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Chapter 8: Burden

Alex got up carefully, who would bang on her window so obnoxiously early? Someone demented obviously. 'Okay Alex take a deep breath and just open the blinds. No one's going to jump out at you. It's probably just a tree branch.' She looked around the room. 'Still I should warn Mitchie so she knows if something happens.'

Making her way from the window and to her door she stopped before she turned the lock. Mitchie went to Tess Tyler's house for a 'girls get to know ya night'. 'Great so I'm home alone.'

Shaking her head, she shook off the ridiculousness that she was being and confidently opened the blinds.

A piercing scream left her mouth at the face in her window. Jumping back she reached for her phone on her nightstand and sprinted to the door, unlocking it and throwing it open she made her way down the dark hallway to Mitchie's room, locking the door securely behind her.

Her fingers flew over the three buttons she'd never dialed together.

"911 emergency how can I help you?"

"My name is Alex Russo, I live at 1465 Beach Lane. Someone's trying to break in my house." Her voice was rushed and quiet.

"We'll have someone right there." The dial tone clicked in her ear. A few minutes later sirens and flashing lights coated her house.

Everything else passed in a blur. A banging on the door to Mitchie's room broke her trance she'd fallen into. Carefully opening the door she was greeted by four uniforms. 10 minutes later, she had managed to make her way downstairs and was seated in the brightly lit living room.

"Ms. Russo can you please tell me what happened tonight?"

"Alex!"

"Mitchie!"

"Girls!"

Three distinct voices were trying to push their way through the mass of photographers, police officers, neighbors, and spectators.

"Nate…" Alex bolted from her seat, squeezing through all the gathered people. Seeing Nate's curly head bobbing into view, Alex headed in that directions. When she reached him she threw her arms around his neck, clinging for dear life. Camera flashes doubled in speed and intensity.

"Alex are you okay?" Nate pulled back, looking at her face for signs of injury.

"Excuse me, we should take this inside." Alex, Nate, Shane, and Jason nodded at the commanding officer as they followed him into the house.

"Mitchie's not here Shane, you can relax." Alex rested her head against Nate's chest as they all sat down in the living room.

"Does anyone else live here Ms. Russo?" The officer took out his notebook.

"My friend Mitchie Torres." Alex paused, "She stayed the night at a co-workers house."

"Who's house exactly Ms. Russo." The officer stopped writing to look at Alex in the eyes.

"Tess Tyler." Alex answered evenly.

"Can you tell me what exactly happened?" The officer's tone was slightly softer than before.

Alex closed her eyes and took a breath. She nodded her head slowly. "Around 1:30 I heard a tapping at my window. After debating what to do, I opened the blinds, there was a man on a ladder. I screamed. I think he took a picture, but I wasn't paying attention to him anymore. I grabbed my phone, ran to Mitchie's room, locked the door and called the police." She shook her head, "It was all a blur." She shuddered and maneuvered herself closer to Nate. Nate's arm's wrapped around her more securely as he brought her to sit on his lap.

"Do you need anything else?" Jason asked the officer.

The man shook his head, "He left the ladder, which undoubtedly means fingerprints. We also have footprints so we should be able to find the guy. Honestly Ms. Russo, it sounds like an esteemed member of the paparazzi."

Alex nodded in agreement and laced a hand through Nate's "I agree." She muttered.

"Why don't you stay at our house. Or do you want us to stay here?" Nate rubbed his thumb gently over her knuckles.

Alex pulled away and stood up. She walked over to the window and opened the curtains, flinching as cameras went off. "Stay here." She murmured as Nate wrapped his arms around her from behind. "You guys don't have to stay, you should go home and get some sleep."

Jason shook his head, "No way in hell Alex Russo. We're staying with you for the next couple of nights. Get used to it."

"We're not leaving until we feel comfortable that this creep isn't coming back." Shane said leaning back.

"Should someone call Mitchie?" Jason asked, picking up the house phone, "Or your parents?"

Alex thought for a moment, "We'll tell Mitchie that a paparazzo trespassed, but the cops ran him off. Leave out the details, there's no need to scare her. I'll do the same with our mothers. Hopefully this won't be all over E! News."

Shane, Nate, and Jason exchanged a look. "You won't say anything to anyone. I'm fine." Alex continued her southern accent she'd acquired from growing up in Texas, breaking through. "Leave it. Now do you guys wanna catch some more sleep? Are you hungry?" she glanced at the clock, "I can make 3 AM pancakes."

A selfless martyr. A suffer in silence person. Too strong for her own good. "I'll help with the pancakes. I'm sure Shane and Jason would rather watch TV." Nate smiled at Alex as she turned to head to the kitchen. "Call Mitchie and for now do as Alex said. Tell her there's no reason to come home if she doesn't want to." Nate whispered to Shane as he followed Alex.

He found her standing by the sink, silently mixing the batter, "You sure you're okay?"

She looked up smiling, "Fine. Overreacted is all."

"Alex," Nate took the bowl from her viselike grip, "you acted perfectly normal. In a scary situation you kept your head. But come on." He set the bowl down and gently cupped her face in his hands. "It's just me. You don't have to be strong around me."

Alex shook her head loose of his light hold. "Yes I do. You don't understand Nate. I have to be. All the time about everything. Mitchie can't handle any form of responsibility. She's not capable. She's always had everything handed to her on a silver platter. If this had been her instead of me," Alex stopped. "that guy would've gotten more than a picture." She picked the bowl up and began stirring again, "I have to be strong. And I am strong. It's how life works. It's not fair that others can be irresponsible and then there are those that have no choice. Me and my mom, well we have to be. It's never been easy. Phil was the best thing that happened to her. But now I'm right back where she was only I have it easier because I'm minus the burden of a child. It's just how it is."

She walked over to the simmering hot pan and began pouring small circles of batter that were forming into delicious pancakes. She set the bowl down and walked over to the fridge, pulling out blueberries and dropping them into the pan to mix with the batter.

"Jason's not going to like that." Nate taunted slightly.

"Jason likes fruit more than he lets on." Alex whispered.

"You still don't have to be strong around me. I could be your Phil, only better cause I'm me." Alex hit his stomach lightly. "I could be the best thing that happened to you. You don't always have to be strong. You can't always be strong."

"I can always be strong. I have always been strong. And I will always be strong." Alex determined.

Nate sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Realizing he wasn't going to make a breakthrough with that conversation, he walked over to the cabinet that held plates and pulled four out. Walking over to the pantry he pulled out the coffee. "Just press start, it's already ready, I did that yesterday when we finished with the coffee."

She wasn't kidding when she said she was the responsible one, Mitchie couldn't even make a pot of coffee. Nate nodded and pressed the start button.

"So…" Nate tried to fill the silence that had fallen between them, "When do you start shooting?"

"Monday."

"You excited?" Nate asked turning to face her, he pulled himself up onto the granite counter top.

Alex shrugged her shoulders, "I guess."

"Nervous?" Nate tried to pin the emotion down.

"Not really." Alex answered.

"Are you mad at me? Or are you just in an 'answer Nate in two words or less' mood?" Nate poked fun at her.

"I'm fine."

"That wasn't the question…..Lex, come on, what's on your mind?" She didn't respond, "If you don't answer I can't try to make it better."

Alex slammed the bowl she was rinsing out against the sink, shattering it. "I don't need you to make it better Nate." She shrieked. "It's not your job. I'm not your burden." Shane and Jason were watching in the doorway with wide eyes. "You don't have to baby me cause you think I'm shaken up. I'm not okay? You guys don' have to be here you can go home. You don't have to stress about the two girls who live next door alright? I can take care of myself and Mitchie. I don't need and savior got it? I'm not about to burden someone else." She looked down into the sink, "Damn it I liked that bowl." She muttered as she carefully began pulling the large pieces of glass up and throwing them away in the nearby garbage can.

"You done Alex?" Nate asked standing up and walking next to her.

"No." She muttered under her breath.

Nate chuckled, "Okay what else?"

Alex looked up, her eyes blazing, "You think this is funny?"

Nate tried to suppress his laughter, but a smile was twisting its way up onto his face, "Yeah, actually I do think it's funny. You're being ridiculous if you think you're a burden to us. To me. You're not a burden. You're a joy."

"What are you a parent?" Alex spat out sarcastically.

"Not yet, maybe one day." He shrugged his shoulders.

Alex just continued to glare at him as she picked the pieces up, "Shit!" She looked down at her finger, which was bleeding. She violently threw the bloody piece of glass in the garbage can.

"Band aids?" Nate asked.

Alex shook her head walked over to the cabinet full of medicine. Nate rolled his eyes and reached over her head, grabbing what he needed. "Don't be a baby, let me take care of you." Before she could protest he continued, "Humor me, let me do what I want for a minute." Alex rolled her eyes, but stuck her hand out nonetheless. "You're a lot more stubborn than I thought, but I love a good competition." He whispered in her ear. She shivered lightly.

"Food's ready." She mumbled, pulling out of Nate's grasp once the band-aid was securely in place.

"I'm starving!" Shane sprinted the few feet over to the mountain of pancakes. "Awesome, chocolate chip!"

Once they were all seated, Jason took the first bite, "This is sooooo good." He gushed.

Shane swallowed his bite, "I agree, blueberry, not chocolate chip. So much better."

"Blueberry?" Jason asked. "Then why is it good? Blueberries are fruit."

Alex rolled her eyes, "Fruit is good moron."

Nate leaned over, "One day he's not going to let you feed him." He whispered in her ear.

When he pulled back Alex smirked and leaned into him, "Every think if maybe he wasn't the one I was intent on feeding?"

"Alex? Shane? Jason? Nate?"

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Mollie XOXO