I stretch and take a deep breath as I stare into the horizon. No land, no matter where I look.

As if the only thing left on this earth, is this boat. No land, no one else but all the people on here.

All alone.

But the waves bring calmness, soothing sounds that made me fall asleep faster than ever before last night.

'You're up early.' I turn to the voice and step back when I see who it is. 'It's just me.' Hunter chimes, climbing the last step and walking over to me.

'More reason for me to leave.' I mumble, slowly heading to the steps.

I was just enjoying the breeze, and he had to ruin it for me. 'How late do you want to go?'

I stop and turn around, looking at him with a questioning look. 'Right now would be great.'

He shakes his head and chuckles. 'You at least have to stay till lunch.'

'Why would you ask if you weren't going to let me decide?' I ask, folding my arms across my chest. 'I was just suggesting-' 'Breakfast, and I'm gone.'

'Have I really been that bad?' No. But that does not mean I want to stay any longer.

I've been able to avoid him ever since lunch. I only bumped into Noah when it was time for dinner. He brought some food to my room, knowing that I wasn't going to sit in that dining room with Hunter again.

'If it hasn't been obvious yet, I don't want to be here.' He inhales sharply and slowly breaths out, mumbling something. 'Patience.'

'What?' He looks back at me and smiles. 'I have to have patience with you.' What?

'That's something I have to learn.' What for? I sigh deeply and glance around, before turning back to him. 'You don't have to.'

He frowns and steps closer to me. I'm still at the stairs, I could walk out any second if he even tries anything.

'I'll be gone in a few hours, so that's not necessary.' He wants to respond, but I won't allow him to and walk down the steps, back to my room.

They washed the clothes I came in, so I'll put those on instead of these stupid dresses.

Okay, I must admit, they're not stupid. But I'm not going to keep them.

I lock the door and change, before heading to the dining room.

Hunter is already sitting at the end of the table and smiles when I come in. 'I think it's going to be a bit too cold for what you're wearing.'

'Good thing I didn't ask.' They put my plate on his side of the table again, probably because he told them to.

So I grab my plate, glass, all I need to eat, and some food, before heading to the other side of the table and taking a seat.

'Am I really that hard to be around?' He asks, smiling a little. For some reason, he's enjoying this.

He's enjoying my cold shoulders, my sneers, my annoyance towards him. And I don't get why.

But I honestly don't care. After breakfast, I'll be gone.

'How are we going to get to the US?' He raises his brow and slowly takes a bite, chewing it a least a million times, before turning back to me.

'I'll take care of it.' It's the first time he answers my questions in a way that makes me wonder what he's going to do.

I mean, sure, I still don't get why he did all of this, which is why I still don't trust it completely, but this is the first time he's being so... vague.

'Just tell me how, it's not that hard.' He takes another bite, chewing it slowly, before swallowing it. I wish he would just choke on it, that piece of shit.

But instead, he smiles at me and takes a sip from his orange juice. 'You would love to know, wouldn't you?'

Another thing they have in common. Rio wanted me to beg for almost everything I wanted and it seems like Hunter does too.

'I wouldn't want to come unprepared.' I sneer, before taking a bite out of a piece of bread. It's still warm. 'You won't be unprepared. There will be a pilot that will fly down in less than an hour. You'll be home before you know it.'

Fly down? Airplanes don't go that low above the water, so he must be talking about a helicopter or something like that.

'How do I know you won't let it crash and make my death seem like an accident?' I ask, taking a sip from my water.

He starts laughing hysterically and turns back to me with a grin. 'You're a real pessimist, aren't you?'

I don't think I am, but I shrug. I might be. Especially with him. Especially with the man that tortured my best friend and is the enemy of the guy I've been with for the past months.

'I would've killed you by now if I wanted to, trust me.'

Trust and promises. Those two seem to be recurring stuff around here. Around Hunter Steel. I take another bite, taking my time to respond just like he seems to do every time I ask him something.

And even though what he said, wasn't really a question, he's waiting for me to react.

'You know, Hunter.' I take another bite, chewing it a hundred times, and swallow it slowly, very slowly, before nodding at him, 'so far you've been threatening, but you haven't done shit yet.'

I know I'm walking on a very thin line right now, but I might die anyway. He's going to let that helicopter crash and I'll be gone and forgotten like I'm nothing.

So I might as well make his last minutes with me a living hell, right?

He points at me and gulps down his juice, licking his perfect lips, before placing his glass on the table. 'That's because I don't want to scare you off.'

I scoff at that comment, if he thinks I haven't seen darkness yet, he's wrong. I probably haven't seen the worst that exists, but Hunter Steel doesn't seem like the type to top off anything I've seen before.

'You think you're that special, huh?' He tilts his head and shrugs. 'That depends.'

I want to ask what it depends on, but I don't want him to feel like he matters to me.

And he noticed that too.

'What do I have to do for you to believe I'm not going to let you die?' I take another bite and decide to finish the whole sandwich, before responding to him. 'I don't know.'

He chuckles and fills his glass with water this time. 'Suggest something.'

I still don't get why he's letting me decide, but I'll go with it.

There's no way he'll kill himself, right?

'Go with me. Bring me to my door, since you already know where I live, and then stay the fuck away from me.' It might be stupid of me to take him home, but it's the safest option right now.

I don't trust that he won't do anything to hurt me. Even if he said he wouldn't, I don't believe it.

So I'm waiting for him to explode, to let his true colors shine through the glamour he's keeping up because this can't be it. This can't be the real Hunter.

'You want me to come with you?' He asks, raising his left brow a little. 'Don't start feeling special now, I just don't trust you to not kill me once I'm far away from you.'

His lips curl up again and I wish I could just tie them together. 'Eat up, our flight will be here in five minutes.' He says, jumping to his feet and walking out of this place.

Our flight... Five minutes...

He's really letting me go. Holy shit.

I'll be home. With my mom. Finally.

I finish my plate and run after Hunter, towards the top of the boat. We were just standing here. And I didn't even realize that there was a huge H drawn onto the floor.

'Ready?' Hunter asks as he turns back to me with a big smile on his face. 'You first.'

He chuckles but climbs in first when he realizes I'm not playing around. I glance around, trying to see if there's anything suspicious going on around us, but there's nothing.

Nothing but the wild ocean below us.

'Are you coming, or do you want to stay here?' Hunter jokes from inside. I roll my eyes and walk over to the weird-looking thing. I've never been in a helicopter before, but I heard they should be fine.

Nothing to be scared about.

I strap myself into the chair and look at Hunter, who's sitting across from me. 'Boss, since when are you going-' 'I have some stuff to take care of anyway.' Hunter sneers, glaring at the pilot.

The pilot nods and starts the engine, making my ears hurt like crazy. 'Here!' Hunter shouts, barely loud enough to hear.

He hands me headphones and I realize he has one on as well. It would be stupid of me not to take it, so I put it on and turn to the window on my right.

We slowly go up, not as high as a normal plane, but high enough to make the boat look like I could pick it up with two fingers.

For the whole flight, I try not to show any fear, even though I'm terrified. I can tell Hunter's watching me, but I don't dare look at him. He'll notice the fear in my eyes.

And then he'll do something stupid to impress me or something.

As soon as I see land again, the fear decreases, filling with excitement and relief. I'll be on land before I know it. I'll be home before I know it.

The pilot safely lands on top of a building, further into the city, and looks back at Hunter. 'Good, but it could've been done safer.' He sneers, before jumping out and waiting for me to follow him.

I jump out on the other side and look around, taking a deep breath to let my lungs fill with the American air.

I'm home...

'You're free to leave.' Hunter says, from the other side of the roof. The pilot stays put, and Hunter looks at me. 'Am I?' I ask, turning back to the city below us.

I'm nowhere near my house and I have no money. He's my only way home.

'How do I get home?' He points down, towards the streets. 'I could bring you or you could go yourself, the choice is yours.'

'How am I supposed to go myself? I have no money.' He nods and looks at his silver watch, before looking back at me. 'I guess I could bring you.' He says, tapping his watch a few times, 'Someone could abduct you since you have history.' What?

I have no idea what he's talking about, but I don't want to ask either. So, I head to the entrance and open the door, hearing him chuckle as he trails behind me. He's enjoying this too much, that prick.

'Stop that.' He immediately does and rushes over to an elevator to push the button before I do.

'You're free to leave, Cataleya.' I nod, knowing that I am. I could run away from him as soon as we get outside, but I'll be stranded in here if I do that.

The elevator gets to our floor and we step inside, both on other sides.

'I know, but as I said, I have no money. So how the fuck am I supposed to get home?'

His lips curl up again and it takes me every ounce of my body not to shove him against the wall and kick his ass.

Hunter knows that I won't get home without his help. He just wants to hear me say it. A million times.

For the whole way down, neither of us say a word. It's very awkward, but it's better than talking to him.

When the doors open, I am the first to step out. Into a fancy lobby that looks like it has just been cleaned or something.

Hunter catches up with me and takes a deep breath as we step outside. 'You're-' 'If you say "you're free to go" one more time, I'll fucking destroy you.' His eyes widen before he starts smirking at me.

'As you wish, this way.' He turns to his left and strides into the crowd of people who basically clear a path for him, and I quickly follow behind.

If I lose him now, I might as well walk home.

'Is that-' I turn to a guy that's pointing my direction and wait for him to continue, but he doesn't. Is he talking about me, or Hunter?

'You coming, Cataleya?' I turn back to Hunter, who's waiting next to a car. A limo.

'You have to be kidding me.' I mumble as I move closer. I wait for him to get in first, just so I can sit closer to the door. And he gets the point and climbs in first.

I climb inside and stay right by the door, keeping my eyes on Hunter who is talking to the driver through the slider.

This thing is huge, but not as big as Rio's. The one where we... Yeah.

'Everything okay, you look a bit flustered?' He asks when we finally start driving. 'I'm fine.'

I try to hide the heat creeping onto my cheeks by looking out the window, trying to focus on something else.

But the memories come crashing in, making me squeeze my thighs together in desperation. I clear my throat and look at Hunter, who's trying to analyze me like I'm some test subject.

'Are you sure-' 'I am, how long until we get to my stop?' I ask, not wanting to talk about my flushed cheeks. 'About thirty minutes.' Great.

Thirty minutes. Just thirty minutes until I am home again.

After twenty awkward minutes, Hunter clears his throat and smiles at me.

I must admit, he is cute. Just not my type.

I think.

I mean, so far, I've only been with one guy. Rafael.

So, I don't know if that means guys like Rafael are my type, but Hunter certainly isn't.

Not because he's not handsome or anything, he looks like a freaking model! He's the guy that tortured Neveah in the cruelest way I've ever seen.

So no. Hunter is not my type.

'Remember, you're free to leave.' He repeats for the fourth time ever since we landed.

I know that If I leave now, someone else will find me and take me with them, just like he said.

And... That's not something I want.

'Do you not want me here or something?' I ask curiously.

He frowns and tilts his head a little. 'What?'

'You went through all that stuff, the kidnapping Neveah and then holding her for ransom, just to get to me. But you keep telling me I'm free to go?'

He nods and presses a button, closing the slider between us and the driver.

'Trust me, Cataleya. I would do anything to keep you by my side, I want you here. But If I force you to stay with me, you'll hate me.'

'Who says I don't hate you already?' He kidnapped Neveah, tortured her, just to get to me.

He did all of that to my best friend, just to tell me that I'm free to go?

It just doesn't add up. It doesn't make any fucking sense.

'Then, I don't want you to hate me more.' His eyes pierce through me and I don't dare look away.

It's as if we're having a staring contest without actually having one.

'Why?' I ask. I need to know more. I need to know why he's doing all of this. I need answers.

'Because I care.' I frown and watch as he tilts his head back a little, sighing deeply. 'Because I care about you as a person. No one deserves to get treated badly, right?'

The car slowly comes to a stop and I look outside. I didn't notice we were in the neighborhood already.

'I'll walk from here.' I mumble, opening the door and getting out.

Hunter doesn't even try to stop me as I run across the street, towards my house. I run as fast as I can, as if someone's behind me with a gun, threatening to shoot me.

But when I turn around the corner and look back, there's no one.

I cross the last street and run towards the house.

The house I grew up in, where the neighbors smile because they finally get to see me again. I run past mister Willsons little shop and wave at him when I see him near the back entrance.

'Cataleya! I didn't know you were going to be back!' He exclaims, stumbling over to me. I should've kept my head low, at least until I saw my mom. 'It's a... Uhm-' Shit. 'A surprise for my mom.'

He smiles and asks me how I've been, I shortly answer and tell him that I'll tell him more about it later.

I have to see my mom first.

'I'll be expecting you later.' He says before turning back to the store. 'I'll be there.' I rush through the people and towards number twenty-nine.

Home.

It's not as clean or as big as any of the houses the Curzio's own, but it's home.

'Cataleya, is that you?' I love having people around, especially people I know, but I need to get to my mom. I need to see her again. 'Hey, Matilda.' She wraps her arms around me, hugging me tightly before squeezing my cheeks.

Matilda has always been touchy with me, and I've told her to stop multiple times. I guess she's just getting old and I kind of got used to it already.

'Mom, don't touch strangers- Cataleya?!' Great. 'Mom, let go of her!' Jessica shouts at her mother, who continues to smile and cuddle me. 'Mom!' 'Oh, fine!' Matilda lets go of me and continues to walk towards her house.

'Good to have you back, Maddy and Nathan will be so happy to hear you're back.' She says with a smile on her face.

'I must admit, I missed those little devils.' Especially the first weeks. No more waking up to screaming children in the morning. 'They missed you too.'

'Do you know if mom's home?' Jess shrugs and looks at our house, just a few doors ahead. 'She might be, but she might be leaving for work soon.' Shit. She has to work today.

'Okay thanks, tell the kids I said hi!' I shout, before running to our front door.

I ring the bell and almost bang on the door when she doesn't open it right away. I need to see her, hug her again. I missed her so much

And when she finally opens the door and I see her shocked face, I jump into her arms and hold onto her for dear life.

'Cataleya! What are you doing here?!' She asks, completely shocked. I shouldn't be here for at least two more months since I'm supposed to be interning.

Her smell, her touch, her hair, her voice. It's all too much. Especially after everything that happened since I last saw her.

Suddenly, I feel a wave of emotions rush over me, and the tears start to flow.

'Cataleya?' She wants me to look at her, but I won't allow her to let me go. Not yet. 'Que pasó?'

I don't even know where to start, if I should even start. 'A lot.'

She chuckles and leans back a little, wiping the tears from my face. 'Entra y cuéntamelo todo.'

'Okay.' She pulls me inside and shuts the door, before turning back to me. 'What's going on?'

'I missed you so much.' Her smile warms me from the inside, making me smile as well. 'I missed you more, Ley. But aren't you supposed to finish your internship?'

'I got off early.' I lie, hoping that she doesn't see through it. I take her all in, her warm smile, her dark eyes, her curls, the wrinkle on her forehead from all the stress she got because of me, all of it.

'What happened to your leg?' She points at the bandage around the bullet wound, and I gulp. 'I bumped into a bed at my last shift. It was a... Very hard bed.' A bed? Really.

That's the first thing that could come to my mind? 'Are you really that clumsy?' She chuckles and pulls me closer again. 'Apparently.' I take a deep breath and wrap my arms around her.

God, I missed her so much.

She slowly lets go of me and looks me up and down, before smiling brightly.

'Before you start, where is Neveah?' Shit. 'She's visiting Natalie and Eric right now.' I say, staring at my mother's outfit.

She was going to work. 'Can I call her real quick?'

She raises a brow and crosses her arms. 'Cataleya, what's going on?' I want to tell her, I really do.

But telling her might get her into more danger.

'I lost my phone and I need to tell her that I got here safely. Plus, I'm really tired and you need to go to work.' She takes a deep breath and keeps her eyes on me.

'I can take the day off so we could catch up, let me just-' I shake my head and grab her hand. 'That's not necessary, I'll probably sleep for a few hours and walk around the beach. Mister Wilson wanted to talk to me, you can go to work and we'll have diner together.'

'Are you sure?' She asks, a little worried about me. I cried when I hugged her. I don't cry that easily, but for some reason, I became very emotional. 'Yes, I'm fine.'

'We'll talk later, okay?' I nod and follow her to the front door, trying to convince her that I'll be fine. And I will be.

This will buy me time to come up with a story.

'Also, if you're already going to Wilson's store, could you go and buy some groceries, we need some bell peppers, flour, sugar, cheese, and cucumbers.'

'Of course.' She nods, hugs me tightly, before kissing me on the head and heading out. 'Te quiero!'

'Te amo.' The door shuts and I slowly turn around, taking in the tiny hall.

I didn't think the house would feel this small, but I've been used to the biggest buildings ever since I met the Curzio's.

The kitchen we own is barely the storage room of the Curzio's, it's insane.

But I missed it. I missed the house, the tiny rooms, the homey feeling, the home. I just missed it.

I stare at a bunch of pictures hanging on the wall from when I was little and smile. There's one with Neveah when we- Shit. I still didn't get to call her yet.

Wilson! I needed to do groceries anyway, and I doubt that he won't let me use his phone. So I grab everything and run to Wilson's little grocery store, greeting some other neighbors that are excited to see me.

It's like no one has ever left the block. They're all curious about what I've been up to, what Europe's like, some have the audacity to ask me if I met anyone special, why I'm back so early, and if I finished my study.

After all the questions, I enter the store, listening to the little bell as I step inside. 'Cataleya, I wondered where you were.' I roll my eyes playfully, barely an hour has passed, and move behind the counter to sit in one of the chairs.

This place is also filled with memories. Neveah and I used to work here when we were teens. It was our first job. All thanks to Wilson.

'How have you been dear?' I look at his wrinkly face and smile. I haven't seen him in months, and I didn't realize I missed him too, until now. 'I'm keeping up, as always, how have you been?'

'I'm good, the knee is getting a bit stiff though. But besides that, everything should be fine.' He chuckles and quickly helps a customer, before turning back to me. 'Where's Neveah.' 'She's with her aunt and uncle, can I call her?'

He nods and points at the phone on the other side of the desk. 'Go wild. I'll be in the back. If you could help some of the customers for me, they love a pretty girl like you.'

I smile, because he always does this, but I don't mind and roll closer to the middle. It's twelve pm. Okay. So it's probably around six in France.

Maybe I should call later... But the earlier the better? Fuck it.

I dial her number and wait for her to pick up the phone. Pick up... Pick up... Pick- The bell chimes and I look up, smiling at two young men, before waiting for Neveah to pick up again.

And then she finally does.

'Who is it?' She asks grumpily. 'You don't seem too happy to hear from me, guess I should-' 'Cataleya!?' I giggle and watch as the two men stare at me for a second.

One of them has dark hair and the other blond, both have dark eyes.

One of them winks at me, making me turn around. I act as if I'm supposed to grab something, before turning back around.

'How- Wait! Where are you?' She asks suddenly filled with energy. 'Florida. I'm back home Neveah. See if Leon is willing to let you go so you can-' I look back up because one of the men is standing in front of me, holding up a bottle of water.

'Wait a second.' I put the phone down and scan the products, before doing the shit I used to do. 'Are you new here?' He suddenly asks.

I look straight into his dark eyes and wonder why he's even asking, but then I remember that I haven't been here for over nine months. There's probably a bunch of new people in town so, to them, I'm the new girl.

'Not really.' 'What are you doing here, Cole?' Wilson asks as he struggles to walk back to the counter.

'I'm buying water, old guy.' He jokes, making Wilson laugh a little. But the laugh is fake. I can tell because the joy doesn't reach his eyes. 'Don't go and get in trouble.'

'We could never, Will.' The other guy chimes. Cole throws a bottle of water at the dark-haired guy and smiles back at me. 'I'll see you around.'

Okay? Wilson sighs as he gets to my side of the counter and takes a seat in the other chair. 'Who were they?'

'Trouble.' He groans as he rolls to the computer. 'The blond one is called Cole and the brown-haired one is Bryan. Do not associate with them in any way Cataleya.'

'Why not?' I ask curiously. Wilson never told me to not hang out with someone before, let alone two customers. 'They do bad things to pretty girls like you.' Oh...

He sighs deeply, before helping another customer with their groceries. I slip out and get all the groceries I was supposed to get, and add some chips to the list, before walking back to the counter.

'I'm sorry if I scared you there, dear. But it's no-' 'You didn't scare me, Willson. I really appreciate you looking out for me and I'll try to stay away from them as far as I can.' He nods and smiles as he puts all the groceries in a bag, before handing it to me. 'It's on me since I haven't seen you in a while.'

'No, I'm going to-' 'Next customer!' I didn't realize that there was a line forming behind me and step out of the way. 'Wilson!' 'Don't be a stranger, I'll see you around!'

I roll my eyes and walk out of the store. I guess I'll come by later to leave some money.

I step out of the shop and close the door behind me, before heading to the crosswalk. The two boys, Cole and Bryan, are sitting on a bench next to the field. They both jump up and head towards me. Shit.

Running will only make it more obvious, but Wilson said they're trouble. I should- 'Hey you!' Bryan chimes as they get closer and closer, until they stop right next to me. 'What's your name?'

'Depends on who's asking?' I shouldn't be talking to them, but angering them will get me in more trouble. 'Didn't grandpa tell you?' Cole asks while Bryan moves to my right.

It's like they're cornering me.

But the light turns green and I start walking, wishing that I could run to my house. And I could.

If they weren't right behind me.

I can't let them know where I live, so I decide to take a detour. A short walk around the block.

'I'm Bryan and he's Cole.' They're not giving up. 'Can I help you two with anything?' I ask as politely as I can.

'You can help us by telling your name, babe.' Babe... I almost puke at the word coming out of his mouth and chuckle as I turn the other way to cross the street again. 'Why would you need to know that?'

'So I can ask you out.' I click my tongue and hold onto the bag with groceries a bit tighter. 'See, I actually have a boyfriend.' I say with my chest, trying to convince them with all I have.

'What he doesn't know, won't hurt him.' Cole chimes, stepping in front of me. Are you fucking kidding me.

I look around, noticing a few people staring at us. If I talk loud enough, let people know, I know someone will step in.

Or I could runoff.

Or I could kick one of them in the nuts and hit the other.

Or-

'Just go out with us for a drink.' Bryan chirps from beside me.

He's my type. Dark and wavy hair, tall, dark eyes, and broad shoulders. The only thing missing is tattoos.

He doesn't have any.

And according to Wilson, he's trouble. But so was Rio. Right?

No. I'm not doing this right now.

'No thank you, maybe another time.' I chime before stepping around Cole to continue walking.

'Where do you-' Cole starts, but Bryan pulls him back and walks the other way.

A breath of relief escapes my lips as I head over to another crosswalk so that I can go back home.

But just as I turn the corner, I feel someone grab my arm. I pull my arm away and turn to the hand that was reaching out to me, almost dropping the groceries so that I can run.

'It's just me.' Bryan says as if that makes it alright. 'You can't take a hint, can you?' 'Not really.' Cole is nowhere in sight, meaning he ditched him somewhere to talk to me.

'Just tell me your name.' I stop walking and slowly turn towards him, crossing my arms as I notice him looking at me for too long. 'No.'

'It would be smarter if you did.' He smirks as he steps closer. He's pretty. Very pretty.

But I'm able to resist his handsomeness and smile at him, before walking off. 'Threatening me to tell you my name, it's not the first time that happened.'

'Make of it what you want, I just want to know your name so I can moan it when we have sex.' What the fuck?

This dude is following me, two blocks away from my house, when I clearly want him to leave and has the audacity to talk to me like this?

'Excuse me?' He smirks again, before stepping closer to me, not caring about us bumping into another man walking because of it. 'Don't even try to deny it.'

See, I thought he was handsome, but he's too cocky now.

'Could you leave me alone?' I ask, raising my voice a little. 'If you tell me your name.' No.

Just when I'm about to lash out at him, tiny arms wrap around my waist, making me turn around slowly.

It's Maddy.

I quickly look back at Bryan, or at least where he's supposed to be standing, but he's not, before turning back to the little girl hugging me.

'Leya! You're back!' Another set of small arms wrap around me and I smile when I see Nathan is hugging me too. 'What are you two doing here?' I ask, hugging them back.

'We went to the park!' 'Alone?' They both nod proudly, before fighting over who gets to hold my empty hand and pulling me towards our street.

They've grown a lot and they sure became a lot stronger.

'Are you going to watch us again?' Nathan asks as we wait for the light to turn green. I look around, before looking at the little kid walking next to me. 'If your mother wants me to. Why not?'

'She's home most of the time now, so I don't think that will happen.' Maddy mumbles as we cross the street.

She is? 'Why is she home?' I ask. I remember Jessica working most of the time. She was always so busy with work that Neveah and I had to watch the kids most of the time.

Not that we cared, the children were fine.

And Matilda couldn't watch them because she was too old or something.

'Grandma is getting worse...' Oh... I did notice her stumbling a lot more than she did when I left, but that happens. 'Mommy said she's not going to make it till the end of the year.' Nathan sighs.

Oh damn... That's not something you blurt out to a kid of four and five, but that's typical Jessica.

And I think I would too if I'm being honest.

'So you two have been taking good care of her, right?' They both nod proudly and tell me a story about a drawing they made for her.

On her bedroom wall...

It's a good thing she liked it, but a bad thing that Matthew, their dad, had to repaint the whole wall.

When we get to their house, I bring them to the front door, greet everyone inside, and finally get back to my own place. I first make sure that no one's around of course.

I drop the groceries in the kitchen and sort everything out, before hearing some movement in the living room.

Fuck... It's not my mom, because it's not even three pm. So I have no idea who it might be.

I reach for a knife and try to listen for another sound. Footsteps.

Whoever it is is getting closer and closer. 'Ariana?' I turn around and hold the knife tightly, ready to stab whoever it is.

'Who the fuck are you?' I ask, pointing the knife at an older-looking man.

Okay, he doesn't look much older than my mom, but still. He's old, has dark hair with a few grey ones, and is wearing a blue button-up with fancy pants. 'I should be asking you!' He shouts, slowly raising his hands.

This dude is standing in my house, yelling at me? I step forwards, making him back up into the living room again. He bumps against the couch, almost falling because he needs to keep his eyes on me.

'I asked you first.' I sneer, waiting for him to tell me who the fuck he is. He tilts his head a little, taking me in before his eyes widen. 'You're Cataleya, aren't you?' What?

I move the knife forward, almost pressing it to his chest. 'Who are you and what are you doing in our house!?'

'I'm Theo! Theo Hall, your mother's new boyfriend!'

Theo. Theo motherfucking Hall. The guy my mother has been dating for a couple of months by now.

This is the first time I'm meeting him and this is what I do? Great first impression Ley!

I pull the knife away, clear my throat, and head back to the kitchen to finish what I was doing.

I honestly don't know what to say to him. Sorry, wouldn't be enough. But I have to try. 'I'm sorry about that.'

He rubs his chest and slowly walks towards the kitchen, looking at me strangely. 'I truly didn't mean to do that, I thought you were a-' 'It's fine. I just didn't know you would be here. If your mom had told me, I would've come by later or at least introduced myself right away.'

Right... 'She didn't know I was coming, so it's not her fault.' He chuckles and nods at me, showing me that he's joking or something. 'You look a lot like your mom.'

'Oh I know, even though my uncles always say I look more like that useless sperm donor of a dad than my mom.' His eyes widen a little, and I try to laugh it off.

I usually don't talk about my father with anyone, but it's usually like this when I do. I don't cover up the fact that it's the only good thing he did, bringing me to life. That's it. Besides that, he's useless.

But maybe I should've kept that to myself instead of blurting it out like that.

'Uhm, not to be rude, but shouldn't you be at work?' I ask, trying to change the subject. 'I only had one meeting and that ended thirty minutes ago, so I thought I was going to wait for your mom to get back home.' Wait a second...

'Did you move in here?' He takes a deep breath before he nods, and smiles sheepishly at me. 'I thought she already told you.' She did not.

'It must've slipped her mind.' I mumble, putting the flower where it belongs. 'So, how was your internship?' He asks, trying to start a conversation. Internship?

What the hell is he- Oh. Right.

I left because of school. Because I had to intern abroad. Well...

Most of the time I did other things.

Now that I think about it, I finally get how we didn't get all our hours in. There's just no way we could have with all the shit that happened over time.

And they made sure we didn't get into any trouble. It's like they didn't even have to involve us in our own studies, but it worked in the end so I'm not going to complain.

'It was very educational.' I learned a lot in those months abroad. And not just because of school. 'I heard you hit the best score?'

I don't know why, but Theo is making me awkward. Maybe it's because he's a strange man that's standing in our house, or it's just the fact that mom hasn't properly introduced us before. Or maybe it's the fact that it has just been me and my mom for most of my life and now he's here.

'Yeah, I did. Look. I have to pay Wilson for the groceries, so I'll be back later.' I say, grabbing some money, before heading to the door.

He wants to say something but swallows his words when I turn back to him.

We awkwardly stare at each other for a while, before I decide to head through the door to get the fuck out of there.

I do get what my mom sees in him though, he's tall, has dark hair, and has dark eyes. A perfect mix for her.

It's just... I don't know, maybe I'm just being selfish and I don't want to share my mom with anyone.

It has always been just us two, and Neveah of course, but most of the time just us two. And now, now that she's dating Theo, a guy that I don't know, who apparently lives with us now, it's going to be different. I just know it is.

I cross the street and head to Wilson's shop so that I can pay for the groceries.

It's around two pm, meaning that it should be a bit more crowded in the store. I could slip the money into the office and leave again. A quick in and out.

And that's exactly what I do. I slip past the customers, to the office, and place the money on his desk, before heading out again.

I bump into someone on the way out and immediately look up. 'It's you again.' The guy chimes. Shit.

It's Cole.

'It's like you want us around.' Bryan jokes, from right next to him. 'If I wanted to, you would've known.'

They look at each other, before looking back at me. 'I think we do.'

The streets look a lot more empty than I expected and I think they noticed it too.

In a swift move, they scoop me off my feet and carry me towards a van that was parked on our side of the road. I scream and see people staring for a second before they start moving.

But it's too late. The two boys lock the door and the van starts driving.

I run back to the door and get slammed into it before I can even reach the handle to open it again.

My body hurts and I feel like I'm spinning, but I try to focus on the dark figures playing in front of me.

No. No. No.

This can't be happening, I just got out of a messed up situation, and I- I kick at an arm that's reaching out for me and crawl away, deeper into the van. Shit.

'Just do it already!' A new voice chirps. It's a girl. But everything is still spinning, so I can't see what she looks like.

I can't let panic take over, it will only make this worse and I'll end up dead. I need to focus. I need to find a way out.

But everything is spinning and it's too dark to see shit.

'Let me out!' I shout at the moving individuals in front of me. 'Shut the fuck up.' Cole groans.

Someone pulls me up and pierces something sharp into my arm. No.

What is it with people and drugging me?

My body slowly goes numb and panic takes over. I want to fight back, but my body won't let me.

And then I blackout.

----

A/N: HERE WE GOOOOOO!!!!!!

Let the drama begin, right? She'll be fine. Right?

Don't forget to comment and vote!! I hope you guys still like this story!

I'll see you next time, hope you have a great day!!!