Im not really sure on the ratings, Im going to put it as T for now, let me now If I should change it. Okay so basically I already have an idea of my head of where this story is going. Tbh if no one reads it I'll end up writing it still just because I wanna see how I actually make it turn out. Leave a review if you wanna? Ya I didn't think anyone would ;[

In a large city, things always went unnoticed. Missing people, new people. No one really noticed the change. Alex Russo was 15; she lived with her dad in the city. Her mom and brothers had left when she was only young. She didn't care, she didn't need them. I had decent friends at school and had a near perfect life at home with her father. She was a bit of a trouble maker and had a reputation but people didn't mind that, well the students anyway.

Alex's POV:

I woke up with the sun creeping through a slit in my curtains and my alarm blaring besides me. I rolled over hitting the button as I groaned into my pillow. It was the first day back at school after the holidays. I didn't want to get up. I closed my eyes again as I just lay there hoping to fall back into a peaceful sleep.

''ALEX UP'' My dad's voice echoed through my room as he yanked open the curtains before pulling the duvet off me as I groaned.

''Daaaaaad'' I whined.

''First day back to school, get your arse out of bed'' with that he disappeared out the room.

I stretched as I rolled to the side of my bed before standing up, trudging into the bathroom into the shower. I sighed as I got out wrapping a towel around myself; I missed the feeling of the warm water hitting my skin already. I quickly dried and straightened my hair before changing into a pair of black skinny jeans and my purple and black striped top before doing my makeup and going downstairs into the kitchen for breakfast.

''Oh look who's finally up''

''Oh shush'' I said to my dad before grabbing his slice of toast off his plate and taking a bite. He just shook his head at me before grabbing another slice from the middle of the kitchen counter.

''Come on, you're gonna be late to school'' He spoke as he followed me towards the front door stepping out behind me. ''Looks like the new neighbours are here'' I turned to see a car in the driveway and various lights on inside the house.

''Yay how exciting'' I groaned as I got into the passenger side of the car as my dad got in beside me before driving me to school. The journey was short, in walking distance but being first day back and all I really had no energy or motivation to walk.

I gave my dad a hug awkwardly in the car before getting out and walking towards the school doors. Although I had driven I was still late. I sighed as I walked into the front office to receive my schedule for this school year before heading to homeroom. I instantly went to the back of the room taking a seat next to Taylor in my usual spot which no one dared to sit in. We sat catching up as she had been on holiday for the past 2 weeks. I missed her too much.

When the bell rang for first period I groaned heading towards the bio classroom slowly. I walked into the classroom as everyone fell silent. I was confused before I looked to the back of the room to see some brunette girl sat in my seat. She was looking down at the desk UN aware of anything that was happening. I walked up to her, I was stood in front of her as I tapped her shoulder; she jumped looking up at me with scared eyes.

''You're in my seat'' I said harsher than I expected.

''S-sorry'' She said instantly attempting to gather her stuff up from the desk as people started laughing at her. She looked up with pain evident in her eyes before moving to a seat at the front of the class. I looked at her confused for a moment before taking my seat. Throughout the class people would throw paper and other things at her when the teacher wasn't looking. I just sighed not really paying attention to anything, this day was already dragging.

The next period wasn't going to be that interesting either. I had English and we were being put into a seating plan. ''back table by the window, Mitchie Torres and Alex Russo'' I looked around to see the same girl from earlier staring at oddly from across the class as we both moved silently to the desk at the back. Whilst everyone was receiving their seats I thought I'd start up conversation.

''Hey'' I said smirking at her as she looked up at me. She stared at me for a moment before turning away looking back down at her desk. ''Well that's no way to treat a person'' I continued being ignored. ''Oi you'' I said grabbing her hand as she instantly flinched, pulling her hand from my grip as she looked at me, fear in her eyes before looking down again. ''Be like that then'' I shrugged before turning away from her.

The whole period was spent in silence, which was weird for me. The mystery about this new girl was still going round my head, her name was Mitchie. That's all I knew, that and the fact that she hadn't spoken more than two words to anyone today. As more lessons passed and lunch finally arrived I walked into the cafeteria, going to my usual table to join my friends. I wasn't paying much attention to what they were saying. My eyes were focused on Mitchie across the room sat alone at the table, a tray full of food in front of her that she hadn't even touched.

I continued to watch as one of the jocks from the football team walked over to her, he winked at his friends on his table before sliding into the seat next to her and putting his arm around her waist. I watched as she visibly tensed up at his touch before she shot up out of her seat and ran out the doors. I was curious so got up and followed, sprinting down the hallway before I saw her run into the girls toilets. I walked in slowly after to hear her crying in one of the stalls. After checking the others were empty and locking the restrooms door I walked over to the stall, tapping on the door lightly.

''Hey'' I said softly. ''What's wrong?''

''G-go A-away'' She said back quietly.

''Not until you come out''

''Why, so you can all laugh at me again'' Her voice was getting louder as she spoke.

''No I'm not going to laugh at you'' I sighed.

''Just fuck off already'' She said her voice getting quieter again.

''You know what fine'' I turned unlocking the door before walking out and slamming it behind me.

''Ungrateful little bitch'' I muttered to myself as I walked back towards the cafeteria.

I walked home after school after texting my dad saying I didn't need a lift. As soon as I walked into the front I dropped my bag onto the floor and walked over to the sofa before collapsing onto it. My dad walked into the room with a box in his hands and just laughed at me.

''What's that?'' I questioned.

''Someone tried to deliver a package to next door but they weren't in, wanna take it round for me?''

''Whyyyyyyy do I have to do it''

''Causeeeeee I can't be arsed to do it myself'' I chuckled at him before getting up and taking it out his hands before heading back out the front door and walking across to next doors porch.

I was about to ring the doorbell when there was a scream from inside the house followed by someone shouting. ''SHUT THE FUCK UP BITCH'' and a loud thud. I was confused I walked back to my house and told my dad, he said I probably heard it wrong and walked back over to the house with me. He knocked on the door and a man opened it wearing only his boxers, a half empty bottle of vodka in his hand.

''What'' he spat at my dad before looking me up and down.

''This is yours'' My dad said bitterly handing him the box before there was the sound of a door creaking from inside the house. He quickly slammed the door in our faces before we could say or do anything else.

''The hell'' I said to my dad who just shrugged as we walked back to our house.

Later that night I was sat on my bed in my room, just looking at random shit on the internet when I swear I heard faint screaming from next door. I got up and walked to my window looking at the window across from mine. The blind was drawn; I couldn't see anything so I decided to just go back to bed and sleep.

The next morning had come far too soon for my liking. I quickly got myself dressed and ready for school before heading out the door. I arrived late, I didn't bother going to homeroom and I just walked straight to English not looking forward to the lesson. Eventually others started filing into the classroom. I just stared out the window not even noticing Mitchie take her seat beside me and the whole class becoming silent. I turned to look at her to see her with a black eye.

''Aww Look! Someone fixed her face for her'' Someone called out in the classroom along with various other comments. I sat there in silence looking at her until the teacher walked in and everyone shut up.

''So you gonna talk to me today then?'' I asked.

''No'' She said quietly.

''You just did'' I pointed out as she turned to look at me. ''What happened to your face'' I said not thinking about what I was saying.

''Nothing'' She mumbled quietly.

''That doesn't look like nothing.'' At that moment she looked away from me and was about to get up when I grabbed her arm pulling her back down into her seat, she whimpered at my touch so I let go. Once I did so she started rubbing her arm where my hand once was. I quickly reached over pulling her sleeve up to see a dark bruise on her arm and other smaller marks near her wrist. Before I had time to process anything she had pulled her sleeve back down again.

''What happened?'' I asked generally concerned.

''Just stop asking please'' She looked at me with tears in her eyes.

''I can't... you obviously not okay''

''Drop it!'' She said louder as the class turned around to look at us.

''Is there a problem Ms. Torres?'' Mr. Smith said.

''N-no'' She stuttered.

''Then I suggest you shut up whilst I'm speaking''

''Why don't you shut up'' I spat out as Mitchie looked at me scared.

''Well then, you Ms. Russo have just earned yourself and Mitchie a detention after school for disruption''

''WHAT'' Mitchie shouted looking up panicked. Before muttering sorry under her breath and looking away. Once the teacher was busy writing something on the board again I turned to her.

''Chill out it's just a detention''

''It's not that I'm worried about'' She whispered.

''Then what is it?'' She looked at me but didn't say anything for a while before she eventually spoke up.

''My dad is gonna flip'' She looked down as she started playing with her fingers. She was nervous.

''Why? Cause you have detention?'' I was beyond confused by now.

''Er...'' There was a pause before she spoke again. ''Yeah...'' She trailed off; I had only just met her and already knew she was lying. I didn't know what to say after that so we just sat in silence again until the bell rang and we headed off to bio. I had Mitchie is nearly all my classes which meant I could keep an eye on her. I was worried something was definitely going on. I was going to walk her to English but by the time I had looked up from the desk she was already gone.

As I was walking towards the classroom I saw some guy in his football uniform pinning someone against a locker. As I got closer I noticed that it was Mitchie who he had pinned there. She was squirming trying to get passed him but he wasn't budging. I was about to walk over when Taylor appeared in front of me. I watched her as Taylor spoke to me, about what I wasn't really listening but she was one of my best friends so I wasn't just going to walk away. I saw the guy reach up and caress Mitchie's cheek as she flinched at his touch. He forced his lips onto hers as she tried to push him off. That was when she kneed his balls as he stepped back in pain. As she tried to get away

''You bitch'' He said slamming her into the locker as she fell to the floor before he walked off. Taylor had gone by this point so I ran over to her. She had tears streaming down her face as she visibly began to shake. I touched her arm and she tensed as she looked up at me before she relaxed. I pulled her to her feet before then pulling her into a hug as she cried into my shoulder.

''I got you'' I whispered stroking her hair trying to calm her down. I don't know what she had been through or what she was going to go through at school and at home but I had already made up my mind. I was going to protect her. There was something special about her which I couldn't quite put my finger on, something really special.

I pulled her down the hallway and into an empty classroom as she sat down at a desk, I took the seat next to her and turned to look at her.

''Thank you''

''For what?'' I asked confused.

''Just speaking to me... it's a lot more than anybody else does'' I sighed looking down at the floor thinking what to talk about.

''Want to play 20 questions?'' She just shrugged before nodding so I started. It started off simple, things like favourite colour, birthday's ect but her next question confused me.

''What's your family like?'' Once I got past the confusion I was able to speak.

''Alright... I live with my dad. My mom and brothers left when I was young. How about yours?''

''I don't know'' She whispered looking down.

''What do you mean you don't know'' She just shook her head not answering the question. ''That's not fair, I answered your question'' I pointed out. She sat there in silence not looking up from the floor. I sighed. She looked up, tears already in her eyes when she spoke.

''I don't know who my mom is, my real dad ran away with me from her when I was young apparently, he died when I was 2 in a car crash. I've been in different foster homes for years until a few years ago this guy adopted me but I'd rather just live on the streets then be with him'' She spoke tears falling from her eyes.

''Why, what's wrong with him?'' I questioned. She looked away shaking her head. My head was coming up with endless possibilities of what he was like. ''Mitch?'' I asked.

''I have to go'' She got up from her seat running out the door before I could stop her.

Two days had passed since then, it was now Friday afternoon and I hadn't seen Mitchie all week. I was seriously worried and confused about everything. I felt bad for her, not having a real family. I mean sure I didn't exactly have one either but at least I knew who mine was. I wanted to learn more about her but she had a wall up, blocking anyone who got close to discovering anything about her. It wasn't until school finished for the weekend when I saw her again. I was heading home and turned the corner when I saw her only a few steps in front of me.

''Mitchie!'' I called out as I ran to catch up with her. I ran and stood in front of her to stop her from moving. She was looking at the ground her hair blocking her face. ''Mitch'' I said tilting her chin upwards to only gasp at what was in front of me. Her lip was split, a long cut running across the side of her face and her black eye was slightly faded now. She looked at me with sad eyes before starting to walk again. I quickly grabbed her wrist as she cried out in pain.

I was confused; I grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her sleeve up slightly to reveal various cuts on her wrist and up her arm. I looked up to see fear in her eyes as she tried to pull her sleeve back down.

''Why'' I asked simply.

''It helps with the pain'' She whispered as she hung her head down.

''Your coming to my house'' I said before grabbing her hand and pulling her all the way down the road towards my house. I walked up to the door pushing it open. I turned to face her; she had a shocked look on her face.

''Y-you l-live h-here'' She stated and I nodded. ''I- I can't I have to g-go'' She tried to turn and run but I grabbed her arm again and pulled her into my house closing the door behind her. She stood in the hall not moving until I grabbed her hand lightly pulling her towards the kitchen. My dad was stood there and turned around when he heard us. Mitchie instantly stepped behind me as her grip on my hand tightened.

''Why hello there'' He spoke looking directly at Mitchie slightly confused as he started to walk around the counter to us. I peeked behind me at Mitchie who looked completely terrified. ''Who's this Alex?''

''This is Mitchie'' I said trying to get her to step forward but she wouldn't. I turned around to look at her now. ''Mitchie what's wrong?'' I asked looking into her eyes to see nothing but fear. She shook her head as my dad came closer putting his hand on my back as she whimpered slightly. My dad just looked at me confused when I turned to him. ''Dad give us a sec please?'' He nodded walking away still confused.

''I have to go'' She said quietly.

''Not until you tell me what's going on'' She looked at me shaking her head.

''I can't''

''Why are you scared of my dad?'' I asked confused.

''He reminds me of someone else'' She whispered, looking around like someone was going to hear her.

''Like who Mitch. The person who did this to you? '' I asked and she stood in silence her facing going blank as she ignored the question. ''Mitchie l-''

I was interrupted by the sound of someone's phone ringing. Mitchie got hers out of nowhere and looked down at the screen before bringing it to her ear. She visibly flinched at the muffled shouts that were coming through the phone. ''Okay'' She finally said before hanging up and looking at me. ''I have to go'' As she turned and bolted for the door, it took a while for it to sink in what was happening as I ran after her. I walked out onto the street looking around but she was already gone. I stood there looking around confused at how she could have disappeared so quickly.

I was drawn out of my thoughts when I heard a scream from next door again. There was some weird shit going on there but I always ignored it not wanting to get involved with the crazy man that lived there. I walked back into the house just as my dad walked over to the front door to see where I had gone.

''Where's Mitchie?''

''She went'' I said looking past him as thoughts still swirled around in my head.

A few hours later there was a knock at the door. I went and opened it without even checking who it was first. The door swung open to reveal Mitchie stood there, completely soaked from the rain. I stepped aside letting her in instantly not saying a word.

''What are you doing outside in this weather?'' Were the first words to come out of my mouth.

''I went for a walk to clear my head'' She answered with no emotion in her voice.

''At nearly 11pm?'' She just nodded. ''Right well do you wanna stay here tonight?'' I didn't want her going back out in this weather.

''Okay'' She whispered as I called out to my dad saying she was staying over, he didn't care. I then took her hand pulling her up the stairs to my room. She just stood in the doorway unsure of what to do as I went to my draws pulling out a pair of shorts and a tank top.

''These okay?'' She looked at me in horror, blinking a few times before regaining herself.

''E-Erm, Do you h-have anything longer'' I started going through my draws again pulling out some sweats and a baggy jumper holding them up to her as she nodded. I threw them to her and she caught them before looking away. I walked into the bathroom to change telling her she could change in my room. I quickly pulled on an over sized shirt and left my shorts on. I walked out of my bathroom door just as Mitchie was pulling the jumper over herself. I looked at her in shock at the mixture of bruises covering her stomach.

''What the hell'' I blurted out as she turned around. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

''I'm clumsy, I fell down the stairs'' She said, I wasn't sure if she was lying or not but I was pretty sure you couldn't get bruises like that from falling down the stairs. I didn't want to push the subject. I climbed under the covers on my bed as Mitchie just stood there.

''Erm, your gonna have to share my bed'' I said. She nodded before walking over and getting in the other side, lying on the edge. It wasn't like there wasn't enough room, I had a double bed. ''Night Mitchie'' I whispered into the darkness of the room as I closed my eyes.

''Night''

I woke up the next morning glad it was Saturday. I rolled over to look at the clock. It was only 9am. I groaned as I got up and went to the bathroom to pee. As I was walked back into the room I saw Mitchie stirring and mumbling in her sleep. I assumed she was dreaming so went downstairs to get a glass of water. As I came back up the stairs I could hear whimpering. I ran to my room and barged in the door to see Mitchie thrashing about saying something which I couldn't understand. I put the glass down and tried to wake her up.

''Mitch'' I said grabbing her arms to stop her from moving.

''No, No.'' She kept repeating over and over. I stood up grabbing the glass of water before throwing it over her as she shot up breathing heavily with now wet hair. She looked around the room taking in her surroundings before she calmed down.

''Bad dream?'' She nodded. ''Want to talk about it?'' She shook her head. At that moment her phone started to vibrate from beside her. She looked at it before looking up at me.

''I have to go'' She said sadly as she got up.

''Wait, give me your number first'' I said as I gave her some paper to write it down on and after that she bolted out the door once again. I sighed walking downstairs to see my dad in the living room by the window.

''Alex, where does Mitchie live?'' He asked not taking his eyes off the window.

''I don't know, why?'' I asked confused.

''She just went in the house next door'' I ran to the window looking out.

''The mad guys house?'' He nodded. ''The hell'' I said.

''Is that guy her dad?'' He asked.

''No... She said she was adopted a few years ago by him'' I said

''I don't trust that guy, how would he ever be able to look after a kid''

''I know right'' I said shrugging before walking away.

Mitchie's POV:

I ran into the house as fast as I could, he wasn't near the front door waiting for me. I tip toed to the kitchen cautiously: Waiting for him to pop out at some random moment. As I approached the fridge I heard deep breathing and spun around just as he slammed me into the fridge.

''Where have you been?'' He asked growling slightly.

''I'm S-sorry. I f-forgot'' I stuttered out in fear.

''You should be'' He growled again as he grabbed my arm yanking me down to the basement as he threw me onto the mattress on the floor. I knew what was coming. It wasn't anything new to me.

''N-no p-please'' I still begged hoping he would stop but he didn't, I couldn't help the screams that escaped my lips with each hit whilst I struggled before I eventually caved, I had no energy left as I let him take over completely.

Once he was done he let me get dressed before he got up dragging me across the floor to a pole in the middle of the room. He grabbed a set of handcuffs attaching one to my wrist before attaching the other end to the pole above my head before walking upstairs and out of the room. I sat in silence for what felt like hours before there was a buzzing. I looked around to see my phone a few metres to my side. I tried stretching to reach it but that just made the handcuffs tug on my wrist as the skin broke and I cried out in pain trying not to move.

Sometimes I wondered why things always happened to me. Why I didn't know who my mom was, why my real dad took me away from her. Why did he then die in that car crash and I lived? Why did I have to spend most of my life going from different foster homes? Why did I end up with this douche that shouldn't be allowed kids and should be locked up adopting me? Why couldn't I have just died already? It was clear no one even cared. My life was just pointless. No one would miss my existence.