I know, it's been awhile. I'm not perfect. But here's another one. Enjoy.

Chapter 11

Mitchie stirred when the morning sunlight filtered through the crack of Shane's curtains. It was early. Earlier than she probably needed to be awake on a Sunday morning. She took a deep breath and was overwhelmed by the comforting scent that belonged to Shane, and she realized that she had completely tangled up with him during the night, so much to the point that she couldn't tell which limbs belonged to who. She wasn't complaining. Especially after the revelation last night of being in love with him. She had never been in love before, maybe she thought she had when she was with Brian, but how was she supposed to know that it wasn't true? Brian was the only person she had actually ever been with long term, and the feelings weren't even half what she felt when she was with Shane. She never thought she could say those words and mean it as much as she meant it when she told Shane she loved him. She had never realized what she felt for him was love. She thought it was just some intense attraction that had her wanting to be with him all the time. Never had she considered they were one in the same.

She blinked open her eyes, and immediately saw Shane's sleeping face, and it made her smile. It was one thing to be in love, but it was a whole other thing entirely to have those feelings reciprocated. Shane Gray was in love with her. She didn't understand why he was, or what exactly he saw in her. But he saw past everything she had been through. Past the fact that she used to do drugs, or that she nearly killed herself cutting, or that most of her life she had been doing something illegal. He saw the good in her. The potential she had. How could she have ever gotten so lucky as to have Shane Gray see all of that in her? She certainly hadn't done anything to deserve him. Maybe she was really, finally, getting a break. She never thought she'd see the day.

She took a deep breath as she nuzzled her nose against the skin of his neck, and somehow managed to bury herself further against him. He was so warm and comfortable she might have a hard time getting out of bed. Actually, there was no might about it. She had a strong urge just to stay cuddled up in bed with him all day, or for as long as possible. Maybe Shane would agree.

He was in love with her. He sure as hell better agree.

A few moments later, she heard Shane sigh, and saw his eyes opening. He blinked a few times, trying to break out of his sleepy haze, but when he saw her, his smile spread easily across his face. "Morning." He told her, his voice still thick with sleep.

She smiled back up at him. "Mor-" But she was cut off due to the fact that Shane chose that moment to cover his lips with hers. She fell easily into the kiss, of course, and she responded with just as much enthusiasm that he did. "...ning." She gasped out when he pulled away. Not a bad way to wake up if she did say so herself. Shane just grinned at her and leaned down to peck her lips again. "What was that for?" His smile was so contagious it had her smiling back at him.

"Just because I can." He told her simply, and it made her laugh softly.

"Well, you're allowed to do that all you want." She smirked at him before leaning up so she could kiss him fully again. But before she could, there was a sharp knock on the door, making Mitchie huff when she was just inches away from his face.

"What?" Shane called, pouting at having been interrupted.

"Breakfast." Nate snapped through the door, and Shane's expression immediately hardened. Shane hadn't been thrilled with the fact that Nate hadn't visited Mitchie in the hospital, or showed any ounce of concern for her like any normal person would do. Mitchie had tried to change his mind, saying that it wasn't that big of a deal, but was Shane listening? No. Of course not. She didn't want him to be mad at his brother, but no matter what she said, Shane was going to be angry with Nate anyways.

Shane sighed and shook his head, before reluctantly sitting up. "Looks like we don't get to stay in bed all day."

Mitchie sighed too. "Bummer." She was really looking forward to doing that. And now she was going to have to suffer through a breakfast with Nate. Joy. That was not her ideal way to spend a morning, especially after the night she had with Shane. At the moment, all she wanted to do was spend every second of her time with Shane. That would just make everything absolutely perfect.

As she was getting out of bed to go across to her room so she could brush her teeth, she realized that the gaping hole that had been in her chest was suddenly gone. It didn't hurt anymore. Instead all she felt was an overwhelming feeling that was aimed towards Shane. He really was helping her heal. She didn't know that telling him she loved him would have such a positive effect. She was glad though. She was ready to be happy for once, without something haunting her. She didn't have to worry about her mom anymore, and Brian hadn't tried to make contact in nearly a month. Maybe things were really starting to look up for once. But she wasn't going to get her hopes up. She knew that would just be a bad thing to do. But she could take advantage of the happy times she got, and all the time she got with Shane. She wasn't going to take any of it for granted. That was for sure. She wanted every second to count, because she never knew when her life was going to get flipped upside down all over again.

Breakfast wasn't as awkward as she had thought it would be. Everyone was talking, and eating happily. Except for Nate, of course. Who was scowling and glaring down at his eggs and bacon. Mitchie did her best to ignore him. Which was now thankfully an easy thing to do, because Shane was very good at distracting her from the negative. Everyone was still glancing at her every now and then though. They were probably still worried about her, and she couldn't blame them. When she went off the edge, she really went off. And she could see why they would worry about it happening again. But at the moment, she could probably tell them that she'd never do it again as long as Shane would love her. She never thought it'd be that easy, but she's been wrong before. Plenty of times.

Shane ended up driving her to school. It was so nice that she was able to kiss him before she left for the hell that was school. The thought that she was going to go home to him made it a little easier to get through the day. He was always gonna be there when she got home. The thought made her heart flip happily in her chest.

Unfortunately, some of the people at school made it as difficult as possible for her. Namely Nate and Tess.

On her way to fourth period, Nate practically rammed into her side, knocking all of her stuff out of her hands. She turned, fully prepared to beat the living, no good shit out of him. But he was already walking down towards the end of the hallway and she knew it wasn't going to be worth it. It would just look like she was the one that attacked him, and he was not worth getting in trouble for.

And Tess was just a bitch, as usual. It was easy to ignore her and her stupid lackies. But still, she was like a fly that just wouldn't get the fuck out of your face. All Mitchie wanted to do was whack the hell out of her with a folded up magazine and be done with it. But she managed to get through the day without causing anybody physical harm. She considered that a very high accomplishment considering her track record. And she was someone in a pretty good mood when she went outside at the end of the school day to try and find Shane's car. She found him parked nearby, and she happily climbed into his car. But the happiness drained away at the somber look on his face.

"What?" She demanded, a frown taking over her features. These expressions were never good. Denise had almost the same one on her face when she told Mitchie that her mom was dead. What could Shane know? She was almost afraid to find out, but she knew she didn't have much of a choice.

"You got a call today." He wasn't looking at her, and his voice sounded rough and almost angry.

Mitchie took in a shaky breath. "A call?" This confused her, considering her cell phone had been in her pocket the entire day.

"On the house phone." Shane explained, his voice strained with repressed anger, and it made Mitchie bite her lip because she knew it must be serious if Shane was angry about it. That worried her.

"From who?" She finally asked, already mentally wincing at what his answer was going to be. Who could have called her that would be getting Shane so worked up like this? It didn't make any sense to her.

"A guy named Brian. Said he was one of your friends from Baltimore."

Mitchie's heart stopped right there in her chest. Brian? How in the hell did he find out the Gray's house phone? That was a bad sign. It meant that he was close to figuring out where she was. Shit. Suddenly Mitchie's heart started to race in fear. This couldn't be happening to her. Not when she just got out of a bad situation. Why couldn't she just be happy? She should have been more worried about what Brian was doing. More concerned about the possibility of him finding her. She just didn't think it had been possible!

Before she could say anything, Shane continued. "Have you talked to him before, Mitchie? While you were here?" He turned his head and glared at her, and Mitchie was suddenly surprised. Was he mad at her? What the fuck was he mad at her for? She didn't do anything wrong? Okay, maybe she talked to Brian before and didn't tell anyone, but she didn't want to bring her past life into the Gray household anymore than she had already. Wasn't that understandable? Couldn't he see where she was coming from? Obviously not, because Shane was not happy.

"Shane, I-"

That was the only answer he needed. He scoffed and shook his head before hitting the steering wheel, making Mitchie jump. She had seen him angry before, but never had it been directed at her. He had always been nice to her, even when she didn't deserve it. He had always been the one to offer her a smile whenever she needed one. And he fucking always listened to her no matter what. What the fuck was changing now? Just because they admitted that they loved each other he had a right to get mad at her just because she had been talking to her ex-boyfriend? Where was the fairness in that? Especially because she hadn't even wanted to talk to Brian in the first place. But she had just been trying to get rid of him and get it through his head that she wasn't going back to Baltimore and that she didn't want to be with him. It was better than him getting involved with the Gray's.

"What the hell, Mitchie?" Shane snapped, and Mitchie flinched, surprised at his sudden outburst, and this unnecessary anger. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were talking to him? He said he was trying to find you, Mitchie! He's dangerous!"

Like she didn't know that already? She had known the guy for several years. She had seen what he was capable of, and it was not for the faint of heart. She didn't say anything, and after a few moments, Shane calmed down a little bit, but he didn't say anything, so Mitchie knew this was the opportunity to defend himself.

"Shane..." She tried to find the right words. "I tried to get rid of him. I didn't want him coming anywhere near here. I didn't think he would find out where I went! Let alone actually come after me! I do know that he's dangerous, and I know what he's capable of, Shane! I'm the one that grew up with him. You think I wanted him anywhere near you or your family?" Now she was getting angry. Great. Just hours after telling each other they loved one another, they were having their first fight. Wonderful. Damn Brian. It was all his fucking fault. As always.

"You should have told us, Mitchie." Shane said, not sounding as angry as before. But now she was the one all worked up. Her potentially psycho ex-boyfriend was trying to find her, and she had a feeling he was closer than ever. That thought didn't sit well with her. At all. What if he found her? What would he do? Did he have other members of his gang to help get her? That thought terrified her. He never took more than one member of his gang off the turf unless it was serious. She wasn't that big of a deal to him, right? Obviously she was if he was trying so damn hard to find her.

"There's a lot of fucking things I should do, Shane." She snapped. "I think we have bigger problems than me trying to keep your family away from Brian."

Shane shook his head and his jaw clenched, obviously on the verge of anger again. "Let's just go home." They didn't say a word the whole way back, and Mitchie could feel the tension between them. She hated it. She hated Brian for doing this to them.

When they got home, no one else was there. Shane had said that Denise went out to get some groceries, and that Paul was working. And Nate was probably just avoiding her as much as possible. As soon as they got into the house though, Mitchie made a beeline for her room, ignoring Shane. She was still slightly peeved at him. She threw her bag down on the floor and dropped onto her bed, putting her head in her hands. She was tired of this. Words couldn't describe how sick she was of all this stupid shit that followed her around. She just wanted out of it. Of everything.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, and realized she had kept it on silent during school. The muscles in her stomach tightened painfully when she saw that she had six missed calls from Brian. She had to end this. Right now. She couldn't let him come close to Shane or any of the other Gray's. They were too important to her.

She dialed his number and listened to it ring. If he didn't answer she was gonna fucking beat the shit out of him. She was sick of this.

"Torres." Was the first thing he said when he answered. He didn't sound happy. Of course, she never knew. He smoked and did so many drugs his voice was bound to be hoarse for the rest of his life.

"Brian, what the fuck are you doing?" She tried to sound as dangerous and intimidating as possible, but it wasn't an easy feat when she was talking to Brian. But it wasn't hard to sound angry, considering she was absolutely fuming. There was no way in hell she was going to let him fuck up everything that had gone right in her life. And she couldn't let him hurt the Gray's. That would just be the worst imaginable pain that would ever happen to her. The Gray's were too important. Shane was too important.

Brian let out a scoff. "Me? Why the fuck haven't you been answering my calls? I've been trying to get ahold of you for a month. I finally found the number for the dumbass people you were staying with." Mitchie's anger hitched even more.

"Fuck you, Brian." She snapped, angrier than she ever had been before at him. "You leave my family alone. And you stay the hell away from me, or so help me God, you will regret it, Brian." She hissed.

Brian was silent. "What the fuck are you talking about, Mitch? I'm busting you out."

"I don't need to get busted out, Brian." She was trying not to yell, because she didn't want Shane to hear her. But it was hard keeping her anger under control without telling Brian exactly how she felt about him at the moment. "Stay. Away. From me. Do you understand me?"

Brian scoffed again, except now he sounded pissed, and she wasn't surprised. "What the fuck is going on with you, Mitchie? I thought you loved me! I'm going to find you, Mitchie. And you're coming back to Baltimore with me whether you like it or not. Pack your bags, Torres." And then he hung up.

Mitchie's hand was gripping her phone so tight she thought it was going to break. Brian couldn't find her. There was no way in hell. He wasn't that smart, and his drug addict sources were brain damaged. But she still had reason to worry. When Brian got pissed, he got really pissed, and she was afraid she just put herself in a really bad situation. And not just her, but Shane and his family too.

Things were silent for a few days. She was still a little pissed at Shane, and he made no effort to try and talk to her either. It was a really suckish way to spend their time after the night they told each other they loved them. It wasn't fucking fair. All because she didn't tell him that she had talked to Brian. She didn't tell anyone about her recent conversation with that particular asshole either. He was just gonna have to fucking deal with it. It wasn't any of his business. Brian was her problem. There was no way she was going to make the Gray's deal with him. It was too dangerous.

Brian's threat still lingered in her mind, but she wasn't sure if he was going to go through with it or not. She figured if it got too serious, she would have to tell Denise and Paul. There was no getting around that. It wouldn't be good for her to put herself in such a dangerous situation. Again. She was so bad about that. But she just didn't want any harm to come to the only people that really cared about her. The thought terrified her and made her sick to her stomach.

One night when she was just sitting in her room alone, wanting to be by herself, Shane knocked and quietly came in. Mitchie chose not to look at him, she hadn't gotten over him getting mad at her for a stupid reason.

"Mitch?" He asked quietly, edging into the room, shutting the door behind him, blatantly breaking his parents rules about the open door. Mitchie still didn't look at him, instead just crossed her arms over her chest in a stubborn gesture.

"What?" She asked, feeling the bed dip when he sat down next to her on the edge of it. She could feel his nerves and desperation radiating off of him.

"I miss you." He whispered, sounding so sad she just had to look at him. His gaze was on the floor, and he really did look genuinely upset. "I didn't mean to get so mad the other day." He admitted. "I was just upset that you were talking to him. I was mad for all the wrong reasons, and I was too prideful to admit it. But this isn't how I wanted to spend the last few days. I miss you." He said again, finally looking up and meeting her gaze.

Damn it, how could she not forgive him? She sighed and sat up all the way, reaching over to grab his collar and pull him towards her. He followed willingly until their lips met in a desperate, but slow kiss. It was intense, and wonderful, and everything that Mitchie loved. It made her realize how stupid she was for wasting her time being mad at him. They were both stupid for getting so mad in the first place. As long as they made up like this, Mitchie didn't care how many times they fought. As long as it didn't last. She loved him. The way she loved him made it feel like she was going to love him forever, and the thought was very appealing to her.

She moaned lightly and ran her hands through his hair and pulled him closer, wanting to feel him against her. Needing the comfort of him. His warmth, and his smell, and just everything that was him.

When they pulled away, gasping for air, Mitchie looked up at him on the verge of crying because of all the feelings for him that were overwhelming her. "I love you, Shane." She told him.

Shane smiled softly and leaned down to peck her lips lightly. "I love you too, Mitch. I love you so much."

She wrapped her arms all the way around his neck, and pulled him all the way down on top of her. But then the guilt hit her. She needed to tell him about the conversation she had with Brian earlier. She didn't want another fight on their hands. She couldn't handle that, especially when she needed him the most.

"Shane, I have to tell you something." She whispered. Shane didn't move, just nuzzled his nose against the skin of her neck.

"What?"

"I talked Brian a few days ago." She immediately felt Shane tense. She knew he would be trying to control his anger at the moment, and she hoped that he would just listen to her for a minute. "I called him to tell him straightforward to leave me alone. I just wanted to put an end to it, Shane. I didn't want him coming here around me or your family. I couldn't risk it. I don't want anything to happen to you or your family."

Shane was silent for several moments. "Did it work? Is he going to leave you alone?"

This was the hard part. "I don't know." She said honestly, because she really had no idea what Brian is going to do. If he was going to do anything. "He wouldn't leave Baltimore for just anything, and I don't think I meant enough to him for him to leave the turf unprotected." She hoped that was the truth anyway, and it was just going to have to do for now.

"Maybe we should just stay cautious, Mitch. I don't want anything to happen to you either." He whispered.

Mitchie shook her head. "Better me than you or your family."

His head shot up and that, and she could see the anger in his eyes. "That's not true, Mitchie. You are just as important. Do you understand me? Don't ever think of yourself as anything less." His words were so furious, she had no choice but to nod her head. Shane's jaw clenched and he leaned down so he could rest his forehead against hers. "I love you. I've never meant those words so much in my life. You're everything to me, Mitch. I'll do anything to protect you. Anything."

This felt sorta fillerish, but it leads into the biggest part of the story. Pleaseeeeee review. I love reviewsssss.