Alex's P.O.V:
I stared at the floor with my head in my hands, trying to calm myself down. I took huge breaths, squeezing my eyes tight. All I saw was Gracie. I snapped them back open and got up from the bed with a frustrated groan. My head pulsed angrily. I walked around my large tidy room, trying to block out the thoughts. Finally I gave in and walked to the wall where I pressed my forehead against it. My thoughts weaved their way through my crowded brain, and this time I didn't hold them back.
Gracie had only disappeared like this once before, but it was different. We were about eleven years old, I think. She had said she was going on a bike ride, she wanted me to come but I couldn't. An hour later, she wasn't back yet. But that wasn't too bad. Another hour, and we worried. Me and her sister (who was fourteen at the time) went searching for her, riding the path Gracie said she would take on our own bikes. We found her a little while later, she had lost control of her bike and skewed off the road, which unfortunately was atop a large hill, so she had tumbled down where she lay in the dirt at the bottom, covered in cuts and bruises. Her leg had broke, and she was unable to get back up. Sarah had a phone, so we soon had an ambulance to help her. I held her hand the whole ride to the hospital.
I shivered at the thought of her face, scraped and bruised, and the pain. Her pain. I felt as though it hurt me more then her. What if we found her like that again? What if it was was worse? She could be severely injured, she could be... dead. I shook my head violently. I can't think like that. I have to be positive. She's okay. We'll find her, and she'll be fine.
But, what if she wasn't? I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I should have walked home with her! It's the beginning of the second day (not including the night she didn't come home.) she's been gone. It was about noon now, and she's still missing. She's on the news, and people are searching, but nobody's seen her. And it's completely my fault.
I paced the room anxiously as thoughts such as these whirred through my mind. Deciding that I needed some fresh air, I walked out of my room. I stopped by the phone and checked the messages on the way. No one had called. Sarah and my numbers were on the posters we had hung around, but nobody seems to know anything of it. I had only got one call, and had rushed to the phone desperately to find it was a wrong number.
"Alex." My mom appeared from the kitchen, wiping some kind of food from her hands onto an apron around her waist. My mom was a very tall woman, she had long skinny limbs like me. She had a kind but stern face. She likes to get what she wants but never wants anything out of reason. She has chin-length wavy hair, the same sandy brown as my own. Her emerald eyes shine with intelligence. My mother was always an idol for me. As a young child I thought she was the most amazing thing in the world and wanted to be exactly like her. I still believe she is wonderful now, always there for me no matter what. At times too much, but I know she just wants to keep me safe.
"Yeah, mom?" I ask, my voice tired. She walks over and put her hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes. "Don't worry." She said. I sighed. "I know mom, I wo-" She interrupts me. "No. I mean it. I know how you stress." She stared at me, her eyes studying mine patiently. "I promise, okay? Can I please just go out?" I ask, pulling away from here gently. I make my way to the door.
"Alex." She calls. I stop and turn to her. "She's okay. I know it. In here." She gestured to her heart. My mom is known for making predictions, and being right. That was one of the reasons she was so good in her business. I nod and turn back, heading out the door. My mom was hardly ever wrong. I just hope now was the same. I looked up, and to one side of me the street led into the bright cheery streets of the newest and most popular stores in the city, and on the other was a darker, older part of the city with crumbling shops and overgrown plants. My house was practically right in the middle of two completely different parts of NYC. Me and Gracie would usually go to the new stores and mess with merchandise or make fun of the dumb new styles of things. I closed my eyes and lifted my face to sky. But where is Gracie? Gracie, where are you? A single drop of rain fell on my face in the corner of my eye. I lowered my head, the drop sliding down into a perfect mimic of the tears I feel inside. I take a breath, open my eyes, and walk into the dark. Completely alone.
Gracie's P.O.V:
I slept the rest of that day, and even then it was hard to get up the morning. When I woke up, Mikey seemed to magically appear to help me. The day went by pretty well. They made breakfast for me and we all ate together. I wondered where they got the food from, but it seemed rude to ask. Mikey was helpful as ever, making me feel comfortable and happy. Every time my mind wandered to my problems, he seemed to come up with something crazy or do something funny that immediately took my focus. Donnie was nice as well, but he seemed to be working all day. Mikey told me he had a lab where he worked on all kinds of cool gadgets and experiments. Raph was around, he stopped by and we exchanged a few words now and then, but he seemed a bit uneasy today. When I spook to him, he looked fidgety and distracted. I didn't understand it. But Leo was even worse. He was avoiding me, I knew it. It was as though I had did something to him, but I can't possibly think of what. He would always stay a good distance away from me and we haven't spoken all day. Throughout the day – while I was talking to Mikey, watching TV, eating, or waking up from a nap – I would notice him hanging around in the shadows, studying me. One second I saw his intense stare out of the corner of my eye, but if I looked to him, he would be gone.
I truly didn't understand. I put it out of my mind and if I saw him watching me for the rest of the day, I would pretend not to notice. By the end of the day, I still hadn't seen him come out. I wanted to talk to him, but I didn't get the chance. When I couldn't stand it any longer, I told Mikey that I was ready to sleep. Reluctantly, he left. I watched him go, then once I was sure he was gone, I got up silently and snuck down the hall he had gone though. There was five doors. The closest one on the left had a huge poster with the name "Mikey" drawn on it in huge orange block letters. All around the name were little lightning bolts and music notes, and all sorts of cool little doodles such as instruments, weapons, animals, flowers, radios, stars, flames, smiley faces, etc. It was actually a pretty cool drawing.
So that wasn't Leo. The door of the room across the hall from his was open a crack, so I crept over and peered in. It was empty. Not even a bed or anything. The room farther down on the left side had a big "STAY OUT" sign on it, so I guessed that wasn't Leo either. I moved on, investigating the last door on the right. It had nothing on it. There was a door at the end of the hall as well, but the door was wide open and that room was also empty. So I tried my luck with the one in front of me. I grasped the knob gently and turned. The door clicked open, and I stepped into the room, to find it dark. The room was tidy with pretty normal things except for the sword rack and training dummy by the bed. There was a desk with a lamp turned on in the corner, and on the desk lay an open book. His bed had blankets featuring the TV show: Space Heroes. There was posters all over the room with the same thing. I saw a shelf full of comics of, guess what? Space Heroes. He must really love them. I walk over to the shelf and leaf through the comics, noticing there was also little figurines. I picked up one that I could recognize as the Captain (I didn't know much about the show, but I at least knew that.). I studied him, noticing that on his foot the name "Leo" was scrawled on it in sharpie.
"Please don't mess with those." I gasp and whirl around to find Leo gazing at me intently from where he sat at the foot of the bed. I don't know where he was when I came in or how he got to where he was now, but he was quick. And quiet. The light from the lamp glinted off his dark blue eyes.
"Leo! I'm so sorry, I just, umm..." I trailed off. He got up and walked towards me. He stops directly in front of me, looks at me for a second, then gently takes the figurine from my hand and places it on the shelf. I watched as he adjusted the possessions to the way they were before I had fiddled with them.
"The show has always been my favorite, since I was little. My brothers make fun of me now, but I can't seem to shake the interest in them. This shelf is very important to me and not to be messed with, alright?" He turns to me. I nod my head dumbly. "Good." He says. He watches me for a moment, and there is silence.
"Sorry I came in here without permission." I said quietly, feeling embarrassed by the grip his eyes had on my face. He shrugs. "I forgive you. What's up?" I reach up, intending to fidget with my hair, but then I realize it's not there. It's a weird feeling. I drop my hands. "Well, You have just, been gone all day... I was wondering what's wrong." I look up to him. His eyes dart to the side, and he seems a bit uneasy with the question. They dart back to mine quickly.
"It's nothing, really." He says, conjuring up a smile. He has a nice smile. I don't believe his answer. He seems to notice this. "I just felt a little sick, that's all. I didn't want you to catch it, feeling as bad as you do. By the way, you seem to be walking fine." I realize this once he points it out. I look down and bent my knees a bit, pleased to see that it was a lot easier then before. I was still wobbly, now that I thought about it, but it was still better. I bounced on my toes a bit, but that made me feel extremely nauseous so I stopped, holding my stomach. I made a face at him and he smiled. I stood back up straight once the feeling had passed.
"Can I ask you a question?" He asked.
Leo's P.O.V:
"Sure." She said. Her body waited patiently but her eyes seemed to fidget and wander waiting for the answer. She was taller than I had thought she would be. Now that she was standing, I could tell she was about the same height as Mikey. Mikey had grown a lot recently though, so he might be a couple inches taller. She didn't look as weak now, either. She was skinny, but I could tell she was tough. She had muscled limbs, but not in an obvious way. You had to look twice to realize that she was actually pretty fit. I looked away, not meaning to stare.
I felt bad for the question I had to ask, but it had to be done. I gulped. "Gracie, do you have any... special people in your life?" She looked shocked with the question. Her expression changed so quickly it was like I had suddenly hit her with a truck. She inhaled sharply, looking down. She didn't answer. I pushed harder. "Your family, friends... boyfriends?" I winced at the last word, feeling like a complete jerk. She sighed deeply. "I guess I should tell you." She said. "But... there won't be much to say." She took a moment to gather her thoughts, and in that time I invited her to sit down, so we both were on my bed when she started.
"Well, my family is very small. As of now, it's just my sister, brother, and me." I assume these must be the two people who were on the news. "I could say my dad, too, but he isn't even really there. My mom died when I was nine, of cancer. It was terrible for the whole family. The only one that wasn't really effected was Ethan, my brother, because he was two at the time. But my dad lost it. He started drinking... and he never stopped. He wasn't making money, we lost our home, we lost our food. My sister Sarah, who was twelve at the time, was the one who had to be responsible for us all. She got a job as a babysitter and that's what kept us alive for some time. I helped as I could, mostly with watching Ethan. As we got older, both me and her took better jobs, her at a grocery store and me as an assistant at a local daycare. We did anything we could for money, and eventually we had money for a tiny apartment." She paused here and took a deep breath. "Of course we weren't popular. We had no good clothes, no good way to wash ourselves. We were never unclean, my sister made sure of that, but nobody wanted to mess with the scrawny poor kids who never fit in. Except for Alex." She stopped again. Leo waited for her to explain. "Alex was my best friend, my only friend. But he was all I needed. I don't know why he chose me. There were plenty of other kids who would have been his friends, would have made him part of the 'cool group'. But, he chose me, and we were the outcasts together. You could call us boyfriend and girlfriend... but it's not quite like that. I love him, yes. But in a different way. We don't kiss, or anything. But we are engaged." My brow furrowed. She emitted a hollow laugh. "As kids... we made up this promise that if we never found anyone else, we would marry each other and adopt children." She explained. "I don't know. But obviously we are still losers, and though we never talk about it, I think we both kind of secretly hold each other to it. I'm not entirely sure what we are to each other, but I know that Alex is my everything. I feel guilty to my family for saying this, but without him, I wouldn't want to go on anymore. I would rather die than see him in pain. And now... I have left him. I've broken my promise and put him in the worst pain possible. The pain of being alone." At this she turned away, because tears began falling down her cheeks. I let her have a moment.
"Gracie, I'm so sorry." I said, ashamed for making her have to give up those memories. "I never would have realized how hard it's been for you. I know now how it must feel. But this is not your fault. You didn't do any of it. They forgive you, Grace. I know they would." She just shook her head. More tears were falling. Without knowing what I was doing, I found myself wrapping my arms around her and hugging her tightly. My body hummed with the contact. "We'll help you, Grace, we'll always be here for you." And at that moment I knew it was true.
Awwww, closeness! Sorry, I ruin the moment so well. Yeah, this took quite some time, but as I don't have internet at my house now, it'll take longer for me to upload them because I have to transfer my work from my laptop into a flash drive and go somewhere with internet to upload it. So it takes a while. All I ask is that you please, please stick with me. I'm sorry for the delays, but I just hope you can be patient with me. I made a new profile picture! So check that out, if you like. It's just a turtle character I had kind of made up for myself. I'm working on a cover picture for this story, too. So that may be out with the next chapter. If you want to make my day, go ahead and review! If you take the time to read this text then you could at least leave a message. Thanks so much for reading, really appreciate it!