Disclaimer: Don't own it.

This is fact, not fiction
For the first time in years
All the girls in every girlie magazine
Can't make me feel any less alone
I'm reaching for the phone

Lack of Color- Death Cab for Cutie

Chapter Three

The snow's melting. Forty degree days for the rest of the week, well, so says the weather man, but Justin's knows that they can often be wrong.

He hasn't been home since February.

He can't be. He doesn't want to be.

He can't stand this anymore. It gets worse every day, increases tenfold when he sees her, when he hears her. It's better off for everyone if he stays where he is.

It's safer.

And Justin's always been about protecting the ones he loves. Even if it pains him.

He's doing what's best. He's being a good brother. He's keeping her safe, away from him. He's being a good son and keeping the family intact.

Well, he was trying to anyway.

His dad called, a rare occurrence, his father hated talking on phones, he preferred face to face conversations so Justin was more than surprised when he answered the phone to hear his father on the other end.

Alex had run away. They don't know where she's gone or why, but she disappeared after dinner the previous night.

He doesn't make his dad plead, just agrees to find her.

*****

"Alex," Justin says impatiently, frowning at his sister's back as she tugs harder on his wrist, "What are you doing?"

She glances back at him, a huge grin on her face, the wind whipping her hair around her face; she brushes it away with her free hand and doesn't answer him, just keeps pulling her with him, giggling to herself as she does so.

He hears the ocean before he sees it, well, he can hear the waves better now he's not confined in their room and the breeze a little stronger. And he allows himself a small smile; this has always been one of his favorite places.

They've vacationed in Scarborough all of his life, even when it was just his parents and him. They stay in a quaint hotel room, with a tiny kitchenette that their mom always cooks in, a small dining area, an old beat up couch and two beds. Well, they used to stay in the ones with two beds, but once Max was born and Alex got a little older, their parents insisted that they have a room with three beds.

He'll never admit it to anyone, but he misses the days that Alex could still sleep with him, even if she did steal all of the covers and often kicked him in her sleep.

Alex drags him down, slipping in the sand as it slopes to meet the ocean. It's darker on the beach, without the city lights. He can see the stars clearly, makes out more constellations than he ever can in the city. The moon is full this night, providing them with ample light.

"See, I knew you'd love it down here," Alex grins, lets go of his hand and wades into the water.

"Well, if you didn't get us banned from the beach with your stunt yesterday, we could've enjoyed this with Max and mom and dad earlier," he replies, even though, yeah, this is nice, and he does love it.

She rolls her eyes, "Whatever, come on, come swimming with me!"

"Alex, we really shouldn't, there isn't a life guard on duty and you could—" His advice comes too late as she's already removed her pajamas and is now surfacing for air, "drown," he finishes as she grins cheekily at him and motions again for him to join her.

He does so begrudgingly and they spend the next hour swimming, playing Marco Polo and acting like kids again.

When her teeth begin to chatter he insists that they get out and return to their room.

Once their pajamas are back on Justin heads back up to the road, itching to get back to their room, knowing that it's only a matter of time before their parents realize that they're gone. He turns, reaching his hand for Alex, knows that she's always struggled walking up this hill, but she isn't there. She's still on the beach, staring up at the full moon.

He sighs, but goes back to her, grabs her gently on the wrist, "Hey, come on," he says softly, "you're freezing." She shivers slightly, emphasizing his point and she frowns, creasing the perfect skin of her forehead.

She wraps her arms around his torso and buries her face in his chest, "I'm sorry," she says, her words muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

He nods, his chin touching the top of her head, he swallows hard and hesitantly wraps his arms around her, moving his hands up and down her back, trying to warm her up, "It's okay," he murmurs back.

They stay like that for a few moments until Alex looks up at him, confusion clear on her face, "Do you hear that?"

"What?" He whispers, panic spreading through him, he doesn't have his wand and well, let's face it, isn't quite sure what he's physically capable of doing to protect her.

"I swear I just heard…" She trails off.

"Heard what?"

"Shh," she insists, "Hear that?" She asks again. And then she howls, "I think Isabella is trying to contact you." She snorts and buries her face back into his chest.

He hides his grin in her hair.

*****

He left at eleven, twenty minutes after he hung up with his dad.

He knows where she is. And is either going to curse her or pull her into a hug when he finally gets to her. He spends the next six and half hours driving, only stopping once to go the bathroom and get some coffee. The ride always seemed to go by so much faster when their dad was driving, then again, he's driving from Ithaca, which is farther away than the city.

He yawns into his hand countless times and keeps the car cool as he doesn't want to give into the inviting warmth of the heat and do something stupid like fall asleep at the wheel.

He arrives quarter to six and doesn't bother stopping at the main office, no one is there and he just knows which room she's in, he pounds on the door, not caring if she's asleep, he should be, dammit, and he's not because he's saving her ass. Again.

She opens the door, her favorite afghan from home wrapped around her shoulders, her eyes wet and red, and sniffles unpleasantly when she sees him.

All of his insults leave his tongue and he pulls her to him, wrapping her up tightly, shushing her, reassuring her that everything's going to be okay and he follows her into the room, slamming the door behind them.


A/N: I know it's slow so far and I know it's not making the most sense but everything will start to move along next chapter. Leave a review and lemme know what you think. :)