I’m woken up by something tickling my face and neck. It brushes over my skin so lightly that it makes me squirm. I hear a barely audible breathy chuckle from above me and slowly open my eyes. I peek over my shoulder only to be met with John’s happy smile as he uses a strand of my hair to tickle me. I hide my face in the pillow with a groan. My face probably looks awful right now, not to mention the rat’s nest that is my hair.

“Wake up, babygirl. – John kisses the back of my head – I got breakfast for us.” He softly speaks into my ear, leaning over me as he still uses the ends of my hair to brush over my skin.

“What time is it?” I groggily ask, keeping my face buried in my pillow.

“10.” I shoot up from the bed, wide-eyed.

“Damn it! Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?!” I hurriedly go through my closet to get something to wear then run to the bathroom.

John gives me an imploring look when I exit the bathroom and that’s when I realize that I never mentioned to him that I have to go to the police station to give them the weekly report. My uncle arranged it that way, so I don’t have a cop car constantly showing up around me. Once a week I give the officer in charge of me a report on whether I noticed anything suspicious, what’s been going on, yadda, yadda, yadda.

I literally slap my forehead at my idiocy. I should’ve told him.

“I have to meet the officer responsible for me at 12. If I'm late, the cops will contact the detective in charge of my dad's case.” I feel like such an idiot.

“We still have time, precious.” John assures me and takes my hand, pulling me with him to the kitchen. “First we eat, and then we can take care of everything else.” With a quick peck he picks me up and sits me down on the stool by the counter. I release a strange squeak at the sudden move, making John laugh. His voice is so deep and manly. I could listen to it all the time.

He takes the seat next to me and dishes out the breakfast he bought. We eat in complete silence, with occasional feeding done by John. Whenever I protest, he just silences me with a passionate kiss and uses my dazed state to get me to agree to be fed.

Damn him and his lips. One kiss from him and I would probably agree to shave my head bald if he asked. Not that he would.

I think.

When we’re done with the food and throw the dishes away, it’s already 11.20, so we don’t have much time. I’m looking for my journal, where I write everything down so I don’t forget about anything, when the sound of the front door opening reaches me. I glance at John, but he looks as lost as me.

He tells me to stay behind him as he walks towards the bedroom door, his hand on the gun in the waistband of his jeans. I feel my breath quicken as sheer panic surges through me.

“JESUS MAN! What the hell?!” I squeeze myself next to John in the doorway, only to see none other than Blake with his hands raised and eyes wide as he stares at the barrel of John’s gun, which is pointed right at his head.

“Blake? What are you doing here?” I question, dumbfounded. And where’s Lia? Those two are almost inseparable.

John tucks his gun away and we all go to the living room. Blake sits down on the couch, leaning against the back of it with a deep sigh.

“I’m here to see Lia. She was supposed to come to my house after her fight yesterday. We planned to go the carnival later. I'm guessing she's still asleep?” My eyes turn into saucers as I cover my mouth with my hand, to hide the sob that threatens to escape my mouth.

John, on the other hand, doesn’t even try to hide his thoughts.

“Lia left last night. She came by about 11, got some clothes and went out. – his tone turns from confused to serious – She said she’s going to your house, Blake.” I watch in horror as realization crosses Blake’s look and he struggles to breathe before jumping off the couch and storming outside to his car. John catches up to him before he can drive away. I pant slightly when I catch up to them, I am not as fast as the two, I’ve never been an athletic kid.

“What are you going to do, man? Just go out there and aimlessly drive around the area?”

“YES! That’s exactly what I’m going to do!” I gasp inaudibly at the broken look on Blake’s face. He’s really worried. I'm not surprised at his reaction. The girl he loves is missing, of course he's distressed.

“It’s been 12 hours, Blake, she could be anywhere. Let’s go to the clubhouse. We can talk it over with the guys and make a plan. The more of us, the better.” I can tell John is trying his hardest to remain calm, but I don't miss the crease between his brows as he thinks about what to do. This is really serious.

“Should I call the cops?” I ask John.

“No. Lia’s involved in illegal fighting, we can’t go to the cops.” Blake is the one to answer, unsuccessfully trying to call Lia again. At least that’s what I think he's doing, if the anxious look on his face is anything to go by.

“Let’s go to the clubhouse. If there’s anything we’re fucking good at, it’s rescue missions. Done that shit hundreds of times in the army.” John pats Blake’s shoulder before gesturing at me to lock the front door as he gets on his bike.

I feel John’s tension the whole way to the clubhouse. His body remains rigid in my arms and I squeeze him tightly, leaning my cheek against his back. He rubs my hand over his waist then pulls it to his lips to leave a kiss on my knuckles. Despite not having a helmet on my head, I don’t feel worried about riding with John even when he uses only one hand to handle the bike. I trust him completely.

When we reach the clubhouse, John quickly dismounts the bike and picks me up to get me on the ground, while Blake parks his car next to us. All three of us walk inside, catching attention of the guys at the bar.

“CHURCH!” John bellows furiously as he storms through the room, heading upstairs. He tells Blake to get in the meeting room where they hold the ‘church’ thingy before leading me to his bedroom.

Once we’re there, I give John a questioning look.

“I’m sorry, precious, but you’ll have to wait here. I will tell you everything once we’re done, but you can’t join us. I’m sorry. If you were my Old Lady, I would take you with me, but… Not yet.” He tells me, gazing at me apologetically and stroking my cheek with his thumb. I lean my face into his hand then kiss the palm of it. I wrap my arms around his waist and press my face to his chest.

“It’s okay, I understand. Just find her, please.” I murmur against his hard chest and he crushes my body to his, kissing the top of my head.

“Please stay here. I will be back as soon as I can.” I nod, kissing the exposed part of his chest before pulling away. He quickly leans in and pecks my lips then leaves the room.

I go to his bed, kneeling by the side of it, facing the window. Clasping my hands together, I start praying.

God, please don’t let anything happen to my friend.