Scarlett and I have been on a high for the past few weeks. We spend most weekends together but weekdays are occupied by work.

Rocky has been giving me shit for not officially introducing them yet, but I'm nervous as fuck.

I've never dated a girl long enough for her to meet the family. Rocky is my only family worth meeting, so I was holding off.

Now Rocky is coming to town, and he wants to meet Scar before he leaves. I haven't asked her yet, and if she's uncomfortable with it, I'd tell Rocky to fuck off.

It feels too soon for me, but Rocky won't take no for an answer, and I know that Scarlett meeting Rocky is inevitable.

I feel Scarlett shuffle underneath me, her arms wrapping tightly around my waist. I feel her smile against my chest.

"Morning, beautiful," I say, kissing the top of her head.

She mumbles something inaudible as she cuddles closer to my body.

Damn. My girl can be strong when she wants to be.

"I don't wanna get up," she sighs.

I run my hands through her hair softly. "Then don't. Just rest, baby."

Ever since Scarlett opened up to me about her past trauma, all I've wanted to do is protect her. I know she doesn't need protection, but the thought of someone taking advantage of her like that makes me sick.

Knowing that he didn't get any form of punishment for it either makes it even worse. I see the law fail people every day, but it's different when it happens to someone you truly care for.

I look down to see Scarlett's eyes closed and her mouth slightly upturned. Her soft breaths can be felt against my chest. I've never felt so comfortable in my damn life.

We laid there, just holding one another, for another hour or so before finally pulling ourselves out of bed.

"I gotta ask you something," I say, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind as she brushes her teeth.

She furrows her brows but nods. "What is it?"

I sigh, hiding my face in her shoulder with a groan. "You can say no, okay?" I warn.

She just laughs, putting her toothbrush back and spinning in my arms to face me. "Ask."

"Rocky is coming to visit, and he wants to meet you. I told him it's too soon for all that, but he insisted," I say, gauging her reaction.

She smiles. "I'd love to."

My eyes widen a little, and I can feel my jaw open slightly on its own. Huh? No hesitation? Is she okay?

"Really?" I ask.

She nods again, looking at me as though I'm stupid. "Of course, I want to meet your brother. He's the most important person in your life. I just hope he likes me."

Well, fuck. As if she couldn't get any more perfect.

I can't contain my grin as I grab her around the waist and give her a bear hug, squeezing her tight.

"So lunch then?" I ask, glaring at the clock. It's only ten in the morning, so I've got time to figure out what Rocky's plans are.

"Sounds good. Now get out. I've gotta shower." Her small hands push at my chest, and I laugh. She's trying her damn best, but I haven't moved an inch. She steps back and crosses her arms, scowling at me. I raise my hands in surrender and back out of the bathroom.

Once I hear the shower start, I call Rocky.

He answers quickly. "Hey, bro."

"Hey. What time are you getting in?"

"Should be there within the hour. Talia is coming, too. What'd Scarlett say?" He informs me. Great. Now Scarlett has the added stress of meeting Talia.

Don't get me wrong, Talia is amazing, but she can be kind of... tough. She's sarcastic, brutally honest, and oftentimes defies the normal laws of human decency—basically the opposite of Scarlett.

"She wants to meet. Wanna grab lunch at that restaurant you and Talia like?" I offer. I know he loves Johnny's Diner, and I'm sure Scarlett has been there before.

"Sure. What time?"

"One thirty?" I pitch.

"Works for me." We say our goodbyes, and I head into the kitchen, making Scarlett and me some coffee.

Ten minutes later, Scarlett saunters out in white cotton shorts and a matching tank top. Her wet hair falls over her shoulders, and her face is clean, glowing, and beautiful.

"Coffee," I offer, sitting next to her on her stools.

"Thank you," she smiles. "When are we meeting your brother?"

"Around one at Johnny's Diner. Have you been there before?" I ask.

She looks down with an unreadable look but snaps her head up, appearing fine again. "Yeah! It's delicious."

I ignore her strange behavior. "His fiance, Talia, is coming too,"

"Should I be nervous?" She says shyly.

I smirk, grabbing her hands. "Maybe a little."

---

It's one fifteen, and I just pulled up to the diner to meet Rocky and Talia. Scarlett's dressed in a pair of tight blue jeans, and god are they distracting.

We're about to walk in before she turns around, stopping me outside the entrance. "I'm nervous," she admits.

I smile, putting my hands on both sides of her face. I look into her eyes, trying to comfort her. "Just be yourself. They'll love you, I promise."

She gives me a shy smile, resting in my hands. "Okay. Let's go."

We walk hand in hand into the restaurant, grabbing a table and waiting for my brother. While we wait, Scarlett anxiously plays with my hand, tracing my veins up my arms and attempting to crack my knuckles.

I put my hands over hers, attempting to stop her jittering. "Relax, baby," I whisper into her ear.

Our waitress comes up, a younger college student who looks extremely overworked.

"Hi, I'm Layla. I'll be your waitress. How can I help you," she rambles out, looking at us with a frazzled expression.

"We're waiting on two more people, but can I get us some water?" I ask her. I look down to Scarlett to confirm, and she nods her head once.

"Sure thing. I'll be right back," she rushes off.

I hear Talia's high-pitched laugh before I see them. I look up and see Rocky and Talia strolling in, looking around to find us.

I stand up, waving at them as they walk towards us. "Zayn!!" Talia shrieks, failing to be quiet as usual.

Rocky meets me first, slapping my hand and pulling me into one of our usual hugs. I see Scarlett and Talia hug each other as well, sharing their names and complimenting each other.

Talia pulls me into a hug right after, and Rocky introduces himself to Scarlett. She shakes his hand, smiling and making small talk with him.

We shuffle back into our booth, the water now present.

"So, Scarlett, how's everything?" Talia asks happily.

Scarlett seems to be much more at ease, but her hand clutches mine tightly under the table. "Good! I've been working a lot lately, so that's kept me busy."

"Ah, so you two have that in common- in love with working," Rocky adds.

"I do really love my job, even if it's only the beginning,"

"That's amazing, though! Having a job, you love so much as your first job." Talia exclaims. They chat back and forth as Rocky and I share looks of shock.

I was honestly more worried that Talia wouldn't get along with her than Rocky. Talia can be pretty judgemental when she wants to be, but they seem to really enjoy talking to one another.

We somehow ended up talking about dream wedding locations when our food got to the table.

"I'm just saying, the beach is magical no matter what's happening there. Imagine how serene that would feel!" Talia says passionately.

Rocky rolls his eyes. "There is no way we're getting married on the beach,"

"Why the hell not?" She grumbles angrily.

They argue in front of us, causing Scarlett and me to laugh. I know for a fact they've had this argument countless times.

"You okay?" I whisper.

She nods. "I'm great."

"Well, wherever the wedding is, you're coming, right?" Talia asks, looking right at Scarlett.

Fuck. I sort of mentioned it to her a while ago, but I don't know if she was down for it.

"I'd love to," Scarlett says softly, looking at me.

I wink at her, nodding, so she knows I want her to. I have to reinforce that for her later tonight. I really wish I asked her first.

"Perfect! You have, like, a month or so. I can totally help you pick out a dress!"

Scarlett laughs. "That sounds fun."

"There's a mall a few minutes away. Do you wanna go shopping while the boys grab drinks or something?" Talia offers.

Oh, God. What if Talia tells her something stupid?

"Sure!" Scarlett accepts.

Rocky looks at me, shaking his head with a smirk. I do the same and finish the rest of my burger.

"We can hit that old bar downtown," I tell Rocky, throwing money down for the check. "Lunch is on me."

"Thanks, little bro."

---

"She seems like a pretty good girl," Rocky says, sipping his beer.

I hide my smile. "Yeah. She's amazing. I swear she changes something inside me."

As soon as I saw Rocky's reaction, I regretted saying that. He smirks, his eyebrows raised and judging me. "You're fucking whipped," he jokes.

I roll my eyes. "You're childish."

"Nah, but really, I'm happy for you, man. You guys look great together, and I haven't seen you smile like this in a while."

"Thanks, bro."

"I'm not gonna lie. I was worried about Talia." He admits, laughing again.

"Me too. Talia can be...."

"A lot." Rock finishes for me.

We both laugh in agreement.

"Have you heard anything more about dad?" He asks, sobering his laughter.

I shake my head, anger replacing my happiness. "If he contacts me again with any more of that cryptic bullshit, I don't think I can stop myself from confronting him."

Rocky sighs. "He's doing that on purpose, Z. You have to ignore him."

"I can't help it. He fucking enrages me." I clench my bottle tighter, staring in front of me. I block out the memories threatening to flood back in.

I feel Rocky's hand on my shoulder. "This is what he wants, Zayn. He's pissed we didn't help him get released."

"Oh, yeah? Well, I'm pissed he provided me with a lifetime's worth of trauma but hey, who the fuck cares." I say bitterly.

"I get it, Zayn, I promise you, but acting out now isn't going to change anything. It's only going to make shit worse." He finishes his beer and orders another.

"The fact that we're not going to hear shit about this for a few months isn't helping."

"Well, it is what it is." He sighs.

We continue drinking, probably too much, and by the time the girls meet us, I'm decently drunk.

Scarlett sits next to me, a large bag resting in her lap. She smiles up at me, her soft chocolate-colored eyes staring into mine.

Fuck, I could look at her all day.

"Hi, beautiful," I greeted her.

"Hi, handsome," I smirk at the compliment, pulling her face to mine and kissing her sloppily. It's probably not even five, and I'm drunk, making out with my girlfriend in a bar. I guess college never really leaves you, eh?

"You taste like beer," she mumbles.

"Sorry, baby," I whisper against her lips. Her hands feel like fire on my skin, and all I want is to get the fuck out of here and take her home.

As if Rocky read my mind, he taps my shoulder. "We're leaving." Rocky slurs.

"I'll be driving. Thanks for that, future little bro." Talia glares angrily at me, smacking my head.

She hugs Scarlett, and we all say our goodbyes. I struggle to stand and hand Scar the keys to my car, silently asking her to drive us home.

She takes them, her hand grasping mine and pulling us out of the bar. The brightness nearly blinds me as we leave the dark bar and enter the sunlight. Jeez, it really is daytime.

Once we pile into the car, Scar breaks the silence. "Is everything okay, Z?"

I look into her worried eyes, frowning. "Yeah, we just got carried away," I slur, resting my head against the headboard.

"Okay," she turns on the car and peels out of the parking lot, heading back to her apartment.

My head pounds as we drive back, my mind racing with thoughts of my father. Drinking helped at first, but now I'm just fucking anxious and mad.

The thought of him sitting in a cell, thinking of ways to piss me the fuck off, just makes my blood boil. I don't want to exist in his life. He doesn't have the right to think of me. He clearly didn't for the first twenty years of my damn life.

God forbid he gets released, and my entire world becomes absolute chaos. There's no doubt in my mind he'll attempt to see my brother and me, and that cannot happen. I refuse to ever face that man again.

Unless he continues to fuck with me, then we're going to have a real problem.

"Zayn?" Scarlett's voice breaks through. Her hands find mine, making me realize my fists are clenched. "We're back."

I notice we're parked outside her apartment, and I unclench my fists, trying to snap out of my thoughts. "Oh,"

I get out of the car and drag my feet across the pavement and into Scarlett's apartment. It's empty, thank god, so we get into Scar's room without having to speak with Jordyn.

I love Jordyn, but I'm not in the mood to see anyone when I'm like this. I feel embarrassed, honestly. I don't want to be anything like my father.

I sit at the edge of Scarlett's bed, kicking off my shoes and slouching, refusing to look at her. I can feel her disappointment. I don't want to see it written all over her beautiful face.

"Z," she says softly, crouching down, so her face is under mine. "What's wrong?"

I sigh, my hand touching her cheek. "I'm fine. Just my dad," I slur.

She frowns, her eyebrows scrunching. "Did he contact you again?"

I shake my head. I bring my hands up to my head and pull on my hair. "He's in my head. All the time." I admit.

Scarlett's hands find mine and pull them from my scalp. "Stop. Look at me,"

My eyes find hers again, softening as I take in the look on her face. She's not disappointed. She's not pitying me. She just cares.

"I don't want him to be a part of my life. I don't want to think about him. I wish it were like he never fucking existed. If he gets released, my whole world becomes about him. Again." I ramble.

She shakes her head, furrowing her brows. "Why give him that power? You have the power to allow anyone into your life and vice versa. Don't let him take that. You have no obligation to let him back into your life."

I shut my eyes and nod, trying to ease the frustration and pain. I feel her hands on mine, and her silky smooth voice helps.

We spend the rest of the night cooking and talking about anything we can think of. I'm practically guzzling water and finally feel sobered up.

We're cuddled up on the couch, the weather report on for the night. Scarlett's head is resting gently on my chest, my arms encasing her small body. She fits perfectly in my arms.

"It's gonna rain," she mumbles.

I look up to the TV, seeing the forecast for the next twelve hours is basically constant rain. "Hmm, yeah."

She sits up, her beautiful chestnut waves falling over her shoulders. "It's already raining!" She exclaims, pointing to her large windows.

"You like rain, huh?" I ask.

"Well, yes, but, the list! Dance in the rain is on our list." She looks at me hopefully.

Well, when she looks at me like that, how the hell could I say no?

"Let's do it," I smile. "But can we go back to my place?"

She nods happily. We never got to go to my place with our schedules rarely lining up. My office is closer to her house than her office is to mine, so we compromised.

She runs into her room to pack a bag, and I grab my keys, heading to the door. My neighbor takes care of the dogs every once in a while if I need her, but I want them to meet Scarlett.

She comes out with a bag and the brightest smile I've seen in a while. "Ready?"

I smile back. "Yup."

She grabs my hand, and we head out into the rain. Her parking lot is mostly empty, so she throws her bag into my car and rushes back out into the rain. She spins around, her arms extended.

"I love this weather," she shouts.

"I can tell," I chuckle, coming up and picking her up by the waist, spinning the both of us around.

They do that in romance movies, right? Fuck it.

Once we stop spinning, I kiss her softly, the rain gently falling on us, soaking our hair and making the kiss that much better. Her lips are soft under mine, my hand finding her neck to pull us closer.

Before we can pull apart on our own, a car horn beeps at us. "Wrap it up, lovebirds!" Jordyn shouts from her car, her headlights blinding us.

Scarlett flips her off as she parks, laughing hysterically. She gets out, still laughing. "What type of romcom shit is this?"

"Go away, Jor. You're ruining the happy moment." Scar jokes.

"Fine, fine. I'll see you later?"

"Tomorrow!" She shouts as Jor walks away. I take her hand and spin her around, taking her by surprise.

"Okay! I'm freezing. Let's go!" She giggles, rushing back to my car. I laugh, watching her run off.

I open the trunk and pull out a blanket I keep back there, bringing it to her. She takes it thankfully, and we drive off to my place, blasting the heat.

Once we finally get back, I give Scarlett a piggyback ride up to my apartment. I unlock the doors, and we rush in, Buck and Bear barreling towards us.

They wag their tails excitedly. "Scarlett, these are my boys, Buck and Bear."

She smiles happily, crouching down to pet them, and they lick her face repeatedly. "Hi, babies," she says.

Watching her be so soft and welcoming to them and seeing that she could love them just as much as I do makes me too damn happy. Everything about her fits my life perfectly, and I know she is the missing piece in my life.

The more time we spend together, the more true, it becomes to me.

I am falling in love with this girl.