Taken.

Chapter 1

Epilogue.

Kristen awoke as a large beat of thunder shook the house. She looked at the clock, 5:45 am. She sighed, I might as well stay up, I won't be able to wake up on time if I go back to sleep. Kristen got out of the warmth of her covers stretching with her hands above her head all the way to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and put her blonde hair in a messy bun.

It was Friday and the last day of school before summer break. Kristen wasn't at all excited for summer. You see, summer may be exciting to other kids, but to Kristen it was 3 months of staying home alone with nothing to do and no one to talk to. That is, if she could find a job. She didn't have any friends, and she didn't want any. They were nothing but drama. There had been countless times where Kristen had gotten into a fight protecting her "best friends". And how did they repay her? By them starting a rumor about how her dad died from a drug overdose.

Yes, her dad was dead. Did she care? Not really, she never knew the man. But she did know that he didn't die from drugs. Her mom said he was a good man that died in a burning apartment building. Ironic right? She could see the news paper article now. "Local hero saves many citizens from burning apartment building." Yeah, priceless.

Clearing her mind Kristen shed off her favorite purple silk pj's putting on black skinny jeans, with a white hoodie and shoes. She found makeup useless. And plus, the foundation make her face feel stiff.

She looked at the clock it said 6:00 exactly. Great, what am I going to do for an hour? Her mom was probably off to work already.

Her mom had been working two jobs for as long as Kristen could remember. It's been tough, but there was nothing else that could be done.

Dragging herself down she stairs Kristen saw her mom crying on the couch, her head in her hands. "Mom?" She questioned walking up to her slouched body.

Her mom lifted her head, her blood shot eyes looking surprised to see her daughter. "H-Honey aren't you supposed to be getting ready?" She asked. Kristen sat next to her.

"I woke up early today from this stupid storm." On cue a loud burst of thunder shook the house. "Well it's supposed to be storming like this for 3 days, so get used to it." Her mother said.

Kristen's mother had stopped crying but traces of tears were still streaked onto her face. "Mom? Are you ok?" She put her hand on her mothers back rubbing up and down in a soothing motion.

"No, no I'm not. I lost my job. And I took up extra hours at the grocery store to hold us till I can get a new one. " Her mom said, more tears forming.

"You know I don't like taking night shifts but I had to. And you know my rules. No going outside at any cost and don't leave any windows or doors unlocked. I want you to keep your cellphone with you at all times, and only call if there's an emergency. Got it?" Her moms eyes were staring at her own. Kristen nodded.

Although the fact that she was going to be home alone bothered her Kristen put on a fake smile not wanting to upset her already sensitive mother. "Well I'm going to get to work. There's tv dinners in the fridge to eat when you get home from school. I'll be back at around 12:00 tonight, maybe later. So don't get worried if I start running late."

Her mother stood and leaned over to kiss her daughter's forehead. "Have a great last day of school." And with that her mother was gone.

Kristen sighed, This is going to be a long day. Getting up from the couch she made her way to the kitchen and fixed herself some eggs and bacon. Usually she never had time to eat before school. Maybe she should start waking up this early more often. It'd save her stomach from being tortured at school from having to wait to eat those terrible lunches.