Gone Without A Trace

Eastern Street

(A/N: an update! Woohoo! Hope you enjoy but I just wanna say please do not call the number I have included!!)

I'd gone into a new year feeling helpless, my Tracy was still out there

And she still thinks I hate her

I get up despite not wanting too at all and face the day

Another day without Tracy

This was the definition of hell.

My phone rings and I check it to see it's mike

I ignore it after the total embarrassment of Christmas Day

TRACYS POV

I can't do this anymore. I need my mum I don't care if she's angry with me or not

I'd made enough money to get a drink and some food so I head to the mall being careful to avoid the pop up shop I'd stolen from

I regret doing that. But I need to survive

I order a sandwich and a coffee, feeling grateful that I'm not someone with no money at all

'That's £5.60 thank you' the woman says

Again. I'm short.

I hand the money over and she raises her eyebrow, clearly she couldn't tell I had no way of getting the money to buy her precious coffee

'This is three pound short, incase you couldn't tell' she says, glaring at me

'Michelle! We need you out back!' Someone shouts

'Wait there' Michelle says before walking away

I can't steal again...

I put my hood up before I grab the coffee and sandwich and make a run for it knowing it was wrong

I made a mistake wearing a hood because one of the customers grabs it as Michelle comes back out

'Get off me!!' I say desperately trying to shake them off

'Right I'm calling the police' Michelle says smugly

'Please don't!' I beg her

'Okay okay you want the truth?' I say trying to distract her

'No I don't want a sob story, you should know stealing is wrong and you had all intentions of going through with it' she says

'You try living on the streets!' I say angrily before realising I'm in a packed coffee shop

Her face softens a little

'Really?' She asks

I nod trying not to cry

'Everything I own is in this bag I have to steal to get by, I don't want too. I don't find it fun' I say

She hands me back the coffee and the sandwich

'Let's take these into the back yeah?' She says

I nod and follow her lead

'I'm so sorry' I start off with

She doesn't say anything

'Are you okay?' I ask her

'My sister...she was in the same position as you, and I know I would have helped her if she came to me' she says

'Was?' I say worriedly

'We found her body two weeks ago...I'm honestly surprised I'm back at work, but it's a distraction...' she says sadly

'I'm so sorry' I say, shocked that this actually happens regularly and people lose their lives because of it

It needs to stop.

'You're not the first to say that. And I highly doubt you'll be the last' she says

It falls silent and I look over to see her in tears

'Her parents had a massive argument with her, so she came to live with me, I had a go at her one night, chucked her out...I'll never forgive myself' she says

'You weren't to know' I say, trying to comfort a complete stranger which is hard to do

I hand her a tissue and she nods gratefully

'So where do you call home now?' She asks

'Just down eastern street, and the alley is my place' I say sadly

'I'm so sorry' she says

'Mind me asking what happened with you?' She adds

'I've always had this dream of being a writer, felt like it was really for me, like it was made for me you know?' I say

She nods, she obviously gets it, well I hope she does anyway

'And so I asked my foster mum if I could borrow some money to get my book published, she said she would think about it over and over and it reminded me of when she was considering fostering me, anyway I gave up after a couple months and I...I stole the money myself' I say

She looks shocked and then sympathetic

'It was a huge mistake and I regret doing it so much I love her more than I can say and to be honest she means the world to me, I never meant to upset her, I just wanted to make her proud' I say, sadly, knowing I did anything but

All of a sudden a man comes into the back room

'Charlotte you're supposed to be working! Get back out there!' He shouts completely not acknowledging me

She takes my hand and gives me a hug

'It'll be okay, just please go home, she probably misses you' Charlotte says

I nod, she's right

'Thank you, for the talk' I say, smiling at her, before leaving the backroom and running outside

CHARLOTTES POV

I hope she finds her foster mum

'Charlotte now!' My boss shouts

'Yeah I heard you the first time!' I say, annoyed before walking out but as I do I see a piece of paper it must've slipped out of her bag

I check it and it's a phone number

MUM - 07512843346

She's been considering calling her mum the whole time...

I pick up my phone and dial the number

'Who's this?' The woman says on the end

'Hi, I've seen your daughter, she came in to our coffee shop and I talked to her, she dropped a piece of paper with your phone number on, she told me what happened and she really needs you right now she's just scared you're not going to forgive her' I say

'Thank you so so much for telling me, I need to find her, any idea where she went?' She says

'Down Eastern Street And into the alley she said she's stopping there' I say

'Thank you so so much you have no idea what you've done' the woman says happily before hanging up

CAMS POV

Someone's seen Tracy! My little girl is alive!

I hurriedly dial Mikes number and he picks up instantly

'Cam thank god your okay! Look about Christmas, I'm sorry' he says

'Forget that now, someone's seen Tracy!' I say excitedly

'Really?' He says

'Yep! And I'm gonna go find her' I say smiling

'Wait at yours a second and I'll come with you' he says

'Thanks mike' I say before hanging up

I'm beside myself with happiness right now, wondering what I'm going to say when I see her

I run down to Mikes car he seems happy to see me

'Eastern street' I say to him, he nods and we drive off