Standing at the door to the hotel room was none other than my brother Charlie, looking quite stern. "Hi, Charlie," I said, trying to brighten up the mood. I smiled widely.

"Eileen," said Charlie, his tone of voice as stern as his face, "We need to talk."

"About what?" I asked, The Beatles, Gwen, Pattie, and Jane watching nervously in the background.

"About you staying here," he said, gesturing around the hotel room. "I heard what happened to you the other night. Jerri told me, and she said that crazy guy got to her to, and I believe her by the look of her-she's covered in bruises, all over her face. Eileen, it's not safe for you to be here, alone, where that killer knows where you are!"

"But I'm not alone!" I said. "There are tons of people here!"

"But they're not your family," said Charlie.

"Charlie," said Gwen. "Eileen has known me and Pattie all her life. We are family!"

"I'm closer," said Charlie. "Eileen, I'm taking you home with me, where you're safe."

"What?" I said, outraged. "Charlie, you can't just do this, I'm fine here!"

"Not judging by your ankle," said Charlie, looking at it.

"That's just my ankle!" I said. "The man barely touched me!"

"He got close," said Charlie. "I don't know how you made it out of there alive."

"I know!" said John, stepping up to Charlie. "I saved her life. For the third time!" John looked enraged at the fact that anyone, even my brother, would dare do anything to upset me. He stared Charlie down with his narrow brown eyes with an expression of pure loathing. "I want you to think twice about what you say about her not being safe here."

Charlie looked at John the same way with his pale blue eyes. "I did think twice, if you didn't notice it, Mr. Lennon."

"That's John to you," said John. This was awful. My brother and the man I loved, fighting.

"Well then, John,"Charlie said, putting emphasis on John's name, "I suppose that you have feelings for my sister, that you care for her so much, eh?"

John turned a slight shade of pink, but I think that was from anger, mostly. "What does it mean to you if I do?" asked John.

"I'm her brother, and it happens to mean a lot to me," said Charlie, pulling me towards him. "Come on, Eileen, say goodbye; we're leaving."

"No!" I shouted, yanking myself away from him. "Charlie, I know you want me to be safe, but I am! These are my friends, and they'd do anything to protect me, even if it meant their lives!"

"I'm your brother, I'm more than a friend!" said Charlie. "And how did any of them give their lives for you?"

"John jumped in front of a bullet the third time the shooter came!" I said, near tears. "He almost died, but was proud of it! And just the last time, he actually fought the shooter, and almost died, too! And it wasn't just him-Ringo helped me run away from the shooter the second time! Jane was the one who found John the last time! Now tell me I'm not safe here!" I was enraged.

"If you weren't here, none of that would have happened!" said Charlie.

"That's not true," I said. "Do you want to know who the shooter is?"

"Who is he?" asked Charlie.

"The man who killed mum!" I shouted. Tears were freely pouring down my cheeks now. It was the first time since Mum was killed. Since then, I learned to hide my sadness, keep it in check. I wanted to hide behind the mask of a happy person all the time, but I couldn't anymore. I let my emotions free.

John came up to me and hugged me. He looked over my shoulder at Charlie with a look of pure hatred. "Eileen is staying here, Mr. Carter," he said.

I pulled back from John and tried to get myself together. I dried my eyes and spoke. "We'll flip a coin," I said, looking from my friends to my left and my brother to my right. "Heads, I stay here, with everyone. Tails, I go with Charlie."

"Good idea, Eileen," said Charlie. He pulled a coin out of his pocket. "I'll flip!"

"No," I said, taking the coin. "I know you'll cheat."

"Fine," said Charlie bitterly. The three of us stood in the middle of the room, me in between John and Charlie. Ringo, Paul, and Jane were behind John, and Gwen, Pattie, and George were by me. I slowly raised the coin.

"You remember which is which?" I asked.

The two nodded.

I gulped and placed the coin on top on my closed fist. My head swam with the consequences of what would happen in both situations. If the coin landed on heads, I would stay here with John and everybody, but Charlie would probably hate me forever. If it was tails, I'd be with my brother, but I'd never see the man I loved again. Taking a deep breath, I tossed the coin up in the air.

It seemed like slow motion, the coin twirling about in the air. I never stopped looking at it, out of fear that Charlie might snatch in and change it. My heart rate quickened as it got closer and closer to the ground. Gwen gripped my hand and I gripped it back. I really wanted to stay here.

There was a dull thump as the coin hit the carpet. Paul kneeled down to read my fate. He bit his lip when he saw.

"What is it?" I whispered, afraid.

Paul looked up at me with sadness and regret in his eyes. "Tails," he said.

I thought I was hearing things. "Tails?" I asked.

Paul nodded somberly.

Tears overflowed in my eyes again as my brother gave a triumphant grin to John. "Better luck next time, John," he said.

He didn't even let me say goodbye. Charlie just grabbed my hand and led me out of the room without a backward glance. "It's alright, Eileen," he said. "I'm sure you'll have a great time. You'll be with Jerri!"

Oh God. I felt sick to my stomach. Yet another downside to living with Charlie. I loved my brother with all my heart, but I knew I loved John more. When we were outside, I reluctantly got into Charlie's car, and he drove off, ready for me to start a new, "safer" life. My heart ached-it was broken.

"John's P.O.V.*
I was outraged. Horrified. Furious, and all other synonyms you could think of. How dare that stupid, bloody idiot just barge in there and take my Eileen away! I wanted to hit something, but when Paul saw me going for the nearest china plate, he pulled me back.

"Just control yourself, John," he said. "We'll get her back."

"How!' I shouted, making Pattie jump. "How are we going to? Something tells me her brother'll skin me alive if I come anywhere within a mile of his house!"

"You forget who's in the room with you now," said Gwen, looking at her fingernails.

"Who?" I asked sarcastically.

Gwen looked up. "Gwen Stanley, schemer and trickster extrodenare! Eileen'll be back with us in no time with me around!"

"I hope you're telling the truth," I said.

"She is," said Pattie. "She always has something up her sleeve.

"It's true," said Gwen breezily.

"What do you think we should do?" asked Ringo.

"Hang on, hang on, I'll think of something!" said Gwen. Ringo nodded, embarrassed. I started to wonder what kind of thing Gwen was talking about...would she really have us kidnap Eileen from her brother's house? It was a possibility.

"I just want her back," I said.

"Cheer up, John," said George. "It's not like she'll never see us again."

"I hope you're right, George," I said. I got up and walked to me room and closed the door behind me. I sat on my bed and thought all about me and Eileen. About the first time I met her. About how she almost chose Paul over me, and the chaos it caused. About every time she touched me, how it made me feel. About when I saved her life, and the physical pain it caused me, but how when I remembered how Eileen was alive because of it, the pain went away and it was all worth it. About her sky-blue eyes and how they looked at me. About when I kissed her, and how she kissed me back. It was so sweet, so special, I wanted it to happen again and again, but I knew that would never happen again. She was gone.

Eileen was unlike any girl I had ever met. She was beautiful, smart, funny, and kind. I loved the way she laughed at every word I said, how she smiled so sweetly. I remembered the sound of her fingers dancing over the keys of her piano, how great and musical it sounded. I loved her. But I realized that when I told her that we couldn't be together, that all she was to me was a little sister, I hurt her. I wished I could tell her how much I loved her...

The door suddenly opened. I jumped, but I relaxed when I saw it was Pattie who walked in. She sat down on the bed next to me and just looked at me. She gazed at me with compassion, feeling, a friend needing to help.

"John," she said. "I just want to say I'm sorry for you."

"Thanks," I said. "I'm sorry for you, too. She was your best friend."

"Yes, she was," said Pattie. "I don't think Charlie was being fair."

"No, he wasn't," I said.

"He's usually nicer than that," said Pattie. "I guess he really wanted Eileen to be with him. He's very protective of her, you know."

"Yeah, you can say that again," I said.

"Gwen'll fine a way to get her back," said Pattie. "We all know how much you love her."

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Eileen's a strong person." said Pattie. "She'll find a way to live through it."

"But what if she can't live?" I asked. "What if the shooter comes when her brother's back is turned, and she's killed? I won't be around."

"Charlie wouldn't let that happen to her," said Pattie. "He'd kill himself before he'd let Eileen die."

"So would I," I said. "Even seeing her ankle bruised up was too much for me. She can't be hurt."

"Everything will be okay, though," said Pattie, her eyes filling with tears. She hugged me, and I knew I had a friend. Losing Eileen must have been hard for her too. Already it felt like the woman I loved had died and gone away, with nothing but a memory to remember her by. I ran my fingers through Pattie's hair as she cried on my shoulder, and it reminded me of Eileen's soft, soft hair. Pattie pulled away from me, her face in a bittersweet smile.

"Are you sure Eileen will be okay?" I asked, choked up.

"Yeah," said Pattie. "Charlie loves her a lot in his life."

"But," I said. "But in my life, I love her more." It was true-I loved Eileen more than anything on this planet earth, and I wasn't afraid to let it show. I was going to get her back, as soon as Gwen got a plan together, which according to Pattie, wouldn't take long. I was going to have my love back whether her meddling brother liked it or not.

*Eileen's P.O.V.*
I walked into Charlie's house, still teary. It seemed like so long since I'd been there.

"Welcome home, Eileen!" said Charlie cheerily. I didn't answer that-it wasn't home to me. I thought of John and sighed. I put a hand over my heart. I didn't feel a beat.