I wake up to the sensation as if someone is staring into my soul. My eyes flutter open and I'm met with the sight of wide brown eyes staring at me. Wait, I don't have anyone in my house. I sit up, the blankets around my body pooling at my waist as I peer at Oli. If he's here, does that mean I didn't leave last night?

"You're awake Tori!" he exclaims in excitement as he climbs up the bed to sit in front of me.

"Good morning, Oli, how are you feeling?" I ask as I place my hand against his forehead.

"I'm feeling better Tori," he tells me with a smile. He doesn't look as flushed compared to yesterday and his forehead isn't that warm either. I brush his curly hair giving him a smile of my own.

"That's good to hear," I tell him as my hand drops and I take in my surroundings. I see that I'm in Jason's room, on his bed. How the hell did I get here?

"I can see the thoughts running through your head," a male voice says at the doorway. I turn to see Jason leaning against the door watching Oli and me, his arms crossed and although he's wearing a muscle tee, the tattoos on his arms are striking, his muscles bulging. My eyes snap away from his arms and back to his face.

"What am I doing here? I was supposed to leave hours ago," I tell him.

"You were sleeping so deeply I decided to not wake you and took over watching Oli," he says walking into the room, sitting down on the other side of the bed. "Besides you don't have school today right?" That's right, elementary schools and middle schools are off from school today, they have a long weekend.

"I should get going then, I've overstayed my welcome," I say moving to get off the bed. Oli jumps up in front of me blocking my way.

"Wait, do you have to leave right now Tori?" he questions. I look at Jason, and he looks at me before looking back at Oli, leaving the decision to me. I weigh the options of me staying here. Pro, Oli is still not feeling well so I could stay to continue taking care of him. Con, his flirtatious uncle is here, his sexy uncle is here.

"If you don't mind, I'll stay," I tell him with a smile and his face lights up with excitement.

"Oli, I have your breakfast downstairs, Victoria and I will come down in a bit," Jason tells him. Oli scampers out of the room and his footsteps echoing down the stairs. The room falls silent with just the two of us left. "I've never seen Oli like that before," he says, turning to face me properly.

"I'm surprised he got attached real quick, he's adorable," I say with a soft smile.

"I did tell him yesterday that he could trust you," he smirks.

"Jason, how can you trust me, I don't understand. I was a convict in the past, even if it was for a short while. Would you really want someone like me around your nephew?" I ask him skeptically. He doesn't say anything except stand up and walk around the bed to where I'm sitting.

"I know, I read everything when I checked on you after what happened at the bar and guess what?" he says leaning closer, a dangerous smirk on his face. "What happened to you in the past stays in the past. I don't know the major details but I know enough. What I've read about you is that you do three jobs even though two are part-time. Not to mention you looked sexy in your coat yesterday." I feel my breath hitch from the close proximity, his eyes darkening as he observes my reaction.

"What are you doing? I whisper, my eyes searching his.

"Nothing," he replies as he moves back from me. "I'm going to go down to check on Oli but you can stay here or join us if you want," he says standing up, his muscles flexing.

"I'll be down in a bit," I tell him. He nods his head before he walks out, his footsteps fading away. I fall back on the bed my hands going onto my face. That just happened. This man is dangerous for my heart because it feels like it's going to jump out of my chest. I close my eyes taking a deep breath before deciding I might as well go join them now. I find my clothes folded on top of his clothing drawer and I quickly undress and change into them leaving Jason's clothes folded on his bed.

I go to the bathroom to freshen up, taming back the bird's nest on my head. I can't believe Jason called me sexy while I look like this. I tie it back and turn off the lights as I go downstairs. I hear voices as I go down and I look at my appearance and no doubt whoever sees me, they'll most likely think I'm a fuck buddy. When I reach the landing, I peer around the wall to see a woman with two babies in strollers.

"Oh my gosh, are you Victoria?" I guess the woman saw me from my hiding spot. I walk out and she gets up in excitement coming over to me. "You were taking care of Oli last night right? You're a godsend. I would have come over, but I couldn't leave these two. I did have to stop by to check and see how Oli is doing which is why I'm here so early in the morning."

"It was nothing much. I volunteered when Jason said he had no one to take care of him. There's the chance you could catch what he has if you came here which wouldn't be a good result for you or you're kids," I answer looking at the two babies.

"I know, that's the worrisome part, but anyways, I'm Charlotte Dawson." Charlotte Dawson, why does that name ring a bell.

"Wait a minute, your," I trail off looking at her as I remember where I've heard that name.

"I hear you work at the elementary so you must have heard about me," she chuckles awkwardly, flicking her hair back.

"I started last month in January, and I've heard the stories but I'm not one for gossip. Your business stays your business," I reassure her with a smile.

"I wish all the teachers in the school we're like you. I lost count of how many of them tried to get information out of me when I came back," she says shaking her head.

"I get what you're saying, there's one that I just can't get off my back," I say agreeing with here.

"Camryn," we say simultaneously, and it's quiet for a moment before we both break into chuckles.

"You know I think we're going to get along just well," she says before making her way back to the sofa where one of her babies starts crying. I walk into the kitchen where Jason is finishing cooking whatever is on the stove.

"You know, you could have told me you had company over," I say leaning against the adjacent counter to face him.

"Where would the fun be in that," he smirks before focusing back on his work.

"So what's your connection with her. Your nephew and her kid don't look to be the same age," I point out.

"She's my best friend since we were kids. We reunited last year when things got crazy for her," he tells me as he puts two scrambled eggs on a plate.

"You were also a part of what she went through, aren't you? I heard a story on the news of a cop who is best friends with the victim caught up in the mess, that was you wasn't it?" I ask piecing it together.

"That was me but that's a time I'd rather forget. You bringing it up annoys me," he says in a cold voice, his facial expression turning rigid. He walks out and I'm left standing there thinking what happened? I didn't mean to pry on purpose but what's wrong with asking if he was involved with it too? After all, everything I've heard came from the television and that's the only reason why I would have known their connection.

"He's done it again hasn't he?" I turn to see Charlotte looking at me with one of her kids in her arms, a sad smile on her face as she walks up to me.

"What's his name?" I ask looking at the baby.

"This one here is Justin and the other one sleeping is Jayden," she tells me as she bounces him in his arms.

"Is he always hot and cold?" I ask abruptly.

"What I went through last year changed things for Jason in his personal life. Things that if I even bring it up he won't speak to me for days," she tells me. "What did you ask him?"

"I only asked if he was the cop that was connected with you considering I saw all of it on the news. If I knew he'd react like that and I'd be called annoying then I would have kept my mouth shut," I tell her, my face grim.

"Wait until I give him a good smack on the head later," she hisses.

"No, you don't need to do that, it's fine," I say waving my hand. "Besides, I think I'll leave now. It'd be awkward if I stayed," I say with a tense smile.

"I won't stop you but please be openminded about him. I was watching you two earlier, and I haven't seen him be that open with a woman in a long time. And you also get along with his nephew, that's a plus," she tells me.

"Oli is an adorable kid and easy to get along with," I say, my mind thinking back to the boisterous kid from not long ago. "He's the one that wanted me to stay longer but I'm just going to sneak out. Do you mind telling him sorry for me?" I ask her as we walk out to find Oli on the opposite side of the living room away from the second baby, engrossed in whatever television show he's watching and Jason nowhere in sight.

"Yeah, I will. I really hope we see each other again soon Victoria, it was nice meeting you," she tells me. "Maybe we could meet up soon, I can tell we'd have a kickass friendship." I might have just met her but honestly, I could see myself becoming good friends with her. I don't know why but I feel like we have similar personalities.

"Sure, let me give you my number and you can text me whenever you're free," I say pulling out my phone. We exchange numbers and I slip on my jacket before going to put on my boots. "I'll see you later and by to you to Justin," I tell both of them.

I scurry down the driveway to my car, turning on the heat as my hand grips the freezing steering wheel. Cowardly move I guess to just up and run but what could I do? It would have been uncomfortable to stay after what happened in the bedroom and later on in the kitchen. The one thing crossing my mind as I drive away is why am I so dispirited by this.

✘✘

"Holy shit, I didn't realize this would be so fucking sad," I cry as I wipe the tears from my face. It's Sunday evening and after a day of binge-watching horror and action movies, I'm ending my day with a tear-jerking movie. I had a pretty quiet weekend with Cora and Haruto both busy with work not to mention each other; it gave me some downtime.

I hear my phone buzz beside me a couple of times and I pick it up, unlocking it while I continue watching the movie. My eyes flicker to the message reading it quickly before focusing back on the movie. It only takes a couple of seconds for me to find my remote to pause it so I could reread the message that's currently registering in my brain.

"Hey Victoria, it's Charlotte. Sorry to message you out of the blue and don't freak out but I'm sending you some things your way," I say, reading aloud the message. The hell? What is she sending me? And how the hell does she know where I live? I hear a light knocking on my door and I look back at my phone wondering if this is what she meant. The knocking gets louder and I get up, telling whoever is waiting I'm coming.

I check the spyhole and I'm surprised to see Jason and Oli. I open the door and I look at them both in surprise. Jason in return looks at me surprised before his face turns into one of fury while Oli runs up hugging me.

"Tori, why did you leave on Friday?" he mumbles into my sweater. I pull him back so I can crouch down so I'm eye level with him.

"I'm sorry, I had to take care of some things," I apologize. He looks at me quietly, tilting his head in confusion as his facial expression turns to one of sadness.

"We're you crying, Tori?" he questions, and I can hear the hurt in his voice as he thinks that I've been sad from something.

"Oh no, I was just watching a movie and it made me a little sad," I tell him with a grin. I watch as the sadness melts away as he gives me a wide grin of his own. I notice also the fury Jason had moments ago also slip away. "Why don't you go inside Oli while I talk to your uncle. I have some fruit on my table you can eat." He looks at Jason for permission and as soon as he has it he runs inside.

"What are you doing here?" I ask once he's out of earshot.

"Oli overheard Charlotte telling me off about what happened on Friday and he was mopey the whole weekend. It's an abuse of power and highly stalkerish you don't have to tell me that, but I wnated to cheer him up and I also wanted to apologize. I was fucking shitty," he says scratching the back of his head awkwardly. I look at him for a couple of seconds before sighing. He knows what he did wrong and he came this far because of his nephew, so even though I should be pissed or even creeped out, I'm not.

"I should be the one apologizing to you, so sorry," I tell him.

"Then we'll leave it at that," he replies.

"Did you want to come in for a bit?" I ask, stepping back for him.

"If it's alright with you I don't mind," he says stepping through the doorway. I close the door behind him and I turn around smacking into his chest. His arm steadies me as he leans down, his hot breath caressing my neck.

"You know sweetheart, I was just about ready to go and fight whoever made you cry," his voice going a lower octave, sounding rough as well. I feel myself burn when his lips brush the top part of my ear.

"Should a police officer really go fighting people?" I say in a quiet voice, leaning back to look him in the eye. He gives me a wicked grin, his eyes dark.

"You're interesting Victoria and Oli seems to have taken a liking to you as well. I'm going to take my time breaking down those walls of yours," he tells me. I'm saved when I hear Oli calling for the both of us. I quickly move around him and each step I take, I can feel those dark eyes, as if they're piercing into my soul.

✘✘

A/N What's up everyone and how are you all doing. I'm going to keep today's note short and sweet because my head is pounding right now and I'm in desperate need of sleep. Now I know a lot of you will probably question the last part of Jason showing up at Victoria's apartment but that's the way that came in my head and I don't think I'll change it.

And Charlotte makes her appearance! For anyone who wants to read her story, check out The Ex-Convict!

Anyways, what are your thoughts on the chapter? Be sure to leave your comments!

P.s I wanted to add, in the story here, Victoria is twenty-eight going twenty-nine while Jason has already turned thirty.