Harley's POV (3 days since Xander left)

"Harley, get your ass out of bed. You've been lying here for two days straight." Rachel threw the covers off of my body. I could hear the scraping of the curtains being pulled back. The sun assaulted my face immediately, making me moan in discomfort. "You stink. You haven't eaten all day. It's 6 pm, and you're still in bed. Get your shit together." She said.

"I know," I said, still not opening my eyes. The silk sheets were stained with sweat, and the room that was once pristine and luxurious was a mess. My stomach was in knots. It's been three days since he left; he kissed me and left me standing there. I waited for him to call or text. I even expected him to come back early, but he didn't. He didn't so much as send a message through Emilio or Pedro or Julian. He didn't care. He didn't care that I was worried sick that he was alive. He didn't care; my stomach was so twisted up I couldn't even eat. He didn't care. I haven't been sleeping at night just in case I hear him walk in. I was pathetic; Rachel was right.

"I turned the shower on for you and put some clothes in the bathroom. Go clean up." She said. "You look like hell."

"Okay, thanks," I squeaked and pushed myself off the bed slowly like I was an elderly woman with arthritis.

"I'll wait outside until you're done." Rachel said.

"Yeah, thanks." I nodded, giving her a weak smile. I didn't deserve someone like her. She's been with me every night. Watching over me, rubbing me back till I fell asleep.

"Don't worry so much, Harley. He'll be back soon. If something happened then, the Sanchez brothers wouldn't still be here. They aren't worried, so you shouldn't be." She patted my back softly. She's right. If Xander were in trouble, they'd be by his side right now. I just wish he'd at least call or even try to reach out. It's been dead silence since the minute he left. Rachel's words reminded me of something. My heart immediately jumped a little.

"Your right." I nodded softly.

"How about after your done showering, we watch a movie. I'll tell the boys to come and Brooke." She smiled. That sounds nice. It'd be a way to distract me from thinking about Xander.

"Okay." I nodded. "Deal."

"Good. Now go. I can't stand the smell of you anymore." She pushed me towards the bathroom.

"Ok." I gave a small wave and walked into the bathroom. The shower was already going. The steam from the hot water fogged up the mirrors and the glass surfaces. I didn't mind since I couldn't bear the sight of myself right now. I know I looked bad. Without much thought, I pulled my dirty shirt off and the musty shorts off my body. My underwear slides down my legs onto the floor below me. The smell of my underarms swirled around the air. "Gross," I muttered to myself. I stepped into the tiled shower floor. The hot water made the tile warm underneath my feet. The searing liquid pounded against my back as I stepped back closer to the head. My hands went into my hair, massaging the water in.

Honestly, I felt nice and refreshed by the time I got it. Sure the anxiety still bubbled deep down in my stomach, but I felt a small relief. When I got out of the bathroom, Julian, Emilio, and Pedro were spread out on my neatly made bed. Rachel must've cleaned the room while I was showering.

Emilio's giant frame turned to me. "Hey, shorty." He asked.

"Hey guys," I nodded, walking closer to them. Pedro was shorter than the rest of his brothers and had a more goofy sense of humor. He was nice to have around. Julian was quiet but threw in little ignorant comments to piss people off. It was his thing. I'd gotten used to them in this small amount of time. I'd made it a point not to mention anything to the boys. As much as I wanted to ask them about Xander, I didn't.

"Still crying?" Julian commented.

"Shut up." I rolled my eyes and jumped up on the corner of the bed. It was the only empty spot. "You never saw me cry, jerk." I retorted.

"I'm not a jerk. The boss is; for leaving me here to babysit a very emotionally disturbed woman." He was scrolling on his phone the whole time.

"Lay off, Julian," Emilio chimed in.

"No, it's okay, Emilio." I waved him off. "Glad I'm on your mind, Julian. It makes me feel special." I rolled my eyes. Emilio stifled out a laugh, and so did Pedro.

"Someone's snappy today." Pedro raised his hand for a high five, which I gladly accepted.

"Whatever." Julian rolled his eyes and got off the bed.

"Thanks for my spot back," I said, occupying the spot Julian once laid in. "Nice and warm," I muttered and closed my eyes slowly.

"Hey, don't fall asleep. Rachel is making us watch a movie. She said it would cheer you up, so you better stay awake for this. I will not be tortured for nothing." Emilio said.

"I didn't know watching a movie was such torture," I muttered.

"It is. Especially when the movie in question is The Wedding Planner," Pedro said confidently.

"It's a timeless film," I replied. "And it has the sexiest man alive, Matthew McConaughey."

"That's your type?!" Pedro fake gagged. I didn't answer but rolled my eyes at his dramatic response.

"It doesn't matter. I got something to help with the pain." Pedro straightened his face out and leaned over next to him to pick something up. It was big since he strained a little, picking it up. "Ta-Da!" He said loudly and held up two large bottles of Jack Daniel's and Grey goose. "To soothe the pain." He cheered.

"You're a genius," Emilio said, grabbing the bottle of Jack Daniels. I never had whiskey nor vodka. In fact, the night I got taken at the party, I only remember drinking fruit punch and canned sodas. I guess I was never a drinker nor cared to try.

"Can I have some?" I sat up from the bed. "I've never tried stuff like that before."

"No," Julian spoke up. "Last I checked, you aren't 21." He said. I snapped my head to him and rolled my eyes, making sure he could see.

"Julian, you started drinking at the age of 12," Emilio replied.

"And started smoking at 10," Pedro said, making Emilio laugh.

"I wasn't an estrogen-filled teenage girl." Julian retorted, looking at me.

"Yeah, instead, you were a testosterone-filled teenage boy," Emilio responded. "Even worse."

"Thanks for the concern, Julian. I sincerely appreciate it, but I'm old enough to make my own decisions." I said to him.

"You heard her," Emilio said and got up to grab a couple of cups from beside the beverage cart to the side of the room. "One for Harley."

"Fine. Your dealing with her drunk ass. Not me." Julian got up from his seat and walked out the bedroom door just as Rachel walked in.

"What's his deal?" Rachel asked.

"He's PMSing," Pedro said, and Rachel giggled.

"Hello, handsome gentlemen." Brooke has been practically drooling over the brothers. Rachel has to keep her in check a lot.

"Let's start the movie." Rachel interrupting her shameless flirting.

"Here." Emilio handed me a plastic cup full of golden liquid and sat next to me like he was before. "Drink up, little bit."

Complying, I sat up and placed my lips on the rim of the styrofoam cup, and tilted my head back quickly, making the hot liquid trail down my throat. Every second that went by, my throat got warmer and warmer. The sensation was appealing. "More, please" I handed the cup to Emilio. He whipped his head to me and smiled so did Pedro.

———————-

I didn't even watch the movie. I was too busy sending Emilio to the beverage cart over and over. He got tired of doing it after the third time, but I threatened to cry if he didn't. Men hate crying women. Pedro found it amusing until I started asking him to go instead. Julian came in during the middle of the movie. He was very intrigued by Jlo. I don't blame him. The movie finished, and Rachel and Brooke had to go back to work. Pedro had to go too for some reason; I'm pretty sure he was just following Brooke around. Now it was just Julian, Emilio, and I.

"You alright?" Emilio asked.

"Y-yeah." I nodded. "W-where-why-I'm," I slurred. I don't even know what I was trying to say to him, but I was frustrated.

"You definitely don't sound alright," Julian muttered.

"I said I'm fine." I waved him off and started sitting up from the bed. "M-more drink." I motioned to my empty cup.

"No. I think you've had enough, Harley." Emilio took the cup from my grasp and threw it in the nearby trash bin.

"Hey!" I yelped. "Wh-why you do that!"

"Because you're fucked," Julian spat. "Sleep it off." He started to get up from his chair.

"Wait, dude, you can't leave me with her! She looks like the abusive type of drunk girl!" Emilio whispered, hissed like I wouldn't hear him.

"I-I'm not!" I interrupted.

"I don't believe you." He twisted his face in horror. Unexpectedly I laughed at his funny face making his face and untwist and soft up. "This is kind of funny, I guess." Emilio turned to look at me and chuckled.

After I sobered up from laughing, I turned to Julian's bitter face and spoke. "J-Julian," I slurred, "w-wa-"

"Spit it out." He said impatiently.

"Water." I deadpanned. He rolled his eyes and left out of the room.

"Harley, you look ridiculous right now. Don't you own a hairbrush?" Emilio laughed.

"How so?" I closed my eyes and tucked both my hands on my hips dramatically. This pose made Emilio laugh heartily.

"I got to get a pic." All I heard was the flicker of his camera, and bright light, I think, was the flash followed by a loud giggle.

"Don't send that anywhere. Boss will kill you." Julian walked into the room with two bottles of water. I slammed my eyes open and reached out for the icey bottle. My throat was drier than the desert right now, and I could just feel the puke about to erupt.

"Th-thank much." I nodded curtly and fiddled with the cap of the bottle. Julian snatched it from me again and snapped the cap off, and pushed it towards me. I took it gratuitously and downed the cold liquid.

"Dude, I'm not sending it to anyone," Emilio answered and rolled his eyes. He tucked his phone in his pocket and scoffed. "Just the boss."

"You're an idiot." Julian ran his hand over his face. "It's your ass, not mine."

"Dude, he's going to fucking cackle," Emilio said.

"I'm sure he will find it equally hilarious-" Julian began but was interrupted by the sound of Emilio's phone going off. "Speak of the devil." He smirked deviously.

"Whatever." Emilio scoffed and pulled his phone out to answer. I simply watched the exchange, not being able to intervene since I wasn't completely sure what was going on.

"Put it on speaker. So we can all hear the boss laughing." Julian's smirk grew wider. Emilio listened and clicked a magical button on his phone that made the voice on his phone louder. It wasn't until I heard his voice that I realized it was Xander. All signs of amusement left my body. Suddenly, I had sobered up almost completely.

"Hey, boss," Emilio said. "What's up." He said casually.

"Which one of you morons did it?" He boomed through the phone. I jumped a little.

"Emilio. And Pedro." Julian replied quickly. "Mostly Emilio, though." He chuckled to himself.

"You had one job." He said softly. "All you had to do was watch her. That's it!" He roared. "I don't remember instructing you to get her drunk."

"It was a joke, boss. She asked for a drink, so I gave her one. She's fine now." Emilio retorted.

"I'm going to wring your damn neck." He spat.

"Emilio." Finally, my voice transmitted. "Give me the phone." I reached out for the cellular device in his hand. His eyebrow raised in confusion for a second, this his face dropped in realization.

"I'll talk to you later, boss." He mumbled into the phone. Slowly and stiffly, he handed me the phone, and like a fire was under his ass his jogged out of the room. Julian lingered behind for a moment but left as well.

Taking the speaker off, I pressed the phone to my ear. He was there. Listening to my shallow breaths. "X-Xander," I said softly.

"Hey princesa." he breathed out. The silence felt long since my thoughts were running rapidly. He must've known since he spoke again. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Y-yes. I'm fine." I said.

"Don't drink anymore, Harley, or I swear to god I-" he began, but I stopped him.

"Where are yo-you?" I asked. "You said you'd be back in two days. Are you hurt? What about your wounds? Have you cleaned them?" I asked frantically. I know reeked of desperation, but I couldn't help it. It wasn't because of my burning attraction for him, but the genuine worrisome I felt.

A small unexplained chuckled left his lips. The rumble of his throat made my heart pick up speed. "I'm okay, Harley. Stop worrying about me." He said.

"Well- why aren't you back yet?" I asked.

"I'll be back soon." He ignored my question. "Rest a lot, cariño. I've got to go." I opened my mouth quickly to protest, but the call clicked, signaling it was ended.

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HEY YALL!!!! I did a time jump for this chapter, not to confuse anyone. I was scared that I'd confuse people, but I'll make it as clear as possible in the next chapter. Thanks for reading, hope yall enjoyed. Comment criticism or thoughts! Vote if you'd like! This chap is kinda ass but in defense I have been feeling like ass these past couple of days ☠️🙏🏽✋🏾✋🏾