-One hour later-
Having been told by Joey that Alexis was missing Brooke instantly left the house and jumped into her car and drove straight to the school Alexis attended, upon finding out that all the staff had gone home and the school keeper didn't know anything about Alexis disappearing she drove down the street for about two miles in each direction looking for anything that would possibly attract the attention of Alexis. But she had no luck in either direction so eventually she drove to the beach dilberatley driving to the secluded area of the beach to allow herself to think and hoping it would make her mind start working but she couldn't get a control of her emotions, mainly her fear for her younger sister especially considering that Alexis was unnerved by big crowds and new places unless it was explained to her.
After ignoring everyone's calls for the whole hour hoping that if she kept the line clear Alexis might call her, although she knew that deep down when Alexis was scared she did what most people did, she hid away from people hoping that the bad thing would go away. After sitting on the beach front for ten minutes she couldn't handle the thoughts whirling in her head she unlocked her phone called Mel telling her where she was, every second she spoke with Mel she knew that Alexis was still out there all alone and probably scared mindless. As she spoke to Mel they both listed places they thought she might be as they were speaking Charlie had arrived and told them that she had a officers out looking for Alexis and she needed a picture of her. After about twenty minutes on the phone Mel could tell that Brooke was getting more and more aggetated so she told Brooke to come back to the house and after five minutes of Mel literally nagging her she agreed hanging up the phone she walked to her car getting in and driving back to the house.
As she parked the car in the driveway she noticed that Taylor was sitting on the front steps, as she got out of her car she locked the door and walked towards Taylor sitting down next to her. Sensing Taylor was blaming herself she placed a arm around her little sister pulling her slightly closer. "You know none of this is your fault right?" She softly ventured
"How is it not my fault she was upset and I got angry instead of being calm like you taught me" Taylor anwered looking at the ground intently
"I know you wanna blame yourself because that makes things easier to handle, But its a lot harder to put things your told into practice especially with a special needs person"
"But she's not just a person she's my sister"
"I know, I know it seems like it should be easier because we're related to her but in reality it's harder because sometimes we have to go against what our heart wants to make sure she gets the best out of her life. And sometimes that means doing normal things like telling her no"
"You think so?"
"I know so Tay, when you were younger I went through all of this with Alexis and she was a hundred times worse than she is now, it's hard at the beginning finding the right words to describe to her that something is wrong without upsetting her. And nine times out of ten its impossible to do so."
"Does it get any easier?" She asked looking up into Brooke's eyes.
"Its never easy but it does get a little easier yeah" Pausing for a second to think of the right think to say "After a while it becomes like a second instinct you know what to say without even thinking about it"
"What about the physical side?" Taylor asked her hand gently touching the cuts on her face
"That never gets easier" Seeing the disheartened look on Taylors face she continued "But you do learn the signs of when its gonna turn physical, And I'll teach you ways to defend yourself and hold her down without either of you getting hurt in the process...But only if you want me too"
"That's be great thanks Brooke" Taylor replied smiling brightly leaning her head on Brooke's shoulder closing her eyes and telling herself inside that Brooke was right and what had happened wasn't her fault.
Meanwhile at the police station
Charlie was sitting at her desk though she had wanted to stay with Joey and help find Alexis Joey had told her to leave she had only agreed incase Frankee had come back and made the situation ten times worse by making remarks about Charlie's former indiscreations. Along with that she had to think about the police station she was more likely to be of use if she was at the station running things and keeping her ears to the ground incase she heard anything useful.
She had been staring at her phone for about ten minutes staring at Joey's number which was on the screen, debating in her head whether to call her or not she knew that the likely hood was that Frankee was back and was now attached to Joey's hip looking over Joey's shoulder at every move she made. Finally she decided to be proactive in the search for Alexis she laready had two patrol cars out looking for anyone matching Alexis' description but she wanted to be out there actively looking for Alexis after all she knew what Alexis looked like and over the Eight months she'd known Alexis she knew that if she saw a stranger she would more than likely run away for fear of upsetting Brooke.
As she reached her patrol car she stopped when she heard Georgia shouting behind her, as Georgia reached her she simply stated that she wanted to help Charlie look for Alexis even though her and Brooke had ended on bad terms, they both got into the patrol car turning on the engine on Charlie drove in the direction of the beach remembering that Joey had told her Alexis loved being around the ocean.
Unknown to her a white man with light brown hair and dressed in a navy blue suit was stood across the road from the police station watching every step she took, as the car drove away the man walked to a black car and got inside it driving in the opposite direction of the patrol car completely undetected by anyone at or around the station.
Back at the house
After convincing Taylor to come back inside Brooke and Mel were now in the kitchen making everyone drinks to calm them all down while they decided what their next action would be, nobody had heard from Frankee since she had walked out after her and Joey had exchanged words what the exchange was about Joey wouldn't reveal but all Brooke knew was that the next time she saw Frankee somebody would probably have to pull them apart. As she was lost in her thoughts she felt Mel softly grip her hand bringing her out of her thoughts and back into reality as she looked at up Mel's face she tried and failed to muster a convincing smile which in turn resulted in Mel pulling her into a hug,
"We're going to find her you know that right?" Mel asked hoping that she could somehow reassure Brooke
"I hope so, I think its about time this family got a break" She replied burying her head in Mel's shoulders as she did she breathed in the smell of Mel's perfume it always seemed to have a calming infulence on her, it made her feel safe and like everything was going to be ok.
"Did Taylor tell you what happened between her and Lexi?"
"No she didn't, all I know is it shook Taylor up a bit"
"Well that's fair enough Lexi's never hit her before" When Brooke nodded her head in agreement Mel continued "Maybe you should talk to Taylor and try and find out what exactly happened?"
"I don't want to upset her even more, she's already blaming herself for Lexi running away?"
"Neither do I but we don't know how bad the agruement was or what it was about?, if we knew maybe we could have a better idea of where Lexi might go to or why she's not back?" As she completed her sentence Mel looked Brooke in the eyes she moved over to Brooke taking her hands in her own, "Whatever you want to do I'm here for you"
"Thank you" Brooke replied squeezing Mel's hands softly, when Mel went to walk away Brooke kept hold of her right hand causing Mel to turn and face her "What you asked me before?"
"It's ok I can wait for an answer, Finding Lexi is more important than anything else at the moment"
"I don't have an answer for you at the moment, I don't know where this is gonna lead for us, all I know is I've been fighting my feelings since we split and I can't fight anymore" Brooke honestly replied she knew it may not be what Mel wanted to hear but she had to be honest with her.
"I understand, look we can talk properly about this after we find Lexi, and no matter what I'm here for you, ok?"
"Ok" Brooke smiled softly at Mel releasing her hand, having picked up two cups of tea Mel walked towards the kitchen door to enter the front room just before she reached it Brooke asked "Can you ask Taylor to come in here please?" Mel nodded and walked into the front room seconds later Talyor came into the kitchen looking slightly nervous and afraid that she had done something wrong "Don't be nervous I just wanna ask you something?"
"Is it about Alexis running away?"
"I hate to do this to you Tay, but I need to know why she ran off like that?"
"Ok but you can't get mad about it promise?" Taylor nervously replied walking over to the table and sitting down
"Sure I promise" Joining Taylor at the table "So lets start with why you were the one picking her up, I thought it was Frankee's turn today?"
Brooke and Taylor had been talking for the past ten minutes, after having explained that Frankee didn't turn up to collect Alexis so the school had called the house phone but got no answer they called Taylors mobile which up until three weeks before was Brooke contact number, having answered that call Taylor had gone to the school instantly,
"You know what she's like when things change and your not there?" Brooke nodded allowing Taylor to continue "She got really upset as we were walking to the bus stop, she kept calling for you and everyone was staring at us so I told her to be quite but she was really upset. She kept sayin she wanted to see you so I shouted really loudly at her and she ran off"
"So when did she hit you?" Brooke asked part of her was really angry at Taylor for losing her temper with Alexis but having been there herself she knew just how hard It was to control her emotions sometimes
"I ran after her and when I caught up with her I grabbed her arm and told her that she was bad for trying to run away from me like that. She got really upset I gave her a hug and when I patted her softly on the back she just went crazy and started hitting me. I tried not to cry but it hurt really badly when she saw I was crying she stopped. She tried to take my hand to say sorry but I flinched and she ran away"
When Brooke didn't say anything tears started to fall from Taylors eyes, seeing her little sister was upset Brooke moved closer leaving her seat to bend down infront of Taylor, wiping her tears away Brooke softly said "Its ok, your only human Taylor when your get hit it hurts and you get scared. You flinched because this is the first time this has happened to you. and that's fine this isn't your fault ok" Pulling her little sister into a hug Brooke squeezed her tightly hoping this would be over really soon.
As they pulled apart Brooke could see that there were still tears in Taylors eyes she tried to think of things that would make her smile but she couldn't get the bad thoughts about what could happen to Alexis out of her head and she knew that the same thoughts would be going through Taylors head but they would be a million times more violent and grim. She could remember what she felt the first time Alexis hit her, the feelings of fear and a small amount of hatred that crept into her brain not that she ever hated Alexis for hitting her she knew that it was her way of expressing her anger. And while it was something that in time she had come to understand it was still something that she resented her for and for that she hated herself.
Brooke was about to speak when the kitchen door opened up and Mel walked into the kitchen seeing that the two sisters were still in a quite intimate conversation so she quickly spoke, "Sorry I'll leave you to it" Before Mel could leave the kitchen Taylor had almost desperately called out Mel's name, causing Mel to stop in her tracks and turn around as she did she saw Taylor stand from her seat and quickly walk towards her wrapping her arms around Mel's waist and holding on tightly to her.
"I'm sorry Mel, I didn't mean for her to run away"
"Hey bud its ok, she'll come back. She always does. This isn't your fault and nobody is blaming you"
"Really? But what if she doesn't come back"
"She always comes back, she's just like you and Brooke when her tummy starts rumbling she comes running home" Mel's comment caused Taylor to giggle softly into Mel's chest.
"Mel's right Tay" Brooke agreed, she couldn't help but smile brightly at Mel thinking to herself that it still amazed her how Mel could ease Taylors fears about most things, before her and Mel had split she had always assumed that it was because Brooke trusted Mel so much and Taylor sensed that, but now she guessed that it was more because Taylor had grown up with Mel there as almost another sister.
As Brooke looked at Mel all she could think about was how much she had missed being with her, and how since she was attacked in the back garden Mel had helped her every step of the way without wanting anything but forgiveness in return, but even more amazing to her was that no matter how rude or angry she got with her Mel never once walked away from her, even Georgia hadn't had the patience to deal with the situation even though she was a police officer.
Brooke smiled at Mel who instantly smiled back, both of them fully concentrated on making sure Taylor knew this wasn't her fault, Brooke was about to speak when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, pulling the phone out of her pocket she noticed the caller ID was Charlie's police cell/mobile number she quickly swiped the button on the screen accepting the call.
"Charlie, whats up?"
"I've spotted Alexis"
"What do you mean you spotted her?"
"She's sitting on the beach staring at the sea"
"Charlie you need to make sure she stays away from the water, she loves it but she can't swim" Brooke explained as she began looking for her car keys, guessing what Brooke was looking for Mel walking quickly into the front room remembering where Brooke had left them after re-entering the house re-entering the kitchen she handed the keys over to Brooke who mouthed Thank You to her.
"Ok I'll try my best but if I get to close won't she just run?"
"No she won't, As long as Georgia stays away she'll be fine, she likes you because you saved me and she knows you and Joey are friends so as long as its only you she won't run"
"Ok I'll stay as close to her as possible"
"Perfect, I'm gonna jump in my car now & Thank You Charlie"
"Sure thing and your welcome" Charlie replied ending the call and placing the phone into her pocket, as she placed the phone in her pocket she took a deep breath turning to Georgia and explaining that it would be better for her to wait the patrol car as to not scare Alexis she then began walking towards where Alexis was currently sitting...
-15 Minutes Later-
Brooke arrived at the beginning of the beach about fifthteen minutes after she had hung up the phone and got in the car, Taylor had jumped into the car with Brooke not taking no for anwser instead of arguing with her Brooke knew that having Taylor there would help Lexi calm down knowing that she was ok and that she forgave her. It had took them just over ten minutes to get to the beach and workout exactly where Charlie and Alexis were on the beach, as they pulled up Brooke noticed that Charlie was talking to another officer instantly her stomach began turning as she realised that what she had felt earlier in the day was 100% real now something had happened in the last few hours or minutes that was bad something that she couldn't take away or change and something that would affect her family for a long time as she pulled the part of the beach where she saw Charlie and Georgias patrol car parked up with Georgia standing next to it, as she drove closer to the patrol car she noticed that there was another patrol car parked next to it parking just behind them she turned to Taylor forcing a smile and a wink in Taylors direction to try and help her stay postive she turned the engine off.
They both climbed out of the car walking side by side in the direction of Georgia, whom was neithers favourite person at the moment but none of that matter at the moment they just wanted to get Alexis home safe and sound, as they got closer to here the both noticed that down on the beach there where a numerous amount of police officers doing what looked like preserving the scene of a crime. As they reached Georgia she finally noticed them as she turned instantly they noticed the expression change on her face as she radioed Charlie. She instantly made an excuse to leave thinking to herself that the news was bad enough without it having to come from someone that was in Brooke's bad books.
A minute or two pasted before Charlie appeared from the beach where all the other police officers were searching the beach every step Charlie took towards her Brooke felt like her heart was about to stop from the shear fear that she was currently feeling she hadn't felt this much fear for Alexis in a very long time. Every second that went by felt like it was an hour long, as Charlie finally stopped infront of her she almost didn't want to hear the words that were gonna come out of Charlie's mouth because deep down she knew it wasn't gonna be good. Before either Charlie could open her mouth to talk Taylor worryingly asked;
"Where's Lexi? What's happened?" Her eyes darting from Charlie to the beach and then back again.
Charlie rethought the sentence she had to say over and over again but there was no good way to word the sentence she was about to say. It was made worse for her due to the fact that she knew how strong the families connections to each other were especially Brooke Taylor and Lexi's connection. She decided to just bite the bullet and say what she needed to:
"Lexi is currently on route to the hospital"...
In the Next Chapter:
*Taylor wants answers
*Charlie privately talks to Brooke
*Frankee attempts to explain herself
*Mel's attacker is revealed
