Nothing mattered to Jack Starbright anymore.
She had no money. Her employer was dead. Her family was across the ocean. She lived in a house that wasn't hers. And the little boy she cared about most was probably dead.
That day, he had just gone out the door, boiled egg in hand. He didn't eat Pop-Tarts very much. He insisted on staying healthy. It kept his immune system up, and he had high hopes that by doing so, his scars might go away sooner.
He didn't like his scars. They reminded him too much of how he had gotten them. They were all over his body.
Beginning to crack at the shell, an unmarked, black, four door Sedan came up the driveway, blocking his path to the sidewalk.
Jack was watching the encounter from a large window in the kitchen.
He looked back at Jack, a wear but unsurprised look on his face. He knew that the person driving the Sedan wasn't a friend. His friends were at school.
And Jack.
Jack hadn't seen the look on his face when he looked back at the car, but she was sure it was a tired, accepting look. He was too young for that kind look.
He turned to face Jack. His eyes were almost apologetic, and he gave a final good-bye wave and an unwilling smile.
Then he opened the door to the backseat and never came back.
Jack had been left to deal with his affairs. She'd told the school he'd been accepted to a small boarding school in France. She'd had to tell Tom the truth. He had asked for the real story, and Jack couldn't lie. Not to his best friend.
The expression on Tom's face but a dagger in her heart. He looked like an abandoned puppy.
What killed Jack was the day it had happened. Whoever it was had either under planned or decided to make his favorite day of the year into the least. That day was supposed to be carefree and fun. Not the day he probably died.
He had disappeared on February 2, 2008. Alex Rider disappeared on his birthday.
My first Alex Rider fanfic. Oneshot. Reviews make me smile, flames make me laugh. Constructiv crit is always appreciated.