My phone buzzes repeatedly as if my alarm is going off, and I groan, rolling over in my bed, wondering if me being an idiot accidentally set an alarm for the middle of the night.

However, my phone screen displays the name Alex Fuentes when I pick it up. Why is he calling at 3am? I begin to worry. What if something's happened-

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he sighs, his voice heavy and tired. "Was just thinking about you."

"At 3am?" I lay my head back down on the pillow.

"Couldn't sleep. Did I wake you?"

"Not at all."

"I like hearing your voice."

I smile to myself. "When did you become so honest?"

"I'm wondering the same thing."

"Did you sort things out with Santi-"

"Nope."

"Alex," I send him disappointed vibes through the phone.

"He's a little freak. My Mom almost kicked me out when she saw his face."

"Isn't that what brothers do? I mean, get each other in trouble?"

"Not us. Our Mom is terrifying. Ratting us out to her is worse than the cops."

"Damn. She seems so sweet."

"Yeah she seems that way. Just like a seal is dangerous but seems cute."

"Seals are dangerous?"

"Sí."

"Geez, that's the most disappointing thing i've heard all week." There is a long pause and I think he might have fallen asleep. "Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you come over here?"

"Right now?"

"Yes."

"Your Dad will go crazy."

"I'm an adult, so it's not up to him who sleeps with me."

There's a beat. "Fine, I'll come." Fifteen minutes later, Alex texts me that he's outside, so I creep downstairs and unlock the door, seeing him standing there in dark grey joggers and a black shirt, and looking hot.

I lead him upstairs and we don't speak until my bedroom door is shut, and he hugs me, lifting me off of my feet. When i'm back down, Alex looks around my room that is still pretty plain except from the post cards that cover one of my walls that I collect from different places around the world.

I grab his chin and pull his head to look at me. "Geez, respect my privacy, Alex," I joke but he doesn't find it amusing, instead just rolling his eyes.

"You look cute," he says looking down at what i'm wearing which is an oversized t-shirt and shorts, but the shorts aren't visible so it probably looks like i'm wearing nothing underneath.

"Thanks, Mr. Badass boy who gets stabbed," I pull on his shirt, the sight of his scar giving me a weird feeling but I don't get into it. I will never get used to the thought of that happening to him.

He shakes his head disapprovingly while moving in to kiss me, then he lifts me onto my bed and hovers over me, not breaking the kiss. I slide my hand over his shoulder and down his muscular arm, then to his back and slide it back up to his neck. I touch his soft skin on the back of his neck, trailing my finger tips around it until he shivers and pulls away, breathing heavy.

"Stop," he whispers, taking my hand that was touching his neck. I smile, knowing it's his sweet spot.

"You think you'd have a seizure if I breathed on the back of your neck?" I joke but he just closes his eyes as if the thought was painful. There is sudden buzzing at his crotch at my eyebrows shoot up. Think he's getting a little too excited.

He gets off of me and lays beside me, going into his pocket and pulling out his phone. "Santiago texted me." Oh.

"What'd he say?"

"Asked why I snuck out."

"He worries about you, that's cute. You should say sorry."

"There's no way i'm doing that."

"You can't fight with your brother like this."

He groans and puts his phone away.

"Come on, please. You'll both feel better."

He groans again and puts his arms over his face to hide it.

"Alex," I say sternly.

"Fine. I'll talk to him tomorrow."

Smiling, I kiss his cheek and pull the covers over us. "Night." Through the darkness, I can still see his eyelashes pointed upwards and his eyes sparkling even moments later while he's still staring at the ceiling. I search for his hand under the covers and intertwine my fingers with his. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nada," he turns to face me and pulls me closer.

"Are you nervous about seeing your Dad tomorrow?"

He sighs. "God, it's like you can read my mind."

"Don't worry about it. Whenever i'm in a situation that makes me uncomfortable, I picture myself at home later doing something I like, like watching TV and eating."

"I could definitely picture something I like, especially when i'm looking at you."

I knock my head against his chest but it only hurts me from how hard it is. "I'm trying to be motivational."

"Right. Sorry." He embraces me in his arms and I don't think i've felt so comfortable and safe in so long.

"I've missed sleeping with you," I mumble through my sleepiness that has unloaded on me in the last five minutes.

"It's impossible to sleep without you."

"I wish we could stay together every night."

"Me too."

The morning light shines through my eyelids and when they open, all I see is back cotton. Remembering who's here, I look up at an adorable sleeping Alex and can't control my smile. I need to wake up to that every morning or the mornings I don't will seem so dull.

I lay comfily in his arms for a while until he removes one of his arms from me and lies straight on his back. He starts rubbing his eyes, then looks at me. "Oh my god."

My eyes widen. "What?"

"You're gorgeous."

I start smiling uncontrollably, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"Aww, look at that blush," he squeezes my cheek, laughing and I blush even more.

My bedroom door opens and my Mom stands in the doorway, looking down at the pile of clothes in her hands. When she looks up, she freezes. "Oh, hi Alex."

"Hi," Alex sits up, letting the covers drop and showing off that he is wearing a shirt to my Mom. Alex Fuentes's biggest achievement in life; sleeping in a bed with his girlfriend and wearing a shirt throughout the entire process. It's a proud moment for him.

"So, Alex and I are back together," I state the obvious, running my finger along the waistband of Alex's boxers that's on display to me.

"I see that."

"Hope you don't mind me staying here..."

"No, it's completely fine," Mom smiles. "I'm glad you two have worked things out. Are you staying for breakfast?"

"Yes," I answer for him before he can say no. He looks behind at me with this weird nervous look. What's he afraid of? My mom giving him food poisoning? I would be too.

"Okay, come down when you're ready." Mom leaves after setting my clothes on my dresser and Alex nervously runs his hand through his dark shiny hair.

"What?"

"I was planning on staying on your Dad's good side. He liked me, well before we started going out at least."

"Calm down, he won't care that you stayed here."

"So, you slept in the same bed as Amelia last night," Dad says as he cuts up a sausage on his plate, sitting across from us.

Alex stares down at the sausage with this look of fear on his face. "Yes."

"Is your mother okay with you doing that?"

"Of course she is, Dylan. They slept together all the time when we were staying at Alex's house," Mom says and I feel Alex stiffen beside me. Geez. What's with him being so terrified of parents? But working with Caligari wasn't scary at all? "I'm sure Isabella trusts Alex, just like we just Amelia."

"I wouldn't say my Mom trusts me," Alex admits.

"I wouldn't say my Dad trusts me."

Dad drops his knife and fork and sighs. "I do, A. I just hope you know your limits."

"Of course she does," Mom gives me a strange smile as if she knows something. The fuck?

"And if you do happen to do something you're not ready for, protection is important."

"Dylan," Mom scolds, shaking her head while Alex and I look at each other. Protection who? What's that?

"Wha-" Dad uses his fork to gesture between Alex and I. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That look. I saw that."

"We just looked at each other?"

Dad sits back in his seat and luckily Mom cuts in before he says anything else. "They're eighteen years old, let them be."

"Thank you, Mother. So Father, please stop treating me like a baby." I stand up, pulling Alex's arm up with me. "We're going to prison." I start walking away, taking Alex with me then stop in my tracks, realising that I should probably elaborate on what I just said. "We're going to see Alex's Dad."

"Oh," Mom smiles again. "Have fun." I run up the stairs, pulling Alex along by his hand and and we go back into my room. He sits on the bed, running both hands through his hair.

"Godddd," he groans, dragging out the 'd'.

I search through my dresser for something to wear, deciding on leggings and a denim jacket. "What?"

"That was what I was afraid of."

"It went fine."

"That's what you call fine?" I pull my shirt over my head and Alex looks up, interested. After putting a bra on and a black t-shirt, he looks back down at the floor, uninterested.

"Why do you care so much about what he thinks?"

"Because," he pauses. "I'm protective over Yasmin, and I think terrible things about every guy I see her with. I don't have a daughter but I get the gist of how he'd be feeling about me after something like this."

"He still likes you, and he'll grow to like you more." Once i've pulled my leggings up, I look back at Alex to catch him watching me, his eyes filled with lust. I spray myself in a lot of deodorant which snaps him out of it and he begins to cough and wave his hand.

"Holy shit, do you go through one can of that a day?"

I roll my eyes, going to my mirror and starting my makeup. "Don't have a meltdown."

He chuckles. "Shut up."

"Ouch."

"Don't have a meltdown."

"Shut up."

"Ouch."

"Okay, we're stopping this right here," I raise my hand and he just high fives it.

+++

It's not hard to figure out which one is Alex's Dad out of the people sitting in the visiting room. The man is tall with muscular arms showing from the short sleeves of his prison uniform. His eyes are almost identical to Santiago's light blue and grey colour; his hair brown with faded blonde streaks through it like Max and Diego have.

He stands up when he sees us. "Alex, I didn't expect to see you."

Alex doesn't speak, he just looks him up and down as if he didn't expect him to look the way he did. "Hi, I'm Amelia," I introduce myself, extending my arm to shake his hand.

"Good to meet you. I'm Caleb." He sits down, gesturing for us to do so too, and once we're all sitting at the table, he looks at his son who's still mute. "So, you're Alex's girlfriend?" I nod. "Well, he went right with you."

"Sure did," I nudge Alex and reach for his hand under the table. It seems to relax him as his body goes less tense.

"How you doing, Alex? All healed up?"

"Yeah," he finally speaks.

"Still painful?"

"It's minor."

"That's good. So, are things okay now? You haven't seen Johnny anywhere, have you?"

"Didn't the cops find him?"

"He's not in here, unless they put him into a different prison for some reason. I figured he hadn't been caught."

Alex looks down at my hand in his, his eyebrows coming together. "Is that the guy Yasmin stabbed with a pencil?" I ask.

Caleb's eyes widen and he leans across the table. "She did what?"

"It wasn't that bad," Alex clears up. "She just stabbed it into his neck but it didn't go that deep."

Caleb sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "You kids are... loco."

"You think if he is still out, would he run or get revenge?"

Caleb furrows his eyebrows, as if realising something. "Just watch over Yasmin, okay? Don't let her go walking the streets alone in the middle of the night or anything like that."

"I always look out for her. And Val. He'd be lying dead in a ditch somewhere by now if I didn't. There's no one else who has the time to."

There is a minute silence where Caleb just looks at his hands on the table. I don't like it, but my mind wanders to those hands holding and firing a gun at a living human being. I remind myself that he was forced to do it, and that he would never voluntarily do something so cruel. He's a good person, just like Alex, you have to dig a little to understand that.

"So, tell me how you two met," he says, smiling at me. "I already know that your family stayed with them for a while, but tell me the love story. How did it start?"

"I saw her naked," Alex says bluntly and Caleb's smile disappears, his expression turning confused.

"He walked in on me in the bathroom," I clarify, a little embarrassed and I kick Alex under the table.

"Oh right. I thought he meant you slept together and he just fell in love," he shakes his head, smirking a little at Alex.

I laugh, and Alex looks at me. "When we were talking to my parents today, the conversation went to sex. And now here we are again," I explain.

Alex shrugs. "At least he won't hate me for it like your Dad will."

"I will if you fuck things up," Caleb says.

"Like you care," Alex scoffs. "You walked in on me with enough girls to know that they weren't my new girlfriends and didn't give a shit that I ditched them straight after."

"Are you blaming me for your disgusting fuckboy antics?" He laughs and I awkwardly bite my lip. Apparently guys are immune to the fact that I may feel awkward listening to them talk about Alex hooking up with other girls.

Alex shrugs. "Studies show that it usually is the father's fault when the son turns out like that."

"Did you do your research so you could come here and prove that i'm a terrible father?"

Alex sits back in his seat and sighs. "You weren't terrible."

"Wow, I think that's the nicest thing you've said to me in years."

Alex tries to hide his smile as he looks down at our hands again, and I start smiling too from how great this turned out to be. When we're leaving, Caleb asks to speak to me alone for a minute, so Alex warily agrees and waits at the door.

"I wanted to thank you."

"What for?"

"Making Alex happy. He's really different now that he has you."

"Everyone keeps saying that, but I can't imagine him being any worse than he was when I first met him."

"Think of Ray, but twenty times worse than he is," Caleb laughs. I nod, realising what everyone's been talking about. "I know he wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you, so thanks."

"You don't need to thank me. He would have came eventually, so I guess I just sped it up."

Caleb smiles and looks to the guard who's heading towards him with handcuffs, then he looks over at the door at Alex. "It was really good meeting you. I hope to see you again soon."

After saying bye, I walk back to Alex but he doesn't move from the door – he watches his Dad get taken away in handcuffs, a painful look on his face. I put my hands on each side of his face and make him look at me. "Let's go see a movie?"

He finally smiles and leans down to kiss me, "What did he say?"

"Secrets," I smirk, walking out and Alex follows, worrying and asking ten questions at once.

+++

almost 3000 words again woop woop

teaser: alex helps yasmin out when she's in a mess, and something really bad happens to Amelia.

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