Lauren’s phone rang, and she immediately picked it up. The person on the other line took a few moments to answer, and she didn’t recognize the voice when they finally spoke.

“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Jimmy broke out of the treatment facility last night. The police found him unresponsive early this morning behind an abandoned church. He’s gone.”

Lauren jolted awake in a panic, and started to scream for Jimmy. She quickly felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, and looked up to meet green eyes.

“You're okay, I'm here,” he said softly. Panic was still flooding through her body, but the scent of his cologne was grounding her. She focused on the pleasant smell and took a few slow, deep breaths.

“That's it, you're safe,” Zacky comforted her. They sat in silence for a few minutes. “Are you okay?” he finally asked.

It took a few moments for her to calm down from the horrible nightmare, and realize that she was sleeping on Brian’s couch. Johnny was passed out on the floor next to her, and Matt was snoring in one of the nearby reclining chairs. That’s when she remembered that she spent the night with the guys, and Brian offered her a place to sleep since they had been up so late, and she didn’t feel like driving home. She was shocked that the rest of the guys didn’t wake up when they heard her yell, they must be heavy sleepers.

“I’m fine,” she said quietly, nodding at Zacky. He looked concerned, but let his hands fall away from her shoulders.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not now. I’m sorry I woke you up, let’s get some sleep and talk in the morning,” she kept her voice low, even though she could probably speak normally and none of the guys would budge. Zacky nodded and returned to his couch, pulling a blanket up to his shoulders.

The next morning, Lauren woke up to the delicious smell of coffee drifting through the house. As her eyes slowly adjusted to daylight, she noticed all the guys were gone from the living room, except Johnny. He rolled around on the floor and groaned.

“Nurse, I’m hungover,” he whined once he noticed Lauren was awake. She rolled her eyes at him and sat up on the couch.

“There’s no medication for you being stupid, sorry,” she mumbled, getting up to walk into the kitchen. Matt, Brian, and Zacky were all sitting at the table drinking coffee. Matt looked like he was nursing a hangover as well.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Brian smiled. Lauren smiled in reply and went to the coffeemaker to pour herself a cup. She was still half asleep, and she hoped this would wake her up.

“Where’s shortshit, still asleep?” Matt asked. Lauren took a seat at the table with them and nodded.

“He’s rolling around on the floor,” she replied, taking a sip of the hot beverage.

As if he was summoned by their conversation, Johnny appeared in the doorway of the kitchen and slowly shuffled his way to the table. He plopped down into a wooden chair.

“Want some coffee, Johnny Walker?” Brian smirked.

Johnny’s head hit the table in response, and everyone laughed as he groaned in pain. Lauren got up and brought him some ibuprofen and a cup of water.

“You’re such a nurse,” Zacky smiled. Lauren laughed slightly as she poked Johnny, trying to get him to sit up. He reluctantly lifted his head off of the table and quickly popped the pills in his mouth. He then swallowed them without water and returned his head to the table.

Brian announced that he would cook some eggs and bacon for breakfast, and Matt got up to help him, claiming that nothing was better for a hangover than bacon. Lauren was alone at the table with Zacky, and Johnny, who had already fallen asleep again.

“Wanna talk?” Zacky asked. Lauren had almost forgotten about last night until Zacky brought it up again. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk, but she knew it would probably be good for her, so she agreed.

“Come outside with me, I was gonna smoke anyway.”

Lauren followed him outside to Brian’s patio, and took a seat next to him at the table. He lit up a cigarette, letting his eyes flutter shut as he took the first drag.

“You scared me last night,” he started off with a laugh. “So, what was the nightmare about?”

“Jimmy left the rehab and overdosed again, he died.” It was hard for her to even get the words out, because the nightmare still felt as real as ever. It probably felt so real because she knew how absolutely possible it was. Zacky frowned.

“I’m sorry, that’s really horrible. Have you heard anything from him besides the letter?” She shook her head in response. “That’s tough. I can tell how much you miss him.” Lauren had no idea why, but tears started to fall from her eyes when he said that.

“Aww sweetie, don’t cry, I’m sorry,” Zacky came over and wrapped an arm around her. She tried her best to take deep breaths and force the tears to stop.

“I just really miss him and I’m pissed that he left without saying goodbye,” she sniffed.

“That’s understandable, we all miss that crazy giant so much. I don’t know why he left suddenly, but hopefully he comes back healthy and we can move on from this,” Zacky rubbed her shoulder reassuringly.

“I know,” she mumbled. Zacky took one last drag on his cigarette, and put it out on the ashtray that was sitting on the patio table.

“Me and all the other guys are always here for you, no matter what you need, okay?”

“I appreciate that, you guys are amazing,” Lauren smiled and wiped the last of the tears off her face. Zacky grinned and nodded his head as a way of saying you’re welcome. They both turned when they heard the patio door slide open, and saw Matt standing there.

“Breakfast is almost ready. What are you guys doing out here?” he asked.

“I just finished a cigarette. I wasn’t going to leave Lauren in there to stare at the top of Johnny’s head,” he laughed. “We’ll be there in a second.” Matt chuckled and closed the door behind him before he returned into the kitchen. Zacky turned to Lauren and winked.

“Let’s go eat something and bother Johnny,” he got up and opened the patio door, motioning for her to go in first. Lauren giggled at the thought and stood up, going back into the house. Something about these guys could make her feel better no matter what.

Once it was getting late, Zacky offered to give her a ride home since she walked there, and she agreed. He had been pretty quiet the whole night aside from their conversation, which was unusual.

“You okay?” he asked her suddenly. She should be asking him the same thing, she thought.

“It’s just really tough being in that house alone, without him…” she said, staring out the window. Zacky nodded.

“I can imagine. If you ever want me or any of the guys to come over and just sit with you, all you gotta do is text or call and we’ll be there,” he said. Lauren nodded and murmured a thank you as they pulled up to the house.

“I’d stay and keep you company, but I have to go visit my dad. He’s not doing well,” Zacky said. She frowned and looked over at him.

“What’s the matter?”

“He has ALS. It’s starting to advance pretty quickly, his doctors told me he probably doesn’t have more than a year left. He needs an around the clock care taker now too,” he said, looking down at the tattoos on his hands. Lauren reached over and put one of her hands over his.

“I’m so sorry to hear that. If you need me to go over there and take care of him anytime, I will,” she said. Zacky smiled weakly at her.

“He has an assistant there all the time now, but I was thinking about getting a visiting nurse as well. If you feel up to it, I’m sure he’d love to have you there.”

“I’d love to. Let me know when and where,” Lauren smiled.

“Thanks, you’re the best. I’m glad you came out with us today. I’ll call you tonight after I see how he’s doing.”

She said goodbye to Zacky and headed into the house. Her heart was aching for him. She just hoped that he was doing okay in spite of everything. She had gotten close with him since Jimmy’s disappearance. Granted, she was close with all the guys, but especially Zacky. They now talked everyday, whether in person or on the phone. Part of her hoped that she would get to take care of his father, because she wanted to repay Zacky for all he’s done for her since Jimmy’s been gone. She also knew very well what it was like to go through the pain of losing a parent.

While waiting for Zacky’s eventual phone call, Lauren decided to cook herself dinner and watch Jacob’s Ladder, one of Jimmy’s favorite movies.

Notes

Enjoy! :)