+++++
MATT
+++++

How dare she go running off with Baker, like that little shit had done anything for her. I gave up the last couple of months of my life for her, and this is what she fucking does? She fucking whores around with one of my brothers?! I don't fucking think so. Val may have managed to get away from me, but that's because I never saw the saw that Michelle was about to blindside both Brian and me by orchestrating their escape so flawlessly. I had to hand it to that bitch....she was clever.

But Carinna? No, Carinna was weak. Spineless. She understood her place, and that place was here. With me. Somehow, Zack had poisoned her mind and taken her away from me, just like Michelle had taken Val away from me. But this time, I wasn't going to just let her go. No, I had plans for my sweet, innocent Carinna.

I leaned forward, the tightly wrapped dollar bill slipping just inside of my nostril as I quickly sucked up the two lines of cocaine that were freshly cut and scattered across my coffee table. I threw my head back with a groan, sniffing and wiping at the residue at the end of my nose, and let the familiar bliss sweep me away on the steady drip in the back of my throat.

Suddenly, a knock on the door pulled me out of my euphoria, and I leaned back on the couch, not bothering to put away the drugs. Besides, it was my fucking house. "Yea, come in!" I looked down at my phone and started tapping furiously on it, my hunt for Carinna fueled even more strongly by the rush of the cocaine.

"Matt?" A soft voice spoke, trembling slightly, and I turned my head ever so slowly in her direction, feeling unsettlingly calm given the current situation.

++++++
ZACKY
++++++

I groaned softly in my sleep, rolling over and reaching out to throw my arm over Carinna to snuggle closer to her. Unfortunately, my arm hit the empty air and the vacant space next to me, causing me to frown against the pillow.

Grace had forced us to go lay down in Carinna's bedroom upstairs and get a little rest while she made arrangements with her crew from Leviathan on how to deal with the situation. I had fallen asleep almost instantly, the stress of the day zapping most of my energy, and I had assumed that Carinna had fallen asleep too, due to her lack of movement.

I opened one eye, looking along the jersey knit pillow case, and noticed that I was alone in the dark room. All of the lights were off, and I heard a soft murmuring of voices outside of the door, probably coming from downstairs. I pushed myself up, shivering slightly as I noticed the unexpected breeze that fluttered through the French doors that led out to the room's small balcony. When did we open that? Maybe Carinna did when she got up.

I shrugged, rubbing my head, and made my way out of the door and towards the stairs. The voices grew louder, and I recognized one of them as Lana's, which made me freeze with my hand on the banister. She hadn't spoken to me since that night, and I wasn't sure how well it was going to go right now, this late, and this unexpectedly. Oh well, this was more about Carinna than some bruised ego that she may have.

"Grace?" I called from the top of the stairs, taking each step softly.

"Who the fuck is that?!" I heard an angry male voice and some commotion before I saw three heads pop into view at the bottom of the stairs. One, I recognized immediately as the guy who had punched me in the face the night I had brought Lana home. The second guy was the owner of Leviathan...Garin? Greg?...and I vaguely recognized the third guy, but not well enough to bother with a name.

I put my hands up, and stopped on the stairs. "Whoa, whoa, take it easy. Where's Grace?" The guy who had sucker punched me glared at me, prepared to meet me up the stairs. "Fuck you. After the bullshit you and your fucking friends pulled with my sister and now Carinna, you want me to fucking take it easy?!"

"Zachary stop it! It wasn't him. He's the one who brought Carinna here when he found out what was going on." I heard Grace shout from farther into the living room, probably from one of the couches. The guys, watching me with sinister eyes, backed down to grant me passage down the stairs, but didn't make too much room for me to slip through. Although I would have normally picked a fight with any one of these guys for their lack of respect, now was just not the right time.

I pushed past them and further into the studio style lower level, locking eyes with Grace and completely ignoring Lana. She could wait. She wasn't the one that I needed to talk about. "Grace, where is Carinna?" I asked carefully. She was supposed to nod towards the back patio, saying she was outside to get some fresh air. She was supposed to tell me she was in the bathroom, or in one of the other rooms because she wanted to be alone. She was NOT supposed to widen her eyes in shock. She was NOT supposed to be confused.

"What do you mean where is she? She was sleeping upstairs with you." My heart felt like it plummeted off of the top of a skyscraper. That nervousness and fear lingered in my chest and gut as I searched all of their faces, confusion meeting mine. Suddenly, a dawning realization caused me to shut my eyes and grit my teeth. "GOD DAMMIT!" I turned and launched my fist through the dry wall of the apartment wall, not sparing the pain a second thought.

The room was silent for a matter of moments before the second man stepped forward. Gavin, that was his name. He was a pretty nice guy...never seemed to cause any problems or get involved. But at the moment, I saw a look of pure concern in his eyes, and it sent a pang of jealousy through me. But why? Obviously this guy cared about Carinna, just like the rest of us. So why did it piss me off to see him looking worried about her? Why did it piss me off to see him step forward first?

"Dude, what's going on?" He said calmly, like he was talking someone off of a ledge.

The balcony doors had been shut when we had fallen asleep. I remembered it clearly now, because Carinna had mumbled that she felt safer with it closed. I remembered holding her against me as I fell asleep, with her face the French doors. Suddenly, my heart hit the pavement, shattering into millions of pieces.

"She went back to him..."


++++++++
CARINNA
++++++++

"Matt please! Stop! No...I'm so sorry! No, please!" I sobbed, trying to scurry away from him towards the other side of the bedroom. I was so sure that it was here, in this room where the nightmare had begun, that I would meet my untimely end. I tried to unlock the window, my bloody fingers slipping over the lock unsuccessfully.

I had come back here, not because I particularly enjoyed getting my ass kicked by a man who was at least three times my size, but because I wasn't about to break up a life long friendship just because I couldn't control my own relationship. I wasn't about to start a war between my friends and his over my inability to listen to simple requests. I was supposed to stay away from Zacky, and I clearly disobeyed. Matt was my boyfriend, and he really was good to me. Although I thought that this punishment was a bit over-the-top, I guess it was just his way. He had told me before he couldn't control his jealousy because he was afraid he'd lose me. He told me he loved me, even though he said he never fell in love so soon.

I had never been in love with someone so passionate before. I had always been that girl who said she'd never be the one to stick around in an abusive relationship, but this was different. He didn't abuse me all the time. Only when I fucked up, like going off to meet Zacky and letting him kiss me. It was fate that had caused me to butt dial Matt, tipping him off on my whereabouts. I shouldn't have been there, and the universe was making sure that I didn't allow myself to go any further.

I knew Grace would be pissed off at me for leaving. Hell, I knew Zacky would be hurt, and probably hate me for putting him in this position. But hadn't he been the persistent one? I told him to let it go. I lied to him in the most obvious way as a clear sign as this was something I didn't want to talk about. But he had continued to push, regardless of his brothers' warnings against messing around with the situation. And now look where I was? Bleeding, trying desperately and unsuccessfully to climb out of my bedroom window, and listening to the heavy footfalls of my insanely pissed off boyfriend coming down the hallway. It was only a matter of seconds before he turned into the doorway and find me there. He always told me not to run from him.

"Carinna..." I heard him say softly, stepping into the bedroom. His fists were stained with my blood from my busted lip and the gash at the nape of my neck where I had hit the counter. Luckily I hadn't knocked myself out when I fell, and I thanked God that I hadn't fallen differently and caused spinal damage from the impact. I was relying on my ability to walk and think clearly at the moment if I was going to diffuse this situation. And that was a big ass fucking IF.

"Matt, please, just let me explain..." I begged, stepping away from the window and stretching my hands out towards him pleadingly, not attempting to wipe the dripping blood off of my chin and neck. Maybe the more pitiful I looked, the better chances of survival I would have.

He stopped a few feet inside the bedroom, his fists clenched at his sides and a maniacal gleam in his eyes. "Explain? Explain what, sweetheart?" He asked, tilting his head slightly and giving himself an even more deranged look, if it was even physically possible.

I had unconsciously stepped backwards when he entered the room, my back pressed up against the wall and my body hunched in on itself defensively, like a small prey that was dropped into the cage of a hungry predator. Offense was not an option against this large man who outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds, if not more. Defense was my only hope.

"Matt, nothing happened between Zacky and I. I swear. I met him at the beach to convince him to lay off of us and stop asking me about the bruises and why I wouldn't talk to him anymore. I figured if I took care of it, it wouldn't cause any problems between you guys, because he obviously didn't listen to you when you told him to back off. We were talking and he kissed me. But that was it! He took me to Grace's after I accidentally called you, but I came back as soon as they stopped watching me! I swear. I'm here with YOU. I love YOU. I don't want Zacky. Baby, please..." I begged, tears mixing with blood on my face and dripping onto the white carpet.

Matt had remained silent the entire time I spoke, standing motionless with his head still in that disturbing position. Suddenly, I noticed his hands relax by his sides and the tension flow out of his shoulders. His head righted itself and his expression transformed back into a soft one, the insane gleam in his eye dissipating. "Honey, come here..." He said quietly, holding his arms out.


I didn't move. I was too afraid to. He went from trying to kill me to completely docile in a matter of seconds, just because I told him that Zacky kissed me and I came back? I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. I was terrified to fall for it and have him unleash all of his fury on me as soon as I was within arm's length. However, as we stood frozen in our positions, I noticed that he never once became frustrated as I mulled over the possibilities of stepping forward. He didn't get impatient. He didn't demand that I come to him. He just stood there, lowering his arms and looking defeated.

"I'm sorry, baby," he said, taking me totally off guard. "I heard you with him on the phone, and it sounded worse than it obviously was. I was convinced that you were with him, and when I pictured his hands on your body...a body that was meant for my hands, I lost it. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. It was wrong of me. Please?"

He lifted his arms back up, and it was almost like a magnetic draw pulled me in to his arms. He cradled me, petting my hair and holding me to his chest, and I cried. I sobbed and broke down, my damaged and hurting body surrendering completely to him. I wrapped my small arms around his waist, hiccupping on my tears and he whispered sweet nothings into my ear, settling me down on the bed. He laid back with me, resting my head on his chest and holding my body close to his. For the first time that night, I felt safe. For the first time in nearly two months, I felt secure. I felt loved. Maybe things would be alright. Maybe he really did love me, and he would change his ways.

But you know what they say. A leopard can't change his spots.

Notes