Lexa purchased her first bus ticket at the age of 16 with only a backpack hanging off her shoulders. She could no longer tolerate her total lack of control over her own life while in the foster system. It had been too many years of false hopes, disappointment, and feeling like she wasn't meant to be truly loved by anyone.

There had been moments where she felt loved but it never seems to last for long.

Those moments were the most painful to deal with. It left her crushed and with the feeling of never being enough.

Half a year ago was when it completely broke her.

For four years, she actually grew to believe that she was in fact enough because she had found the perfect foster family. Her foster parents were kind, loving, and always did their best to make each day feel special.

They hadn't tried to force her to act a certain way or mold her into being someone else. She could finally rediscover who she was as a person. It had been so long feeling lost. They hadn't emotionally or physically harmed her. She had received the warmest hugs and praises. There were even talks about officially adopting her.

She even got to have a best friend.

Costia.

She lived right across the street from her. At first, they only exchanged shy waves and smiles during the summer. She would finally learn her name and speak to her on her first day of school. Costia chose to plop down next to her on the school bus and introduced herself.

"This is way overdue. My name's Costia." She had smiled brightly at her. "Your eyes are even prettier up close."

Lexa had swallowed nervously, not understanding why her heart began to race. She didn't know how to respond to compliments yet but it made her feel really nice.

"Lexa is mine."

She quietly introduced herself in return with a small crooked smile. She hadn't known that Costia was going to turn out to be the second best thing that ever happened to her.

It was four blissful years with her parents and a best friend that would be her first love before it all went to hell.

It was simply cruel to have been given all that love, hope, and then it was all unexpectedly torn away from her because of one single decision that was made by her parents.

It left her in a deep depressive state for months. She felt utterly destroyed. Whoever Lexa had been when she was with them, she was lost forever now. Gone.

It took her longer than she wanted to put her plan in motion again. It would have to be revised to include only her going off on her own. All alone on the open roads.

That was fine with her. She could do it alone. It was the only option she had felt would finally give her back a sense of control and find freedom.

Freedom to choose how she wanted to live her life. A chance to heal and discover who she truly was now after all she had suffered. She could finally break free from the foster system and decisions that were not her own that would drastically affect her and her life for the worse.

It was a much desired fresh start for her.

Before she was taken to a new foster family, her parents had insisted for her to keep the money that they put into her account. She initially didn't want anything to do with it. Everything felt tainted.

However, she was glad to have it once she realized that it was enough to get her out of the state of Maine. It was blissful weeks of traveling from town to town by bus before realizing she needed to do something about her rapidly depleting cash. It was a regret that she hadn't taken any of her new foster family's money or any items to pawn off. She didn't want them to feel extra motivated to search for her or have police looking to arrest her. She just needed to get far away enough. Nonetheless, Lexa needed to think of how to proceed with this new wandering lifestyle of hers.

She had settled into a small unknown town and checked into a cheap motel in search for work. After a few months of working, she would quit her odd jobs and ride a bus to a new location. It went on like that for several more months until she was left relying solely on the income she was making. When payment for her motel rooms began coming up short, she wrestled with her pride and began staying at a shelter.

It wasn't the life she had envisioned when she dreamt about running away but she had stubbornly kept at it for a good year because honest work had to pay off. She had to prove to herself that she hadn't made a mistake to leave. She couldn't deal with being a failure. She had to make it work no matter what.

That didn't stop the creeping doubts and unhappiness she felt about her living conditions but those thoughts had to be pushed aside for her to continue forward.

Her 17th birthday had come and gone. There was no cause for celebration as she was constantly working at her waitressing job trying to save up money. She felt stuck in place. She wanted to pick up and travel to the next destination but she'd been struggling to get the amount of cash she needed.

Her wanderlust wanted to steer her back toward the east coast of the country. However, prices were steadily rising and minimum wage was still minimum wage.

Finding people willing to pay her under the table had been difficult because she was obviously a stranger staying in a close-knit small town where everybody knew everyone. It was the longest time she had been forced to stay in one place. She wanted to get back into visiting new cities, seeing new sights and creating memorable moments. She just needed to figure out how to improve this new life of hers and to find a much happier balance.

She never would have thought that her new life would lead her down a criminal path.

It was after she had just finished her shift waitressing at the diner one day. She was walking down the sidewalk heading toward the shelter when someone had suddenly bumped into her back and made her stumble.

Her patience had been worn thin that day and she would love nothing more to punch someone in the face with her clenched fists. Instead she shoved her hands into her pockets and glared at the rude man that was in an apparent rush. Then a sudden realization hit her.

Her wallet was missing from her pocket.

"Hey, get back here!" She yelled without a thought. "Stop!"

The woman that she believed stole her wallet glanced back alarmed before taking off into a run. She cursed under her breath as she ran after the pickpocketer, weaving in and out between startled people to close the distance between them. Her heart was matching the pounding of her feet against concrete. Her eyes were still locked onto the fleeing woman's blonde head, seeing her shoving another person out of her way before turning a corner.

She pushed herself to run faster, not wanting to lose her from her sight and quickly turned the corner to see the thief running across the street and nearly getting clipped by a car. She wasn't going to let some thieving punk get away stealing what little she had made from her shift. Maybe it was foolish and dangerous, but those things did not enter her mind. It definitely should have entered her mind when she crossed the street to follow the woman into an alleyway.

"Give me my wallet back," she demanded. "Stop right there!"

To her surprise, the woman actually slowed down to a stop, barely looking out of breath, and holding tight to her wallet.

"I am almost impressed" the robber commented with her back still facing Lexa.

She stopped a few feet away, taking in the pickpocketer with her dark blonde hair and lean form. She frowned at seeing her glance back at her with a look of annoyance.

"Give me back what you stole," she held a hand out to receive her wallet back.

"Stop chasing me," the thief suggested before fully turning around to face her. "Rarely anyone is stupid enough to try to chase me."

Lexa found her fist clenching again at her side.

"I will if you just hand over my wallet and we can pretend this whole thing didn't happen," she stated, her hand still outreached and waiting. "No, what are you doing?"

The pickpocketer had opened her wallet and was looking at the contents inside

"No way," she scoffed. "I ran and just managed to avoid getting hit by a car because some girl didn't know better to not chase after a criminal?" she shook her head in disappointment before tossing her wallet back to her.

Lexa caught the wallet and took a quick peek inside to make sure nothing was missing.

"You stole from me. I wasn't going to just stand idly by," she shoved her wallet back inside her pocket and pointed firmly back to the person responsible for the whole incident.

She waved her off and gave a slight nod. "Most usually don't do what you just did. Normally the fear of not knowing if I'm unarmed or not stops them in their tracks. You didn't stop. It had me thinking I pocketed gold but no," shaking her head in disbelief, the robber chuckled. "No. You chased me to get a measly $12 and change back."

"Are you crazy?" she questioned Lexa.

She had no idea how she found herself in this situation. What backward world did she accidentally stumble into? How was it that the person that robbed her was now laughing at her misfortune and asking if she was crazy? Maybe she was but she's pretty sure this isn't how an expected situation between a thief and their victim would go.

The urge to punch was still very much there.

"You just failed to rob me because I could keep up with you. What makes you think you have any right to judge me? You have no clue what my life is

Iike."

The failed pickpocketer raised her hands in an attempt to ward off the growing tension.

"I meant no offense. Well," she shrugged with a small smirk. "Maybe just a little. I found myself intrigued by you. It's what made me decide that you'd be my target. You're not from around here, are you?"

Suddenly she felt herself being scrutinized by the stranger before her. Feeling exposed was not a feeling she enjoyed. Certainly not by some criminal trying to charm her or whatever she was attempting to do.

"I think you should know that I am very close to ending this conversation by punching you in the mouth."

It was very tempting to release every ounce of stress and frustration out on this blonde woman. It's been awhile since she's been in a fist fight. She missed it as an outlet for her emotions and the rush it gave her.

It surprised her to see a smirk in response to her threat..

"It's been a long time since I've had a challenge. I think you're starting to remind me a little of myself." Her smirk soon dropped. "Wait, don't go yet."

Lexa had turned away ready to leave the whole situation behind and not wanting to hear how they're anything alike. However, she was pulled to a stop with a hand gripping her arm.

She twisted around in the grip and swung a left hook at the thief's head. Nothing but air as the woman effortlessly ducked beneath her punch. She attempted a knee next but it was blocked.

"Whoa, there, kiddo."

"Shut up!" Lexa shouted, rushing forward to tackle the woman but instead they're both left wrestling for control. Before she knew it, a leg hooked behind her knee causing her to fall down on her back with her hands pinned on the concrete.

"Get off of me!" she snarled while struggling to free her hands.

"Hear me out first and then I will let you go."

She gritted her teeth, wishing to toss the woman off of her but her wrists were in too strong of a grip to break loose. With no other choice but to listen, she tilted her chin up and stared at the criminal in the eyes.

"I was homeless. Long story short, I got mixed up in a bad crowd and did drugs when I was younger. Because of that I lost everyone that I even remotely cared for because they didn't want me around anymore. They did the right thing."

Lexa breathed out slowly as she watched the subtle changes to the woman's face.

"It took me awhile to distance myself from all the bad. I slept in alleyways like this one and sometimes in shelters when there was space. I tried to turn my life around but people would take one look at me, see a homeless bum and wouldn't hire me for a job. You'd think the fact I was seeking work would have clued them in that I was trying to change that."

Hearing that had finally made her stop resisting the hold. It was a startling reminder that she had been lucky enough to find space in the local shelter so far. It hadn't even crossed her mind that eventually there would be days where shelters would be full.

She couldn't imagine having to sleep outside in dirty alleyways or on a park bench. It became an even scarier thought because she was a young woman which unfortunately left her more vulnerable to the dangers of being sexually assaulted or worse.

"It all changed for me one night. I was starving and it was getting colder. I probably wouldn't have survived the winter if I hadn't been so desperate to survive. It took this well off looking asshole that basically told me to get a job when I asked for a few bucks to get myself a meal.

I… snapped. It's not a moment I'm proud of but after scuffing his fancy suit up, I took his wallet. I got my necessities and got the hell out of that city. I don't have to worry about my needs anymore. I can focus on enjoying life and not only on survival."

It was unfortunate that it took having to rob someone all for the sake of survival and fulfilling your needs. However, she couldn't even be upset at het for having done that. If that had been her…

"If I had been in your shoes in that moment, I think I would've done the same thing." She admitted, feeling torn about the morality of stealing from people, even from assholes that kind of deserved it.

"I see you're kind of conflicted about it. I get it and that's a good thing. I've not let myself forget that morally, it is wrong. Life isn't black and white though. It's all different shades of grey and people are usually a contradictory mess."

Her wrists were let loose as the thief removed herself from her position on top of her and stood up. A hand is offered to help her back to her feet. She takes it and is pulled to her feet.

"This is not the life you want for yourself. I can see it. You're unhappy and you're unable to move forward. Don't you want to have the freedom to seek what you're looking for without things like money holding you back?"

That hit a little too close to home. She was right. She just wanted to be free and discover what this life can truly offer her. To travel far and wide, creating new experiences that she'll hopefully cherish forever. This was not what she envisioned when she ran away. But could she really pick up this certain lifestyle and fight her morals so she could live a more comfortable life?

"So, how about it? Are you ready to pursue the life you truly wanted? We both know that this is not it. I can show you how. I'll even teach you how to finesse your fighting skills. You show promise."

The woman smiled warmly and offered her hand to her to shake.

"I'm Anya."

It was suddenly a major life changing decision. She could just walk away or take her hand into hers and take a leap. All she wanted was to be in charge of her life. It was her decision once again to decide if she wanted to further change her life.

"My name is Lexa…"

Having made the decision, she shook Anya's hand, someone who would soon turn into being her mentor and a trustworthy friend.