Chapter 12 - Mentally Unstable

As we wait at the traffic light, I sit in silence, fighting the urge to tell her how I feel. You know she'll reject you, I tell myself. She only wants your help. Nothing else.
"Hannah, there's something I need to..." Before I can blurt out my feelings, someone yells at us to go, much to my relief. If I tell her how I feel, straight out, there's no going back. I need to quench my feelings. The best way to go about that is to focus on her bad points. I let my mind fill up with images of her running away from CC's. Away from me. I start to feel angry again.
We arrive at our destination.
I stare at the prison, partially in shock. Why has Hannah brought me here? I was just trying to do a small favor to a broken down girl, and she brings me to a prison. A prison! It’s a good thing that after this is over, I’ll be avoiding her. She’s obviously mentally unstable, I tell myself, trying to stop myself being in love with her. No! I'm not in love with her.

“Isn’t that a...” I trail off.

“Yep.”

“Abandoned?” I ask, curious and afraid to be here with this girl.

“Yep.”

“And we’re here because?” I’m almost afraid to know. Hannah just shakes my head. I glare at her when she looks down. “Hannah, you need to tell me what’s going on,” I say, doing a pretty good job of disguising the venom in my voice. Maybe I've made myself a little too angry. Well, there's no going back now. She shakes her head again. I refrain from screaming at her from being an idiot. “Hannah?” I say softly, trying to get her to crack without letting myself crack.

“No,” she says simply. I bite my tongue in anger. “If there could be anything, anything you could do to help me...just don’t ask, don’t ask.” She says, barely a whisper. Hmm... maybe if I pretend to still like her, she’ll tell me what’s going on. But I can't let myself get too involved or it won't be pretend anymore.

“Okay,” I reply softly, trying to sound like I don’t completely hate her. Because I do. Suddenly she flings herself at me, and hugs me tight. I love her.

But at the same time I hate for breaking my heart. She had her chance, and now it’s gone. And it’s never coming back. But the very small part of me that still has feelings for her stops me from saying anything. She doesn’t release me, so I just sit there, rage bubbling inside me. Who does she think she is? She completely rejects me then throws herself at me? So why am I enjoying this?

God, maybe I’m the mentally unstable one. Do not enjoy being around the person you should hate. And then the feeling of pleasure is gone. I pride myself at being able to shake off the feelings so easily.

“Thanks, I really needed that,” she sniffs.

“No problem,” I half smirk, half grin. If she thinks I still like her, she is way off. But toying with her heart could be fun. Give her a taste of her own medicine. My eyes glint at this prospect.

She looks up at the run down building, spaced out.

“Alex?” She mumbles after a while.

“What do you need me for, Hannah, I won’t let you down,” I tell her, lying through my teeth. I want to let her down, hurt her, the way she hurt me.

“I need a distraction.” A distraction? What is wrong with this girl? She drags me here then asks for a distraction?!

“What kind of distraction?” I ask, trying to keep my voice even.
"Well, we're here to meet someone, and I need you to distract them while I... do something." What was with the pause?
"Oh. Okay. I can do that. I thought you meant to take your mind off whatever it is that is worrying you."
"That would be good too."

“Okay. I can do both. I’ll tell you this thing Reggie did once,” I began, realizing this was a good opportunity to mess with her head... and her heart. Don't be too mean, I tell myself. You love her, remember? 
I don't, I try to convince myself.
 Hannah’s eyes widened, and she looked... confused? Worried? “Anyway, it was a few years back. We’ve been dating since year eight, y’know? Anyway, it was Valentine’s Day and she had totally forgotten to get me a present, and, so, she shows up at school empty handed whereas I’ve gotten her a necklace from Tiffany’s, and she’s trying to think of a way to cover it up. You got that?” I grin as I take in Hannah’s face. “so I give her her present, then she tells me hers in her locker. So I follow her there, and she pulls out a half empty packet of gum. And do you know what she says?”

“What?” Hannah asked weakly.

“She says: ‘Because you are like gum, sticky and lasts forever.”

“Oh,” Hannah mumbled. I grin at the look of misery on her face.

“I know! Isn’t it just the cutest thing ever? You gotta love Reggie!” Hannah’s face screwed up in a look of frenzied bewilderment.

Suddenly there is the sound of a car door slamming, and we both jump. I remember I am waiting at an abandoned prison with a crazy person.

“We gotta go,” Hannah says, and I’m about to agree when I realise she’s getting out of the car. Out of it!

So, we’re at an abandoned prison, she hears someone getting out of the car and she thinks we should go investigate?

Oh yeah, she’s definitely mentally unstable.

Chapter 11 - The abandoned prison

The car zoomed across the road, swerving from side to side at full speed. I spot a sign that reads:

KIRKWOOD HIGHWAY

"Turn left at the next traffic lights," I whisper, scarcely believing what was happening. Alex nods, I sense his confusion, his doubt and his worry. I know that I'm doing wrong, asking him to do this and I should let him have a choice. The traffic lights turn red as we come to a stop. "Wait." Alex turns to me and frowns, "What?"
"You should have a choice," Alex tilts his head sideways. "You're getting yourself in trouble, helping me. Are you sure you want to do that? That is to say...if you want to back out, back out now," my voice sounds determined and full of courage, neither of which I am.

Alex breathes deeply, I can tell he's thinking hard. "I'm not going to back out,"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive," I wonder what is going on in his mind at that time. What must he be thinking, getting himself into so much trouble like this? But I can't say I want him to go. I need someone to help me. "Okay," I say, smiling. Alex grins back and for a second there's just pure silence. We stare at each other and smile, everything around us dropping away; the noise, the traffic, the sky. "Hannah, there's something I need to-"
"YOU'RE HOLDING UP THE LINE!" an angry Truckee screams from behind us. "You better step on it," I say.

This is it. The battle has begun.

...

Alex gasps as we arrive outside the old forgotten building. "Isn't that a-?"
"Yep,"
"Abandoned?"
"Yep,"
"And we're here because?"
I shake my head. "Hannah, you need to tell me whats going on," I shake my head once more.
"Hannah?"
"No." I turn my head away from him. "If there could be anything, anything you could do to help me...just don't ask, don't ask," I whisper, hoping he can't see my tears. "Okay,"
Something must have come over me, because suddenly I hug him tight and start to sob. He seems taken aback by this, but he hugs me back and lets me soak his T-shirt with my wet, angry tears. We sit in that car holding each other for what seemed like hours. Finally I draw away from him and smile. Wiping the tears out of the corners of my eyes with my shirt. "Thanks. I really needed that,"
"No problem," he grins at me again, his perfect grin. His hair has flopped over to one side and is covering his eyes. His sky blue eyes glisten with concern for me.

No chance. You're not going to fall for him!

Too bad. I already had.

...

I look at the prison. It's old concrete walls hid so many killings. No body would have known what was going on here, no body could have known how many illegal deaths were going on in this government drived building.                It reminded me of my dad.


Murder, Betrayal, Death 


"WHAT?"
"Honey, sweetheart let me explain,"
"No! You know what you did, there's not reason for it,"
"She knew too much, darling,"
I staggered backwards, breaking a lamp as I did so.
"So what? You're going to kill me too? Your only daughter?"
"No. I can protect you. We can work together! You and me," He drawed closer a smile on his face and his arms open wide. The moon shed a slimmer of light through the curtains and I saw a knife in his hand.
"I'll never work with you! I'll call the police, I will!" I realised the mistake of a life time as those words left my lips. "Ha ha, I thought so..."


"Alex?" I say, with a quiver in my voice. Alex smiles, a soft smile.
"What do you need me for Hannah? I won't let you down,"
"I need a distraction,"

...

Chapter 10 – What can she possibly need help with?

I sit there, staring after Hannah in disbelief. Why did she leave? What was it about my poem that made her leave? I just spilled my heart out and what did she do? She left! I feel as though she took my heart with her. Maybe someday the empty hole in my chest will be filled, but right now, that feels pretty much impossible. If I wasn’t feeling so empty, I’d cry. Hannah pretty much rejected me. It was obvious the poem was about her. If it could've been about someone else, maybe then I could forgive her for breaking my heart. Maybe. But it had to be about her. Why else would I read a poem to her about liking someone who is not Regina?

Well, if she’s planning to continue breaking my heart, then I’ll do everything I can to repair it. I’ll start by keeping my distance from her. She never seems to want to be around me anyway, I’ve noticed that. Well, I’ll make it easy for her. I get up from the table I march out the door, standing tall and confident, ready to take on the world. A strong wind whistles, and I jump in fright. So much for being ready to take on the world.

I hurry home, and rush indoors to the warmth. I smile at the familiar surroundings. Mom has been cleaning, and everything is in place. I sigh. I know why mom has time to do this – it’s because she has no job. If only she wasn’t so stubborn. If only she would learn English. I speak Gaelic and English, and so does dad. I’m better than him at Gaelic though. My mom has lived in Ireland all her life. Dad was born here, but went to Ireland on a business trip. He quit his job when he and mom fell in love and had me, but decided we should live in America anyway. Once we moved here, he got a new job. It was all a ploy. I don’t mind America, but mom hates it. She misses Ireland, but would never admit it out loud. I don’t think I can ever forgive dad for hurting mom that way.

I walk into the kitchen and see my mom cooking.

“Hi,” I say to her in Gaelic. She smiles at me.

“Hello sweetheart.” Her Gaelic is much more confident than mine. If I didn’t speak to mom in 

Gaelic, I’d forget it all together. Mom takes in the look on my face. “What’s wrong darling?”

“Not much.” She cocks her head.

“Girl troubles? Is it that girl Hannah?” I stare at her in disbelief.

“What would make you think that?”

“I was here when she came around to our place. I heard the way you talked to her.” She pauses briefly. “I found the poem.”

“Oh.” Mom smiles.

“That girl is madly in love with you,” she tells me.

“Then why did she run away? I read her the poem. She left.”

“Don’t judge her too harshly. She’s had a bad life.”

“How would you know?”

“I can tell. She loves you. Remember that.”

“I don’t believe you,” I say stubbornly, but I want to believe her, with all my heart. “I’m going up to my room.” I stomp up the stairs and flop down on my bed. I get my notebook from the drawer of my bedside table. The one with all the poems about Hannah. I reread some of them.

I hold a treasure
To my heart
It’s wonderful
But it’s not smart

Being in love
Will only bring grief
To me, to Hannah
Ah Hannah, what a thief

For she has stolen
My heart and soul
I’ll forever love her
Without her, I am not whole

I move onto the next one in disgust.

How can I describe her?
She’s perfect in every way
She lights me up
She’s brighter than a sunny day

Her eyes alone are magic
The color of the sky
Her hair is perfect too
It’s the sunset flying by

I stop reading, unable to continue. This won’t help me get over Hannah at all. I rip the notebook to shreds. The doorbell rings. I run downstairs, wiping my eyes dry.

I fling the door open. Who should stand there but Hannah? I consider slamming the door shut in her face, but decide it isn’t rude enough.

“Hello,” I say, glowering at her, my eyes opening wide so I can focus on not crying.

“Can I come in?” I want to scream at her that no, of course you can’t. You can’t even be here. 

Go away. A little part of me tells me not to. “I need your help.” Ok, that was unexpected. 

What could she possibly need my help with? She doesn’t need me, and I don’t need her, no matter what my heart is telling me.

“With what?” I ask her rudely. Then I take in her face, and this time, I’m not talking about her beauty. Her lips are dry, and she keeps licking them. Her eyes are wide and full of fear. 

What really scares me is that her skin is ashen. It is literally grey. She doesn’t look too good. 

Immediately my dislike towards her disappears. Only temporarily, mind you. As soon as I help her with whatever is wrong, I’m going back to ignoring her. Not that I’ve actually ignored her at all yet. “Come in,” I order her. She obeys, swaying a little. I put my hand out to steady her.

“Now, what’s wrong,” I ask her once we are sitting on the couch.

“He’s here.” What? Who’s here?

"Who’s here?”

“You have to help me.” With what?

“Listen, Hannah, obviously something is wrong. But you need to tell me so I can help.”

“No I can’t tell you. I shouldn’t even be here. What was I thinking? Now you’re in danger too.” I can’t tell if she’s talking to herself or me. “You need to come with me.” Her eyes are pleading. Despite her lack of explanation, I can tell she really does need me.

“Okay,” I say. “Hang on.” I run to the kitchen, tell mom that I’m stepping out but will be back soon, then return to Hannah.

“Let’s go,” I say. I lead her out of the house, grabbing the keys to mom’s car on the way. She won’t mind me borrowing it. This seems like a good enough cause.

“I got my license last spring,” I explain to Hannah. “I’ll drive you wherever you need to go.” She just nods. I unlock the car, and we get in. She whispers an address, which I only just catch. I put my foot down on the accelerator, and we’re on our way.

Chapter 9 - I've got a job to do

I sip the milkshake with my head down.

Hopefully if I don’t look at him he won’t notice me
“Hey, Hannah!”

Darn

“Amazing we keep meeting each other like this, huh?"
I turn around and see Alex, perfect teeth a shining. A give an uneasy smile and say, “Yeah, amazing,”
“Hey I didn’t know you knew about CC’s!”
“Well, yeah, I’ve been coming here forever” I said without thinking.

Darn!

“But I thought that you only just moved here?”

Oh grrrrate! What am I going to do now? I know.

“Hey, look! We like the same drink!” I practically cry.
“Well so we do,” he says, grinning at me. “What else do you like?"
Think, think, think. I look at the menu in a fluster and see the word chicken on it.
“Um, birds,”

Um, birds?

Alex laughs at me. “Yeah, that’s pretty vague,” I feel a bit more at ease. I stifle a laugh, “So what about you?” I say, trying to keep the conversation going.
“Before I tell u I’ll ask you a question, when you first saw me, what did you think?”
I look around the room, trying not to give my blush away. How could I tell him that there moment I saw him my heart gave way and fainted? What would I have normally thought? If I hadn’t fallen for him?
“Sort of…popular jock,” I say, biting my lip and hoping he wouldn’t hate me.
“Well, the thing is, I’m from Ireland and…”
My mouth as a mind of its own, “I knew it!” I yell a bit too loudly. I cover my face in shame. “So sorry, go on,” I manage to mutter.

Alex begins to talk but I don’t hear a thing he says. My mind wonders to my auntie. Is she safe? I ask myself. Memories flood my mind and I think of my mum. My dad. Betrayal. I try to think of what they want with her. Do they want information? About me? How is she doing, why did she have to go outside, of all places! Wait. What am I doing here? How could I be sitting at my favourite cafe, drinking strawberry milkshake with the boy of my dreams? While my auntie is probably being kidnapped, gagged and locked up in a cell, while I sit here chit-chatting. I suddenly realise Alex is still talking.
“-and the arts”
“the arts?” I say, trying to sound like I was listening all this time.
“Yeah. Painting, drawing, music, drama. All that kind of stuff. I also loved stories, writing and poetry. By the way, this is all the stuff I’ve never told anyone before,” he seems to sigh and relax, as if all his worries were let out in on single breath.
“Poetry? Really?” I say, thinking of my mum and her passion for a rhyme.
“Yeah, would you like to hear what I’ve got?”
I think for a bit, and with a cheery smile I say, “Yeah!”
He pulls out a large writing book from his rucksack and opens it to the middle page.
“My Love:”
“Beautiful, stunning and everything more
Think I love her, though I’m unsure
I know I want to be with her forever
I’ll be happy if we’re together
I wish I could just let her know
Tell her that I need her so.”
I realise that tears are in my eyes, blocking my sight and my smile has turned into a frown. For a second, the way Alex looked at me, it seemed to tell me that he was talking about me? I want to run up and hug him, kiss him, tell him I love him too, but I remember my auntie. And I remember my promise.

“You must not get too close to anyone, ya hear me? They will use that against you. They will kill them,”

“Alex that’s, -I-I-I, I gotta go,” I leave him with his mouth open in shock and tears rolling down my cheeks like fountains. I wipe my tears away with the back of my hand, once I’m outside, and remember that I’ve got a job to do.
…

I race home in a flurry, my legs a blur. I know that I must do something, I know it. I have to get to Rosemary, Rosemary knows what is happening. I turn the corner to my street and race towards my house. My key is in my pocket. I push the shiny steel key into the lock and open the door...
The house is a mess! There are broken jars everywhere and cups on the carpet. The lamp on the table is now on the floor and shattered glass fills the room. The windows are broken.
An Ambush
There is a hole in the ceiling letting the moon-light flood the room. I see a note on the kitchen table. With my hand quivering with fear I reach for the yellow slip and read:
"Dear Daughter,
We have captured Rosemary and your Aunt and hidden them away.
You will never see them again...unless of course you come to find them? Your life is worth both of theirs. I promise that I'll spare their lives if you come. But then again, my fingers might have been crossed. Oh well, its a chance you will take, right? You know where I am.
Your loving daddy"

Suddenly I feel myself fall to the floor. I knew that something would happen. But now that it has, it doesn't feel real. Beads of sweat fall from my forehead and I start to feel so light, so light.
No, this is just what he wants. He knows what you will do, do the opposite.
Do the opposite? What would that be? I think for a moment and suddenly it clicks.

...

"Ding Dong"
"Hello?" Alex's eyes open wide as he sees me.
"Can I come inside?" I say, more or less inviting myself in.
"I need your help,"

Chapter 8 – Admitting the Truth:

 After Hannah left I decided to head over to my favourite deli, CC’s Cafe. It’s pretty nearby to my house. It was almost like a second home as I’d been going there since I’d moved here, when I was seven. Everyone there knows me. I can be myself there.

“Hey Alex.” The store owner greeted me heartily. “Long time no see.” I grinned.

“Yeah, I’ve been busy. But I’m back!” We laugh together, despite the fact the joke is not funny and is lame.

I don’t know what my friends would say if they saw me here.

Actually, yes I do. They’d say it’s lame (as in the store).

I don’t think this place is lame at all. In my humble opinion it is homey. I love it. I still can’t believe I hadn’t been there in over 6 months.

I sit down at the counter and order my favourite drink, a strawberry milkshake. Although, to be accurate, the girl at the counter (Amy) saw me, recognized me and started making my milkshake. I didn’t even have to say anything.

Amy serves my drink with a huge smile upon her face. She’s Mrs. and Mr Caprilli’s (the store owners) daughter. She’s around my age and works down at CC’s after school.

Anyway, I was sipping down that milkshake like you wouldn’t believe when I heard an extremely familiar voice thank the waitress. I spun around and sure enough, there was Hannah.

She spotted me at the same time I spotted her. The difference was I was pleased; she just looked unsettled. I stood up and walked over to her.

She tried to look nonchalant and like she didn’t know I was there. When I sat down at her table she scowled. I wondered why she acted like she disliked me so. I only wanted to be friends.

Or more.

“Hey Hannah! Isn’t it amazing that we keep meeting up?”

“Yeah, sure,” she muttered.

“I didn’t know you knew about CC’s!” I exclaimed, cracking a grin. Hannah seemed a little perkier.

“Yeah, I’ve been coming here, like, forever.” Wait a second.

“But didn’t you only just move here?”

Hannah suddenly looked flustered.

“Umm… uh… Hey, look! We like the same drink!” she announced, changing the topic. I wasn’t fooled for one second.

Oh well, I best go along with it, I thought.

“So we do. What else do you like?” I asked, jumping at the opportunity to learn more about Hannah. Well, my second opportunity.

Hannah screwed up her face, obviously thinking hard.

“Umm… birds.” I laughed.

“That’s pretty vague.” Hannah laughed too, sounding surer of herself.

“I guess. What about you?” she asked seriously. I pondered this, wanting a good answer. Something jumps to mind. Something I have never told anyone else before. But first I must ask a question.

“Before I tell you, can I ask you something?” Hannah nods. “When you first saw me hanging out with my friends and stuff, what was the impression you got?”

Hannah bit her lip, probably thinking of a way to be tactful and honest at the same time.

“Well, to be truthful, sorta popular jock.” Hannah smiles apologetically at me.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. The thing is, well, I’m from Ireland and-”

“I knew it!” exclaims Hannah, who then looks sheepish. “Sorry. Go on.”

“Right, well, we lived there until I was nine, and that’s about when we moved here. In fact, I still remember the day we came to live at our new house. We saw this place, and the thing that struck me the most was the happy family out the front. The girl was drinking a strawberry milkshake and just looked so please with her life. That’s when I became addicted to strawberry milkshakes. I started drinking them to bring some happiness to my own family. It didn’t work. My parents soon divorced. But I still drank these milkshakes anyway.” I paused and frowned. Hannah just looked flustered. “Oh, umm… I’m straying from the point. Anyway, I’m actually a lot smarter than I lead people to believe. Not,” I hasten to add, “that I’m a genius or anything, just smarter than I seem. Because of my intelligence I was picked on at school, back in Ireland. So when we moved here I had a fresh start. Actually, in elementary school here the kids were nice about. It was when I started middle school that I had to lose all sense of identity. I soon learned to enjoy stuff like sports, but I miss intellect and the arts.”

“The arts?”

“Yeah. Painting, drawing, music, drama. All that kinda stuff. I also loved story writing and poetry. By the way, this is all stuff I’ve never ever told anyone before.” I sat back now that all my secrets of the past had been let out. Hannah seemed fixated on the smaller details.

“Poetry? Really?”

“Yeah. Would you like to hear a poem I wrote?”

“Would I ever!”

I pull out my writing note book, which I have never shown to anyone, let alone told them about.

“My Love:

Beautiful, stunning and everything more

Think I love her, though I’m unsure

I know I want to be with her forever

I’ll be happy if we’re together

I wish I could just let her know

Tell her that I need her so.”

When I finish I look up, but Hannah’s smile has disappeared.

“Alex that’s…” Hannah breaks off, tears welling up in her eyes. “I gotta go.” With this she ran off, leaving me bewildered.

The second time in one afternoon that the girl of my dream has run from me.

Why?

Didn’t she know it was for her?

Finally I have admitted the truth of my past to someone and they have run away.

My mum always said the truth feels good, but at this point in life, I’d have to disagree.

Chapter 7 – Strawberry Milkshake:

I shiver in the cold.

I feel him grab my arm and pull me in, normally I would protest but I can’t help but stare at the concerned look on his face. I take my jacket off and sit down; Alex and I stare at each other, not a word uttered.

Alex seems to feel my awkwardness, “Err…What are you doing here?” he says with a smile on his face.

I mutter that I need to call my Auntie.

“Don’t you have a mobile phone?” his expression looks bewildered.

“Oh no, it’s not safe,” I say. 

“Actually it’s proven that phones don’t harm humans in any way,”

I stare at him, confused. What is he talking about? I think about my Auntie and hope that she’s safe…if I didn’t get back soon…they would get her…without my protection…

Alex stares at me, waiting for my response.

I realize what he’s talking about, “No, no, I’m not talking about physical injuries, I just mean…”

I think back to when it happened, “They would find us if I…”

Alex stares at me. I realize what I had just said. 

He quickly hands me the phone, he looks like he’s thinking.

He leaves the room, which I’m grateful for. My Aunt’s best friend answers the phone.

“Hello?” there’s an urgency in her voice.

“Yes, Hello. What are you doing here, Rosemary?”

Her voice suddenly changes into a hush whisper, “Listen,”

“Where were you? Your aunty was so worried, she called me over but we couldn’t find you and then she took her coat and…” she stops.

“She took her coat and she left Han, she left. She said that she had to find you because otherwise they would find you and it looks like…”

“It looks like WHAT?” I scream, not caring that Alex is in the room next door.

“Something happened Hannah, to your gran…I think they might have found her…”

My heart stops beating.

But quickly starts again, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” I shout

“Honey, you’ve got to listen…”

“I CAN’T LISTEN! DID YOU JUST HEAR YOURSELF, THEY’VE GOT HER”

“She’s going to be fine,”

“HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?”

“Listen, you have to listen. I can’t pick you up Hon,”

“What? I can’t just stay here!” 

The phone beeps.

Rosemary hung up.

My Aunt could be dead.

I have to stay at Alex’s.

***

I walk out the room in a hurry. 

Alex obviously heard everything from the look of his face.

I ignore it and pretend that nothing happened, “Look, My Auntie can’t pick me up and…is it alright if I stay for dinner?”

“Okay” he says with a grin on his face.

At the table Alex tries to make conversation.

“How’s Kimberly?”

“Well it’s alright, better than my old school, though that wouldn’t be that hard…” I trail off.

He starts to ask more personal questions but all I can think of is my aunt. Is she alright? What was I going to do? How could I save her? These questions ran through my head as Alex rambled on.

“Where did you come from?” 

My heart drops. I can’t answer that.

“Umm…You know, just…around,”

He seems frustrated at my answer. Why would he care? He has Regina, he doesn’t need to pretend to want to get to know me.

“As in, from this country?” he persists.

“Yeah, like the opposite end,” I say.

“Like California?”

He keeps on asking, his curiosity annoys me, I want to leave. Alex cannot get to know me.

“Uhuh,” I say and tell myself that if he asks anything more than I’ll leave.

We’re silent for a moment and I think that he’s stopped.

“So why did you move?”

That’s it. I don’t want to be rude but Alex…nobody can know what I really am.

“Oh look the rains stopped,” I jabber and quickly pick up my things and run. Alex doesn’t run after me, I’m glad. But also a little disappointed. I run to the only place I can think of that makes me feel like I’m home when I’m not.

 ***

‘C.C’s Café’ the sign reads.

I remember my dad taking me there. I was laughing on his lap, mum laughing as well, her shiny blond hair wiping around. No.

I will not talk about my dad anymore. My dad is nothing, I will not even recall the good times. What he has done…no.

I walk in and sit down, “One Large Strawberry milkshake thanks,” I order.

“Coming right up,”

“Dada!”

“That’s right my little strawberry popsicle! We’re in the D.C!”

“Oh darling, stop disrupting her and let her finish her milkshake,” I shush my mum with my stubby finger.

“I no want D.C, want Calforn!” My mum ties back her long hair up and scoops a bit of milkshake froth for me to eat.

 “Hush now dear, just eat…”

“Here’s your milkshake,” the fat old lady bangs it down in-front of me.

“Umm…Thank you,” 

I take the straw out and lick the edges, but catch someone staring at me in the corner of my eye…

I stop and look. It’s Alex. 

Why is he always around? 

I’m about to grab my coat and leave when I spot what he’s having.

Strawberry milkshake.

Chapter 6 – Mysteries Arise:

After I had convinced Regina of my faithfulness, things seemed to fly by.

I would get up in the morning, go to school, go home, do homework and hang out with my friends.

My schedule is hectic.

Yet all I can think about is Hannah.

Sometimes I catch her eye during class, and she looks wistful, but then she just looks frustrated, and looks elsewhere.

It’s really confusing.

People seem to be losing interest in her. When she first arrived she was beautiful, mysterious, sophisticated. Now she seems rude and stuck up.

She takes no interest in being friends and only hangs out with that weird girl, Casey.

Of course, this is only the opinions of most kids at school.

I still think she’s wonderful, despite the fact she ignores me. What I reckon is that she has something to hide. If only I knew.

Then again, it could be Regina. She’s enough to scare anyone away. I wish I could break up with her, but she would do one of two things:

1.      Find away to stay with me anyway

2.      Make my life miserable

And if I dumped her for Hannah, she’d make Hannah’s life miserable too. I can’t let that happen to her. Not in a million years.

Not ever.

***

It was one particularly rainy day that things started to turn around. Or so I thought it would've.

Thankfully I live quite close to school, so I made a mad dash for my house and made it without too much hassle.

I’m setting down my stuff when someone knocks at the door. I peek out through the window and see a girl drenched with rain. Hurriedly I open the door for her. She stands there, on the front porch, dripping wet, an angel. Hannah.

“Hey, you…” She trails off as she recognizes me.

“I’m so sorry,” we say in unison.

Quickly I grab her arm and lead her inside, out of the cold. She doesn’t protest.

Without a word she takes off her jacket and boots. Then we stare into each other’s eyes, having a telepathic conversation.

Okay, not really, but I can tell she wants me to say something to put her at ease.

“What are you doing here,” I ask kindly.

“Sorry, I just needed to use your phone to call my Auntie.”

“Absolutely, but…” I pause hesitantly, not wanting to sound rude. “Can’t you just use your mobile?”

“Oh, I don’t have a mobile. It’s not safe.”

“Actually, research has shown that mobiles do not injure humans in any way.” Hannah looks a little confused, then an expression of comprehension dawns.

“Well, I wasn’t talking about physical injuries. Just what they’d do if they found us…” She trails off, looking annoyed. Could this be connected to her mysterious past? No one seems to know anything about her.

“Umm… okay. Go ahead then,” I say, smiling broadly. “Here’s a phone.” I hand her our cordless and walk out of the room to give her some privacy.

Unfortunately, her conversation becomes louder and louder, and easier for me to hear.

“What do you mean? Why can’t you come get me? What? Who told you that? Do they really know where we are?” I try to create these words so that they make sense. I can’t. But now I know something for sure.

There is something mysterious about Hannah Miles.

***

Soon, Hannah hangs up and walks out into the hallway where I am waiting. She seems oblivious that I have heard anything.

“Sorry about that. It turns out my aunt can’t pick me up, and it doesn’t look like this rain is going to stop anytime soon. If it’s okay with your family, could I stay for dinner?” I’m thrilled. A chance to spend quality time with my heart’s desires.

“I’m sure my parents will be okay with that. So… why don’t you make yourself at home.”

Hannah smiles uneasily.

I lead us into the lounge room and sit down on one of the couches. Hannah sits down opposite me. This is it. My chance to find out more about Hannah and her mysterious past.

“So… Are you enjoying Kimberly?”

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Why didn’t I ask a more personal question?

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. Nicer than my old school, I guess. Though that’s not hard,” she mutters. I watch curiously. Hannah smiles sheepishly at me.

“Say, Hannah, where do you come from.”

“Oh, umm, around,” she says innocently. I feel frustrated at her lack of response.

“From this country?”

“Umm… yeah, but the other end.”

“You mean like California? That’s pretty opposite DC.”

“Well, around that area, yes.” Hannah’s eyes dance around nervously.

I look at her inquiringly. She looks back, her eyes flashing with anger, but not really. More like she’s annoyed at being asked so many questions. Oh well, one more.

“So, why did you move?” Hannah takes a sharp intake of air, as if the question is hurting her. I frown at her in confusion.

“Oh, no reason in particular. Just wanted a change of pace. Oh look the rain’s stopped,” she jabbered. Indeed it had. Since she looked like she wanted to leave I said goodbye and watched her run from the house.

I watched her go sadly.

I have really screwed things up.

I don’t stand a chance.

Chapter 5: Alex Again

We stared at each other for a bit. He seemed to smile at me like as if he liked me. Wait.

No, that couldn’t have been it. He has, Regina. And I am, well I may look like I’m nice but if he knew my past…

Suddenly Regina pops out of nowhere, crushing our moment. I mumble sorry again (though he probably didn’t hear) and run off, remembering Casey.

“WHERE HAVE YOU **** BEEN???” Casey shouts, she looks so scared, her face white as a ghosts. She was outside K-mart, when I found her. We both sit down on a bench.

“I bumped into Alex,” I say.

Her expression completely changes, “Ohhhhhh. I see, you bumped into Alex,” she says his name carefully, rolling the vowels in her tongue.

“It was nothing, really, he was with Regina. Though it looked like he might like me because of the way he said something…but, no. he’s with Regina,” I mutter quickly.

Casey just laughs.

“I knew someone just like you who got involved with the popular gang,” she said the word popular like her tongue was on fire.

“Who?” I asked.

“Me,” she says.

“Oh yeah, I wasn’t always miss. Goth! Haha! No, I used to be let’s put it in these terms, ‘Regina,”

My face shows my expression and I yearn to know more.

“Hey! Don’t look so gob-smacked, I can be very luring,”

We both fall about laughing

What would happen if Casey knew what he had done, that I was related to a…

“Anyway, they’re all useless jerks who mean nothing and are nothing,”

And the conversation ends.

***

“I see you went all out on your shopping trip!” my aunt laughs sarcastically, she is a very cool aunt.

I stare at my display of lollypops and key chains on the counter and laugh remembering each of the scenes that led us to our crazed decisions.

There was only one piece of clothing, a pretty silk dress that was slashed 50% off so many times that the stickers overlapped till it was three cm thick!

But it was beautiful; Casey mocked me over buying a “Girlies Dress” but in the end said that I should get it.

For some reason I imagined Alex when I saw it, I don’t know why. I cancelled the thought out of my head and headed to my room. I gazed at the picture of my mum. I was just a baby with a tiny ribbon on my curls

Oh, why did you have to die?

*** 

“And next week class we’re going to do an assignment on, ‘What’s YOUR future? Have a great weekend! I sure will, I mean, having to teach these horrible kids?” Mr Hendrix joked.

“Haha” some kids laughed.

I knew exactly what my future is going to be, architecture. I’ve wanted to be an architect since I was eight. Nothing amazes me more than designing and exploring magical buildings created by these glorious architects.

The week had gone by so fast!

Things had finally gotten into routine, the schedule was:

Meet Casey in the morning and talk.

Get into class.

Recess break: Populars continue to tease, Casey saves me.

More work.

Lunch break: Cafeteria line, then rush off as soon as we’ve finished to our favourite place to hang out, just behind the school.

Work.

Get on same bus as Casey. (Isn’t it cool that she lives on my street?)

And it starts all over again. Of course occasionally I see Alex…

I’ve been trying to forget, he keeps shooting me these grins and smiles but I try to ignore it. One time it slipped, but Casey helps me to PUSH ON.

The only reason he’s being nice to me is because that’s just how Alex is.

I found out that I’m, “Popular Material”

I was in the toilets one day and I overheard Regina’s gang talking this was how the conversation went:

NitWit1: How about that new kid, what’s her name…

Nitwit2: Hannah?

Nitwit1: yeah she’s so emo hanging out with crazy Casey!

nitwit2: yeah, CREEPY!

Nitwit1: too bad though, because she’s Popular material

Nitwit3: yeah, except for her nanny’s clothes

Nitwit2: Oh God Marie! (Supposedly nitwit3) you’re such a copy cat!

Nit wit3: I am not!

Nitwit1: you are, Regina said that.

Nitwit4 joins in: I think she has cool clothes

Nitwit1: No way!

Nice popular, (formerly nitwit4): Whatever, Class is starting.

I also found out that Regina says I have, “Nanny’s Clothes”

Who cares?

At least I have Casey as my friend, “Crazy Casey”

Why do they think she’s crazy??

***

Three days later:

The rain pours harder and harder as I run home, “See ya later!” I call to Casey as she runs the opposite way.

She nods in return and now I’m on my own. The fog is falling on me, what a horrible day! (Weather wise.) I search for some shelter, anywhere, because I can’t make it home in this rain. I find a house and beg that whoever owns this house won’t mind.

I soon find out…..

“There’s someone out here!” A voice shouts from inside.

He sounds so familiar, so familiar…

I get frightened and pray once more that they won’t mind, I prepare the words in my head as I hear them come to the door.

“Hey, you…”

“I’m so sorry…” we both say at the same time

And by We I mean, me and Alex

Me and Alex.

Me and Alex.

Alex’s house.

Me and Alex.