she's mine.

23

I was out the door in no time, but I could hear Eli close behind me. I didn't stop or wait though, I ran down his front steps as fast as I could. I ran straight into a body when I hit the lawn. I let out a small screech as hands caught my arms and Eli came to a halt behind me.

I looked up into my brothers eyes and officially lost it. I crumpled into him as a sob escaped my lips. He caught me quickly.

"What's wrong?! What happened?" he asked, wrapping his arms around me. Tears rushed down my face.

"N-nothing," I sobbed. He pulled back and held onto my upper arms as he leaned down to look me in my eyes.

"Nothing huh?" he half growled, half laughed.

"Yeah," I laughed and wiped my face. "Nothing."

He shook his head, knowing how stubborn I am, and glanced around us. his face instantly turned to stone as his eyes caught onto something. I didn't look back, but I knew he had caught sight of Eli watching us.

"Jonny," I tried to get his attention back to me. "Nothing happened," I said in the firmest tone i could muster. "I want to go home home. Please." I gently pushed on his shoulder. He looked back down at me, his eyes searching mine. I wiped my face, knowing I was smudging my makeup everywhere. "Please Jonny, please don't do anything. Not tonight." I knew he could hear the embarrassment in my voice. I also knew he would do anything to make me happy, so I let all my emotions show so he would listen to me.

Finally, he closed his eyes and exhaled. "Get in the truck," he said, and we walked to his car. I knew he thought that Eli had broken my heart. I knew if he knew what had actually happened, saw me with a gun to my head and all, this town would be no match for the wrath of Jonny Everett. I also knew it was wrong to not tell him the truth, of what had happened tonight, but I didn't care. I was happy that he was willing to listen to me at all. I would tell him, just not today.

I didn't look back at Eli, not until I was in the truck at least and I knew he couldn't see me. I let myself steal a glance at the boy standing broken and alone on his lawn. What right did he had to look broken though!? Why did he get to stand there all alone and stare after us in the way I felt. His hands were in his pockets and a stoic expression that i've come to see as his very own defense mechanism plastered his beautiful face.

Jonny and I didn't talk the whole way home. I was grateful for someone like him who knew when to just give me space, even when i knew he wanted to ask me what had happened so badly. I stared out the window and forced myself to not let anymore tears fall tonight. When we got home we sat in silence for a moment before I finally decided to head in. I would have fallen asleep in the car if I would have stayed out there any longer, it was nearly 2am. Jonny lingered in the hallway by my door as if debating whether or not he should try to talk to me. He decided against it, to which I was again, beyond grateful.

That night, I was too exhausted for nightmares.

I woke the next morning to Jonny shaking my shoulder. When my eyes fluttered opened I looked at him confused. It was still dark out.

"What time is it?" I grumbled rubbing my eyes.

"Get up," he commanded ignoring my question. "We are going for a run. Be down stairs in 5," he said before stalking out of my room. He was already in his white Nike hoodie, black shorts, and white running shoes. He had a head band on to push his long hair out of his face. I knew he meant it when he said 5.

I groaned and rolled over. I guess the sweet Jonny who let me have my space was gone. As much as I loved having Jonny back, I did not miss the training that came with it. Jonny trained every single day, which meant while he was home, I did too.

I groaned again as I rolled off the bed, even though he wasn't there to hear me. I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth before I threw on my leggings and hoodie and headed downstairs. I had a minute to put on my shoes before I would hear it from Jonny about being late. I quickly tied my shoes and stood just as Jonny walked into the entryway.

I knew it must've been almost 4:30am. Jonny ran at the same time everyday, like clockwork, not seeming to need sleep. That and the fact that he had the work ethic of a work horse during the Great Depression were why he was quickly becoming one of the best rookie fighters in MMA.

Me on the other hand, I definitely needed my sleep. I thought of how I was going to sleep until noon once we got back.

Jonny didn't say a word to me when he strutted into the entry way, just walked straight out the front door. I knew that was my que to follow, so I did. We both fell into our routine of stretching our limbs and warming up as usual. This wasn't new, we both knew what we were doing. It may have been a new town, but I knew Jonny always scouted out a route as soon as we got somewhere. So when he took off like he knew the place, I jumped into motion and followed his lead with no hesitation.

We were barely a block away from the house when Jonny took a sharp right. I skidded to follow him as he picked up speed. He was in a mood. Great.

"Talk." He called over his shoulder. When I hesitated he picked up the pace again. "Now," he growled. I tried to focus on keeping up with him. He shot me a sideways glare then huffed. "If you don't talk to me, I can't protect you." His word choice was sublime. For someone who hated Eli, he reminded me a lot of him in this moment. I laughed nervously, which was received by another glare on Jonny's side.

"It's," I breathed. "It's kind of a long story," I stalled.

He glanced at me sideways, "well we have at least 3 more miles, and if you need more time we can make it 5." His voice held the threat I knew he'd follow through with. I knew if he needed to he would drag this run out. He wouldn't do more than 5 miles though, would he? Jonny was crazy, I wasn't sure. What would I tell him though? I couldn't tell him the truth, could I? What could i make up? He knows I don't cry in front of people, nonetheless come running out of a party and into his arms sobbing. Not at any of the 5 schools I have been to had anything like this happened.

As if reading my thoughts, he slowed down and cut through my thoughts. "Don't even think about lying to me," he warned.

I had sweat dripping down my back and I wiped my temples on my sleeves. I knew it was only partially from the run.

"Okay," I breathed. "Okay," I mentally prepared myself for the rage of my brother at last night's rundown.