Sophia's POV:

After I sent Axel that message, I realized that I needed to get out of this dress, so I asked McGiligan to stop by my house . I got a change of clothes, took my laptop, and the single most important thing I currently had on me. I stuffed everything into my bag, changed into more comfortable clothes, left Lara a note with the dress, and then got back in the car. I chose the farthest hotel from my house, but not too far that they couldn't reach me if I needed them; or they needed me. The rush of information I got was still making my head throb, and I was still in shock. I would have to go through the surveillance footage I have saved in my room attic, but I'm more than sure that this man was the same monster who killed my family.

Ten years ago, fifteen year old me was pretending to be a CSI investigating a crime, and both my parents were playing along. The were my commanding officers and I was up there collecting evidence because they were teaching me to be thorough. Before I knew it, I was a witness to the worst event of my life. I made sure the box was secured in my bag and I let McGiligan drive me across the city. Thankfully, he didn't try to make small talk, and he just let me be. It didn't slip me, however, how he kept glancing back at me from his rearview mirror. I didn't know what emotions to feel. On one hand, there was my strong affection towards Axel, but on the other hand, his father killed my parents. Not hurt them, not stalked them; killed them. And it isn't just a random event, this is a man he's been actively fixing his relationship with, a man who promised him relationships that would make his company take off.

What do I do? Do I tell him, and risk ruining the best thing that ever happened to me? Do I let it go, when I owe this to my parents and my brother? What do I do? There is no way in hell I'm going to let him get away with making me an orphan, and for putting my brother in a coma, but what about Axel? He suffered all his life because of this man, and now when he's finally allowed himself to give him a chance, this happens. I really don't know what to do, but I know that that man doesn't deserve to be free for what he did. I closed my eyes, to cool myself down, and I fought my mind to not think of anything, but I couldn't. All I saw was Axel's broken face if I told him. What would he think? What would he say?

See, this is the main reason I never wanted to open up to anyone; it always went south. When I kept to myself, I only had myself to take care of, only my feelings to spare, only my safety to think about. Now I have a Lara living in my house, an Axel emotionally attached to me, and a Cooper and Landon I feel responsible for. They wriggled their way into my life, and of course I couldn't be more grateful, but now that just means that I have to protect them too. I'm just so tired of fighting these demons by myself. I was forced to grow up at fifteen, and I've had to fend for myself ever since. That meant only trusting myself, and only ever asking for help if it was pertinent. But now it's different. Now I have a whole army by my side but they didn't ask to be dragged into this.

Ugh.

Why can't life ever be easy?

"I really wish you were here, mom." I whispered at the sky. Images of her beautiful face flashed before

It took about a half hour for me to get to the lobby of this super fancy hotel midtown called 'La Fleur Di Lis'.

"Thank you so much McGiligan, I really appreciate it." I said, truly glad he went out of his way for me.

"Any time, mi lady. Here's my business card. Please let me know if you need me to drive you anywhere."

"I will. Bye!" I replied, grabbing his card.

"Hi! Welcome to our hotel. How can I help you?" greeted the concierge desk clerk. The name on his nametag read "Armani".

"Hi, I'd like to book a room please. No specifics."

"Okay, sure. Let me see what I've got here." He scrolled through the screen for about a minute.

"I'm sorry, since it's the end of the year and people are flying in from everywhere, we don't have many room. The last two we have are double beds. Would that work for you ma'am?"

What option do I have?

"Yeah, sure. That works for me."

He took my information and payment info and I was up in my room in no time, left alone with my deadly thoughts.

I laid down on my bed and I didn't expect to fall asleep at all. It was 10:21pm when I last looked at the clock and when I blinked and opened my eyes again it was 12:21am. I sighed, and just laid on my side. I won't be able to fall asleep now. I turned on my phone and an avalanche of notifications appeared on my screen. Most of them were from Axel and Lara but also some from Cooper. The last message though, got my heart feeling so cute and warm and fuzzy.

From: Axel

Don't worry. Just let me in Sophia Grace - I'll protect you :(

He sent that almost an hour ago. For some reason, my brain turned numb whenever it came to him. I hit 'call' before I could give it a second thought. It rang for half a second before his melodious voice filled my ears.

"Hello love." He said, worry and exhaustion evident in his voice.

I took a deep breathe, trying my best not to break down.

"Hey." I replied.

"What happened darling? You know you can tell me. You saw something, or rather someone who scared the ever living crap out of you. Who is it?" He asked slowly and calmly.

What am I supposed to say to him? How do you tell someone that their father is a murderer?

"I will tell you. But I need time to figure it out for myself first. It's life altering and I really don't want to drag you to hell with me before I figure out what I'm going to do."

"Sophia, I don't think you understand. The way I feel about you, it means that your problems are my problems. Your insecurities are my insecurities and I wouldn't ever want you to go through anything alone. Please. Let me help you."

The desperation in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. Im very lost and so scared and I truly don't know what to do.

"I can't Axel. This is too big. You'll need to know the whole story because I know, once you find out what happened; you'll hate me. You'll... you'll hate me so much, and I'm not ready for that to happen. Im not." I sobbed into my hands because I didn't know what else to do. I was so exhausted.

"Hey, hey now. I would never hate you, Sophia. Ever. And if you still think I would do something like that then I guess you really don't know me. I've liked you for a long time, and finally telling you was the highlight of my life. I will keep showing you how much you mean to me and how far I'll go to protect you; if only you'd let me. Please Sophia, let me in. Give me a chance to show you that you don't have to fight these demons alone. You have me, girl. " He said.

"Axel, I spent my entire life alone, looking after myself, fending for myself, it's not easy for me to open up to people. You wouldn't get it."

"Try me. That's all I ask of you, try me." He whispered, the urgency in his voice increasing.

I understand the kind of affection he has for me, because it's the exact same thing I have for him. I couldn't speak because crying made my throat constrict so I just sobbed for a whole minute, and he waited patiently for me.

"God, it kills me that I can't be there to hold you, to comfort you." I heard him say.

I took a deep breath, and steadied myself.

"If you insist on knowing what's going on, we'll need to meet in person. I'll send you an address tomorrow night to meet the next day. Please don't tell anyone just yet."

"Okay then, I'll come pick you..."

"No, Axel. I'll meet you there. After we sit down and talk, you wouldn't want anything to do with me. So I'd rather have my own ride." I said, my heart breaking at the reality. I don't want to live in a world where he hates me, but what choice do I have? I have to do this, no matter how earth shattering it is.

I heard him sigh loudly.

"I don't know why you keep saying that. Nothing will ever make me hate you. Okay, fine. We'll meet there. But until then, please don't disappear on me again. Okay?"

"I won't." I replied.

"Good." He said, I could almost hear the smile in his voice.

"Hey, Axel?"

"Yeah, love?"

"Thank you. For everything. I may not say it as much, but you really mean a lot to me. And I've never felt more safe, or cared for, or heard in the world than when I'm with you." I whispered out, my heart finding some relief in talking to him.

"No, Soph thank you. I keep thanking God everyday for blessing me with someone like you. You're my lifeline, and I'll always keep reminding you." He yawned.

"I'll let you sleep, and I can't wait to see you again Axel. I really hope you don't...

"Don't say it Sophia. I will never hate you; you mean too much to me." He lightly whispered.

Stupid tears started making their way to my eyes again. I sniffed, and wiped them away.

"Good night Axel." I said, my voice shaking.

"Good night darling. Sweet dreams."

He hung up, and I was left once again with my own thoughts. I was very tired, and exhausted but I had to stay up for a few more minutes. She should be here soon.

I tried fighting it, but my eyelids got too heavy, and then I heard her loud knock.

"Took you long enough, man!" I said, opening the door and hugging Lara.

She hugged me for a whole minute, my bones slowly fusing together, but I couldn't dare move.

"Don't ever do that to me again, man." She said, her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry. I had to." I replied, taking her bag from her and putting it on the chair.

"You have to tell me what happened." She sat on the floor, her back against her bed, and I sat opposite to her, my back against my bed.

"I found him..." I replied, my ears ringing at the mention of him.

"Him, who? Nikolson? Bro, y'all gotta stop being so cute, we know."

"Lara, shut up. Him. The man who killed my family."

Her eyes shot wide open, her mouth even wider. She stuttered, unable to find anything to say.

"Take your time. I still don't know what to think of it." I said, crossing my legs and taking out a bag of chips I asked her to get.

She was still stuttering when I finished half the bag.

"Wait. Axel and I were looking at the security footage and we saw you standing outside the room he was in. He said it was only him, his mom and his...." Her eyes widened at the realization

"No!" She gasped, her hands over her mouth.

"Oh, yeah."

"Sophia, no way. Does Axel know?"

"No, he doesn't, and I don't know how to tell him, Lara."

"You have to just tell him. He loves you, he'll understand. And besides, it's not like you're telling him he killed your family. It's someone he recently just let into his life too..."

"He's going to hate me, Lara. I'm not ready for that to happen." Stupid tears made their debut appearance again.

"Axel could hate the entire world but you. I saw that man run around their entire factory sized mansion just to find a single piece of information that could lead to your whereabouts. He didn't look pissed off or annoyed; he looked genuinely concerned. And besides, you owe this to your parents. He will be on board with doing what's right, because that is what justice is. If I wasn't half a lawyer, I would've helped you out."

"Wait, you're back to school?" How did I never notice? Wow, I was too self-absorbed into my own life that I didn't even noticee.

"Yeah! I got back into UCLA Law. I didn't want to bother you with it, but anyways. You should tell him."

"I will. Even if I lose him, I owe this to my parents."

"Also, I read the rest of the thing you wrote for me." She said, referring to the mini note I left for her with the dress.

"And..." I said, totally forgetting what else I wrote for her.

"Who's Wesley?"

Oh, that.

"He came up to me a few days ago when we were working at The Corner Store. He said he saw you and was too shy to approach you. So he told me to tell you that he's interested. His name is Wesley, he said that he is a developer or something. To be honest, he seemed very polite. Why don't you give him a chance? You have his phone number right?"

"I do, yeah. Hmm, maybe I will." She held the phone number in her hand and smiled a little smile; but it was there nonetheless.

"You know what, I'm not going to wait until tomorrow. I'm going to send Axel a meet-up place today, so we can meet up tomorrow. I'm gonna sleep now, I have a dreaded day awaiting me tomorrow." I said as I went to start my night routine.

"Good night, sis. Sweet dreams. I'll probably stay up a little to watch something on Netflix."

"Okay, sounds good."

I brushed my teeth, moisturized my face and slipped into my comfy silky PJs. Before I slept, I remembered to text Axel.

To: Axel <3

"Today, the pretty bookstore cafe on 7th @5pm. I'll have your favorite cookie waiting."

I closed my eyes, and prayed that my heart slows down a little bit. I dreamt of him tonight, and it was the best dream ever.

* * * *

I woke up at 10am, to the sound of my phone getting a million text message notifications. I put my pillow over my face but the vibration was too much.

LaraTCS:

Wesley and I texted all night!!!

OMG

OMg

OmG

BRO

he is dreamy!

We decided to meet and OMG U DDNT TELL ME HE LOOKED HANDSOM!!

Damn he's amazing Soph... we decided to meet again

HE WAS SUCH A GENTLEMAN AND HE PAID AND EVEN GOT ME FLOWERS!! HE said he was so nervous but damn homeboy is nice!

we decided to meet again! thank you for doing this Sophia! he says hi!

Wow this girl seriously needs to learn to text in one block. I texted her back, saying I was happy that she's happy. I tried going back to sleep, but it was too late; I couldn;t go back to sleep.

Sighing, I got up, showered, brushed my teeth, and dressed up in white jeans, a black, oversized Jonas Brother hoodie, and a cute wool beanie my dad got when he first joined the Air Force. I ordered room service and I opened netflix on my laptop and started watching CSI. When the food came, I just took a second to take it in. Chicken quesadilla, turkey bacon, home fries, blackberries, strawberries, and vanilla iced coffee. I'm a fatass, boo hoo. I need energy for what I'm going to do. I ate while I watched almost five episodes, by which time it was almost 3pm. Lara texted me saying she was going to go last minute shopping for jumpers and that she'd be back in the hotel later. I put the breakfast trolley outside, and laid back on my bed, thinking about Axel. This beautiful man that I am about to crush into tiny, tiny pieces.

Sigh.

I have to man up, but it kills me. It kills me that if this goes south, he can easily find another me, but I won't, in a million years, find another him. He's it for me, and if I ruin it, it's gone forever.

Okay, Sophia. Breathe, for the love of God. You're a weirdo and if he doesn't leave you because of that then he's locked in. OR not, let's overthink until we pass out.

Well that took a dark turn, fast.

I got a message and I saw that it was from Axel.

From: Axel <3

"Can't wait to see you"

Just five words, but they made my heart fluff a little.

I liked his message then went over to the safe and opened it, taking out the laptop and the old version iPhone 5s. I charged the iPhone and went to the gallery. My hands were shaking because I haven't used this phone or seen this video in ten years. But if I was going to convince him, I needed to show him proof.

I unlocked the file that held that video. It started with my mom saying hi, and my dad telling me that soldiers don't videotape their lives. God, I really missed their voices. Hunter was out with a friend. Being in high school back then, meant he thought that family time was lame. Anyways, they gave me a quest and mom said that I needed to collect evidence, even if it meant looking for them in the weirdest of places; that included our vent. She gave me gloves and a mask and I was on my way with my newly purchased CSI kit.

I managed to collect most of the evidence they planted around the house for me, and I only had to check the vents for the most crucial one yet. I opened the little vent thing and craweled until I was above the kitchen, I relayed every step to my parents and they pretended to give me the green light. I was halfway throw writing down my notes when the men showed up. Now, I knew better than to make any noise, but it really felt like my sweat was bullets touching the vents; luckily they didn't notice. Since I was already filming my quest up there, I continued doing so because my parents taught me that evidence is the most important thing you could have. Unfortunatley, I didn't know that I would be filming their murders. Hunter came back three seconds before these men did, otherwise he would've been here with me.

I wiped my tears away, and made multiple copies of that video in case anything happened to this one. George, Linda, I will make sure your justice is served. The clock was 4:15pm right now, and I put on my converse and made my way to The Bookstore Cafe. I made sure to get there a little early so as to reserve my favorite spot. On the corner, was a two seat table that was a little to the inside and was mostly away from people, but faced the main street. I ordered two chocolate chip cookies, got me an iced coffee, and an iced french vanilla for Axel. I sat down, and took out my book. I was re-reading Twilight for the millionth time. At 5pm exactly, I spotted Axel's red Jeep, and not even three seconds later, he was standing in front of me.

I stood up to give him a hug. Good God this man smelled like heaven. And here I was smelling like cheap gardinia flowers. He hugged me so tightly for so long that all my worries seemed to wash away. He had that effect on me, and the entire female population I assumed.

"God, I missed you Sophia Grace. It'sonly been a day, I know." He held me in arm's length and gave me the most adorable smile I've ever seen.

"I missed you too, Axel." I tilted my head, taking in all his beauty. He wore blue jeans, a white Pokemon tshirt and a white, varsity baseball jacket. He also wore a black beanie, and some of his curls were hanging outisde of it.

"You look nice. It's nice seeing you out of formal attire for a change." I said, holding his hand and sitting down.

"Need I comment on your beauty? You always look effortlessly beautiful my dear." Tell me why I blushed like a little child.

He ate his cookie with a smile. He looked so happy, and carefree and it was a little contagious.

"Would you ever hurt me?" I blurted out.

"Never. I would much sooner die a painful death."

I smiled at him, a little relieved and more sure than ever than I should definatley tell him.

"So, what happened Sophia?" He asked, taking a sip from the iced french vanilla I got him. He smiled when he tasted it, which I took as a good sign.

"I realized that we never really delved into anything with each other. You never told me about your childhood and I never told you about mine. Why don't we start there?"

He didn't seem to argue, or ridicule my request.

"As you know, I have younger siblings. They get on my nerves all the time, but I adore them. To death. Growing up, I didn't really see my dad much as he was always travelling, and conducting business deals and whatever, so I'm a lot closer to my mom. He left her in charge of our company here, yet she still found time to make it to all of my basketball games and piano reciatls when I was in middle school, and high school. She always made sure we had everything we ever wanted. She bought my sister her first pair of skates, and bought my brothers their first basketball and hoops. She dedicated half the house for our wants and needs. She always told me to do everything I set out to do because I am capable of it. She made sure we travelled every summer, had family dinners every night, that even though we had maids and butlers that we still did chores. Even when my dad sent me to boarding school in England during elementary school, she made sure to visit me every few weeks until she convinced my dad to let me come home. Despite managing our house needs, and running the company, she gave us the best childhood anyone can ever ask for. Which is why when she came to me to ask me to forgive my dad or in the least, allow him back into our lives; I couldn'y possibly say no to her. And I'm thankful, because even though he was a crappy father, he's learning to be a better husband. Anyways, that's me." He smiled, taking a bite of the cookie and enjoying it as well.

Damn it, this is going to be hard.

"Man, now I wish I met your mom before I left." I said.

"I mean, whose fault was that darling?" He smiled, very much enjoying his food. "Thank you for giving me a new favorite combo by the by. This is amazing, thank you."

"Anytime."

"Okay, Ms. mysteriousness, this is the part where you open up just a bit. What made you... you? I don't care what you say, nothing will ever make me like you any less."

Oh boy, here goes.

"Okay, well it used to be me, my brother Hunter, and my parents. They worked for the Air Force so they were gone a lot. Hunter was five years older than me, so they'd always leave us together. Even though they were gone a lot, they always made sure to make up for everything. We moved to New York city where they were stationed, but we still had this house in LA always fully furnished so we wouldn't have to fully move. We kept a lot of our stuff here, because we always bought more. They made sure we had a strict upbringing where we were also spoiled. They worked the same base so their missions were mainly together, but when they were home; family nights were the best thing ever. We built forts, and went to Disneyworld, bi-yearly vacations to islands, and we also camped in our backyards. They made sure to support us in everything we ever did. Hunter always wanted to be a marine biologist and I always wanted to be a crime scene investigator and even detective. They got Hunter a miscroscope, a fish tank, took him to varius islands to explore the marine wildelife, and paid for every aquairum we found. As for me, they made sure that I knew they supported me and they made sure to show it whenever they could. They got me a crime scene forensics kit, went out with my friends to various haunted houses to investigate and my parents stayed in the car in case we needed them. They even played CSI with me. Actually that was the last thing we were doing before they...died." My voice shook with grief.

Axel sat up in his chair, and held my hand, slowly stroking it.

"I'm so sorry, love. You don't have to talk..."

"No, I do. If you want to find out why I left the party the way I did, you have to hear the whole story. I owe you that much."

"Okay, take your time though. Here, take a sip of your coffee." He held it for me and guided the straw to my lips.

I drank some of it, and the cold liquid calamed me down a bit, but not more than Axel's warming touch.

"A part of my ' CSI practice' was that I should always be filming everything. My dad used to say that evidence is very important. So that day, I was in the vents completing a forensics scavenger hunt they created for me. I was up there when these men came in the house, took a very important flash drive from them, and shot them both and Hunter." I started sobbing again, barley gasping for air.

Axel stood up and kneeled next to me, and held me to his chest. He put his chin on my head and stroked my hair.

"I am so sorry you have to witness that Sophia. No one should ever have to see their parents die. I'm so, so sorry love." He said so gently, so calmly.

I held on to his Pokémon tshirt and cried. What started as a sob, slowly turned into light sniffling, until it completely stopped. Axel passed me a tissue, and wiped my tears away himself.

"You don't have to continue, hun. I don't want you reliving this nightmare over again. You don't owe me anything, trust me. I don't want to see you like this." He held my face in his hands and acted as a windshield wiper with tears for rain.

I gave him a big hug, and when I looked at him again; I smiled. He doesn't know it, but I'm taking in his face. The way he looked, the way his eyebrows scrunched when he was trying to figure something out, how his curls are now lower on his forehead; everything. This is it, I thought.

"I'm almost done." I said.

"Okay." I love how he respects my decisions without arguing.

He sat back on his chair and gave me more tissues. I wiped my face with them, took a deep breath, then continued.

"Of course, as a minor I was supposed to stay with my family. But after witnessing that event, I didn't trust anyone. No one knew that we had this house in LA, so I promised that I'd move there and figure out what the hell happened. For the time being, I ran from home, and stayed with one of Hunter's close friends in Washington. His family knew us since we were kids and I basically thought of him as an older brother. My family tried reaching out to them, aunts and uncles, but they refused to tell them where I was. After the funeral, I found out that Hunter wasn't dead, but that he'd been in a coma ever since; still is to this day. I finished high school three years later, and when I was 18, I moved to LA and moved Hunter with me to a hospital not to far away from my house. There was nothing I could do, so I got in to the forensic science degree, and vowed to re-open their case since the detectives deemed it a cold case after a year of no suspects." I trailed, looking out the window. The memories gave me a migraine because I never wanted to remember them as bloodied bodies lying on my kitchen floor.

"I really wish there was a way for me to protect you against all of that pain, hun. I'm so sorry. Being alone, not being able to trust anyone, that must've been terrifying." He said, his hands in mine.

"It was. The only thing that kept me going was that I knew for a fact that I was going to avenge their death some day."

"But that still doesn't explain you running away."

"For ten years, I never ran into the men who killed my family. It made me cautious, that's why I tried minimzing my contact with people, and why I wouldn't let you drop me off at my house. I needed to be careful in case they found me, which they never did. Then you guys came in to my life and changed it completley. I fell for a boy with the kindest blue eyes, and a charming dimple. He made me feel loved, and cared for, and most importantly he made me feel safe in his presence. He came right in the middle of a tornadoe and managed to turn it into blue skies. He changed my perspective and gave me hope and strength."

I looked at him, and he was smiling, and his eyes were a little glossy. He took my hand and kissed it, a small tear caught in the corner of his beautiful eyes.

"I thought, hey, maybe life isn't so bad after all. Maybe I can finally allow myself to love and be loved, and to live life normally. When we went to your party, you told me to wait for you. But the your perverted cousin made me feel super uncomfortable, so I went looking for you, just to be able to feel at peace again. And that's when I saw it." My heart beats skyrocketed, because this was the moment everything changed forever.

"Saw what?" Asked Axel.

I took a deep breath, and continued. It's now or never.

"In that room, you were talking to your parents. Obviously, I didn't want to disturb you, so I told myself to wait next to the table you left me at. Before I could do that, you bent over to pick something off the floor, and I..."

I started hyperventilating. I can't do this. He held me hand, and asked me to breathe. He seemed to slowly be getting what I was trying to say, but he wasn't there yet.

"Sophia, just stop talking. This is making you extremley upset and I can't watch you go through the seven stages of grief trying to tell me this story. It hurts me seeing you like this."

Well buddy, you're gonna be in for a real surprise once I finish this.

"I'm okay. Just know that despite what I'm going to say, you mean more to me than the world combined Axel. Even if you're not in my life. You'll always be the first boy I truly, and deeply fell for."

He was looking at me like I done lost my mind. I continued before he had the chance to say anything; still holding my hand.

"When you bent down to pick up whatever, your dad's face showed in the mirror..."

"Yeah, and?" He replied, slowly.

"Axel that was the man who ordered his people to kill my parents; in front of me."

His eyes widened even worse than Lara's did when I told her.

He dropped my hand.