Third-person

Bumblebee and Hound stayed with J.R., though, like Jayce and Jamie, she just wanted to lie in bed. Like Jayce, she was trying not to cry. Both girls worried about each other wanting to be dead and about Jamie finding out about what they were dealing with. J.R. still thinks Drift will keep Jamie safe, but after the nightmare, Jayce became more terrified. She wants to be with Jamie as much as possible, but she also needs to hide how terrified she is. That means staying away from her as much as possible, making Jamie suspicious and more likely to find out about Jayce's struggles.

When Jamie went to the house, the Autobots and Cade tried to get Jayce and J.R. to eat while trying not to think the girls are at the point of eating very little like Jamie. Jamie just wanted to go back to her room when she returned to the base. Though this was good for tonight, the Autobots and Cade worried she was becoming more depressed. Jamie and J.R. were asleep by ten, but as Crosshairs feared, Jayce was too afraid to sleep or let him leave.

"It's ok; we'll be at the bottom of the stairs, so neither of them can get away from us," he assured her, knowing she was also not liking that Jamie and J.R. would be left alone for a few minutes. Jayce watched videos on her tablet while the others talked.

Drift POV

"What happened that she's terrified to let you leave her alone?" I asked, afraid to even know. Sure enough, I hated what Crosshairs told me. I didn't know what to say.

"I doubt Jayce wanted me to stay with her today because the nightmare terrified her," Crosshairs tells us, "she will want me to stay with her. Not only is Jayce worried J.R. is now suicidal, she worries Jamie will find out what the two have been dealing with."

"The only difference is Crosshairs staying with Jayce, and I'll stay with J.R," Hound says.

I can't believe the turn Jayce took today.

"You're thinking of something, Cade." Hound observed. We all look at him.

Cade sighed, "I think we may need to consider drugs for Jayce. I think she will avoid sleeping because of how terrified she is about having the nightmare again," Cade knows how much we hated using drugs on Jayce and J.R. before, but he might be right. For now, Crosshairs wants to get her to sleep without drugs. Feeling like we've adjusted the plan, everyone but Bee heads upstairs. Bumblebee grabbed my arm to stop me from going upstairs.

"I know you will end up thinking about what we talked about, and you worry, Jamie will see you. I'll stay in her room," he doesn't give me a chance to say anything before going upstairs. He didn't say I should stay down here so I could go to Jayce's room, but Crosshairs can handle her. I'll just sit on the couch and think about all this like I do almost every night.

Crosshairs POV

"You sure she won't be difficult?" Cader asks.

"She's exhausted but scared to sleep. I don't think she'll be difficult that I need your help," I tell him, and he goes to his room. Jayce was still awake and on her tablet. I was hoping she'd be asleep. She's fighting falling asleep though, watching her rub her eyes.

"You're trying not to sleep," I say, standing by the bed. She didn't answer, "I'll take that as a yes." I slid her to the other side of the bed and laid next to her. Now I don't have to worry about her falling off the bed or running out of the room if she has that nightmare again. Only ten-fifteen, I'll let her continue to use her tablet for a little longer. I know Drift is thinking about what we just talked about. I hope Bee told him to stay out of Jamie's room.

Fifteen minutes pass, Jayce is rubbing her eyes more often but still trying not to sleep. How long will she keep this up before giving in?

"I'm not sleeping. It's bad enough I had that nightmare, to begin with, and now I worry it'll happen," Jayce tells me as tears roll down her face. I took the tablet from her and put it on the table. Looking at her, I put my hand on her shoulder to get Jayce to roll to her side and look at me. I take her hand and say what we've been saying when the girls are upset. For now, this just calms them for a while, but it's better than nothing.

Jayce fell asleep ten minutes later. I wanted to see how Drift was doing. Jayce should sleep at least for a couple of hours.

"Thought you'd stay in J.R.'s room?" I asked Hound, seeing him on the floor across from J.R.'s room.

"She's not at that point yet, and if you need help."

"Fair enough," I say before heading to Jamie's room.

Bumblebee was sitting at the desk.

"Don't know if she'd freak out if I was next to her instead of Drift or if Drift would be mad, I'm lying next to her," he says before I could even ask. I figured Bee told Drift to stay downstairs, knowing Drift ends up thinking about the situation after we talk about how the girls have been during the day. No way the others don't, but they don't have to worry about any of the girls seeing them upset. "I can't believe how fast they went downhill," Bee sighed. I wanted to know what he was thinking but now wasn't a good time.

Drift was standing on the balcony, looking at the stars. I stood next to him, unsure of what to say.

"Jayce finally fell asleep?" Drift asks.

"Yeah, she tried so hard not to, but she's exhausted. I just hope she sleeps for a while. Once a nightmare wakes her up, I don't think she'll go back to sleep."

"I can't believe how dreadful things have gotten, and they can…no,…will get a lot worse," Drift says in a depressed tone. It's not like Drift to lose hope. I know he's terrified one of the girls could do self-harm or kill themselves, and if it's Jamie, not only does he lose his girl, but all this is over. I didn't know what to say, so I just stood next to him silently for ten minutes before he told me to go back to Jayce's s room. I did as he wanted but worried be wouldn't sleep at all tonight. Though I already looked in their rooms ten minutes ago, I still had to look in Jamie and J.R.'s room. They were still sleeping and calm, but I know J.R. will wake up soon.

"You're starting to get stressed like Drift," Hound observed, "you sit out there for a while, I'll stay with Jayce."

"No, I was with her when she fell asleep. The way she is, I don't think she'll do well waking up to someone else holding her as she's panicking. How are you holding up?"

"A little better than Drift, but like him, I can't believe how fast things went downhill and what could happen."

"Same." I sighed while looking at Jayce.

"You didn't ask her about the details of the nightmare, did you?

"No, from her scream, I knew Jamie died in her nightmare, and she was having a hard time realizing it was a nightmare. She thought my arm around her was me holding her back from getting to Jamie. She likely would have fallen off the bed or ran out of the room if I wasn't keeping a hold on her."

"She had the same one as Drift but filled in the missing details," Hound guessed.

"I think so. I worry she will have the same nightmare often like Drift until this is over."

"He has that nightmare often?"

"Yeah, then he sits on the floor trying to calm down, hoping Jamie won't wake up. Think Bee knows he's stressed after our discussion about the girls. He told Drift he'd sit in Jamie's room for a while."

"I hope J.R. won't have the same nightmare. So far, it seems she thinks Jamie will be safe and is just worried about Jayce…but..shit."

I knew what Hound was thinking. "We thought this was about Jamie, but for now, she's the least of our problems. Aside from not eating all day, she's doing better than we thought. How long will that last?"

"You don't think she's able to hide how she's feeling but not as good as J.R.? Hounds asks.

"I doubt it. All these years and she's now able to hide her emotions after Buddy passed, impossible. She will not be like this for much longer."