So I am begining to upload the rewrites of the chapters. I have the first few so I will upload them and delete the other chapters. Thanks for sticking with me on this! Also note that this has not been beta'd or brit-picked. Sorry about that. Still, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

July 6, 2011

Alexis Hooper was only 15 when she first began to regret her life choices. At least, the ones involving her telling her gym teacher about the girls who tried to take her picture in the locker room and when she believed attempting to run away from home in the middle of the night was a good idea. These two choices, to her, really summed up the past six months of her life in Liverpool, England.

Molly Hooper was 31 when she received a phone call from her Aunt Amelia one evening where she learned about her younger cousins bullying (something Molly could sadly relate to) and runaway attempt. This was also when her aunt mentioned the idea of having Alexis spend the rest of the summer in London, where Molly currently resided. At first, Molly tried to decline the prospecting idea but after some pleading she eventually agreed. Molly Hooper was, however, the woman who cared and it'd really shown the past few weeks prior to her aunt's idea.

The two cousins had a 16 year age difference and with Molly's job at the morgue and Alexis' teenage rebellion it wasn't too surprising the cousins didn't have much in the way of common ground. Still, the day Alexis Hooper arrived at the train station in London clutching one of Molly's favorite childhood books things began to look up for their relationship. Of course, Molly didn't even see Alexis until 10 minutes after her train arrived when she was paged to the front desk. Apparently floral clothing and light-chocolate hair blended in pretty easily in a crowded train station. Molly started flustering up immediately and apologized a numerous amount of times before the incident was forgotten.

(Alexis swears up and down Molly was apologizing more than usual and she thinks it's because Molly just wanted to hear the words flow out of her mouth, if that makes any sense at all.)

The taxi ride to Molly's flat was spent awkwardly as they talked about everyday things ("How's the weather in Liverpool?" "Same here: rainy.") and treaded on topics that weren't to be treaded on ("Did you hear about that detective guy? I heard he was a fraud." "Yeah, that's what everyone's saying…").

Molly's flat was what Alexis would describe as basic, homey, and totally Molly. There were two rooms, one bath, a kitchen and a living room. The place opened up in the corner of the living room where there was a maroon couch, two black wooden side tables, a matching coffee table and to the far left a small wooden tables that could fit more than a few people. To the right there was small kitchen that contained the basics; a stove, oven, dishwasher, a fridge, and a little breakfast bar that was the only thing separating the kitchen from the living room. Directly across from the entrance there was a little hallway that led to the two rooms with a bathroom separating them. Alexis wasn't allowed to see Molly's but was instead led to her room almost as soon as she entered the flat. The room had a double bed with a lightly-colored floral bedspread, a little desk, a small closet and a dresser. To Alexis, it was perfect.

Their first evening together was spent with the two tiptoeing around each other as they each tried to be as polite as ever. Neither of them wanted to mess up and come off as rude or mean. This was, as some called it, the Hooper curse inherited from the two's fathers. They ordered take-out before Alexis retreated into her room. Alexis messed around on her laptop for a while before hearing Molly laughing. Alexis snuck into the living room where she found her older cousin curled up in PJs, holding a cat to her chest, and watching a rom-com.

It didn't take more than a second for Molly to notice her cousin's presence and she muted the movie. "Is it too loud?" she asked softly, pushing her hair out of her face.

"No," Alexis shook her head rapidly. "No, no. It's just." She began to rock back and forth on her heels. "I really like this movie."

Molly gave her a smile before asking, "Would you like to watch?"

Alexis nodded and Molly scooted over a bit so Alexis would have some space. The two brunette cousins spent the next hour laughing and grinning as they found their common ground.

"What's your cat's name?" Alexis asked with a yawn after the movie was finished.

"Toby." Molly replied, setting her cat on the ground.

"Like the character from Winter's Dream?" Alexis looked at Molly expectantly.

"Yeah. You've read it?"

"Oh, I love it." Alexis grinned and Molly echoed her.

A few minutes later, after they'd finished getting ready for bed, Alexis poked her head out of her room and said to her cousin, "I have a good feeling about this summer. I'm talking about peace, relaxation, and rom-coms. What could possibly go wrong?"

Molly frowned as Alexis closed her door. Climbing into bed, Molly couldn't help but think of all the things that could go wrong and each and every one of them related to a dark-haired man the world believed to be dead.

The thing was this man was still alive.