James got back to his parent's house around noon, and he had a few things she had wanted him to pick up. "Mom, I'm home!" he called, shutting the door behind him and slipping his shoes off before heading down the hall to the kitchen. He set the bags down on the counter and then pulled his jacket off.

"Thank you so much, sweetheart!" Ruth said as she came into the kitchen, patting her sons' shoulder. James nodded, and for a moment, he thought she was going to ask him about where he had been last night.

But then again, she trusted him with anything, and didn't like to snoop in his business. So, she usually just let him tell her things if he needed to get something out there. "Anything for you, Mom," he said, smiling over at her.

"Did Brylee get home okay last night?" Ruth asked now, taking her things James had gotten out of the bags and putting them in their proper places, in cabinets or in the refrigerator.

"Yeah," James said, fishing his phone out of his pocket.

"I've really missed her," his mother admitted. "She's just as sweet as she was years ago. And she's absolutely gorgeous."

The brown-haired man looked over at her, and bit his lip. She hadn't changed. If anything, she'd just gotten even more amazing than the eight years ago. She was more perfect, but James didn't even think that was possible.

"I've missed her too," James said softly, and his mom smiled at him sadly, then placed a kiss on his cheek and said she'd be upstairs if he needed her. He looked down at his phone to see a text from Brylee, and he smiled, but it quickly faded when he read it.

Please call me when you get the chance?

Shit, he thought. Something wasn't right. He knew it.

Brylee sat in the office that was rarely used, that was in the back of the house at the end of the hall that connected to the kitchen. She was terrified, to be honest. She didn't want to be here. Before, she could stand having to be around Jake for a week. Now, though, an hour wigged her out.

She wanted James. She wanted his arms around her, and his voice soothing her for hours at a time. Her phone suddenly vibrated, and she grabbed it, and saw that James was calling.

"Hello?" she said, and her voice was shaking.

"Bry, hey, what's up?" James asked softly, concerned, as he slid open the door and stepped outside, not wanting anyone else to hear this conversation.

"Jake's back," she choked up, getting emotional and tearing up, for reasons she didn't know. If she could control it, this wouldn't be happening. Before James could respond, she continued. "And I'm fucking scared, James. I just have this feeling and I don't want to be here anymore."

She drew in a breath, one tear from full out sobbing, and her entire body was shaking. The anxiety was taking a toll on her.

James knew what he had to do. He had to get her out of there. Would his mom be angry if he left for a few days? He didn't think so, seeing as though his dad was better and considering the circumstances, she would most likely encourage it.

"Do you think he plans on going anywhere?"

Brylee thought for a moment, thinking that he might go to the office, but he hadn't mentioned anything as of yet. "I don't know," she sighed, running a hand through her dirty hair. God, she needed a shower, too. "Why?"

"Because you're leaving," James told her seriously, and her stomach lurched. "You're not staying somewhere harmful for one more day."

"James, no," Brylee protested. That was the last thing she could do. "He would get so mad, James. And he'd come and find me and he'd-he'd just-"

"Listen to me, Brylee." James was serious, level-headed, and he knew what he was doing. "You're leaving and we're going back to California, and you're staying there and you're not coming back here until that bastard is in jail. Do you understand that?"

She nodded to herself, wiping her eyes, and then a small, "yes," spilled out of her mouth.

"If Jake leaves, text me as soon as he's gone, and get some things together, not a lot, okay? Enough to get you through a couple of days, and then you can get some new stuff once we're out in California. I'll come pick you up, and we'll be on the next flight out of here, and I'll have my mom call the police, and have them call us to talk about this, alright?"

"James," Brylee said now, her voice still shaking.

"Yes?" he asked softly, and he could hear his heart pounding in the cold of the day, and he could see his breath.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I love you."

The brunette sighed easily now, those three little words making her feel insanely better. "I love you too."

"If you need anything, let me know. I'll have my phone around all day," James said.

"Okay," she said, gaining a bit of composure back as she stood up. "I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, babe. Bye."

"Bye," Brylee said, then clicked end and opened the door, heading upstairs to go take a shower.

It was four hours later, when Brylee was showered and dressed warmly, down in the kitchen occupying herself with cooking something for dinner later when Jake appeared, and he was angry as hell.

Did Brylee think he was fucking stupid? He could tell by the way she acted something was going on, and that she wasn't just grading papers and visiting the hospital. And he knew something was going on because the bed didn't smell the same. When he went to go take a nap, he smelled something musky and deep, that didn't smell bad, but it wasn't what Brylee's skin smelt like.

She stood by the sink, vegetables sitting in it, slightly damp, and she was looking through a recipe book, her slim finger sliding down the page. "What the fuck is wrong with you," Jake growled, grabbing her arm forcefully.

Brylee's body went cold, and she stiffened. What did he know? Or was this another one of his bi-polar rages? "What?" she asked, not even turning to look at him, instead focusing of the white of the cabinet in front of her.

"Who the fuck has been here?"

"Nobody," she said easily, trying not to stammer, but her voice caught the slightest bit.

"Don't lie to me, god dammit!" Jake screamed, his hand tightening around her arm as he pulled her to face him. "You've been sleeping with somebody else. Who was it."

"You're confused," Brylee said, looking past him because the look in his eyes scared the shit out of her. "No one's been here."

Jake's grip on her arm got harder, and Brylee could feel her skin pinching, and she bit the inside of her lip to keep from crying. "You've got an hour to get your story straight. And when I find out who's been here, you're both dead."

Brylee didn't nod or say anything, and then Jake shook her, his other hand on her left arm, just as tight as the first one. "Do you understand me?" She nodded quickly, and he loosened his grip on her, and then suddenly, a hand slapped across her cheek. It happened so fast she didn't even see it coming, and didn't realize anything had happened until she felt the sting a moment later. "I said do you understand me?"

"Yes," she choked out, closing her eyes, and then he let go of her, pushing her away, and she caught her fragile self on the counter before she fell, and then she was in tears again. It was the first time Jake had physically hurt her.

And she had enough of this, and of him. An unstable hand grabbed her phone off the island, and through watery eyes, she found James' name and hit send, hiccupping as she waited for him to pick up.

It rang once, then twice, and she began to worry. "James," she pleaded softly. "Please pick up."

Then it rang a third time. "Please, please, please."

It was just about to go to voicemail, and Brylee had almost lost all hope, until she heard a click, and then a winded James. "Hello?"

"Please come get me."