Luke's PoV

I was halfway through taking off my second boot when I heard a window break and then gun fire coming from Alex's room…

I stopped breathing for a moment as I kicked off my boot and raced towards Alex's room. I fell to all fours and crawled as fast as I could on the carpet as I got close to Alex's door then kicked it open so I could see what was going on, gun fire immediately fired where my foot had been moments ago and I had to quickly shield my face from splintering wood flying in all directions. Alex gave me a heart attack when he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. We couldn't hear anything with our ears ringing from the noise but he pushed the gun from the kitchen counter into my hand.

I peered into Alex's room and could just see Julie's back as she held Kira who was frozen in her arms with fear under the bed. I couldn't see any blood on them but both were probably petrified and Julie was doing her best to shield her ears while holding onto Kira. I looked back down the hallway through the open door, the police had arrived already and were pulling Reggie back out of the way as they came into our house. I assumed the group running off to the left were heading down the side of the house to get the shooters by surprise. I fired a few warning shots to distract the shooter from the oncoming police, and was rewarded with one just barely missing my hand. Alex pulled me out of the way at that point and the police rushed into his room. As soon as they did, I pulled away from Alex, running into his room also. I slid under the bed and held Julie from behind, she was trembling and crying into Kira's fur. I pushed one arm under her head and Kira's while wrapping my other arm tightly around Julie's torso and pulled my legs in tight under hers in an attempt to shield her from the world.

I knew if I couldn't hear anything, chances are Julie couldn't either so we stayed like that till Alex found us around ten minutes later and indicated that I could get out. Some of my hearing was beginning to return thankfully and I gently tugged Julie out from under the bed with me, Kira followed happily and bolted into my room since it was her safe spot even if nothing was there. Julie was struggling to get her feet to work and wavered when she tried to stand up so I picked her up in my arms and carried her with me into my room, closing the door behind with my foot. Reggie had sneaked in also with the same idea. We sat down against the wall with Kira between Alex and Reggie getting a lot of attention and Julie sitting in my lap with my arms tightly around her. She was still crying with her head tucked into the crook of my neck and I could feel her tears sliding down my neck and tickling my chest.

Eventually the police found us and came to assess for anything broken and if we could hear alright. It was a bit blurry for around fifteen minutes but then slowly our hearing returned fully. Alex went out to identify if who they caught was Bobby, sadly it wasn't, it was two thugs that had admitted they were paid by Bobby to fire into the house. They were told to make sure Julie was dead and were already paid so there was no way the police could track them back to Bobby. They were arrested and were to be questioned later.

Julie eventually fell asleep in my arms, her body exhausted from being terrified and crying for so long. Kira had also curled up around my body with her head resting in Julie's lap and Reggie was holding all of us in his arms. After some time, Alex had quietly come in and closed the door behind him to kneel in front of us.
"The police are going to release us, there isn't anything they can gain from questioning us and I told them we had originally planned to leave. I checked on our storage truck and everything is still there and locked up. We can go now, I'm not going to bother taking my stuff, there are bullet holes through all of it, the police helped me move my TV and the last of my clothes but everything else can just stay here. Oh and I handed over the gun you used, they knew it was under Bobby's name and they said they would find a better use for it." he whispered.
"Alright, do you want to take Kira and I'll wake up Julie?"
"Yeah, come on Reggie" said Alex.
I shot them a grateful look as they woke up Kira and took her to the car. I gently started stroking Julie's hair, she was clutching the sweater I was wearing like if she let go I would disappear. Even in her sleep, her grip on it had hardly loosened.
"Julie, time to wake up, we are getting out of here" I whispered before kissing her forehead. I hadn't meant to, that was over stepping as a friend but I lost control for a moment, she was just so vulnerable and something in me was stirring over the past few days. Julie eventually woke up and immediately began hyperventilating, looking around rapidly for danger.
"Hey it's okay, you're safe, it's over, we are heading out and not coming back" I said as I held her tightly in my arms.
Her breathing slowed only slightly and I helped her stand but kept her hand tightly in mine. We made our way to the front door and I helped her into her boots and a jacket after putting mine on. She was still searching everywhere for something to jump out at her so I wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her past the police and to the car that Reggie was sitting in. Alex was behind in the trailer with Kira in the front with him. Once Julie was in the car I quickly checked on Kira and gave her my coat which she gratefully nuzzled. I then jumped into the trailer to pull out my duvet and pillow that I left to the side for easy access and made my way back to the car.

"It's okay Julie, look here is Luke, he's back, everything is fine" said a worried Reggie. Julie was breathing heavily again as I slid into the back with her.
"Hey it's okay, I was just checking on Kira and giving her my coat, come here" I said as I did up my seat belt then tugged her gently into my arms. I had the pillow behind me against the door and had pulled the duvet up around her shoulders. Our seat belts made it a little uncomfortable but safety was more important than comfort. She fell into my arms and wrapped her hands into my sweater again. I held her tightly and we started heading off to our landlord's house.

When we arrived ten minutes later, Alex handed in the keys and informed him of what had happened, thankfully we had insurance and the small bill would be sent to us via email since we wouldn't be in a house for the foreseeable future. Alex gave Julie a massive fright when he opened the side door at her feet to let in Kira.
"Sorry Julie! You're safe, we are going to keep driving for three hours, settle in and try to relax" said Alex, who rested a hand gently on her leg. "Kira is fussing too much, she needs you Luke. Let me know if you wanna stop anywhere Reggie to pee or pick up coffee"
"Sure, maybe in about an hour, for now i'm good though, let's get out of here" said Reggie.

I nodded at Alex and he closed the door. Julie was still breathing deeply and so was Kira who had come up to my side and was currently pushing her face into mine. I pulled an arm from around Julie to wrap it around Kira who began talking to me as only huskies can do.
"Shh Kira, let Julie go to sleep" I said after five minutes. Kira listened and settled down in her small space, she still had my jacket with her, it would be coated in her fur by morning. Once Kira was settled I returned my arm to wrap around Julie and tried to sleep. I could feel her heart racing against my chest and started to hum a lullaby I had written when I was fifteen. Eventually she fell asleep in my arms and I was able to breathe again.

"I'm going to take a wild guess that she was asleep when the windows were broken and the gunfire started. She must be terrified to sleep or to wake up, when we get to the hotel maybe you should sleep with her in one bed and me and Alex will take the other" whispered Reggie.
I nodded my head in acknowledgement, we were going to give Julie her own room but Reggie was right, she shouldn't be left alone right now and considering we slept in one bed last night and she was currently in my arms again, sharing a bed tonight wouldn't be totally crazy.

I fell asleep shortly after only being woken quietly by Reggie silently squeezing my shoulder once we arrived. He didn't want to scare Julie by making any loud noises. Kira was already sitting up and nuzzling my shoulder. It was currently ten at night and we were parked in front of Best Western Village Inn in Fresno. I started rubbing circles on Julie's back to wake her up gently and she immediately sat up, looking around frantically till she realized where we were. Kira, bless her, climbed up to lick Julie's face in comfort. She responded by pulling the husky into a bear hug for a few moments and I stroked Julie's back.
"Aww, well when you're ready Julie, we are at our hotel so if you want, you can walk in with Luke while me and Alex go park our vehicles in the back" said Reggie.
Julie slowly let go of Kira and I helped untangle our legs from the duvet so we could climb out. We made our way inside the hotel with Kira at my side on a leash and my other hand in Julie's. Dogs were not typically allowed in hotels but we had explained the situation and they made an exception as long as Kira was well behaved. Thankfully the husky exceeded at being on her best behavior in unfamiliar situations. The old girl walked by my side obediently and didn't even raise her nose to sniff anything.

"Good evening sir, how can I help you this evening?" said the kind receptionist from behind the desk, she was an elderly lady who was reading a book to pass the time.
"Good evening, I was instructed to check in, I believe one of my friends spoke to someone to book a room for a few nights, possibly under the name of Reggie or Alex?" I replied.
"Oh yes, you have a beautiful dog with you, is that correct?" asked the receptionist.
I nodded in reply and we were given keys to our room and instructions on how to get there. I pulled Kira and Julie off to the couches to sit down and wait for Reggie and Alex to come back.
Once they did we made our way upstairs to our room. It was spacious and had two queen beds with dark yellow duvets that matched the yellow walls. It was a strange color scheme but it was clean with a simple bathroom off to the side. Alex had brought Kira's bed with him so Kira had somewhere to sleep for the night and Reggie had all four of our backpacks slinged over his shoulder. We had packed them with the essentials we would need for a few nights so we wouldn't have to pull apart our suitcases for a few nights.

"Hey, me and Reggie will take Kira for a walk so she can use the bathroom and stretch her legs, we'll be back in maybe an hour?" said Alex awkwardly as he looked between me and Julie who was currently staring off to space while sitting on a bed. I shot them a grateful look and passed Kira off to Reggie. Once they left I sat down next to Julie on the bed and gently placed a hand on her shoulder which caused her to flinch. I pulled back my hand and picked at my nails for a moment.
"I'm sorry Luke" Julie whispered after a few minutes of silence.
"Hey, you don't need to be sorry, we're all pretty on edge after tonight's events, I'm just worried about you, we all are, its okay to not be alright right now, you don't have to pretend to be strong if your not, no one else is here except us two" I said softly.
Julie slowly turned her face to me and I could see tears streaming down her face so I slowly lifted a hand to brush them away.
"I, I just don't, I should have, maybe if I hadn't" she stammered looking away from me and pulling away from my hand. I moved to kneel in front of her and pulled her hands gently into mine so she would look down at me.
"Julie, if you're thinking you're a burden, you're not, if you're contemplating going home to your family, you shouldn't, it wouldn't be safe there for you and you know it. If you're scared, I get it, we all feel shaken up right now and I would be terrified to go to sleep if I woke up to that but you're safe, we aren't going to let him get to you again I promise. Just talk to me please, tell me what I can do to help?" I said, resisting the urge to pull her into a hug.
"I'm scared all the time now, every time I feel safe, he's shown up somehow, I'm scared that he's going to somehow crash through that door and there won't be anything stopping him, I can't breathe Luke" Julie cried.
I couldn't stop my actions in the next few seconds, I stood up, pulling her with me to stand with me and wrapped my arms tightly around her small body. She was so small and fragile in my arms, I held her impossibly tighter when I felt her wrap her small arms around my waist.
"Does that feel better?" I said softly into her hair. I felt her nod her head and tighten her grip around my waist so I pulled her gently around the side of the bed and pushed her gently down to lay on top of the bed. Then I pulled the duvet off of the second bed to drape over our bodies after I laid down and resumed holding her tightly with one arm around her shoulders and the other hand snaked around her waist with her face inches from mine. I had pulled the duvet over our heads so I really wasn't sure how far away my face was from hers as my eyes hadn't adjusted yet to the dark.

"Anytime you feel like you can't breathe Julie or it's too much, speak up and we can come back here, buried in a blanket cocoon, just you and me alright?"
"What if I'm okay but I want this anyway?" Julie asked in a whisper.
Wow, was Julie just hinting at what I think she was? No she couldn't see me like that could she? She just broke up with Bobby but I guess mentally she was over him a long time ago but was too scared to act on it. I had to say something or I would risk looking like an idiot in front of her.
"Whatever you want, just ask Julie" I mumbled as I contemplated what her words could mean. They could just mean that like me, it felt safe and comforting to be in a blanket cocoon. My mother used to do it with me whenever I would have nightmares.

And that is where I fell asleep till Reggie and Alex came storming through the door.

"Yo Luke, where are you at, they have a spa pool, let's go man" said Reggie as he probably was looking around for us. Julie giggled and pulled back the blanket blinding me with the sudden light.
"Ugh, bright, turn the light off!" I complained as I rolled over, releasing Julie and pulling a pillow from under my head, over my face.
"Sorry Luke, we didn't think you would be sleeping, hey Julie we found all of our swim outfits but I wasn't sure if you had one so I took a guess at your size and got you one if you wanted to join us" said Alex as Kira jumped onto my lap, barely missing my crotch and started tugging the pillow off of my face causing Julie to giggle hysterically.
"Come on Luke, we got beers and edibles" said Reggie.

I slowly pulled the pillow off, letting my eyes adjust, then sat up, gave Kira a few pats before telling her to go to her bed, she shouldn't be on the nice beds since they were not ours. Alex threw my swimming trunks in my direction as he walked into the bathroom after Reggie came out wearing his. Julie was sitting up next to me looking down at the outfit that Alex had chosen for her, it looked like a black bikini and I wondered what the heck was going through Alex's mind. If she had scars all over her body, why would she want to wear something that hides nothing!
"You don't have to go if you don't want to, we can just stay up here if you want" I whispered into her ear as Reggie left out the front door with a bag of presumably weed and alcohol. I had never seen her in anything except hoodies and jeans. Even in the summer, she always had a long sleeve top on and long pants. When she was sixteen though, she used to wear summer dresses which made me internally punch my face for not putting that down as an obvious clue sooner. "It's fine, Alex is out, go go" she said. I gave her one last look over my shoulder as I made my way into the bathroom. Once changed I resumed wearing my sweater since it was still a little bit chilly. Julie came out a few minutes later wearing my hoodie and presumably the outfit underneath. She was so short that it came down to her knees. I quickly looked away, gave Kira a pat and opened the door for Julie, locking it behind us.

We found our way to the spa pool and found Alex and Reggie already drinking a few beers, none of us really had gotten high before except Julie so I wasn't sure what was in store, it looked like Reggie and Alex had already taken an edible from the wrappers by the bag but they would take around an hour to kick in.
"Julie! You joined us!" called out Reggie.
"Wow, how much did you do, what did you do?" asked Julie as she walked ahead and started taking off my hoodie, discarding it onto a seat nearby. I was so thankful that she couldn't see my face as my jaw dropped, I didn't see all the scars, I just saw a very beautiful sexy body, and I had been holding that only half an hour ago. I saw Reggie clench and unclench his hands in fists while Alex tried his best to hide his anger behind a smile. Seeing all those burn marks on display for Reggie probably hit a little too close to home but was enough to make any of us want to punch something. I climbed in after her, discarding my hoodie on the same seat and rested my hands on my knees.
"Um well we may have done one of these gummy things before we walked in on you guys, dude, is this what you feel all the time?" said a very giggly Reggie.
"I guess, I dunno, I used to get a certain brand that was more for relaxing, I was only always high to relax because I was always on edge around Bobby. I'm assuming you got gummies with thc in it, I've never tried those before but they are more for parties"
"I'm sorry Julie, I wish we had noticed before, but you're safe now, and in a hot tub with three of us instead!" said Reggie as he flexed his muscles. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his attempt of showing off but at least he was taking the attention off of Julie. A very giggly Alex passed us a gummy each then a beer.

"So Julie, how much am I going to regret this?" I asked, wondering what I just signed up for.
"Well you should just feel happy, relaxed, and numb. Once it kicks in, you should feel like that for around four hours but sometimes when you're new to something like that, you can feel it for longer. THC normally makes you more giggly so I guess we'll find out?" Julie replied, leaning back into the hot tub more and relaxing. I followed her que and leaned back also and stretched out my arm behind her on the cold concrete.

"You don't have to reply Julie, hell you could smack me on the face but, do they hurt?" asked Reggie after some time of silence.
"It's okay, they don't hurt as much any more. Initially when it was done, it hurt like hell and it was a pain to keep up with making sure they didn't get infected but after some research and a few hospital trips I worked out how to prevent them from causing more harm. They should heal over time now that he can't get to me any more. He used to pick at the scabs to slow them from healing" Julie said, dropping her voice to a whisper at the end. I dropped my arm around her shoulders to pull her in for a tight side hug then decided to leave my arm there.

"But they will leave a mark right? I have one on my chest where my father purposely did the same thing when I was five. I don't remember much just being smacked around and it hurting like hell. I never went to the hospital though, guess my parents didn't want anyone looking at me too closely" said Reggie as he stared at the bubbles swirling around him.
"Reggie.." said Julie before she launched herself forward to hug him. He returned it a second later and then me and Alex bear hugged the two of them.
"Yeah they will heal, and leave a mark but we will never get burned again!" Julie said into his shoulder.
"Yeah that's right, okay who's feeling buzzy, let's go jump into the pool for a few minutes? You guys are too serious for tonight, we're supposed to be having fun!" I said as I let go and started climbing out of the spa pool.

I downed my beer, threw it in the trash then stood next to Julie. Everything was beginning to feel foggy like she said and it felt amazing. Unfortunately I also felt very horny and needed to cool off before anyone else noticed. I stood there smirking at everyone putting a toe in first to see how cold it was before committing. I decided to push Julie in while she wasn't looking, she screamed as she fell in and when she resurfaced I got a massive splash of cold water hitting my toes. Alex and Reggie then tackled me from behind and all three of us fell in. The water was great after we were overheating in the spa for some time and I resurfaced to splash the guys in the face as they came up. We ended up playing tag and the person who was it was the shark coming to get us, it was rather fun and silly. Although when it was my turn I couldn't help but go for Julie, not just tagging her but wrapping a hand around her ankle, pulling her backwards through the water and wrapping her in my arms once I helped her stand up so she could breathe.
"You're it!" I smirked.
Julie just rolled her eyes and squirmed to get out of my arms.
"Tickle his sides, he's very ticklish or his feet!" Reggie called from across the pool.
"Are you sure you want to do that, i'm pretty sure you're ticklish also and im stronger than you" I whispered into her ear before teasing her sides with my nails. She shivered and stopped trying to tickle my sides but Alex and Reggie had come over to her rescue.
"You might be stronger than her but you're no match against the three of us" said Alex as he grabbed one of my arms from around her waist and pulled it behind my back, Reggie copied and Julie was free to tickle me. Alex was right, all of us worked out but I couldn't break out of a hold like that against them and I was tickled mercilessly for a few minutes.

"Alright, enough, let me go so we can hop back into the spa, it's getting cold and I think it's been an hour so it feels even colder now" I complained. I was released and we made our way back to the spa. Reggie passed around more beers as we settled back into the warmth. It was a nice feeling and I could see myself easily falling asleep, I felt numb, relaxed and was really warm.

"Alright I'm going to fall asleep if we don't keep this moving, who wants to play 'Never have I ever'?" Alex asked.
"Um sure, you can go first and I guess we'll drink if we have before?" asked Julie.
I nodded and Alex started us off.
"Never have I ever, kissed a girl"
Julie took a drink which surprised us all.
"Wait, who, when? How?" I asked.
Julie smiled and said "That's not how the game works, my turn, Never have I ever flashed someone"
Alex had to drink to that one, he had flashed one male in particular before when he was finally comfortable with himself and the way he looked. It started a conversation but sadly the guy was already taken.
"Alright, never have I ever danced on a bar" said Alex smirking at Reggie.
Reggie had to drink to that, it was an epic night but damn did he get carried away.
"Never have I ever used the men's toilet because the ladies line was too long" said Reggie smirking at Julie who had to drink to that.

We continued playing for a bit longer before drying off with towels that were folded up ready to be used and heading inside to get into pajamas. We had let Julie go first since she was shivering by the time we got to our room. That way with her safely in the bathroom we quickly got ourselves dressed before she came out. Wasn't like we hadn't seen it before when we were kids and at sleepovers. I got dressed into long gray sweatpants and a black tank top. Alex and Reggie had opted for shorts and t-shirts. Julie emerged wearing baggy black yoga pants and a purple long sleeve top.

"We were thinking of watching a silly movie like Mr Bean, and ordering take out. What do you think Julie?" Reggie asked as she sat down next to me and I pulled the blankets up to her waist and wrapped an arm around her, she was still fairly cold. I had returned the duvet we had stolen to Reggie and Alex and was currently sitting under our one.
"Sounds good!" she replied. I laid down enjoying the feeling of flying, it seemed to get more intense the more relaxed I was and I had zoned out for a moment before Julie squeezed my hand pulling me back to reality.
"Luke, we are ordering Mc Donalds, what do you want?"
"Um, I don't know, nuggets? A burger? Get me whatever I don't care" I said as I tugged Julie gently to lay down with me.

Julie obliged, snuggling her head on my shoulder and letting me hold her hand while Alex ordered who knows what off of his phone.
"Are you feeling okay?" she whispered in my ear after five minutes.
"Yeah, just zony, sorry I'm not sure why I'm holding your hand or how my arm ended up around your shoulders, here I'll move over" I said as I attempted to move my limbs away from Julie and into safe territory.
"Stop, you're over thinking, it's a normal reaction to being high. I pulled your arm around my shoulders once I laid down and I found your hand to hold, just relax, you're not overstepping, I just wanted to feel safe if that's okay?" she whispered back into my ear as she stopped my movements.
I realized immediately that her heart was racing and I held her close. Reggie and Alex were too busy in their world to notice anything.
"Why are you scared Julie?" I whispered into her ear.
"After we eat we will all fall asleep and I'm not sure if I want to fall asleep, what if he found where we are and is waiting? What if he opens the door silently and takes me while you guys are passed out?"
"Then I won't sleep, keep me awake, if you're not sleeping then I won't either" I said while looking her in the eyes. Our faces were inches apart from each other and I was thanking the gods that Alex and Reggie were having an argument over how many big macs were too many.

"Look just get this deal here, then we can all have a big mac and fries then get the twenty pack of nuggets" complained Reggie. A smile broke on Julie's face and I returned it before leaning back into the pillows.
"Here Reggie, give me your phone, let's see what you have?" asked Julie.
Reggie handed it over and I sat up again to see what she was going to do. She barely looked at the order before deleting and making use of the combos that Alex was telling him to do. We all ended up with a big mac, fries, chicken nuggets and chocolate sundaes with extra sauce except Julie who had switched her big mac out for a mc chicken with an extra chicken patty.

Once that was done, I had pulled Julie back gently by her shoulders so that I could wrap my arm around her shoulders and snake my other one under the blankets to hold her hand. Reggie and Alex had also finally relaxed into their pillows and were nearly asleep by the time food showed up.
We ate while finishing up the movie and Julie giggled at the fact that we couldn't feel our stomachs.
"Like is this how we should have been building our muscles? Getting high, eating too much rather than feeling sick about it and then working out to turn it into these bad boys?" asked Alex.
"Who knows man, but this is amazing," said Reggie.

After we were done eating, we quickly brushed our teeth, fed Kira and took her out to poop before lights out. Within minutes of turning the tv off and the lights out, Alex and Reggie had passed out on their bed. Julie was fidgeting with her finger nails and sitting upright to make sure she wouldn't fall asleep. I got up to make sure the door was locked and the windows were also. I then came up with the perfect solution and started pulling the duvet off of the bed and the pillows. I found extra blankets in the cupboard and pulled those down also. I started piling them into the bathtub to make a comfy nest and figured the duvet could be used as a blanket. Once I was satisfied with what I had done, I went to pull Julie over. She was biting her nails now and wondering what on earth I was doing. I gently pulled her hand to get her to stand up and whispered in her ear.
"You said you are scared of someone coming in while you're sleeping, what if we sleep in the bathroom? It's an extra door that we can lock and there are no windows for anyone to break, would that work?"
"You would do that for me?" she asked with a look of bewilderment on her face.
I didn't reply, I just turned on the light on my phone, turned off the bathroom light, closed and locked the door as quietly as I could to not wake up Kira, made my way into the bathtub and pulled Julie with me. Once she was reasonably comfortable I pulled the duvet on top of her, turned my phone torch off, sent a message to the guys that the bathroom was occupied, before placing my phone behind me near the soap. I then pulled her into my chest, wrapping my arms around her torso since there wasn't a lot of room and I wanted her to be comfortable, I didn't care if I didn't sleep. I could feel her heart pounding against my chest since she was lying mostly on top of me so I reached a hand up to stroke her hair back while humming the lullaby I wrote.

Eventually she fell asleep and I pulled up the covers tightly around her neck to keep her warm before finally succumbing to the numbness in my head urging me to relax and sleep.