Chapter Four: You Smell Like Oranges

"You okay?" Grace smoothes her hand down my back repeatedly while Emma holds my blonde hair away from my face. It's around three in the morning and I'm sick, the alcohol in my system wreaking havoc on my body.

"You shouldn't have gone all out like that. Shot after shot of tequila, you went for the hard stuff, girl. What was that rough stuff, you had Fireball too?" Grace continues to pat my back when I let out another groan. She sounds like my Mom. But a nicer version.

"Don't mention anything to do with alcohol again," I slap Emma's hand away when she tries wiping the corner of my mouth with a tissue.

"Can you hurry up in there, I gotta take a leak!" A guy bangs on the door, his voice is so slurred I can tell he's barely standing up, even with the door hiding him from view.

"Get the fuck out of my way," we hear a man yell, following more banging on the door.

"Sasha, are you in there?!"

All three of us look at each other in complete shock, and suddenly I'm vomiting into the toilet again.

"Dean?!" Emma answers back for me and opens the door for him.

"Jesus Christ, kiddo, are you okay?" Dean's voice is now behind me, his hand immediately rubbing my back.

I shudder and flush the toilet, wanting to rid of the disgusting evidence that I'd been sick.

"I'm fine, w-what are you doing here? How did you know I was here?" I wipe the vomit from my mouth with a tissue and stand up. His hand drops from me and I quickly rinse out my mouth with water. Emma hands me two pieces of gum, which I give her a grateful look for. I'd rather die than have him smell my vomit breath.

"I saw a picture on Facebook. Damnit, what the hell are you doing here?! You could have been taken advantage of," he sounds angry, which obviously has Emma and Grace excited. They see this as a good thing, but I feel even worse than I had before. He's mad at me. Disappointed in me. I'd never imagined this ever happening. But now it has, and I feel like I've gone too far. There's no restarting this.

"I'm with my friends, and I'm fine. You can go!" I don't want him to see me like this, covered in vomit. I don't want him to see me as his girlfriend's loser sister. He used to look at me like he cherished me, and respected the fact that I have a brain. The look in his eyes right now makes me disappointed in myself.

"Nope, sorry, not leaving!"

I look at him in disbelief. Emma and Grace snicker and gently push me towards him. "Maybe you should take care of her," Grace tells him, "we're a little too drunk ourselves."

"No!" I hiss and suddenly meet eyes with my own in the mirror. My reflection makes me wince, so I quickly fix my hair and rub at the smudged mascara under my eyes.

When I look back at Dean he gives me a cross expression, and I roll my eyes. He looks like he just got out of bed, but still gorgeous as ever. And those green eyes of his eyes are scorching with a burning rage. He's definitely angry. I'd never really seen him like this before. At least, his annoyance was never focused on me.

But then I realize that he's not angry at me, but showing me that he cares. He came all this way because he was worried about me. That touches my feelings more than anything.

He actually cares about me.

"Just wait until your mom hears about this. You have one more year to wait and then you can drink legally. Why start this shit now?" He shakes his head and reaches for my hand.

"No, I'm staying with my friends," I say but his body language shows me I should shut my mouth right about now.

"The hell you are. You're coming with me," he takes my hand against my will, and no matter how much I pull back, he's too strong to break from.

"Wait," I want to make sure my friends are following. When I look back at them, they shake their heads at me with huge grins on their faces.

"Tell him," Emma mouths, eyes filled with excitement and anticipation. Grace jumps up and down and hugs Emma enthusiastically.

"No, don't tell my mom, Dean, please," I groan, remembering what he said.

"I know I'm not one to talk, and I went to parties when I was your age. But, the thought of you being in an unsafe place has me fuckin' worried. You're like my little sister, Sasha. If anything happened to you..."

Like his little sister.

Whatever he says after this, I have no idea. I just cry, barely seeing his face as he holds mine with his large hands.

He leans towards me, "ah shit, okay, I won't tell anyone. Just don't cry, I can't handle you crying." He pulls me to his chest and wraps his arms around me. The difference in our heights is noticeable, him a giant in comparison to me.

"You smell like oranges," I mumble while wrapping my arms around his waist. He's so tall I can't even touch my fingers around his back. I rub my tears on his shirt and soak up the comfort he's giving me.

"It's the soap I use," Dean replies, standing there awkwardly with me in the hall.

"I like it," I smile, holding onto him tighter.

"Thanks. I'll bring some over for you next time," he laughs and rubs my back.

As long as I can smell like you, definitely.

"Please do."

...

"Slow down, you'll choke," Dean tells me as I eat the Egg McMuffin he bought me from McDonalds.

"I'm hungry."

"Yeah, I can tell. I don't want you to choke and die on me. Here," he hands me my large coke.

"I can't believe you went out drinking on a school night, especially you," Dean shakes his head and looks at me with a quizzical brow. As if he's just noticed I exist and I'm not who he assumed I was.

"Why the "especially you"?" I imitate his voice, and then shove another breakfast sandwich up to my mouth.

He sighs and leans further back in the seat of his car. "Because, you don't do shit like that. You don't even drink! What happened? Thought—"hey, I'm eighteen, I want to puke my guts out tonight!""

"Stop exaggerating the situation. What I did was perfectly normal. I could have gotten laid if it wasn't for you!" I say without really meaning it. I'm just so sick and tired of only focusing on him. It's always Dean. I could have met someone else tonight. Even at three am and puking my guts out, I could have went with the dude banging on the bathroom door? Hell, I could have taken a spin with Tyler? I had options, and he completely took them away.

But did I mean this in a way where my love for him would have stopped me from going for another guy, or because he made me leave before I could?

He's quiet for a moment, and when I turn to look at him, the expression on his face has me almost choking on my food.

"I will honestly hunt down and beat the shit out of any guy that tries to get in your pants. I swear on my life, right now, that things won't end well for me and the guy. He'll end up in the hospital, and me in jail for assault or attempted murder. Don't do it." His eyes are blazing, a heated emerald that with one glance has my pulse racing.

I gulp, choking on the bits of egg in my mouth.

"See?!" He pats my back with a smile, trying to help me. But he doesn't look happy. That smile of his is fake. So fake he could be a plastic.

"You're insane!" I cough and move away from him. His words make my heart twist in anticipation. I feel weird, something I've never really felt before. It makes me feel all warm inside, as if he just slid his finger down my back sensually and whispered sweet nothings in my ear.

"Only insane for you."

"Huh?" I look at him with wide eyes, almost smiling. Did he just say he had feelings for me?

"I've always wanted a little sister I could protect. Nikki, she can hold her own. That's one of the things I love her for. I know she can defend herself. She's a strong woman. Equal with me," Dean says with a smile. "But I'm always worried about you. You're so short and skinny. A slim, weak man, could have you down on the ground defenceless without much of a fight." His knuckles tighten and turn white as he explains himself.

"So, you're saying I'm weak?" I'm offended that he thinks of me this way. He says Nikki is strong, and that he sees her as an equal. So he doesn't with me...

"No, not exactly. But imagine me, with how tall I am. I could have you right now and you wouldn't be able to fight me off. How does that make you feel?" His gaze is intense, almost frightening.

I'd let you take me.

"Scared?" I say, but I sound like I'm questioning it.

"Yeah, and that's how I feel while worrying about you."

"Does Nikki know you came to get me?" I raise an eyebrow at him and then look down at my phone. It's almost five in the morning. I'm exhausted, but I'm fighting against my fatigue to spend more time with him.

"No," he says while looking away from me. He sounds worried, or guilty. I can't tell. He's difficult to read.

"Why not?" I look at him, finishing the last bite of my second sandwich.

"I don't know. I felt like she would be mad at me for worrying. And she probably would tell your mom."

"But you threatened to tell my Mom too. And why would she be mad?"

"If it came down to it, I would have called your Mom. But Nikki and I...W-We've had a lot of fights about you," he sighs and continues to look out the car window. It's getting light out. We are currently in the McDonalds parking lot, the heater in the car blasting against us.

"Why about me?" Now I'm extremely interested in what he's going to say.

"I just said she should treat you better, since many people want siblings of their own. She doesn't like me worrying about you. It makes her pissed off and then she's mad the entire day."

"You know, if she really saw you as her equal, and loved and respected you, she would listen to your worries."

"Nikki does see me as her equal. And she loves me more than life itself. I know she does. She also does the smallest little things that I appreciate. I couldn't ask for a better woman in my life," He looks at me, his smile wide. "She's my other half, and I love her more than anything."

I nod, fighting back tears. I throw my garbage in the McDonalds bag and then put my seatbelt on.

"Can you take me home now?"

He looks at me in confusion, expecting a different response from me. Yet I do nothing else but stare at my phone, so he seems to drop the subject. He puts his seatbelt on and moves the shifter out of parking mode.

Once we drive up towards my driveway, I feel like puking again. Not because of the alcohol or the food, but because my mom is now walking down our driveway in her nursing uniform.

"Oh God, we're going to have to tell her," I groan and rub my face nervously.

"No, uh, I'll tell her that you called me from Emma's saying you were sick and to pick you up."

"But I was at home last night and snuck out."

"Just say that you didn't want to wake her, so you got Emma's brother to pick you up."

"There's too many inconsistencies," I catch the eye of Mom and feel like a toddler all over again. My ass is going to be sore today.

"Sasha Clarke!" she shouts, practically waking up the entire neighbourhood.

"Don't worry," Dean pats my head before getting out of the car.

"She went to get pizza in the middle of the night with the girls. She might have the flu. She called me and I picked her up."

"Oh, thank you for taking care of my daughter. You have the flu?" She leans down and looks at me from the driver's side of the car. I nod and thank the Heavens as I do. Looking like shit and feeling like it can help a girl out sometimes.

"Well, get your ass inside. You're still in trouble for leaving without leaving a note! You're lucky you're sick, or I would have tanned your behind! You may be eighteen now, but you still live under my house. My house, my rules!"

I almost laugh at her lack of concern for me. But embarrassment wins. I step out from the car and take my garbage with me. Judging by Dean's expression, he isn't exactly happy about me being threatened. He hasn't seen how I'm treated in private by my family. This is a first for him, which is surprising. It seems like he wants to say something, but keeps to himself.

"Go to bed and when I get home, we'll have a talk about your behaviour," Mom eyes me with distaste and then acknowledges Dean. "Nikki is probably worried sick. You best be getting home."

He nods, and soon leaves my world for the day. I'm glad I have someone who cares about me for once, and is willing to protect me without hesitation. Maybe having Dean as my protector is better than nothing at all?