Warning: This chapter contains strong language.

"Dad?" I tried to hide the quiver in my voice, but I knew it did no good.

"Where were you? Do you know what t-today is?" He hiccuped and I could hear his voice starting to slur.

"Dad, put down the blade. It's me. Daytona." I raised my hands up and took a step back slowly.

"Yea, yea I know who you are. You're the girl who destroyed this family, you killed Cooper and worst of all, you're my fucking stupid daughter." Tears started to pool in my eyes again.

"I- I didn't kill Cooper Dad." He turned the knife around in his hands, not once looking at me.

I took a few more steps back but my dad matched them. "Had you not been out whoring around, your brother wouldn't have had to leave to get you."

I froze in my spot ready to defend myself, "I'm not a whore Papa." My voice cracked when I said the name I used to call him as a child.

"Don't you dare call me Papa." His voice went flat and his eyes were hard.

My chest hurt and I sank to the floor, sobbing into my hands. I was mumbling to myself over and over, trying to make myself believe that I didn't kill Cooper.

But the truth was, I did.

Had I not taken his car behind his back, had I not tried to take on more than I could handle, had I not drank away my feelings, and most of all had I been a better person, Cooper would still be here and my dad wouldn't be how he was.

My father's footsteps grew closer and closer, but I didn't make a move to get away.

He got down close to my ear and spoke into it, "You are the worst thing that ever happened to me. I despised you from the minute you were born."

I didn't want it to be true, but I knew it was.

As a kid my dad never attended things I was in, he never did anything with me. My mom always had to do double in order to make up for what my dad didn't do.

"You should've been the one to die that night, not your brother. He had so much going for him, and you took it all away. So, in return, I'll take you away."

He grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked me towards him, then pulled my hands away from my face.

I watched in terror as my father brought the blade up to my throat. I could feel the coolness of the metal as it touched my skin, and I could feel the sting as it started to slide down my neck.

But suddenly, he stopped.

He took the blade away from my throat and walked away. "Ah fuck, what am I doing. I can't go to jail." He turned back to me. "Get out of here. I don't want you stepping foot inside of this house until tomorrow, understood."

Nodding my head, I quickly got up and ran to the door. Once my hand was on the handle I threw the door open and ran outside, not even bothering to turn back around and close the door.

In my moment of terror, I absent-mindedly ran away, not even bothering to go in my car, or grab my keys.

I had only been gone for about ten minutes, but I knew I couldn't go back, not even for my car. So I made my way towards Logan's house, hoping he had gone straight home after school.

By the time I had reached his house, it was already dark outside.

My teeth were clattering as I walked up to Logan's front door and knocked on it.

I stood outside for a couple of seconds before Tanner opened the door. "Is-is Logan here?"

I had run out of tears to cry as I was walking, but I still felt like I had to cry.

"Daytona?! Geez, what happened to you? Get inside it's freezing out there." Tanner opened the door wider and I stepped through.

Once inside I began to thaw out, but I still shivered a little.

"Is Logan here?" I asked again.

"Uh no not right now, but he should be back any second." The door bell rang just as Tanner finished his sentence. "Uh let me get that, here wrap yourself in this."

He tossed me a blanket, and I wrapped it around my shoulders.

Tanner opened the door, but before he let Logan in he said, "Daytona is here and something happened to her, I don't know what but-"

Logan pushed through the door, not bothering to finish listening to what his brother had to say.

"Daytona! What?" Logan ran up to me and took me in his arms. He looked at me, his green eyes widening.

Seeing how concerned he was busted a pipe in me and my eyes started to tear up again, but I rubbed at my eyes before any could fall. I didn't want to cry in front of Tanner and seem weak.

"Let's get you upstairs." He wrapped his arms around me more and guided me to his room where I sat down on his bed and bursted into tears.

"Day? Hey what's wrong?" Logan placed a hand on my knee and I all but threw myself on to him, crying like a baby.

"My dad held a knife to my throat Logan. He told me I'm not allowed to come back home tonight." Logan rubbed my back in soothing circles, but for some reason this made me cry even more.

"Why tonight?" I could hear how his voice dropped a little, and I knew it meant that he was trying to hold back his anger.

"Today marks two years after my brother died." I sniffled and got up to find a tissue. When I found none, I put the blanket on the bed and walked into his bathroom to get toilet paper to blow my nose.

"Day, I'm so so sorry. I had no idea."

"It's okay you couldn't have." I looked into the mirror to see my pathetic reflection looking back. My eyes were all puffy and my nose was red from the cold.

But that wasn't the thing that caught my attention the most. What did was a line of dried blood along the left side of my neck.

It wasn't alot, but it was proof he had tried to kill me, and could've been successful.

"Hey, Day do you want to hear, is that blood?" Logan walked into the bathroom and I just kept my eyes locked on the thin cut.

"What am I going to tell everyone?" I muttered under my breath. "Do I want to hear what?" I turned to Logan and spoke almost normally for the first time in awhile.

"Oh um," he rubbed the back of his neck, "I was just wondering if you wanted to hear a song. I haven't played the guitar in awhile so I'm a little rusty, but it might cheer you up."

For the first time I noticed he was holding a black guitar by it's neck.

My heart warmed at his actions and a fraction of a smile hinted on my lips. "That would be nice Logan. Thanks."

I followed him out to the room and sat on his bed next to him.

"I used to love playing this song, but I only remember the first half, I'm sorry." He was tunning it while he talked.

"It's fine Logan. I didn't even know you played guitar. That's so cool!" He gave me a small nod and started to play.

"Just say the word, we'll take on the world

Just say you're hurt, well face the worst.

I can see, see the pain in your eyes

Oh, believe, believe me and I have tried

No I won't, I won't pretend to know what you've been through

You should've known, I wish it was me, not you.

And just say the word, we'll take on the world

Just say you're hurt, we'll face the worst

Nobody knows you, the way that I know you

Look in my eyes, I will never desert you

And just say the word, we'll take on the world.

And nobody knows you, the way that I know you

And nobody knows you, the way that I know you

We'll fight, we'll crawl into the night

Our world, we'll go, with you by my side

The calm, the storm, we'll face it all.

And just say the word, we'll take on the world

Nobody knows you, the way that I know you

Look in my eyes, I'll never desert you

And just say the word, we'll take on the world, we'll take on the world."

He stopped playing.

My mouth hung open in awe. I had never seen anything like this before and I was truly stunned.

"Wow. That was amazing." I smiled a real smile at Logan.

He set his guitar down and turned to me. "Thanks. Now what do you say we take on the world." He stood up and offered me his hand.

"Can we grab Charlotte and Jake first?" I took his hand and he helped me up.

"Of course. We'll even get Mason."

"Ah thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" I hugged him tightly, almost afraid to let go.

"Shall we go?" He offered his hand again.

"Yes." I took it again, intertwining my fingers and his.

~~~~~

We had just picked up Mason from my house, which I stayed in the car for.

"Looks like the gangs all here." We switched out Logan's car for Tyler's Jeep so we could all fight comfortably.

"Tell me again what we are doing?" Charlotte asked from the back seat.

She was between Jake and Mason, while I rode shotgun and Logan was driving.

"We're going to go have some fun. It's senior year, it's time we start acting like it." I was turned around in my seat facing everyone else.

"Okay but what exactly are we doing?" Charlotte asked again.

"Well Logan and I came up with this list of things we have to do this weekend, and we don't have to sorry about school on Monday because it's Thanksgiving break."

"Can we see the paper?" This time Mason was the one asking the questions.

"Nope. Only I know what were doing. I get to choose where we go since I am driving." Logan spoke up, glancing to the back row in the rear view mirror.

"Well this will be interesting." Jake said laughing a little.

We we're driving for awhile before Logan turned off of the freeway. "We're here."

He pulled up to a mall.

"Okay this wasn't on the list. What are we doing here?" I asked him unbuckling my seatbelt.

"Well, we all need new clothes for the things we will be doing tonight. So we're here to go shopping." Everyone got out of the car and walked towards the mall.

"Okay. So everyone here is a list of things you will need tonight. Meet in the food court at 10:00. The place closes at 11:00."

We all started heading our separate ways when Logan grabbed my arm. "Nope you're coming with me, and I'm picking out your clothes."

"That's so not fair!" I complained but let him drag me away.

He pulled me into a Charlotte Russe and started to roam around. "Logan, come on. You don't even know what I like."

"But I know what looks good on you." I heard him say from farther into the store.

I went in the direction of where I thought I heard his voice. I walked in a circle around the rack, but I didn't see him.

"Here try this on." His voice came from behind me and I jumped out of my skin.

I turned around and he was holding out a white dress.

I took the dress and headed towards the changing rooms.

When I put the dress on I looked in the mirror at myself.

It felt good to look like this when I haven't in awhile.

"You aren't dead in there are you?" Logan called from the other side of the door.

"No, no, I'm coming out." I opened the door and stepped out.

I twirled in a circle to hide my blush from Logan.

"Woah. You look..." His eyes trailed up and down my body. "Beautiful."

My cheeks burned and I looked away from him. "Thanks."

I went back to the dressing room and changed back into my clothes.

My phone case was also a wallet and I kept my credit and my debit cards in there, so I got my debit ready and walked out to buy it.

I walked to the cashier and placed my dress on the counter. The lady scanned it and I payed for it and walked out.

Logan was waiting for me outside the store and we headed to Hollister.

"Okay so what are we doing here?" We walked into the store.

"Uh we're getting you a swim suit for number 30." I sighed and followed him in.

We had to walk all the way to the back of the store to get to the swim suit section, which for some reason was still up even though it was late November.

"Okay. Which one looks good." I heard Logan mumbling and then footsteps came up behind us.

"Do you guys need any help?" A silvery voice spoke from behind me and I jumped out of my skin again.

I turned around and found myself looking upon a tall guy with golden skin and brown hair. He had baby blue eyes that stuck out like a sore thumb, and long eyelashes that framed his eyes.

When he smiled, his lips turned up in the corners and his teeth were perfectly straight and white.

"U-um no we're good. Yeah, uh just looking." I mentally smacked myself for stuttering. I never stuttered, not even with Logan, and here I am, stuttering to a Hollister employee.

"Well if you need anything, my name is Micah. By the way, that swim suit would look really good on you." He left with a smirk.

I stared at his retreating figure before I snapped back into reality and looked at the swimsuit I had in my hand.

I had just picked it up off the floor but once I actually looked at it, it was super cute.

It was a black halter style with a cross knit in the middle.

The bottoms were blue and white tie-dyed. I headed towards the changing room.

I tired it on and decided it was good enough and went to go pay for it.

"So you went with it huh?" I placed the suit on the counter in front of Micah.

"Uh yea." I picked at the hem of my t-shirt, cursing myself for not wearing something cuter. I pulled out my debit card when he rung it up, but he placed his hand on mine to stop me.

"I've got it." He winked at me and pulled out his one card and bought the swimsuit.

My mouth hung open as I stared at him. "Thank you so much! That's one of the nicest things anyone's done for me."

"No problem." He winked again and I took the bag and left.

Logan was waiting for me at the door and I wrapped my arm through his and we walked out of the store and headed to the food court.

"That swimsuit would look really good on you." Logan said in a high voice, mimicking Micah's voice.

I gasped, "Is someone jealous?"

He shot me a sideways glare. "No," He muttered under his breath.

"I think otherwise." I said in a sing-song voice.

He gave me a grumbled response.

I opened my mouth to respond but everyone was waiting for us.

"Hey Daytona and Logan!" Jake waved his hand at us.

"Hey!" I gave him a smile. "What are all those bags for?"

"It's everything Logan asked us to get. Did you not get the same stuff?"

"No I only got a–" Logan cut me off by putting a hand over my mouth.

"She got what she needed." Logan said giving everyone a deliberate look.

They nodded their heads and looked at each other.

We headed towards the exit when Mason pipped up, "Hey Logan, why do you look so pissed by the way."

I smirked a little as he shot me another glare.

"No reason." He mumbled.

I laughed as we walked out into the night, the brisk wind cutting my bare arms.

"Where are we going now?" I asked Logan, wrapping my arms around myself to try and warm up.

"Number 23 on the list. That's right baby, we're going to Highrise!" Everyone but Charlotte threw their hands in the air.

"To what now?" She asked.

"You've got to be kidding me." I deadpanned. "You Charlotte Casidy, Queen of Partying, don't know what Highrise is?"

"Nope. Never heard of it before." We all piled into the Jeep.

Somehow I ended up in the backseat and Jake was now riding shotgun. "It's only like the best club in San Francisco. It's also has a little boxing section, but it's mainly known for it's club."

"Oh! HR! That's what I used to call it. Okay okay, yea I know what you guys are talking about now. I've been wanting to go here forever!" She squealed and threw her hands in the air, almost punching me in the nose.

"You aren't going to fight, are you?" Mason whispered in my ear.

"Of course not. Well, most likely not. I feel like I owe someone there a fight, but I can't remember why or who." I scratched my head adding emphasis on my words.

Mason sighed and wrapped his arms around me, "Just be careful. Okay? I know you're good, but if you do end up fighting someone, they could be better than you, and that will ruin this trip."

I acknowledged his words with a nod and caught Jake giving us wiggly eyebrows. "Watch out Logan, or someone's going to steal your girl!"

Jake and Charlotte laughed and Mason let out a light chuckle, "It's not stealing if I had her first."

Logan rolled his eyes and turned on the radio to tune everyone out.

I ended up laughing along with everyone else, of course it was at Logan's expense, but it was to good not to pass up.

Several minutes later and we pulled up to a huge red brick building. "Well here we are folks."

Logan parked in a parking lot across the street from the place.

I stayed behind in the car and changed into the dress I bought.

I didn't have any heels so I figured that wearing my tennis shoes would have to suffice.

"Day! We're waiting for you!" Mason called from the outside.

I got out of the car and made my way over to the group in front of the doors.

"Are you guys ready for our weekend festivities to begin?!" Logan asked us as he threw open the doors.

Inside they had multicolor lights and music blaring. "Well this should be fun!" I shouted over the music to Logan.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to him. "Stay close. I don't want anything to happen to you."

My heart pounded faster and I glanced down at our hands and then back up to him.

"Awe are you worried about me?" It's was weird having a conversation where we had to shout at each other, yet it still felt nice.

He turned and looked at me, his green eyes staring into my hazel ones. "Yes I'm worried about you. When you're away from me you keep getting hurt. I can't let you get hurt again."

His eyes and voice were so sincere it sent shivers down my spine.

"Okay. I promise not to get hurt." I held out my pinky finger to him and he hooked his with mine.

We headed off deeper into the club. The further we got, the louder and more crowded it got.

Eventually Logan and I were pressed up against each other in a massive sea of sweat and people making out.

We started dancing to whatever song was playing and with every move I felt myself slowly start to unravel.

By the time the next song was on, I was completely care free, dancing like no one was watching.

Sweat dripped down onto my brow, but I didn't make a move to wipe it off.