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"You hit him?!" I shout at him completely bewildered. I really was not expecting that. I thought if anything, Orlando would have hit James. Apparently not.

"Vena, I really am sorry, I tried to hold myself back. He kept on saying that I was going to hurt you because you got cheated on so he thought that I was going to do the same, but I am clearly not."

No words describe how angry I get when Orlando assumes that every guy I meet is bad. I understand that he is just trying to protect me, but this is starting get a bit excessive. This time is different, comparing to when I was with Zeke. It feels more ... What's the word? Real. It feels real. It's hard to explain this time. It feels that I would rather get hurt then let James get hurt. Orlando doesn't know this, he just thinks that James is like Zeke, but there is a difference between 'like' and 'is'.

It's not right that James hit my brother, but sometimes I think that the guy just needs a good hit in the face to get his head in the right place, but maybe that is just me.

"It's okay, it's okay, we'll just have to get out of here a lot faster than I anticipated," I say more to myself then him. I am the one that needs some a reassurance and it's looks like if I am going to get any, I'll just have to tell myself that everything is going to okay.

Orlando's temper is going to be through the roof and I don't want to be here to see it. I zip up the suitcase and stand it up. I grab my coat and slide it over my shoulders. I know that I am acting pretty frantic because I felt James grab my arm, holding me back from being anymore crazy.

I whip around and look at him. I am trying to put on my coat, not start World War III. I don't want anymore arguing, fighting or any thing else to happen. It's just best we get out of here before it is too late.

"What?"

He lets go of my sleeve, "What is wrong?"

"James, you hit my brother. I'm not saying what he is doing is good, but you can't just hit someone expect that to fix a problem," I try to explain to him as nicely as possible.

As soon as I said it a slight smirk appeared on his face and it is like he went into his own world. I wave my hand in front of his face, trying to get his attention.

He shakes his head, "What?"

"I'll bring the suitcase down stairs," I tell him and grab the suitcase, rolling it out of the bedroom.

Walking down the stairs, don't look up because there is no doubt in my mind that most of my family is staring at me. As soon as I get down to the bottom of the stairs, I look up and put on a phony smile. "I think we are going to head out," I glance out the window just to be sure that there is no snow coming down.

My mom smiles small and walks towards me. I hug her and just as I was about to let go, she holds of for just another second. "Don't believe what Orlando says, he just wants to protect you." She pulls away and smiles. I smile back at her for a moment.

I hug everyone else, not Orlando. Not because I didn't want to, only because I have no idea where he went. Well, if he wants to see me, he knows where I live.

"Good bye," I say as I slide on my shoes and jacket.

There is a series of farewells. James came down the stairs and my hugs him, saying goodbye to him. Other then that everyone else waves and or says bye.

Leaving the house, James shuts the door behind us as I lift the suitcase up so I don't drag it through the snow. James walks beside me and places his hand on my back, silently guiding me to the car.

The ride back home is quiet, but there is the occasional cuss from James as he drives into the city. Honestly, it bugs me when people get angry while driving, I don't know. I mean, I get it that people are annoying and stupid, especially in New York, but when you have no patients at all, it seems a bit unessecessary to be constantly yelling when the other people clearly can't hear you. Although, James isn't too bad. I know in high school, that I had this one friend and she would always shout and cuss at the car in front of her, knowing all well that they cannot hear her.

I feel James's hand come across the console to my hand. He laces his fingers with mine and sets our hands on the console. "I'm sorry for what happened," he apologizes again.

I half smile, yes, the entire thing as a whole was uncalled for and really the fault falls on Orlando on this one, but James tried to resolve things with his fist and it made it worse.

"It's okay, it's not like this was your fault to begin with, he clearly pushed you over the edge," I assure him.

He rubs small circles on my thumb. I glance at him and he is smiling.

"Thank you, Vena for understanding. You don't know how happy it makes me knowing that someone is on my side," he turns into our apartment parking lot.

"James, the only person really against you is Orlando. My mom loves you, but I'm sure you know that and as for my dad, he doesn't have a problem. As for the rest of my brothers, they are just trying to protect me, but not taking it to the extreme of Orlando.

He parks the car and takes the key out and unbuckles his seatbelt, turning and looking at me. "I love you, Ven, a lot," he smiles, showing his white teeth.

I smile, "I love—"

"No, I don't think you understand how much I love you. I love you so much. I love you to the equivalent of Donald Trump loving walls," he laughs. I laugh with him.

A moment later he brings my hand up to his lips and kisses my hand, gently. "I love you, so, so much, Vena," his lips brush against the skin on my hand.

"I love you too," I return.

He brings my hand down from his lips, "Where is my so, so much?" he smirks.

I reach up and place my hands on the back of his neck. I pull his closer to me and go to kiss him, but he stops leaning in. "Is this how you plan on getting out this?" he asks, with that very same smirk he had on his face before.

I nod.

He shrugs, "Fine with me." He leans in the rest of the way and once again our lips are pressed against each other. He moves his hand out of my grasp and moves it to the back of my neck, slowly moving his hand through my hair from the back of my head.

I pull my lips away from his and lean my forehead against his, "We should head inside, it is starting to get cold in here," I remind him that we are still, in fact, sitting in his car.

He smiles, "You're right."

I unbuckle my seatbelt and get out as he grabs the suitcase from the back seat. I tread through the snow as I follow James into the building.

In the elevator, I lean into him and he wraps his arm around me as I shiver, still having the chill from the cold.

I'm tired and I'm just frankly, just kind of done with life, so maybe I'll get a cupcake or maybe get James to get me one. Yes, it is decided. He is going to get me a cupcake because I think I deserve it, okay?

Once we got up to the apartment and got settled back in, I collapse on the couch, taking up all the space.

James walks into the living room, clearly about to sit down, but stops and crosses his arms, staring at me. "Vena..."

"James..." I smile at him.

He shakes him head and moves my feet and sits down. Not for long.

"James," I whine.

He looks at me and raises an eyebrow, "Yes?" he asks warily.

All I can think about is hose cupcakes at Grant's café.

"Can you do me a favor?"

He raises his eyebrows at me suggestively. "Really?"

I reach up and smack his arm, "No. Can you go get me a cupcake?"

He groans, "Vena," he draws out my name, "I just sat down."

I cross my arms and look at him. I deserve some cupcakes. No, I deserve a delicious cupcake.

He stands up and grabs his jacket off the chair, "Just know that I am only doing this because I love you and," he pauses for a moment, "Well, I hit you brother, so I suppose I owe you." He slides his jacket on and put on his shoes on.

"I love you too," I remind him as he opens up the door.

He smiles, "I'll be right back," he shuts the door behind him.

I reach over to the coffee table and grab the remote, putting on some random show to drown out the silence. It has been a few minutes or so before I actually realized that I am watching some reality show.

Just as I am starting to understand what these dumbass people are doing with their lives, there is a loud bang on the door.

I sigh and stand up and walk over to the door and look through the peephole. From what I can see, there is a taller looking woman with a long blonde hair and dark blue eyes.

Who the hell is that?

I open the door, "Hello?"

She clears her throat, digging her hands into her pockets. "I am looking for James Henderson; do you know where he is?"

I crinkle my eyebrows, confused. "May I ask who you are?"

A small smirk appears on her face, "I am Autumn, his sister."

_________________________________

Hello, now to begin with: I am so sorry I didn't update on the weekend, but as you guys know already, I am extremely busy. Awhile ago, someone said that since it is summer, I should be able to update everyday. I laughed at that comment, like super hard. That is impossible for me, so if you are expecting that, then you need to lower your expectations. 

Anyways, I am going to try my hardest to update at least once a week, but don't count on it the same day every week, it's going to be whenever I really have time.

Thank you,

—BWS❄️

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