It has been 11 years since Alex saw Mary. He stopped thinking of her after some time. His grandparents had gotten it into his head to focus on other things. With each passing year his grandmother got even more bitter. He couldn't say the name Mary without getting locked in his room without food for two days. He decided to excel in his studies. He passed all of his classes easily. He knew the quicker he finished his classes the faster he could get away from his grandparents. However, he started to miss a certain someone from his past. With all his grandparents nagging and the obnoxious rich kids from his school it was bound to happen. Time had made him curious of how she was doing. So he found her on Facebook. Luckily she was as curious as he, and they decided to meet for coffee. Katlyn Berry, Alex's childhood friend. She lived in AxeWood but moved after the whole event. Almost everyone had. The neighborhood took on quite the name. It also brought unwanted attention to some people that intended to stay out of the common eye. Alex ordered a simple hot chocolate. He never could stand the bitter taste of coffee. Every time the bell on the door chimed he felt his hands start to sweat. He pulled out his phone checking the time once again. His phone read September 4, 5:30. He sighed, maybe she wasn't as curious as she had said. She was an hour late. As Alex was contemplating leaving he heard the chair in front of him move. He looked up expectantly only to find the waitress once again. "Sir, we close in thirty minutes" she said quietly. "Alright I'll just be five more minutes" he said with a hint of disappointment. He watched the clock and with each tick he felt discouraged. After five minutes he grabbed his bag and keys and walked to the door. As he opened the door someone else was coming in. A smile raced to his lips when he came face to face with Kate. It changed quickly to a look of worry when he took in her appearance. Tears were streaming down her face. He quickly pulled her in for a hug. Then led her to his car. Once they were alone he asked her "Kate..what's going on"? She calmed herself down then started. " I..I was on my way here b..but then she came out of nowhere. She told me she had enough money to make sure my mother was harmed if I came to meet you. I was so scared. I ran towards home but I ended up walking back here. I don't know what to do". "Who is she. What did she look like? We need to go to the police" Alex said rushing to turn on the engine. She grabbed his hand quickly "NO...no. You won't want to go there once I say who". "Well then..who was it". Kate sighed and thought about lying. She didn't know why she even came to meet Alex. She figured he wouldn't believe her anyways. She looked at him with a serious face "Alice". Alex looked at her like she was crazy. "What are you talking about? Why would my grandmother threaten you"? She looked at him frustrated "Thats funny. You think I know..my mom just got threatened Alex if I knew I wouldn't be here". Alex raised his eyebrow "Ahh sassy as always" he chuckled. "Alex this is serious" she looked at him annoyed. He sighed and grabbed her hand "I know I know. How about I drive you home and we can talk on the way there. We'll check on your mom and figure this out". He looked at her for her approval. She thought for a moment then nodded slowly. She wasn't sure what Alex's grandmother was up to, but she knew she could trust Alex. As they drove towards Kate's house they talked about how they've been, and how his grandmother had changed. She asked him questions about Mary that he couldn't seem to answer which bothered him. Once his mind got questions he wouldn't stop until he found the answers. "So you haven't seen her for 11 years and you didn't bother to give her a call"? Kate asked. "Look it's not that simple when it comes to my grandparents. They told me she was crazy like my parents, and that she wouldn't be able to take care of me. I couldn't get anywhere near a phone book to search for her, and they had all my tech on lock down. That's probably how they found out we were meeting. I didn't think much about it after awhile. I've just been trying to survive. I'm so close to moving out". He said as he pulled into her driveway. He glanced in her direction and saw her hands clench as she drew in a breath. "Hey it'll be alright. You aren't alone. Are you ready to go in"? She looked at him and breathed out "as ready as I can be".
