared at me, clearly confused. "I'm not sleeping in there."

"You think you're sleeping with me?" I made a gesture toward myself, feeling warmth spread through my cheeks. I pressed my palms into them, even more embarrassed once I realized the dirty innuendo laced through my words.

"I mean, I don't have a problem-" he started unloosening his belt with a wink. I turned my back to him and headed straight for my room before he could see just how embarrassed I was.

My legs led me to the bassinet beside my bed within seconds of entering the room, a smile tugging at either corner of my mouth as I reached into the small carriage and picked Liam up. His eyes fluttered open, hands and feet stretching out frantically. The moment his small right hand clutched the hem of my black t-shirt, he stopped fidgeting and rested his head against my breast.

"You're good with him." Zane leaned on to the balls of his feet to get a better view of the groggy baby in my arms.

I threw a smile his way over my shoulder. "I used to hold Pete like this when he got fussy. I was the only one that could calm him down."

Gently bouncing Liam in my arms, I waited until his eyes fluttered shut again to set him back down to sleep. I was halfway across the room, fiddling with the bottom of my shirt when Zane spoke up again.

"What if he starts crying? Mark is in-"

"Marcus is hammered." I cut him off, pulling my shirt over my head. I could feel Zane's eyes burning holes into the back of my head, and knew without any doubt he was questioning why I was walking around in a bra and trying to hunt down a sleep shirt.

There had been a time when I was able to walk around the Dryer's house freely in my bikini top and bottom or one of Mark's shirts and underwear without any problems. Standing with my back to his younger brother, I was suddenly aware of my body. Every fine detail seemed to shine like a bright light in the dark room. The way my hips stuck out a little too far, giving me what my mom liked to call a "curve." I couldn't help but notice the slight cleavage being pushed to the top of my bra. It was as if just Zane's presence in the room had forced me in front of a real mirror for the first time in my life.

Why the hell was I letting a sixteen year old boy I had thought of as a brother for ten years determine how I felt about my body?

Because you love him, a small voice whispered in the back of my mind, and you're afraid you'll lose him all over again.

"You're comfortable just changing in front of guys?" there was almost a bitterness hanging off the edge of Zane's question.

I shrugged, sliding one of the shirt's I'd stole from Mark years ago over my head before unclasping my bra.

"Well, you aren't just a random guy, Zai." I replied, "You've seen me in a bikini."

He scratched at the back of his head. "That's different."

"How?"

"For starters, the bra you were just wearing was lacy and I could almost see through it, and your boobs look like they were dying to escape their confinement." he smirked. "And it's pretty dark in here, so my mind is heading off in the wrong direction. When you wear a bikini, it's all right there in front of me, out in the light."

I frowned, crossing my arms as I took in what he said.

"I get the feeling I don't want to turn the light on." I whispered, feeling the right side of my mouth curve into a smile.

He laughed. "Probably not. Mind if I use the bathroom real quick?"

I shook my head and made a gesture toward the bathroom door across the room. I threw myself down on my bed once I heard the door shut and buried my face in my pillow.

I started dozing the second my head hit the pillow and barely felt the bed cave when Zane stretched out on top of the comforter beside me. Just as I was about to fall into a peaceful sleep, I felt his hand brush against my cheek.

"I'm sorry." he apologized. I was too exhausted to think up a coherent response; my sleepiness taking over soon after and swallowing me whole.  

***AN***

Hey guys, hope you enjoyed! 

I promise the next few chapters will be a lot more exciting and edge of your seat type of drama! Stick with me! 

What do you guys think Zane was apologizing about?

Let me know what you guys thought! 

~ChasingMadness24