She hadn't been in school for a week now. The fact that she wasn't made it extremely difficult for Thomas to concentrate on anything. His volume of his music was increasing with each day. The only way to calm him was to think about her. But he couldn't think about her. They could hear him. It kept getting worse and worse after she ran out his door six days ago. It got to the point where he anticipated hearing his alarm clock waking him up every morning and telling him it was a new day and he would see her in a few short hours. And now she wasn't there and Thomas was left bouncing his knee and tapping his pencil on his notebook.

He had already gotten detentions in all of his classes for not paying attention or that other people could hear his music through his headphones. Even though he was alone, the detentions on the gym bleachers reminded him of her. Sometimes he could almost see her there. Her long chestnut brown hair covering her face, arms on her knees, looking at the clock. It was at those times when he could turn his music off, even for a second, and just think.

'I've seen her around before. It was just a couple of months ago that she hung out with all the self proclaimed 'popular' people. She used to wear makeup, and her hair was done some new way every day. She'd probably still be that way if she never went to that party. As soon as she came back to school, the shallow bitches deserted her because she 'destroyed her beautiful face.' I guess it shows you who your real friends are.'

Thomas jumped as the bell rang. The clock had just hit 4:30. Thomas grabbed his stuff, turned his CD player back on and went home.

---

Thomas opened the door to the apartment building and found his mother sitting at the table reading the newspaper. Thomas's parents were gone before he woke up and came home after he fell asleep. One of them would come home to retrieve a forgotten cell-phone or work files once and a while. "Things are going to be different. I promise," his mom's voice echoed through his head. "What are you doing home so early?" he asked.

His mom turned around and smiled a little. "I just felt like…coming home early,' she answered.

Thomas shrugged his shoulders. "Okay."

"Hey, how's school going? Are you concentrating enough?"

Thomas scoffed. It had been years that he has had this disorder, and his mom was asking about it now? "Yeah, it's been the same every day," he answered.

"Okay," she replied, and then got up from her chair. She folded the newspaper in half and placed it back on the table. "Well, I have to get back to work. I'll see you later." She walked over to him and gave him a hug. Thomas rolled his eyes sarcastically and hugged her back. "I love you kiddo."

Thomas laughed. Even after being away from the house and him for so long there was still a mother inside of her. He let go of her and replied, "I love you too." She gave him one last smile and was out the door.

Thomas eyed the newspaper on the table and picked it up. There was the usual things, like car wrecks and who won the last baseball game. But something caught his eye. There was a small article at the bottom on the page. The headline read: MISSING TEEN REMAINS UNFOUND. Under the headline was a picture of Rachel. The picture must not have been recent. Her face was flawless. Not a scar in sight. Thomas's eyes widened as he read the article.

The search continues for 17 year old Rachel Knight who disappeared one week ago today. No evidence has been found, and police have no more leads on her whereabouts. . . No one knows where she might have gone. . . Family members have been notified. . . Disappeared without a trace. . . If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of Rachel Knight, call. . . Thomas noticed that he had been holding his breath. He let it out fast, rustling the newspaper. He let it fall to the ground. He felt numb. He knew she wasn't going to be found. The last thing she said to him sounded like she was in trouble. "Shit. Oh shit. Thomas I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow okay?" And the way she ran down the street made it seem like she was running for her life. For all he knew, she was. And whoever was chasing her had gotten to her.

---

Sorry it's been a while, and that this chapter is so short. I've been sick and have had a lot of homework lately.

Da Buffster, I'm not sure if you got my email or not, but if you didn't, you can use Rachel as a name for Trinity